Chapter V - Letter Writing Page 03
THE MATERIALS
Never use scraps of paper or soiled paper to write on if better can be had. The materials of a letter affect the receiver, particularly if a stranger, just as one is affected by the garb of a stranger before he speaks.
Use a good pen and black ink.
Fold your paper so that it will fit the envelope.
Avoid blots and erasures; they indicate carelessness or unbecoming haste.
Address your letter distinctly.
Here is a good form:
Mr. George W. White, Boston, 1101 Sioux St. Mass.
LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION
At some time or another one has to write a letter of introduction, and sometimes he has had to pay for it.
If you should give such a letter to a man to introduce him to another with whom you trade, the law has held that the introducer is responsible for any reasonable bills the introduced may contract with the receiver of the letter.
Never give a letter of introduction to a man you are not sure of.
In addressing a letter of introduction which is to be handed in person, do it in this way:
Mr. George W. Brown, Washington, D. C. Introducing Mr. Henry Wilson.
This shows on its face the nature of the communication.
Here is a good form:
111 Payne Ave., Montrose, Ill. September 27, 1910. Mr. Norman R. Lloyd, Chicago, Ill. Dear Mr. Lloyd:
This will introduce my esteemed friend Mr. Thomas T. Fletcher, of this town. Mr. Fletcher contemplates opening a drug store in Chicago. Should he do so he will prove an acquisition to your City. Any favor you can render him will be much appreciated by, Yours faithfully, George W. Brown.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Every man of standing and every employer of labor is at times called on to certify to the character, or to give a testimonial to some esteemed employee who is about to seek his fortune in another place.
If you are about to hire a stranger, it adds to your confidence and to his chances if he have a testimonial as to character and fitness from his last employer, or from some man whose word you value.
The letter of recommendation is usually of a general character and not addressed to any particular. It should open in this way:
"To whom it may concern."
Follow this with your testimonial and sign it.
TITLES
The President of the United States is addressed as: "His Excellency," William H. Taft, Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C.
Cabinet officers, Senators, Congressmen, members of the Legislature, and Mayors of cities are usually addressed as "Hon.," the abbreviation of honorable.
The title "Hon." like "Esq." is often misused. After all titles of courtesy are not obligatory, unless we regard the unwritten law of custom in such matters as binding.
The very best kind of a letter, and perhaps the hardest to write, is that in which the writer appears to be talking to us face to face.