DISTRIBUTION FROM TIME-KEEPER'S NOTEBOOK
The time-keeper, having taken his notes over the entire job, sends them to the office so that the time may be posted for each man, and the distribution made.
The time-keeper goes over his notes, and picks out the items that are chargeable to drilling. In gang No. 2, there are 6 drillers at 30 cents per hour; 6 helpers, 4 muckers, 1 man carrying bits, and one fireman's helper, all at 17 cents, and one fireman at 25 cents. From the note at the bottom of the page, he knows (although no one else would) that Lear at 20 cents and No. 278 at 17 cents, were also with this gang. This, with the foreman at $3.50 per day, figures to $29.08. These are the charges that go directly to drilling, being the cost of time of the men actually engaged upon that operation and nothing else. But besides this, there must be apportioned to this cost a certain part of the Superintendent's salary, a portion of the labor on the 6-inch water pipe and the whole water system, a portion of the time of the blacksmith, the watchman, the storekeeper, the time-keeper, clerks, the water boy, and numerous other items.
In exactly the same way, the cost of the operation of the steam shovels is figured. For instance, No. 2 has an engineer at $125, a cranesman at $100, and a fireman at $75, a month, and 6 pitmen at 20 cents per hour, making the total charge of crew $19.27. To this the time-keeper added $5.44 as the cost of digging the ditch that drains the shovel pit. To charge this whole amount against the shovel for that day, is manifestly unjust, as the work of draining through this ditch will continue for many days, always facilitating the work of the shovel. The cost of subsequent days' work is lessened, while the cost of this particular day, as given with the $5.44 charge against it, is entirely too high. The spreading of an item of this kind is an extremely difficult matter, but it must be done. The steam-shovel cost must also have its proportional share of the charge for Superintendent, water system, blacksmith, etc.
The charge for narrow-gauge track is $14.86, being the time of one foreman at 20 cents, and 9 men for 8 hours and one man for 6 hours at 17 cents. The charge against No. 1 dump is $8.40, being the time for one foreman at 20 cents, and 5 men for 8 hours at 17 cents. The cost of blasting is figured exactly the same way, and the 900 pounds of powder used entered in the material account charged against the work in front of shovel No. 1.
The headings for the distribution of steam-shovel work, aside from Drilling and Blasting, would be Shovel crew, Pit crew, Dump crew, Laying shovel track, Train crew, and Laying narrow-gauge track, all of which in the end can be summarized under Loading and Transporting, and the unit-cost of moving a yard of material figured from this summary.