San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1886-12-02
CONTRACTORS.
Growth of Their Operations and NaturO
OF Their Work.


of Their Work.
To many people the word contractor
presents the idea of person combining
the salient characteristics of political
''boss" and the custodian of trust
fund; a man whose pockets are lined
with money gotten by ways that are
dark and tricks that are by no means
vain as far as accomplishing the gath
ering in of shekels is concerned. But
so far from beng social outcast and a
moral excroscence on the community,
the contractor is an extremely active
and important factor in modern civili-
zation, for he has hand in nearly
every work of public or private inn
portance that is undertaken. He is es-
sentially modern institution. Among
the ancients he appears in but one re-
s!ricted sphere. Those interesting old
despots, whose sole end and aim in lifa
was to squeeze the last penny out Of
their subjects, used to farm out the rev.
enues, delegating The squeezing process
to that one of their beloved and trusted
subjects who would pay the most for
the contract. Further than this, how
ever, the system does not seem to have
been applied. There is no record of the
letting of contracts for brick-work on
the Tower of Babel. Noah did not adj
vertse for proposals to build the Ark.
And we have every reason forbelieving
that the stone which went into the
Great Pyramid was "bought in oren
Market" for, if furnished by contract,
it would have been bigger job than
the Philadelphia city buildings.
Dating from the first building of rail
roads in England, when the elder
Brassey and his compeers on the cont
nent laid the foundations OF their coos
sal fortunes, the modern contract sys-
tenn has developed until now everything,
from putting up country school-hous,
or furnishing the inmates of the city's
charitable institutions with Thanksgiy-
ing dinners, up to building twenty
mill.on-dollar State House which threat
ems to slide down hill into the river, is
done by contract. Some well equipped
journals devote their columns entirely
to the discussing and advertising OF
contracts, and every daily has its cor
ner reserved for the later In this
country contracting received a great
stimulus during the civil war, when the
major portion OF three billions of dol
lars went out of the Government Treas
ury into the pockets of host of army
contractors.
There are three great classes OF
American contractors those engaged
upon internal improvements, those do
ing railroad and municipal work, and
Indian contractors The first class in !
cludes u number of firms throughout
the country who are engaged in inn
proving the National waterways. Their
prosperity fluctuates with the varying
proportions of the River and Harbor
bill.
To the second class our railroads and
city improvements owe their existencc. |
The typical contractor is the Jolly, large |
limbed Irishman who has himself swung
the pick and handled the shovel. In
the city he is something of a politician |
and has "cousin" or two in or near
the City Hall, who gives him pointers"
on coming jobs, and lets him into the
ring. On railroad work he must make .
himself "solid' with the engineer in .
charge, for his fate is entirely i'm tho
latter's hands. BY means Of his esti-
mates of work upon which all bids are
based, ii is in the power Of the engineer
TO make or break the contractor. A
liberal estimate makes glad the heart
and fat the pocket-book Of the contract
or, while with close or scant estimate
the completion of the contract leaves
him on the ragged edge Of bankruptcy.
The labor employed varies in nation
ality. Up 20 1870 Ireland furnished
nearly ali OF it. Since then Italians and
in the East. Swedes in the
West aud Chinese upon the Pac iic coast
have largely supplanted PatIick.-M T.
Tribune.