Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-04-09
GOVERNMENT
BEGGING FOR BIDS
DEVELOPMENT Boom Giving Rec
Iarration Service a Good
Deal of Concern.
CONTRACTORS ALL LOADED
Rave Plenty of Railroad Work on
Hand Without Seeking Irrigation
projccts-IsEisc III Prices

Special Correspondence
washington, April 1.-The develop
ment boom in the far west is giving
the reclamation service good deal OF
concern at the present time
with every part OF the interinountain
country enjoying a renla rka Bile building
BOOM the government finds Itself serl-
ously handicapped by its inability to
secure reasonable bids for constructing
It's big irrigation works The large
contractors are all loaded up with rail-
road work which Will occupy their at
tention for many months 10 come, while
smaller contractors have all they can
possibly 10 10 take care OF Ihe locNl de-
lnands OF cities and towns
MANY of the contracts OF the govern
mens have been advertised several
1inaes without securing reasonable bids
The governn lent is confronted With the
proposition OF doing the work by force
account or OF postponipg IT until there
is an Improvement IN conditions IAe
present time Is rnost unpro pltlous for
Ihe government 10 undertake doing ihe
work itself There is an unusual search
ty Of labor. Wages are from ~ 70 90
per cent higher than Two years ago,
while efficiency has been decreased
rather than improved by the uAlimlted
demand for laborers- Owing 10 the re-
moteness OF much of the government
work from cities and towns, labor is not
sttra cted thereto, and MS a rule the
government gets only the IeaNlngs or
the most undesirable class OF laboreTs-
The steady and skillfu workers are all
busy,
COST OF MATERIAL,
The cost of all kinds of material has
increased enormously. Take cement,
for instance which enters SO largely
in the construction OF dams and head
works and for which the government Is
asking for hundreds OF thousands Of
barrels, 1t has been compelled 10 &C
cept bids at prices nearly double those
paid two years ago. Even al ;he pres
ent high price only a few manutactur
ers are competing, and today the &C.
ment required for Idaho. Montana wy
olning, and the Dakotas Is shipped from
Chicago
Lumber has nearly doubled In PRICE,
and horses and mules now cost fully
twice what they did three years ago,
AS an Illustration OF the material In
crease In the cost of construction the
following examples are cited; In 1904
and ls05 the average cost OF earthwork
excavation was about 10 cents per GU
bic yard Today the prevailing rates
Tor similar work are from "a TO 80 cents.
a large contract for grading was let at
70 cents per yard. and the contractor
executed the contract and furnished the
required bond When he came TO secure
the necessary machinery. animals and
labor, he found the work would cost so
much more than his bid that he thre W
UP his bid and forfeited his bond. On
readvertisemen rhe contract was again
let at "a cents per yard. and the con-
tractor is said TO be losing money AT
this price, Reinforced concrete in 1905
averaged $3.50 per cubic yard, while the
respo Hsible bids this year are from Sic
to 81.
SHIPPING TROUBLES,
The troubles OF the contractor In the
matter OF shipping materials are shown
by the experience OF one contractor,
In,