The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-02-14
Professional Fees of Mining Engineer
Factors to Be Considered and Collection


trip, or is it going to be one with
plenty of hard physical labor, and is
this to be little or much? What con-
veniences will have for expediting
my work or under what difficulties and
Inconvenience will my work be con-
Quoted? What part of my time will
be taken up with a delightful sea voy-
age and what part in miserable canoes,
or on mule back, or cutting my way
through thick underground? Going
further and looking at the more per-
sonal side of the undertaking, do l
need the employment, do | need it
much or is there possibility or prob
ability of another matter developing
soon which will provide more attrac-
tive employment? Are my personal
qualifications such that | can do the
work creditably? How much do
know about quartz mining and milling
and how much about sampling gravel,
hydraulicking and dredging? How
much must depend upon an assistant
regarding some feature with which
am not familiar? How much better,
or worse, am / equipped for this work
than dozen other engineers my pros
pective client could call upon? The
answers to the foregoing and other
questions that arise will be. or should
be, my answer to the first question
put to me, What will be your fee?'
Fixing the Compensation.
Certainly the more the examination
approaches a pleasure trip, the less /
charge. The greater the mental and
physical effort necessary and the
greater the hardships of the trip, the
more is it worth If feel that am
personally capable of covering all the
ground contained in the report and
require little or no outside assistance,
| am justified in naming a higher fee
than when my expense account covers
the work of assistants or a specialist.
it is low lying and tropicaD / will also
make higher charge because l know
the discomforts and how to avoid
many of them. / know the ills that
one is likely to suffer and how they
are best avoided. I know the people
of the country and how to get on with
them. know their language l need
no interpreter. | am not dependent
upon native guides if they choose to
leave me. In short, Mr.. Client, for
this particular engagement am worth
more to you than any other man
know to be available. can do the
work in less time than many men with
less liability of its being interrupted
by sickness. / know how to weigh
the various detracting features. 1t
will be hard trip--one probably re-
curing a long rest after completion.
It was in my mind to charge you $50
per diem during my absence from New
York, but my charge, after everything
is considered, will be 500 a day and
you will get the worth of your money
lead me in the opposite direction and
might have given the figure of $25
Gay and then felt that the figure was
excessive. Employers of engineers are
generally intelligent men. They can
follow an engineers reasoning, from
he information they have before the
and from what they gather
turing that interview they can gem
orally tell whether suggestions as to
ees are reasonable or not.
Only per diem figure has been
This is often more salts
actory to the engineer than to the
lient The client almost always wants
o know just about what an examin-
.tion is going to cost, and If the en-
,ineer wants the job the answer
hould not be made until he Is fairly |
veil acquainted with the man, for
$500 may sound great deal larger
han s25 a day and expenses, or 1t may |
ound much smaller, but in any case
n employer is likely to question close