Mr. Gorbachev's central Soviet Government is engaged in a constant tug-of-war with many of the 15 republics for the use of their raw materials and manufactured goods.

The results are complexity, inefficiency and a constant bureaucratic tug-of-war between health care providers and insurers over claims.

"It was a constant tug-of-war between me and Sullivan and Granirer," he said.

This constant tug-of-war is mediated by the controller which offsets the bias current by equal and opposite perturbations of current as the rotor deviates from its center position.

That puts physicians in a constant tug-of-war between the frontiers of science and the limits of human mortality.

This was a constant emotional tug-of-war, and both of us had to work hard to keep our equilibrium.

There has been a polite but constant tug-of-war between the Georgians and the Americans over the proper role of the hosts and that of young women in a professional kitchen.

"It's a constant tug-of-war," said Robert H. Tuttle, the White House personnel chief.

In practice, this means a constant tug-of-war between the spokesman and substantive officials, who all too often are reluctant or slow to provide needed information.

As a result, Britons follow the constant tug-of-war over political control and program content of their four channels as if it were a spectator sport.