Page:Hine (1912) Letters from an old railway official.djvu/165

 master mechanic is often puzzled which superior to please. His natural inclination will be toward the man higher up, the superintendent of motive power. Again, it is difficult for any three men to agree upon what are technical matters. The chief of staff method is not applicable to this phase of the problem, because units have been mixed. The master mechanic and the superintendent of motive power are not components of the same integral unit. The unit system of organization requires a superintendent of motive power to transact all business of record with the office of the superintendent of the division, a component unit of the general jurisdiction. The senior assistant general manager and the senior assistant superintendent, each, as a chief of staff for the head of his unit, decides promptly in the absence of the head of the unit, what matters are sufficiently technical to demand the attention of a particular official. Clear-cut, definite and prompt action is possible, with proper checks and balances, because units are not mixed. The governor can introduce a balance without throwing the administrative machine out of gear to avoid stripping its cogs. The splendid personal equation of railroad officials