Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1922-01-27

all look right, but the net result is
 that one mine has $7'a ton more in
 the dividend fund than the other.
 can think of a dozen reasons CD ol
 excuses that might be offered by the
 one with the high cost, but excuses
 dent pay dividends.
 Permanent improvements, small
 production, obsolete equipment, heavy
 overhead, etc., for convenient bury 1 ing ground for money and are cov- cred up in cost per ton. If there is a profit over the SIS ton everybody is satisfied, but what becomes of all the SIP ore that has to be left in the ground because it will not pay ex- ! penses, that would pay 100 per cent if it came from the mine with S6 cost per ton?
 A Personal Experience Accounted. I had little experience, entirely outside of mining, but it is illustra- tive. As an engineer I estimated the cost of a construction job under the head of permanent improvement, to be S30,000, and was directed to make the installation. The labor and ma terials were carefully figured, and l kept track of every hours work, cost of labor and of every item, even in- cluding my own pay. I beat my own estimate by $500, with construction cost that could have contracted for $29, 400 and broken even.
 A few weeks later the directors called me in and said the job actually cost 45,000, and showed me the cost sheet prepared by the Cost Account ant" He had added several thousand dollars to labor and increased all ma terial items 50 per cent. I produced ny figures to show what it actually had cost, and the cost accountant was called in. He insisted that his ac- count was correct. I insisted that it was not. Finally he said he had ad ded Overhead" to the cost, but I maintained permanent improvements were themselves "overhead," and why add overhead" to "overhead.'
 In the course of the more or less heated conversation, he informed me that he was the cost accountant for the company, and that I was not. I replied by saying, "You are not cost accountant are the Sexton trying to bury lot of misspent money. If you want to add your stenographers and bookkeepers and your own salary as expense, add them to your own overhead, don't add them to mine, for I could have done the same work if YOU had been at the North Pole. If I had taken a contract to make that installation you would have paid me the $30,00O, and have just what you have now. How could you have put in your $15, 1000 overhead on contract?"
 I should dislike very much to be compelled to make report to my di- rectors that had $7 ton more over head than other mines around me. But as they are all paying, nobody seems to care. If the directors do kick some day, I suppose the manager will try to reduce the wages of his workers to make up for his inefficient over head.
 While these figures do not pretend to be accurate computations upon the development of any mine, they are in tended to be relatively illustrative of the necessity for competently financ- ing mine before the work is start ed. More mines fail of results from incompetent financing than from all other causes together.
 Getting at Leaks or Expense Losses.
 I have been able to get at the leaks or expense losses very satisfactory by dividing my labor into six classes, viz, producers, developers, service, surface improvements, upkeep and of flee. I do not necessarily divide the men, but carry job number for each and workman taken from the mine to run an errand for the office is charged to the office for that period of time. A carpenter from the timber shed used in the of flee is charged to office for the time so employed. Then if any department shows costs too high, the cutting can