144 



irresistible. Gradually they received recognition, and each suc- 

 cessful demonstration! aided in overcoming the prejudice of 

 popular ignorance and helped to place the work on a firmer foot- 

 ing. To-day, the: i^act of mosquito control is almost as gener- 

 ally accepted as the telephone or telegraph. The methods of 

 bringing about the desired result are still somewhat in dispute. 

 In general, authorities agree on a system of ditching, diking 

 and tide-gating on the salt marsh, and of draining, filling and 

 oiling on the upland, but as to the most efficient and economical 

 manner of attaining this desired result they are not always in 

 accord, and it is here that we must consider the place of con- 

 tracting in the work of mosquito control. 



In order to understand this subject more fully, let us review 

 briefly the conditions which first brought the contract into ex- 

 istence, and in doing this we shall except the work done in the 

 tropics and across the seas, for as the greater part of this work 

 was done under government supervision it does not present an 

 aspect sufficiently analogous to aid in our exposition of the 

 subject under consideration. We shall then deal with the prob- 

 lem as it arose in this State and in other communities where 

 conditions were much similar. 



Mosquito control work is, of course, a comparatively new 

 enterprise. The men who were the originators of the movement 

 were for the most part mature men, who having gained success 

 in other walks of life, turned to work of this character as worthy 

 of their attention. Theirs was, however, a philanthropic rather 

 than a pecuniary interest. They were not in a position toi devote 

 their entire time and thought to the work. To the young man, 

 due to its very uncertainty, it did not make an extended appeal 

 as a profession. Thus there arose a group of men intensely 

 interested in the welfare of this (project. Men fully competent 

 to plan what they wanted done, but who were not so situated 

 that they could afford to devote the necessary time to see to the 

 engrossing details of the actual execution of their plans. Under 

 these circumstances but two alternatives existed. Either they 

 must build up a capable organization of their own, purchase 

 adaptable equipment and tools, or they must delegate the carry- 



