ii6 N. J. Mosquito Extermination Association 



cost per foot by taking the total footage and dividing it into the num- 

 ber of man-hours multipHed by the unit cost per man hour. And 

 in quoting such cost figures the basic man-hour cost should always 

 be mentioned. This method excludes all engineering, supervision, 

 equipment, material, and transportation charges and leaves them to 

 be absorbed by general overhead or other divisions of the work. 

 Figures obtained in this way are accurate so far as they go, are 

 readily attainable, and have a certain value to the men and organ- 

 izations actually engaged in the construction operations. They give 

 a rough standard for the foreman and serve as a barometer to 

 the chief inspector to detect a gang that is falling behind. They 

 are not, however, true cost figures and these can only be obtained by 

 taking into consideration cost of surveying, laying out, inspecting,, 

 and supervising the work, cost of equipment and material used on 

 the construction of that unit, cost of transportation, insurance,, 

 depreciation and a proportion of general administration. To deter- 

 mine the exact amount of each item contemplated in this method 

 of arriving at cost data would of course mean the filing of additional 

 records and involved bookkeeping, but there is no reason why the 

 executive officer cannot readily and quickly make such apportion- 

 ments and adjustments as will allow him to charge these costs 

 directly against each drainage project with reasonable accuracy. 

 Certainly such figures properly arrived at and duly correlated are a 

 great help in drawing budgets and outlining new drainage measures. 



Cost of maintenance also is a point which will bear some discus- 

 sion. Maintenance costs are usually based on the original cost of 

 the work and are placed at a fixed percentage determined fronx 

 previous knowledge obtained while the first work was being 

 conducted. With information on hand relative to the cost per 

 foot and the base from which this cost per foot was derived and 

 knowing the present market price of labor, it is merely a question 

 of proportion and computation to obtain the basic figure for main- 

 tenance. But here again the radical differences which exist in each 

 section under drainage enter to upset the budget maker. Sometimes 

 areas which are costly to drain at first, require but little mainten- 

 ance work and per contra some areas that are originally ditched at 

 a very low cost require such thorough cleaning that the mainten- 

 ance cost is comparatively high. The proportion of maintenance cost 

 to initial cost, therefore, is not a constant but varies considerably 

 with each area. It can only be ascertained by frequent and careful 

 study of the work installed. The man who arrives at mainten- 



