The young business man must not feel that because he estimates on the work, secures the contracts, audits the bills and cares for the office work that his whole duty is performed. It is useless to work out problems on paper if they are not put into practice on the installation, and the contractor should see that as much work is done and as little material used as he estimated on.

The only way he can satisfy himself on this subject is to give the work his personal supervision from time to time as it progresses, and to be particular to lay out the work and explain to the workmen just how it is to be done. The success of the contractor is supposed to be due in part to his skill in laying out work, and he must not expect his workmen to be equally skilful, or they would not be working as journeymen plumbers. Further, the contractor has all the time necessary at his command to study out the best way to rough-in the work, while the journeyman feels that he must make a showing each day; consequently, he starts immediately installing the pipes, when a little time taken to plan his work would have been better. At all events, if the contractor expects the results he estimated on he should lay out the work for his men, and should give them detail drawings of complicated parts of the work. Having acquainted his foreman with the way the work is to be done, by visiting the various operations every few days and noting the reports sent in during the other days he can keep track of the progress of the work and assure himself it is moving as rapidly as he estimated. It does not pay to grow careless about superintending the work, for if the workmen find the employer is indifferent about the progress made, naturally they will become indifferent also.