The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1885-01-30

Growth 81 Iueir OP<fs*s.'"~ ~'--
Of Their Work.
To many people she word contractor
presents the idea Of person combining
the salient characteristics OF political
..boss- and the custodian OF trust |
fund; man whose pockets are lined
with money gotten b. ways that are
dark and tricks that are by no means
vain a. far as accomplishing the gath
ering in OF shckels l. concerned But
SO far from beng social outcast and q
moral excrcscence on the community.
the contractor is an extremely active
and important factor in modern civil
zation, for he has hand IN nearly
every work Of public or private i'm
portance that i undertaken. lie - es-
senfially modern institution Among
the ancients he appears in but one re-
stricted sphere. Those interesting old
despots. whose sole end and aim In life
was To squeeze the last penny out OF
their subjects. used to farm out the rev.
enues. delcgating the squeezing process.
10 that one II their beloved and trusted
4 subjects who would pay the most Tor
the contract. Further than this. how
/ ever. the system does not seem to nave
been applied. There il no record OF the
letting IL contracts for brick-work on
the Tower Of Babel. Noah did not adj
yertiSe for proposals to build the Ark.
And we have every reason for believing
that the stone which went into the
Great Pyramid was Thought in open
market for, If furnished by contract,
h would have been bigger job than
the Philadelphia city buildings.
Dating from the first building If rail
roads in England. when the elder
Brassey and his compeers on the conu'
nent laid the foundations OF their colos-
sal fortunes. the modern contract sys
tenn has developed until now everything
from putting up a country school-hous'
or furnishing the inmate Of the city
charitable institutions with Thanksgiv
| inc dinners. up T. building twenty
milllon-do.lar state House which threat
ens 10 slide down hill into the river. !
: done by contract Some well equipped
4 Journals devote their columns entlrel.
G 70 Tie discussing and advertising Q
q contracts. and every dali, mas its COZ
e ner reserved for the later In thi
: country contracting received a grea
/ stimulus during the civil war. when n
G major portion Of three billions Of do
v lar. went out Of the Government Urea:
! urv into the pockets u a host Of arm
! contractors.
\ There are three great classes
/ American rs-those engage
g upon internal improvements. those a.
: inc railroad and municipal work. an
II Indian contractors. The first class u
cludes a number Of firms throngho'
q the country who are engeged in in
ie proving the National waterways Inc
= prosperity fluctuates with the ,aryii
,e proportions Of the River and HARP
q. bill.
pr To the second class our railroads al
IL city improvements owe their existent
The typical contractor i the jolly. lare
lis limbed Irishman who has himself swu
the pick and handled the shovel
the CITY he is something Of polltici
and has cousin or two in or ne
the CITY Hall. who gives him pointer
nm on coming jobs. and lets him into :
RING. On railroad work he must ma
himself ..solid' with the engineer
M charge. for his fate is entirely in
'n- latters hands. By means Of his 6
re, mates Of work upon which all bids
IT. based. it is in the power Of the engine
rst to make or break the contractor
re liberal estimate makes glad the he
!, and fat the pocket-book Of the contra
or. while with close or scant estim
up the completion Of the contract lea
1T him on the ragged edge Of bankrupt
er. The labor employed varies IN natl
atty. Up to 1870 Ireland furnish
nearly ali Of il. Since then Italians
n, Huncarians in the East. Swedes in
r. West and Chinese upon the Pacific co
4 have largely supplanted Patrick Al
md T,-;h,,..