Photo by Laurence 

 THE COMMISSION'S STERN-WHEELER BOAT, "MATANUSKA," LANDING SCRAPERS AND 

 WORK HORSES NEAR MATANUSKA RIVER 



"A 50-foot stern-wheel power-boat, equipped with a 50-horse-power engine, was pur- 

 chased in Seattle for use in transporting supplies and making a reconnaissance of the shallow 

 water of the Susitna River and its tributaries" (see text, page 573). 



agreed price, every man receiving an in- 

 dividual check for his share. 



SMALL CONTRACTORS 



In this way every man becomes a small 

 contractor and shares equally with all 

 others in the returns from the job, the 

 middleman being eliminated, and the as- 

 sociated contractors on the job being paid 



for what they accomplish, -not for the 

 time they put in. Probably a thousand 

 men have been employed on the road this 

 summer in this manner, and their earn- 

 ings have been good as a rule, depending, 

 of course, on the individual ability of the 

 men and of the gangs. These contractors 

 are not boarded by the Commission, but 

 are allowed to buy supplies and provis- 



583 



