FOREST LABOR 49 
the small top logs givo a low scale when measured by most log 
rules. 
Minor contracts are usually verbal, but those involving an ex- 
tensive amount of work are in written form. A certain per cent 
of the contract price often is witheld until the work is satisfactorily 
completed. 
A form of contracting which has become more or less common 
during recent years in the Inland Empire is known as "Gipo" 
logging. A crew of from four to eight men contract to put logs 
on the skidway on the thousand foot log scale basis. This method 
has proved a success, especially during periods when labor is 
scarce and wages high, since the output per man is often nearly 
twice as great as that of men working on day-wage basis. 
Loggers who contract the major part of their work often find it 
advantageous to maintain small crews of their own, in order that 
they may have a basis for determining what is a fair contract price 
for logging under their conditions. Company crews also tend to 
prevent the arbitrary dictation of prices by contractors, since the 
company is prepared to do a portion of its work, and has the nucleus 
of a logging organization which may be expanded readily, if 
necessary. 
A written contract stating the exact conditions of labor, es- 
pecially with reference to terms of employment, hours of labor, 
wages, pay days, charges for board and medical attention, and 
the equipment furnished, have proved desirable in some cases. 
PAYMENT FOR SERVICES 
Many lumber companies operate commissaries or general 
stores in connection with their logging work. Since it is to their 
advantage to have the trade of their employees, cash usually is 
disbursed only on specified pay days. Meanwhile, employees 
may obtain metal trading checks or coupon books, usually the 
latter, to the value of their credit, which are accepted at face 
value at the company store. Checks or coupons are rarely 
honored when presented by those who are not employees or mem- 
bers of their families, the company in this manner preventing the 
acceptance of the coupons by other merchants. 
Weekly or semi-monthly payments are the rule in most regions^ 
' During the war, when labor was scarce, some companies solicited labor 
on the basis of "everyday a payday"; that is, any employee might draw, 
daily, the full amount due him for wages. 
