The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1913-11-11
HONOR SYSTEM
WORKING WELL,

Weld, Boulder, Jefferson, Ell Paso and
Pueblo counties, They have built ISL
miles Of good roadway, and a great
deal Of this has been blasted out of
solid rock-that in Mesa county being
the most difficult and heavy work ever
attempted by our men.
Owing to the fact that it was i'm
possible to get from the various coun-
ties the cost of material. such as ce-
ment, lumber, steel, corrugated cul-
verts, powder, tools and supplies.
other than actual labor, used in road
and bridge building, we are enabled
to give you only the labor cost to these
different counties for the work of the
men. This work has been done at an
average cost to the different counties
of thirty-two cents per day per man.
and, as this cost includes Sundays and
holidays, the cost of the labor of these
men to the counties for the two years
or 731 days would be S36,T25.44. We
have worked twenty-one state teams,
and the feed for these teams cost tho
counties $50 per month per team,
which would amount to S10,0S0; max
ing total cost TO the counties for
labor OF S46,SO544. The average labor
cost for the ISL miles was s29S. 10 per
mile.
1T is hard to estimate the immense
value of these roads, for the reason
that the work in Mesa county alone
would have cost, with free labor, not
less than $4,000 per mile, as the rock
in places had to be blasted for sew
enty-fiye feet in order to get proper
roadbed. In this work it was neces-
sary to drill holes twenty-five feet
deep and to drill three depths before
the roadbed was reached. So you can
readily see the magnitude of this
work. The work in Ute Pass, in Ell
Paso county, was done through solid
rock for six miles. all blasting. The
work in Salt Canon and Parkdale Hill,
in Fremont county, and Pingree Hill,
Cherokee Hill and Thompson Canon
In Larimer county, contained a great
deal of blasting This necessarily
would have been very expensive work
had il been done with free labor. and
the counties would have been forced
to pay big salaries for drillers, blast
yers, powder men, masons and cement
workers Not counting what the con-
tractors profits might be. and not in
Guiding any skilled labor. except
blacksmiths cement workers and
masons, and estimating the cost OF
free labor at 81 per day, by eliminate
ing Sundays and holidays, We may
count 1872 men working 61O days at
81 per day which would give us a
labor value OF S16l.04O. We have
worked an average of twenty masons
and cement workers, which would
have cost sthe counties So per day. and
would have amounted to S6t 900. We
have averaged five blacksmith's whose
labor is estimated at 81 per day. and
this would have amounted to S12,220.
Estimating the value of tweny-one
teams at $3.50 per day per team for
610 days, it would amount to s32 O25.
At n low figure, the value of the labor
of these men and teams would he
worth to the counties $266.2S5 Add
to this depreciation of state equip
ment, $4,000, and the interest on the
State equipment, $4,000, and you can
see that this labor has been worth to
the different counties $270.2S5. The
difference between what the free labor
alone would have cost the public
S270.2S5-and what the labor
IF orr men actually cost them shows
n labor profit of 1923 1885. However.
this labor did not compete with the
free labor of the state, for the reason
that the counties could not otherwise
have afforded this work"