Moses treated near-equals democratically but subordinates with drill-sergeant peremptoriness.

Evidence

But the difference was there. The memos Moses addressed to lower-echelon personnel were different in tone from even the most peremptory of those he sent to the staffers. In a memo addressed to a chart maker, for example, Moses laid out his assignment in the tone of an army drill sergeant, unsoftened by a single “please” or courteous adverb. “In connection with your assignment,” he wrote, “you will do the following…. You will prepare a chart showing the present departments…. You will prepare a chart showing the proposed organization…. You will keep in touch with Mr. Gaus, Mr. Buck and myself…. You will consult other members of the staff before putting the chart in ink.” — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 446

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the class/hierarchy dynamics Caro traces throughout — could connect to the colonial archives and ‘About the official’s daughter’ material where hierarchy is encoded in paperwork tone. — connects to: Moses held subordinates to exacting analytical standards through brutal written criticism. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 439; Moses curbed his bluntness because he recognized real power in someone else — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 427; Moses’s arrogance concerned who should rule rather than what should be done — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 233

Broader Connections

• Moses held subordinates to exacting analytical standards through brutal written criticism. #expands (0.80) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 439
• Moses curbed his bluntness because he recognized real power in someone else #corroborates (0.75) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 427
• Moses’s arrogance concerned who should rule rather than what should be done #qualifies (0.75) — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 233