36 



will more and more approximate in future years. The items 

 are as follows : 



Administration, 15 per cent 



Inspection, 25 per cent. 



Permanent elimination of breeding places, 40 per cent. 



Temporary work, 10 per cent. 



Equipment, 6 per cent. 



Education, 4 per cent. 



Total, 100 per cent. 



In this connection it will be seen that approximately 501 per 

 cent, of the cost of carrying on mosquito control is spent for 

 what might be called "finding" breeding places, and that only 

 50 per cent, of the appropriation is spent for "actual elimination." 

 The question then comes up, How are we going to 1 decrease the 

 amount spent for "finding" breeding places and increase the 

 amount of the total spent on "actual elimination?" That is, we 

 must increase the amount of money which might be charged to 

 ditching and draining, and other forms of permanent elimina- 

 tion of breeding places, in proportion to the cost for administra- 

 tion and inspection. Of course it is realized, in connection with 

 our expenses charged to inspection, that much of this work of 

 inspection actually entails the elimination, because when an in- 

 spector finds a rain barrel or other similar breeding place, he 

 usually abates or eliminates that breeding place in the same 

 operation of inspection, although all of the cost of such elimina- 

 tion as this is included under inspectors' expenses. We must 

 increase the amount spent on actual elimination in the face of 

 rising costs, for in anti-mosquito work, as in practically all other 

 lines of business, the various operations for carrying on the 

 work are costing more than similar operations cost in previous 

 years. For instance, we have to pay $2.10 as the average daily 

 wage of foremen or laborers, where we paid but $1.73 in 1912 

 for similar work. We must pay our inspectors slightly more; 

 our oil for the coming year costs 9 cents, where it cost but 7 

 cents in previous years, and the same increased cost holds true 

 in most all other items. 



