Judgment or common sense and

Good health.

Plenty of men who possess only three of the above qualities can be hired
at any time for laborers' wages. Add four of these qualities together
and you get a higher priced man. The man combining five of these
qualities begins to be hard to find, and those with six, seven, and
eight are almost impossible to get. Having this fact in mind, let us go
over the duties which a gang boss in charge, say, of lathes or planers,
is called upon to perform, and note the knowledge and qualities which
they call for. First. He must be a good machinist--and this alone calls
for years of special training, and limits the choice to a comparatively
small class of men.

Second. He must be able to read drawings readily, and have sufficient
imagination to see the work in its finished state clearly before him.
This calls for at least a certain amount of brains and education.

Third. He must plan ahead and see that the right jigs, clamps, and
appliances, as well as proper cutting tools, are on hand, and are used
to set the work correctly in the machine and cut the metal at the right
speed and feed. This calls for the ability to concentrate the mind upon
a multitude of small details, and take pains with little, uninteresting
things.

Fourth. He must see that each man keeps his machine clean and in good
order. This calls for the example of a man who is naturally neat and
orderly himself.