Now, the White Rapids Motor Company was larger and wealthier than the Swift Motor Company.  The position of works manager was a more important and responsible position than that of superintendent.  Nyall was accordingly delighted and had high ambitions as to his career with his new employers.

HOW THE TROUBLE STARTED

“You have a reputation,” said the president and general manager to Nyall, “for efficiency.  Efficiency is what we want in the works here, and if you can put these factories on as efficient a basis as you did the shops of the Swift Motor Company, your future is assured.”

“I can do that all right, Mr. Burton,” Nyall replied confidently, “provided I get the right kind of co-operation from the front office.”

“Call on us for anything you want, Nyall,” returned the president sharply.  He was a proud, positive man.  He loved power.  He had the ability to lead and to rule, and he resented even the slightest imputation that any lack of co-operation on his part might defeat his plans for efficient management.

A few days later Nyall made some changes in the plan of routing the work through the factories.  These changes were rather radical and sweeping and necessitated a considerable initial expense.  Naturally, Burton was not long in hearing about it.  Instantly he summoned his works manager.

“Haven’t you begun your work here in a rather drastic manner?” he inquired.  “Surely you have not studied this situation carefully enough in a few days to justify you in making such sweeping changes in the system which we have built up here after years of patient study and research.  I have given the routing of the work through the factories days and nights of careful study, Nyall, during the years that we have been standardizing it.  I believe that it was just as nearly perfect as it can be just as we had it.”

“Your system was all wrong, and I can prove it to you,” returned Nyall.  “Just wait a minute until I bring you in my charts.”

RUBBING IT IN

Stepping into his office, he secured a number of charts and also several sheets of tabulated figures.  The charts were beautifully executed and in a most admirable manner made graphically clear the sound reasoning upon which Nyall had ordered the changes made.  The tabulated figures proved that his reasoning had been correct.  He was positive, forceful, and insistent in driving home his argument and in compelling his superior to admit their force and cogency.  When it was all admitted and Burton, fighting to the last ditch, had been over-whelmed, Nyall’s unconcealed air of triumph was keenly and painfully exasperating to the defeated man.