Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-05-07

the clothes worn by the engineer commits
sioners would hardly bring the value Of the
wool in them at secondhand store
Everything is business. The work DegdI.
10 days after the president decided the route,
and it has gone on steadily as long as the
money has lasted Fifteen hundred men
have been at work the past year, and some
thing less than a thousand are now on the
job. w c, Edes, the chief engineer, has had
large experience in constructing railways in
our Rocky mountain highlands and through
out the west, and he is using the same meth
DDS of employment which have proved most
economical and most efficient in Oregon,
California, Washington and Canada.
The construction and grading are after a
system known as station work. certain
section of the road, or station, is given out
to number Of men called gang, who con-
tract to build it according to the speciica-
tons. They go in together as partners, and
have an equal share in the work The cost
is estimated by the cubic yard and the pay is
on that basis. The government sees that
the men have fair treatment 1t has time
keepers who go over the work and keep
II dSh Vi JUST WHAT each 1ldn QOeS. SO tndt on
the completion of the job the account shows
the efficiency OF every man on it. There is
nothing OF the peonage system connected
with these arrangements. There is no one
who employs all the hands and gets rake
off. The government sees that the arrange
ment is on partnership basis, and that each
man gets his individual check for his share
The great advantage Of this method is that
it eliminates all questions as to hours and
conditions of work Uncle Sam pays for re-
suits only, and that within a fixed time
have asked the officials as to the wages
prevailing in the other branches Of the con
struction Mr. Edes tells me they arc higher
than those paid for similar work in the
western parts of the United States although
they are much below those Of interior Alas
ka. The men here are now getting from
3I13 cents an hour upward Some of the
skilled laborers are paid so cents an hour,
and some Is. This is without board but the
latter is furnished at the government mess
house at 33 1-3 cents a meal The time is
eight hours where the men work by the day,
and this makes the wages range from S. to
80. The men have the right to buy their
personal supplies and other things of the
government eomnssary, where goods arc
sold for their wholesale cost. plus d small
percentage for handling the business This
gives them the goods at about 40 per cent
under the ordinary prices, and enables the
poorest Of them to clear as much as 81 per
day. Medical and hospital charges are free.
So far there has been plenty OF labor
The United States has large class of pro-
fessonal railroad builders who move about
from job to job. There are also many who
prefer to work on the frontier and it is this
class that is now doing the greater part OF
the construction. The men are of all ma
tonalit1es and the greater proportion are
foreigners In addition are few men from
Alaska. The engineers tell me ii is difficult
to get Americans to do the rough work
They all want to be foremen bosses or time
keepers. They will work hard as prospec
tors and miners, but they will not continue
for any length of time to handle the pick
and the shovel at SO much per day The
Alaskans are doing much of the clearing.
and they have taken many contracts for
ties. They object to the low wages Of the
government. which are far under those
which have prevailed throughout the nte-
rior, where IS day and board is still paid
wish | could show you the roadbed and
track 50 far constructed. The new railway
looks as though it might form an exhibit in
national exposition. 1t runs through the
woods, but the land on both sides has been
cleared and the bitches drain away every bit
of the water A smooth bed OF gravel. ten