Imperial Valley press., 1922-01-18
THE UNIT SYSTEM IN PUBLIC WORK

The present is time when it could we'll be inquired
whether the fullest being made of the plan of splitting
public up units endeavoring make half
dozen contracts where only before. Dur
ING recent years there has been notable tendency in large
enterprises both private and public to ubdvde the work
into units instead Of giving the whole job to and
we believe that on the whole this movement has made for
efficiency and has speeded the work This plan has
eral obvious advantages which have given favor with
those who have had the responsibility for big projects but
has others which essentially economic in character
and have broader application than merely the matter of
convenience promptness in execution.
Small contractors have had hard struggle for exist
In fact the fight has been fierce that large numbers
of them have succubed and ceased exist of
labor but have themselves become employees sometimes
managers foreen and sometimes in less responsible
pace This has resulted from the operation of have
thought be eXorab economic laws the advantage
of equipment and organization making it impossible for
those favored to compete However year by year.
have been finding out how much have known that
not and the obstacle were removed which results
from cutting contracts III chunks too large Tor the small
contractor to mascate should find the handling of
public work another point.
AS matter of fact there important offsets to the
advantages resulting from organization and equipment and
of them is the extra efficiency gained by close personal
attention of "details Common aborers especially, and,
alas for the stability of industrial structure skilled
aborers too have established for themselves standard of
returning minimum effort for the days and 1t
happens that the contractor employing ten may get
an average of two-thrds of days work of each
while working for themselves would each return
hundred percent efficiency 1t has arady proved
that four farming forty each each of them
make profit of the enterprise addition to the
for his labor while farming four fortles in block
of 100 acres and hiring the necessary labor will make
complete failure. The labor is such important fac
total things that the securing of dollars
worth of effort dollar paid out against return of
only sixty six cents out of the dollar of labor cost easily
mark the difference between and failure Nor
this all The financing of enterprises is much smpfed,
for and safer to finance $4,000 project than
finance 100000 job The risk being less bonds
easily secured and in the strain
economic machinery much less when the big job Is
divided up into tteo
arranging launch punblic work therefore, here
something to be kept in mind Competition is increased If
the contracts not made large to eliminate the
operator of small The small unit brings to the
work the added efficiency of close personal supervision If
should be losses they be absorbed without
sonng the crash which with large failure not to
mention the attendant delays and finally if the small
live and be kept available link in the indus
trial and economic machinery, must be made of in
the places where he rake good.