good system of stenography_.
17. Last year I pursued a course in stenography _which
I enjoyed very much_.
18. The book _that we use in class_ has a brown cover.
19. The only milk _that is fit to drink_ comes from a
clean dairy.
20. Systematic inspection has been carried on _which
has resulted in securing better milk_.
=Rule 9.--A non-restrictive clause should be separated from the rest of
the sentence by commas.=
=Exercise 186=
Punctuate the following:
1. We have an enormous crop of cotton the value of
which is estimated at one billion dollars.
2. "The root of the mail order evil is the idea which
the retail mail order houses have been able somehow to
instill into the minds of the buying public that the
local merchants ask too much for their goods."
3. Mr. Hilton who was sales manager at that time
induced the company to adopt this system.
4. The lecture will be delivered by Mr. Brenton who is
the head of the advertising department of Whitlock &
Co.
5. Our dog whose fur was wet by his plunge into the
lake came running toward us.
6. Genevieve who had always been the leader in the
games was not present.
7. A late product of the brain of George Westinghouse
who was the inventor of the air brake and numerous
electrical devices is an air spring for automobiles.
This little article has been patented by Mr.
Westinghouse who has the sole ownership. The spring
which has already proved popular with automobile
owners fits over the end of the regular spring and
"makes good roads out of bad ones."
8. Careful selection of investments upon which the
safety of your money depends is often difficult.
Careful watching of investments which is fully as
essential is much harder. Let us tell you about our
Investment Service which does this watching for you
and keeps you fully protected.
9. As a direct result of the conference between the
railroad and steamship interests of the South-Atlantic
and Gulf cotton ports which was held recently at Hot
Springs Va. an organization which will be known as the
South Atlantic and Steamship Cotton Inspection Bureau
has been created. The bureau will have a chief
inspector who will supervise the conduct of its
business at all ports and will arrange for the
employment of the inspectors. According to the rules
and regulations copies of which have been received by
the cotton agencies and the export departments of the
various New Orleans firms any bale that shows external
damage from water mud bad bagging or other causes must
be condemned and its condition noted and reported.
10. How would you like to wear a hat that has been
handed down through six generations in each of which
it was a treasured possession? The Italian peasants
who love finery are proud to do that very thing. Very
few of the poorer people who live in Italy own a hat.
When you see a beautifully woven Leghorn hat which is
also very dirty on the head of a little peasant child
you may be pretty sure that she is celebrating her
birthday by wearing the family heirloom. These hats
which are sometimes willed to a favorite relative and
which in some instances go the round of the family are
considered almost priceless. It is a frequent sight
along the dusty roads outside the little towns to see
untidy old women who are sauntering along twisting
twine as they go all vanity under the flopping brim of
an antiquated hat. This is almost the only souvenir
that tourists' money cannot buy.--_The Chicago
Tribune._
=Exercise 187--Explanatory Expressions=
E. When the subordinate element that comes at or near the close of the
sentence gives an _additional_ idea, following the more or less complete
idea in the rest of the sentence, it should be set off by a comma; as,
A signature clerk will easily recognize any alteration
in a signature, _although thousands of checks pass
through his hands daily_.
He gave a statement of the affairs of the company,
_explaining that he wished to make a loan_.
=Rule 10.--A terminal adverbial clause or participial phrase giving an
additional idea should be set off from the rest of the sentence by a
comma.=
Punctuate the following:
1. Popular-priced goods are the safest for a retail
stock however you consider the subject.
2. A sheriff seldom finds large quantities of
popular-priced goods on hand when he comes to take
possession of any retail store although he usually
finds expensive articles.
3. They bring higher prices relatively than the
heavier things even when they are disposed of under
forced sale.
4. The catalogue houses have little fear for
five-and-ten-cent stores because sixty-eight per cent
of their business is in big goods such as furniture
vehicles sewing-machines clothing and relatively
expensive things. They do not wish to increase the
sale of popular-priced articles although their
catalogue may be full of them because it costs them
more to pack one hammer or trowel than the profits can
stand.
5. Steel conditions remain about as they have been for
several weeks excepting that the price of rails has
been advancing for the last few days.
6. Steel men are of the opinion that to increase
prices too rapidly would spoil a good market because
most of the mills are so filled up with orders that
they would not be able to take advantage of increased
quotations for some time to come.
7. The steel business for the last three months has
been very encouraging as it shows that railroads are
dropping their policy of waiting until the last minute
to buy. It will probably mean more normal operation of
mills instead of spasmodic workings as has been the
case for the last few years.
8. Boraxated soap chips will benefit your tableware
and your hands making dishwashing a pleasure instead
of a task.
9. The man who works to the limit of his physical
powers is as foolish as the manufacturer who
immediately invests all his profits in his business
neglecting to have a reserve fund for unexpected
demands.
10. A wide-awake manager tries plan after plan testing
and re-testing them until he can apply them to his
company's needs.
Write four sentences illustrating Rule 10.
=Exercise 188=
Punctuate the following letters, supplying a heading and an introduction
for each:
1
Dear Madam:
We wish to acknowledge your letter of recent date
assuring you that we thank you for the opportunity you
have given us of opening a monthly charge account in
your name. We shall spare no effort to make every
transaction as satisfactory as possible hoping thus to
merit a liberal share of your patronage.
Our bills are rendered on the first of each month
being payable between that date and the fifteenth.
Yours very truly,
2
Dear Mr. Warner:
In reply to your inquiry I am sending the following
information assuring you that I am glad to be of
service to you.
The Lancaster Company has apparently abandoned its
plan of erecting a new building this year difficulties
having arisen it is said in their securing a suitable
location. About two years ago the firm purchased a
site on the corner of Harrison and Second streets but
they sold it again last year taking advantage of a
decided rise in real estate values. It is understood
we believe that the company will build in the near
future even now having two or three possible sites
under consideration.
Sincerely yours,
3
Dear Sir:
We offer you the benefits and privileges of our
Special Charge Account whereby purchases may be paid
for in weekly or monthly installments. You will find
this a most convenient arrangement because it permits
you to have a charge account without the usual
hardship of payment at a fixed time. Moreover a
Special Charge Account costs you nothing since our
prices are the same whether you pay cash or have
purchases charged. Please fill out the enclosed
application blank mailing it to us to-day.
You will no doubt enjoy reading the enclosed booklet
as it gives much interesting information on fashion
tendencies. The illustrations too are unusually
attractive although they hardly do justice to the
beautiful garments that we sell.
Yours truly,
=Exercise 189=
Study the punctuation in the following selections from _The Wall Street
Journal_; then write them from dictation:
1
TROUBLE IN INTRODUCING STEEL
"Strange as it now seems," said one of Carnegie's
"young men," now the vice-president of a large and
prosperous corporation in New York, "in the early days
of the steel industry we had the greatest difficulty
in the world in weaning the old manufacturers away
from the use of wrought iron, though they admitted the
superiority of steel. They would look at it, test it,
and agree that it seemed to possess all the desirable
qualities claimed for it, but it was more or less
untried by time, and they preferred to stick to the
old wrought iron, with which they were familiar.
"I remember one old chap with whom I had wrestled
long, but in vain, coming into my office and picking
up a long, soft steel rivet, which had been bent
double and hammered flat.
"'How many did you break in making this?' he asked,
picking it up and examining it curiously.
"'That's the first one we hammered over, and, what is
more to the point, we can do it with all steel of that
type,' I replied.
"The polite incredulity in his face stirred my
professional pride, and I said, 'If I let you go to
the mills, pick out a dozen of those rivets just as
they come from the rolls, and hammer them with your
own hands, will you use that steel hereafter, if it
comes up to the test?'
"He said he would, and the rest was easy, for it is
much easier not to break than to break that kind of
steel. Before long the old man came back with
perspiration dripping from the end of his nose but
with the light of conviction shining in his eye. The
firm had a new customer."
2
CONSERVATION
Leslie M. Shaw, former Secretary of the Treasury, was
in New York, attending a meeting of a board of which
he is a member. Something was said about the
present-day discussion of money power, and Shaw said
that it reminded him of a speech he had made in
Seattle in the campaign of 1896.
"I was speaking to a filled hall and had almost
finished," said Shaw, "when a long-whiskered man arose
about the middle of the hall and held up his hand,
saying he wanted to ask a question.
"'Go ahead,' I said.
"'How, then, Mr. Speaker, do you explain the unequal
distribution of wealth?' was his question.
"When I answered him with, 'In the same way that I
explain the unequal distribution of whiskers,' bedlam
broke loose.
"As soon as I could get quiet restored, I said: 'Now
don't think I returned the answer I did to make fun of
your whiskers. You will observe that I have no
whiskers, as I dissipate them by shaving them off.
Nature gives me abundance of whiskers, and, if I
conserved them as you do, I also should be abundantly
supplied. Now, it is the same way with money. The man
who conserves his money has more than his share, as
with whiskers; while the man who dissipates his money
is without his allotment.'"
=Exercise 190--The Semicolon (;)=
The semicolon is used between the propositions of a compound sentence
when no coördinate conjunction is used. (See Exercise 176, 2.)
It is not work that kills men; it is worry.
It is important not to overdo this use of the semicolon. Do
not use it unless the two principal clauses of the sentence
taken together easily form one idea.
Especial care must be taken not to confuse coördinate conjunctions and
conjunctive adverbs. The following are conjunctive adverbs: _then_,
_therefore_, _consequently_, _moreover_, _however_, _so_, _also_,
_besides_, _thus_, _still_, _otherwise_, _accordingly_. When they are
used to join principal clauses, they should be preceded by a coördinate
conjunction or a semicolon; as,
Fruit was plentiful, and therefore the price was low.
Fruit was plentiful; therefore the price was low.
When there is a series of phrases or clauses, each of which is long and
contains commas within itself, the sentence becomes clearer if the
members of the series are separated by semicolons instead of by commas;
as,
You know how prolific the American mind has been in
invention; how much civilization has been advanced by
the steamboat, the cotton-gin, the sewing-machine, the
reaping-machine, the typewriter, the electric light,
the telephone, the phonograph.
Write the following from dictation:
1
No man can deny that the lines of endeavor have more
and more narrowed and stiffened; no one who knows
anything about the development of industry in this
country can fail to have observed that the larger
kinds of credit are more and more difficult to obtain,
unless you obtain them upon the terms of uniting your
efforts with those who already control the industries
of the country; and nobody can fail to observe that
any man who tries to set himself up in competition
with any process of manufacture which has been taken
under the control of large combinations of capital
will presently find himself either squeezed out or
obliged to sell and allow himself to be
absorbed.--Woodrow Wilson: _The New Freedom._
2
If the total amount of savings deposited in the
savings banks were equally divided among the
population of the country, the amount apportioned to
each person in 1820 would have been twelve cents; in
1830, fifty-four cents; in 1840, eighty-two cents; in
1850, $1.87; in 1860, $4.75; in 1870, $14.26; in 1880,
$16.33; in 1890, $24.75; in 1900, $31.78; in 1910,
$45.05, and it is steadily increasing. Remember the
fact that the population had increased from 10,000,000
in 1820 to over 90,000,000 in 1910; the "rainy day"
money, therefore, assumes gigantic proportions.
3
In Germany, says _The Scientific American_, wood is
too expensive to be burned, and it is made into
artificial silk worth two dollars a pound and bristles
worth four dollars a pound; into paper, yarn, twine,
carpet, canvas, and cloth. Parquet flooring is made
from sawdust; the materials may be bought by the pound
and then mixed, so that the householder can lay his
own hardwood floors according to his individual taste
and ingenuity.
4
The country gentlemen and country clergymen had fully
expected that the policy of these ministers would be
directly opposed to that which had been almost
constantly followed by William; that the landed
interest would be favored at the expense of trade;
that no addition would be made to the funded debt;
that the privileges conceded to Dissenters by the late
king would be curtailed, if not withdrawn; that the
war with France, if there must be such a war, would,
on our part, be almost entirely naval; and that the
government would avoid close connections with foreign
powers and, above all, with Holland.--_Macaulay._
=Exercise 191--The Colon (:)=
The colon is always used to indicate that something of importance
follows, usually an enumeration or a list of some kind, or a quotation
of several sentences or paragraphs; as,
1. Three things are necessary: intelligence,
perseverance, and tact.
2. The buffalo supplies them with almost all the
necessities of life: with habitation, food, and
clothing; with strings for their bows; with thread,
cordage, and trail-ropes for their horses; with
coverings for their saddles; and with the means of
purchasing all that they desire from traders.
3. Quoting from the current number of the _----
Magazine_, he read: (four paragraphs).
Punctuate:
1. For the first fifty miles we had companions with us
Troche a little trapper and Rouville a nondescript in
the employ of the fur company.
2. About a week previous four men had arrived from
beyond the mountains Sublette Reddick and two others.
3. Reynal was gazing intently he began to speak at
last "Many a time when I was with the Indians I have
been hunting gold all through the Black Hills there's
a plenty of it here you may be certain of that I have
dreamed about it fifty times" etc.
4. Objects familiar from childhood surrounded me crags
and rocks a black and sullen brook that gurgled with a
hollow voice among the crevices a wood of mossy
distorted trees.
=Exercise 192=
The colon is used after _thus_, _as follows_, _the following_, or
similar expressions; as,
Name the adverbs in the following: He left hurriedly
rather early in the morning.
The colon is not used after _namely_, _as_, _that is_, _for example, for
instance_, and the like. Such expressions are preceded by the semicolon
and followed by the comma.
Punctuate the following:
1. The Christmas presents that he wants are the
following a toy train a toy automobile a toy circus
and a printing press.
2. Do the exercise thus first lunge to the left second
raise the arms forward and third wind the wand.
3. We are offering for sale three residences of the
size that you wish namely 438 Bishop Ave 1614
Winchester St and 2015 Logan Square.
4. The following are the two that we liked best 438
Bishop Ave and 2015 Logan Square.
5. One use of the comma is to set off an appositive
for example Mr Kearne the buyer has left the city.
6. The comma is used to set off an independent adverb
as We have not yet decided however when we shall
leave.
7. The plan is this I'll do the work and you pay for
the materials.
8. The officers are as follows Edward Lawrence for
President John Kelly for Secretary and Fred Morrison
for Treasurer.
=Exercise 193--The Dash(--)=
The dash is used to set off parenthetical expressions that have very
little connection with the rest of the sentence; as,
In New York the Harlem River tunnel was comparatively
a simple one, but the first East River tunnels--the
two subway tubes from the Battery to
Brooklyn--presented all the difficulties known to
subaqueous construction.
These tunnels extend on under the great Pennsylvania
terminal building--another of the same decade's
accomplishments--to East Thirty-fourth Street.
The dash is also used to indicate a sudden change or break in the
thought; as,
1. When the millennium comes--if it ever does--all of
our problems will be solved.
2. "I believe--" began the lawyer.
"Believe!" interrupted his client. "I don't want you
to believe. I want you to know."
The dash is used before a word that summarizes the preceding part of the
sentence; as,
He had robbed himself of the most precious thing a man
can have in business--his friends.
After a comma the dash has the effect of lengthening the separation; as,
One thing the Puritans desired,--freedom to worship
God.
=Exercise 194--Parenthesis Marks ()=
Parenthesis marks are used to enclose explanatory expressions that are
not an essential part of the sentence; as,
The United States Department of Agriculture estimates
that the receipts of cattle at the six leading markets
(Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, South Omaha, St.
Joseph, and Sioux City) from January 1 to August 1 of
this year are 15 per cent less than they were in the
corresponding period of last year.
_Wrong._--Do not use parenthesis marks to cancel a word or a passage. A
line should be drawn through a word that is wrong.
Bring to class five sentences that illustrate the correct use of
parenthesis marks.
=Exercise 195--The Hyphen (-)=
The hyphen is used when a word has been divided. It is always used at
the end of the line and never at the beginning.
When several short words are taken together to form one word, they are
hyphenated; as,
a one-hundred-pound bag of coffee
As a rule, when two words taken together are each accented, they must be
written with the hyphen. When only one is accented, no hyphen is used;
as,
follow-up, first-class, self-reliant, railroad,
steamship
As a rule, nouns which are compounded of a participle and a noun use the
hyphen; as,
talking-machine, driving-wheel
When fractions are written out, the hyphen is used; as,
one-third, three-fifths
In other numerals expressing a compound number the hyphen is also used;
as,
twenty-one, sixty-six
=Exercise 196=
Punctuate the following letters, supplying a heading and an introduction
for each:
1
Gentlemen:
We are glad to tell you that contrary to the fears
expressed in your last letter there are no present
indications of sudden changes at least no indications
of drops in prices. With the exception of two fruits
and one vegetable grapes cantaloupes and cauliflower
all commodities sold on the wholesale fruit and
produce markets here were quoted yesterday at the
prices announced last Friday.
The change in grape prices affected the Red Peru
variety in which the supply has almost stopped the
price being raised from $1.05 to $1.25 a box. If one
may trust the forecast of local merchants the price
will probably remain at this higher point until the
supply is exhausted. Cantaloupes seem to be a trifle
scarce especially the pineapple variety the price of
which was raised from $1.10 to $1.30 a crate.
Cauliflower was raised to $1.35 a dozen heads the
staple price probably for the rest of the season.
Excepting these items we shall be glad to receive any
orders at Friday's quotations.
Yours truly,
2
Gentlemen:
Your order of the 20th instant forwarded from our
Trenton office came this morning. We regret to say
however that we do not carry the Sanito brand of
canned goods as we do not consider the grade
first-class. If the Monsoon brand which is generally
acknowledged to be excellent will serve your purpose
we can fill your order at once.
We are now in a position to supply the trade with Mrs.
Keller's coffee of which we have fortunately secured
several thousand packages at a very low price. If you
wish any at $2.50 per dozen packages less than half
the retail price you will notice let us hear from you
at once.
Yours truly,
3
Dear Sir:
We acknowledge your letter of October 5 but we regret
that as yet we have no information in regard to the
excess charge of $1.02 which you were obliged to pay
on the express shipment of one piece 27 yds. of plaid
silk chiffon. We have taken up the matter with the
mill however and as soon as we receive their report we
shall write you again.
Asking your indulgence meanwhile we are
Yours truly,
FOOTNOTE:
[4] Supply heading and introduction (see page 232).
CHAPTER XIII
THE CLEAR SENTENCE
BUSINESS men like to talk of brevity. They tell you that a talk or a
letter must be brief. What they really mean is that the talk or the
letter must be concise; that it must state the business clearly in the
fewest possible words. Don't omit any essential fact when you write, but
don't repeat. If you can express an idea in ten words, don't use twenty.
In a later exercise we shall meet the sentence, _The size of the crops
is always important, and it is especially so to the farmer, and this is
because he has to live by the crops._ The writer of that sentence was
very careless. He had a good idea and thought that, if he kept repeating
it, he would make it stronger. Just the reverse is true. The sentence
may be expressed in a very few words: _The size of the crop is vitally
important to the farmer._
If you wish to secure conciseness of expression, be especially careful
to avoid joining or completing thoughts by these expressions: _and_,
_so_, _why_, _that is why_, _this is the reason_, _and everything_.
In this chapter we shall consider some of the larger faults that should
be avoided in sentences.
=Exercise 197--Unity of the Sentence=
Give the definition of a sentence.
How many thoughts may one sentence express?
What is likely to happen when two thoughts are joined by _and_? What,
then, is the danger in using the compound sentence?
The compound sentence is good to use to express certain ideas,
especially contrast; as,
It is not work that kills men; it is worry.
It is not the revolution that destroys the machinery,
but the friction [but it is the friction].
The sentences which most clearly and easily give us one thought are the
simple and the complex sentences.
Compare the following sentences. Which of them leave _one_ idea in your
mind?
The tongue is a sharp-edged tool.
A sharp tongue is the only edged tool that grows
keener with constant use.
A sharp tongue is like an edged tool, and it grows
keener with constant use.
=Exercise 198=
The following is wordy. Rewrite it, condensing as much as possible. Use
simple and complex sentences rather than compound, expressing in each
only one thought.
In the early summer the corn crop frequently seems to
be very poor, and so reports begin to circulate that
corn will be high in the autumn, but when the autumn
really comes, Wall Street, that great center of
business life, begins to see that the reports have
been greatly exaggerated and that crops really will be
very good, and so business begins to pick up. The size
of the crop largely settles the volume of the next
season's business, because so great a part of the
world's business activity is made up of buying and
selling the actual potatoes and corn and wheat and
cattle or the products made from these, and when the
crop is poor there are a great many people concerned,
because they will be poor just as the crops are poor,
and this applies to the farmer as well as to the
dealer.
The size of the crops is always important, and is
especially so to the farmer, and this is because he
has to live by the crops. A man may be living in the
city and working for a salary and begin to see that
his work is not supporting him, and if he is an
ambitious man, he will change his occupation. This the
farmer cannot do because he has made an enormous
investment; in the first place, he has invested in
his land, and then in his seed and farm implements,
and this investment often means all the available
money the farmer has, and often it means a mortgage on
his farm. He puts the mortgage on his farm in hope of
getting a good crop, and when his hope is not
realized, he is in trouble, because he may lose his
whole farm if he cannot pay the installments of
interest due on his mortgage; but then, on the other
hand, if we consider the other side of the question,
when the crop is large, the situation is altogether
different. Even if the farmer has put a mortgage on
his farm, he gets enough money from his produce to pay
the debt of that mortgage, and he need not worry how
he is to live during the next winter.
The town merchants depend on a good crop, because, if
the farmer has not a good return from his fields, he
will have almost no ready money, and so he cannot buy
much clothing or household furnishings. In Iowa, for
instance, there is a little town in the center of a
corn-raising community, and it is here that the
farmers congregate to do their buying, and in this
town there is quite a large department store, and it
is run by a woman. She does most of her buying in the
autumn and she prefers to do it personally, and so she
likes to make a trip to New York for the purpose, but
she never sets out until she knows that the corn crop
is good. And the reason for this is that she knows
that it will cost her hundreds of dollars to make the
trip East, to stay at a good hotel, and to spend the
requisite length of time choosing her purchases at the
different wholesale houses, and she knows that if
there is no corn crop she will sell very few coats and
hats and lace curtains, and it will never pay her to
run up her expenses into the hundreds of dollars, but
she will buy as best she can from the drummers, and
buy only a little, and thus the size of the crop
determines how much the farmer can buy, and,
therefore, how much the wholesale and retail dealers
can sell.
=Exercise 199--Subordination in the Sentence=
Sentences containing compound predicates may be made more direct in
thought if one of the verbs is changed to a participle or an infinitive,
because the predicate will then express only one action; as,
1. The carpenter _threw_ down his hammer _and walked_
out of the shop.
2. _Throwing_ down his hammer, the carpenter walked
out of the shop.
3. I _went_ downtown _and applied_ for the position.
4. I went downtown _to apply_ for the position.
Change the following sentences so that one action is denoted by the
predicate of each:
1. A teamster drove out of the alley east of the
theater and swung his horses directly in front of a
Madison street car.
2. The tongue struck the front of the car and bored a
hole in the fuse box.
3. The fire spread and burned the roof of the car.
4. The half dozen passengers were badly frightened and
got out quickly.
5. Several people ran and turned in a fire alarm.
6. In a few minutes the fire engines arrived and began
to fight the flames.
7. Crowds came from all directions and silently
watched the flames.
8. The people poured out of the theater and cheered
the firemen.
9. The half dozen passengers soon recovered and stood
on the curbstone in the crowd.
10. The firemen did their work quickly and departed
amid the cheers of the crowd.
=Exercise 200--Combination of Short Sentences=
Sometimes short sentences are bad because two or three of them are
needed to express one complete thought. If that is the case, they should
be combined, the most important detail being put into the principal
clause, and the other details into modifiers, as in the preceding
exercise.
Make use of--
1. Adjectives.
2. Adverbs.
3. Participial phrases.
4. Infinitives.
5. Relative pronouns.
6. Subordinate conjunctions.
Below, the first and second sentences together make one thought, which
is expressed in the third.
John is a good reporter.
That is why he earns a good salary.
Because John is a good reporter, he earns a good salary.
Combine the sentences of each group below into a single sentence, either
simple or complex, omitting as many words as possible but no ideas:
1. We stayed at home for two reasons: first of all, we
thought Baltimore might be unpleasantly warm. Then,
the other reason was that we thought we ought to
economize.
2. In China the wedding takes place at the
bridegroom's house. This has been decorated with
strips of bright red paper, and they have the word
"Hsi" on them. This means "Live in happiness."
3. First in the procession come the standard bearers.
They are hired for the occasion. These men have red
coats put on over their dirty clothes. The men they
hire are usually beggars.
4. Six years ago I went sailing on Lake George with my
father. I was ten years old at that time. Two other
men went along with us. The boat that we went in
belonged to my father and these men.
5. The wind was high and it would come in gusts. This
made it hard to sail. It shifted the sails so quickly
that it would throw the boat over on one side.
6. Several times the boat leaned over at an angle of
forty degrees. This let the water come in on that
side. When this happened, we all had to jump to the
other side. We did this so that the boat would right
itself.
7. The heart is the most important organ in the body.
This is because if the heart stops beating, you cannot
live. Besides, all the other organs are connected with
it. It is something like the main spring in a watch.
8. This is a good machine. And since that's the case,
I don't see why it is that it doesn't work as it
should.
9. In every business there are many bad debts. Some
can be collected and others cannot be. This is because
the men who made them were given credit, and they
didn't have any money.
10. The night was dark, and there were no stars. The
fishermen stood on the shore, and they gazed at the
wild sea. A storm had arisen, and they could not go
out in their boats.
=Exercise 201=
As in the preceding exercise, rewrite the following, omitting as many
words as possible, but no ideas. Use shorter, simpler expressions
wherever possible.
1
Uncle Sam now has an aerial navy, but it's a small
one, and foundations of it were recently laid. This
was done when contracts were signed for the delivery
of three aeroplanes and they are the first aeroplanes
that the United States bought. These aeroplanes are of
the latest development. They are all capable of rising
from land or water. They are able also to land on
water or on the deck of a ship, and they can carry at
least one passenger and are equipped with wireless
outfits. Two of them are Curtis machines and the third
is a Wright, and they ranged in price from $2,700 to
$5,500.
2
The United States produces more steel than any two
European countries, and it is continuing to produce
more. Moreover, it has the productive capacity to
produce more than any other three or four countries
put together. This capacity is being still further
increased. At the present time, there is one very
important steel company. It is very large, and seems
to wish to monopolize the entire iron and steel
industry. Even at this time it owns half the principal
plants that are now producing steel and iron, and
controls half the trade of the entire steel and iron
industry, and when such a thing happens, it is a
matter of international concern.
3
Condense the following into a single sentence, either simple or complex:
The iron and steel industry is very important, and it
includes a great deal. First, the ore has to be mined,
and then the work includes everything up to making the
finest wire for musical instruments. Or, to put it
another way, you can say from smelting the ore to
building a battle ship. This is a very interesting
occupation and, as said before, very important. There
is hardly anything more interesting or important
except agriculture.
=Exercise 202--Dangling Expressions=
Sometimes a sentence is not clear because it contains a participle which
does not modify anything in the sentence. A participle is part _verb_
and part _adjective_. As a verb, it expresses the idea of the verb from
which it is derived. As an adjective, it must modify a noun or a
pronoun. The important point is that this noun or pronoun must be
expressed in the sentence and not lie in the mind of the writer, as it
does in the following:
Riding from Saugatuck to Holland last year, the
country showed unmistakable signs of lack of rain.
Here the writer means, _We saw that the country_, etc., but he says that
the country rode from Saugatuck to Holland.
Again, an expression may be used which is really an incomplete clause.
Do not use such a clause, unless the understood subject is the same as
the subject expressed in the independent proposition.
_Wrong_: When almost exhausted, the camp was reached.
_Right_: When almost exhausted, we reached the camp.
Recast the following sentences, correcting the dangling expressions:
1. You should not stop studying your lessons until
thoroughly prepared.
2. In talking to the postman yesterday, he said that
his route had been changed.
3. Owing two months' rent, the foreman laid me off.
4. Before becoming a physician, the law sets a very
severe examination.
5. Having eaten our luncheon very hastily, the
typewriters were soon clicking merrily again.
6. The difficulty could easily be settled, going about
it in the right way.
7. Although determined to get my money, the task was
harder than I had expected.
8. Having installed an adding machine, our office work
could be done in half the time.
9. On entering the car, the first thing that caught my
attention was the sign at the end.
10. Silk should be washed with warm water and a mild
soap, being careful not to rub it.
11. The house was redecorated, making it clean and
homelike.
12. The book should be carefully studied, reviewing
each chapter after it is read.
13. Going to work this morning, an accident happened.
14. Having entered college, Mr. Brown watched his
son's progress with pride.
15. Soon after abandoning the boat, it sank.
16. They say he will be lame, caused by a fall on the
ice while skating.
17. While trying to break the half mile record, his
back was injured.
18. Many people object to football, because in
tackling the boys' hearts are weakened.
19. He did not wish to take up an extra study, thus
lessening his chance of being eligible for athletics.
20. While a child, my father often told me stories of
Indian days.
21. Absorbed all day in superintending his work, in
the evening the newspaper brought him political news
enough to fill the hours between dinner and bed-time.
22. Discussing the happenings in the ward with an old
crony, his daughter would often sit near him
listening.
23. He is failing in his work, caused by his laziness.
24. Although a good tonic, I did not gain weight while
taking it.
25. In the new telephone, upon lifting the receiver, a
ticking sound is heard.
26. Leaving the window open when she went to lunch, of
course the papers were disarranged on her return.
27. Dictionaries must be returned to the desk after
using.
=Exercise 203--Pronouns with Uncertain Antecedents=
Sometimes the meaning of a sentence is not clear because the pronouns
have uncertain antecedents.
1. Sometimes a pronoun may refer to either of two antecedents; as,
_Wrong_: He gave his brother John the umbrella and then _he_ left.
_Right_: He gave the umbrella to his brother John, who then left.
2. Sometimes the sentence must be entirely recast and a direct quotation
used before the pronouns can be made clear; as,
_Wrong_: Tom told his father that _his_ suit case was lost.
_Right_: _a._ Tom said, "Father, your suit case is lost."
_b._ Tom said, "Father, my suit case is lost."
3. Sometimes the pronoun refers to a word that has not been expressed or
to an _idea_. In that case, the antecedent must be supplied; as,
_Wrong_: If any one wishes to contribute to the cause, let him send
_it_ in the enclosed envelope.
_Right_: If any one wishes to contribute to the cause, let him send
_his contribution_ in the enclosed envelope.
_Wrong_: I wouldn't wear mittens. Nobody does _that_ nowadays.
_Right_: I wouldn't wear mittens. Nobody wears _them_ nowadays.
4. A sentence containing an indefinite _they_ or _it_ is corrected thus:
_Wrong_: Don't _they_ have street cars where you live?
_Right_: Are there _no_ street cars where you live?
Recast the following:
1. She asked her mother if she could go, and she said
she thought she ought to stay at home.
2. John told James he was sure he did not know the
office that he meant.
3. George told his father his watch had stopped.
4. The manager asked the clerk to bring his book.
5. A light touch is important in a typewriter, because
it makes it easy to write upon it.
6. The size of the crops is important to the farmers,
because they have to live by them.
7. They decided to reorganize the company, which is
always a difficult task.
8. They went into the hands of a receiver, which is an
indication that the affairs of the company had been
poorly managed.
9. There is a boat on the lake over which there is a
pleasant view, in which there is a club for working
girls.
10. He stole some money which brought about an
investigation.
11. She asked her aunt how old she was.
12. John is famous for telling anecdotes, and he got
it by remembering every story he reads.
13. The sleighing party last night was a success,
which is not always the case.
14. He told a lie, which is a bad thing to do.
15. They engaged a gardener, which doubled their
monthly expenses.
16. Why don't you get some of that new fur trimming
for your blue dress?
17. They had an accident on the street car this
morning.
18. In the newspaper it said that the lecture would
begin at 8:15.
19. They don't find iron in Illinois, do they?
20. Do they have the original paintings in our art
gallery?
21. It says "Closed" on that door.
22. It doesn't mention a bank draft in this book.
23. They have a great many foreigners in New York
City.
24. John accompanied his brother to the city where he
bought a typewriter.
25. I had expected to take the 9:30 train, but I
couldn't do it.
26. Going up to the horse he put a lump of sugar into
his mouth.
27. In letter writing one should always be exact and
arrange them in the customary form.
28. Those hooks are not rust-proof because the back of
my dress is stained with it.
29. The telephone is a great convenience to all. They
are now used in almost every house.
30. As we came down the road, it sounded like a train,
which, as we approached, grew louder and louder.
=Exercise 204--Misplaced Modifiers=
Sometimes a sentence is not clear because a modifier does not stand
close to the word it modifies.
_Wrong_: I can't _even_ do the first problem.
_Right_: I can't do _even_ the first problem.
Change the order of words in the following sentences, placing each
modifier as closely as possible to the word which it modifies. Some of
the sentences are incorrect because they contain split infinitives. (See
Exercise 92.)
1. I only waited for him about ten minutes.
2. She stood at the window, trying to close it with a
troubled face.
3. The city is supplied with water from cold springs
which flow nearly a hundred million gallons of the
purest liquid that ever burst from the earth, daily.
4. The famous S. F. ice cream is made in this factory
containing fifty per cent pure cream.
5. A man should not be allowed to cast a vote, who
cannot read and write.
6. After taking the medicine for a short time, the
appetite is improved, and a desire is created for
food, that has not existed before.
7. In real value, this magazine towers head and
shoulders over all others to the woman who is in
charge of her home.
8. There are pages of fashion news and embroidery
hints and news articles of the day that will appeal to
the husband and father as the others do to the wife
and daughter as well as departments for the children.
9. The number of the sewing machine is 37A with a drop
head.
10. They neither are gentle nor well-mannered.
11. I only heard about the trouble yesterday.
12. He left the same station at which, thirty years
before, he had arrived very humbly, in his own special
car.
13. He urged his brother to buy a home in his letter.
14. The lighting system has been developed to a really
remarkable degree of perfection for the trains.
15. The dynamo is so arranged that when the train is
standing still or only traveling twenty miles an hour,
the lamps are lighted from a storage battery.
16. The batteries must be large enough during the run
to carry the entire lighting load.
17. Please send me 6 Dining Tables No. 46 that extend
to ten feet as soon as possible.
18. Large trees grow on each side of the house which
is a rambling affair shutting out the light.
19. They decided to give a bonus to the one doing the
best work, amounting to fifty dollars.
20. We had almost got to the corner before we saw the
fire.
21. I don't ever remember having seen so big a fire.
22. Remember to thoroughly oil the machine.
23. Do you need to in any way alter the machine?
24. If we expect to completely fill the order to-day,
we need more help.
=Exercise 205--Omission of Necessary Words=
Sometimes a sentence is not clear because a word has been omitted that
is necessary to the sense; as,
_Wrong_: The two officers that they elected are the president and
secretary.
_Right_: The two officers that they elected are the president and _the_
secretary.
_Wrong_: His writing is as good or better than yours.
_Right_: His writing is as good _as_ or better than yours.
_Wrong_: The library is where we go to read.
_Right_: The library is _the place_ where we go to read.
State the difference between the following typewriter ribbons:
1. A red and blue and black ribbon.
2. A red and a blue and black ribbon.
3. A red and blue and a black ribbon.
4. A red and a blue and a black ribbon.
Supply the omitted part in each of the following:
1. I always have and I'm sure I always shall be
considerate of others' feelings.
2. They have a stenographer and bookkeeper, who are
kept busy all day.
3. I believe he has already or will soon begin the
work.
4. The cushions of the rocker are much softer than the
armchair.
5. The arrangement of your flat is much more
convenient than our house.
6. The number of shelves in your sideboard is just the
same as our china closet.
7. I think the articles you ordered will arrive as
soon or sooner than you expect.
8. She is as tall or taller than you.
9. When your message arrived, I had already or at
least had decided to begin cutting the goods.
10. It may not be better but it is fully as good as
the other article.
11. I think you cook fully as well if not better than
your sister.
12. His poems hold a place in our hearts second only
to the Bible.
13. Your idea is as good if not better than mine.
14. We decided to make the change both for the sake of
health and economy.
15. You will find the armchair fully as comfortable,
if not more so, than the rocker.
16. The river is where we had the most fun.
17. I know you better than Mary.
18. She went to the park but I didn't care to.
19. We didn't object to the scheme as much as you.
20. A conservatory is where there are all kinds of
flowers.
=Exercise 206--Shift in Construction=
Sometimes the meaning of the sentence is obscure because there has been
a shift in construction. Do not change subject, person, tense, or any
grammatical form without a good reason. Remember that _and_ is a
coördinate conjunction. If there is an adjective before _and_, there
must be an adjective after it. If a clause precedes, a clause must
follow. In other words, _and_ joins two members of exactly the same
structure. _And_ may not join one word and a phrase, nor may it join a
prepositional and a participial phrase. Both members must be alike. In
the following extract, parallel constructions are used correctly. Be
able to tell what kinds of elements are used and how they are parallel.
To eat your cake and keep it too; to wear a gown with
the air of originality and distinction, and keep a
full purse; to have your house display taste and
refinement, and be praised as an economical housewife;
to dress your children daintily, and save money for
their education--use ABC transfer patterns. By their
aid you can make an inexpensive waist look like a
French blouse, have table linen of unrivaled elegance,
and dress your babies in the most approved style.
These patterns cost,--some ten, some fifteen cents.
They cover the entire field of dress,--waists, tunics,
panels, infants' clothes, underwear, men's apparel,
and neckwear; and of household articles,--towels,
table-linen, and pillow tops.
Recast the following sentences, correcting the shift of construction in
each:
1. In the large department stores every clerk is to
report on her way to lunch and coming back.
2. When one hears a cry of "Fire," your first thought
is to run.
3. He seemed fond of his work and to have skill in
doing it quickly.
4. I decided on taking the trip and to keep my
expenses within fifty dollars if possible.
5. X Y Z Cleaner is good for softening water and other
household uses.
6. Because of the rise in the price of meats and owing
to the fact that grocers charge more for butter and
eggs, people find it hard to live.
7. The office is well-heated and with plenty of light.
8. The crowds began to watch the fire and cheering
loudly.
9. I heard the opera last year and have gone again
this year.
10. It was wonderful to see how fast they worked and
their accuracy.
11. I can't decide whether to take up stenography or
if bookkeeping is better.
12. He taught us the principles of letter writing, and
somewhat of advertising was taken up.
13. Hoping that the work progressed, and unless a
landslide occurred, the Americans expected to remove
5,000,000 cubic yards each year.
14. The study of the earth has always been stimulated
by two fundamental passions of humanity--a desire for
wealth and because of their curiosity.
15. He insists on our taking the trip and to go
without further delay.
16. In reviewing, it is well to go over each part of
the course carefully, and you should make a note of
every point which you do not understand, and let each
ask those questions which he himself cannot answer.
17. Mr. Fitzmorris is a man of great technical skill
and who has handled the situation capably.
18. It will cost her hundreds of dollars to make the
trip East and spending the requisite length of time
choosing her purchases at the different wholesale
houses.
19. He had assumed control of the office, planned the
advertising, and the finances were also directed by
him.
20. We have decided to go on the excursion to the
Capitol and at the same time visiting Uncle John.
=Exercise 207=
What prevents clearness in the following?
1. The Federal Government began an investigation into
fire conditions in Europe in 1907, through our
consuls.
2. It cost $2.39 a year for fire in the United States
between 1901 and 1910, for every man, woman, and
child, and Germany does not even pay nineteen cents.
3. The number of our fires is increasing, which is
worse.
4. In ten years our population has increased 73 per
cent and 134 per cent is the increase in fires.
5. Having considered the details, the conclusion is
easily drawn that fire is a disgrace.
6. He only gets to the office at ten o'clock.
7. Having settled the plan of attack, the rest was
simple.
8. The manager warned him not to make the mistake
again and adding that mistakes are costly.
9. To keep flannels from shrinking, wash in the
following way, and you will find it very satisfactory.
10. To open a fruit jar run a knife under the edge and
it comes off easily.
11. I didn't even finish half the questions.
12. Electric lights are economical, clean, and give
more light than gas.
13. You should buy your suit now, both for the sake of
economy and style.
14. If in doubt as to the best word, a book of
synonyms should be consulted.
15. The comma fault is where, two principal clauses
are run together without a coördinate conjunction.
Rewrite the following so that it will be correct, concise, and clear:
The Europeans were anxious for trade with the East,
for they were dependent upon them for spices and
luxuries. The three routes were through the
Mediterranean Sea, over the Suez Peninsula, down the
Red Sea, and across to India. Another was through the
Mediterranean and then through Arabia. The other was
from the Mediterranean and then through the Black Sea
and then by land to India. It became necessary to seek
a new route because the Turks held Constantinople, and
all vessels had to pass through the Mediterranean, and
the Turks held this by pirates. The first explorers
were working under the leadership of the King of
Portugal, and they solved the problem by going around
Africa and then to the Indies, but this was too long,
and so explorers tried other ways, and the result was
the discovery of America.
CHAPTER XIV
THE PARAGRAPH
The sentences developing each of the divisions of a composition make one
_paragraph_. A paragraph, therefore, is the treatment of one of the
natural divisions of a subject. The length depends on the topic to be
treated. Two cautions may be given:
1. Do not write paragraphs containing only one sentence. Such paragraphs
do not represent divisions of the subject. They are simply statements
which have not been expanded as they deserve, or they are sentences that
should be placed with the preceding or succeeding sentences in order to
make a good paragraph. Some business men in their letters and
advertisements use the one-sentence paragraph too frequently to
concentrate the attention of the reader. A writer divides his
composition into paragraphs in order to aid the reader to follow the
thoughts he is presenting. When the reader sees the indentation that
indicates a new paragraph, he thinks that the writer has said all that
he intends to say on the topic in hand and now intends to open a new
topic. It is confusing to find that the new paragraph is simply another
sentence on the same topic as the preceding paragraph. Notice the jerky
effect of the following extract from a letter:
We are sending you a copy of our latest catalogue,
which gives illustrations and prices of all our stock.
The illustrations are all made from actual photographs
and are faithful in representing the shoe described.
Bear Brand Shoes are shipped in special fiber cases,
thus lessening freight bills and eliminating the
annoyance of shortage claims because they cannot be
opened without immediate detection.
Errors of any kind should be reported without delay.
Imperfect or damaged goods must be returned for our
inspection; otherwise no allowance will be made.
2. Do not go to the other extreme, writing paragraphs of great length.
Much depends, of course, on the matter to be treated, but, as a rule, in
a student's theme a paragraph should be not longer than one page. If one
of the divisions of your subject is necessarily long, subdivide it,
allowing a paragraph to treat each of the subdivisions.
Whether it is to be long or short, a paragraph must treat but one topic;
from the first sentence to the last, it should be the development of one
idea. Moreover, this topic must be revealed to the reader in no
unmistakable way. Sometimes the subject is so simple that the topic may
easily be gathered from the details given, but usually it is well to
have one sentence that in a brief or general way states the topic. This
is called the _topic sentence_. It may be at or near the beginning; in
this case the rest of the paragraph defines or illustrates what it
states. It may, however, be found at almost any point in the paragraph,
not infrequently acting as a sentence of conclusion, summing up the
details that have been presented.
A paragraph that begins with a topic sentence sometimes ends with a
sentence of conclusion. The first sentence states the topic, the
following sentences explain or illustrate it, and the last sentence
summarizes or otherwise indicates that the topic has been completed.
This form has been called the _hammock_ paragraph, because it has a
solid "post" at each end with a mass of details "swinging" between. It
is a good form to use in writing paragraphs on given subjects, when each
paragraph is to stand alone, complete in itself, not forming part of a
longer composition. The practice of writing such paragraphs induces
clear, forceful thinking.
=Exercise 208=
Study the following paragraphs for--
1. Topic sentence, if there is one.
2. Development of the topic.
3. Sentence of conclusion, if there is one.
1
The problem in many large firms is how to develop
office efficiency to the highest possible degree. In
this respect the monthly examination scheme has been
found a great success. The examination consists of a
list of questions about merchandise and business
procedure. The questions are given out on the last
Saturday of the month, and the answers are returned
for criticism on the following Wednesday. The
employees are told that they may consult as many
authorities as they wish, but each man must write his
own paper. A poor percentage in three of these tests
usually means dismissal. Thus the inefficient are
dropped, and the ambitious who have studied are
recognized. The vice-president of one concern that
uses this system says that it is a strong reminder to
his men that they must make themselves worthy of the
organization. Besides maintaining an even standard of
efficiency, the plan has resulted in developing a
number of valuable executives, whose latent powers
were brought out by the rigidness of the tests.
2
Every month the department head in one big eastern
concern, watch in hand, times a large force of typists
individually, testing how rapidly they can write a
letter of 200 words from their shorthand notes.
Rapidity, punctuation, spelling, and neatness are
carefully recorded. This plan has had a desirable
influence in bringing stenographers up to grade in
their daily work, because a good examination mark is
reduced one-half by careless daily work, and a poor
examination mark correspondingly raised by excellent
daily work. When both examination average and daily
average are excellent, the stenographer's salary is
increased; when both are below good, the stenographer
is dismissed. In this way the standard of stenographic
work is kept high.
3
In his effort to succeed many a young business man
overlooks the detail of business courtesy. He does not
realize the value that a buyer places upon that
commodity. The more experienced man, however, knows
that courtesy does more to hold a buyer than do
bargain sales. In our large cities merchants have
incurred great expense to fit up rest rooms where
customers may spend an idle hour, write letters on
stationery that is provided, and read the latest
magazines. In the rural districts, where such luxuries
are often impossible, the merchant provides chairs for
his customers and a place for stationing their teams.
The country merchant, however, can often accomplish
his object more quickly than the city dealer by
spending an hour gossiping with his customers. He
recognizes the fact that buyers are flattered when the
proprietor himself takes the time to say a few words
to them. He knows just as well as his city competitor
does, that if a buyer feels at home in his store,
sales are practically guaranteed.
4
The rural landscape of Norway, on the long easterly
slope that leads up to the watershed among the
mountains on the western coast, is not unlike that of
Vermont or New Hampshire. The railway from Christiania
to the Randsfjord carried us through a hilly country
of scattered farms and villages. Wood played a
prominent part in the scenery. There were dark
stretches of forest on the hilltops and in the
valleys; rivers filled with floating logs; sawmills
beside the waterfalls; wooden farmhouses painted
white; and rail-fences around the fields. The people
seemed sturdy, prosperous, independent. They had the
familiar habit of coming down to the station to see
the train arrive and depart. We might have fancied
ourselves on a journey through the Connecticut valley
if it had not been for the soft sing-song of the
Norwegian speech and the uniform politeness of the
railway officials.
--Van Dyke: _Fisherman's Luck._
5
The plan of the _Spectator_ must be allowed to be both
original and eminently happy. Every valuable essay in
the series may be read with pleasure separately; yet
the five or six hundred essays form a whole, and a
whole which has the interest of a novel. It must be
remembered, too, that at that time no novel, giving a
lively and powerful picture of the common life and
manners of England, had appeared. Richardson was
working as a compositor. Fielding was robbing birds'
nests. Smollett was not yet born. The narrative,
therefore, which connects together the Spectator's
essays gave to our ancestors their first taste of an
exquisite and untried pleasure. That narrative was,
indeed, constructed with no art or labor. The events
were such events as occur every day. Sir Roger comes
up to town to see Eugenio, as the worthy baronet
always calls Prince Eugene, goes with the Spectator on
the water to Spring Gardens, walks among the tombs in
the Abbey, and is frightened by the Mohawks, but
conquers his apprehension so far as to go to the
theater when the "Distressed Mother" is acted. The
Spectator pays a visit in the summer to Coverley Hall,
is charmed with the old house, the old butler, and the
old chaplain, eats a jack caught by Will Wimble, rides
to the assizes, and hears a point of law discussed by
Tom Touchy. At last a letter from the honest butler
brings to the club the news that Sir Roger is dead.
Will Honeycomb marries and reforms at sixty. The club
breaks up, and the Spectator resigns his functions.
Such events can hardly be said to form a plot; yet
they are related with such truth, such grace, such
wit, such humor, such pathos, such knowledge of the
human heart, such knowledge of the ways of the world
that they charm us on the hundredth perusal. We have
not the least doubt that if Addison had written a
novel on an extensive plan, it would have been
superior to any that we possess. As it is, he is
entitled to be considered not only as the greatest of
the English essayists, but as the forerunner of the
great English novelists.
--Macaulay: _Essay on Addison._
=Exercise 209=
Prepare a paragraph developing each of the following topic sentences:
1. The kitchen was a cheerful place. (Tell all the
details that will explain the word _cheerful_.)
2. In the kitchen the preparations for the feast went
on merrily. (Give the details that will help one get
the picture.)
3. Examinations are helpful to the student. (In what
ways are they helpful? If possible, use examples to
illustrate the point.)
4. Winter is more enjoyable than summer. (Contrast the
pleasures of the one with those of the other, showing
that those of winter are more enjoyable.)
5. Riding a motorcycle is apt to make a boy reckless.
(Develop by using examples.)
6. A man must like his work if he is to succeed in it.
7. Farm lands vary in price.
8. The farmer feeds the world.
9. Every department store should have regular fire
drills.
10. Every sale ought to be an advertisement.
=Exercise 210=
Paragraph the following so that the paragraphs will represent the
divisions in thought. If there are any topic sentences, underline them.
1
I have often noticed that every one has his own
individual small economies, careful habits of saving
fractions of pennies in some one peculiar direction,
any disturbance of which annoys him more than spending
shillings or pounds on some real extravagance. An old
gentleman of my acquaintance, who took the
intelligence of the failure of a Joint Stock Bank, in
which some of his money was invested, with a stoical
mildness, worried his family all through a long
summer's day because one of them had torn (instead of
cutting) out the written leaves of his now useless
bankbook. Of course, the corresponding pages at the
other end came out as well, and this little
unnecessary waste of paper (his private economy)
chafed him more than all the loss of his money.
Envelopes fretted his soul terribly when they came in.
The only way in which he could reconcile himself to
such a waste of his cherished article was by patiently
turning inside out all that were sent to him, and so
making them serve again. Even now, though tamed by
age, I see him casting wistful glances at his
daughters when they send a whole inside of a
half-sheet of note paper, with the three lines of
acceptance to an invitation written on only one of the
sides. I am not above owning that I have this human
weakness myself. String is my foible. My pockets get
full of little hanks of it, picked up and twisted
together, ready for uses that never come. I am
seriously annoyed if any one cuts a string of a parcel
instead of patiently and faithfully undoing it fold by
fold. How people can bring themselves to use
India-rubber bands, which are a sort of deification of
string, as lightly as they do I cannot imagine. To me
an India-rubber band is a precious treasure. I have
one which is not new--one that I picked up off the
floor nearly five years ago. I have really tried to
use it, but my heart failed me, and I could not commit
the extravagance. Small pieces of butter grieve
others. They cannot attend to conversation because of
the annoyance occasioned by the habit which some
people have of invariably taking more butter than they
want. Have you ever seen the anxious look (almost
mesmeric) which such persons fix on the article? They
would feel it a relief if they might bury it out of
their sight by popping it into their own mouths and
swallowing it down; and they are really made happy if
the person on whose plate it lies unused suddenly
breaks off a piece of toast (which he does not want at
all) and eats up his butter. They think that this is
not waste. Now, Miss Matty Jenkins was chary of
candles: We had many devices to use as few as
possible. In the winter afternoons she would sit
knitting for two or three hours--she could do this in
the dark or by firelight--and when I asked if I might
not ring for candles to finish stitching my
wristbands, she told me to "keep blind man's holiday."
They were usually brought in with tea, but we burnt
only one at a time. As we lived in constant
preparation for a friend who might come in any evening
(but who never did), it required some contrivance to
keep our two candles of the same length, ready to be
lighted, and to look as if we burnt two always. The
candles took it in turns; and then, whatever we might
be talking of or doing, Miss Matty kept her eyes
habitually fixed upon the candle, ready to jump up and
extinguish it and light the other before they had
become too uneven in length to be restored to equality
in the course of the evening.
--Adapted from Mrs. Gaskell's _Cranford_.
2
Dear Madam:
We are sorry to say that we have no more house coats
No. SP62 in size 38 at $4.50. As we advertised, SP62
is not a regular stock number, but represents a
collection of $5, $6, and $7.50 coats remaining after
the holiday sales and reduced to insure their being
sold before spring. At the opening of the sale there
were only a few coats in size 38, and they were sold
almost at once. In our catalogue, pages 68 to 71
inclusive, you will find descriptions of all our stock
house coats. On page 68 you will see No. 450HC, our
regular $4.50 coat. If you would like us to send you
one of these in size 38, we shall forward it to you at
once. However, if you would like a $5, $6, or $7.50
coat, you will, no doubt, send us the difference in
price on receipt of this letter. Of course, the more
expensive garments are made of better materials, but
all our coats show the same excellent workmanship. The
best way for you to get the exact shade of trimming
that you wish is to send us a sample of the goods that
you would like to match. We assure you that we shall
take all possible care to send you the proper color.
Yours truly,
=Exercise 211=
Paragraphs may be developed in different ways. For example, if you were
going to write on the process of making a layer cake, you would explain
in detail the different ingredients in the mixture, the proportion of
each, and the steps in the process before the product could be sold as a
layer cake.
By the use of explanatory details develop the following:
1. Making a kite.
2. Making a baseball.
3. Making fudge.
4. How to play checkers.
5. The manufacture of soap (or any article in a grocery).
6. The manufacture of a tin can.
7. The manufacture of pins.
8. Every man must have an ambition.
9. Why I intend to enter business.
10. The greatest modern invention.
By the use of examples to illustrate your point develop the following:
1. Electricity is making housework easy and pleasant.
2. Many sons of poor parents have won great wealth.
3. The wireless apparatus has saved many lives.
4. A boy can show that he is a good citizen.
5. Young Americans have little respect for authority.
By the use of comparison and contrast develop the following:
1. Improvements in modern lighting systems.
2. Improvements in modern heating systems.
3. Improvements in modern means of locomotion.
4. Two kinds of work, pleasure, or study.
5. Why I intend to have a business of my own.
6. The study that I like best.
By explaining cause and effect develop the following:
1. The advantages of public gymnasiums.
2. The success of loose leaf devices.
3. The objections to football.
=Exercise 212=
Develop the following into paragraphs; in each case be able to show what
method or methods you have employed:
1. A man who cannot read and write English should not
be allowed to vote.
2. Postal savings banks inspire the savings habit.
3. Women--the mothers of children--should vote.
4. Women should not vote because they do not read the
newspaper.
5. The effect of school slang is bad.
6. I wish I had seen the coronation of George V. Every
fairy story I had ever read would suddenly have become
real.
7. Canada would gain by reciprocity with the United
States.
8. The United States would gain by reciprocity with
Canada.
9. Our forests should be preserved.
10. The waste of lumber by forest fires results from
carelessness.
11. The waste of lumber in cutting railroad ties is
too great.
12. The rotation of crops enriches the soil.
13. Apples are more easily gathered than cherries.
14. Efforts should be made to keep the birds in our
city parks.
15. Every boy should learn a trade.
16. Peddlers should not be allowed to call their
wares.
17. Great crowds gathered in the city during aviation
week (or any celebration).
18. The electric toaster is good for hurry-up
breakfasts.
19. Ironing with an electric iron is more convenient
than with the old-fashioned kind.
20. The wireless apparatus makes sea voyages safer
than before.
21. A mixed diet is best.
22. Cats should be exterminated because they spread
disease.
23. The parcel post will decrease the profits of the
express companies.
24. A good book is opened with expectation and closed
with profit.
25. Merchants should charge for delivering purchases.
26. The object of the Child Welfare Exhibit is to
promote the best interests of children.
27. One of the best enactments of our time is the
Child Labor Law.
=Exercise 213--Smooth Connection=
We may as well confess at the beginning that smooth connection between
sentences and paragraphs is a hard thing to learn. Primarily, it depends
on clear thinking. In Exercise 135 we saw that the idea of one sentence
must grow out of the idea of the preceding one. It is the same with
paragraphs. The thought must develop gradually from one to the next.
Each paragraph, we know, represents a unit within the larger unit of the
composition; each represents a division of thought. Not infrequently the
thought of one division differs considerably from the thought of the
next. The tying together of such units is sometimes hard. It may be done
in one of the following ways:
1. By repeating at the beginning of the new paragraph or sentence part
of the preceding paragraph or sentence.
2. By using pronouns to refer to what has gone before.
3. By using connecting links, sometimes called _transition words_
because they indicate the transition from one division to the next.
Besides those mentioned in Exercise 135, we may use a numeral
connection, as, _in the first place_, _in the second place_; or an
expression much like a numeral, as, _furthermore_, _in the next place_;
or an expression showing that an adverse idea is to be presented, as,
_on the other hand_, _however_, _in spite of this_, _nevertheless_. But
whatever you do, choose the right link, especially if you use such a one
as _possibly_, _probably_, _perhaps_, _certainly_, _surely_. Use the one
that expresses your idea exactly. Have none rather than the wrong one.
In the following the first and second paragraphs are connected according
to (1) above; the second and third are connected according to (3) above.
There comes to every prosperous man a time when he
wishes to know the best way of securing a steady
income from his accumulated savings without the burden
of responsibility of managing some property in order
to gain his income. The merchant may not wish to put
back into the business all the earnings he gets from
it, and yet he wishes to prepare for his old age. The
farmer may wish to give up active work, but he
realizes how soon his broad acres may deteriorate
through soil-robbery when he rents his property "on
shares." With such a problem before him the thoughtful
man makes an effort to _learn_ how to act to secure a
good _income_ all his life.
One of the first things he _learns_, if he studies the
situation carefully, is that there is a wide
difference between an _income_ derived from one's
business ability, such as the profit secured from
running a store, factory, jobbing house, or farm, and
the income which is derived as the result of money
"working" by itself. In the first case, a man must of
necessity keep up his business responsibilities; in
the other, once he has selected a safe investment,
practically all he has to do is to collect his income
from time to time as it falls due. There is in the
latter no depreciation of land, buildings, machinery,
or the like; no insurance payments to worry about; no
crop failures to consider.
_It is evident, then_, that if one wishes to put
surplus money away--say the proceeds from the sale of
a business or a farm--and get a steady income from it
without bother or worry, the most important thing to
consider is how to go about it to select something
which, once purchased, will turn out to be a safe
investment.
=Exercise 214=
In the following paragraphs taken from Robert Louis Stevenson's _The
Philosophy of Nomenclature_, point out all the transition words that
join (1) sentence to sentence, and (2) paragraph to paragraph:
To begin, then: the influence of our name makes itself
felt from the very cradle. As a schoolboy I remember
the pride with which I hailed Robin Hood, Robert
Bruce, and Robert le Diable as my name-fellows; and
the feeling of sore disappointment that fell on my
heart when I found a freebooter or a general who did
not share with me a single one of my numerous
_praenomina_. Look at the delight with which two
children find they have the same name. They are
friends from that moment forth; they have a bond of
union stronger than exchange of nuts and sweetmeats.
This feeling, I own, wears off in later life. Our
names lose their freshness and interest, become trite
and indifferent. But this, dear reader, is merely one
of the sad effects of those "shades of the prison
house" which come gradually betwixt us and nature with
advancing years; it affords no weapon against the
philosophy of names.
In after life, although we fail to trace its working,
that name which careless godfathers lightly applied to
your unconscious infancy will have been moulding your
character and influencing with irresistible power the
whole course of your earthly fortunes. But the last
name is no whit less important as a condition of
success. Family names, we must recollect, are but
inherited nicknames; and if the _sobriquet_ were
applicable to the ancestor, it is most likely
applicable to the descendant also. You would not
expect to find Mr. M'Phun acting as a mute or Mr.
M'Lumpha excelling as a professor of dancing.
Therefore, in what follows, we shall consider names,
independent of whether they are first or last. And to
begin with, look what a pull _Cromwell_ had over
_Pym_--the one name full of a resonant imperialism,
the other mean, pettifogging, and unheroic to a
degree. Who would expect eloquence from _Pym_--who
would read poems by _Pym_--who would bow to the
opinions of _Pym_? He might have been a dentist, but
he should never have aspired to be a statesman. I can
only wonder that he succeeded as he did. Pym and
Habakkuk stand first upon the roll of men who have
triumphed, by sheer force of genius, over the most
unfavorable appellations. But even these have
suffered; and, had they been more fitly named, the one
might have been Lord Protector and the other have
shared the laurels with Isaiah. In this matter we must
not forget that all our great poets have borne great
names. Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope,
Wordsworth, Shelley--what a constellation of lordly
words! Not a single commonplace name among them--not a
Brown, not a Jones, not a Robinson; they are all names
that one would stop and look at on a door-plate. Now,
imagine if _Pepys_ had tried to clamber somehow into
the enclosure of poetry, what a blot would that name
have made upon the list! The thing is impossible. In
the first place, a certain natural consciousness that
men have would have held him down to the level of his
name, would have prevented him from rising above the
Pepsine standard, and so haply withheld him altogether
from attempting verse. Next, the booksellers would
refuse to publish, and the world to read them, on the
mere evidence of the fatal appellation. And now,
before I close this section, I must say one word as to
_punnable_ names, names that stand alone, that have a
significance and life apart from him that bears them.
These are the bitterest of all. One friend of mine
goes bowed and humbled through life under the weight
of this misfortune; for it is an awful thing when a
man's name is a joke, when he cannot be mentioned
without exciting merriment, and when even the
intimation of his death bids fair to carry laughter
into many a home.
So much for people who are badly named. Now for people
who are _too_ well named, who go topheavy from the
font, who are baptized into a false position, and who
find themselves beginning life eclipsed under the fame
of some of the great ones of the past. A man, for
instance, called William Shakespeare could never dare
to write plays. He is thrown into too humbling an
apposition with the author of _Hamlet_. His own name
coming after is such an anti-climax. "The plays of
William Shakespeare?" says the reader--"O no! The
plays of William Shakespeare Cockerill," and he throws
the book aside. In wise pursuance of such views, Mr.
John Milton Hengler, who not long since delighted us
in this favored town, has never attempted to write an
epic, but has chosen a new path and has excelled upon
the tight-rope. A marked example of triumph over this
is the case of Mr. Dante Gabriel Rosetti. On the face
of the matter, I should have advised him to imitate
the pleasing modesty of the last-named gentleman, and
confine his ambition to the sawdust. But Mr. Rosetti
has triumphed. He has even dared to translate from his
mighty name-father; and the voice of fame supports him
in his boldness.
=Exercise 215=
Turn back to Exercise 210, 1. How are the different paragraphs that you
have made connected?
CHAPTER XV
BUSINESS LETTERS
NOT long ago the head of one of the biggest mail order firms in this
country said: "Business needs the boys and the girls. Do not let them
think they can be but cogs in the great system of wheels. More to-day
than at any previous time the world needs men and women who can speak
and write _themselves_ into English. Four hundred million dollars is
wasted every year in unprofitable advertising alone, and as much more in
bad handling of good prospects and loss of customers through inefficient
letters. We look to the future generation to conserve a part of this
enormous loss. If a single page advertisement in a single issue costs
$7500, what you say on that page is important. Look into any current
magazine, and you will be tremendously impressed with the importance of
English in this branch alone, not to mention its importance in letter
writing."
There is no greater power in business to-day than the ability to use
convincing English in correspondence and in advertising. Any one who can
write good letters, letters that the reader feels he must answer, has
success ahead of him, because the market of a good letter is practically
unrestricted. Wherever a letter can penetrate, it may create desire for
an article and make sales.
But what is a good letter? Nothing more than a bit of good English. Can
you write clear, direct, crisp, yet fluent English? Then you can write
good letters--but not till then.
In modern business the letter has become the advertiser, the salesman,
the collector, and the adjuster of claims. An advertisement must be
attractive; it must arouse the interest of the one who sees it. A
salesman must understand human nature; he must forestall objections by
showing the customer how he will gain by buying. The collector and the
adjuster of claims must be courteous and at the same time shrewd. If a
letter is to meet all of these requirements it cannot be dashed off at a
moment's notice. It must be thought out in detail and written carefully
to include all that should be expressed. This means, especially in a
sales letter:
1. An unusually worded opening that puts the writer's affairs in the
background and the reader's gain in the foreground. Begin with _you_,
not _we_. The reader is interested in himself, his own progress, his own
troubles, and not in the possessions of the writer, except as the writer
can show that those possessions affect him.
3. A clear, simply worded explanation of the purpose of the letter.
3. Proof of advantages to the reader.
4. Persuasion or inducement to act now.
5. Conclusion, making this action easy.
Above all, if a letter is to be good, it must not be too short. In the
pursuit of brevity too many pupils in business English make the mistake
of writing altogether too little to get the reader's attention; and if
his attention is not aroused, the letter fails. The letter should be
long enough to suggest interest in the welfare of the reader and
enthusiasm for the subject under discussion.
Enthusiasm in business involves knowledge both of your project and of
your customer. You cannot attempt to write a letter of any kind unless
you know the facts that require it. Perhaps it is a complaint that you
must try to settle. Without a knowledge of the facts, of the truth or
the untruth of the claim, how can you write the letter? Sometimes it
requires both time and study to gather the necessary details, but they
must be gathered.
When you have your details and begin writing, be sincere. You must be so
absolutely in earnest that the reader will at once feel and begin to
share your enthusiasm.
Knowledge of the person to whom you are writing is fully as important as
knowledge of your subject. You must get his point of view, understand
his character, and appeal to the qualities that you recognize in it, to
the desires or ambitions, that it shows. To a certain extent all of us
are alike. There are certain fundamental interests that we all possess;
these may safely be appealed to at almost all times. But our employment,
our habits of life, our ways of thinking make us different. The same
argument, probably, will not always bring satisfactory replies from a
manufacturer, a farmer, a judge, a minister or priest, a carpenter, and
a woman. Some people like to receive a long letter that goes carefully
into detail; others will not take the time to read such a letter. Each
customer must be studied. This is so difficult a matter that no one can
expect to learn it all at once.
Finally, from the first word to the last be courteous. No matter how
righteous your indignation, be courteous. You cannot afford to lose your
temper. Courtesy does not imply flattery nor a lack of truth. Your
letter can be strong and yet polite in tone. Lose your temper, and your
letter will probably fail. Keep your temper, show thoughtfulness for the
reader's interest, and your letter will more likely fulfill its purpose.
=Exercise 216--The Form of the Letter=
Before we look at some actual letters to judge of their effectiveness,
we must learn the conventional form of a letter, the parts which many
years of use have shown to be necessary. There are six parts to a formal
or business letter:
1. The heading, which includes the writer's address
and the date.
2. The introduction, which includes the name and the
address of the one to whom you are writing.
3. The salutation; for example, Dear Sir:
4. The body of the letter, the important part.
5. The courteous close; for example, Yours truly,
6. The signature.
Each part ends with a period except the salutation, which ends with a
colon, and the courteous close, which ends with a comma. The various
groups of words within the heading and the introduction are separated by
commas.
Why does the salutation end with a colon?
Why does the courteous close end with a comma?
The Arrangement
In the following, notice the spacing. If the heading is short, it is put
on one line; as,
_Heading_ Hilliard, Fla., June 30, 1914.
_Introduction_ Mr. Thomas Barrett,
Boston, Mass.
_Salutation_ Dear Sir:
_Body_ ....................................
.........................................
......................
_Courteous close_ Yours truly,
_Signature_ Samuel Garth
If the heading is long, arrange it in one of the following ways:
1
334 Lexington Ave., Chicago,
May 19, 1915.
Mr. Thomas Barrett,
Boston, Mass.
Dear Sir:
2
334 Lexington Ave.,
Chicago, Ill., May 19, 1915.
3
334 Lexington Ave.,
Chicago, Ill., May 19, 1915.
4
334 Lexington Ave.,
Chicago, Ill.,
May 19, 1915.
The superscription on the envelope is arranged and punctuated like the
introduction in the letter, except that the punctuation may be omitted
from the end of lines.
There is a growing tendency to "block" the different parts of a letter;
that is, to begin each item of each part directly below the first, with
no indentation.
There is also a tendency to use no abbreviations (except for titles like
_Mr._), the name of the month and of the state and the word _street_,
_avenue_, or _building_ being spelled out.
NOTE.--The punctuation as shown in the examples given
above is that in more prevalent use. Certain writers,
however, advocate the omission from the formal parts
of the letter of commas at the end of lines and of
periods (except to show abbreviations).
Arrange the following headings, supplying capitals and punctuation
marks:
1. 55 water st mobile ala june 16 19--
2. calmar iowa september 1 19--
3. 453 marquette building chicago ill jan 5 19--
4. 123 salem st springfield mass june 23 19--
5. highland park grand haven mich may 3 19--
6. 220 broadway new york n y february 15 19--
7. 78 main street portland oregon december 10 19--
8. 32 lincoln st kansas city mo oct 2 19--
9. room 15 1321 pennsylvania ave washington d c sept 2
19--
10. 25 chestnut st philadelphia pa april 14 19--
11. 212 tribune building new york n y march 2 19--
12. 98 dorchester ave boston mass feb 12 19--
13. 24 milk st boston mass June 14 19--
14. 231 west 39th st new york city march 4 19--
15. 345 newark ave jersey city n j (supply date)
16. 44 fifth ave detroit mich sept 1 19--
17. 102 west 42d st denver colorado (date)
18. Explain the difference between (16) and (17).
Notice that the name of the street in each case is a
numeral. Why is it spelled out in (16) and not in
(17)?
=Exercise 217=
Supplying the name of the firm and the business engaged in, write letter
heads using the items given in Exercise 216. For example:
BARRETT, BROWN & CO.
_Groceries_
55 Water Street
Decorah, Iowa, -- 19
When may & be used?
What is the advantage of using a letter head?
In making letter heads, imagine you are a printer. Arrange the items so
that they may show to the best advantage. Let your lines of printing or
writing be of different lengths. Add any details that you wish, such as
trade-mark designs or the names of officers.
Arrange and punctuate:
1. citronelle business mens association citronelle
alabama may 2 19-- mr john harvey 19 e monroe st
rochester n y dear sir
2. 173 broadway new york June 10 19-- mr walter thomas
191 e main st waltham mass dear sir
3. 25 broad st maplewood n h messrs hausen & ottman 18
la salle station chicago ill gentlemen (supply date)
4. john randolph & co druggist 14 jefferson st
charleston s c jan 8 19-- gerhard mennen & co newark n
j gentlemen (letter head)
5. 43 south 5th ave madison wis aug 8 19-- the white
mountain freezer co nashua n h gentlemen
Address an envelope for each of the above, using the following as a
model.
+------------------------------------------+
| |
| |
| |
| |
| Barrett, Brown & Co., |
| 55 Water Street, |
| Decorah, Iowa. |
| |
+------------------------------------------+
=Exercise 218--Cautions=
_The Heading_
Always date your letters.
Give your full address, even if you are certain that the one to whom you
are writing knows it.
_The Introduction_
The person addressed must always be given a title. If you address one
man, use _Mr._; if a firm, use _Messrs._; if a woman, _Miss_ or _Mrs._
If a man has a title like _Professor_ or _Doctor_, it should be used,
and _Mr._, of course, omitted.
_Hon._ (Honorable) is used for a person who holds, or who has held, a
public office. It is a very formal title.
_Esq._(Esquire) is a legal form used by some correspondents in
addressing any man. It is an English usage. It always follows the name,
and, if it is used, _Mr._ is omitted. In this country _Mr._ is
preferable.
In writing to a man in his official capacity, the following form is
correct when there is no street number or when the title is short.
Notice that _Mr._ is omitted.
G. N. Fratt, Cashier,
First National Bank,
Racine, Wis.
The following is correct when the title is long:
Mr. John Frederick Pierce,
Ass't. Engineer of Bridges and Buildings,
607 White Building, Seattle, Wash.
Notice that in the last example, the city and the state are put on the
same line as the street in order to make the three lines of about the
same length. Four lines might have been used.
_The Salutation_
If you address one man, the salutation is _Dear Sir_; as,
Mr. John Pierce,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear Sir:
If you address a firm, the salutation is _Gentlemen_; as,
Messrs. Brownleigh & King,
Portland, Oregon.
Gentlemen:
If you address a woman, married or single, the salutation in business
letters is _Dear Madam_; as,
1.
Mrs. John Pierce,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear Madam:
2.
Miss Florence Pierce,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear Madam:
A more familiar form of salutation is either of the following:
1
Miss Florence Pierce,
Seattle, Wash.
My dear Miss Pierce:
2
Miss Florence Pierce,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear Miss Pierce:
In using _Hon._, the salutation is usually _Sir_.
_The Courteous Close_
The courteous close corresponds in tone to the salutation. If the
salutation is _Dear Sir_, _Gentlemen_, or _Dear Madam_, the courteous
close should be one of the following:
Yours truly,
Yours very truly,
Very truly yours,
Respectfully yours,
Yours respectfully,
Sincerely yours,
Very sincerely yours,
If the salutation is _Sir_, the courteous close should be _Respectfully
yours_ or _Yours respectfully_.
If the body of the letter and the courteous close do not agree in tone,
the effect is often ridiculous. Suppose, for instance, that the
courteous close of (2) under Exercise 220 were _Yours respectfully_.
What would be the effect?
_The Signature_
If an unmarried woman is signing a business letter, she should avoid
confusion by prefixing (Miss) to her name.
A married woman should sign her own name, as, _Alice Pierce_; she should
indicate her title, as _Mrs. John F. Pierce_, either below the other or
at one side.
No other title should be prefixed to a signature.
If a letter is signed by the name of a firm, the signature of the one
who dictated the letter is usually added; as,
Yours very truly,
Smith Lumber Co.
by ----
This sort of signature gives a letter the "personal touch." Explain.
Folding a Letter
Business letter paper is about eight by ten inches. In folding a letter
sheet, (1) turn the lower edge up to about one-eighth of an inch from
the top; press the fold firmly, keeping the edges even; (2) turn the
paper so that the folded edge is at your _left_ hand; (3) fold _from_
you a little less than one-third the width of the sheet; (4) fold the
upper edge _down_ toward you so that it projects a trifle beyond the
folded edge. Without turning it over, pick it up and insert it in the
envelope, putting in _first_ the edge that was folded last.
Write the address and the salutation for:
1. A business house in your town.
2. Mr. John R. Tobin, president of the Detroit State
Bank, Detroit, Mich.
3. Miss Mabel Gunther, Shullsburg, Wis.
4. Professor C. M. Watson, Harvard College, Cambridge,
Mass.
5. John F. Campbell, Manager Bond Department, First
Trust and Savings Bank, Boston, Mass.
6. Taylor and Critchfield, Chicago, Ill.
7. Mrs. Thomas D. MacDonald, 126 E. Second Street,
Washington, Ia.
Write the courteous close and the signature for:
1. A letter from a business house in your town signed
by F. R. Wilson.
2. A letter from Miss Mabel Gunther (2 above).
3. A letter from Professor C. M. Watson (4 above).
4. A letter signed by John F. Campbell (5 above).
5. A letter from Taylor and Critchfield signed by you
yourself.
6. A letter from Mrs. Thomas D. MacDonald (7 above).
=Exercise 219--Ordering Goods=
If an order includes a number of separate items, it is usually written
on a separate sheet of paper. Firms often supply blanks for this
purpose. If the order is short, it forms part of the letter. In any
case, each item is placed on a separate line, so that the items may be
checked as the order is filled. In the following, notice the arrangement
and the punctuation:
Hamilton, Montana, Feb. 16, 1914.
Messrs. MacBride & Dickens,
New York, N. Y.
Gentlemen:
At your earliest convenience please ship me the
following via the Northern Express Co. from St. Paul:
6 doz. A 68 assorted sizes Men's Black Caps @ 1.50 9.00
5 doz. D 71 Men's Cotton Handkerchiefs @ .60 3.00
5 doz. X 30 Men's Linen Handkerchiefs @ 2.00 10.00
------
$22.00
Enclosed find a draft on New York for twenty-two
dollars.
Yours truly,
S. D. Jensen
Write the letters outlined below:
1. Order fifty copies of the Business Arithmetic that
you are using. How shall you pay for them?
2. Clip from a newspaper an advertisement of
groceries. Imagine that you are a housekeeper, and
spend ten dollars to the best advantage, ordering
several articles.
3. Bring in an advertisement of household
necessities--linens, tinware, etc. Spend five dollars,
buying several articles.
4. Bring in an advertisement of furniture. Write a
letter ordering enough to furnish a parlor or a dining
room. Have the amount charged to your account.
5. A magazine offers one of several books as a premium
with a year's subscription. Answer the advertisement.
=Exercise 220--The Tone of the Letter=
Undue familiarity or an evidence of loss of temper will at once
frustrate the object of a letter. A dignified letter never shows either.
Just what constitutes a dignified letter is hard to define but fairly
easy to feel. This much is certain: it must be simple in structure,
direct in its wording, and so sincere in feeling that no one will doubt
its truth. Any extravagance of language, therefore, has no place in a
dignified letter.
Study the following to see whether they show dignity:
1
Tuesday, 5 P.M.
Miss Sarah Howard,
Denver, Colorado.
Dear Madam:
I have a great piece of CONFIDENTIAL news for you.
Take advantage of the remarkable offer our company is
making to you, and it will mean thousands of DOLLARS
in your pocket. Understand that this offer is not open
to every one. You have been especially selected. You
are the only one in your town who will hear of this
remarkable offer.
2
Elsworth, Brown & Co.,
120 Jefferson Ave.,
Detroit, Mich.
Gentlemen:
What is the matter with our last order? Have you
people gone out of business, or are you asleep? If we
don't get that order by the third, you'll never hear
from us again.
3
A letter to Mrs. Bixby, written Nov. 21, 1864.
Dear Madam:
I have been shown in the file of the War Department a
statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts
that you are the mother of five sons who have died
gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and
fruitless must be any words of mine which should
beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.
But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the
consolation that may be found in the thanks of the
republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly
Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement,
and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved
and lost and the solemn pride that must be yours to
have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of
freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
Abraham Lincoln
=Exercise 221=
In writing the following letters, be definite and courteous:
1. You have advertised your eight-room, furnace-heated
house for sale for $3,500. A letter of inquiry desires
particulars. Answer it.
2. You live on a side street, which for the last week
has not been lighted. Write to the editor of the
paper, or to a town official, whichever you think
would remedy the matter. Be courteous. A letter to an
editor is begun: To the Editor of ----.
3. The cars on which you ride every day are very
dirty. Write to the mayor. He is addressed: Hon. ----.
4. You wish to have a telephone installed. Make
application.
5. Two weeks ago you wrote (4). Still you have no
telephone. Write again, stating the substance of (4)
and asking the reason for the delay.
6. Write the telephone company's reply. Be very
courteous. What good reason could you give for the
delay?
7. You understand that your Congressman has the
privilege of recommending a young man for the entrance
examinations of your state university. Write to him,
asking that he recommend you. Remember that he is a
stranger to you. What should you tell him?
=Exercise 222.--Mistaken Ideas in Letter Writing=
It is too bad that, to a number of people, the term _business letter_
conveys the idea of a colorless, stilted composition full of trite and
almost meaningless business formulas. No one reads such a letter unless
he has to, and surely that is not the kind one should practice writing.
Below are given a few of the expressions that should be avoided.
I. Sometimes a writer tries to impress a reader with the volume of
business he is doing by showing haste in his correspondence; as, in
1. Omitting the subject; as,
_Wrong_: In reply to your question will say ----
_Right_: In reply to your question I will say ----
2. Omitting articles and prepositions; as,
_Wrong_: Direct package care Western Canning Co.
_Right_: Direct the package in care of the Western Canning Co.
3. Using abbreviations
_a._ Of the introduction. Write out the introduction
in detail, both name and address. Abbreviating this
part of the letter is highly discourteous.
_b._ In the body of the letter; as,
_Wrong_: The Co. sent a no. of large orders last year.
_c._ Of the courteous close; as,
_Wrong_: Yours etc.
_Wrong_: Yours resp'y.
4. Using a phrase as a sentence; as,
_Wrong_: Yours of the 6th at hand and contents noted.
It is much better to refer indirectly to the receipt of a letter; as,
In the order you sent us on Aug. 5 ----
The same sort of mistake is seen in the all too frequent closing:
_Wrong_: Hoping that we hear from you soon,
Yours truly,
_Right_: Hoping that we hear from you soon, we are
Yours truly,
Why use such an expression at all? Avoid _hoping_, _trusting_,
_awaiting_, or any other artificial closing.
II. Sometimes a writer makes an effort to be extremely courteous, but
fails because he uses hackneyed wording; as,
1. _Kindly._--A good word in itself but greatly
abused.
2. _We beg to state._--Never use _beg_ in this sense.
You have no right to beg attention; earn it.
3. _Your favor_, _your esteemed favor_, _your valued
favor_.--Say, _Your letter_.
4. _Will you be so good as to._--Belongs in the class
with _beg to state_. Make your requests courteously,
but directly.
5. _Would say._--Avoid this expression.
III. Sometimes in an effort to be clear a writer uses _same_ as a
pronoun; as,
_Wrong_: If the books are not satisfactory, return
same.
This is one of the worst of the distinctly business blunders. _Same_ is
never a pronoun. Write to a man as you talk to him and you will not use
_same_ in this way. (See Exercise 88.)
IV. Sometimes in order to get attention a writer will use a liberal
sprinkling of dashes and capitals, probably in imitation of advertising
copy. Better than such artificial means is the attraction of a well
worded letter.
* * * * *
Criticise the following letters, pointing out all the expressions that
should be improved. Rewrite the letters.
1
Gentlemen:
We beg to acknowledge your esteemed favor of Apr. 6.
In regard to shoes received by you in poor shape as
per complaint, would say that on receipt of same will
try to locate cause of trouble. If due to defect in
manufacture, will credit you with value of same.
Hoping this is satisfactory to you,
Yours truly,
2
Dear Sir:
Yours of March 18 at hand. Referring to matter of
short weight, I beg to call your attention to C & A
car 87324, which you loaded for us March 7 at your
Auburn mine, gross weight 121,400 lbs. This car was
check weighed at Peoria March 11 on your company's
scales and showed gross weight 113,200 lbs. or
shortage 8,200 lbs. Having investigated car, I find
same was in good order and no indication of leakage,
and it would appear to be a case of carelessness at
time of loading. Therefore will request you to kindly
send me cr. memo, on 8,200 lbs.
Yours truly,
=Exercise 223--The Sales Letter=
The object of the sales letter is to make the reader buy. How can you do
it? To begin with, get his point of view--that of the user. Then imagine
that he is present and talk to him on paper. Get his interest with your
opening sentence. Explain what you have to sell. Show him that he needs
it. Whet his desire to possess it, and, finally, make it easy and
imperative for him to order today.
The opening paragraph is all-important. It may make or mar a letter. If
it is stilted or lacks directness, if it hasn't the personal, natural
tone that makes the reader feel you are talking to him, or if it is
stereotyped in its wording, the letter will probably go to the
waste-basket.
Contrast the two letters that follow. Both were written to accompany a
catalogue. Notice that the first begins and ends in a stereotyped way;
has too few details to arouse interest; asks for an order but has no
inducement to give one now; and, throughout, lacks the personal,
convincing tone that makes the second a good selling letter. Notice that
the second begins with _you_, not with _we_, and keeps the same _you_
attitude to the end.
Turn back to the five essentials of a letter given on page 230. See if
you can differentiate the five in the second letter.
1
Dear Sir:
In compliance with your request of recent date we are
sending you our latest general catalogue, inasmuch as
we do not know which department catalogue you wish. We
also have specialized books for jewelry, furniture,
hardware, and drygoods. On request we shall be glad to
send any one of these also.
We carry the biggest line of Variety Store Leaders in
the country, and our goods are always of the best. We
take particular pains to acquaint our customers with
the latest thing in the trade, and to give
business-getting suggestions. Our Co-operative Bureau
cheerfully answers all inquiries.
Trusting we shall hear from you with an order, we are
Yours truly,
2
Dear Sir:
Under separate cover you will receive a copy of our
latest general catalogue, published especially for
owners of Variety Stores. We are sending you the
general catalogue because we do not know whether you
are interested in a particular department. However, if
your business specializes in any one class of
goods--such as jewelry, furniture, hardware, or
drygoods--we shall be glad to supply you with the
departmental book you need. On the enclosed postal
card simply check the one you wish, and mail the card
to-day. We shall forward the catalogue at once.
You may know that we always have on hand between two
hundred and two hundred and fifty different Variety
Store Leaders, affording you a wide selection of
high-class goods of the finest materials, the neatest
workmanship, and the latest styles at very low prices.
After glancing over the catalogue you will agree with
us that in every department of our huge business a
dollar has full purchasing power.
A unique feature of our business, moreover, is the
Co-operative Bureau, which you will find a decided
help in building up your business. Each week the
Bureau sends out a Bulletin, acquainting our customers
with important business events in the larger trade
centers, with suggestions for new advertising and
selling methods, with notices of new stock additions
that make especially good leaders, and with advice how
best to display them. The Bureau invites
correspondence and sends customers, absolutely free
of charge, advice on new store arrangements, window
decorations, and advertising plans.
Your first order makes you a co-operating member and
entitles you to all the privileges of the Bureau and
the services of an institution with wide experience
and with a recognized reputation for square-dealing.
Fill out the enclosed order blank, mail it to-day, and
receive this week's Bulletin by return mail. It
contains several splendid suggestions for novel,
inexpensive advertising.
Yours truly,
The letter given above is personal and yet dignified. Usually that is
the best style to use, and the one that we wish to practice writing.
Sometimes, however, results can best be obtained by using the colloquial
or even jocular tone illustrated in the following letter sent to a
retailer in Ottumwa, Iowa:
Dear Sir:
We sell cheese, a new brand, the finest kind you ever
tasted, put up in the most attractive package, to sell
at the most attractive price. Called Par Excellence
Creme, wrapped in silver foil with a gold label, it
sells for fifteen cents and costs you ten. Ever hear a
better proposition?
Better buy now before your rival gets ahead of you.
Everybody's calling for it. Why? Because we're
advertising everywhere. It has been out only one
month, and yet sales have trebled our highest
expectations. Half the sales of a new cheese depend on
the package and the price; the other half depend on
the quality. All three are right in Par Excellence
Creme.
Mr. S. R. King, our Iowa representative, tried to see
you last week, but, unfortunately, he was unable to
find you in. Now, he carries a full line of our
samples, and it's worth the time it takes just to see
how good they look, even if you don't care to buy. How
about it? Don't you want to see them? Mr. King will be
in Ottumwa next Wednesday.
Yours truly,
This style is commonly called "snappy." It has its advantage, but should
be used only rarely. Above all, if you do use it, avoid the dash. Notice
how the dash spoils the following:
Dear Sir:
Have you ever eaten that king of nuts--the budded or
grafted paper shell pecan--the nut whose kernel is as
nutritious as beef and as sweet and delicious as
honey--the nut that is so delightfully palatable and
so wholesome, the discriminating epicures of two
continents have set their seal of approval on
it--creating a demand that literally cannot be
supplied--even at prices ranging as high as a dollar a
pound.
To use the dash in this way seems to imply that you do not understand
punctuation or sentence structure. If the paragraph is rewritten,
removing the dashes and dividing into sentences, we get a much stronger
appeal. The dash makes for weakness rather than for strength because it
suggests hysterics.
Dear Sir:
Have you ever eaten the king of nuts, the budded or
grafted paper shell pecan? The kernel is as nutritious
as beef and as sweet as honey. It is so wholesome and
so delicious that discriminating epicures of two
continents have set their approval on it, creating a
demand that literally cannot be supplied, even at
prices ranging as high as a dollar a pound.
A very good way to open a sales letter is to get the attention by a bit
of narration containing direct quotations, as shown in the following:
Dear Sir:
"It saves seven per cent."
So said Mr. John H. Samuels, a manufacturer of
Birmingham, Ala.
He had watched his bookkeepers at their work, and it
seemed to him that their main business was turning and
flattening the springy pages of the bulgy ledger. Ten
seconds were wasted, he said, every time a page was
turned--almost every time an entry was made--and
hardly more than two minutes were needed to make the
entry. That was enough. Each of his twenty men was
wasting seven per cent of his time.
"Try hinged paper," suggested the head bookkeeper.
Accordingly, Mr. Samuels tried several kinds of hinged
paper, only to find that the hinged section tore,
broke, or cracked. The time that the clerks now saved
in flattening the leaves they wasted in rewriting the
pages that had torn out.
He had no more faith in hinged papers by the time that
he saw the advertisement of the Benton hinge. "As
strong as the rest of the paper!" he scoffed. "We'll
see about this!"
"Send me a sample," he wrote us. "If your ad tells the
truth, you get my order."
We sent it. He tested it. He pulled it, crumpled it,
ruled on it, erased it on both sides, and even creased
it. But it did not break.
Very cautiously and doubtingly he tried the paper in
one ledger for one month. He found that the book
rolled flat whenever it was opened, that no hinge
tore, and that every page could be used from binder to
outer edge.
"It does the work," he told our salesman at the end of
the month. "It saves seven per cent. Send me a
consignment."
If you, too, are paying seven per cent of your
bookkeepers' salaries for waste motion, let us send
you a sample. It will cut down your expenses as it cut
down Mr. Samuels'.
Remember that you put yourself under no obligation to
us. You take no risks. Simply promise to use the paper
if we send it free.
Yours truly,
=Exercise 224=
Study the following letters and letter openings for good and bad
qualities:
1
Dear Sir:
People who have not had much of what the world calls
"good luck" find it hard to believe an opportunity
when it comes--they don't feel sure about it--on the
other hand, people who have had many opportunities
have a natural confidence that every opening presented
is intended for them and they grasp it with an
assurance that begets success.
You may be one of those who have not had many chances
to do what you would like to do and therefore not sure
that my offer is an opportunity. For that reason let
us again go over the points of advantage....
2
Dear Sir:
I am taking the liberty of writing you again because I
fear you do not fully realize the value of the
proposition I am offering you. Why, man, it's the
opportunity of a life-time!... (extended for three
pages.)
3
Dear Sir:
If we wanted to know just what kind of person you are,
do you know where we'd go to find out? We'd ask your
old friends and neighbors, who know all about you from
close association.
If you want to find out about us--what we are doing
and what improvements we are making in southern
Florida--the best place to get this information is
from the people of Florida, who know the facts from
first-hand observation. The enclosed clipping is an
editorial expression--not a paid advertisement--from
the Ft. Meyers Press. The editor is under no
obligation to us and is merely expressing the opinion
of the people here. . . .
4
New York, Right Now.
A DEAL OF IMPORTANCE
It affects YOU! It is so important I must forego the
pleasure of a personal letter in order to write 5,000
people to-day--500 of whom--the wide-awake ones who
read this letter through--will be able to coin it into
dollars--real money--money you can spend.
What we now offer you has never before been offered by
any body in the world. It is a combination we are
fortunate enough, just at this time, to be able to
offer you, because of an important deal we have just
closed--a deal that may easily spell dollars to you.
Read every word of this letter--it may be--possibly
is--the only thing to make you a successful and
wealthy man. . . .
5
R F D 4 Logansport, Ind.
8-26-11.
Mr. M. H. Smith, etc.
Dear Sir:
I acknowledge getting your telegram over the telephone
yesterday, and if I had been in funds would have
answered by return telegram, but such is life. I
accommodated a friend by loaning him $750, which will
probably be paid the last week of never. I thank you
for the offer, and when I am in funds will call on you
either personally or by letter.
Very truly yours,
=Exercise 225--Opening an Account=
Imagine that you are manager of a wholesale dry goods house. You have
received an order from P. H. Powley, 23 Water street, Franklin, Mich. As
you do not know Mr. Powley, write him, stating in as courteous a way as
possible that, since this is his first order, he must either furnish
references or send a remittance. Make your letter direct and personal.
Include some good selling talk.
The exercise above illustrates the method that might be adopted in case
of a small order. If Mr. Powley had sent a large order, the wholesale
house would no doubt consult a financial agency to discover his
financial condition; his _rating_, it is called. If his name were not
found in the book of the agency, the wholesale house would require Mr.
Powley to send a correct account of his financial standing; that is, a
list of his assets and liabilities. If he refused, they would not do
business with him. Why? The principal financial agencies are Bradstreet
and Dun. Besides these, there are many mercantile agencies. They give
any information that is required concerning a business man. All such
information is confidential.
In connection with this exercise study the letters that follow:
REQUEST TO OPEN AN ACCOUNT
Madison, Wis., Sept. 16, 1915.
Wilson, Brighton, & Co.,
68 Broadway, New York.
Gentlemen:
Until recently I was in the employ of Samuel Stratton
& Co. of Milwaukee, but I have now started a business
of my own, for which I should like to open an account
with your house. As to my business ability and
financial standing, I refer you to my late employers,
Samuel Stratton & Co. of Milwaukee, and to the Madison
State Bank of this city.
If on investigation you decide to accept me as a
customer, will you please send the goods on the
enclosed order, deducting your usual discount for
cash? Upon receipt of the goods and of the invoice, I
shall at once forward a sight draft on the Broadway
National Bank of your city.
Respectfully yours,
George R. Scott
REPLY NO. 1
Dear Sir:
In seeking information through the usual outside
channels for basing credit for you, we find our
reports have not been sufficient in detail to permit
us to arrange this matter satisfactorily. These
reports all speak very highly of you in a personal
way, but do not give us the required information
financially.
We assume you want our goods for your Christmas trade.
It is imperative, therefore, that we ship immediately.
We suggest that on this order you send us a draft, in
consideration of which we shall be pleased to allow
you a special discount of 4%. Understand that we
suggest these terms on this first order only, as we
feel confident that we can easily arrange a credit
basis for future shipments. We sincerely trust you
will take no offense at the above suggestion, as we
have made it in your interest.
Yours very truly,
REPLY NO. 2
Dear Sir:
Thank you for the order you sent us yesterday. Its
size confirms the belief we have always held that
D---- is a rapidly growing business center, the right
place for a retailer to settle and prosper.
After careful consideration of your letter, however,
we have decided to hold back your order for a short
time. You cannot regret this more than we do. We do
not like to lose your account, and yet, under the
circumstances, we feel we cannot send you the order.
We hope you can sell the property you mentioned in
your letter and thus clear up the balances against
you. Then we shall gladly open an account for you.
We are especially sorry we cannot send the order at
once, as you no doubt need your fall stock now. Don't
you think it would be the best solution if you would
send us your remittance for $250 now, so that we may
send the goods? We know what it means to buy in the
open market so late in the season. We assure you that
on receipt of a remittance the order will go through
immediately.
Yours truly,
=Exercise 226=
1. Order from the Grand Rapids Furniture Co., Grand
Rapids, Mich., 5 mahogany rockers, 1 Turkish rocker, 2
brass beds, 12 dining room chairs, 2 dining room
tables. Supply catalogue numbers and give shipping
directions.
2. The Grand Rapids Furniture Co. replies,
acknowledging the receipt of the above order (give
date) but stating that you did not mention how you
would pay for the goods. On receipt of a certified
check to cover the amount, or of the names of two
reliable references, they will be pleased to send you
the order. Make this a good sales letter.
=Exercise 227=
1. You are a florist of Rockford, Ill. Write to S. M.
Porter & Son, 155 S. State Street, Chicago, saying
that this fall you are opening a new department of
Landscape Gardening. Judging by advance orders, you
will need approximately 200 shade trees, maples and
poplars; 200 fruit trees of various kinds; and several
hundred flowering shrubs. You will probably duplicate
the order in the spring. Ask for terms, saying that
you would like to open an account. Give two
references.
2. S. M. Porter & Son reply, acknowledging your order,
and saying that they will be pleased to do business
with you on sixty days' credit, terms 50 and 5%. If
this is satisfactory, they will add your name to their
books. Make it a sales letter.
=Exercise 228=
1. Samuel Radford of Douglas, Mich., wishes to buy a
motor boat. He orders of the Modern Steel Boat Co.,
manufacturers of high grade motor boats, Detroit,
Mich., boat No. 172. page 425, catalogue No. 10. The
price as listed is $192. He accepts the offer they
made him ---- (date), of ---- (terms) and encloses a
certified check for the amount. He gives full shipping
directions. (Be sure you can do this.) He asks how
cheaply he can obtain cushions for the boat.
2. The company reply: They have shipped the boat. (Is
this sufficiently detailed?) A set of new cushions to
fit the boat costs $25. They have a set of secondhand
cushions in excellent condition for $15. If Radford
desires either of these, he should wire at once at
their expense.
3. Telegraph his decision.
=Exercise 229=
1. Messrs. Lee and Watkins, druggists of Gallon, Ohio,
wish to open an account with Pierce, King & Co., 17 S.
Albany St., Baltimore, Md., for the purchase of large
orders on ninety days' credit. They say they do a very
large business as they have the only drug store within
a radius of several miles. They give several names as
references. Write the letter.
2. You are a traveling salesman for Pierce, King & Co.
They write you at the Union Hotel, Columbus, telling
you of the foregoing letter, a copy of which they
enclose, and asking you to investigate the standing of
Messrs. Lee and Watkins.
Reply that you visited the drug store in question on a
Tuesday (give date), because in your experience the
early part of the week is very quiet in the business
of small towns. Say that two clerks were kept busy
constantly and that several people spoke of the
enormous business done on Saturdays and market days.
The firm has good credit in the town. You are
satisfied that the gentlemen in question are reliable.
3. Write from Pierce, King & Co. to Messrs. Lee and
Watkins, acknowledging the receipt of their letter
---- (date) and expressing pleasure in being able to
enter their name on the firm's books. Write as
courteous a letter as you can.
4. Imagine that the salesman's reply (2) had been
unfavorable. Write to Messrs. Lee and Watkins,
refusing them credit but trying to get their cash
business.
=Exercise 230--Letters Requesting Payment=
It is better not to make threats in a collection letter except as a last
resort, and then the threat should be carried out. It is advisable in a
first letter of the kind to take for granted that a customer is honest
and that the failure to pay is an oversight. If some inducement for
further purchases is included in the letter in the form of good selling
talk, a remittance will probably be sent, and perhaps another order as
well.
If the customer, however, takes no notice of the first letter, a second,
making the request for payment more urgent, may follow. The tone of the
second letter and subsequent letters will depend on the value that you
put on the customer's trade. Finally, if he ignores all of these
letters, dally no longer. Say that if payment is not made by a certain
date, you will draw on him at sight. If he does not honor the draft, put
the matter in the hands of your attorney.
* * * * *
Study the following letters. Select from them those that you think would
make a good series:
1
Dear Sir:
Ten days ago we mailed you a statement of your
account, which was due at that time. As we have heard
nothing from you, we have concluded that the letter
must have miscarried. We are, therefore, enclosing a
duplicate of the former statement. We trust that it
will reach you safely and have your prompt attention.
Yours very truly,
2
Dear Sir:
Evidently you, too, are experiencing the increase in
business that our customers in general are reporting.
In the rush of orders you probably have overlooked the
fact that your account with us is three weeks
over-due. Your remittances hitherto have been very
prompt, and we trust that this reminder will be
treated equally promptly.
By the way, have you found that the Holeless Socks are
coming up to our guarantee? From all parts of the
country we are getting flattering reports in the form
of big orders. We feel that they merit their
popularity, and with the extensive advertising
campaign that we have inaugurated they are bound to
continue in favor.
We are especially prepared at present to give you an
attractive price, enabling you to realize large
profits on these socks. If you need more of them, we
can make shipment at once.
Yours very truly,
3
Dear Sir:
In looking over our accounts, we find that your
purchases have lately been increasing considerably and
that your payments have been few and unimportant.
Statements have been sent regularly, we believe, but
have probably been overlooked because of the stress of
your other affairs. Such things, of course, can happen
with any of us, especially when we have many other
matters to look after.
We have always valued your account, and we greatly
desire our pleasant relations to continue. As the
amount that you owe us is now long over-due, we would
appreciate your returning the enclosed bill to be
receipted during the next few days.
Yours very truly,
4
Dear Sir:
Your attention has twice been called to your account
for $----, but for some reason you do not reply to our
letters.
Our terms, as you know, are thirty days, and we cannot
allow a longer extension except by special
arrangement. We have borne the matter very patiently,
realizing that unusual conditions sometimes prevent
one's doing as he desires. At the same time, it is
entirely out of reason that your account should still
be owing at this time. May we not expect your
remittance by return mail?
Should we not hear from you by the 15th, we shall draw
on you, and, if you have not remitted in the meantime,
please provide for our draft upon its arrival.
Yours truly,
5
Dear Sir:
On March 15 we drew on you for $250. Our draft has
been returned to us by the Blank Bank, unpaid.