It is often necessary for economical reasons to place men who have been paid by the month, upon an hourly basis; and even when by this they average rather more than they formerly received, it usually causes discontent. Any man likes to know how he is coming out at the end of the month regardless of the weather, and it is an additional source of anxiety to him not to know what his pay envelope will contain. When he keeps his own record of the hours worked, he is likely to disagree with the time─keeper, and this can lead to a good deal of disaffection and dissatisfaction. A frequent cause of disaffection on work is due to the habit too often indulged in by time─keepers, of gossiping with the men. The time─keeper and the storekeeper necessarily come into contact with a very large percentage of the men every day; and if the time─keeper particularly be disposed to gossip, he has abundant opportunity to gratify his desire, and can produce a great deal of trouble. For this reason the general character of the time─keeper should be carefully scrutinized before employing him; and he should be cautious, when making his rounds, to confine himself strictly to business. If the men on the job know as much about the work as the General Manager, if they know all the ins and outs and ups and downs of the contract, they necessarily discuss it among themselves, and a great deal of restlessness is produced, which is very difficult to stamp out, because, by the time it has reached a pronounced stage, the men have learned so much about the politics, as it were, of the job, as to interfere with the discipline. If there be dissensions at headquarters, if the parties that control the work are at war, and if the methods and performance of the manager or superintendent be not absolutely satisfactory to every one of the officials, nothing can be worse than to let a suspicion of this matter get around among the men. How a general manager or superintendent can prevent this, if an officer be disposed to talk, is a problem that no attempt will here be made to solve. In reorganization, such a condition is one for which the manager should be continually on the alert, and he is advised to be suspicious of the time─keeper and storekeeper.