The plan of doing work by the day is seldom applied to large undertakings, but is generally confined to small orders for repairs or alterations. When so applied, the day-work plan operates very satisfactorily. An order is received to do certain work for a patron, a plumber is sent to do the work, and the time and materials required are charged up to the owner. The rate of charge in such cases is generally regulated by the master plumbers in the various cities throughout the country, who establish a certain price to be charged per hour for a plumber or fitter and helper, and set a certain percentage to charge for the goods supplied. The rates and percentages so charged, however, are based on jobbing work, and it would be obviously unfair to use the same schedule in charging a patron for completely overhauling the plumbing in his home. In jobbing and repair work there is considerable lost time and wasted materials, besides such small items as candles, red lead, white lead, putty and like articles that cannot very well be charged for, yet in the aggregate they amount to a considerable sum; and, in order to cover such uncharged items, lost time and waste, the rate per day charged for the plumber and the percentage of profit charged for the goods are comparatively high; much higher, in fact, than a plumber would add to his estimate if called upon to bid in open competition for work of any magnitude. If, therefore, a friend or patron, reposing full confidence in your honesty and ability, authorizes you to go ahead with his work without price and without competition, manifestly the honorable thing to do would be to add a percentage of profit for the labor and materials that would be perfectly fair to the customer and that would take no advantage of his friendship or good will. What would be a perfectly fair rate of profit on repair work of less than twenty dollars, might, and no doubt would, be an unreasonable charge or rate on a three hundred dollar installation. The contractor must, above all other things, be fair. The craft has long suffered under the imputation - deserved in some instances, undeserved in others - of being robbers; and if the young business man expects to succeed, he must avoid gaining such a reputation