PITMAN'S Twentieth Century BUSINESS DICTATION, THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES PITMAN'S BUSINESS . . DICTATION BOOK . . OF Business Letters, Legal Documents, Miscellaneous Work. A COMPLETE MANUAL OF DICTATION FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, TEACHERS, LAW STENOGRAPHERS, AND STUDENTS OF SHORTHAND AND TYPEWRITING ; WITH CHAPTERS ON SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, AND CAPITALIZATION, AND MATTER COUNTED FOR SPEED PRACTICE. FOURTH KDITION. REVISED AND ENLARGED. NEW YORK : ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, THE PHONOGRAPHIC DEPOT, 3 i UNION SQUARE 1904 PREFACE CONTENTS. PART 1. BUSINESS DICTATION Subjects : PAGE PAGE Advertising 5 Furniture 56 Agents 13 Groceries 59 Automobile 16 Hardware 61 Bicycle ... 18 Hotels ... 66 Boiler Appliances... 22 Investments . 69 Bookbinding 25 Legal 70 Builders ... 26 Life Insurance 74 Collection 28 Lumber ... 79 Copying ... 30 Municipal Si Cotton ... 31 Paper and Envelopes 83 Desks 35 Patents and Trade Drug 38 Marks ... 86 Dry Goods 40 Patent Foods 88 Electrical 42 Pensions... 9i Express ... 45 Pianos 92 Financial Standing 49 Pottery ... 93 Fire Insurance 5 Printing and En- Flour and Feed 54 graving 97 PART 11. LEGAL FORMS Produce Commission 102 Printing Material ... 105 Publishing... ... 107 Railroad ... ... 114 Real Estate ... 121 Recommendations ... 127 Sewing Machines ... 130 Silks * ... ... 131 Stereopticons ... 133 Stocks and Bonds ... 137 Store Fixtures ... 141 Tobacco ... ... 143 Typewriters ... 144 Wines and Liquors... 146 Wood Finishing ... 148 Wool ... ... 153 Miscellaneous ... 155 171 Class I. Miscellaneous Legal Documents. Class II. Legal Papers in Actions. Class III. Law Stenographer's Transcripts. MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS .. .. ,. ,.211 Monroe Doctrine. The Right to Acquire Territory. Government and Currency. Lincoln's Inaugural Address. Washington's Inaugural Address. Washington's Farewell Address. True Eloquence. On Literature and Liberty. The Power of Little Things. Uncertainties of Fortune. Study. Character in Handwriting. The Wonders of a Watch. The Philippine Policy End of the Century Controversy. Paper Making. Trusts. Punctuality. Conciseness. Character in Business. Pens. Patents and Copyrights. Some Reasons for Learning Phonography. Mis-Hearing. Our Army. Opportunities in the Civil Service. SHORT TALKS WITH THE AMANUENSIS .. .. .. 242 The First Situation. On Entering a Situation. The Shorthand Writer's Vocabulary. Things that Pay. The Essential Thing. Punctuation. PRACTICAL TALKS . . . . . . . . . . 249 Study should have a Single Purpose. The Great Test Question. Self Confi- dence. The Miracle. Working Passion. Stick to a Thing. Choosing an Occupation. The Race to the Plodder. Why Many Fail to Obtain and Hold Good Positions. Young Men and their Chances. Character the Test of a Man. The Triumphs of Enthusiasm. Don't Wait for your Opportunity. Learn to Expect a Great Deal of Life. APPENDIX. SPELLING.. PUNCTUATION CAPITAL LETTERS ABBREVIATIONS FOR STATES AND TERRITORIES 264 266 271 PREFACE. "PITMAN'S TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK" is designed to fill a want that has existed for some considerable time for a practical book of dictation selections at a popular price. PART I. contains a varied collection of actual letters representing some fifty different lines of business, a collection such as will be appre- ciated by the teacher and student who maintain that such matter is the "essential thing" in the preparation of stenographers for office positions. PART II. contains a selection of Legal Forms sufficient to give the student an idea of what he may meet with in a law office, and a well chosen variety of selections from speeches, essays, and the pens of distinguished writers, calculated not only to add to the student's vocabulary but also to enrich- and enlarge his store of facts, enthusiasm co and ambition, just at the time he most needs it, on the eve of his exit uj from the school into the business world. tn NOTE TO THIRD EDITION. In this revision the forms of Part II. have been chosen with much 3 care, only such matter as is useful to amanuensis and law stenographer having been admitted. The special value of this must be apparent, when it is remembered that many legal documents are seldom, if ever, dictated ?*" to the stenographer, but are prepared in longhand upon printed blanks IO provided for the purpose. z T Except names of persons and places, most of the forms are exact copies of papers which have been used by the author in his practice as a lawyer and court reporter. These may be divided into, and are here shown i in three classes, and in the following order, viz. : Class I. Miscellaneous Documents not connected with litigation. Class II Papers used hi actions and special proceedings ; i.e., law suits. Class III. Transcripts of testimony of law and court reporters. The explanatory foot-notes should prove helpful to the stenographer seeking familiarity with law language. ^^ NOW READY. " Business Correspondence in Shorthand No. 3." This work forms a shorthand key to pages i to 22 (inclusive) of the letters in the " 2Oth Century Dictation Book and Legal Forms." Beautiiully engraved in Isaac Pitman short- hand ; 40 pages and cover ; price 250. post-paid. 452254 Ellfcabethport, fl.J. January 10, 1901 . Mr. John VVananiakar, Mew York, N.Y Dear Sir: Replying to your favor of January 8th, we are sending you today under separate cover our catalogue and price list of Elec- tric Vehicles. TOe advantages of electricity orer steam as a motive power are touched upon in eur catalogue. It is not too mucli to say that every point which may be considered as an advantage is em- bodied in the electric system, aaya the one itom of unlimited radius . Our new electric vehicles ara capable of making between 35 and 40 miles on each complete charge of the batteries, and if your requirements can be met with this mllaaga, the electric vehicle is. without question, the most desirable. We aha-11 produce very shortly vehicles of tha gasoline sys- tem, and a little later on steam will bs taken up. '//e do this, recognizing the large field for vehicles .of great radius for across country work and touring, and also bo- cause vehicles of the steam or gasoline type can be built at about 25ft less cost. Any further information not contained in our catalogue will be cheerfully furnished upon request. We are, Yours very truly, THE'RIXBR MOTOR VEHICLE CO. SPECIAL NOTICE. In the above letter the address and signature have been added, to show the correct form of setting out. With the object of saving space and of making room for more dictation matter, the remaining letters 'are somewhat abbreviated. IPITIM: JOISTS Twentieth Century Business Dictation Book, PART I. BUSINESS DICTATION. Advertising Correspondence. Messrs. PFAUSON & Co., N. Y. City. Gentlemen : Like most advertisers, we presume you are \villing to consider a new avenue to publicity provided the way is made plain and results are at. the other end. "Dunn's Magazine " is a new channel between you and purchasing people, upon which you may safely venture. You will only repeat the economical results achieved by all of the adver- tisers in our English edition now almost 300,000 monthly circulation. The first number of the American edition appears July i, Vol. VI., No. i. It is in no sense experi- mental, as the contents in " Dunn's " has long been the back- bone of one of our biggest ten-cent magazines. " Dunn's " will have the grown-up, finished appearance of a magazine made by men who know their business. It is only made a ten-center because we mean to have a half-million circulation. We begin with 50,000. If you are looking for new buyers, the introductory pro- position (enclosed) should interest you. Yours truly, Messrs. FLINN BROS., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : We are mailing you under separate cover a sample copy of " Learning by Doing," an educational journal which occupies -an entirely new place in the educational field. Having by our publications practically revolutionized the method of teaching Book-keeping and Business Practice in commercial colleges throughout this country, the requests have been numerous that the same or similar methods be 6 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. applied to our common schools. In answer to some of these requests and the urgent need of such a journal, we have established this paper. The shams and false methods so prevalent will be pointed out and the remedy set forth. We are starting out with a circulation of 50,000 copies ; our subscribers being teachers, superintendents, members of boards of education, school trustees, and school officers of every description. We are soliciting a limited amount of advertising such as is suitable for the field this paper occupies, and would be pleased to contract with you for space. We enclose rate card and contracts, and know that we can make this of value to you, the high value of the paper insuring its preservation through the year by its readers. We earnestly request you to give this matter your immedi- ate attention in order that we may have your copy in time for our October issue. Yours very sincerely, ( 22 S} Messrs. PULLMAN & Co., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : The next two months May and June are important ones with us. Beside going to our regular sub- scribers, extras will be printed to be used at the various teachers' institutes and conventions throughout the country the coming spring and summer months. There are about 3,000 such assemblies, and it is our purpose to reach as many of these as possible through agents who will handle our paper. We solicit your advertisement at this time feeling sure you will reap good results if you will place one with us for these two months. We offer you space at our regular rate, charging you nothing for the extra copies. I think you will agree with us that they are moderately low in view of our large and rapidly increasing circulation nearly 8,000. We need not repeat to you that two-thirds of our circu- lation is perhaps in this State and Ohio, and the balance scattered throughout the West. Sample copy of our paper mailed you to-day. Hoping to have your esteemed order, I am, Yours very truly, (185) BUSINESS DICTATION. 7 Mr. ROBERT D. ANDREWS, Westchester, N. Y. Dear Sir: We have your favor of the ioth inst., and do not feel that you should be over anxious about your advertise- ment in "The Age." At the time you wrote the letter, it would hardly be supposed that you would hear from your advertisement at that date. We trust that before the force of the April iue is expended you may be more successful. We believe that your advertisement is in a most suitable medium, and that the continued use of it will bring satisfactory results. We would be pleased to hear from you in this connection at any time. Yours very truly, ( 1 1 2 ) Messrs. JAMES S. PIERSON & Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Gentlemen : During the past eleven years it has been my duty and pleasure to put before you in the most convincing and seductive way possible the advantages to be derived from advertising in "The Book-Keeper." I have endeavored to base my claims upon reason, and to state them as temper- ately as circumstances and my own condition of health would permit. Perhaps I have succeeded I trust so. Now, however, I have no claim to make ; no theories to advance ; no reason " why " to offer. I have only to submit to you the evidence of those of my advertisers who have used " The Book-Keeper " during the past several years, and testi- mony of their actual experiences. I submit it all to you without argument. I believe there is nothing more for me to add except to express in advance the pleasure it would afford me to receive your early acknowledgment of the testimony. I might also add that, if you are not already an advertiser in ''The Book- Keeper," it would afford me great pleasure to but that is another story. Yours truly, (191) 8 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. THE JONES PUBLISHING Co., Trenton, N. J. Gentlemen: There are three points in regard to "Current Literature " that are worthy of the consideration of every prudent advertiser : 1. Its subscription price is $3.00 per year, and conse- quently its circulation is confined to the intelligent and well-to-do. 2. Many improvements have been made in the magazine during 1899. More will be made during 1900. Its circulation is growing. It is confidently believed that the average circu- lation of 40,000 for 1899 will be fifty per cent, larger for the twelve months of 1900. 3. Its advertising rate is $70 per page, or 20 cents, per agate line a lower rate, line for line, than offered by any of even the ten cent, magazines. We enclose you an estimate of your advertisement which is appearing elsewhere, and hope you will give the matter con- sideration. Order and copy should reach us by September 14, for the October issue. Very truly yours, (155) Messrs. JONES & Co., St. Louis, Mo. Gentlemen : We desire to express to you our entire satis- faction with the results obtained from our advertisement in your paper, on the Standard Dripless Tea and Coffee Strainer. We will be frank in stating that when solicited for this advertisement in your publication, we had grave doubts as to its being a proper or paying medium for a household article of this nature, supposing your journal to be published more in the interest of mechanical science and manufacture, thereby failing to reach the class of people who would have a use for our article, but returns received soon eliminated all such prejudices. We would state to you that during the first month, we received inquiries from Scotland, Hamburg, Antwerp, and India, stating they saw our advertisement in your magazine. Results from these inquiries have brought us a satisfactory foreign business. The local results from this advertisement have also been very satisfactory. Yours very respectfully, BUSINESS DICTATION. () Messrs. A. F. THOMPSON & Co., Bath, Me. Gentlemen: Will you not send us an order for the insertion of the enclosed advertisement in the "American Boy " ? Y, >u can send it to us direct, or through your agency (if yi>u employ one), just as you desire. If your business is placed by an agency, we would be glad to have you ask them what they think of the " American Boy " as an advertising medium, and of its phenomenal success in its subscription department. Please remember that we are spending thousands of dollars for advertising to secure subscriptions, and subscriptions secured in this way are of the greatest value to the advertiser, because the subscribers are used to answering advertisements. At the present increase in circulation it will be necessary soon to advance rates, and \ve will be glad to have your order for space at once. Rates are given on rate card herewith. Yours very truly, (156) Messrs. I. JENKINS' SONS, New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : We desire to call your attention to the fact that this is the season of the year when all large advertisers are placing their contracts for advertising of ail kinds, and, knowing you annually spend thousands of dollars for this purpose, we desire to call your attention to our method of reaching the desired class wanted by the advertiser, at. a cost of one-fourth of that now entailed by advertising in the daily press. We can put your pamphlets directly in the hands of parties who are likely to be of the most benefit to you, at $3.00 per thousand, any kind. We think you will agree with us that this is a very liberal offer, and we trust you will take advantage of it and let us hear from you by return mail, and oblige, Respectfully yours, (148) Mr. LLOYD A. CARROLL, Philadelphia, Pa. Dear Sir : Here are two facts that you cannot help knowing: First : That the Cooper Co. have, in less than one year, and in spite of the unusually hard times, made the greatest business success of the century. 10 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DI( TATION BOOK. Second : This wonderful building of trade is largely the result of up-to-date and attractive advertising. This letter is written just to tell you two other facts that perhaps you do not know : First : The man who is responsible for all this good pub- licity and for the successful advertising ideas of this concern, from before they opened to the present time, is Chas. F, Johnson. Second : The same man is ready to help you in building up your business, or in advising you how to go about building it yourself. I have arranged to devote a large part of my time in the future to helping other merchants or manufacturers attain success, as I have in the past helped the Cooper Co. I am not only an advertiser, but an all-round business man. I understand the book-keeping, the business management, and all other details and systems necessary to conducting modern business. It is not theory that I want to apply to your business, but fact that I have learned through long years of experience; and I am not going to charge you an unreason- able sum for it. No matter how big or how little is your business, no matter whether you now advertise with booklets, circulars, catalogues, in the newspapers, magazines, etc., or not, there are probably a great many ways in which I can assist you. The only chance to find out whether I can help you or not, is to investigate. That will cost you nothing. If you are interested enough to write me, I will be interested enough to call and see you some time in the near future. Yours truly, (320) Messrs. C. A. JACKSON & SON, Baltimore, Md. Gentlemen : Direct newspaper advertising to the consumer, after magazine advertising has partially prepared the way, has often resulted most successfully. It crystalizes as it were the general good of the magazine work, hastens and increases the results. We write to ask if you are not in a position to cover the best of the New York field this fall. Announcements which appear in the magazines month after month familiarize many persons with the names of goods which prove very saleable when offered by local houses. We BUSINESS DICTATION". 1 I believe a large number of buyers can be influenced by adver- tising your goods with names and addresses of retailers in 'The Evening Post." Several times, within the past few months, we have pre- pared reproductions of magazine advertisements for use in " The Evening Post" which the advertisers have used to their evident satisfaction. We shall be glad to serve you in a similar way. Yours very truly, ( 1(jo ) Mr. CLEMENT C. MORRIS, Newton, Mass. Dear Sir : You wrote us last April, in reply to ours asking you to place some advertising, to the effect that your work on some specialities necessarily limited your expenditure in this direction for some time. We write to ask if you are open for the consideration of the subject as yet ? We know it will pay you to use our space if only to reach our Eastern subscribers ; but you could also cultivate the trade of our Western readers for some of your specialities to good advantage. A number of prominent firms in your part of the country use our space largely, as will be seen from our pages, and if they find it profitable, we see no reason why you should not experience a like result. We want your advertisement. We want your advertisement, principally, for the cash it will bring us, but also, because we believe it will pay well, as it has done others before you. Let us have your order for sa3< T six months' advertising ; it will, we are sure, result in your regretting you had not given us an opportunity to serve you before. Await- ing your reply, we remain, Yours truly, (202) THE LITTLEJOHN Co., New Hope, Ky. Gentlemen : We write to notify you that the term for which you placed an advertisement with us has expired, and we enclose bill for the amount due. Permit us to say, how- ever, that we shall be pleased to have your order for the continuance of the advertisement for a longer term ; and in case this is done we will gladly make you an allowance, so that the whole term may be covered at the long term rate. Why not give us your order to keep it in for a year at least ? 12 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. You may thus keep the readers of the "Gazette" familiar with your name and goods, and when the new season comes around you would have great advantage over competitors not constantly advertising. Spasmodic advertising, while better than none at all, is not the best policy. We know a constant steady effort would repay you well, even though the advertise- ment did run for a few months when your goods were out of season. Confident that an investment of this kind would be mutually profitable, and hoping to receive your favorable response, we remain, Yours truly, (192) Messrs. J. H. LOVE & Co., Meriden, Conn. Gentlemen : May we not have your order to give you some assistance in placing your machinery in bakers' and con- fectioners' establishments ? There is a large and growing use oi such machinery in these trades to which our journal is devoted, and we see no reason why we should not be able to put you in the way of new and profitable trade among our readers. We are not aware that anyone has attempted to work this field as yet, and we feel sure you have a good opportunity to secure good results from advertising with us. We send you a copy of the " Gazette," and trust you will give it careful examination. Let us have your order for advertising in the September and subsequent numbers, and see what we can do for you. Yours truly, ( r 45) Mr. HAROLD WHITE, Atlantic Highlands, N. J. Dear Sir : We have your favor of the i4th inst. asking for sample copy of the "Tribune," and rates of subscription, etc. We take pleasure in complying with your request and mail you to-day copy of our September issue, and inclose with this subscription blank and circular giving the opinions of men in different parts of the country as to the usefulness of our journal to those in the trades to which it is devoted. We shall hope to receive your subscription at once, believing that you cannot afford to miss the amount of trade information and instruction given in our columns each month for the small cost of subscription. BUSINESS DICTATION. I } May we not have from you some items of information concerning your business and the trade generally in your part of the country? In this way you can help to make the journal more interesting, for we doubt not there an many of our readers who would be glad to see occasional items from your vicinity. Trusting to have your favorable response, and that the acquaintance thus begun may prove mutually advantageous, we remain, Yours truly, ( i q i ) Messrs. M. J. HAZEL & Co., Oxford, Mass. Gentlemen : Yours of the 22d inst. duly received. We beg to thank you for your complimentaiy words concerning our journal, and to express the hope that very soon we shall have your order for advertising. We have no doubt whatever, that the expenditure of a little money in this direction would bring you new business which would far more than com- pensate you for the outlay. We know we can place you in contact with men you are not likely to reach in an}- other way. Will be pleased to send you a copy of our journal occasion- ally to keep you in mind of us, and shall look confidently for an order from you before very long. With best wishes, we remain, Yours truly, (130 Agents. Mr. R. A. THOMAS, South Bend, Ind. Dear Sir : I have the pleasure to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 26th inst., and find the general conditions stated by you satisfactory. I shall now await your visit in June, when we can further discuss the business in view, and in the interval shall make arrangements to get out a good assortment of samples for the autumn, so that you may have them in sufficient time to place before your buyers. Please advise me when you have fixed the exact date of your arrival here. Yours very truly, (98) 14 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. R. A. THOMAS, South Bend, Ind. Dear Sir: We duly received your favor of the i5th inst, and, after careful consideration of the contents, we are favor- ably impressed with the proposal }'ou make us. We have already been in treaty with several firms, but at present have come to no decision in the matter. However, if terms can be arranged, we think we should like you to represent us. We believe you have good connections through- out the trade, and it seems to us a favorable opportunity to further develop the business which we have been doing among the class of buyers you mention for some years past. Of course, the whole matter hinges upon the question of the amount of commission you would require on orders obtained and executed ; and, as your Mr. Henry Scott intends visiting Yonkers in a fortnight's time, we should prefer to discuss the various points with him personally, instead of stating general conditions and terms which would probably have to be modi- fied, or withdrawn, after an interview. We shall, therefore, await Mr. Scott's call, and meanwhile, we are, Yours truly, (186) Mr. E. A. BOWMAN, Findlay, Minn. Dear Sir : Referring to our records we regret to find that up to date we have not been favored with any of your orders for wall paper. Agreeable to your request, we sent you our full line of samples for 1900, and as a great majority of our agents are sending us more orders this year than ever before we are at a loss to know why you have done no business. When you requested our samples we supposed it was your intention to devote a fair share of your time to selling our papers, and we therefore sent you the agent's outfit, believing it would be to our mutual benefit to have you represent us.^ As the complete outfit, together with advertising matter you received, cost us considerably more than $5.00 (not including j the labor) you will readily see that we cannot afford to leave the agency in your hands unless you are in a position to influence a fair share of the business in your locality. It is not our disposition to write fault-finding letters, but we are obliged to protect our interests. BUSINKSS DICTATION. ;; We would like to have you represent us, but unless you can sell a fair amount of our goods we shall feel justified in appointing another agent in } r our town. If there is any wall paper to be sold in your locality, you will find that Alfred Potts & Co.'s papers are the best known, the best for the money, and easier to sell than any wall papers ever manu- factured. We believe, however, that the long-continued winter weather has probably affected your trade; and, as the spring season is now with us, we shall hope to hear from y< >u stating that the immediate prospects for business are good. Soliciting an early reply, we are, Verv truly yours. Messrs. A. REDFERN, Los Angeles, Cal. Dear Sirs : In- reply to your favor of the 51)1 inst., will say that we think you are laboring under a misapprehension as to discount allowed on the purchases of Messrs. Newton S: Co., San Francisco. In our letter of March 3d, we stated that we could not allow any more commissions, as we had made new arrangements in your state. This was confirmed in our letter of April i ith, when we remitted for credits due to you. We think it best that you should procure your goods from Messrs. Newton, Hunter & Co., as this will simplify matters very much, as they order in large quantities. Trusting this will be satisfactory, we are, Yours truly, (122) Mr. HORACE GREEN, Hamilton, Ont. Dear Sir: We have your favor of May i6th. If you will give us a list of the towns which you intend visiting, we will look into the matter further. We are now represented by two salaried salesmen in Canada, and should not care to make any arrangement which would interfere with them. Thanking you for your inquiry, we are, Very truly yours, (67) l6 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Automobile Correspondence. Mr. J. C. CARPENTER, Jackson, W. Va. Dear Sir: We have your favor of recent date and in reply would say that the probabilities are that not one automobile carriage will be built during the coming season where ten will be required to supply the demand. The impression prevails that there are a great number of horseless carriage factories being erected and that the output will be a large one during the coming season. The fact remains, that there are not in operation in the United States at this time factories capable of turning out twenty machines a day other than the Stanley carriage After three years of experiment on the part of the Messrs. Stanley, and nine months spent in the construction of a factory, we are only now in a position to turn out carriages on a considerable scale. A carefully prepared book of instructions will be furnished with each carriage sold, and it is possible for anyone with some mechanical knowledge to master the handling of the Mobile from the instructions therein given. Unmechanical purchasers living at a distance who cannot come to the factory for instructions are advised to secure a careful and competent engineer, a man of good judgment, and likely to be thorough, who can master the machine and then instruct the purchaser. Yours truly, (222) Mr. M. M. MULLER, Evansville, Ind. Dear Sir : Replying to your esteemed favor of April 2oth, we beg to say that the " Westchester County Model" built by the Mobile Company of America, is a horseless carriage weighing less than five hundred pounds, and costing but six hundred and fifty dollars. Compactly built, with workman- ship of the finest quality, capable of traveling twenty miles or more an hour or reducing its speed so that it can take its place in the slowly moving and stopping line of travel in the great cities, it is operated by steam under circumstances which render it absolutely safe. More than a thousand Stanley carriages of the Massachusetts model are now in public use, and there has never been a single boiler accident. The fuel shuts off automatically when the steam reaches one BUSINESS DICTATION. 17 hundred and sixty pounds. There is a safety-valve which opens at one hundred and seventy pounds. Each boiler is wound with piano-wire and tested up to six hundred pounds pressure, and is calculated to withstand a strain up to thirty- five hundred pounds pressure to the square inch. In the matter of comfort the Mobile is perfectly smooth in operation. It moves without a jar or vibration of an}- kind. When in motion, the products of combustion are carried underneath the carriage, and neither heat nor odor of any kind arises. The machinery is noiseless except in climbing sti ft" grades, when a slight puffing is audible, but nothing in the least degree objectionable. There are more than a dozen improvements in the present carriage over the Stanley carriage as originally put out. The first and most important of these is in the engine. The second relates to the gasoline tank, which now holds double the quantity of fuel formerly carried. A seamless coppei tube, very strong in construction and elliptical in shape, secures this much to be desired result. We are, Very truly yours, (3 22 ) Mr. JAMKS RITTENHOUSE, New York City, N. Y. Dear Sir : Permission is hereby granted you to enter upon and pass over drives of the Central Park with electric pleasure carriage operated by an experienced motorman. This per- mission to continue revocable at any time at the pleasures of the Department, and subject to its rules and regulations. In accepting this permit the holder agrees to exercise the greatest care to avoid frightening horses on the drives and bridle paths, or causing any danger or annoyance. Yours very truly, (84) Mr. N. E. AITKIN, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir: Replying to your esteemed favor of the i2th inst., we beg to say that electric vehicles have many advan- tages over steam, as a motive power. Among these may be mentioned : Odorlessness. The motor is rotary, and therefore free from the noise and vibration of reciprocating engines. It is electric and free from noisy exhausts. 2 D. B 1 8 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Safety. The electric pressure is too low to give a shock. The electric parts are fully protected and concealed. There are no tanks or pipes to burst under pressure. Simplicity. The control is superior. All speeds are eco- nomical. It is self-starting. No engine to start by hand. No box of clumsy gears for change of speed. No water tank to freeze. No government boiler inspection. No licensed engineer. Ladies or children can operate it. Economy. The expenditure of energy stops with the vehicle. , No power used to drive an engine idly or to maintain steam pressure. Comfort. Cleanliness, freedom from noise, vibration and odor, combine to make the electric vehicle the most luxurious of all. More specific information will be promptly sent if you wish it. We are, dear Sir, Yours very truly, (211) Bicycle Correspondence. Mr. S. J. TRISBY, Bathgate, 111. Dear Sir : We beg to inform you that we are now prepared to place orders in hand for large quantities of our popular model B machine, fitted with all our latest improvements, such as our patent detachable crank and chain wheel, double chain- stays, aluminum hubs, Dunlop pneumatic tires, or any other approved make, our patent oil-retaining bearings, black enamel only (gold lines or bronze extra). We shall be pleased to hear that you will be able to place an order with us for the coming season, which, we are sure, will be an extremely busy one for the trade. Yours truly, ( I0 9) THE TWENTIETH CENTURY BICYCLE Co., Lewiston, Me. Gentlemen : We have pleasure in advising you that we are introducing many radical changes and improvements in all of our models, many of them to both the chainless and chain types. New methods, new processes and advanced know- ledge of the structural qualities of materials have enabled us BUSINESS DICTATION. 19 to build our machines for 1900 much lighter than those of 1899 without sacrificing any element of strength or durability. The difference in weights is especially noticeable in the chain- less models. Each machine weight given is the actual weight of the model equipped with saddle and pedals ready to ride. Under separate cover we are mailing you our catalogue, and we trust to be favored with your orders. Yours truty, ( 1 2 5 ) Mr. HENRY H. HOWLEY, Belding, Mich. Dear Sir : We greatly regret to return you the enclosed order, which we are unable to accept as it stands. In ours of the loth inst. we stated that we could build a machine to the weight you required, but that the specification would have to be left to us. We should have to insist upon building to our path-racer standard entirely, merely substituting road-racing tires, and we should choose our own gear case, which would be the lightest we could possibly get. We could not under- take to fit the brake you mention to the machine at all ; as a matter of fact, we would very much rather not accept the order in any case. Could you not induce your customer to conform to a more rational standard ? We are quite sure that this machine will only give dissatisfaction to him. Awaiting your reply, we are, Very truly \ r ours, ('56) Mr. JAMES T. POWERS, Cairo, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your esteemed favor of the 3d inst, we beg to say that the chief advantage of the Coaster Brake is that it enables the rider to stop pedaling on down grades, or at any time when a sufficient degree of speed has been attained, the wheel continuing to coast along while the feet are held stationary on the pedals at any convenient position. We have experimented for many months with coaster brakes of various types and designs, and now have the pleasure of announcing that we shall be able to supply a coaster brake which has stood the most exacting tests of hard usage on rough roads, and which we know to combine effective opera- tion with great durability. The clutch in the rear hub is simple, positive in action and designed to avoid all wedging 20 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. of the parts and all hurtful shocks in their engagement. The brake is of the outside type, acting upon the rear tire. A slight backward motion of the pedal from any position throws back the oscillator and draws the brake spoon against the tire with a force easily graduated and controlled according to the needs of the situation. Upon relieving the backward pres- sure, the wheel coasts on with entire freedom, or the forward pedaling may be resumed. All of the apparatus except the brake spoon and its connecting rod is contained in the rear hub. The Coaster Brake will be furnished to order on any of our wheels for $5.00 additional. Trusting to receive your order, we are, Very truly yours, (266) Messrs. }. M. STOCKTON & Co., Willis, Ohio. Gentlemen : Replying to your favor in regard to export prices, we beg to say that our bicycles are now regularly sold in all the civilized countries of the world. The prices named in our catalogue are based upon the equipment which best meets the requirement of American riders. As the require- ments of the riders of other countries are different, we are obliged to place special prices on machines equipped for the foreign trade. The European and certain other foreign prices are necessarily higher, on account of the equipment demanded, and the extra cost of packing, freight, and duty. We offer an extensive and very attractive line of Juvenile machines with 20, 24, and 26-inch wheels, catalogue of which will be sent on application. Address our Sundry Department. Terms, net cash with order. With every order full shipping instructions should be given. Transportation charges are always to be paid by the purchaser. Our branch houses and stock companies have been made distributing points according to the territory in which they are located. Fully equipped repair shops will be found at these branches and companies, the addresses of which are given on the title page of our catalogue. Trusting to hear from you, we are, Very truly yours, ( 21 5) BUSINESS DICTATION. 1\ Mr. M. W. MILTON, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your letter of the i2th inst., \ve arc sorry to learn that your Chainless Bicycle is can- ing you trouble, and we recommend you to take it to our New York store at Cedar Street. We have a thoroughly equipped repair shop and can undoubtedly overcome the trouble. We will write them in regard to the matter so that there may be no misunderstanding. Of course, if you prefer to send the machine to us we will put it in order gratis. As far as we have been able to ascertain by experimenting, the 1900 chain- less will give the best satisfaction of any chainless machine we have yet produced. Wishing you the best success in using one of these, we are. Yours truly, Mr. R. S. CASEY, Racine, Wis. Dear Sir : With reference to yours of yesterday re sundries, we have despatched to you, per American Express, brackets, six complete brakes (fitted with rubber spoon), the extra long seat pillar for Mr. Vernon, and also the pair of chain adjust- ments for the same gentleman in exchange for those returned faulty. All the machines we have on order for you are now in the finishing department, and we hope to be able to forward in the course of another week or two. Yours faithfully, (91) THE ARNOLD BICYCLE Co., Detroit, Mich. Gentlemen : Have the American wheels handled by you given thorough satisfaction ? If not, are you sure that you have secured the agency of a really high-class bicycle, one which is recognized and sold as such in the United States ? It is a fact too well known to be contradicted, that a great many American bicycles shipped into foreign markets have not been of standard American make, but, on the contrary, were manufactured by small concerns having had little or no experience, and consequently a very small trade in this country. It does not necessarily follow, however, that American machines should be condemned on this account, because it is 22 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. equally true that some of the best type of high grade American bicycles have never been properly introduced into some of the principal foreign markets, owing to the inability of large and successful American manufacturers to fully meet the requirements of their domestic trade. It is for this reason that we bring our line of Eagle bicycles to your attention, confident that the distinctive and patented features which have won for them deserved success in the United States will at once appeal to careful buyers whose aim it is to build up a permanent and successful business on a standard line of American bicycles. If interested, kindly state the territory which you are able to handle, and, if we are not already represented there, we will take pleasure in quoting you our best export prices. Yours very truly, ( 2 53) Boiler Appliance Correspondence. STANDARD STEAM SPECIALTY Co., New York City. Gentlemen : In reply to your favor of the ist inst., regarding the " Utility " Combination Exhaust Muffler, Oil Separator, Return Tank and Pump Governor, installed by you at the Judge Building, will say that it more than meets my expecta- tions ; it has been in use for the past three months, giving perfect satisfaction. I have, at different times, made tests for oil from the returns from heating lines with strong caustic soda, but no trace of oil was found. You have, in your Combination Tank, placed on the market a valuable and, I may say, indispensable adjunct to the modern system of heating. Should you at any time wish to send any one to the Judge Building, they can easily satisfy themselves as to the merits of the Separator. Yours respectfully, (136) MILTON MANUFACTURING Co., Lowell, Mass. Gentlemen : Referring to your favor of the 2oth inst. regarding our High Pressure Boiler Feeder, will say that it will operate the Feed Pump direct or valves in the feed pipe line, keeps the water in the boilers at a predetermined level, saving much annoyance and allowing them to receive only BUSINESS DICTATION. 23 sufficient feed-water to maintain the proper water line, result- ing in increased economy and efficiency of the boilers. An indestructible float in the Feeder operates upon the small water valve, allowing water pressure to act upon the piston, which in turn acts upon the balance valve in feed pipe line. The float only operating the small water valve, has little work to do, and is not liable to stick. It has Water Gauge and Gauge Cocks, and can take the place of the usual water column and gauges upon the boilers. The Float guaranteed for 300 Ibs. By reference to the cut in enclosed circular showing Application of Feeder, a clear comprehension of its adapt- ability is seen. Yours truly, ('7-0 Mr. J. H. HUGHES, Clinton, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your inquiry regarding the Boston Boiler Thermostat, we beg to say that the apparatus is designed to utilize all waste steam and vapor from all sources, such as is usually lost from blow-off tanks, drip tanks, traps to pumps, cooking apparatus, etc., and until the supply of heat from such sources falls short, and is inadequate to heat the water properly, it remains closed against the live steam supply. When, however, the waste heat, usually carried off by vapor, etc., but here wholly recovered and utilized, becomes insufficient, the steam valve automatically opens and adds enough live steam to do the work, and no more, and keeps up this supply as long as required, and no longer. The watering tank can never boil. Would be pleased to have you call and see it in operation at any time. Yours truly, (153) CAMPBELL MILLING Co., Dexter, Me. Gentlemen : We enclose you circular illustrating our boiler appliances, and w r ould call your special attention to our Star Low Pressure Boiler Feeder, which is adapted for Low Pressure Boilers where a low pressure of steam is carried and water of condensation returned direct to the boiler. The water from street pressure, or other source of supply, is con- nected direct to balanced valve on Feeder, and when the float 24 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. in Feeder opens valve, water is admitted through valve and hollow arm direct into P'eeder, which, being connected to boiler at top and bottom, equalizes at once. The Star Low Pressure Boiler Feeder will maintain a constant and reliable water line in low pressure boilers, and give positive assurance that all damage to the boiler from low water cannot occur, either from carelessness of attendant or other causes. Yours truly, (143) WILLIAMS PUMP Co., New York City. Gentlemen : We should be pleased to receive your proposal for one independent jet condenser, to be delivered to the Boston Electric Light and Power Company, Boston, Mass.; the condenser to be of the proper capacity to handle the exhaust steam from two 14^ by 24 simple Buckeye engines, speed 1 6o-horse-power, boiler pressure icolbs. ; temperature of fresh water not more than 65 degrees ; water supply 40 feet from condenser, and a difference of 2 feet in level between the water supply and the condenser floor. Proposals should be accompanied by blue-print showing dimensions of the condenser, and stating time of delivery, Address proposals to the Boston Electric Light and Power Company, mailing them to this office. The right is reserved to reject any or all bids. Yours truly, (138) WELLINGTON STEEL PUMP Co., Concord, N. H. Gentlemen : Kindly send us your lowest price for two q| by 3! by 7 single outside packed plunger pumps, delivered "L Manchester, N. H. These pumps will be required to lift cold water a height of not more than seven feet, and force this water through a 300- horse-power primary and a 2oo-horse-power secondary heater to the boilers operated under 100 Ibs. pressure. The difference in level between the pump and the boiler feed will be eight feet. Proposals should be accompanied by print showing dimen- sions of the pumps, and stating the time of deliver}-. Address proposals to the Williamsburg Power Company, mailing them to this office. The right is reserved to reject any or all bids. Yours very truly, (132) BUSINESS DICTATION. 25 Bookbinding Correspondence. Messrs. L. L. BRAWN & Co., New Haven, Conn. Gentlemen : The year is about to close, and it being a time when all new contracts are made, we take this method of placing before you this letter, that you may give us the opportunity of estimating on such work as you may have, provided you should wish to make a change. Our specialty is in the Binding of Magazines, Pamphlets, etc., in the most approved style and most workmanlike manner, with the greatest possible dispatch. Our plant is equipped with the latest improved machinery, which gives us every advantage in cheapening work, of which you will become convinced if we are allowed to furnish you estimates. We are also open all night, which will enable publishers to take advantage of holding their forms for extra news at a small additional cost. Yours very truly, I 1 44) Mr. H. W. COLEMAN, Newark, N. J. Dear Sir : Being supplied with all modern improvements in the bookbinder's industry, we are now prepared to offer you advantages in bookbinding second to no other establishment in the city. We are fully equipped with the latest patented contrivances to facilitate the production of the largest orders in the shortest possible time, and at the least expense, and can with confidence solicit your trade, assuring you that if honored with it we can guarantee perfect satisfaction. We make a specialty of cloth and pamphlet binding, but can with equal facility handle every description of binding, including desk-pads, portfolios, etc. Estimates cheerfully furnished. Hoping to hear from you, we remain, Respectfully yours, Messrs. SIMPSON & Co., Brooklyn, N. Y. Gentlemen : Having succeeded Mr. W. C. Hennen in the bookbinding and pamphlet business, we would respectfully solicit a share of your work. With the latest approved machinery, we are in a position 25 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. to turn out work rapidly and well executed, and our prices will be found reasonable. Our bindery has a capacity of 250,000 sheets per day. We can turn out 5,000 cloth bound, 5,000 paper sewed, and 10,000 wired books daily. With the Hennen New Process Bookbinding Machine we can bind 7,000 paper covered books per day. This machine binds books without the use of wire or thread, and the work is superior to any style of binding on the market. We bind all kinds of pamphlets and paper bound books, having separate departments for our cloth work. We will gladly estimate on your work, and call upon you, if requested. Yours truly, ( ! 5 2 ) Builders' Correspondence. Mr. J. B. SELLECK, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : By Saturday at noon the entrance hall and waiting room in the Park Street house will be all browned, and you can then take measurements for your marble work, or if not convenient for you to do so at that time, I will meet you Monday, when we can make arrangements as to what time will be most convenient for you to do the work. Yours truly, (77) Mr. J. B. COLT, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : I am in receipt of yours of the 2oth inst., and, in reply, would say that I have not had occasion to put in any cold air box to my furnaces, as I have always found them to give excellent service without. I have always used the Benson furnace, and consider it equal to any. Yours truly, * (67) Messrs. NEWSOME & Co., Williamsbridge, N. Y. Gentlemen : If convenient to you I will be ready to take trim at the Cedar Avenue job on Thursday morning next. Please advise me if you will be ready to deliver material on that date so that I may have the men there to remove the articles as soon as delivered. Yours truly, (60) BUSINESS DICTATION. .? 7 Mr. HOLTON ROBINSON, 14 West 1 23d Street, New York. Dear Sir: We have had the flagging repaired in front of your 1 25th Street lots, and while the men were there we had them replace a couple of additional ones, making it a verv complete job. We told you the work would cost $14.50, but as the man did a little more than he agreed to, we told him we would give him $15. Will you kindly send me a check for this amount, and we will return you his receipt. Will you also advise me if you will be at home next Tuesday, and if so, what would be the most convenient hour for us to call and, in a general way, discuss property improvements Yours truly, 0-4 ) Mr. J. B. HAINES, Cleveland, Ohio. Dear Sir : I wish you would start on Monday at my Brook Avenue house putting in your guide posts, etc. The brown- ing of the house will then be fully completed, and I do not wish to put the white coat on the elevator shaft until your men are through with the guides. Kindly advise me if you will do this, and oblige, Yours truly, (70) Mr. J. B. GILLIES, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : Your favor of the ist inst. received. I will put up a partition for you seven feet high, made with ceiling boards, bases, capping and mouldings, to the height of four feet, six inches ; the upper part sashes with clear double thick glass ; to be made of white wood and varnished two coats, for the sum of two dollars and fifty cents, per lineal foot. Yours truly, (76) Mr. B. B. ELLIS, Concord, N. H. Dear Sir : Can you rush the work on the stair job you are doing for me at gSth Street ? If so, I will esteem it a favor. I must take down the plasterer's hoist on Monday morning, and they must have some means of getting to the upper stories without going out on the fire escapes. Kindly advise me as to what is the best you can do. Yours truly, (77) 28 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. JOHN REGAN, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your favor of the 291)1 ult., I propose to cut out and frame in roof an opening for a galvanized iron sky-light 4x6 feet, to be ceiled around the lower part to plastering, and to make good the tinning on roof, to furnish labor and materials, for the sum of thirty-five dollars. Yours truly, (68) Collection Correspondence. Mr. K. L. Ross, Yonkers, N. Y. Dear Sir : We desire to invite your attention to the advantages we offer in our business as a Collection Agency. We make a specialty of Collections, to which we give prompt and zealous attention, rendering reports and remit- tances at once. If we do not succeed there is no charge. We shall take pleasure in forwarding to you a- special list of references, in addition to the enclosed list, if you so desire, and invite attention to our personal responsibility. We also desire to impress upon your mind the fact that we make a demand for payment of all bills entrusted to us for collection immediately after receiving same ; we collect as soon as possible, and, as soon as we get it, you receive the amount, as we do not retain funds until called upon to remit, but the moment a collection is made, it is turned over to the person or firm to whom it belongs. We charge 10 per cent, on all collections of over $50.00, and 15 per cent, on any under that amount, and, in case of suit, 25 per cent. ; but we do not bring suit until specially instructed to do so. There are no other attorney's fees. Of course, claimant pays costs of bringing action, which is usually very small. Claims of any amount or duration taken. Yours truly, ( 2 30 Mr. H. W. PAYNE, Baltimore, Md. Dear Sir : You are hereby informed that a claim amounting to $1,000 against you has been placed in our hands for collection by Messrs. Hoover & Johnston, of this cit} T , for work, labor, and services performed by them as architects in BUSINESS DICTATION'. 2Q building a five-story brick dwelling, with brown-stone front, on your property at corner of Columbus Avenue and Man- hattan Street, and furnishing all materials therefor, which amount we request you to liquidate with the least delay. As a rule we thus call upon debtors for payment of such accounts before resorting to legal or other means, by which said debtor will become involved in additional as well as unnecessary expense in its collection. Hoping, therefore, that you will appreciate this sufficiently to prompt you to pay the amount within one week from date hereof, or at least reply to this communication and demand within that time, arranging for prompt settlement of the above described claim, we remain, Yours truly, P.S. By remitting us this amount you will save having the claim put into the hands of a local attorney for collection. -, (190) Messrs. ELLIS & Co., Sandusky, Ohio. Gentlemen : We have to-day handed Messrs. Cornwcll, Crocker & Berry check for $106.14, in payment of your account. We regret that you have thought the step taken unnecessary ; and would say that when your draft came to hand we could not conveniently accept the same, and asked our Mr. Hull to write to you to that effect. We presumed that this had been done, and your solicitor's letter to us was the first intimation to the writer, that you thought this step necessary. Mr. Hull is at present out of town, and we, there- fore, do not know whether he wrote as instructed. Yours very truly, ( 1 1 1 ) Messrs. LIMKS & Co., Uneeda, N. Y. Gentlemen : W 7 e are pleased to note by your letter of the 2oth inst. that you are sending us your collections, and are glad to welcome you. If there is any way in which we can assist you, either in the collection of a debt, information as to credits, or particular investigation of special cases, we will be glad to do so. Call upon us, even if the service required is not distinctly in our line. Yours respectfully, (8<) 30 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Copying Office Correspondence. Mr. SAMUEL KENT, Jersey City, N. J. Dear Sir : In most lines of business, personal letters pay. They bring, hold, and increase business. These are facts, demonstrated by the results achieved by many leading firms. We can reproduce any number of fac-simile typewritten letters at a reasonable cost. This letter is a specimen of the work. Your name and address have been filled in to match the body of the letter. Are you interested in this matter ? May I call on you ? Yours truly, (84) Messrs. LAMSON BROS., Brooklyn, N. Y. Gentlemen : Having facilities for doing first class dupli- cating work, I should be pleased to execute your circular letters, or other matter which you desire to send out in type- written form, and offer the following low rates; 100 copies, one page, letter size, $1.25 ; 500 copies, one page, letter size, $4.00 ; 1,000 copies, one page, letter size, $7.00 ; addresses inserted in same type and color, per 100, 40 cents. You will find that communications written under this process have the appearance of being typewritten and the effect of personal letters. This is a sample of the work. I am also prepared to do typewriting and stenographic work of every description, promptly and in the best style. Hoping that you will give me an opportunity to serve j r ou, I remain, Very respectfully yours, ( X 37) Dr. D. H. AHREND, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : Two dollars per 1,000 is our price for full size imitation typewritten letters, with signature in typewriting, you furnishing the letter heads. Special prices on orders of 5,000 and over. We want your business, and will make our prices an inducement. We use all styles of typewriter type and any color ink. If you desire to insert names and addresses we will furnish you a typewriter ribbon to exactly match our ink, or we will do this filling in and reproduce your written signature at low prices. BUSINESS tUCTATIOX. 3! You certainly use " Form Letters," circular letters, etc., at various times, and realize the importance of having them appear as if written on the typewriter. This letter is a sample of our work. Advertising b} T our method is cheap and effective, if your list is good. Even- letter goes to some interested party. There's no random firing ; no waste of circulation. Perhaps that's why it pays. Some glib solicitor may talk you into believing he repre- sents the only firm on earth capable of handling your circular work. Be a little slow in making haste, and don't place your orders until you compare prices, for after all it's prices, coupled with good service that talk, also wins trade and holds it. If you are one of our customers you are probably glad of it. If we do not now number you as such, a trial order placed with us will quickly make you a regular patron. We will be glad to submit samples, and give you any further information you may desire regarding our process. Send us a postal or telephone Cortlandt 859, and our repre- sentative will call. Yours very truly, (288) Cotton Correspondence. Mr. T. J. CAREY, Torrey, N. C. Dear Sir: With the great increase in speculative activity in cotton, we feel sure that an energetic representative could materially increase our business in your vicinity, and we would esteem it a favor if you could give us the name of a reliable person whom you could recommend. To such a person we would be glad to pay a brokerage on any business sent us. Cotton at the present time has declined somewhat from the high prices ruling a few weeks ago, but with the light movement now prevailing a sharp break is unlikely. Foreign spinners pay little attention to the small receipts, claiming that cotton is being held back, and are only buying for their immediate requirements. We believe that the crop is materially smaller than the consumption of this year, and that we shall have higher prices as soon as European spinners realize this. Is cotton held back to any extent in your locality ? Yours very truly, 066) J2 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. A. C. LUTZ, Cleveland, Ohio. Dear Sir : With increased activity in nearly all of the speculative markets, we feel sure that an energetic repre- sentative could materially enlarge our business in your vicinity, and we would esteem it a favor if you could give us the name of a reliable person whom you could recommend. To such a perse n we would be glad to pay a brokerage on any business sent us. In the event of our being able to find a suitable party to represent us, we would instruct, if agreeable to you, that all margins be deposited with your bank for transmission to us. We await your reply with much interest, and remain, Yours truly, ( ll( >) Mr. A. J. WHEELER, Kansas City, Mo. Dear Sir : Your favor of the 8th inst. came duly to hand, and we are much obliged. We regret, however, we cannot extend our offer for the Mixtures No. 11,651, without further consulting our friends. We shall see them on 'Change to- morrow, when we will put the matter to them and write you the result. We shall be glad to receive the patterns of Figured Sateens by Thursday evening at the latest, so as to be in time for the mail. We have an inquiry for 500 pieces as per pattern enclosed herewith, and shall be glad if you would quote us your lowest price for same. Yours truly, ( TI 7) Mr. SPENCER A. GALES, Palatka, Fla. Dear Sir : We are still short fifty bales of the 949 lot of cotton, shipped on the i5th of December, from Columbus, Miss. We wired you last week to trace this cotton by wire, and also wrote the G. F. A., of the Southern system, regard- ing it. So far, we have heard nothing from either of you about this cotton. We have never received a bale of the 100 bale lot, shipped Jan. 1 4th from Augusta, Ga. Please have tracer started for this lot immediately. Yours very truly, (92) BUSINESS DICTATION'. 33 Messrs. R. A. GATES & SONS, Atlantic, Ga. Gentlemen : According to our records, you are mill due us 100 bales of strict middling, and 50 bales of middling, for January i5th shipment, sold us November yth, at $7.50. Please see if we have these lots in accordance with your books, and if so, we shall be glad if you will have it here at the specified time. Please start tracer for the thirty-one bales of cotton, shipped January 2d, and the thirty-one bales shipped January 2Qth. We can hear nothing from either lot. Please let a part of the 750 bales, Feb. ist, come forward at once, and not wait until the second week in March. Yours very truly, ( ll &) Mr. H. J. ROOT, Baltimore, Md. Dear Sir : In shipping the cotton which you are due us for February, please divide it as nearly as possible into four equal shipments, and let them come forward one each week, instead of the whole lot the last week in Feb., as at first decided upon. We have no room to store such a large lot of cotton at once, and we hope you will let it come forward as requested. Yours very truly, (81) Messrs. JAMES BLAKE & Co., Savannah, Ga. Gentlemen : We find that the sample of cotton which we sent you came out of bale No. 19, lot OXB. We are still finding a good deal of seed in that bale, and also in bale No. 85, same lot. This last bale we notice has a great many more seed than the one first reported. We are sorry to find this lot of cotton falling so far below the grade for which it was bought, and we await your further instructions. Yours very truly, (92) The JAMES A. SPICER Co., Canton, Ga. Gentlemen : About the 750 bales of cotton sold for Feb dehvery, part of which has been shipped, if vou can let the ba ance of it come along in March, weekly shipment of 100 bales, it would suit us a great deal better than the former D. S. 34 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. arrangement. We are getting in an unexpected lot, and will not have room to store all that is coming. Of course we will pay the interest, and usual warehouse and insurance charges. Yours very truly, (87) Messrs. A. J. HORNEN & SONS, Tampa, Fla. Gentlemen : We are surprised to learn that anything except middling will be delivered on contracts. We cannot use any- thing lower than middling grade, so if you cannot get this, sell out the contract and don't receive the cotton. Do not ship us low grade stuff. Please send us an itemized statement of our account so that we can check up with you. Yours very truly, (73) Mr. H. H. CANNEN & Co., Blue Ridge, Ga. Gentlemen : We have just wired you as follows : " Since wiring yesterday, we have decided to take the July cotton. Have it shipped to Columbus," which we now confirm. Please get the lowest freight rate from New Orleans here, which should not exceed 3oc., and from Danville to New Orleans on cotton goods is 25c., and from Danville here it is 5c. Please let us know what day you will have to receive this cotton, so that we can send you check for it, amount of *vhich you will please advise us. As spots do not sympathize with futures, we have figured that our loss will be consider- ably less by taking actual cotton. Yours very truly, ( I2 4) THE M. A. WHITE Co., Stanton, Fla. Gentlemen : We have received, and finished weighing up, the .500 bales of cotton shipped this month, and we beg to report the shortage as follows : One hundred bales, marked O. J. J. O., 797 Ibs. loss, N. S. R. H., 840 , 7 M. N. P. O., 920 ... fi M.N.O.W., 208 M M M . L - S - K - J' 6 3 M ,; or a total loss of 3,395 Ibs. BUSINESS DICTATION. . - This cotton was carefully weighed, and \ve arc willing to be qualified as to the accuracy of the weights. We are sorry to have to report this shortage, and hope next month's shipments will come up much better. We herewith enclose \ - ou debit memorandum for 3,395 Ibs. charged to you as per contract, which is, $7.80 landed. Yours very truly, ( 1 5 5 ) Desks. THE JAMES H. STOCK Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. Gentlemen : You may remember us having some corre- spondence with you in regard to a desk? We have practi- cally decided to have one of No. 301-66" " with swinging pedestal, and with No. 7 " D " typewriter attachment in left pedestal, and now ask your very lowest trade rate, delivered at our door, cash with order. Before buying one, however, it would be some satisfaction to us if we could see in this city a desk of your make having this typewriter attachment, so as to test the practicability of the same, and therefore would ask you to send us the name of any firm having purchased one. If you cannot mention one in this city, please give us the name of one elsewhere. We are, Very truly yours, THE JAMES H. STOCK Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. Gentlemen : Replying to yours of Oct. i2th, we beg to say that we are very much surprised to hear that it will be three weeks before you can deliver the desk. The excuse about " having to specially construct an entirely new desk on account of the No. 7 typewriter attachment" is exceedingly weak, as this was duly specified for in the original order, and if you conduct your business on business-like principles you must have calculated for this in your estimate. After much persuasion, we have got the party who has promised to pur- chase our old desk, to hold off for three weeks after the date of your letter, but not a day after, so if the desk is not delivered on or before the 5th November we claim the privi- lege to cancel the order. Yours truly, (H4) 36 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. THE JAMES H. STOCK Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. Gentlemen : We have your favor of the i3th inst., and, in reply, would say that we have decided to order a No. 301-66" " swinging pedestal desk, with No. 7 " D " typewriter attach- ment, as per our previous correspondence with you. We should prefer the single drawer "A-Z" indexes with each drawer. It was not, however, our intention to give the order just yet, but as you press it, we will do so, and herewith enclose check for $30.00 in part payment. Please note that we do not wish the desk delivered until about July 15111. Please notify us a few days previous to shipping, and we will send you check to balance, viz., $23.42. Kindly keep in mind that your quotation of $53.42 was for the desk delivered right to our door. We shall be glad to have a line confirming this order. We are, Very truly yours, (156) Mr. LEVI H. HONES, Sandford, 111. Dear Sir : We have your very considerate favor of the nth inst., and only regret that it is not possible for us to comply with your request for duplicate of the missing. part of the desk, which is the base containing the special construction which, as you know, took us from six to nine months to make ; not that we were all this time making it, but that in the above period we could only find one opportunity of making this special construction. We are following this shipment by another wire tracer, and have advised the R. Co. of the exact condition of affairs, though we know they will use every en- deavor to locate the part, but the most effective way is to enter claim for the value of the goods. To do this we must have the freight receipt for the top, showing that the base was not received. If you will kindly send us this at once we are confident we can get the desk to you within a very few days, even though the wire tracer should prove ineffective. To rush another base through would require between 30 to 40 days, and it will certainly be far preferable to act on the above suggestions. We await your further pleasure, and remain, Very truly yours, ( 22 5) BUSINESS DICTATION. Mr. SAMUEL J. EXTZ, New Rochelle, N. Y. Dear Sir : We are in receipt of your esteemed favor of the iyth inst. enclosing freight bill, which does not, howe\ei, show that one part of the desk has not yet been received. It is impossible for us to enter a claim for any damage, or tor a lost part of a desk, unless it is noted on freight bill that the part has not been received, or received in a perfect condition. Now, we are returning this freight bill that you can have the freight agent at your place make notation that the second part is not received. Regretting that there should be so much delay in this matter, we remain, Yours truly, (12!) Mr. M. A. PFNXELL, Roselle, N. J. Dear Sir : Concerning the desk recently shipped you, and which our Mr. Jones has examined and reported upon, permit us to say that under the circumstances we are willing to allow you a rebate of $5.00 on your desk to reimburse you for any expense you may suffer in having the necessary repairs made. We regret exceedingly you should have suffered this disap- pointment on this first order placed with us, for we know it must react upon us unfavorably when you may have in mind further purchases. We trust you will not permit this to be the case, but will hand us any orders you may have for goods in our line. That we shall put forth every effort to treat you so well as to make you forget all about this present un- pleasantness goes without saying. Yours truly, (M 6 ) THE ROBERT J. MEEKS Co., Brunswick, N. J. Gentlemen : This will acknowledge receipt of your esteemed favor of the 3151 ult, and advise that on the i3th inst. we shipped your special t} 7 pewriter desk, but in two packages, which is the manner in which all of our desks are shipped in order to secure a favorable freight rate. It mus.t be that the shipment became separated in transit, and we are using even r endeavor to secure an early delivery. We are following by wire tracer. 452254 3<*> TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. We can assure you that this desk is built only from thoroughly seasoned stock, and we are confident that when the desk is set up in a proper manner all parts will work perfectly and be found satis factory. Do not be afraid to pull the writing bed down to the pedestal. If there is a panel in the desk that is warped, kindly indicate its location, and we will send you another to replace it, reimbursing you for any expense you may be put to in so doing. Awaiting your further pleasure, we remain, Yours very truly, (182) Mr. S. J. MEYER, Columbus, Ga. Dear Sir: We are just in receipt of your telegram advising us of the non-arrival of desk, and asking for a report for same. Replying thereto, we beg to say we have twice requested the R. Co. to put a wire tracer after this ship- ment, and have just finished writing them a very vigorous letter upon the subject, again requesting that they put a third wire tracer out, and advise both you and ourselves immedi- ately upon the receipt of any information as to its where- abouts. We trust it will now reach you without further delay or annoyance. We thank you for your very kind consideration, and trust you will believe us when we say we are doing all we possibly can to get desk to you. Yours truly, (135) Drugs and Proprietary Medicines. J. B. CLINE Co., Brooklyn, N. Y. Gentlemen : I am in want of some Trichloracetic Acid for use in my work as a dentist, and have tried to get the Acid in this city but 'without success. A brother dentist suggested that your house kept it ; and, if so, I wish you would send me one one-ounce vial, that is if the Acid referred to (I think I quote it correctly) is put up in ounce vials. I will remit pay- 'ment in advance if you will let me know how much to send ; or, if you send the package, I will remit at once on its arrival. Yours truly, (no) BUSINESS DICTATION. ^ Mr. A. J. HOLMES, Jersey City, N. J. Dear Sir: We returned to you on January 25111, one barrel containing 358 pounds of zinc sulphate, same covered by your bill of January i2th. The reason we return this is, we iind upon analysis of same that it is not chemically pure, the sample under analysis containing iron. We have been put to con- siderable expense on account of the quality of the previous barrel not being absolutely pure. In view of this, we would ask that you credit our account with the value of the barrel returned, and to this end we enclose you herewith our bill under separate cover. Please do not send us any more for the present. Yours very truly, ( 1 2 2 } Mr. B. J. MARSH, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : You will soon have calls for Dr. Smiles' Kola Nervine Tablets and William's Skin Enamel. These new goods will be ready in about two weeks, but as our advertising is now starting, it may be advisable for you to have a small order in for early delivery, on conditions that if they do not prove suitable and saleable in your locality, they may be exchanged at any time. Price of Kola Nervine Tablets is $8.00 per dozen, less 10 per cent., and William's Skin Enamel, $1.75, less 10 per cent., delivered. They will be as handsome as any on the market, have genuine merit, and we will give them such advertising as to make them sellers from the start. The price on " Nervine " remains the same, $7.50 per dozen, less 15 per cent. Can we serve you? Yours very truly, (144) Q. J. HANCOCK DRUG Co., New Berne, N. C. Gentlemen : Your communication of the 5th inst. at handi acknowledging the receipt of shipment covered by our invoice of February 29th. We note your remarks, however, to the effect that instead of the two dozen Cod Liver Oil as invoiced, you received two dozen Anodyne Pine Expectorant. This is an error on the part of our shipping department, which we sincerely regret, as well as any inconvenience which the non-receipt of the Oil caused you. 40 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK You will, perhaps, be pleased to learn that the Cod Liver Oil has gone forward, and, as requested, we have mailed the Calomel Granules, and doubtless you will have received same before this communication comes to hand. We would thank you to hold the two dozen Anodyne Pine Expectorant forwarded in error, subject to our shipping direc- tions. We expect that our Mr. Hill will be in your vicinity in a short time and he will attend to the disposition of this preparation. Awaiting your further esteemed favors, we remain, Yours truly, (176) Mr. L. B. KRAFT, New York, N.Y. Dear Sir: We are manufacturers of "Liquid Acid Phos- phate," " Phosphoric Acid," and "Phospho-Citric Acid." If you use any of these articles in your manufactures, we shall be pleased to send samples and give quotations. Having been manufacturers of the above-mentioned goods for several years (from the time they commenced to come into general use), our experience enables us to offer them as standards in purity and strength. In asking quotations please state quantities usually pur- chased, so that we can give you lowest figures. Yours truly, (94) Dry Goods Correspondence. The ROBERT CLARK Co., Columbus, Ohio. Gentlemen : Enclosed you will find a card representing our new quality of Crown Warranted Mercerized Satteens, 32 inches wide, half pieces. To secure early delivery, order at once. On a reasonable order we will forward you 25 or 50 sets of samples of shades you purchase, to submit to your dressmakers and individual customers. We consider we have by far the best line of these Satteens in stock of any house in this city. Trusting we shall have the pleasure of hearing from you, we are, Very truly yours, (94) BUSINESS DICTATION'. 41 Mrs. JAMES PARSONS, Yonkers, N. Y. Dear Madam: We beg to -acknowledge receipt of your favor of the 3ist ult, and we have forwarded by mail tlic ribbon ordered. We omit the black goods, being entirely out of the line represented by your sample. We enclose herewith a sample of a similar style of goods, in a narrow stripe. The stripe runs around, as you will see, but the width is such as will allow cutting the other way, thus bringing the stripe as you wish. We also enclose a sample of plain goods to match and shall reserve both for your instructions. Very truly yours, ( ' 5 ) Mrs. J. B. HARRIS, Mount Vernon, N. Y. Dear Madam : Your favor received, also coat returned, which we regret exceedingly does not fit satisfactorily. We are unable to comply with your request to accept it back and give credit, as it is strictly contrary to our rules to return to stock any garment which has been altered. If you will kindly favor us by calling, so that our fitter may see the coat on you, we feel confident that we can rectify the faults complained of. We hold the garment subject to your instructions, which you will please favor us with by return mail, and oblige. Yours truly, ( I0 8) Messrs. J. WORTHINGTON & SONS, Fall River, Mass. Gentlemen: We are sorry to see, from your favor of loth inst., that we have given you cause for dissatisfaction in regard to the case of Prints forwarded to you Nov. 28th. On examination of our stock and sales books we find, to our sur- prise and regret, that a mistake was made in valuing those goods. The error was made either by the order clerk who called them off, or the entry clerk who charged them. We therefore request you to charge us with one cent, per yard overcharge on the entire 30 pieces, making $12. altogether. Hoping you will accept our apologies for the mistake, and for the trouble it has caused. Yours respectfully, (121) 42 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mrs. JOHN BROWN, Belmar, N. J. Dear Madam : Your favor of the gth received, and, in reply, we beg to say that we reserved the cape referred to, the required length of time, after which it was placed in stock and it was sold only a short time before your message was received. We could order the same style specially for you and send it in ten days' time, but, fearing this may be too late for you, we send another style of garment herewith, for your inspection, which we trust will be satisfactory. Yours truly, (96) i Mrs. J. A. FISHER, Boston, Mass. Dear Madam : We beg to acknowledge receipt of your favor, and, in reply, would say that the half-yard of jetted lace was sent with your other purchases and should have been delivered with them on Friday. Our packer has signed the check for having enclosed the lace, and we will therefore feel obliged if you will carefully re-examine the contents of the package received, as the lace may have been overlooked in unpacking. Yours truly, (82) Electrical Construction Correspondence. Messrs. BROWN CHASE & Co., Astoria, L. I. Gentlemen : As the largest electrical contractors in this city, we respectfully call attention to our facilities for all work required in the installation of Electric Light, Heat or Power, whether new installations, additions, or repairs. We have done the most important work contracted for in this industry, since our organization in 1892 as successors to the Wiring and Installation Department of the Dawson Elec- tric Illuminating Co., of New York. Our work is of the best quality but reasonable in price. We compete for it under any cDmpetent specifications, or, in absence of other specification, our new propositions prescribe the most rigid adherence to the proper requirements of first- class work, which we guarantee. BUSINESS DICTATION. 4- Ours is a large company, with ample capital, and the value of our guarantee is equal to the largest contract that may be concerned. This question of responsibility is most desirous and important. We can complete contracts in the shortest possible time from the receipt of the order till we deliver the certiticuies of the Board of Fire Underwriters and the New York Fire Department. On receipt of a postal or telephone call, one of our agents will call on you immediately and give any desired information. Yours truly, (208) Messrs. MORRIS, ADAM & Co., Pittsburg, Pa. Gentlemen : We recently had an inquiry in regard to oper- ating rolls for breaking up iron bars by an electric motor of approximately 1 5o-horse-power. The average speed of a motor of this size is between 500 and 600 revolutions, and this speed would have to be reduced to something like ten to eighteen revolutions of the rolls themselves. You, of course, understand that this work is such that the entire load comes on the motor suddenly, and we expect to put a heavy fly-wheel on the motor shaft to carry it over these points of excessive loads. Will you kindly advise us in regard to your experience with the use of a worm and a worm wheel to reduce this speed of the motor to that required by the roll. Also any information in regard to this class of work which you may have had experience with will be greatly appreciated by Yours very truly, ( l6 5) Mr. H. J. THOMPSON, Sudbury, Mass. Dear Sir: We enclose herewith blue-print showing founda- tions for engines for the Sudbury power station. We have laid out these foundations for two Buckeye engines of the same size as the one now ordered, which, we understand from Mr. Holmes, has been shipped. The engine contemplated for the future will be a right-hand engine. The Ball engine which you intend to use temporarily is located as shown on the blue-print. The high pressure cylinder will rest temporarily on the 6x8 yellow pine beam, which 44 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. extends across the two Buckeye foundations. When the second Buckeye engine is received, this yellow pine beam can be moved if thought desirable. We should recommend placing the foundation bolts of the future engine in position while the masonry is being built, although they can be placed in the brick work at some future time if desired. The opening, 2" x 18", at the rear end of the foundation, should be either arched over or iron plate put across it. This opening is for the injection pipe for the condenser. Very truly yours, ( l8 5) Mr. F. C. WILLS, Bangor, Me. Dear Sir : We have been informed that you are interested in promoting an electric railroad to run between Bangor and Northport, and that you" v/ill probably require a power station in addition to the electrical equipment of the road. We desire to call your attention to our facilities for under- taking the engineering of such a project, hoping that it may lead to your placing this department in our hands. We are prepared to undertake all of the engineering connected with an electrical railroad from the preliminary estimates and surveys up to and including the entire plant, power station and all. With your kind permission, we will call upon you within a few days for the purpose of talking over this matter. Yours truly, (128) Mr. W. W. CLARKSON, Worcester, Mass. Dear Sir : We herewith mail you blue-print showing the anchor bolts and print for the roof trusses as corrected by the Lymann Iron Works. Also blue-print of the floor-framing for the engine-room, and one print of the corrected engine foundations. We have found it necessary to make a further correction of these foundations, and would request that you return the first two prints of these which we mailed you. We regret that these changes were necessary, and trust that you have made no great headway on these engine foundations. You will note on the flooring plan that two of the posts cut through a part of the dynamo foundations. Inasmuch as the BUSINESS DICTATION. 45 foundation soil is of very good quality, we do not think anv vibration will be transmitted to the floors from these dynamos. We also enclose a short specification of what we consider would be good flooring for this engine-room. \Ye trust that you will find it satisfactory. Very truly yours, i 17.;) Express Correspondence, Mr. JAS. BALDWIN, Superintendent, St. Paul, Minn. Dear Sir: Referring to shortage of $10.00 from package consigned to Miss D. Domino, La Blanche, Ohio, ycur decision in this matter is proper; it being the duty of Messenger Rickards, en discovering the package in bad order, to have the contents counted, and to do so before the package left his hands. This course would have established the fact of the amount delivered to him, and put the responsi- bility on the parties at Omaha, Neb. However, there is a point in this particular transaction that I think it would be well to investigate. You will probably remember that we had some trouble with the transfer man at Des Moines, la., some time ago, when it was shown there was $20.00 abstracted from a package passing through his hands at that point, which amount was collected from said transfer man, and he being dismissed from service. If this package was at Des Moines long enough to be tampered with, and was handled by the same party, I think it would be well to make a close investigation regarding the shortage in this package at that point. Please look into the matter at Des Moines, and return me the papers with what information you obtain. Yours truly, ( 20 9) Mr. B. J. JAMES, Superintendent, New Orleans, La. Dear Sir : I enclose you herewith a batch of papers showing the carelessness in billing at some of our offices, also poor checking on the part of messengers. These are only a few cases out of the many frequently occurring, and some measure should be adopted immediately to have this corrected. This lax attention to instructions, as you know, 46 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. causes no end of trouble, and very often claims and subse- quent loss to the Company. There is no excuse whatever for such carelessness, and I want you to issue stringent instructions to Agents and Messengers to the effect that more care must be taken, and that the instructions regarding the billing and checking of freight must be strictly followed. Those parties not com- plying with such instructions should be removed. Please return enclosures. Yours truly, ( I 4 I ) Messrs. J. W. HAMILTON, Yonkers, N. Y. Gentlemen : We beg to advise } 7 ou that the firm of Hill and Weir, formerly of No. 82 State Street, New York, has been dissolved and its affairs liquidated. We, the under- signed, sole members of the late firm of Hill and Weir, desire to inform our friends that we have associated ourselves with the old-established firm of Fargo and Co., at No. 99 Broad- way, New York, and will attend to the management of their Foreign Express and Forwarding Department. In making this change, we desire to thank our friends for many kind- nesses extended, and to respectfully solicit a continuance of their shipment through Fargo and Co. Assuring you that no pains shall be spared to protect your interests at all times, we remain, Yours respectfully. THE 20TH CENTURY DELIVERY Co., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : You collected from this address, on Monday last, a package containing a quantity of books for Miss E. B. James, Front Ave. and Scott Street, Brooklyn, and, as you will see from the enclosed telegram, the package is still undelivered. As these books were for a class that commenced on Monday evening, the delay has been of the greatest inconvenience. Please look into the matter immediately, and make us a report on same. Yours truly, BUSINESS DICTATION. 47 Messrs. WELLS & Co., Boston, Mass. Gentlemen : Our Providence Agency has advised that your shipment C.O.D. $3.05 of November 7th, 'oo, to A. Cussell, is still on hand uncalled for, although consignee has been duly notified. We will be pleased to receive written instructions by return mail intended to relieve us of this shipment. Please be advised that the shipment is held at your risk in quite every particular, our liability in no event exceeding that of warehousemen. Yours truly, (82) Mr. R. H. CALHOUN, Agent, Chicago, 111. Dear Sir: Referring to the enclosed St. Louis to Chicago way-bill, No. 115, of May i3th, 1900, on which is entered one coop of poultry, and one crate of eggs, addressed to Williams and Co., you will note from notation of Messenger Weil and Agent Gurney that these two shipments were marked " F. J. Wilmer." I would like you to explain this manner of billing. Greater care should be exercised in billing to see that goods are billed correctly; otherwise, it will, in many cases, cause loss to the Company, to say nothing about trouble. You will see that in future such mistakes are avoided. Please return the enclosed with full explanation. Yours truly, ( I21 ) Mr. JAS. BENJAMIN, Superintendent, St. Paul, Minn. Dear Sir : Referring to claim of Bull & Brindle, Bellows Falls, Vt, $50.00, the principal delay in our hands was at Philadelphia, Pa., occasioned by the shipment arriving at that point on Saturday night, when no transfer is made. Had the draft accompanied the bonds, there would have been no occasion for protesting, neither would there have been a great deal of delay in returning the money. As we understand it, this draft was sent by mail and the bonds by express, and by reason of the bonds not arriving prior to the draft, same was protested. These papers show that the bonds were received at destination on the 29111 of March, and that the draft was protested on the 28th. The billing and routing of this ship- ment via Philadelphia is in accordance with the instructions 40 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. contained in transfer tariff. Hence, the Agent at Bellows Falls, Vt, is in no way at fault in the routing of the matter. Under the circumstances, I do not see that we are at fault, and, consequently, must decline to participate in the claim. All papers returned to you herewith. Yours truly, (195) Mr. C. S. BOWERS, Sherman, Tex. Dear Sir: It very frequently happens, that in entering the amount of prepaid freight on our bills of lading, errors are made, and when we discover them they are returned for correction, which is always promptly made, and the bills of lading returned to us ; but it seems the corrections are not made on the statements returned to us at the end of the month, and in that way a good deal of trouble is caused, not only to ourselves but also to your clerks in discovering the discrepancies between the two accounts. We would suggest that when the correction is made on the bill of lading, it should be made on the statement, and in this way much trouble would be saved to us both. Yours truly, ( T 34) Mr. W. B. JAMES, New Orleans, La. Dear Sir : A new transfer tariff is about to be made up for Louisiana. I send you herewith list of points in your terri- tory, with request that you state if transfer of matter can be made at each. Please make your statement complete, and at points where transfer cannot be made give the reason. Please return the list with your reply as soon as possible. Yours truly, (74) Mr. B. J. Low, Supt., Galveston, Tex. Dear Sir : Replying to your letter of May 6th attached, in regard to Messenger Pugh's excuse for not "checking his run, I beg to say he had but 21,055 ^ s - f freight in the two cars, and it seems to me, under these circumstances, he should have had ample room to check his run. I want you to keep a close watch on this messenger, and if he continues to neglect checking, we will have to make a change. Yours truly, (88) BUSINFSS DICTATION. 49 Mr. T- H. KAUFMAN, Agent, Buffalo, N. Y. Dear Sir : The matter of tracing shipment of stoves from Buffalo, N. Y., to New York, N. Y., will bear considerably further investigation, as we think it is impossible for such a shipment to get lost. It certainly would not be stolen, and must be lying at some point, no doubt, probably without murk. We understand that car on train No. 30, on which it is sup- posed these stoves were carried, was switched into the yards after its arrival at New York, and it is possible these stoves were left in the car, and the railroad employees, supposing them to be the property of the Railroad Company, may have taken them out of car, in which case they are probably lying in the yards at present. I wish you would investigate and ascertain what was done with this car on its arrival, and particularly as to the possibility of these stoves now being in the possession of the Railroad Company. Yours truly, (167) Mr. J. W. MARKLEY, St. Louis, Mo. Dear Sir : There seems to be no remarks from you in the papers received regarding the validity of this claim and evidence that the shipment reached St. Louis office, nor does there seem to be a complete copy of way-bill herein showing check-marks, etc. We would like to be apprised of the evidence that this shipment reached your office and that this is a proper expense to be charged to this Company before approving voucher. Yours truly, (83) Financial Standing Correspondence. Messrs. COWAN & Co., Concord, N. H. Gentlemen : We have your favor of March 2d, inquiring about The Ellis Stationery and Manufacturing Company, of Winnipeg, Manitoba. We have sold these people in a small way, and payments have been prompt. We consider them a fair risk for their wants, and should not hesitate at all to sell them the amount you mention. Yours truly, (64) 4 D.B. J> V ^' 50 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. FABER & SONS, 300 Union Square, N. Y. Gentlemen : In reply to your favor of the 22d inst, we have sold the Monroe Stationery Company, since the organization of the Company, bills ranging from $25 to $75, which they have paid at maturity. We consider them a very fair risk for a reasonable line of credit. They are successors of Robert D. Monroe, who failed some years ago, and the father and brother, who were his largest creditors, took the business and are continuing it. Robert D. Monroe started a new business under the firm name of R. D. Monroe & Co., and we suppose the two concerns are dividing the business. They are un- questionably good for the amounts you mention. Yours truly, ( I2 5) Mr. JOHN JONES, Bangor, Me. Dear Sir: Replying to yours of the igth ult, concerning Mr. Candee, Auburn, N. Y., this party was hardly justified in referring to us, as we have had but one small transaction with him, and that very recently, and which was unsettled at the time you wrote, hence the delay in our reply. This transac- tion has given us a little trouble, and while we have every reason to think Mr. C. is honest enough, we hardly think he is entitled to much credit, and we should be rather unwilling to sell him again except for cash. You will of course consider this communication confidential, and take it for what it may be worth, as we do not wish to do the party an injustice. Yours truly, 03 1 ) Fire Insurance Correspondence. THE HAVEN INS. Co., Chicago, 111. Gentlemen : Referring to your inquiry regarding Policy No. 3264, L. E. Martin, we beg to advise that a mortgage for $5,000.00 on his entire plant was given to Messrs. Calvert and Goss, to secure them for endorsements amounting to $4,500.00. Mr. Martin is an honest and straightforward man, and no moral hazard about him ; but his sales have been slow, and collections poor, thus necessitating this step. However, his BUSINESS DICTATION. 51 goods are all new and saleable, and he will have no difficulty in disposing of them, and paying off his indebtedness. I have reduced your poliqy to $1,600.00, which now leaves but $2,000.00 on stock, which inventories over $4,000.00. The risk is all right, and I should advise to continue it. Yours very respectfully, ( i2t., regarding claim for loss and damage under policy No. 2, \ 09,867 C. Jenkins, we beg to say that your Mr. Stearns asked me to close up the matter, but gave me to understand it was a very small amount. When I came to see Mr. Jenkins, he wanted an entire new carpet, and I thought best to close it up at the figures named in the proofs. I told him I would submit his claim and he understands that it does not bind the Com- pany. I am informed that Mr. Jenkins now says he will not settle at the amount claimed in proofs, but will make claim for an entire new carpet. As the matter stands he is bound by his claim of $23.75, but we are not, as I took great pains to impress upon him that I was not authorized to settle at such figures. I think the best way out of the matter now, is to pay the amount of his claim and get rid of him. Sorry that you censure me so' much, but I know you would not if you had known the facts ; therefore, I do not care. Yours very truly, ( 21 ) STAN WOOD MORTGAGE Co., Stanwood, Iowa. Gentlemen : Enclosed please find cancellation receipt which please sign and return me together with the Columbian policy No. 1062, as the Company refuses to carry the risk on account of foreclosure proceedings having been commenced. I will write you another policy in place of it, commencing Monday noon, and will hold it here until the Company have time to cancel if they wish to do so. In the meantime I will keep the property covered until I advise you to the contrary. Yours very respectfully, (90) Mr. JAMES BRAGG, Oswego, N. Y. Dear Sir : Policy 203,645 Jones. This being on the con- tents of a stable, without the dwelling, and at the very low rate of fifty cents for two years also being mortgaged pro- perty is something we do not care to insure. Kindly relieve us of the risk, and return policy without delay, and oblige, Yours very truly, (61) 54 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Flour and Feed. Mr. C B. MILLS, Holyokc, Mass. Dear Sir : Your favor just to hand. We did not intend to be understood as willing to sell the middlings in small lots at $18. We offered ycu the ten tons at $18 in order to close them out, but if we must sell in small lots, we want full price, which to-day is $18.75. However, if you will send us a check for the balance as per enclosed bill, we will close out the middlings to you, but as stated above, we cannot sell in small lots at a price under the market. We wish you would do more with the " Diamond " Flour. It certainly can be sold in your market if you push it, and we have done most everything to encourage you to do so, but you do not seem inclined to handle it unless you can get it at less than market rates. The flour is cheap to-day at $4.00 and will probably be higher soon, and we would like to close it out to you. Please let us hear from you. Yours truly, ( l &4) Mr. J. A. HOLLAND, Medina, N. Y. Dear Sir : Your favor of the i8th inst. at hand. We do not quite understand from your letter just what damage you claim. Will you please make us an itemized bill for whatever damage you claim occurred to the flour ; shortage, damage to sacks, damage to barrels, labor for putting it in order, etc., whatever the items are, making it out in full so that we can make a claim against the Railway Co. and we will pay your claim promptly. This property was shipped in good order, and should have been delivered in good order, therefore the Rail- way Co. is responsible, but we will not ask you to wait ; we will pay your claim as soon as you give us a bill that we can understand. Very truly yours, (137) Mr. C. G. GALE, 91ean, N. Y. Dear Sir: Your letter of the i8th inst. at hand and will have our best attention, but the order for the car load of oats for Mr. Casson we are obliged to decline. We would like to buy at more money than he offers. The lowest price we can now make on clipped oats is 3ic. and we have written to that effect. BUSINESS DICTATION. ^; We cannot consider Marshall's offer for middlings. \\V note what you state about their pushing Imperial Flour, and that is exactly what we expected, and that is why we want to go into their territory and sell all the "Sunbeam" Flour we can, and as I have previously advised you, it should be sold in 25 barrel lots. It can be done, as our Company has done it before. There are a number of people in your town who buy in 25 barrel lots, and we can sell to them if you make the proper effort in that direction, and that is the only way we can keep even with the other dealers. Very truly yours, ( i S; ) Messrs. RILEY & SMITH, Orange, N. J. Gentlemen : Confirming telegrams that have passed to-day, permit us to notify you that the oats are subject to your order at Newark, and we expect you to dispose of them and refund our money, and to pay for our services in the effort to dispose of them, besides the loss sustained through your failure to perform } r our contract, bill for which is enclosed. If you had shipped us old oats, according to contract, we would have had a handsome profit, as we had them sold at 35c. for August delivery, and we can see no reason why you are not liable for damages sustained, as they arc the result of your failure to perform your contract. We will make draft on you, including this bill of expenses and loss, as soon as we can recover the bill of lading, and we trust same will be satisfactory. Yours truly, (156) JOHN GLENN, Mil ford, Pa. Dear Sir: Your esteemed favor of the ist inst. at hand. We are obliged to you for your offer of $4.00 for "matchless " Flour delivered at Milford, but we will have to decline the offer. The present price of the Flour delivered at Milford is $4.20, with the probability that it will be higher. If you will telegraph us an answer immediately on receipt of this so that we can get the order booked at the mill at once, w'e will make the price on a car load $4.20 delivered. It will be useless for you to telegraph anything less, as this is a special offer, and unless it is accepted to-morrow by telegraph it is withdrawn. Yours truly, ( I2 5) 56 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Furniture Correspondence. Mr. C. A. LEE, Syracuse, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your inquiry of the i6th inst, would say that our 1900 catalogue is now in the hands of the printer, but we hope to have it ready for delivery in about a week, when we shall be pleased to mail you a copy. We shall show a nice line of chairs, tables, lounges, desks, and other household furniture. Trusting the short delay will cause you no inconvenience, and hoping to be favored with your order, we remain, Yours truly, (9) Mr. JAMES B. KAY, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir : We control the manufacturing of the Quigley Desks, Tucker Suspension Letter and Document Files, Walker Index Cabinet and Card Supplies and the Wells Letter and Catalogue Files. We would be much pleased to furnish you any of our product that you may require for your office and to accept 50 per cent, of the price in advertising. Kindly advise if you are in the market for office supplies of any kind, and if so allow us to submit an estimate. Yours truly. (89) Mr. C. P. ELLIS, Kennedy, Tex. Dear Sir : We have yours of the 3d, enclosing letter from the Texas School Supply Company under date of Feb. i5th. We regret to say that we cannot furnish the desks at these prices, nor can they now, as the factories have advanced the prices on everyone. The prices which we made you in ours of the 29th ult. are the very lowest that we could make. Of course, the freight makes a difference when you compare prices with those made you by the T.S.S. Co., as theirs were F.O.B. at the factory, and ours are for the goods delivered at Kennedy. Awaiting your further instructions in the matter, we are, Yours very truly, (124) BUSINESS DICTATION. 57 Mr. H. H. MOORE, Cleveland, Ohio. Dear Sir : In this mail we send you as promised our cata- logue of sectional bookcases, just received from the printers. The prices given on page 6 are strictly net. Our "Non-Binding door" is all the name implies; it cannot be made to bind with use in any climate. The prime objection to bookcases of sectional construction has been binding, wiggly doors. Our door is guaranteed absolutely non-binding. If you are undecided that you would like a bookcase of sectional construction we would recommend you to purchase one or two sections to begin with, and we will gladly have you return to us, at our expense, any goods that at the end of thirty days you may conclude are not what you desire. Kindly acknowledge receipt of this catalogue, and if you cannot place with us an early order please advise us when we may anticipate the same, and oblige, Yours truly, (157^ Mr. T. C. DEAN, Goldthwaite, Tex. Dear Sir : Your favor of the 3d was received this morning. The order is a nice one, but we are very sorry to hear that you have had to work so many schools in order to get it. Mr. Hightower is now at Lampasas, and will prepare other territory for you when you are through there. Concerning the claim of trustees that they have received circulars offering desks 25 per cent, cheaper than ours ; we think it is entirely probable that such is the case. It is equally true about any other business. A superior article always brings a superior price. There are desks on the market that are much higher at $2.50 than the desk you are selling is at $4.00. That is what you want to demonstrate to your customers. We send you to-day some blank contracts of the United States School Furnishing Co., on which you will please take orders hereafter. We also send you some circulars of the Burlington school desk, which you will please sell till further notice. We can, if you wish, send you a sample desk. Sales can be made much more readily when you have a sample. With best wishes, we are, Yours truly, (210) 58 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. J. R. BOYD, , Wharton, Tex. Dear Sir : We enclose you herewith copy of Supt. Pritchett's letter concerning furniture that is purchased to go in buildings that do not belong to the state. We also enclose some blank forms of release to be signed by the owners or trustees of the building. If you will show this ruling to the County Judge, and have the release properly signed, we pre- sume he will have no objection to your sending in the orders that you have taken to go in churches. However, if he objects, do not send them in. We wrote R. J. M. three or four days ago, and enclosed him a pass for himself and Rosenburg to Dallas. Would like } r ou to come in about Wednesday or Thursday of next week if you get through in that county. Yours very truly, ( 1 4 2 ) Mr. A. G. BAKER, Canton, Tex. Dear Sir : We are in receipt of a communication from the Grand Rapids School Furniture Co., stating that you are ready to place an order for school furniture. We have exclu- sive control in Texas of the Grand Rapids desk and several others of the leading desks made. We enclose you herewith circular of net prices to agents. We will be glad to have you take the order in question and send it in. Your commission will be due in cash when goods are delivered and accepted. Hoping to hear from you at your earliest convenience, we are, Yours truly, (104) Mr. J. B. FENNELL, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : Referring to No. 131 (Colonial) suite ordered for you, and which you ordered in Nile Brocade, same w r eave and color as enclosed, only a stripe, we regret exceedingly to have to inform you that we are unable to furnish the striped pattern. This covering was ordered in import over three months ago, and for the past six weeks we have been promised the goods almost every other day, and this morning were told by the importer that the manufacturer cabled that goods could not arrive before May or June. As we have sold this suite to a BUSINESS DICTATION. 59 number of others like yourself, you can see our situation. We state plain facts and ask your kind consideration. The enclosed sample is of precisely same colors and weave and quality as the stripe ordered, and we are substituting it on all orders as the pattern is one appropriate for the frame. Will ycu kindly inform us if we may put it on your suite? The latter has been all ready for the cover for over ten days, but expectation of receiving the goods ordered lias kept it unfinished. Will deliver suite to you at once. Yours truly, (206) THE R. L. PHILPOTT Co., Lowell, Mass. Gentlemen : We have yours of the yth, and, in reply to same, we would say that up to the present we have heard nothing from the railroad company ; and, under the circum- stances, we feel that we have extended every reasonable consideration in this matter, and we now request that you put in hand duplicate of the missing part of the Bookcase, and deliver at the very earliest possible moment. The railroad company, of course, will have to stand the loss, and you can easily recover same from them. As we have already informed you, we are being put to the utmost inconvenience in this matter, and we shall look to you to rush deliver} 7 '. When do you think you will be able to supply the missing part ? Yours truly, ( ! 3 6 ) Groceries. Mr. JAMES KENNEY, Rochester, N. Y. Dear Sir : We are just in receipt of your favor of the isth inst. We have checked over your order for canned goods, pickles, etc., and find that everything you ordered has been shipped, in fact all the goods were shipped at the same time, and we have the shipping receipt for same, which we herewith enclose and which you will kindly return. Every case was carefully marked, and we do not see how the case of canned peaches could have gone astray. We have written to the railway company to send tracer after them and trust you will receive them all right in the course of a few days, if not let us hear from you. Yours truly, ( I2 4) 60 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. C. H. MANLEY, Oswego, N. Y. Dear Sir : We are in receipt of your esteemed order for six boxes of Canadian Cheese which has been shipped to you this morning, and we trust it will arrive in good condition. Regard- ing the Imperial Cheese, it is not sold in the hoop or box, and we can only supply it to you in small jars or by the case. We have written to the manufacturers to forward you a sample half-dozen case. Very truly yours, (84) Mr. JAMES BARRY, Newburgh, N. Y. Dear Sir : We submit four good and sufficient reasons for recommending you to place your liberal order early, with prices on our famous Premier and Nabob brand of vegetables. Every material element will cost higher this season than last, tin, nails, cases, canners' materials, etc. Should we make lower prices on our brands during packing season we will give buyers the benefit. The advantage of early orders will assure early fall delivery of high grade goods. We guarantee quality in all instances to be fully equal to previous year's packing. We would call special attention to our prices on asparagus, string beans, corn, peas, succotash and tomatoes. Yours truly, ( JI 5) Mr. JAMES RILEY, Oswego, N. Y. Dear Sir : Your favor in regard to coffee received. You h: \ c evidently made some mistake as to prices quoted you by other dealers in this line of goods, and your own experience should bear you out in the fact that good coffee cannot be procured at anywhere near the price you state. We can furnish you the grade of coffee you mention either green or roasted at a lower price, quality considered, than any other dealer in the city as we have our own plantations and do not have to charge middleman's profits. We send you samples of all our grades and can assure you that, if you are really in the market for good coffee, we can do better for you than the parties to whom you make reference. Yours truly, ( X 37) BUSINESS DICTATION. ft* Mr. GF.O. MASON, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : We hand you memorandum of your orders for canned goods last season and recommend you to make up your list for new goods early, especially peas, corn and tomatoes, as there is every prospect of higher prices. \Ye quote you Nanticoke peas at 350., Premier Corn at 250., Pre- mier Tomatoes at 250., and Superior String Beans at 25c. Yours truly, (71) Mr. CHAS. BENSON, Yonkers, N. Y. Dear Sir : In the course of our regular examination we find that in Bill of April i4th, we charged for one-half case of " Daisy " Condensed Milk at $2.75, whereas we shipped you one-half case of " Eagle " Condensed Milk, so the correct amount should be $3.40. We enclose bill for the difference and trust you will accept our apology. Yours truly, (67) Hardware Correspondence. THE S. B. STETSON Co., Ltd., Marshfield, Cal. Gentlemen : Replying to your letter of the i5th, we regret that we have no photographs on hand of brass bedsteads. We send you under separate cover by this mail catalogue of these goods. Discount is 40 per cent, from the revised price list enclosed in the catalogue. The best price on No. 142 bed is $3.00 each net. Your orders shall receive our prompt attention. Yours truly, (75) Mr. G. W. RAYNOR, Lancaster, N. H. Dear Sir : We are in receipt of your favor of the i7th inst. and hardly think it is possible for us to reduce the previous quotation on the Morris Chair Rods. However, we will take this matter up with our factory, and if we can make any lower price will write further to you. We do not think we should care to fill an order for a smaller quantity of these rods at less than $1.85 per dozen. We hope to be favored with your business and are, Yours truly. (q?) 62 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. J. DREXF.L & BRO., Chicago, 111. Gentlemen : We enclose you herewith copies of orders placed with us by Mr. Fox for which we thank you. We pre- sume that you will send us your numbers or labels for these goods, the same as you have done in the past. We will have electro-types made and send to you as you may direct. Will you please send us word as to the shipping directions for the samples ? We have written our factory to get these ready just as quickly as possible. Thanking you in advance for yotn attention, we are, Yours truly, ( 102 ) Mr. A. J. MINER, New York City, N. Y. Dear Sir : Our factory have carefully looked over your sketch of bedsteads, and they say that it is entirely different from anything they have ever made. However, we have figured on a bed as near as we can come to your sketch. We would be pleased to supply you with one like our regular No. 481, the head and foot ends to have one cross rod instead of two, with a regular attachable spring. This spring is made of all iron, the sides of which are tubular. The height from the floor of the foot end is to be 32", the head end 47", the width of the bed to be 30", and the length 81". All measure- ments given, we understand, are to be over all. Regarding the attachments that are to be put on each head and foot end, we propose to use our regular canopy attachment, which is made to fit the pillars of the bed, and to hold whatever size rod you wish to put in same. We, therefore, quote you on beds made as above, including 4 attachments, as follows : Bed Style No. 481 with |" pillars, using single weave fabric in the spring, we can furnish at a cost of $92.00 per dozen net ; Made with |" pillars and double weave fabric in the spring, at a cost of $ 107.00 per dozen net ; With \" pillars, using the single weave fabric in the spring, at a cost of $95.00 per dozen net ; With i" pillars, using double weave fabric in the spring, at a cost of $110.00. Terms, 2 per cent. 10 days, F.O.B. New York. BUSINESS DICTATION. We have named you exceedingly close figures on the above and should be pleased to receive your order. Should you favor us with same, please give us the height of the mattress from the floor, as we note your sketch docs not give this; also give us the diameter of the rods that are to be used in the attachments on the head and foot ends. We return your sketch herewith. We remain, Yours truly (-58) Mr. D. H. MAXON, Spencer, W. Va. Dear Sir : We are favored with yours of the lyth inst. As we have heard from the factory that they have shut down for a short time, we have thought it better for your interest to ship the entire order for this wire in 25 yard coils. A regular stock box of this contains 12-25 yd- boxes, equal to 900 ft. There are but 8 of these boxes needed to complete your order. Since you need this as long as possible, the next time you require this, we think we can obtain it from our factory in a continuous length of say 4,000 to 5,000 ft. We will iind out from them if this is possible, in case that method of packing would suit you. You will notice that to pack 100 ft. on a reel would not be much more than the regular stock goods which contain 25 yds. or 75 ft. Trusting that our action will be satisfactory to you, and that the goods will come to your liking, we remain, Yours truly, (182) Mr. JOHN E. GREEN, Helena, Mont. Dear Sir : Some time ago you wrote us that we had charged you $2.00 per gross for escutcheons, instead of $1.75, which was the price you said our agent quoted. Our salesman has recently returned from his trip, and states that you must be mistaken, and must have got the price of some other escut- cheon. He has no such price as $1.75 on this particular number, and has never sold any at that price, so we think that the error is on your part. Under the circumstances we can- not allow the reduction and the account stands as per our books, which we trust will be satisfactory. Yours truly, 0*3) 64 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. THE JOHN H. SAMPSON Co., New Albany, N. Y. Gentlemen : Mr. Thompson is in just now, and we were showing him your photographs of Ancient Armor. If you could send us three or four sets of these photographs, which we could distribute to our men, we believe that it would be attended with good results for you. We have not yet heard from you as to the discount which you will allow us from the list prices. Kindly write us in regard to this. Yours truly, (84) Mr. R. F. GALES, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir : In reply to your letter received to-day, we would say that it was impossible for us to ship your goods last Wednesday, as the order did not reach us until Wednesday morning, 10 a.m. Immediately upon receipt of same, we had the goods selected, and same will be shipped to-day. We have sent all goods forward that we had in stock, and the balance we have entered on back order book. We have ordered the brass table kettles and stand to be sent direct to you from the factory. We assure you that we are doing all that we possibly can to get the goods to you as quick as possible. Yours truly, ( IJ 6) Mr. H. C. HORN, Philadelphia, Pa. Dear Sir : In compliance with your request of the 5th inst., we have mailed you one of our latest catalogues and lists, and on receipt of memorandum order will be much pleased to sub- mit same to you with special prices. Our extreme prices, such as we desire to quote you, are net, and you no doubt will find this the most satisfactory and explicit way to note them. You will please see from catalogue that all goods are put up in uniform cases with quantities in cases noted under each article, a most advantageous way for jobbers. Soliciting your favors, we are, Yours truly, (109) BUSINESS DICTATION. 65 Messrs. C. F. JEMKIXS, Asheville, N. C. Gentlemen : Replying to yours of the 36, we now have the pleasure to quote for 106 Sockets, square pattern, $28. the lot net. 56 Sockets, round pattern, for $12.00 the lot net. This price must only be considered as approximate, as it is very unsatisfactory to estimate on goods to be made from patterns which we have not seen. We assume that the patterns will be suitable for our flasks, and sufficient number of patterns on a gate, and that they be not heavier than is sufficient to run properly in the moulds. The above prices are for brass; for bronze the 106 pieces would cost $31.00, and the 56 pieces $15.00. We have figured on polishing the outside of the square sockets, leaving the inside smooth, as coming from the sand, countersinking the holes for the screws. We assume that the small center hole is flush with the outside of the casting, and has no boss or raided relief. Same remarks would apply to the round one. Yours truly, (18) THE ART FURNITURE Co., Rockford, 111. Gentlemen : Our Chicago Office writes us under date of May 1 2th, asking a quotation for you on No. 82 Furniture Nail, in quantities of 50,000 or more, in one shipment. They state that you require this Nail in Gilt, also lacquered. We do not quite understand what the latter means. We do not carry this nail in stock, or would send you a sample. The list price on the Gilt is $4.25 per thousand, and on the Antique finish $5.25 per thousand. From these list prices, we shall be pleased to give you a special discount of 15 per cent, in the quantities above named. Smaller lots we could not furnish at less than 10 and 5 per cent, discount. If you desire the nails to be lacquered, this will have to be done by hand, and is quite expensive. We judge that it would cost fully half a cent, each to do this extra work, as each nail would have to be handled separately. As before explained, we do not have these goods on hand and it would take from 10 days to two weeks to make them up. We hope we shall be favored with your orders, and will give due attention to same. Yours truly, (217) 5 D. B. 66 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Hotel Correspondence. Mr. R. A. THOMAS, Elizabeth, N. J. Dear Sir : Replying to your favor of the 22d, we would say that our rates for two persons occupying one room, for a land side room, would be $30.00 or $32.00 per week ; for rooms facing the avenue, or facing the ocean, the rate would be $35.00, $40.00, or $45.00 and upwards per week, depending on the size, location, and general desirability of the room. We would say that this hotel is in the center of the ocean front, with the famous forty-foot steel ocean walk stretching for two miles on either side. It is also lighted by gas and electricity from the hotel's own plant ; has every known improvement, including electric bells to every room, and is complete in its sanitary and drainage arrangements. We send you under separate cover an illustrated pamphlet, and trust the rates we have quoted will be satisfactory. Yours very truly, (155) Mr. E. J. HOCKEY, Plainfield, N. J. Dear Sir : Your esteemed favor received. In reply would say that we could give you a good double room at from $40 to $60 per week. The time from Christopher St. by afternoon Express is one hour and five minutes, and the same time in going down in the morning. We have an excellent nine hole golf course, which is owned and controlled by us, and is free to the guests of the hotel, the only charge being for locker, which is $i per week. Our house opens for the season on May 2d, and we should be very glad to have you come out and see the place, and feel sure we could give you satisfactory accommodations. Our bus meets all trains. We shall be pleased to have an early reply. Yours very truly, (142) Mrs. ROBERT H. CLAFLIN, Englewood, N. J. Dear Madam : We have your valued favor of the 3d inst., asking for rates for yourself and daughter. We note that you intend to make an extended visit, and under the circumstances we shall be glad to quote you the following rates. For two connecting rooms on the second story, the price per week would be $32.00 or $35.00, depending on the size and location BUSINESS DICTATION. >'>- i of the room. If you decide to stay after the i.->t .September, we could make some reduction from the above figures. We would say that this house has been entirely rebuilt and newly furnished during the last year, and contains sun parlor.-, private baths, steam heat, and electric lights, and is the only hotel in Terrace City with white service throughout. The dining room, enclosed in glass, directly faces the ocean, and is unsurpassed for decoration and elegance. The capacity of the house is five-hundred. We trust our rates will be satis- factory, and. that we may hear from you. Yours very truly, (174) Mr. CLEMENT J. STOVER, Roanoke, Va. Dear Sir: We have your esteemed favor of the loth, and in reply beg to say that the sale of the Fourth Avenue I lotel property on the 24th day of April, as advertised in the papers, is only for the purpose of closing the estate of the late Mr. Jennings. This sale will not affect the lease of Homer, Darling & Co., and the business of the hotel will continue as heretofore. Thanking you for your kind inquiry, Yours very truly, (88) Mr. HAROLD EYRE, Irvington, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your esteemed favor of recent date, we beg to say that right on the beach of Long Island's inland sea, within 150 feet of the waters of the Great South Bay, there now stands a brand new hotel, the New Point, embody- ing all the latest improvements in hotel construction. There are bachelor apartments and single rooms, with general bath- rooms on every floor, besides suites with private baths, and every convenience that the most exacting guest can command. The hotel is handsomely furnished throughout, and everything is sweet, clean and new. Electric lights throughout. The piazzas are so arranged as to be enclosed in glass for exercise during inclement weather. Out of doors there are lovely walks and pleasant drives that can be enjoyed at all seasons. The roads are so laid out as to bring the most picturesque features of the landscape into view, and the soil 68 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION is of such an absorbing nature that one can walk abroad with impunity almost immediately after the fall of a heavy shower. At all seasons there are the very best facilities for boating and fishing. There is excellent anchorage and a special pier for the use of yachtsmen and fishing parties. Within three minutes' walk of the hotel is a fine bathing pavilion, with every convenience for bathers, and the most attractive beach upon the island. Yours very truly, ( 2 35) Mr. HENRY I. COLE, 1000 Broadway, New York. Dear Sir : Replying to your valued favor of the i4th inst., we would say that our house is conducted on the American plan exclusively, and our prices are $4.00, $5.00, or $6.00 per day each person, according to size and location of, and the equipments contained in the rooms assigned. A pleasant front room upon our second floor, with bath attached, would be $6.00 per day each person. Meals can be had at all hours from 6.30 a.m. to 12 o'clock midnight. The crowds are so great in this city during the present month, that if you decide to come to our hotel you will oblige us very much by writing a few days in advance. We are, Very truly yours, ('5) Mr. ROBERT H. GRANT, James Street, Buffalo, N. Y. Dear Sir : Your esteemed favor of the 25th received. In reply we make you the following rates : European plan, $3.00 per day for single room occupied by one person, and $4.00 per day and upwards for two persons occupying one room, with double bed. American plan, $5.50 per day each person, and upwards. In regard to your baggage we would say, keep your checks until you arrive at the hotel, as we can have it brought out much quicker than by the Express Co. Should you conclude to visit us, please notify us in advance, and we will reserve you good rooms. Trusting the above will prove satisfactory, and that we may have the pleasure of entertaining you, we are, Yours respectfully, ( T 33) BUSINESS DICTATION. 03 Investment Correspondence. Mr. BENJAMIN DREYFUS, Bloomfield, N. J. Dear Sir: Have you money to invest? If so, you \vant something that will realize more than 2.4 to 5 per cent., and yet incur no risk which good sense and prudence would not approve. In my opinion, carefully selected commercial investments are the best opportunities offered to-day. I am giving my attention to the investigation and reorganization of business enterprises. There is nothing speculative in my operations. They are confined to going concerns of moderate size, that have already demonstrated success ; that are characterized by integrity, energy and economy in the management ; that justify increased capitalization to expand tlie business, and whose net earnings should yield good dividends. Minority stockholders amply protected in the reorganization. I have some good opportunities in hand, and invite corres- pondence. I will also undertake the negotiation of valid business propositions. Very truly yours, (148) Mr. HENRY H. PAYNE, Albany, N. Y. Dear Sir : The great success attained since 1887 by Siegel, Cooper & Co., has induced and given warrant to the enter- prising ow T ners to further ingratiate themselves into public favor by consolidating their two mammoth establishments into a co-operative enterprise on a profit-sharing basis. They recognize the tendency of the present age to be in the direction of co-operation of employers with employees, as well as in profit-sharing with patrons. To accomplish this desired condition, a new Company, the Siegel Cooper Co. (Co-operative Stores, New York and Chicago) has been incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey, with a capital stock of $24,000,000.00, of which $14,250,000.00 is divided into 285,000 shares 6 per cent, cumulative Preferred Stock of $50.00 par value, and $9,750,000.00 into 195,000 shares Common Stock of $50.00 par value. The charter of the Company provides that after full divi- dends of 6 per cent, per annum have been paid on the 70 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Preferred Stock, and full dividends of 3 per cent, per annum have been paid on the Common Stock, all additional divi- dends shall be apportioned and paid on the basis of | in amount on the Preferred Stock, and f- in amount on the Common Stock. To carry out the plan of co-operation with its employees, $2,000,000.00 of the Common Stock has been placed in trust, the annual dividends of which will be distributed among such employees as have been or may hereafter be with the New York or Chicago Establishment for a period of three years, during their satisfactory continuance in the service of the new Company ; such dividends will also be continued and paid to employees for life who, after ten years of service with the new Company, become incapacitated for further employ- ment, thereby practically providing a pension fund for faithful employees in their old age. Respectfully, (326) Legal Correspondence. Messrs. MONROE & SMITH, Boston, Mass. Gentlemen : Please note contents from Clearing House, in whose hands we placed the matter, so far as it relates to C. W. Keene, at present in New Orleans, he being the attorney to whom we sent the claim, which it transpires he collected in full, and $50.00 of which he pocketed. You will note by this letter that the chances for recovery are quite dubious. However, inasmuch as he was our agent, and we are entirely satisfied that he got the money from your cus- tomer, we therefore have taken the loss upon ourselves, and we to-day credit your account with the full balance due ($50.00) less the usual collection charge of 10 per cent., making the net credit to your account $45.00. Trusting that you will be satisfied with this closing of the matter, so far as we are concerned, and assuring you that we shall keep after Mr. Keene as long as there is the slightest chance of recovering anj'thing from him, and if no recovery can be had, we shall see to it that he is properly advertised in the thief class, to which he belongs, we remain, Respectfully yours, (196) BUSINESS DICTATION. 71 Mr. S. W. CROSS, Elmer, Pa. Dear Sir : Your letter of the 26th ult, regarding the amount of insurance on the Ward property, and enclosing the two policies, received. I enclose herewith draft endorsed to your order for $25.00 as requested. In looking over the policies I note they are made out to N. Garner, with a clause endorsed thereon making the loss payable to A. M. Marsh, trustee. As I understand this situation about the real estate, the policies are not correctly made out. The property was deeded to Mr. Samuel Jacobs by quit-claim from Henry Bonner, dated June loth, 1895. 1 am advised that under the laws of Colorado, the title to the property descended, on Mr. Jacob's death, to his widow and lour children. As the title is in them, the insurance policies should, I think, be made payable to them. Yours truly, (147) To THE CREDITORS OF M. B. BOOTH & Co. M. B. Booth & Co.'s assignment was made on July 18, 1896 ; since then the business has been conducted by the assignee under a general supervision of your committee ; two dividends, amounting to fifteen per cent, of your claims, have been paid to you ; and with this letter another dividend of five per cent, is sent to each creditor. Your committee think that you should realize fifty per cent, of your claim against the estate, and that it is desirable to terminate the assignment as soon as possible. In order to do this and preserve the business, more time will be necessary to enable Mr. Booth to turn the merchandise on hand into cash. Mr. Booth desires (with the advice of counsel and the assent of your committee) to make the following offer in composition through the court of insolvency, viz. : to pay five per cent, in cash, and the remaining twenty-five per cent, in notes, payable without interest as follows : ten per cent, in twelve months ; and five per cent, in eighteen months, twenty- four months, and thirty months respectively, with the privi- lege of paying off the whole or any portion of said notes at any time previously. These notes to be secured by the capital stock of a corporation, to be organized under the laws of Massachusetts and called the " M. B. Booth Company," to which corporation the assignee will transfer all the property 72 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. held by him by virtue of M. B. Booth & Co.'s assignment to him. A majority of the directors in this corporation will represent the interests of the creditors. If this offer is accepted, the cash dividend of five per cent, will be paid as soon as an order of court confirming it can be obtained ; this will probably be in April next. No answet to this circular is necessary. A proof of claim will be sent t~> each creditor to execute and return. Yours truly, (326) Mr. SIMON HESS, Oradell, N. J. Dear Sir : Until October of last year there resided in your city one Mr. James O'Neill, when he removed to parts unknown to us. As we know you are thoroughly acquainted in your locality we write asking if you cannot tell us Mr. O'Neill's post-office address. If you cannot do this, can you tell us the name of some party who can ? We would also ask if Mr. O'Neill now owns any property in your city, and, if so, to what extent ? We will appreciate very much any information you can give us in this matter, and enclose our stamped and addressed envelope for your reply. Thanking you in advance for the favor, we remain, Yours truly, ( I22 ) Mr. JOHN DOWD, Auburn, N. Y. Dear Sir : We hand you herewith Sheriff's Certificate of sale secured in the foreclosure of loan 602, Branson. The certificate is duly assigned to the Assignees of this Company, and we will thank you to issue, in lieu of the certificate, Sheriff's Deed in favor of Joseph Ferris and Charles Morris, as assignees for the benefit of creditors of the Thompson Loan and Trust Co. As soon as the deed has been prepared be kind enough to deliver the same to the auditor for record, and we have to-day advised him that his fee will be paid as soon as we are advised of the amount due. Your charge for the deed will be settled as soon as we hear from you in this regard. Your prompt attention will oblige, Yours truly, ( ! 39) BUSINESS DICTATION. 73 Mr. JOHN L. WILSON, Dubuque, Iowa. Dear Sir: As attorneys for James R. Perkins, lately deceased, it was our mournful privilege to draw up his last will and testament. Although the terms of this document have not yet been made public, we are in a position to know that you are the principal legatee, and as such we hasten to offer you our hearty congratulations upon your good fortune. Owing to the absence of one of the executors, the reading of the will will be postponed fora few da3 r s ; but as your presence will be necessary, you may rely upon us to give you due notice. In the meantime, in evidence of our good-will towards one whom we hope to retain as our client, we authorize you to draw upon us for any sum you may need for your present requirements up to $1,000, the advance to be repaid when we shall have the pleasure of turning over the major portion of the Perkins estate to its future owner. Until then, we are, Yours very truly, ( 1 7 7 ) Messrs. JAMES JOHNSON & SONS, Brovvnwood, Tex. Gentlemen : According to promise made by our Mr. Garcia to your Col. Johnson last Saturday, we send to you by Pacific Express to-day the Court papers in the above case. We have been through the papers as well as we could in the limited time that we had them from the court-house, and find that plaintiff's proof makes only title to about one-third. We would like to inquire whether there is any agreement between the Anglo-American Mortgage Co. and Holl ings- worth, that copies of deeds may be used in the defendant's counter-claim against him ; if any such agreement has not been had, it would be well enough to have one, otherwise we will be wanting in proof. Yours truly, 74 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Life Insurance Correspondence. Mr. ROBERT WALLACE, York, Pa. Dear Sir: We take pleasure in informing you that the Company has issued on your application of February yth, a policy for $1,000, on the 30 year Endowment, 20 year semi- Tontine plan, with annual premiums of $32.71. This policy is dated Feb. i5th, in accordance with your request. Upon receipt of your check which you may send to us at your convenience we will be pleased to deliver the policy to you, or, if you prefer, we will have our Mr. Busby call with the policy when you desire to pay for same. Very truly yours, (101) Mr. GEORGE MURRAY, Newark, N. J. Dear Sir : In addition to the always doubtful value of the protection offered by assessment Life Insurance Associations and Fraternal Societies, most of these so-called insurance organizations have recently increased their premium calls to an alarming extent, and further increases will undoubtedly follow. You are very likely paying out good money for some of this class of doubtful protection. Many successful business men do not believe in the high premium investment insurance, usually presented by the Old Line Companies, and justly claim that they can safely and more profitably invest their own money. Others do not feel able to carry the desired amount of protection at the premium rates charged by companies requiring a compulsory invest- ment in connection with legitimate protection. Others simply do not take time to investigate, and go in because it is easy to get into most assessment organizations. All these classes have been the natural prey of all kinds of assessment insurance schemes. Though it is now generally known to the insuring public, economy of cost can be combined with absolute safet}'. This result is obtained in the Special Trust Fund Contract, of the American Union Life, an Old Line Stock Company, having a cash capital of $500,000. Respectfully yours, (211) BUSINESS DICTATION. Mr. J. B. SHAW, Erie, Pa. Dear Sir: On behalf of our Company, and under their fi.l official authorization, we desire the privilege of submitting fioures on an entirely new insurance contract, winch, in the event of your death, will have cost your estate only the simple interest on the yearly payments you have made, and will provide immediate cash to bridge over any resi contingencies. Our contracts guarantee liberal yearly loans and cash values, extension of full protection without cost in case of lapse, and they return handsome profits to those surviving the premium paying period of the policies. You can create an estate for your family by the payment of one premium, and can build up a fortune for yourself on easy terms and long credit. We will gladly send you an illustration if you will send us your age nearest birthday upon the enclosed coupon. Very truly yours, ( i 5 2 ) Col. J. K. HUNT, New York City. N. Y. Dear Sir: Replving to your esteemed inquiry of the isth inst we beg to say, that while we desire new business, we do not wish a single new policy placed upon our books that can in anv way be detrimental to the interests of the 350,000 people who are assured with us. The Equitable is to-day by far the strongest life assurance company in the world, and it is the intention of the management to pursue a policy that will keep it so, and to so conduct its business as to give its present and future policy-holders the largest possible results, and to uphold and elevate in every way the dignity of its business a business second to none in its importance and its influence upon the nation. Our investments shall be made, first, for permanence, and next for productiveness. Methods which tend to weaken rather than to strengthen shall be avoided. No rush tor temporary popularity shall seduce us from following after safetv economy and ultimate strength. We shall avoid what is dip-trap and pyrotechnic, and devote ourselves to what is fundamental. > Yours truly, (93) 76 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. BROWN & WELLS, 33 Union Sq., New York. Gentlemen : On January i3th and May 8th last, I wrote you relative to the advantages and benefits that would accrue to your firm from securing a line of "silent capital," which I am offering at a very low rate of " interest," with principal never to be repaid. All my contracts are guaranteed by the safest and strongest financial institution in the world. Suppose a firm of three partners, aged 36, 39, and 41 secured $150,000 dollars of this "silent capital" protection ten years ago, on the 20 year payment plan. The cost would have been decreased annually from the second year. For 1897 the total outlay, less guaranteed increase of the firm's cash assets arising from this 1897 payment, would be but $224 on basis of present contracts. Will mail 3^ou full particulars and the cost for each year for twenty years, if you v:ill send me ages (birthdays preferable) of the partners in your firm. In my former letters I advised the use of this " silent capital " to provide against the withdrawal of a portion of the firm's capital from the death of partners ; to the loss of brains and experience to the firm in addition to capital from such a calamity ; and to the effect that one hundred and nineteen millions, two hundred thousand dollars of actual cash would be paid into the best firms of this city in the next ten years, if but $25,000 of the "silent capital" I am now offering was secured for each partner. I also called attention to the fact that firms paid more for fire insurance, while there was over four hundred times the chances daily of the death of a partner a total loss to one chance of a partial fire loss. This "silent capital" is partnership insurance afforded by the policies of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company the largest purely American Company, with over a hundred million dollars in assets, the largest ratio of assets to liabilities of any leading company, annual dividends from three to six times those of our chief competitors on similar policies, and from fifty to sixty per cent, more insurance on annual dividend policies, with correspondingly greater cash, loan, and other guarantees, for the cost of deferred dividend policies in other companies. Very truly yours, (3 8 3) BUSINESS DICTATION. 77 Messrs. ADAMS & BYRNE, New York City. Gentlemen: Partnership insurance is as essential to the protection of corporate or partnership capital as fire insurance is to the protection of the property of the firm. North- western policy contracts are especially desirable for this pur- pose. The}' cost much less than similar contracts elsewhere obtainable owing to much larger annual dividends; they can be terminated at any time without loss ; thev afford the largest amount of "silent capital" protection at the lowest possible outlay ; they are self-adjustable to the changing circumstances of the firm from their guaranteed loan, cash value, paid-up and extended insurance features ; and when some years in force they afford guaranteed annually increasing cash assets to the firm, nearly or more than equal to the net premium paid, thus making the current cost of the risk a mere nominal one. All sensible firms keep their goods and property well insured. On the average there are over two hundred chances of a death daily in a firm to one fire. The cost of partner- ship insurance is infinitesimal on the average when compared with the outlay for fire insurance. Is there any reason why, with these facts, you should not entertain a proposition for providing against the withdrawal of capital, brains and experience from your firm by death ? It would afford me much pleasure to see a member of your firm in a da}' or two for the purpose of answering any inquiries, and with the hope of furnishing you with particulars and exact figures, if you will have the ages birthdays prefer- able of the partners ready for me. Very truly yours, (270) Mr. J. R. ALEXANDER, Jamaica, L. I. Dear Sir : As Executive Commissioner of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, I am authorized to offer you for purchase a limited amount of our 5 per cent. Gold Bonds. These Bonds may be purchased by annual pay- ments for 10, 15, or 20 years, as you may select. At the end of the term so selected, there will be delivered to you, if living, Bonds of the denomination of $ 1,000 each, bearing interest at 5 per cent, per annum, which will be paid to you in gold coin of the present standard and fineness, in January and July of 78 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. each year, for 20 years, when the principal will be paid in gold coin. In the event of decease, before the Bonds have been fully paid, no further payments will be required, and there will be delivered to your wife, children, or estate the Bonds above described, upon which 5 per cent, per annum will be paid to them, beginning at once, and continuing for 20 years, when the par value of the Bonds will be paid in gold coin. In view of the statement recently made by one of the Surrogates of New York that 80 per cent, of the money left to widows and orphans in this county during his term of office was lost or dissipated by mismanagement, the value to one's family of such an investment as the above will be readily appreciated. Upon your filling out the enclosed card, and returning same to us at the address given below, we will send you a specimen of the Bonds and also the cost of same at your age. Hoping to hear from you at an early date, Yours truly, (272) Mr. JAMES S. SPICER, Syracuse, N. Y. Dear Sir : Referring to yours of Feb. 2oth, we would say that a stock, or propriety company, is one which sells assur- ance to the public at fixed rates ; all profits, over and above the cost of granting the assurance, going to the proprietors, or stockholders, of the company. At one time such companies were very popular and flourished throughout the land ; but to get business they were forced to charge low rates, and in stress of weather these rates were usually found to be inadequate, and most of these companies went by the board. A mutual life company is an association of members for whom exclusively the profits of the business are accumulated for division in dividends at appropriate intervals. The capital held by the Equitable Society does not take it out of the category of mutual companies, because such a capital is a necessity with all companies (whether mutual or not) organized in New York since the insurance laws of the State were revised in 1853. Every mutual company organized in the State since that date has been required (for the protection of policyholders during the company's infancy) to deposit, in Albany, securities amounting to $100,000. Yours very truly, (206) BUSINESS DICTATION. ; Mr. LEWIS J. CONGER, Milton, Mass. Dear Sir: In answer to your letter ot" 9th inst., calling attention to the defective condition of the pavement in front of your school building, I beg to say I have report from the Water Purveyor that a repair gang has been ordered to make the needed repairs at once. Very respectfully, (58) Mr. DAVID H. JAMES, New York City, N. Y. Dear Sir: In answer to your letter of the 226, complaining of paving material deposited in 39th Street, opposite the Casino, and of defects in pavements at Franklin and Church Streets, and at Broadway and 48th Street, I beg to say I have report from the Water Purveyor that the paving material has been removed by the contractor, and that the defects in the pavement will be repaired as soon as possible. Very truly yours, (82) Mr. FRANK L. FISHER, Lemont, N. H. Dear Sir : In answer to your letter, requesting permission to change the water-meter connections in house No. 305 East 1 2 5th Street, so as to make the meter applicable to the business part of the premises only, I beg to say I find, from report made to me by the ist Asst. Engineer of the Croton Aqueduct, that water closets on the first, fourth, and fifth floors are wasting water, also the faucet in sink on fifth floor. Until the plumbing is repaired so as to stop all leakage and waste, permission to change the meter connections cannot be granted. Very respectfully, (i6) Paper and Envelope Correspondence. Messrs. SIMPSON & Co., Wellington, N. H. Gentlemen : We are informed that you are sending out quantities of circulars, and therefore think you will be glad to know that you can mail them apparently sealed for one cent. The Neostyle " Sealed-yet-open " envelope is specially adapted for mailing circulars, and complies with the require- ments of the Post Office relating to third and fourth class matter. 84 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. If you have been using ordinary envelopes with flap tucked in, you can get infinitely better results by using the Neostyle envelope and mailing circulars apparently sealed. If you have hitherto mailed circulars, sealed, with two cent stamps, you can save nearly $10 per thousand, and obtain as good results by using our envelope. A trial will convince you. Doubtless you opened this letter thinking it was a sealed envelope : it is a circular mailed for one cent in our patent envelope. We would be glad to send you sample and quote prices if you will advise in what quantities you can order. Yours truly, (172) MURRAY BROS., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : We beg to advise you that owing to the recent combinations in the paper and envelope trades, all quotations, even on the regular line of goods, having been withdrawn from the trade, we will be obliged to advance some of the prices on articles furnished you in these lines. We shall, however, make just as few changes as possible, and where we are forced to advance the prices it will only be to the extent of the change made by the manufacturers to us. When we can possibly save by the use of a different, but equally as good, article for the purpose we will confer with you on the subject. Yours truly, (118) Messrs. B. A. BAMFORD & Co., Underwood, Ind. Gentlemen : We beg to hand you a few samples of paper with prices marked thereon. You notice by our letter head we manufacture this paper ourselves, and can safely say that the prices at which we offer them are far less than you can buy them elsewhere. If you will compare the prices and quality of the enclosed with what you have been using, you will find it to your advantage to give us a trial. You are, no doubt, buying from some of the numerous dealers in New York City, and are well aware manufacturers can sell much cheaper than dealers. Should the enclosed not be like what you are now using, we beg to say that we make three other grades, and will be pleased to submit samples to you. Trusting you will look into and examine the quality and prices of the enclosed, we are, Respectfully, I 1 57) BUSINESS DICTATION. S :; Mr. LEWIS B. CONGER, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir : The enclosed samples represent but one or two dimensions of the numerous grades of book papers we carry in stock, and made to order suitable for publishing, printing, lithographing and miscellaneous uses, and for which we solicit your orders. The coated paper we also make in colors for covers and in white for label purposes. Our Super Sized and Calendered and Machine Finished Book, either wove or laid, we recommend for their excellent printing qualities and cleanliness. We specially solicit trade for paper made to order in odd sizes, weights or colors, on which we can offer special induce- ments. Besides above, we have a most extensive stock of blotting papers, wrapping, tag and other papers, board and special cover papers, etc., and if you will state your require- ments for any of your departments, we will, with pleasure give you definite samples and prices. Please make known your wants and we will promptly respond. Yours truly, ( 164) Messrs. SOLOMON BROS., Toledo, Ohio. Gentlemen : We are in receipt of your favor of the i5th inst. for one hundred sheets of fine Bristol board for drawing pur- poses. As you did not state whether four or six ply was wanted we are at a loss to know which to send you, but on looking up your last order we find that you ordered four ply and have presumed that that is the kind you want, and have shipped same by American Express to-day. Yours truly, (85) Mr. J. G. SENIA, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : We are in receipt of your order for 10,000 No. 8 envelopes, which you want shipped immediately. We do not carry these in stock, and as there is not much call for them we make them to order only. Owing to our factory now being behind with orders we cannot promise to have the No. 8 size for you in less than two weeks' time. Kindly wire us if you can wait that time, or if a smaller size will suit your requirements. Yours truly, (93) 86 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOR. Mr. J. H. BILLINGS, Olean, New York. Dear Sir : Have you an accumulation of old account books, letters, and other papers of a confidential nature which you wish to dispose of without publicity ? 1 make a specialty of collecting such papers from bankers, insurance companies and large mercantile houses, and ship directly to my mills, and by the use of strong chemicals destroy all traces of writing and work over into pulp. I allow market price for same. Will send experienced, reliable men to pack papers in bags and boxes. Awaiting your reply, I remain, Yours truly, (96) Mr. W. CLIMIE, Toronto, Canada. Dear Sir : Your esteemed favor has our attention. We will ship by freight direct from our mill the forty reams of double demy newspaper ordered, and send under separate cover the samples of 40, 60 and 80 pound coated cover paper desired. Owing to the recent advance in the price of all grades of papers we will be obliged to charge you an extra | cent, a pound all round on these papers, and if the talked-of advance in prices comes into effect we will have to add another f cent, before the first of the month. Yours truly, (i4) Patents and Trade Marks. Mr. J. T. ROLLO, Summit, Miss. Dear Sir : We have your valued favor of recent date, and in reply to same beg to say that the duration of patent varies considerably in the different countries, and, in most cases, a foreign patent is not allowed to run for a longer term than the full period of the original home grant. Where more than one prior patent exists, the foreign patent expires with that having the shortest term. There are, however, some excep- tions to this rule. In most important countries, with the notable exception of the United States, annual taxes are payable upon existing patents, and certain countries require the patent to be " worked " within a given time or at intervals. Trusting this information will be satisfactory, we are, Very truly yours, ( 1 3 1 ) BUSINESS DICTATION. cS; Mr. R A. BEEMIS, Saginaw, Mich. Dear Sir: Your favor of the i8th inst. has been received. In compliance with your request we enclose a copy of our Hand Book giving full information as to the best way to proceed to secure a United States patent. Foreign Patent Practice also enclosed. If you have an invention which you think of patenting, we shall be pleased to examine your sketches or model, and advise you, without charge, in regard to the probability of securing a patent. We send you a copy of the " Scientific American," and would be happy to have your name on our subscription books. Terms $3 a year, $1.50 six months. Four months' trial, $i. We also mail you our supplement catalogue under another cover. Yours truly, ( 1 3 2 ) Messrs. J. BARRIE & Co., Cleveland, O. Gentlemen : Replying to your favor of the 2d, we beg to say that the mode of application for patent in Belgium is as follows : A sealed packet must be deposited containing a duplicate specification and drawings on the metric system. One set must be on stamp paper. A receipt for payment on the first year's tax of 10 francs must be presented. The deposit must be made at the registry of one of the provincial governments, or at the office of a district Commissary. Memorandum of the date is made on register, signed by the applicant or his attorney, and a copy thereof given to the applicant. Patent is granted in about a month without examination, the date of register being taken. Power of attorney need not be legalized. The average cost for one mark is $22, and a separate power of attorney is required for each mark registered. Yours very truly, ( r 6o) Mr. L. P. ANDREWS, Bangor, Me. Dear Sir : Trade-marks form an important subject in these days of clever imitations, and, together with patent rights, give some security to an inventor or importer of a particular manufactured article. The importance of trade-marks in 88 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. foreign countries is frequently under-estimated by those who do not take into consideration the fact that the foreign buyer is often uneducated or illiterate, and the distinctive marks on an article which he has once bought and proved satisfactory will be his only sure guide in future purchases. In this manner it is of great advantage to the trader, as he is thereby enabled to reap with more certainty his foreign custom. It is also a protection to the public generally, as in buying an article with a well-known trade-mark they are more certain of receiving goods of a standard quality. Very truly yours, (147) Patent Foods. Mr. J B. HOGEMAX, New York. Dear Sir : After a careful line of experiments, aided by the facilities and experience obtained while the writer was manager of the N. Y. Gluten & Phosphate Food Co., we have perfected the Manufacture of Gluten Foods. Gluten Foods made by the Pure Gluten Food Co. contain practically no starch, while they are rich in Nitrates and Phosphates, the essentials in the upbuilding and strengthening of the Muscles, Fibres, and Bones. Gluten cannot be produced by any Milling process notwithstanding claims to the contrary, made by bakers, millers, healthfood companies, and the like, and no other company claiming to manufacture Gluten has ever pro- duced a food which did not contain a high percentage of starch. Ordinary wheat flour contains only about 9 per cent. Gluten and 70 to 75 per cent, starch. Unless the starch extracted can be profitably utilized in other directions the cost of the Gluten would be extremely high (at least 6oc. per lb.). Being directly connected with a starch manufacturer we are enabled to produce in its purest form Gluten Food at a moderate cost. No chemicals used, the process being an entirely mechanical one. The Pure Food Gluten Co.'s prepa- rations have been submitted to some of the best Medical Authorities on Diabetes and Dyspepsia, and have received their highest endorsement, while a number are using them in their own families and in their practice. We will be pleased to send samples for trial and comparison. Yours truly, (246; BUSINESS DICTATION. 8g Mr. HUGO DOWNS, New York. Dear Sir : We are now placing upon the American market a standard English preparation known as Abbey's Effervescent Salt. It is a pleasant Saline Laxative, the antacid properties of which render it particularly efficacious. It is put up in a package that will add to the attractiveness of your store. It will be introduced in a high-class manner, through the Drug Trade only, and in accordance with the resolutions of the N.A.R.D. and N.W.D.A. "Abbey's Salt " will not be sold to Department Stores, nor to the Grocery Trade, and we will do our utmost to keep the price from being cut. This is a policy which has been followed successfully by this Company wherever it has operated. This preparation will receive support from the Medical Profession in the United States, as it has in Great Britain, Europe, India and Canada. "Abbey's" will be extensively, thoroughly and constantly advertised in a clean, honest, attractive manner, and will be made, as else- where in the past and more recently in Canada, the leading- pharmaceutical specialty of this country. " Abbey's " will be a quick seller in the immediate future. We don't ask you to carry an immense stock. We simply ask you to supply the demand which we will create, as it is created, and then you can judge for yourself as to how much stock you should carry. We are not trying to load you up with stock, but we should like to have you do everything you can to further the sales of a Company which has done in the past, and will do in the future, everything in its power to confine its sales to the legitimate Retail Druggist. Very truly yours, (36) Mr. L. M. PLEWES, Brooklyn, N. Y. Dear Sir : The action of tonics containing drugs is quick, probably too quick to be safe ; some people like and expect quick results, noticing with satisfaction the apparent sensation of well being after taking some powerful drug, unaware of the after effects, and at what fearful cost these few hours of increased vigor are bought. Do not expect quick action from one bottle of Saint Raphael Wine, there is no magic panacea in it, it is simply the healthful parts of the richest French Grapes concentrated and pasteurized. St. Raphael Wine will 90 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION fiOOk. surely and slowly help you regain your health when taken in small quantities after meals, for several weeks, the nutritious principles of the fruit must go into your blood by the natural and only process, through your stomach. You may try one bottle before deciding to use it, as we do not expect everybody to believe our statements. We have on file in our office endorsements of eminent N. Y. physicians which we are not at liberty to publish. However, they can be shown to callers. One bottle, 75C., one dozen, $8.00. The wine may be obtained from us directly, if so desired. Do not be surprised to be offered something "just as good " at many stores, as we cannot afford to give between 100 per cent, and 200 per cent, profit to dealers, it would be too expensive for the public Yours respectfully, (240) Mr. ALFRED PEARSON, N. Y. City, N. Y. Dear Sir : Permit us to call your attention to the con- venience and value of Horlick's Malted Milk as an office luncheon for business men. It not only supplies all needed nourishment, at a moment's notice, thus saving valuable time, but will prove beneficial in impaired or weakened digestion, dyspepsia, etc., as well. A recuperative, nourishing luncheon, far superior to the hastily eaten and often indigestible restaurant fare. Invaluable as a table beverage, in place of tea, coffee, cocoa, for it not only refreshes, but nourishes, builds and sustains. A cupful, taken hot upon retiring, rests the nerves, relieves insomnia, and induces sound, refreshing sleep. Our delicious food product is prepared from the nutritive extracts of malted grains, combined with a generous propor- tion of pure, rich, full-cream milk. Highly concentrated and partially digested. In a powdered form, and prepared for use by simply dissolving in water. No milk or boiling required. For the greater convenience of the business man, Horlick's Malted Milk is also put up in tablet form. These are to be eaten dry, and require no preparing whatever. Fifteen to 25 tablets are equivalent to a full meal. May we send you a sample for trial, prepaid, and with our compliments ? Enclosed postal, returned, will bring it. Awaiting your pleasure, we remain, Very truly, (220) BUSINESS DICTATION. 91 Pensions. HON. COMMISSIONER OF PENSIONS, Washington, D. C. Dear Sir : Please furnish me the status of the pending Additional Pension claim of Nathaniel Small, Co. " L " 54th, Penna. Vols., Certificate No. 212,240. The history of this case is as follows: In November, 1895, I, as claimant's attorney, filed his claim for increase and Additional (new disability) Pension. He was at that time receiving only $2 per month for gun-shot wound on right arm. On April 6, 1896, a Certificate was issued to him, increasing his pension from $2 to $4 from February 3, 1896. by reason of pensioned cause, but nothing on disease of lungs, his alleged additional disability. I then filed a new affidavit of the claimant, appealing to the Commissioner of Pensions for a reconsider- ation of his case, alleging bronchitis or lung disease as having been contracted by him in said service and line of duty, explaining fully the origin of said disabilities. In proof of his allegation I filed the affidavits of his comrades, Francis Johnson and Alvin Strope, and in proof of his continued disability since discharge, resulting therefrom, I filed the affidavits of Dr. D. S. Platt, and neighbors Israel Carr, Gilbert H. Grooes, Burton F. Bousen, and J. B. Bennett. I have not yet received notice that said application and evidence has ever received consideration. Please inform me as requested. Very truly yours, (228) Mrs. SARAH CLARKE, Boston, Mass. Dear Madam : John Clarke is an applicant for pension by reason of service in the U. S. Navy under the name of John Emerson. I am his attorney. The Pension Office requires evidence to satisfy them that he is the identical person who served in the Navy under the name of John Emerson. He has just been at my office and stated that you know the facts required, and, from information given me by him, I have written for you the affidavit which I herewith enclose. He has read it, and believes that you know all the facts that it contains and can subscribe to it. If so, please go before a Notary Public and sign and be sworn to it, and return to me in enclosed envelope. 92 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. He also informs me that your son, Freeman Lovell, also knows the facts in relation to this matter, and that he served in the Navy under the name of John Emerson from March, 1863, to March, 1864. I enclose you an additional blank, on which please have Mr. Lovell make his statement of such facts as he knows, tending to prove what is required, and, after being sworn to same, also send me his affidavit. I send these at Mr. John Clarke's request. Please attend to the matter as soon as possible. We are, Very truly yours, (230) Pianos. Mr. C. D. CARTER, Waterbury, Conn. Dear Sir : We have just received your kind letter, and take pleasure in replying promptly. We are sending you in this mail our 120 page book of information, which we think you will find very interesting and complete. If there is any information you would like, and it is not in the book, please let us know, and we will be glad to write you fully. We are selling our pianos direct from our factory, and not through agents or dealers. The usual way to buy a piano is from a retail agent or dealer, but there are a great many advantages in buying direct from the factory. We do not have a single agent or salesman. We have no salesroom, except our factory. We transact all business and ship all pianos direct from our factory. Our expenses are small, and we sell a large number of pianos, therefore a very small profit pays us. If you purchase a piano direct from us, you will save the entire agent's profit, which is from $75 to $200. We enclose in this letter a special written list, giving our best net wholesale prices on our different styles, and also our best terms of payment. If these terms are not exactly what you desire, and you prefer to pay in some other way, please let us know what terms would suit you better, and we will try and arrange them to your satisfaction. We will pay all freights in advance on any piano that you order, and will deliver the piano at your railroad depot free of expense to you. We will send with any piano you order a stool and scarf of the very best quality. Very truly yours, (293) BUSINESS DICTATION. 93 Mr. CHARLES A. GIMM, Troy, N. Y. Dear Sir : You probably remember our writing you not long ago about our pianos, and our quoting 3-011 a special price to introduce them in your locality. We said then we hardly expected an immediate sale, but would be pleased at the prospect of placing one of our pianos in your home on trial at some future time. It may be that you have since pur- chased a piano, and if so, or if you are for any other reason out of the market, we would be under obligations if you would so write us. Or if you have no piano at present, but are not ready to buy just now, kindly let us hear from you anyway. So long as we are assured of having one of our pianos in your place as a sample, even though it be not in the immediate future, we will allow our special offer to you to remain open. We earnestly request that you kindly favor us with an early reply, which will be highly appreciated. We remain, Yours truly, ( l & 2 } Pottery. THE J. B. BECK Co., Marshfield, Mo. Gentlemen : We received your favor of yesterday, and shall order the matchings to come as soon as possible, and have given instructions in regard to color and execution. We also take pleasure in handing you the enclosed letter received from our Limoges house for you. We remain, Yours very truly, (58) Messrs. J. P. BONNALL, SON & Co., Washington, D. C. Gentlemen : We beg to inform you that we have just received another shipment of Carlsbad dinner sets packed in a cask in three decorations stippled gold, which we offer to you at $10.00 a set by the cask terms : net 30 days. As undoubtedly you had good results with the sets bought from us formerly, we hope that you will favor us with an order for one or more packages of this lot. As the sets undoubtedly will go very fast, we ask you to kindly let us have your answer, if you desire any, by return of mail. Hoping to hear from you, we remain, Yours very truly, (i 18) 94 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. WM. J. BRINSMEAD, Stamford, Conn. Dear Sir: We take pleasure in handing you enclosed litho- graphs representing a number of desirable chromo decorations with which we have been very successful this year. The eight lithographs also show you the outlines of five different shapes which have been especially designed and manufactured for the United States at our own factory at Limoges, France, and all of which are protected by U. S. Letters Patent. Enclosed we beg to hand you price-list for the different patterns for dinner-ware, as well as toilet-ware, and beg to state that the prices are import prices terms : 30 days net. It would give us great pleasure if you would find one or more of these patterns to your liking and add them to your assortment of open stock patterns, and favor us with an import order for fall delivery, which we can assure you would have our very best attention. Hoping to hear from you, we remain, Yours truly, 064) Mr. S. S. BOHMER, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir: We are pleased to notice your arrival in our city, and beg to inform you that our large and attractive line of New Import Samples is complete. We have brought out mostly specialties and novelties, which we do not hesitate to say have never been equalled, and if you will kindly inspect our assortment, you will admit that it is worth a visit to New York for this purpose alone. We would call your particular attention to the productions from our own works at Limoges and Altrohlau. All these samples are beautifully displayed, and we feel sure that the goods, as well as the prices, will interest you. Hoping you will decide to look through our lines before placing your orders elsewhere, we remain, Yours truly, ( : 3 2 ) Mr. CLARENCE S. CRING, Ridley, Pa. Dear Sir : Referring to the White China Price-Book sent to you about two weeks ago, we to-day take the pleasure in sending you three more photographs (Nos. 16-18) and price lists just issued, and call your special attention to sheet 17, which illustrates a very desirable line of vases, etc. BUSINESS DICTATION. 95 It would please us very much if you would favor us with an import order for some of the articles, and if you would also file these photos with the former ones sent for future references. As soon as new articles have been manufactured and the photos issued, we shall take the liberty of sending the same to you, so that you will be in possession of a complete catalogue of our Limoges productions. Hoping to hear from you, we remain, Very truly yours, ( 1 40) Mr. ROBERT HASKINS, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir : I have the pleasure to inform you that I will open up at the Empire Hotel with a very full line of our latest Novelties and Specialties of this season's importations, together with a number of articles we are closing out from our stock ; the latter at a very great reduction from the regular price, and would, therefore, be pleased to have you meet me while there. Your immediate reply by enclosed postal will be very much appreciated by, Yours very truly, (89) THE ART POTTERY Co., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : Kindly inform us if you can supply the following articles in blue Meissen onion china, and at what prices : Dinner plates, Soup plates, Breakfast plates, Bread and butter plates, Soup tureens, Sauce tureens, Bakers, Preserves, Butter dishes, Individual butters. These articles are for one of our very best customers, and we would like to help him out in the matter. Be kind enough to let us have your answer at the earliest possible moment, and oblige, Yours very truly, (86) 96 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK Mr. W. W. LOCKWOOD, Clinton, Mo. Dear Sir : We again take pleasure in inviting you to call and inspect our beautiful assortment of Holiday Goods, which we have but recently unpacked. We call particular attention to our display of: Rich Bohemian Glassware, Blue Delft & Italian Faience, Latest Novelties in Dresden China, and many other articles suitable for Christmas presents. Hoping to be favored with a visit, we remain, Yours very truly, (72) THE ROBERT F. BAXTER Co., San Francisco, Cal. Gentlemen : Enclosed please find memoranda of goods to arrive : Three casks Nos. 4567 to 4569 from Doulton & Co. Eight casks Nos. 6482-5, 6493-4, 6497/8 from the Royal Dresden factory. One cask No. 785 from Limoges. Two cases 1815 from Carlsbad. One case 7506 from the Royal Berlin Factory. We are, Very truly yours, (61 ) Mr. W. L. KEENER, Benton, Ga. Dear Sir : Much to our regret we have not been favored with any orders from you for French china open stock dinner ware. We wish to call your attention particularly to our best new pattern of the above, and would be much pleased to send you a sample of the same with lowest stock and import prices. We feel sure that this pattern would sell advantageously with your trade, and once introduced, it would be a great benefit to you to know that you could draw upon our stock for prompt deliveries, as we always keep a large stock of the same on hand in New York. Hoping that we will be able to do some business with you in this line to our mutual advantage, and awaiting the pleasure of your reply, we remain, Yours very truly, ( T 43) BUSINESS DICTATION-. 97 Printing and Engraving Correspondence. Messrs. J. J. HOWE & Co., Yonkers, N. Y. Gentlemen : Replying to your remark on our letter, we Can set the whole matter up if you will allow us the expense for so doing. The price we charge and quote you for printing is only for a plain corner card or address, but when it comes to so much matter as you require on yours, tue composition is quite an item and has to be paid for extra. In order to do this properly, it will be necessary to show you a proof before they are printed, for otherwise it may not be quite satisfactory to you, and then, after being printed, would be of no use to anybody else. To set this up and get a proof will consume some time, but we can deliver the envelopes to you in six to eight days after the proof, if found satisfactory. If you leave the matter in our hands, we shall do our best to please you, and furnish the envelopes at the price quoted, if you will allow us extra for the composition. Yours truly, ( l ^S) WILLIAMS ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING Co., St. Louis, Mo. Gentlemen: Your favor of the i3th inst. received. This was addressed to our main office at New York and referred to us for attention. Pursuant to your request in same, we are enclosing you samples of the three grades of Peerless Giant Insulating Paper we manufacture, as well as a small sample of our little Peerless Paper. All of these grades have been used to some extent in electrical work, but we are not conver- sant enough with this branch of the business to advise you just where it would be most serviceable. The 3~ply Paper will be found on trial to be an excellent substitute for mica, etc., for ring and other armatures, and the i-ply a most excellent material for wrapping field coils and armatures. The Little Peerless is a very thin and strong Paper, and is made especially for repairs or rewinding old armatures where an exact diameter of the winding is required. The enclosed circular will probably give you any further information you may desire. Thanking you for past courtesies extended to us, and awaiting your further valued commands, we are, Very truly yours, (196) 7D. B. 98 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. MARTIN, SON & Co., New York City. Gentlemen : This is an imitation Typewriter letter, with your name and address written in with a typewriter. With such letters, you can appeal direct to your customers or to the Public in general and at once get their attention. These letters are just as good as if all typewritten, and as the same matter may be sent to different people, are next to a personal call for business purposes. We produce them in any color or quantity, on short notice, copies or uncopied effect, and at very reasonable prices. Let us hear from you and we will call, or send you prices with other samples of our work. Very truly yours, (119) Mr. L. G. LLOYD, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir: We enclose a sample of our No. 521, which is the nearest we have in shade to the sample envelope you sent us. We can furnish you this envelope in 5 M. lots, delivered, with the printing on back and face as shown on your sample, arrangement to be made on the flaps of the back so that all can be done at one impression, @ $2.25 per M., size of the envelope being our 6^ high cut, printing to be in black ink. If printing is wanted in blue ink price would be $2.35 per M. Your inquiry is referred to us by the Morton Paper Company, to whom it was addressed. Very respectfully, (123) THE HERBERT C. MEYER Co., Washington, D. C. Gentlemen : We presume the burning question with you now is, " How may business be increased ? " We venture to offer you a suggestion, which, while not entirely disinterested, will be none the less valuable if adopted by you. Nowadays it is the personal appeal which secures attention, either in the form of a personal call or a personal letter. Our experience teaches us that the best results are attained by a combination of the two methods. In other words, your representative's efforts can be made more effective if supple- mented by a personal communication. We make a business of supplying fac-simile typewritten letters in quantities, by a patented process, which an expert cannot distinguish from genuine typewritten letters, filling in BUSINESS DICTATION. <)() the name and address of each individual. You can readily see that a large quantity of form letters sent out in this way will have all the effect of personally communicating with your people. Kindly let us hear from you if you want to obtain the best results from your efforts to get business. We can do you good. If you telephone us (1,000 Broad) our representative will call on you. Awaiting your reply, we are, Yours very truly, (203) Messrs. HUGHES & Co., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : We desire to call your attention to our extensive and complete facilities for Color Photographic Reproduction and Printing. We have illustrated in colors some thirty odd books for leading publishers in the East. An innovation, which almost entirely obliterates the effect of the screen to the naked eye, recently introduced in our work, insures most beautiful and delicate results. We shall be glad to show you some of our latest products on request. Hoping to be favored when you are in the market for work to be done in colors, we remain, Very truly yours, ( I02 ) Messrs. LOVEJOY & Co., " Brooklyn, N. Y. Gentlemen : Acknowledging receipt of your inquiry of the loth inst., we enclose herewith samples requested. We take pleasure in quoting you the following prices. Fac-simile typewritten letters, body of the letter style, which is the letter beginning with Dear Sir, Gentlemen or blank, and ending with or without a typewritten signature, $2.00 per thousand. If names and addresses are to be inserted, $5.00 per thousand. If to include a fac-simile hand- written signature, the first thousand $6.75, and each additional thousand of this style $6.00. We trust you will examine the enclosed samples carefully and decide on favoring us with a trial order, feeling that this trial will result in securing you as one of our regular customers. Let us have this order. Awaiting same, we are, Yours very truly, (i3 6 ) 100 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. ELMER B. JONES & Co., Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Gentlemen : We send you to-day, under separate cover, a sixteen page specimen portfolio, containing numerous samples of printing executed in our works by the Colortype process. Should you desire to have us send you any additional specimens of our work, particularly appropriate to your business of publishing, we shall be glad to do so upon request, as we have executed a large amount of work of this character for leading Eastern publishers. Our Mr. Chas. W. Smith will be at the Hotel Bartholdi, 23d Street and Broadway, New York, on and after August ist, where he will be pleased to wait on you and give you all the desired information relative to this new and economical method of color printing. He will be pleased to have you favor him with an opportunity to acquaint you with the method, and to that end he is at your service to wait on you wherever you may designate by letter or telephone call to the Hotel. Thanking you in advance for the courtesy in extending an opportunity to meet you, we remain, Yours very truly, (i 88) Mr. JAMES W. MOORE, Milford, Pa. Dear Sir: We herewith enclose you estimate for 10,000 catalogues, size 7 x 8|, cover to be lithographed in three colors, inset one printing by type, with half-tone cuts, at $30 per thousand. These figures can probably be shaded some- what after sketch is submitted and approved, thus enabling us to figure* more accurately on the work submitted. We have mailed you under separate cover the catalogue you furnished for estimate. Very truly yours, (78) Messrs. DODGE & SON, New York. Gentlemen : A number of the large printers in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere have in the last year put in small plants for the manufacture of their own black inE'; first, from a knowledge that they can save about one-half the cost of the ink ; and second, that at any time they are able to make any special ink for special paper at an hour's notice, thus saving time and trouble. BUSINESS DICTATION. JO) The machinery for these individual plants is inexpensive, the space and power required is small, the materials are on sale in the open market, and the result in every case has been extremely satisfactory. We have started several of these plants, and are at liberty to refer to their owners. Our plan is to take one of your employees (capable of earning $2.00 per day), teach him to make as good black ink of any quality as any ink manufacturer produces, hand you the recipes so you will always know how these goods are made, and thus make you master of the situation. Our charges for this instruction are moderate, and we anticipate that, when the fact of this successful result from individual plants becomes known, a large proportion of the large printers will adopt this method of becoming independent of the " ink man." We shall be glad to call upon you and talk this matter over. Yours truly, (234) Messrs. B. POTTS & SONS, Brooklyn, N. Y. Gentlemen : We've been paying solicitors from 10 per cent, to 1 5 per cent, for looking up engravings for us. We've quit no more solicitors to worry you to death, the 10 per cent, or 15 per cent, is yours. We'll split the difference in this way : we'll put 50 per cent, of this commission into bettering the quality of the work, and we'll let you have the other half in price. We'll deal direct. We hope to do business with you, but we won't bother you by breaking in on you seven times a week to see " if you are ready yet." Say the word, and some one of the firm will call, some one who has sense and can talk intelligently, and who can make a price then and there without " letting you know this afternoon." Among other good people we do work for are : Columbia University, Harvard University, Clark University, The Macmillan Co., Harper & Bros., D. Appleton & Co., Chas. Scribner's Sons. Those people know when work is right, both as regards quality and price ; we please them, we don't see why we shouldn't be able to please you ; we'd like the opportunity to try, anyhow. Yours for proper work at proper prices. We are, Yours truly, (213) 102 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. PIERCE & Co., New York. Gentlemen : As you are in the publishing business, you undoubtedly use more or less engraving by various methods in the course of the year. We engrave by all methods. We have found by past experience that the summer months are apt to be quite dull in our business, and as we have our working force perfectly organized as it is, we do not wish to dispense with any of our men during the dull season. We are going to make you a special offer to furnish you work of the very highest grade from now until the ist of October next, and as long thereafter as we do not notify to the contrary, at a much lower figure than you have been able to purchase at heretofore. We can give you just as prompt and careful service as if we were in your town, and our work is always sold under absolute guarantee as to quality. We are all interested in saving money, and if this interests you, kindly advise us at once, and we will quote you prices on both half tone and zinc engraving, and forward a full line of samples. Our proposi- tion is bond fide ', and we hope you will take advantage of it. The saving we offer you will amount to considerable as you will find, and if you will give us one trial, we believe you will become a permanent customer. Awaiting the courtesy of an early reply, we beg to remain, Yours very truly, (256) Produce Commission. THE FARMERS' SOCIETY, Mt. Moses, Vt. Gentlemen : Our market is a peculiar one. Instead of declining in price light receipts are forcing it even higher, as you will see by the circular enclosed. There is actually no activity in our market, the advance is caused by the light offerings, and we cannot understand the cause of it. In our opinion the make of butter ought to show an increase, and we are confident it will from now on, and we will say honestly that we have no faith in present price. Now, do not overlook us. Give us all the butter you can, and we will work hard to please you. Respectfully yours, ( I!2 ) BUSINESS DICTATION. 103 Mr. ROGER TARPLEY, Akron, Ohio. Dear Sir : We suppose you are still selling on track, as \vc are confident if you were consigning, we would have our share. Market is firm, and we anticipate a steady one next week. We have a party that is willing to pay i2C. for four to seven cars of your storage eggs, shipped any time this month or first week in May, delivered New York. On this deal we would handle them for ice. per case. Do you want to accept ? Yours truly, (88) Mr. L. H. SMITHSON, Paterson, N. J. Dear Sir: We are in receipt of your letter of the icth, and note all you write. We will advance you ice. freight paid New York. The season rate for storage is 400 We advised you that during "At Mark" season we would handle your eggs for |c., but said nothing about carriage, for we have to pay that, and it would not leave much margin otherwise. The sooner you get your eggs in storage the better now. See P. C. and ship. We are, Yours truly, (92) Mr. L. D. WALKEH, Phoenix, Ariz. Dear Sir : Storing season for eggs is about over, and we want you to put the enclosed business card in a conspicuous place, so that when you feel disposed to change the firm to which you ship or feel like dividing, it will remind you. There is no actual inducement we can offer other than any first-class house, unless perhaps it will be promptness in reporting and "endering sales. One thing we think may possibly be to your advantage during the loss period. We do not allow any buyer to make our loss. We have the facilities for taking out a part of each shipment when received, and either sell at case count, or adjust loss off with purchaser before delivery of eggs. We need eggs coming all the time, fresh, seconds, and thirds, and if you will let us hear from you, we will keep you well advised, and hardly think you will regret it if you favor us with a shipment. Market 12^ per cent, to-day loss off. It should naturally react soon, enough at least to cover loss. Please let us hear from you. Respectfully yours, ( X 94) 104 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. CLARK & CURTIS, Portland, Me. Gentlemen : Your two cars of eggs sold to-day at IDC. We have tried the market thoroughly on them, and we even tried to divide them up into small lots, but they would not go. Our honest opinion is, if you have any more you had better ship and have them sold at once, for they are no good. We tried hard, gentlemen, to help you out, but when our market is full of better stock at same price, we could not do it. Ship another car and we will do the best we can. Respectfully yours, (io) Messrs. J. CROSS & Co., Champaigne, 111. Gentlemen: Enclosed find account sales for your 53 tubs of butter received on Thursday, 3d inst., which were sold as you see at |c. above top market price. The market is in surpris- ingly good shape, and closes firm at the late advance with stores cleaned up. This has been caused by a good home demand, combined with out-of-town requirements, and has caused a very active market this week. See enclosed circular, and let us have all the stock you can, as we need it, and will do our best for you. Respectfully yours, (121) Mr. C. W. JONES, Des Moines, Iowa. Dear Sir : Our reputation as receivers of creamery butter is too well known to need any introduction to you. We need more fine stock to meet the requirements of an ever-increasing trade, and we want you to let us have a little of your surplus, which will be very much appreciated. As long as our market is 24C. and over in price, we will guarantee you a ^c. above our top market quotations if butter is fine, and a-s you are a member of the Elgin Board, we take it for granted you know. Our market felt a trifle giddy and weak at the close Saturday, but light receipts to-day caused a much firmer tone, and it is a firm one at the close with a good steady market for the week. See enclosed Price Current, and don't forget us, for if you will favor us you will not regret it, and we will personally look after weights, etc., also promise you prompt returns. Let us hear from you soon and often. Respectfully yours, ( l8 3) BUSINESS DICTATION. 105 Messrs. ROBINSON & CARR, Alpine, Mich. Gentlemen : Receipts of eggs this week are simply enormous, being about 75,000 cases for three days. We know, of course, that the bulk of the receipts coming arc bought eggs, and that is one reason of the market holding as it has owing to the high cost of the eggs. How long this buying fever will last we cannot tell. It certainly is beneficial to producers. To-day the tone is hardly as strong as yester- day, in fact, market is off about |c. Consumptive demand is good, and if speculation continues, we hardly think there will be any further change. We still advise keeping cost down to insure profit, and if you will favor us we will try to make one. See enclosed circular and ship us all you can, and if you have any friends shipping put in a good word for us, and it will be appreciated by, Yours respectfully, ( 1 5 7 ) Mr. J. W. WEAR, Scandia, Kans. Dear Sir : Your letter received. We have adjoining us "The Merchants' Refrigerating Co.," the finest in New York City. Their charges are 40 per cent, for the season and interest on advances, which are IDC. freight paid, New York. If you want to store a few cars we will carry them for you. We are glad to hear from you, and will be pleased to handle your egg shipments whether you store or not. See enclosed circular for market, and let us hear from you soon. Respectfully yours, (92) Printing Material Correspondence. Mr. T. F. TRAVER, Salem, Mass. Dear Sir : Your favor of the 1 5th at hand, containing express order for $5. You did not state what kind of quoin you wanted ; but as you state you want two dozen, and the Hempel quoin is $2.50 per dozen, we have sent you by express, prepaid, two dozen of that style of quoin. You did not say whether or not you wanted a key, so we did not send one. If you do, drop us a postal card to that effect, and we will send you one, for which we will make no charge. Yours truly, (103) 106 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. B. B. WELLS, Stapleton, S. I., N. Y. Dear Sir : Your favor of the 3d inst. to hand. The Reliance paper cutter is the best moderate priced cutter on the market. It is fitted for hand or steam, is solidly built, the frame being firmly stayed by two substantial cross-braces, upon which is bolted the arch that supports the center of the bed, making it perfectly rigid and firm under pressure of clamp or knife. It is also fitted with the interlocking back gauge and clamp, by which paper may be cut to within an inch of the knife, and has brass figured rules in bed, back and front. The throw-off is automatic, and stops the knife instantly, allowing it to be thrown off at any point, thus obviating possible waste ot paper through error. The knife has dip-cut, and the slideways in which the knife bar moves is faced with steel gibs secured and adjusted by means of three set-screws on each side, so that any wear in the slideways may be taken up quite easily. This is a very convenient style of cutter, as it will be found to be an effective and easily operated hand-power cutter, at times when other power is not available. Yours truly, (211) Mr. J. R. LAIRD, Jersey City, N. J. Dear Sir : Your favor requesting us to send you price list, and illustrations of our different styles of iron chases, has our attention. We enclose herewith the only circular we have with reference to chases, but if you will look over our com- plete catalogue, which we sent you at the beginning of the year, you will find an illustration and description of every chase we make. If, however, you want a special size, we can make it to order for you, on short notice. Very truly yours, (94) Mr. B. J. BURNS, 678 Broadway, N. Y. City. Dear Sir : Your favor to hand, with the postal order for $8. We have sent the galley cabinet by American Express to-day, carefully burlaped, so that it will reach you in perfect condi- tion. All the galleys that we manufacture will fit this rack, so that you may order indiscriminately. Yours truly, (59) BUSINESS DICTATION. 1O7 Messrs. JAMES I. NICHOLLS & Co., Providence, R. I. Gentlemen : We enclose our sample book, showing full line of the banker's bond we carry in stock. We have not advanced the price, though other writings have advanced one and one- half to two cents, per Ib. This quality is without doubt the cheapest bond of the quality in America at the price we ask. White, 12 cts. per Ib. Colored, 12^ Less than a ream, i cent, per Ib. extra. Banker's bond is our exclusive brand here. The paper is regular and uniform. We want your trade and hope to hear from you. Yours truly, ( 1 05 ) Publishing" Correspondence. Messrs. ENTZ &: Co., Cleveland, Ohio. Gentlemen : We beg to call your attention to our recent publication, " Plain Logic," by Thomas E. Howe, of the St. Louis bar. The enclosed circulars will give you the opinions of the press, and particulars regarding this remark- able publication. It has created unusual enthusiasm and much interest in most all scholars and those interested in the subject of logic. Our discount on small quantities is 30 per cent, or $3.50 per volume. Our discount on orders for twelve or more copies at a time is 50 per cent, or $2.50 net. We allow a further dis- count of 10 per cent, for cash in 10 days ; 6 per cent, for cash in 30 days, and 3 per cent, for cash in 60 days. Bills good on 90 days' time. We can furnish you circular matter like the enclosed, with your name and address in place of our own free, in such quantities as you will use in creating demand. If you will send us your order for at least twelve copies, we will, in order to immediately create interest in the publication there, place copies of this book with the press for review, which invariably results in an immediate demand from thinkers and scholars. We invite correspondence regarding " Plain Logic." Trusting to be favored with your order, we remain, Respectfully yours, (22c) 108 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOR. Mr. BOYD LEWIS, Chicago, 111. Dear Sir : Dr. Lusk desires me to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the gth inst. He regrets that owing to changes in the department management of this concern, the copies of the " Students' Home Dictionary," promised by us some time ago to those who were kind enough to favor us with their views on the preliminary pages, were not sent out. Your name appears on the records as one entitled to a copy of the book, and this shall be forwarded to you within the next few days. Dr. Lusk wishes me also to invite your views on the present " Spelling Reform Movement," which we have adopted in our publications. Within the next few days we purpose to send out a circular letter to all the supporters of this movement with a view to getting all the aid we can from those who are in favor of it. If you care to send us anything on this subject for publication, we shall be glad to make use of it. Very truly yours, (179) Messrs. THOMAS & BATLEY, 1123 Broadway, City. Gentlemen : To facilitate our increasing business, as well as to accommodate our customers, we have placed a telephone at our New York office, room No. 82 Boyd Building, to be known as Cortlandt 415. We are better prepared than ever to meet the wants of the trade in every line of paper. We ship goods direct from the mill to the consumer. When in want of paper kindly call us up on the telephone, or send word to this office, and get our prices before placing your order. Will be pleased to call on you at any time. Publishers will find it to their advantage to get our samples and figures before placing their yearly contracts. Please remember that we make a specialty of specialties. If you want something new, or something outside of the regular line of paper, we will be able to furnish you the same at bottom prices. Thanking our customers for past favors, and thanking them and pur new customers in advance for future orders, we remain, Very truly yours, (179) BUSINESS DICTATION. ICO Mr. W. L. JAMISON, Erie, Pa. Dear Sir: In response to your inquiry, we take pleasure in mailing you herewith specimen pages and description of the " Library of United States Literature." If you will favor us with your order, and with references, we will be pleased to extend to you a year's credit, delivering the entire set to you express charges prepaid, and accepting payment at the rate of the price of one volume each and every month thereafter until the whole set is paid for. If, however, you prefer to pay cash on delivery, we will accept payment for only 10 volumes, and present volume i r to you free. We enclose order blanks either for cash or monthly pay- ments, and if you will kindly sign and return your order, the books will be sent to you by return express, charges prepaid. Yours very truly, Mr. ALBERT JAMES, Fresno, Cal. Dear Sir : Your attention is requested to the general scope of this business, as set forth in the enclosed circular. The retail department, which continually carries a stock of antique literary material, never averaging less than $100,000 in value, is second to none in this country. The facilities for supplying anything of a literary nature, whether books, prints, or autograph letters, new or old, fine, rare, or curious, cannot be surpassed. Any services appertaining to books, their cataloguing, arrangement, appraisal, disposal, etc., can be rendered in a fully satisfactory manner. Artistic binding is made a specialty. We buy collections and single items for cash ; offers are invited. Importing done to order. Current publications supplied at discount rates. Soliciting the favor of your orders, Yours truly, P.S. Subscribers to the Library of U. S. Literature will be interested to learn that we can supply any or all of the books from which extracts are made in that grand work. Prices quoted on application. (166) IIO TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. GEO. B. BRONSON, Tarry town, N. Y. Dear Sir : The above committee of the Company " D ' Severe-First regiment have recently published the story of the regiment's participation in the Spanish-American war, for the purpose of raising funds from its sale to erect a suitable decoration to those of their comrades who lost their lives in the discharge of their self-imposed duty ; and, believing that you would be sufficiently in sympathy with this movement to contribute in a small way to the consummation of such an object, and take interest in looking the work over, we have sent you, subject to your acceptance, one of the copies of a limited de luxe edition. We trust that you will find every evidence of our having exerted care and sincerity in preparing the volume for our friends, and, as the proceeds apply directly to the cause we are pleading, we hope it will please you to possess a copy. We beg to enclose a memorandum of cost, and, in the event of your not wishing to retain the copy, we will call for it upon receipt of word from you to that effect. Awaiting your pleasure in the matter, we beg to remain, Yours respectfully, (20 T THE WILSON BOOK Co., Seattle, Wash. Gentlemen : According to your request, we are sending you our catalogue of art calendars for 1900, by express, prepaid, with the understanding that it shall be "returned, prepaid, within five days. If you can conveniently finish with it sooner we shall greatly appreciate its earlier return, as it is almost impossible to meet the demand for the book. The amount of return charges paid will be credited upon an order of $5.00 or more. We have tried to make the catalogue very convenient, and ordering easy ; there are no discounts to figure the prices quoted are net, and without exception absolutely the same to all. Every style of calendar is illustrated in full size ; page 34 contains directions for ordering, and on page 22 we try to tell what can be justly claimed for calendar advertising. There was a time when most any sort of a picture on a calendar would insure its preservation, but the public has grown more discriminating, and the calendars that are now preserved must be worth keeping; they must have merit and they must have character. We call especial attention to the BUSINESS DICTATION. i ] ; character and artistic excellence of the copy righ led subjects we offer exclusively ; we think they have never before been equaled in a line of advertising calendars. Calendar making is our business ; for years we have been devoted to it more exclusively and more extensively than any other concern in the country, but since our removal from Red Oak, Iowa, we have more than doubled our facilities, and with the superior advantages afforded in New York, are enabled to give better service than ever before. Hoping to be favored with your order, we remain, Yours truly, (28 ' ; THE FRED JANES Co., Toledo, Ohio. Gentlemen : Your favor of the i;th enclosing $2.25 received, which we herewith return together with $1.12, the amount you had to pay on the book forwarded on the i5th. The bill for April 2d was paid on the loth by you, and we cannot understand why it was not receipted; the bill for April 1 5th, which was enclosed in the book, was paid in advance, so that you do not owe us anything, hence our reason for returning it. We regret the trouble you have had in this matter, also that you were compelled to pay due postage on the book, but our shipping clerk thought it would go through at book rates. Trusting this will be satisfactory, we are, Yours truly, ( I2 7) Dr. R. S. CRANE, Pitts burg, Pa. Dear Sir : Some time since you paid twenty-five cents and received the Medical Record for two months on a trial subscription, and we regretted that your experience with it during the period that you received it did not warrant you in favoring us with a continuation of your subscription at that time. We should be much pleased to have you take the matter under consideration again, with a view of placing your subscription to begin with the volume July i, 1899. If you will send your order now, accompanied with $4.75, which is the balance of the subscription price, we will send the Medical Record to you from the date when your order is received until July i, 1900. This is an exceptionally liberal offer, which we trust you will avail yourself of. Very respectfully yours, ( 1 44) 112 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. THE NEW EVA PUBLISHING Co., Owosso, Mich. Gentlemen : In answer to your note of April i2th, enclosing an inquiry from our city as to your publications, would state that we try to keep in stock, as you will see by reports rendered to you at times, the principal works in the " Rapid Series," and every one in the store knows this, so there would be no chance for anyone coming in for these who would not receive them. Minor books have very little sale, such as reading books. We never have kept these, for the reason that we do not have perhaps more than one call for them in a year, and for that reason it would not pay us to do so, but we are always willing to get for any person inquiring anything in your line. These complaints come from people who do not go to the large houses, but to the small stands, and they take no particular pains to find a book for a customer. We have always appreciated the fact that you have handed us the letters due us, and we have always written to the parties making the complaint, stating if we did not have the book in stock, we would do what we could to obtain it for them. Yours truly, ( 2I 7) Mr. W. C. RUSSELL, Akron, Ohio. Dear Sir : As we wrote you a few days ago, we have secured the first impression from the press of The Interna- tional Library of Famous Literature, and are offering them to our Century subscribers alone. Already the larger part are taken, including all in cloth binding. What are left, however, are in the best bindings, and are therefore among the earliest impressions. The regular prices and the prices to our Century subscribers are as follows : Regular price. Price to our Century subscribers. Half Morocco, per volume $4.50 $2.30 Three-quarter Levant, per volume . . . . 6.00 3.05 ^ You will see that the reduction on each volume is within rive cents of one-half. The monthly terms are the same as on The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia ; but to those who oossess the latter work, and are still paying for it, we are BUSINESS DICTATION. 1 I 3 willing to deliver the set at once, payments on The Interna- tional to begin thirty days after the last payment on The Century. No present payment whatsoever need be made, but the books will be delivered on receipt of the enclosed blank duly filled in. These prices and terms, together with the con- tents of the volumes, make this a most advantageous bargain. The International Library of Famous Literature is an epitome of the world's writings. It begins with the works of the earliest period and ends with the successes of the present year. It thus covers the entire range of all that is finest in the literature of all languages. It is a most useful addition to the Century Dictionary and the Cyclopedia on its literary side. Trusting that you find your Century Dictionary and C'3'clo- pedia very useful, and that, should you secure one of these sets, youVill find it equally so, we remain, Yours very truly, (3 01 ) THE EMPIRE PUBLISHING Co., Dunnville, Mass. Gentlemen : I will be pleased to give you estimates for com- position and electrotyping of books, weekly and monthly papers and magazines. I have all facilities for turning out work promptly, in the very best style, and at a reasonable price. The pages sent under separate cover show some samples of my type, but if I can make a time contract with you for any periodical, I will furnish any face of type desired, and use it on your work only. Trusting I may have the pleasure of hearing from you at some future date, I am, Yours very truly, ( I0 4) Mr. S. H. FULLER, Portland, Me. Dear Sir: We are about to begin the revision of the "American Educational Catalogue," for its thirtieth edition, and beg you will furnish us, for that purpose, with the following material : (1) A list of your text-books published since July i, 1899, with retail and wholesale prices. (2) A separate list of your forthcoming text-books, which are to be issued during the school season. (3) Notification of changes in prices, or of errors in prices or titles in the accompanying Educational Catalogue, which please go over carefully for your own publications. Mark such of your books as are obsolete or out of print, and return 8 D. B. 114 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. the Catalogue to us at once. If you have nothing to report, neither errors nor additions, please notify us promptly by postal card. Information should reach us at the earliest possible moment, preferably by May 2ist. In this Catalogue only prices made by publishers them- selves are given retail, if retail, in first column ; " net " (wholesale), if " net," in second column ; where a " mailing " percentage is specified by the publisher, the " mailing price " is given in the retail column marked with an asterisk (*), in addition to the wholesale price. Price columns are left blank where the publisher fails to furnish price. We are, Very truly yours, (217) Mr. JOHN L. HAMPTON, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir: Relying, as we do, on the opinion of a class of readers such as yourself, we beg to advise you that we have nearly completed a concise reference work, covering branches of literature never before thoroughly treated in practical form. If you will kindly sign and mail the enclosed card, we will send you without expense or responsibility, sample pages, full page plates, and a complete resume, showing the classification and arrangement of the work. As the edition is limited, and applications for the above information are already very numerous, we trust that we may hear from you promptly, thereby allowing us to submit first impressions for your inspection. Thanking you in advance for the courtesy of a reply, we beg to remain, Yours truly, (133) Railroad Correspondence. Mr. C. P. JOHNSON, Boston, Mass. , Dear Sir : I wish you would please ascertain and advise me as early as possible as to the rates that are being made upon granite, rough, in blocks, in carload quantities, from Quincy quarries and Maine quarries, to Chicago, Louisville, St. Louis, and Missouri River points ; also the rate that is being made on granite paving blocks from Maine quarries to the same points. Kindly let me have this information at an early day. Yours truly, (82) BUSINESS DICTATION. 115 Mr. Jos. D. SMITH, Jersey City, N. J. Dear Sir:: Now that the schedules for the movement of west-bound Air Line freight from Jersey City are in full operation, I would call your attention particularly to the movement of Blue Line freight south-bound. Will you kindly give this matter attention and see that no delays occur to this traffic, either from blockade or any other cause ? Serious complaints are being made by receivers of freight in the South as to poor time, as all consignments, both via Blue Line and the Air Line, are so seriously delayed, and I have written to Mr. Robinson that with the present schedules we trust we shall get compliments instead of complaints hereafter. Yours truly, ( 1 19) Mr. J. H. PETERSON, General Freight Agent. Dear Sir: Returning your requisition for 2,500 copies of Form F. D. 69 approved : It will be necessary for you to advise the Auditor and Freight Claim Agent of the name of each party who signs this guaranty, with the date when signed, in order that they may be advised in settlement of claims. Please see that this is done, furnishing them each with a copy of the blank, so that they can see the character of the guaranty. Yours truly, (87) Mr. J. J. HUTCHINSON, Gen. Supt., Telegraph Co., Denver, Col. Dear Sir : I have your favor of the 3oth inst. in reference to No. 7 wire on our line between St. Louis and San Jose. I infer from the last paragraph of your letter that this wire is in good condition. I hope our business on it during the coming winter will verify your opinion of it. Our train business on the Western Division requires good telegraphic facilities, and unless we have them our business must suffer. Our people have been complaining a good while about the condition of No. 7 wire, and an impression seems to prevail among them that the wire is old and nearly worn out, and I have had no assurance from your office, except the inference from your letter noted above, that their complaint is not just. We are unwilling to enter upon our winter business without satisfactory telegraphic facilities on our Western Division. Yours truly, ( J 59) Il6 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. N. WARBURTON, General Manager, Chicago, 111. Dear Sir : I would call your attention to the importance of ample facilities for the prompt movement of cabbage ship- ments from oft" our Western Division. The whole territor}*- has been canvassed, and I think we will get not less than 1,500 car loads of cabbage from stations on our Western Division this fall, to go in every direction, as Mr. Wells has arranged a line of rates to reach every section of the country to which cabbage can be shipped. I trust, therefore, you will see that ample facilities are furnished at all the shipping points for convenient handling and prompt movement of this perishable property. Yours truly, (i 15) Mr. J. A. MUNSON, Superintendent, Birmingham, Ala. Dear Sir : I beg to advise that the Limited will have an extra sleeper out of Chattanooga on the 22d. This will make ten cars from Birmingham south, including the Theatrical Company's car, provided No. 6 catches No. 2, otherwise there will be eleven cars. Please arrange to run two sections of No. 6 from Birmingham south, letting the make up of the first section be two postals, two baggage cars and one coach, and the second section consist of the sleepers. See that positive instructions are issued and observed in regard to keeping them a telegraph station apart. Yours truly, ( J 9) Mr. J. M. BEAMIS, Transportation Supt., Portland, Oregon. Dear Sir : I have issued instructions to all superintendents, including the Cascade Division, that coal cars or high side gondolas must not be used for any shipments except coal, coke, and pig iron. In other words, their use is prohibited for handling lumber. I would thank you to locate all P. and O. coal cars and high side gondolas and send same to the Cascade Division, all except such as are needed for handling our coal from Seattle. Please watch the matter of use of these cars, and report to me every instance where this order is disregarded, also give the matter of locating and forwarding cars to the Cascade Division your prompt attention. Yours truly, (126) BUSINESS DICTATION. I 17 Mr. CHAS. B. HILL, General Agent, Louisville, Ky. Dear Sir : Please advise me as to the United States mail tiiat goes west from Louisville on trains Nos. i and 3. My understanding is that the postal clerk runs only on No. 3, which carries mail for all points on our line, and that No. i carries pouch mail only. Am I right in this ? If this is so, it seems to me that the interests of Louisville are not properly served in the mail facilities with western and south-western Kentucky along our line. If the case is as I have stated it, would it not be well to take this matter up with the post' master at Louisville and see if he cannot get through mail from Louisville to all points on our line ? Yours truly, (133) Commodore GEORGE DAWSON, Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N. Y. Dear Sir : I met P. H. Moore, president of the line reaching your Navy Yard, in New York last Friday, and took up with him the question of his repairing his spur track and extending the rails to the Navy Yard gate. He gave orders to have it done, and instructed Mr. Powell to arrange for rights-of-way on the street leading to the Navy Yard gate, and I trust this matter will now be in such shape that we will be able to put coal, pig iron, etc., into the Navy Yard through that con- nection. Yours truly, (i5) Mr. HENRY K. ADAMS, Traffic Manager, Atlanta, Ga. Dear Sir : Noting the enclosed letter from Albert A. Jones, Atlanta, I have retained the letter in order to have the ship- ment traced. In this connection, I would say that there is now no delay in any of this traffic on our lines. The new schedules are in working order, and the reports being made to our Superin- tendent of Transportation show that the time, while not as perfect as we expect to have it, is continually improving, and I believe that the effect of the new schedules for the move- ment of south-bound freight will soon be felt by all the receivers of freight along your line. Should the schedules not be satisfactory, we certainly would like to hear from your people. Yours truly, ( 1 3 2 ) Il8 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. H. R. CASELL, Superintendent, Macon, Ga. Dear Sir : The first report 1 got in regard to the movement of the cotton special from Dawson was that it left there at 7:35 last night, arrived at Macon 4:58 this morning and left at 6:20, and it passed me at Millen at 10:20. Mr. Walker telegraphed me that it arrived at Macon at 5:20 and left at 6:20. If his figures are correct there was an hour lost ai Macon. That, it seems to me, was entirely unnecessary. They certainly should have inspected the train and cleaned the fire box in half-an-hour. Then I cannot understand how they consumed four hours between Macon and Millen, a distance of 75 miles, with no passenger trains to meet. Please look into the matter carefully, get all the facts in the case, and let me have them. As I telegraphed you yesterday I wanted this train moved promptly, and I am satisfied you issued instructions to that effect. If the train had reached Savannah within reasonable time this afternoon the cotton could have been transferred and loaded on the steamer without extra work to-night ; besides the slow movement of the cotton will probably prevent us from getting the ship off to-morrow. Yours truly, (212) Mr. W. B. FRY, Homestead, Pa. Dear Sir : I have your communication of the 26th inst. enclosing a petition from the citizens of your town to have our fast limited international express trains stop there on signal. Some months ago a committee consisting of several gentlemen from your town came to see us about this question, and we endeavored to explain the situation to them, and had hoped we convinced them of our inability to grant their request. These trains run between New York City and the City of Mexico. The schedules are very fast, and"are made by the representatives of all the lines interested between those points. The requirements of the service exact fast speed, and all the lines have entered into an agreement to limit the trains to a certain number of cars in order to attain a high rate of speed. You, therefore, understand that we only have a voice in the arrangement of these schedules, and are pledged to maintain the agreement under which the trains arc operated. BUSINESS DICTATION. I 10 We find it exceedingly difficult to maintain the speed of these trains over our line. It is, therefore, necessary that we make as few stops as possible, in order that we may, in good faith, carry out the agreement with the other lines interested in this movement. We have had similar applications from many other points, and should we agree to stop them at one point, the result would be to abandon them as fast trains and make local trains of them. I hope you will feel assured of our earnest desire to help your citizens in every reasonable way We think a great deal of your prosperous town, and are always willing to do anything within our power to add to its prosperity. Personally I should be glad indeed to comply with the request of your petitioners, but 1 regret to say that it is impossible for me to do so under the present arrangement. Yours very respectfully, (3 2 3) Mr. E. B. BROWN, Gordonville, Pa. Dear Sir : There seems to have been no preparation made for pass tracks at Bogart and Silver City. These points need such tracks very much, and I think your original programme included them. The tracks have not been finished at Cheraw, Jonesboro, or Crewe. Your instructions with reference to Bogart, that a map was to be furnished you, so that you could decide what was needed, were not received. Owing to the interchange of cars with the Allegheney Valley Road we need this track very much at the latter point, as all of our through freight trains put off and take on cars there. Kindly consider these matters at your earliest convenience. Yours truly, (i 19) GKNI.. B. G. WIRT, St. Joseph, Mo. Dear Sir : Referring to schedules for the fast vegetable trains for the coming season, would say that at the Denver meeting on the 5th inst. it was decided to make radical changes in the movement of Train No. 2 between St. Louis and New York City. The speed of the train between St. Louis and New York will be about 23 miles per hour, not including arbitrages. The purpose of this fast schedule is to reach a one day earlier market in Eastern cities than the schedule of last year. We will limit the train to 25 cars between St. Louis and Indianopolis. I presume you will also have to limit it to the 120 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. same number of cars on your road. Nothing but perishable freight is to be moved on this train, and as the time is so fast it will be necessary for you to deliver the train to us on the time at the Junction, in order that its schedule time may be maintained throughout the entire run. I will be glad if you will advise me how you will run this train, that is, " daily," or " daily, except Sunday." We have not yet perfected all arrangements in regard to the running of this train. Just as soon as we have gotten up the classification and other instructions, I will send you a copy of same. Yours truly, ( 22 9) Mr. J. J. JUSTICE, Paterson, N. J. Dear Sir : Referring to the construction of the new plate- girder bridge over Womble Creek, I find that there is some misunderstanding in reference to the signals used for the protection of this structure. I desire you to protect this bridge in the following manner : Place permanent green signals, by night and day, one-half mile on each side of the bridge; when the bridge is not safe for the passage of trains, a large and conspicuous red signal must be placed in the center of the track on each side of the bridge, at least, three hundred feet from the bridge, and when the bridge is in con- dition for the passage of trains, these red signals must be removed. You will please bear in mind that the red signals must be placed in position before the bridge is rendered unsafe for the passage of trains. Orders have been issued to all trains to reduce speed to six miles per hour while crossing this bridge. The watchman must see that the signals are properly attended to, and he must not permit the bridge to be obstructed until after the signals aie placed in position. Yours truly, (200) Messrs. BINGHAM & SON, St. Paul, Minn. Gentlemen : We have received a report from our agent at Rouse's Point that the entire upper Lake region is blockaded by snow, and every effort is being made to forward freight to destination. The work of clearing the tracks is slow, owing to drifts twenty feet deep in some places on the line. We hope that your package will reach its destination by Dec. ist. Yours respectfully, (74) BUSINESS DICTATION*. \2\ Real Estate Correspondence. Mr. JAMES A. PORTER, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : I have been advised of your call and request tor information in connection with our Apartment Houses at 99th Street and Boulevard, and 8ist Street and Columbus Avenue We are preparing a pamphlet descriptive of the Apartments, which will \>z completed within a few days, when I will forward you a copy of it, together with a statement of rents. Yours truly, (70) Mr. J. J. CAMERON, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : Hiving rented the seventh floor of the building at the above address on favorable terms, we are willing to sub-lease a portion of it, 1,000 to 2,000 feet, on terms equally favorable. Freight and passenger electric elevators, plenty of light and ventilation, and everything clean and in order. The location is the centre of the publishing interests. If interested we should be glad to hear from you, or to have you call. Yours very truly, (82) Mr. ROBERT J. ANDREWS, New York City. Dear Sir: In assuming the Agency for the houses 262-264 East 1 4th Street, we beg to ask for your co-operation and aid in bringing them to a higher standard. Just as fast as we consistently can, we expect to put them in better order, and as there is considerable to do, we ask for your patient indulgence. We herewith hand you a set of Rules, which, if adhered to by the tenants, will, we believe, add greatly to their comfort, and the clenliness of the premises be assured. Especially do we wish to emphasize the clause relating to Fire Escapes. On this point the law of the Board of Health is rigid, and we must see it enforced. They cannot be encumbered with anything whatever. The throwing of any- thing from the windows is an annoyance to other tenants, beside making it impossible to keep the areas clean, and we must insist that all refuse go through the proper channels. Believing you will cordially assist us in our efforts, we are, Yours truly, (178) 122 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. J. P. BARNETT, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : If you are now looking for an office, in the location of Fifth Avenue, Fourteenth or Twenty-third Streets, we would be pleased to help you decide the question, and offer you several places for consideration. If any information is desired and you are not able to call, please drop us a line and our representative will call upon you with prices and particulars. We have some particularly fine offices and studios in the " Kenswight Building," which, we think, might suit you. Yours truly, (91) Mr. L. B. LUTZ, Asbury Park, N. J. Dear Sir : I shall not be visiting your city this season, therefore I write in regard to two lots I wish to sell. They are: Lot No. 1803, Garfield and Central, 50 by 135 feet ; Lot No. 1820, Asbury and Central, 50 by 130 feet. To realize a little ready money, I am prepared to sacrifice Lot No. 1803 for $300.00, and Lot No. 1820 for $250.00 ; or, the two for $500.00. Surely at these prices you can interest someone of your townpeople, or visitors, who may have a few dollars at liberty to invest, for it certainly will not be long before either one of these lots should bring at least $500.00. I have in my possession an offer made a few 3 r ears ago, of $500.00 for one of these lots. Trusting you can see your way to make some special effort on my behalf, and that I may have a line from you, I am with regards, Very sincerely yours, ( X 77) Messrs. ISAACS & Co , New York, N. Y. Dear Sirs : If you contemplate changing the location of your business by or before May ist, 1894, we should be pleased to have you consider the building, No. 76 Fourth Avenue. There is no better location in the city for your business, as you are doubtless aware, as it is in the center of the retail trade section of New York City. An early lease would be made on very favorable terms. Possession will be given by May ist, 1894, or earlier if desired. Premises will be shown at any time. Yours respectfully, (98) BUSINESS DICTATION. 123 Mr. JAMES E. LOVITT, St. Louis, Mo. Dear Sir : We hand you herewith plans of well lighted lofts and stores for rent in the Bancroft Building, Nos. 3, 5 and - West 2Qth Street, between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, suitable for business and mercantile purposes. The building- is a modern fire-proof ten-story structure, handsomely fur- nished, and is now ready for occupancy. The stores and the second floors can be used together or separately, and are to let. Portions of the seventh and sixth floors and the entire third and fifth floors, inclusive, are also to let. The remaining portions of the building have already been rented. Rentals include heat, Elevator both passenger and freight and Janitor's service. For inspection of floors and stores, apply to Superintendent on premises, or your own agent. On request, we shall be happy to send our representative to call on you with further plans or information. Yours respectfully, ('57) Messrs. ISAAC PITMAN & SONS, New York City, N. Y. Gentlemen : I take pleasure in introducing to you herewith Messrs. Stephen H. Tyng Jr. and H. Oakley Hall, composing the firm of Stephen H. Tyng Jr. & Co., who have been appointed by the owners of the Decker Building as agents of the property from and after May ist, 1900, in place of myself, the present agent. It is the intention and purpose of the owners that the change, which has been necessary by con- ditions arising from the settlement of the estate of the late Mr. John J. Decker, shall be a change in name only, and that the property shall in every respect be conducted on the same plan and according to the same high standard as heretofore. The owners bespeak for the firm, which is well and favor- ably known to them, your kind consideration, and beg to assure you that your business interests and comfort will be as carefully guarded and looked after in the future as they have been in the past. Thanking you for many favors and the courtesies shown me personally in the past, and hoping that you may for many years to come remain tenants of the Decker Building, to your entire satisfaction, I am, Very truly yours, ( 2I 4) 124 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mrs. BELLA E. FOSTER, New York City, N. Y. Dear Madam : Referring to your favor of to-day, we beg to submit the following : Nos. 14 to 1 6 West 6sth St., 8 and Bath, Steam heat, $30 to $38 317-319 West jSth St., 7 $45 to $65 No. 24 West 6oth St. 7 $45 to $ 6 318 West 59 th St. 7 $3 to $45 We have a number of others, which, if you will please call, we shall be pleased to confer with you about. Awaiting your early reply, we remain, Yours truly, ( I02 ) Mr. JAMES B. KEENE, Brooklyn, N. Y. Dear Sir : We have been requested to write to you with reference to an unusual proposition regarding some extra- ordinarily cheap suburban house lots in the heart of Brooklyn, which, we are informed, would interest you if made sufficiently attractive. It is a plan by which we feel you can make a good deal of money without much labor, but as we think it better to talk it over, our Mr. Goss will call on you the latter part of this week and go over the matter with you. In case you should not be home, please leave w r ord with some one to whom he can deliver the message. Under separate cover we send you literature descriptive of the property. Yours truly, ( I2 7) Mr. CHARLES T. SEAMAN, Brooklyn, N. Y. Dear Sir : Please send us your estimate to-morrow after- noon or Saturday morning for the lathing and plastering of the Waiting Room of Car Shed foot of 4oth Street, Brooklyn The plastering will be three coat work, last coat to be stucco finish, floated up with cork float. There will be a simple cornice. All around the waiting room there will be a wainscot and base of Reen's cement. The wainscot to be slate color, the base to be black. For the height of wainscot and size of base, see the architect, Mr. J. Jennings. Any further infor- mation you may require, our foreman at the building will give you. The work is to be first class in every respect, and is to be commenced first of next week. Yours truly, ( T 34) BUSINESS DICTATION. I -\; Mr. B. ). FERGUSON, * New York City, N. Y. Dear Sir : Yours- of the 151!! inst. at hand. In reply will say that we have the following flats to rent at about the price named by you : No. 103 West 8oth Street, 5 and 6 rooms and bath, steam heated, rents $30 to $36 : N. E. Corner looth Street and Boulevard, 6 rooms and bath, $35 to $45, steam heat : N. W. Corner nyth Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, 7 rooms and bath, rents $33, top flat, steam heat. Trusting to hear from you again, we remain, Yours respectfully, (96) Messrs. PETFR FARNELL & SON, Brick Church, N. J. Gentlemen : Kindly go to the corner of Elm and Fulton Street, and give me an estimate for what you will move the present building now there, to about the position of the barn on the rear of the lot and fronting on Fulton Street. Kindly let me know at your earliest convenience. How much less would it cost if it should go on the side of the present barn nearest Elm Street ? If you are in New York a day or two I should like to see you in regard to it; if not, write me at once. My office hours are between 2 and 5 p.m. Yours truly, ( IJ 6) Mr. C. L. TRAVER, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : Quite unexpectedly the real estate market has developed a feature of strength at the end of the spring season that was quite absent from it earlier in the year. This is a greatly increased interest in small investment properties. Last week, for instance, the sensational transactions involving amounts running into the millions were entirely lacking, but there were scores of purchases by small investors in nearly every section of the city and of most kind of real property. Professional real estate men the brokers, operators and builders regard this development with the greatest satis- faction, for with the man of small means interested in the market the active period may be considered prolonged. We shall be pleased to have you call in regard to the 23d Street property you were recently talking to us about. Yours very truly, (145) 126 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. GRAIN & Co., N. Y. City, N. Y. Gentlemen : We desire to call your attention to our building Nos. 7 & 9 West 32d Street, where we have to lease a par- ticularly bright store and basement, 50 feet wide and about QO feet deep. This building is in a section which, it has occurred to us, should be of special interest to your line of business. In addition to the store and basement, we have eight lofts to lease, the rents ranging from $2,500. to $3,500. The building is supplied with an electric passenger elevator and an electric freight elevator, separate entrances being provided for each. The building is now about ready for occupancy, and we are anxious to secure some desirable tenants for it. If you are expecting to change your quarters in the near future, we should be very glad to have an opportunity to accommodate you in this building, and will consider it a favor if you will send us a line advising us of a time when we may call upon you and have a few minutes' conversation on this subject, if the matter is of interest to you. Yours very truly, (196) Mr. R. W. BATES, Buffalo, N. Y. Dear Sir : Mrs. T. W. Gomersal informed me \-esterday that she has heard from you in regard to the West End apartment. She says that in your letter you mention you are willing to hold an apartment for her, but you do not say that it is the seventh floor one with nine rooms. In speaking to me in regard to this matter, Mrs. Gomersal has always been precise in saying that it was the top floor one she wanted, and the writer, in mentioning it to yor, has always been careful to specify this. As this somewhat reflects on me, I hope you will put her mind at ease without delay in regard to this matter. Under no consideration would she take any other floor than the seventh or top. You will remember that you agreed to allow me 2^ per cent, commission on Mr. J. H. Fleming signing a lease for the apartment at 1,000 East i2gth Street, at $1,600.00 per year for two years, and that said commission would be $80.00. Now that the lease has been duly signed, I hope to hear from you at an early date in regard to same. I am, dear Sir, Yours very truly, ( 21 ) BUSINESS DICTATION. 127 Mr. E. D. WHITMAN, ^ Louisville, Ky. Dear Sir : I have just completed the sale of your house and lot at No. 213 James Street to Mr. H. J. Lord, of this place. The consideration being $7,954. In payment lie assumes the mortgage of $2,675.00 and interest accrued $54.00 ; gives you a second mortgage on the property for $4,000 ; his note, endorsed by Robert J. Fox, for $750.00, and the balance $475.00 in cash. Trusting you will find the above entirely satisfactory, Yours very truly, (90) Mr. JONAS BEACH, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir: Acknowledging your esteemed favor of the i8th inst. inclosing check for $40.00, I would call your attention to an error in this amount. Upon reference to the lease of Mrs. Jones' apartment at 214 East End Avenue, you will see that it was taken for two years, therefore the commission would be $80.00. You will remember that this is the amount agreed upon at. your office at 16 East 12 9th Street, at which time I took a memorandum in writing, and which I have now in my possession. Under the circumstances, I shall be pleased to receive the balance, viz : $40.00. Upon receipt of this I shall be pleased to send you a receipt in full. With best wishes, I am, Very truly yours, ( J 35) Recommendations. Mr. JAMES T. POWERS, Rome, N. Y. My dear Sir : I am very much obliged to you for recom- mending to me and assisting me in securing the services of Mr. Murphy. His position with the Mound City Distiling Co., of which I am Secretary, is by no means an easy one, requiring especially accurate and rapid figuring. He will be our invoicing and government clerk. The young gentleman has started so well, and shown such marked aptitude already, that I have no doubt whatever but that he will soon have the work well in hand, and give us entire satisfaction. Fraternallv yours, ( I02 ) 128 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. ROBERT H. HASKINS, Omaha, Neb. Dear Sir : A little over a year ago I stepped into your offices for the purpose of investigating the merits of the school, with a view to taking a course in stenography. I was so favorably impressed with the manner in which I was received, and the frankness with which I was told what could be accomplished, by application, in the limited time at my disposal, that I immediately made arrangements for a three months' course, and consider it one of the most fortunate acts of my life. What I accomplished in the next eleven weeks far exceeded my greatest expectations, and, I feel free to say, those of my teachers. I finished the prescribed course of studies, and on March 28, with over two weeks to my credit on the school rolls, I accepted a position with one of the largest manu- facturing concerns in St. Louis, and, thanks to your influence and excellent facilities for securing positions for your gradu- ates, had three other equally good positions to choose from. Six months later I was tendered a position in the War Department as secretary to the Director of the Census of Cuba and Porto Rico, which I am now holding. Yours truly, (206) Mr. GEORGE MAHAN, Milford, Mass. Dear Sir : In return for the many kindnesses and attention bestowed upon me while a pupil in your college, it is with pleasure that I respectfully submit this testimonial of your methods of instruction. Since graduating in this department I have held several positions, giving satisfaction in each, which result I attribute to the thorough, practical training received at the hands of your most efficient and obliging instructors. In September of 1899 I commenced studying in your Commercial Department, and from the knowledge acquired in one term I have been enabled to fill the position of book- keeper and stenographer for the Willimanic Linen Company. It is due to state that I secured this desirable position through your influence. I am pleased to give your institution my unqualified indorsement. Very respectfully, (i4 r ) BUSINESS DICTATION. 129 Messrs. JONES & PERKINS, Jonesville, Mo. Gentlemen : Miss Nellie Fulton, a graduate of your College, has occupied the double position of book-keeper and stenogra- pher in our office since April i, 1899. It gives us much pleasure to state that she has filled this position satisfactorily to us, and with credit to herself, showing a proficiency in her work which is evidently the result of careful commercial training and thorough business instruction received at your College Yours truly, (77) Messrs. W. R. JAYNES & Co., Springfield, Ohio. Gentlemen : We have your favor of the T2th inst. respecting Mr. Jacob Boss. We beg to say that Mr. Boss was in our employ six years, and it affords us much pleasure to say that during this time, his conduct was such as to gain for him the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. By his strict attention to ever}' duty, and by his integrity, he won our very highest esteem It was, we regret to sa} r , on account of his failing health that he was compelled to resign his position. Yours very truly, f I0 6) Mr. HENRY COOPER, Hannibal, Mo. Dear Sir: In response to yours of the loth inst. making inquiries respecting Mr. J. H. Cooper, I would say that he was in my employ nearly ten years. During the first two years as corresponding clerk, the remaining years he was general manager and purchasing agent. Our business relations terminated last January on account of the sale of my entire establishment, and my retiring from business. I regard Mr. Cooper as a very trustworthy and- capable business man, and possessed of excellent qualities. During my ac- quaintance his social standing has been enviable. Yours respectfully, (i) 130 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Sewing Machines. Mr. M. J. KENDALL, Danville, Va. Dear Sir : We want to remind you that the Spring trade will soon begin, and already has at some points, so it will be well to place your orders at once to be sure of receiving machines in time. We fully expect a good Spring trade, and have arranged a large stock of our various makes, so that we can fill orders promptly. Owing to the advance of iron, lumber and labor, the cost of machines has very materially increased, and some of the companies have already advanced prices, and others are now considering doing so. As yet we have made no advance, and orders placed at once will be at old prices. Later on we may be obliged to advance. We want to see all our old customers sell more machines this year than last, and we believe they can, if they push the " House- hold," as every " Household " sold makes new friends who will " talk it up for you." We also want new customers where we are not represented, so we hope you will refer your friends in the trade to us. If we once sell them we think we can keep them, as it has been our experience in the trade, that ' once a " Household " man, always a " Household " man.' For a high grade low priced machine we still make the " Marguerite," and believe it the best machine for the money in the market. With best wishes for your success during the present year, we remain, Yours very truly, (258) Mr. WILLIAM W. GILBERT, Troy, N. Y. Dear Sir : We have your favor of March i2th, and mail you herewith under separate cover, catalogues of the various styles of machines which we manufacture, and are glad to quote you our prices on same for export, as per enclosed price list. The prices are subject to a discount of five (5) per cent, for cash, and also include a set of attachments with each machine, packing for export, and delivering on board vessel here in New York. We are not represented in your country and could give you the exclusive agency if you took a satisfactory quantity each year. Our terms for export, however, are absolutely cash BUSINESS DICTATION. 131 apon shipment of goods here, and we do not consign machines, or do any direct foreign business in any way. While we appreciate the fact that our prices are above those of some of the cheap German machines, we think that the quality of the American machines enables a dealer to get a much better price for them. Hoping to hear from you, we remain, Very truly yours, (180) Messrs. JAMES & Co., 'Rochester, N. Y. Gentlemen : Your favor of the 3d inst. received. We enclose herewith catalogues and prices of both " Household " and "Marguerite" machines, which are F. O. B., Pro- vidence, R. I. Our " Marguerite " is a very high grade machine, being practically an old style " Household," but not quite so well finished, still we believe it to be by far the best machine on the market for the money. The " Household " prices could be shaded down a trifle on orders of six machines or more. Should you decide to favor us with an order, kindly give us some references as to your responsibility, or on the first order \ r ou would save time by sending cash, deducting, of course, the two (2%) per cent, cash discount. Hoping to hear from you, we remain, Very truly yours, (*37) Silks. THE L. P. LIPPITT Co., St. Louis, Mo. Gentlemen : We would call your particular attention to the weighing of the raw silk in the bale before it is opened. See that the gross, tare and net amounts agree with those on the bill from the shippers, and if there is any difference kindly notify us at once and we will present the matter for adjustment. We are giving your requisition for dye-stuffs our immediate attention, and the extracts of sumac and gall will be shipped to-morrow. The acids and anilines will go to you to-day by express. The market for raw silk is still quite high, and we trust you will be quite careful in your use of Italian and China silks. We hope for a slackening in a few days, when we will send you a stock for your throwing machinery. Yours truly, (143) 132 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. JOHN W. BARNES & Co., Boston, Mass. Gentlemen : We are in receipt of your valued favor of the 2ist inst. enclosing check for $234.67, and note that you deduct $10.93 for alleged imperfections in the silks we shipped you recently. As you know, these goods pass through severe examinations at the mill before being shipped to us, and it is hard for an imperfection to escape the examiner without being detected. Furthermore, these goods are made in such a manner that imperfections in them are of rare occurrence, in fact, yours is the first claim we have received on it, and we feel that your examiner must have been entirely too critical in his examina- tion of them. Under the circumstances unless you can pro- duce sufficient proof of their imperfections, we regret that we shall have to declare your claim void. We are always willing to treat our customers fairly when claims are presented to us, and assure you that your esteemed house will be no exception to our rule. We have a beautiful line of silk warp fancies and Bedford cords which we would like you to see when in our city, or we will be pleased to send you samples for your inspection. Yours truly, (208) Messrs. W. GROGAN & Co., Chicago, 111. Gentlemen: We are in receipt of your letter of the 15111 inst., and note contents. We are somewhat surprised at your statements regarding the Crepe de Chenes, which we have just examined, and while we do find some mis-weaves in them, there are not enough to cause any serious complaint. Mis-weaves are liable to occur in fabrics of which silk forms the chief part, and while we endeavor to prevent this as much as possible, we think your customer was entirely too critical, as this is the first complaint we have received. We will make you an allowance of what we think is fair if you will kindly let us know your views in the matter. When will you be in the market for Satin Duchesse, or colored Peau de Soie ? We have some very beautiful designs in these fabrics, also swivels, and other fancies, all of which we can recommend to you. Awaiting your valued orders, we are, Yours very truly, ( J 5 8 ) BUSINESS DICTATION. 133 Messrs. AKSORENA & Co., Springfield, 111. Gentlemen : Your favor of June 23d was overlooked by us in some way, and we have just discovered that it has never been answered. We would say in reply to same that we do not conduct our business in this way, and regret we cannot accept your cancellation, as the order given for the silks was perfectly bona-fide, and the goods have been made especially for you. Traveling, expenses and the hire of salesmen are too expensive to accept cancellations for such trivial reasons as you state when we have lived up to the conditions of the order. We do not admit the right of any buyer doing- business with us to cancel orders at his own pleasure. We, therefore, must respectfully insist upon your acceptance of these goods as a business transaction. Yours truly, (140) Messrs. J. P. WILD & Co., Omaha, Neb. Gentlemen : We are sending you by this mail samples of whites and creams brocade satins, which we are putting on the market at 8oc. per yd., and in regard to these goods will say that no better can be found for the money. The}' represent the best in their line, and we feel sure they will be very saleable in your section of the country. We would like to hear from you as soon as possible, as the goods are liable to be closed out at any time, there being quite a demand for these fabrics at this time. We would suggest that you wire us, at our expense, on receipt of this, your wishes in this matter. We are, Yours respectfully, ( I 3) Stereopticon Correspondence. Mr. J. B. THURSTON, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir : Your esteemed order received. We sent you by express to-day set of 75 plain slides on Egypt and the Hoi}' Land, and the pair of one half size Darlot lenses ordered by you last week, which we did not have in stock at the time. We have packed same carefully, and trust they will reach you safely. Yours truly, (67) 134 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. RILEY & Co., Newton, Mass. Gentlemen: Your favor of the nth inst. to hand. The cracking of one of the condenser lenses was undoubtedly caused by your placing the jet too close to them, and turning it up too quickly, instead of allowing them to warm up gradu- ally. It certainly was not on account of any imperfection in the glass, and we do not see our way clear to make you any allowance. Yours truly, (74) Mr. J. B. FOSTER, Jersey City, N. J. Dear Sir : Yours of the i8th inst. to hand. Acetyline gas as an illuminant for projection purposes is proving a great success, and we can furnish you with a complete apparatus for the production of same as per price list enclosed. The light produced by our generator and quadruple burner is very white and penetrating, and of about 250 candle power, or about half that of lime light, and more than twice that of petroleum. Any time you may care to call, we shall be pleased to show you the apparatus in operation. Yours truly, ( I0 ) Mr. JOHN B. WELDE, Yonkers, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your favor of recent date, would say that we can recommend our " New Model " Stereopticon as being equal to any in the market. It combines the latest and the best ideas in its construction. For compactness and lightness in weight, ease of manipulation, and accuracy of adjustment it is unequalled. It is handsomely nickel-plated, and every detail thoroughly finished. Each lantern has a lateral as well as a vertical movement, insuring the most perfect registration on the screen. It is equipped with finest condensing lenses 4^ inches in diameter, improved jets with gear for raising, lowering, and turning limes, | and ^ size Darlot objectives with adapters, and high pressure dissolving key, etc. We send you by separate mail our catalogue, in which you will find detailed description, page 7. Trusting to be favored with an order, Yours truly, ( 1 5) BUSINESS DICTATION. 135 Mr. S. N. FALDER, Lincoln, Neb. Dear Sir: Your favor of the i3th inst. has our attention. The best form of light for lantern purposes is the calcium or lime light. All you will have to do to fit up the lantern you now have for that form of radiant is to procure an oxy- hydrogen jet which we make to fit all our lanterns. There are a number of firms making the oxygen and hydrogen gases in your city and which they will furnish you compressed in steel cylinders. The gases are perfectly safe and easy to handle, and will enlarge the slides to 20 x 20 feet on the screen with great brilliancy. Of course the acetyline gas will give very satisfactory results up to a 12x12 picture, in fact quite equal to the lime light, but that is practically its limit. It is extremely easy to operate, and, leaving out the cost of generator and jet, will not cost for running expenses any more than the three-wick oil lamp you are at present using. Very truly yours, ( 1 78) Mr. T. B. BROWNING, Passaic, N. J. Dear Sir : We take pleasure in presenting you herewith a copy of our list of Economic Lantern Slides, which, owing to our increased facilities for making this line of slides in large quantities, we are enabled to offer, with few exceptions, at especially low prices, as follows: Uncolored, 25 cents each net ; colored, 50 cents each net. These slides are of the " McAllister " quality, and, in every instance, the best obtain- able of the subject. Trusting to be favored with an order, which will receive our prompt and careful attention, we are, Yours truly, (99) Messrs. J. & J. ANDREWS, Fulton Street, New York. Gentlemen : Your favor received and carefully noted, and will say in reply that our apparatus is giving satisfactory results for twelve feet pictures. In regard to the condensers, would think that you would get better results by using 4^ inch condensers. We do not handle them only as mounted in our lantern, but you can buy them of almost any dealer in this line of goods in New York. 136 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. The acetyline jet ordinarily used will give about 100 candle power, but if you wish to use this for a single lantern we can furnish you with a special burner which will give about 150 candle power, but it cannot be used with dissolving key as they smoke when turned down. The price of jet, reflector, and stand, without hood, is $5 ; the price of generators are as listed in circular. The one-pound size is sufficiently large for a single lantern and the two-pound size for double. If you decide to use our apparatus, would advise you to use the hood and jet complete, as I am sure you would get better results, as the outfit is the result of a good many experiments to determine the best style and adjustments to use for this class of work. Yours truly, (219) To OUR CUSTOMERS : Another year has passed, the new season is upon us, and we once more present to our friends our list of up-to-date good things in the steropticon line. In apparatus we call special attention to the Rilford Oxygen Generator, which is a first-class instrument for the possessor of a single lantern, but is not yet perfected for the double or bi-unial. The Beekman Lantern introduced by us last season has been a wonderful success, even more so than we anticipated, and although competition has been very keen, we have been entirely sold out of this lantern for some weeks, but our new supply is about ready, and we hope to be able to supply all comers. Everyone who has examined this instrument declares it to be the finest they have ever seen. Among our new sets of slides we beg to call special attention to our new series of illustrated sermons, which we have been led to introduce through the wonderful popularity of the " Pilgrim's Progress " sets. The slides are chiefly from paintings and engravings of the old masters, and will, we are sure, find great favor with pastors for their Sunday evening work. Everything points to a splendid lantern season ; plent}' of business for all, and we feel sure that those investing in Stereopticon outfits this season will make money. Very truly yours, ( 22 9) BUSINESS DICTATION. 137 Stocks and Bonds Correspondence. Mr. A. J. HOWE, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : From Chicago telegrams to-day, it looks as if peace had been restored among the rival gas companies of that city, and that rate cutting will be avoided. The different companies will work in harmony, and it is more than likely that the agreement will be lived up to. The Chicago Gas Company will certainly reap the most benefit by the declaration of peace, as its business is on a substantial footing, and it has much more to lose by rate cutting than any of its rivals. As its books close for the usual ii per cent, dividend on Monday, Oct. 8th, there is likely to be good buying of the stock on the good news as above, and as the short interest is very large, heavy covering by the bears seems inevitable. The report is confirmed that the Whiskey Trust has abolished the rebate system. This is looked upon as favor- able, and it is believed that the new people associated with the Company will work together to put its business upon a profitable basis. Insiders in Sugar continue to take the stock, and the trading sentiment is much less bearish than in the early part of the week The railroad list is irregular, but the exertions of the bears to bring out long stocks seems futile, as with selling pressure taken from the Industrials, the former make quick recovery from depression, and with any encouragement advance sharply. The strength of Chicago gas to-day gave trading a fairly confident tone, and the buying for both long and short account in many stocks was general, while the anxiety of the bears to cover freely seems to account for the over-sold condition of the market. Transactions in Chicago Gas were very large, and an advance of 3^ was made and maintained. Sugar advanced if, and Distillers f for the day. Railroads were generally strong, with Burlington, Reading, The Vanderbilt and the Gould stock in good demand. Rock Island was raided, but quickly recovered, while St. Paul showed a disposition to lag behind. The close was steady. Yours truly, (352) 138 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. W. H. HARRIS, Providence, R. I. Dear Sir : We enclose a copy of our September bond list, which we shall be pleased to have you carefully examine if you are contemplating an investment in the near future. Our bond circulars have been sent to you for some time, and as we have not recently had the pleasure of serving you in the investment line, we take the liberty of inquiring whether our offerings are of interest to you. We shall be glad to continue sending them, as in the past, if you find them of any value for the information they contain, but, on the other hand, we do not wish to annoy you with our lists if you are not interested in them. Will you kindly indicate on this letter your wishes in this respect and return it to us under cover of the enclosed stamped envelope. Upon receipt of your reply we will be guided accordingly. It occurred to us that you might have in mind the names of some parties in your locality who would likely be interested in bond investments, and if you will return to us the enclosed blank with a memorandum of any such names as you ma}' care to suggest, the favor will be very much appreciated. Awaiting your pleasure in the matter, we are, Yours truly, ( 22 4) Mr. A. H. HINMAN, Yonkers, N. Y. Dear Sir : The absence of support to Sugar is much com- mented upon, and its weakness alone is keeping the upward movement in railroads in check. The railroad list is overloaded by the professional traders. It wants to advance, but the weakness in the Industrials in general and Sugar in particular, acts as a wet blanket upon the general lists. Prices in the railroad list at present are attractive, and the same may be said of Sugar, Chicago Gas, and National Lead. In the former, Burlington, St. Paul, and Rock Island, as dividend payers at present prices cannot be considered other- wise than cheap, and current prices for Sugar, Chicago Gas, and Lead common, paying 3 per cent., i^ per cent, and i per cent, quarterly show good returns as investments. BUSINESS DICTATION. 1^0 Sugar has for so long monopolized the attention of traders, and transactions in the stock have been so large, that its weakness has naturally a depressing effect upon all Stock Exchange values ; but considering the downward course of Sugar recently, the strength of railroad securities has been pronounced, showing that the latter are inclined to cut adrift from the manipulation in the Industrials. Watching the course of Sugar lately, it is obvious that insiders have favored lower prices. Sugar interests financially have the command of millions of money, and without consent of insiders, it would have been impossible to hammer the stock dow r n without its turning sharply. When insiders are ready, the stock will advance without notice, as the property is in the same profitable business as when the stock was selling at 1 1 5 per cent, a month ago. To-day railroads are strong and Sugar weak. Early trading saw improvement, but before the close the non-support to Sugar caused it to be cut down. Prices, however, closed generally higher than yesterday in the railroad list. Yours truly. (36) Mr. R. A. BOWES, Jersey City, N. J. Dear Sir : During the depression throughout the entire business community of the country, I have deemed it inex- pedient to call to your attention any securities for investment, however meritorious. In view of the fact that during the past two or three years many so-called investment stocks and bonds of railroads and industrial corporations have made little or no return, owing to extraordinary conditions, it is gratifying to note that the stock of the Delaware Ship and Engine Building Company, to which I first called the attention of my clients in February, 1898, has paid, since that date, continuous dividends, amount- ing in the aggregate to over 50 per cent. ; the last dividend of 2 per cent, quarterly and 10 per cent, extra having been declared payable the 1 5th inst. The information contained in my circular of above date has been fully borne out by subsequent events, and it is not an exaggeration to state that the period of improved steamship building in this country, as exemplified by the Delaware Ship and Engine Building Company, is now reaching its fulfilment. 140 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. The following facts, previously submitted by me, I deem worthy of reiteration, leaving the question of investment in the stock to your judgment, with the assurance that conser- vative capitalization, prudent management and profitable contracts will continue to bring to the Company in the future the success it has achieved in the past. The authorized Capital Stock of the Company is $5,000,000, of which $160,000 is retained in the treasury. The immense plant of the concern, covering a large tract of land in the city of Philadelphia, subject only to a small mortgage, is owned by the Company. The business of the Company has assumed enormous proportions, owing to the development of the Governmental and commercial ship-building, so that at the present time the Company has nearly 6,000 employees, and contracts aggrega- ting about $15,000,000. Regular quarterly dividends, at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum, are payable on the i5th days of December, March, June, and September, and extra dividends whenever in the discretion of the Board of Directors such payments are deemed advisable. I offer at 93 flat, subject to sale and change in price, a very limited amount of the stock. Further particulars regarding the investment furnished on application. Yours very truly, (39 1) Messrs. CASSELL & BYRNE, New York, N. Y. Dear Sirs : In compliance with your request made at our interview this evening, we have the honor to submit to you the following proposition for consideration by Messrs. Simonds and Carney. We submit to you on behalf of a client, an offer to sell a controlling interest (260 shares out of 500) of the American Wheel Company of Cleveland, Ohio, at 102^. This offer is confidential, and is subject to withdrawal if not promptly accepted. You are doubtless aware, without our mentioning it, of the enormous advantage that would accrue to you from such a purchase. Very respectfully yours, (106) BUSINESS DICTATION. 141 Store Fixtures. THE CASSELL HARDWARE Co., Lincoln, Neb. Gentlemen: Replying to your favor of the i2th inst., enclosing letter from the Grand Island Store Fixture Co., would say that we have had our factory go over this very carefully, and we now take pleasure in quoting you as follows : 24 Cast Brass Uprights 5" high for corners, nickel plated, and 48 cast brass uprights 5" high for centers, nickel plated, at a cost of $48.40 for the lot. Brass cased tubing plated, ;", cut to various lengths mentioned in your letter, at a cost of 140. per foot net, or brass tubing No. 20 B. & S. Gauge, nickel plated, -", also cut to the various lengths mentioned in your letter, at a cost of i3C. per foot net. Of course you under- stand there will be a charge for what waste there might be in cutting. For instance, on the lengths 7 ft. 10" we shall have to charge you for 8 ft. and on the length i ft. 1 1 J-" for 2 ft. We enclose herewith full size sketch of the upright, showing you just what we have figured on supplying. We also return letter from the Grand Island Store Fixture Co. We call your attention to the fact that in their letter they say nothing about end uprights. As we presume this rail is to be used as a desk rail, we think that they will require some end uprights. However, we have not quoted on same, but should they require any, please let us know just how many they will want, and we will be glad to furnish you with estimate. Terms 2 per cent. 10 days or 60 days net, F. O. B. Misnus, Conn. In the event of your favoring us with an order, will you kindly return sketch ? Yours truly, (305) Mr. H. J. STUBBS, Norton, Conn. Dear Sir : Please let us have your best price on i" and ti" Cast Brass Sockets, one open and one closed. List price is $2.88 per gross, and we presume you will allow us a discount of 50 per cent. Have you five gross of i" and two gross pairs i|" that you will sell us at the above-named price? If so send" sample by bearer. Yours truly, (75) 142 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. R. Fox & Co., Lisbon, N. Y. Gentlemen : Agreeably to your request, we have the pleasure to enclose you a page from our catalogue giving price list and illustrations of our make of drawer knobs, shutter knobs, and picture knobs for stores. We likewise enclose corrected price list and discounts applying to these articles. We shall be very pleased to have your orders, and can fill any from our stock at short notice. Yours truly, (74) Messrs. T. COWELL & SON, Homestead, Pa. Gentlemen : As requested, we send you our catalogue of lamps, etc., suitable for stores. The best discount on this line is 20 per cent, from the revised price list enclosed in the catalogue sent under separate cover. We trust to receive your order, which will have our prompt attention. Yours truly, (58) Mr. R. L. JAMESON, Lyons, N. Y. Dear Sir : Replying to your letter of the i5th, we send you illustrations of Stair plates. We can furnish these in brass for $40 per pound net, and the plates mentioned in your letter will weigh about 79^- pounds. We shall be pleased to receive your order. Yours truly, (57) Mr. S. J. CLARK, Lovering, Pa. Dear Sir: Replying to your letter of the 15111, we beg to say that we expect to be able to send you electrotypes to-morrow. We will include the electros of Curtain Pole Ends 8io (> 783, 926, as requested. Our best price in case lots of Trimmings No. 442 or 610 is 15 cents per set net. We shall be pleased to receive your order. Yours truly, (72) BUSINESS DICTATION. M^ Tobacco Trade Correspondence Mr. M. B. FULLER, New York, N. Y. D. ear Sir : The " Mohawk " sample packages of tobacco were received by the writer this morning. We have sub- mitted them to the proper parties here, who pronounce them all right, and would request you to make all further shipments from goods manufactured according to this formula, using the same style carton and foil package as you have been in the habit of using for the " Caporal " brand. If we can be of any further service to you please advise us. Very truly yours, (90) Mr. SAMUEL MINER, Toledo, Ohio. Dear Sir : We are in receipt of a communication from Howe Bros., of Cleveland, stating that the last 2\ oz. foil package of " Virginia " tobacco sent them was not up to standard, and their customers are returning the goods. We send you under separate cover to-day a sample of last week's product, and request that you make a thorough examination of same, and give us at the earliest possible time your recommendations in the matter. Thanking you in advance, and awaiting your reply, Yours truly, (92) Messrs. CANNING & Co., Boston, Mass. Gentlemen : We beg to acknowledge receipt of your favor of the 23d inst. relative to new style foil tobacco package. Your suggestion as to the manner in which to place packages in the carton is very explicit, and offers an advantage over our present method, and we will immediately adopt it. We see that this will enable us to reduce the depth of the carton by a quarter of an inch, and we will govern ourselves accordingly when placing our next order for cartons for these goods. Yours truly, (96; THE BROOKLYN PAPER Box Co., Brooklyn, N. Y. Gentlemen : We are in receipt of your letter of November 2oth regarding folding boxes for our "Star" brand of smoking tobacco. Without entering into a full discussion of this matter would request that you send us samples of these 144 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. boxes in the various sizes, and give us some idea as to how cheaply they could be manufactured, if we could be privileged to use them without paying anyone a royalty, etc. In fact, present the whole matter without going too fully into detail, in order that we may give it preliminary consideration, and, if found of sufficient interest, a more thorough examination later. Yours very truly, ( 1 1 5) Mr. HENRY CARTER, Milford, Pa. Dear Sir : We take pleasure in sending you the enclosed sample of High Admiral Cigarettes, which we hope you will try. You will notice that the High Admiral is a distinct change from the old pencil shaped style, being the Turkish oval shape, which is so much more expensive to produce. Will you oblige us with the names and addresses of five of your friends. We would like to send them similar packages. We have your name on our list, and shall take pleasure in sending you occasionally reminders of that fact, and trust you will be pleased with them. Yours truly, ( 10 7) Typewriters and Supplies Correspondence. Mr. J. H. PERKINS, Allentown, Pa. Dear Sir : We are manufacturing a new line of typewriter ribbons and carbon papers, and are desirous of securing the names and addresses of as many stenographers and type- writer operators in New York city and throughout the country as possible, and write to know if you will kindly furnish us with the names and addresses of the subscribers to your paper in order that we may mail our premium catalogue to them. Your kind and prompt attention to this matter will oblige. Yours truly, (90) Messrs. C. J. STOCK & Co., Baltimore, Md. Gentlemen : We beg to call your attention to the enclosed circular descriptive of our new copy-holder, the only practical and up to date holder on the market. It is particularly valuable to Touch Typewriters. To those who are pursuing the haphazard method of writing it will be found invaluable, because it will assist them in becoming touch operators. It BUSINESS DICTATION. 145 places the copy where it ought to be, in front of the operator and on a level with the eyes. It increases the speed of operating 20 per cent, to 40 per cent. It takes up no room. It is portable and easily detached. It does not tire the neck or back. It holds a 15 Ib. book just as easily as a single sheet. It does not affect the eyesight. There is no glancing back and forth from the copy to the keyboard. Every operator who is at all inclined to be up to date, and who wants to better his or her condition, wants this holder. The price of the holder is $2.00, express prepaid. In quantities of i dozen or more, $15.00 per dozen. Kindly look this circular over and see if you do not think you ought to have at least one holder. Yours truly, ( 2I ?) Mr. J. J. HILL, Newark, N. J. Dear Sir : Yours of the ad inst. received. In reply would say that we make a specialty of recovering typewriter platens to order in a superior manner, as well as of manu- facturing and selling platens of a superior quality for all leading typewriters. After elaborate tests of the rubber made for platens, by the various rubber manufacturing companies, we are prepared to furnish either soft, medium or hard platens which are guaranteed to be equal to anything on the market. Trusting that you will give us a trial, we are, Yours truly, ( 10 ) Messrs. COMER & Co., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : In reply to yours of March i4th would say that the patent escapements which you have on my machines are giving entire satisfaction. To my mind there is no question as to their superiority, as they not only increase the speed of the machines and make them easier to operate, but the running together of letters has been entirely eliminated. By reason of the lighter touch which the escapement gives, the saving in platens is marked and the wear greatly decreased, while the general working of the machines is considerably improved. Yours truly, (100) 10 D. B. 146 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. THE TOLEDO INSURANCE Co., Toledo, Ohio. Gentlemen : As you are using a number of typewriters, we beg leave to call your attention to our extensive repair depart- ment. It is in charge of Mr. Homans, the inventor of the Homans swivelling dog and plate, and one of the best type- writer experts in the business. The workmen are chosen for their abilities as typewrights, and are trustworthy and courteous. The company furnishes you with a good loan machine while your typewriter is at the factory for repairs. The repairs are made strictly to your order, promptly, thoroughly, and at as small expense as is consistent with first-class work. We invite you to call and examine our facilities. Yours truly, (i 17) Wines and Liquors. Mr. WM. BRYAN, Orange, N. J. Dear Sir : We take pleasure in announcing that we offer our patrons and the public a Champagne of Special Dry type that will compare favorably with the highest class of French Champagnes. In brilliancy it is unsurpassed, the sparkling quality is extremely fine, the bouquet is delightful as a rose, and the flavor none can excel. The time has passed for gentlemen to excuse themselves for offering an American Champagne to their friends. On the contrary, there is a national pride in being able to offer to their guests a pure and truly first-class Champagne, made from American grapes. Having put the prices of this superior Champagne at about half the price of imported, we feel confi- dent that its merits will be readily appreciated. Yours truly, (134) Mr. H. H. HAYES, Newark, N. J. Dear Sir: As you are probably aware, natural, or " dry " wines, cannot be used from demijohns or kegs without injury. We have, therefore, made the prices on our " dry " wines so low by the 100 bottles that our customers will be the gainers in every way. First, we sell the wines in this quantity ten per cent, less than the gallon rate, only charging the actual cost for bottling. It is well understood that the dry wines BUSINESS DICTATION. 147 improve twenty per cent, in value the first year after buttling. The wine becomes softer and more mellow, taking on the bottle flavor which is so much sought after by all European wine drinkers. We, therefore, feel assured our customers will appreciate the advantages derived in buying wines in this way. Remember, we guarantee all our wines to be thoroughly matured and bottle ripe. Yours truly, (15) Mr. LEWIS C. CALDWELL, South Bend, Ind. Dear Sir: Replying to your valued favor of recent date, we beg to say that it is perfectly safe to order G. H. Alumni and Co.'s extra Dry of respectable dealers ; however, imita- tions may appear, and if in doubt see that the cork bears the eagle trade mark and name. Any information sent to F. de Bary and Co., New York, leading to prosecution of parties selling imitation Mumm will be much appreciated, as all infringements will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We would add that the phenomenal importation in 1899 of 109,303 cases of G. H. Mumm & Co.'s Extra Dry, being 72,495 cases more than any other brand, is a record never before approached. Very truly yours, ( J 3) C. A. BARRY, Paterson, N. J. Dear Sir: Your favor of the i3th inst. has our attention. We quote you to-day a specially cheap lot of 150 barrels Hannisville whiskey, spring of '94, at 77! cents. Would be glad to have your order for the lot or any part of it. We also quote a lot of 50 barrels " Orient," May '92, at 50 cents, in bond, or at $1.95 free at distillery. This is good whiskey, prime and nice and well matured. Proof is in percent, to 113 per cent. Yours truly, (94) Mr. J. A. BROWN, Jersey City, N. J. Dear Sir: We ask your attention to the accompanying pamphlet and printed slip. They will tell you how and at what prices you can obtain good and pure wines that are unsurpassed for either medicinal or table uses. Those who do not use wines on the table, or socially, may at any hour be 148 TWENTIKTH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. in absolute need of a good article. With or without a phy- sician's prescription, it should be in your closet or cellar for immediate use. During forty years our wines have stood every test as to purity and quality. We guarantee satisfaction. If goods are not exactly as represented we will gladly exchange or refund the money. We would call especial attention to the two sample cases on enclosed slip, as they will enable those not personally acquainted with our wines an opportunity to become so at a very low figure. We have no salesman or agents. This is the only way in which we will solicit your patronage. A trial order is respect- fully requested. Yours truly, ( r 79J Wood Finishing Correspondence. THE ADAMS MANUFACTURING Co., Utica, N. Y. Gentlemen : Replying to yours of April 24th, we mail you under separate cover our catalogue, on page 59 of which you will find our quotations on Black Japan. From the prices therein named we can allow you a discount of 10 per cent. This Black Japan is self-drying and is a superior article for renovating ironwork of all descriptions, sewing machine standards, registers, typewriters, safes, etc, etc. It dries with a beautiful black gloss finish. Very truly yours, (84) J. B. CLARK & Co., Toledo, O. Gentlemen : We are in receipt of a letter from our sales- man, Mr. Meyer, stating that you want something to fill iron work with preparatory to japanning or varnishing. We have had our No. I Filler used for this purpose very satisfactorily. Also some have used the dry silex that enters into the make-up of the filler, and have mixed that with their first coat of baking japan and used it in that way. We would be pleased to send you without charge samples of the filler and also of the dry silex, so that you might experiment with same and see which was suited for your purposes. Soliciting your further correspondence on the subject, we remain, Very truly yours, (127) BUSINESS DICTATION. 149 Messrs. MATTHEWS & Co., Providence, R. I. Gentlemen : We are in receipt of your favor of May i st. You desire us to send you a sample of the very best article we have in the way of a filler to stain and finish Mahogany wood in a dark rich color. Mahogany is treated in various ways. Take the finely finished Mahogany on some of our best pianos, and that is first treated to a coat of what is known as Old Mahogany Water Stain or a Bi-Chromate of Potash Stain, and then subjected to the fumes of ammonia, after which it is filled with our Transparent No. i Wood Filler, thinned with white japan, linseed oil, and turpentine ; or in some cases what is known as our Superfine Transparent Mahogany Filler is used, and this simply requires thinning with turpentine. What we think you want, however, is to fill your Mahogany with our Mahogany X Filler, first staining your Mahogany with Old Mahogany Water Stain. We are sending you samples of this to try. Assuring you of our willingness to assist you in every way possible, we remain, Very truly yours, ( I 9) Mr. T. D. WILLIAMS, Manchester, N. H. Dear Sir : It has occurred to us that the person in your firm or concern who is directly connected with the finishing of the wood work might be interested in this communication, and we will thank you for seeing that his attention is called to this letter. In Golden Oak Wood Fillers, in order that the wood filler may fill as well as stain, it is necessary that a great deal of coloring matter be used in same. Now, that these fillers may dry right, it has heretofore been necessary to very quickly and promptly after the filler has been applied rub same off and into the pores, otherwise the filler was liable to become hard and difficult to remove. While in our regular products we have made no change, we have lately succeeded in making Golden Oak Wood Fillers by a new process, which, while it retains all the properties as to filling and coloring as heretofore, has this special advantage, that it can be applied to an article of furniture and left on same even as long as one hour before it is rubbed off, and it very easily rub off, and at the same time pack readily 150 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. into the pores of the wood. We have carefully experimented on this new discovery in our sample room, and have since had experience with it with one of the largest furniture manufac- turers in the country, and they are so well pleased with it that they give it preference to any that they have heretofore been using. If you are interested, we will be pleased to send you by express prepaid, free of any expense to you, a sample of this filler i, 2, or 5 Ibs., as it may be necessary for you to judge of its merits yourself. We enclose a blank form of request, which you can fill out and return to us. Unless you request otherwise, we will send the sample to you in our regular Golden Oak color. We can, however, give it to you in any shade or color, and will match any sample that you may be pleased to submit to us. Trusting to hear from you, we remain, Very truly yours, (374) L. C. FULLER & SON, Albany, N. Y. Gentlemen : Your favor of loth received, and in reply would state that we could send you coloring matter that you might reduce with benzine and put in your tank, and then stain the whole chair and afterwards fill the part you want to fill, with the paste filler. Of course, this would be in the nature of an experiment for you to try. If you favor us with an order for the coloring matter, we will be pleased to fill same. Very truly yours, (91) Messrs. CHAS. RICHARDS & Co., 215 W. Lake Street, Chicago, 111. Gentlemen : Replying to your favor of 3d, we quote you our Diamond Pumice Stone, Nos. 3, 4, 5 .and 6, in barrels at 1 1 cents, per lb., no charge for barrels. This article is used by some of the largest and most prominent railroad companies throughout the country. Where natural woodwork on cars has become dim and dirty, by taking a mixture of soft soap and either the No. 5 or No. 6 Diamond Pumice, and sen bbing the work, and then cleaning it off with water, and drying it, the surface is again prepared for varnishing. We hope to have your order. Very truly yours, ( IJ 6) BUSINESS DICTATIOX. I 5 ] DAYTON MANTEL & FURNITURE Co., Dayton, O. Gentlemen : We are in receipt of your favor of (jth, and in reference to your complaint about the Golden Oak tiller getting lighter in color as you get into the barrel, would state, that this difficulty arises owing to the amount of stains that we are compelled to put into this filler in order to have it fill and stain at the same time. The only remedy for it is to keep it always well stirred up before taking out. The difficulty is that the coloring matter gets to the top, and if the original package is not well stirred up you are liable to take the strong color off at one time more than another. \Ye might add that we are experimenting in a new direction to overcome this difficulty, but our experiments have not yet progressed sufficiently far to enable us to state anything definite as to the result. Very truly yours, C 1 ^ 1 ) Mr. W. A. BENNETT, 489 Columbus Avenue, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir : Replying to yours of 9th, we beg to say that the proper way to treat new hardwood floors is to first fill them with our No. i Patent Wood Filler. Use the light for light woods ; also for floors composed of light and dark woods ; in the latter case adding a little raw linseed oil to the turpentine in thinning about a tablespoonful to i Ib. of filler. For Walnut, use the No. 3 or dark filler. The filler should be thinned with turpentine to the consis- tency of thin varnish, and applied to the floor with a brush, going over as much space as can be conveniently reached ; allow a few minutes for the filler to set ; then with a handful of Excelsior shavings rub the filler across the grain of the wood into the pores and off the floor ; follow with a cloth in the same manner. Allow the filler twent}^-four hours or more to dry. Then finish the floor with our Floor Polish. Do not apply this polish with a brush but with cloth ; shake can well and rub over the floor, and wipe it off clean as you proceed. Your floor now needs nothing more done to it but to keep it clean until the polish is worn off, then it may be treated to another application as before directed. We will be pleased to give you any further information you desire. Very truly yours, ( 2 49) 152 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. THE MOOREHOUSE MFG. Co., Houston, Tex. Gentlemen: Your favor of the i2th received. We will enter your order for a ton of our No. 303 silex, which is the kind best adapted for use in scouring soap. The way to use this article is to crutch it into the soap with the sal soda. We would not recommend over 50 Ibs. for the frame of 1200 Ibs. Of course, if it were used as an adulterant, you could use more than 50 Ibs. For adulterating purposes there are, how- ever, a great many cheaper articles, such as talc, ground marble dust, etc. If there is anything further we can help you on, we would be pleased to have you let us know. Very truly yours, (123) Mr. J. T. ANDERSON, Herkimer, N. Y. Dear Sir : We beg to acknowledge receipt of your order for five gallons of our J Oil Stain, and same will go to you by express to-night. The method of using this is to coat over the surface of the wood to be stained, b}' using a cloth, sponge, or brush. Where it is desirous not to color the wood too much, remove the stain with a clean piece of cheese cloth shortly after applying. Where it is desired to dye the wood heavier or deeper, apply the stain more freely and leave on longer before wiping off. Depth of color or shade may also be changed to the shade or hue desired by further reducing the stain with benzine or turpentine. Allow the stain twenty-four hours to dry and then fill with the desired color or shade of wood filler : and when same is dry, finish and varnish as desired. Thanking you for your order, we remain, Very truly yours, ( 1 6$) Messrs. AUERBACH & THOMPSON, Norfolk, Va. Gentlemen: Replying to your favor of ist in reference to our new Golden Oak finish, we beg to state that the process, which we will be pleased to have you try, is as follows : Take nicely quartered oak, finely sandpapered. First treat with a coat of our Alphite, which is not a paint but is a trans- parent substance somewhat similar to oil. In about an hour's time, apply a coat of our English Oak Water Stain. Allow BUSIN'KSS DICTATION. 153 this to dry until the next day, and then fill with our Golden Oak filler. This filler enters into the pores of the wood, pro- ducing a firm base for the varnish to rest on. At the .same time, the act of rubbing the filler into the wood and wiping it off from the wood, cleans up the hard or white parts of the oak and brings them out light. After the filler has dried thoroughly hard in the pores, then varnish and finish. You will find the effect is very beautiful. We would be pleased to hear from you after you have made this test. Very truly yours, (19) J. B. WATSON & Co., Boston, Mass. Gentlemen : Please order for us 1000 feet each of the following woods, in 4 or 6 feet. Please personally see that we get the nicest grained woods possible as we wish them for our sample room work. Quartered White Oak. Yellow Maple. Bird's eye Maple. Cypress. Mahogany. Tulip Wood. Finely Figured Curly Birch Amaranth. Plain White Maple. Please have same securely packed and shipped to us as early as possible, and oblige, Very truly yours, (84) Wool Trade Correspondence. Mr. S. MITCHELL, Haverhill, Mass. Dear Sir : We are in receipt of your favor of the 9th inst, and in reply would say that as soon as we get any offers on the Combings you will hear from us on your Delaine. On the Lamb's wool we are still in the dark as to prices. Blacks and Greys are unsaleable at present, and until we work off a portion of this stock we will not be interested in any more. Yours truly, (82) Mr. D. LAMONT, Rochester, N. Y. Dear Sir: Kindly send test samples and prices of all the Combings and Fine A's you have to dispose of. We are also in the market for the better grades of Lamb's wool, and if you have any on hand from last year's pullings we would be glad 154 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. to have samples of them also. We have a large order for scoured wools and want to give your samples a test. Should the shrinkage come out about the average and your prices are right we will take the entire lot. Yours truly, (97) Messrs. RAWLS & Co., Newton, Mass. Gentlemen : We notice that the lot of wool that you have just scoured for us has a very peculiar smell and does not seem clean. It has a very sticky feel, more like brushed wool. Will you kindly look this lot over and advise us as to what you think about it and give us your reasons for its present state. Yours truly, (69) Mr. J. J. SUNDERLAND, Manchester, N. H. Dear Sir : Your favor of the i3th received and noted. If you can sell your B Super at a price which will make it cost not more than 33C. scoured, we would be interested, but at anything more than that it is out of the question at present. By the shrinkage on the 32 bags bought of you some time ago the wool would have to sell for about 2$c. in the grease. Yours truly, (82) THE BOSTON SCOURING MILLS, Boston, Mass. Gentlemen : We enclose herewith memorandum of numbers and weights of 17 bags of Fine Shearlings which you will please mix thoroughly and scour and carbonize for our account. Also forward by Stonington Line to New York, Lot 327, 48 bags scoured A Super, sending numbers and weights to this office, and oblige. Yours truly, (60) BUSINESS DICTATION. 155 Miscellaneous Correspondence. Mr. A. MCDOWELL, Tioga, 111. Dear Sir: Your letter of recent date at hand, and we are pleased to hear from you. We enclose you circulars explain- ing why our drafting machine is far ahead of an}- other so- called system of cutting. If you desire you can get it on trial for thirty days by filling out the enclosed order blank properly and forwarding it to us. You can rest assured if the system did not give perfect satisfaction we would not send it on trial. If you do not care to bother to have it sent on thirty days' trial, you can send us a money order and we will ship the machine at once, as the Excelsior system never fails to give perfect satisfaction. We have a new instruction book giving advanced lessons in cutting, and we will send you one of these free of charge, providing you return this letter when you pay for the drafting machine. Hoping to receive your order, and knowing you will be well pleased, we remain, Yours truly > ( 1 7S) Mr. JAMES R. WIERS, San Francisco, Cal. Dear Sir : A short time ago we wrote you regarding our Chapman Voltage Regulator, but up to date have not received a reply, so again take the liberty of bringing the matter to your notice. We are positive you will derive benefit by installing one of the Voltage Regulators in your Station, and will guarantee it to save you on Lamp Renewals, as it decreases the burning out of lamps ; saves power and labor ; saves the expense of an attendant at the Rheostat, the regulator being controlled automatically, and requires no attention after being started ; it will compensate for loss in line, and regulate the Voltage within 2 per cent., with a variation in speed of 50 per cent., and prevent all fluctuation in the lights, thus insuring you a steady light and enable you to give your customers better lighting service. We are positive you will save the cost of a Regulator in from 6 to 8 months on Lamp Renewals alone, regardless of the other advantages derived from the use of the machine. 156 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. As we have proposed before, in order to prove the Regulator will do all we say, we are willing to install one in your Station on 30 days' trial, and allow you the privilege of returning it at the expiration of that time if it does not prove satisfactory, and you will not be put to any expense whatever, either for the Regulator or for transporta- tion charges. Please read the enclosed extracts from letters which were written to a prospective purchaser, by some of the users of our Voltage Regulators. Also kindly let us know what sizes in K. W., and the style machines you are using in your station ; we will be pleased to quote you prices. Awaiting your valued favors, which will receive our very best attention, we remain, Yours very truly, Messrs. H. G. HEENEY & Co., Orient, la. Gentlemen : We have yours of the 1 7th inst. In reply would say we remember receiving some news items about the time you mention, but we do not recall any requests to return same if not used. We looked them over, but the information they contained we had already received from another source. We are always glad to receive news that will help or be of interest to our readers, but, as stated to you before, we do not care to pay two parties for the same items. So far as we have seen, the technical and trade news from your city has not been of a character to encourage us to look for much in that direction. We should be very glad, however, to be proved mistaken in this respect, but our experience has been the other way. Your name has been on our mailing list for some time past. We have had more or less correspondence with your office in regard to news service, and you have several times sent us contract blank to be filled out, but this we have repeatedly refused to do until we could see something of the character of the service offered us. We supposed that the news sent us at that time was simply in response to these letters of ours. We have no regular rate per column for news of the kind of which you speak. Trusting this explanation will be satisfactory, we remain, Yours truly, (253) DICTATION. 157 Mr. F. GOLDMAN, Chicago, 111. Dear Sir : Believing that our Arithmachine fills the long- felt want of a practical computing machine, which is low in price, small in size and light in weight, large in capacity, noiseless in operation, and which answers the requirements of business and professional men more fully than any other computing device known, we take pleasure in extending the following offer to responsible parties, particularly in territory where we are not represented. On receipt of the appended trial order blank, properly signed, and accompanied by $i, to cover expressage and instruction book, which may be retained, we will send one of our Arithmachines on ten days' trial with the privilege of accepting it at the expiration of the trial time, by remitting the balance due, or returning by express, properly protected, at our own expense. Hoping to hear from you by return mail, which will enable us to give precedence to your order, we are, Very truly yours, Mr. NOAH PERKINS, Savannah, Ga. Dear Sir: If you use Syrup for any purpose whatever, you unquestionably want the best. Genuine Rock Candy Syrup is superior to any other kind ; and Dry den and Palmer's Triple Refined Rock Cand} 7 Syrup is the leading brand. It is absolutely pure, as heavy as pure Syrup can be held in solu- tion, while it is clearer and whiter than any other Syrup made. In the manufacture of Rock Candy and Rock Candy Syrup we use a sugar which is specially refined for us, and which is free from ultramarine blue. This is a substance used to whiten granulated sugar, granulated being naturally of a yellowish cast. That is why Syrup made from it is off color the blue does not whiten the Syrup, even if it does cover an imperfection" in the sugar. If you have never used D. & P.'s Triple Refined Rock Candy Syrup, your own interests demand that you send us a trial order. If you are acquainted with it, why buy an inferior brand when you can get absolutely the finest Syrup made, at the same or lower prices ? Yours very truly, ( 1 9\ 158 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. HERBERT C. WHITE, Jamestown, N. Y. Dear Sir : We invite your careful consideration of the exceptional advantages offered by the Hall Safe Deposit Company, prospectus of which is herewith enclosed. The vaults of this Company represent the latest and best improve- ments of the times. The Safes are beautiful in finish, and are fitted with keys or combination locks as desired. Special vaults have been provided for storage of silver- ware, plate and valuables. The Company issues its Guarantee Certificate insuring the contents of each package or consign- ment, for amount of owner's estimate of value, against fire, burglary or theft. The recent disastrous fire at the Temple Chambers demonstrated the advisability of providing other security for valuable papers than that given by tin boxes or office safes. The location of this Company being such as to be easily accessible by you, we hope to be favored with your patronage. Yours very truly, (148) THE UNITED STATES PAPER Co., Grand Rapids, Mich. Gentlemen : We have completed our line of Wall Papers for the season of 1900, and will show a selection which will be unusually attractive in styles and prices. As the assortment will comprise the best patterns and colorings of the leading manufacturers, we will be able to offer you a very large variety and hope we can make it to your interest to place your orders with us. We will also have a complete line of Window Shades and Mouldings representing the new gocds for the coming season. Among our Mouldings, we have a number of exclusive patterns which are made especially for us, and which in color- ings and designs are made to match the new Wall Papers. We are anxious for your business, and although our sales- man has called on you in the past, we have not been success- ful in securing a share of your patronage. We have not given your name to our salesman this season, but will be only too glad to make arrangements to have him call on you at an early date or suiting your convenience, if you will favor us by look- ing over our line, or if there is a prospect of securing an order. Hoping to be favored with an early reply, we remain, Yours very truly, ( 221 ) BUSINESS DICTATION. 159 Mr. DAVID L. STAFFORD, Beverly, Mass. Dear Sir: I take pleasure in announcing the publication of an etched portrait of the Rev. Timothy Dwight, D.D., LL. D., President of Yale University, of which you are, I believe, an alumnus. The artist, James S. King, the foremost portrait etcher of America, has succeeded in producing a portrait of great artistic excellence, as well as a faithful likeness of the distinguished scholar and educator. The enthusiastic favor with which the etched portraits I have published have always been received by the lovers of this beautiful and difficult art, will not, I am sure, be diminished by this my latest production. The portrait will take high rank in the gallery of famous Americans, which it has been my good fortune to produce, and will, I feel, be most acceptable to every graduate of Yale University, not only as a work of art, but also as a pleasing memorial of happy student days in that remarkable institution of learning. Dr. Dwight kindly consents to autograph a limited number of proofs, thereby giving additional interest and value to the portrait. Enclosed I hand you a half-tone reduction, which will give you some idea of the character of the portrait. I will be pleased to receive your order for the same. Very truly yours, (22 1 ) Mr. JOHN ROBINSON, New York, N. Y. My dear Sir : Having been informed that you have been kind enough to speak favorably of me as a candidate for election to the House of Representatives from the fourteenth Congressional District, I wish to say to you that I am very grateful for the good opinion of me that you have expressed. My canvass is made easy for me to carry on by the impulse of kind words uttered by men like yourself. Should you be in the vicinity of these headquarters, I would be pleased to have you call upon me personally, so that I might say to you that which I now write. Earnestly yours, ( 1 1 5) l6o TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. L. F. SHAFER & Co., Lewisburg, Pa. Gentlemen : The best evidence of the merits of an article is the growth of its sales. The increase in the consumption of Cocoa and Chocolate in Europe during 1899 was 30 per cent. During the same year the increase in the United States was 56,562 bags, or 40 per cent. For the same period the actual increase in our Cocoa and Chocolate business amounted to the startling figures of One Hundred and Sixty-one per cent. four times greater than the average of all the Chocolate manufactures in the United States. Our sales of Fountain Chocolate alone, since January ist, IQOO, show an increase of exactly 197 per cent. almost three times as much as our phenomenal sales for the same period of last year. This marvelous increase is due solely to the fact that we manufacture the finest Chocolate for soda fountain use, and that dispensers are finding it out. Even those who, as a matter of good business policy, have always used high-priced Chocolate at their fountains, experi- ence a wonderful increase in their sales of Chocolate Soda immediately after starting to use our Fountain Chocolate. If you wish to send an order under our guarantee that the Chocolate is superior to any other for fountain use or return- able at our expense, please address us direct, or send to our nearest distributing agency. See the price list enclosed. Let us also quote you the price of our Unmanipulated Rock Candy Syrup. We will explain why that too is the best. Yours truly, ( 2 S4) Messrs. DINNER & Co., New York, N. Y. Gentlemen : We ask a favor. We are making a modern marking medium which will enable you to mark or stencil your goods perfectly, economically and with a quickness and cleanliness never before attempted. We want to be allowed to send you a " can of evidence " free, which proves we do not fear the result of a trial, but believe one trial will insure its future use. The enclosed booklet tells what it is, and a postal card to us will promptly bring you a free sample. Yours truly, (94) BUSINESS DICTATION. I 6 I Mr. R. J. BORMAY, New York City. Dear Sir: We respectfully beg to inform you that on May ist we will open the premises, 226 East 2ooth Street, between Broadway and Fourth Avenue, to be known as the " Poplars," as a thoroughly First-class Ladies' and Gentlemen's Cafe and Restaurant. A private dining room has been reserved for ladies, and every care will be directed to the comfort of guests. The Cafe will be stocked with the finest brands of Liquors and Cigars, and a feature made. of the Gentlemen's Lunch Room in the Cafe proper, while above the Cafe will be found the Dining Room for Ladies and Gentlemen. The Cuisine will be of the very best, and under the able management of Mr. Ernest James, late with Horace T. Davison. Trusting to have the honor of your patronage, and pledging our most careful endeavor to please, Yours very truly, ( 1 47) Mrs. C. L. ENTZ, Richmond, Va. Dear Madam : We take pleasure in calling your personal attention to the new Harper's " Bazar," to be published from May 5th, 1900, as a weekly magazine. Harpers " Bazar " has been for thirty-three years the most dignified American periodical for women. It will be henceforth the most interesting, the most brilliant, and most up-to-date woman's publication in the world. No effort will be spared to make it a necessity to every intelligent American woman. We enclose a prospectus with detailed outline of our plans. To introduce the " Bazar " in its new form, we are making the following special offers : We will send you Harper's "Bazar" from May 5th, 1900, to Jan. ist, 1901 (eight months), for $2.00. (Regular price, $4.00 a year.) We will send you four copies of the " Bazar" for 25 cents. the issues of May 5th, i2th, igth, and 26th. (Regular price, ice. a copy.) We enclose a coin card in which you may safely send a two dollar bill or 25 cents. We know the " Bazar " will please you, and we confidently await your subscription. Yours very truly, (187) // D. B. 162 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. B. W. BAINS, Warren, Ohio. Dear Sir: In reply to your postal of the igth inst, I beg to send you under separate cover illustrated catalogue of self- winding clocks. From the price list enclosed herewith, we will be pleased to allow you a discount of 10 per cent., terms net cash, F. O. B., Brooklyn. In the event of your not seeing the style of clock desired in the catalogue which we have sent you, please write more fully giving detailed information, and we will be pleased to com- municate with you further. Thinking that possibly you may wish to rent one of our clocks in connection with the Western Union Time Service, we are also sending you a copy of our rental catalogue, on the second page of which you will notice our schedule of rates. Should you be able to select from this catalogue a clock that will meet your ideas, kindly so indicate on the enclosed appli- cation for time service and return same to us, and we will see that the clock is installed by the Western Union Company. Very truly yours, ( J 86) Mr. NOLAN J. CRAMP, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : We had a most gratifying meeting of the Advisory Committee at Mr. Stern's house on the ist inst., and regretted exceedingly that you were not able to be with us. We hope to be more fortunate at the second meeting of the Advisory Committee, which you are invited to attend, and which will be held at the residence of Mr. Horace Cooper, No. 127 W. 79th Street, on Thursday next, the i5th inst, at 8.15 p.m. It would afford me much pleasure to see you on that occasion. Yours truly, (99) THE UNITED STATES CASUALTY Co., Buffalo, N. Y. Gentlemen : I am in receipt of your very kind favor of the 24th, enclosing draft for Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000) the full death benefit on Personal Accident Policy No. 7537 held by my father, the late Charles Tobin, of Troy, N. Y., who met with accidental death on Sunday, June 15, 1899. I deem it but fair to you to acknowledge my appreciation BUSINESS DICTATION. 163 of your promptness in paying this claim, and the entire absence of any red tape on your part. As stated above, the accident occurred on the i5th, your agent was notified on the i8th, formal written notice was mailed to your office on the ipth, final proof papers were mailed to you on the 2ist, and your draft for the full amount was mailed on the 24th. Please accept my sincere thanks, not only for the draft, but for the uniform kindness and courtesy which your agent and the officers of your Company have extended to me in the entire matter. Yours respectfully, ( ' 7 - ) Mrs. C. B. MORTON, Brooklyn, N. Y. Dear Madam : On and after this date we will begin to close out* at retail our entire line of 1899 samples of high grade Utopian Art Pottery, Lamps, Jardinieres, Pedestals, Bric-a- brac, etc., the exclusiveness and individuality of which are no doubt familiar to you. They must be sold by January ist next. We are manufacturers and do no retailing except at this time to dispose of samples, and the opportunity thus afforded you to obtain Christmas. Wedding and Birthday Gifts at manufacturer's prices should command your attention. It should prompt you to make purchases now, for even remote occasions, as the chance will not come again in a twelve- month. For your convenience we will remain open until nine o'clock each evening. Assuring you that your commands will have our closest attention, we remain, Yours truly, ( X 40 Messrs. JOHN TRIMBLE &5oNS, Lancaster, Pa. Gentlemen : We desire to inform you that we have removed our coal and wood business from foot of E. 8oth Street to larger and more commodious quarters at 502 to 510 E. 8oth Street, where with increased facilities for handling and storing coal, we are now prepared to execute all orders with promptness at the lowest prevailing prices. Scranton White Ash and Neilson Red Ash are our specialities. Respectfully soliciting your patronage, we are, Very truly yours, (83) 164 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Mr. J. B. BARRETT, Oswego, N. Y. Dear Sir: Oftentimes people are placed in a position where a little financial help will be of great assistance and they do not wish to borrow of friends for various reasons. We can help you in such an event, as it is our special purpose to procure loans for reputable high-class people whose word and promise is a sufficient guarantee of prompt payment. All our transactions are strictly confidential, and our customers' names are never known to anyone. We act in as confidential a capacity toward our clients as exists between lawyers and doctors and their clients. Our suite of private offices are located in the business part of the city, and at the same time are so private and seclusivc that no one can know the name of a single customer nor his business in our office. Among our clients we have men holding high and responsible positions of trust and profit in the highest and most prominent institutions in the United States, and we desire to extend our line of business in that direction. Should you desire a loan at any time we will be pleased to negotiate the same for you on reasonable terms. We would be glad to confer with you at any time at our offices. Respectfully yours, (212) Mr. GEO. WILSON, Yonkers, N. Y. Dear Sir : On the 2d inst, we wrote you in reference to the bond to be filed by manufacturers of silverware, and whole- sale or retail dealers in silverware, with the Secretary of State of the State of New York. With that letter we enclosed to you an application for bond to be filled and returned to us by you. Since then writing you we have executed bonds for nearly all the large dealers in silverware in this city, as well as for many of the leading manufacturers throughout the country who sell silverware in this State. We suggest that you will find it to the interest of your business to file your bond at the earliest possible date. We are sure you will find the premium we have quoted you so low as to induce you to. have us write 3 r our bond rather than put yourself under obligation to personal sureties. Assuring you of a due appreciation of your favor, we are, Yours truly, (179) BUSINESS DICTATION. 1^5 Mr. JOHN CHRISTIE, Utica, N. Y. Dear Sir : We beg to hand you, under separate cover, a copy of the second edition of our catalogue of supplies used in brewers' testing laboratories. We shall appreciate your acknowledgment of receipt of same, and will gladly send you, on request, catalogue of chemicals made by Koenig, of Leipsic, whom we represent, or give detailed information in regard to any form of apparatus. The success that has come to us during the years we have made a speciality of scientific apparatus and chemicals for brewers' use, gives us confidence in our ability to supply you promptly the satisfactory grade of goods you require. We call your special attention to our Normal Saccharometer No. B 245n. This is not a cheap instrument, but of standard German make, and guaranteed to be correct. We hope to receive your orders, and shall at all times endeavor to serve you in such manner as to command your further patronage. Yours truly, (165) Mr. A. W. WALKER, Toronto, Canada. Dear Sir : On the 27th ult. you asked us for our catalogue. We sent it to you immediately. If you did not receive it, inform us and we will gladly send another. If you have received it, possibly the card system appears complicated, and you are afraid the labor of maintaining it will not recom- pense you for the expense. This is not true. The card system is not complicated. It is not difficult to maintain or to apply it to your work. Look over your present book systems, remembering that books are absolutely unchange- able and confined between two covers, but that card s3 T sterns may be arranged and re-arranged, classified and re-classified, indexed and re-indexed, expanded, contracted, and freed from useless matter. Note how many of the records you are keep- ing in books would be of so much more help if arranged on cards, and how many records that you have been discouraged from keeping in books could be successfully arranged on cards and be of help to you. Apply the card system for one class of your records, and you will realize how expensive it is to be ignorant of its advantages, and that it is an expensive economy to do without it. 1 66 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. We offer you the assistance of our experience gained in adapting the system to meet requirements similar to yours. We show our confidence in our system and our goods in offering to take back any goods of our manufacture that do not meet the purchaser's highest anticipations. As we are so thoroughly in earnest, and offer you every possible induce- ment to begin the use of our card system, may we not at least have your reply ? Yours truly, ( 28 7) Mr. E. B. MOORE, Boston, Mass. Dear Sir : Inviting your account, I beg to hand you here- with the enclosed pamphlet and to refer you to the statement of the bank's condition on the ist hist., to the arrangements of the various departments, and to the security and attrac- tiveness of the Safe Deposit Vaults, the entrance to which is through the bank. The vaults are the most improved in design and of the latest construction. Boxes are rented at reduced rates to those having accounts with the bank. The Bank's polic}' has been to present every convenience and to facilitate in every way the business of its depositors. The Park Street Branch, which will be open to receive accounts about the ist of December, will be prepared to extend the same courtesies. Hoping to be favored by your account, I am, Very truly yours, ( 1 43) Mr. FRANK MILLS, Oswego, N. Y. Dear Sir : We take pleasure in enclosing herewith a pamphlet treating of the Pianola. We feel that this new piano player is of universal interest to all music lovers, in that it brings practically the entire list of piano music within the reach of all and renders it instantly available at any time. Furthermore it is musically artistic, and through its achievements in this line has won a distinctive place in the musical world. We urge that you read this pamphlet, feeling confident that its contents will interest you, and we shall be pleased to have you call and hear the instruments, thereby receiving a practical demonstration. Our instruments are gladly shown to the merely curious as well as to intending purchasers. Respectfully yours, ( I2 9) BUSINESS DICTATION. 10; Mr. W. A. CRAWFORD, St. Louis, Mo. Dear Sir: I have prepared a correct list giving county, grade, name and address of every teacher, county examiner, city superintendent and principal in this state. There arc- about 6,000 of these teachers. It is an educational directory of the State of Arkansas. The addresses given ai e the very latest. This is a most valuable list for a house desiring agents and those wishing to introduce new books and periodicals. It is also very valuable to schools and school agencies. I have been at great expense, used much care, and have done a great amount of work outside of office hours to com- plete this directory, and believe I ought to receive some return for it. If you desire such a list please let me hear from you. It is now ready to mail and I will let you have it for $10. Yours truly, ( 1 5 1 ) Messrs. JAMES HOAG & Co., Newark, N. J. Gentlemen : We are preparing for publication, within a few weeks, the special souvenir issue of " School," which, in addition to the regular circulation among teachers and school officials of Greater New York and the Metropolitan District, the Public Libraries and Boards of Education in the United States, will reach the teachers attending the State Teachers' Convention, held at The Thousand Islands from July 5th to 7th, and the National Teachers' Association, held in Charleston from July yth to i3th, and to private and public schools all over the country. This issue will be of special interest to publishers of text and library books and manufacturers of school supplies. Orders for the same are made on the Boards of Education prior to July ist. Our advertising rates in this number are from $2.50 to $3.50 per column inch. For advertising covering a quarter page or more, special discounts will be made. Copy for advertising space should be sent early, so that we may return you a proof of the same. Any correspondence in relation to advertising will be given careful attention. Trusting to hear from you, we are. Yours very truly, 1 68 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Messrs. J. H. PAIN & Co., New Haven, Conn. Gentlemen : We desire to advise you that owing to the destruction of the building, 31 and 33 Broad Street, we have been forced to remove from our famous old stand to a short distance away, 70 and 72 Broad Street, corner of Beaver, where we will remain, pending the erection of the building on the old site. We would ask the indulgence of our customers for any delays which may occur for a short time. The notice to remove which we received was too short to allow us to make our removal by degrees as we desired. Our Printing Office and Bindery have not been removed, so there will be no delay in that part of our business. Our telephone number will remain the same, No. 378 Broad. Hoping you will continue to favor us with your kind pr.t- ronage, and wishing to see you at our new office, we are, Yours very truly, ( 1 60) Messrs. T. H. HAMMOND & Co., Greenwood, Ark. Dear Sirs: The goods as per invoice of Nov. i8th arrived yesterday in excellent condition, and we are pleased to find them satisfactory in all respects. We beg to thank you for the good judgment you have brought to bear in selecting the goods, displaying a very correct estimate of the styles and patterns suitable for our market. We hope that you will continue in the future to bestow the same care and discrimin- ation in the way of selection and packing, as you have done in this instance. Yours respectfully, ( 10 ) Messrs. E. E. SHIELDS & SONS, Columbus, O. Gentlemen : Your postal of the 28th received, in which you ask us to ship you 20 boxes Blue Label Spices, 10 Ibs. each, but you omit to state how you wish the 20 boxes divided, that is, in how many different kind of spices. We will only be too glad to forward your order if you will kindly advise us how to divide up the 20 boxes, or shall we duplicate your last order, which was for 12 boxes of pepper, 6 of ginger, 6 of cinnamon, 6 of allspice, 6 of mustard. Your early reply will insure prompt shipment. Very truly yours, ( 1 1 1) PART H. LEGAL FORMS. MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. SHORT TALKS WITH THE AMANUENSIS. PRACTICAL TALKS. LEGAL FORMS. 17 LEGAL FORMS,* By HENRY W. THORNE, Counselor-at-Law and Official Court Stenographer, Johnstown. N.Y. A law stenographer must possess expertness in writing and reading shorthand. This can only be attained by regular and prolonged practice. Knowledge of correct phonographic out- lines is not, alone, sufficient. Such a one must understand the meaning of the subject-matter reported. This conduces to speed of writing, and is absolutely necessary to impromptu reading of rapidly written notes. While writing from dictation is the most practicable method of gaining stenographic speed, yet the learner should not restrict himself to that. He should attempt to report all kinds of human utterance : speeches, sermons, public meetings, judicial proceedings, conversations, etc. The best rate of dictation is that which forces the writer to the highest speed at which distinct outlines can be formed. When following a speaker, for practice, writing beyond legible speed should not be tried. Better omit portions than strive to catch every word and thereby risk acquiring a sprawling style of shorthand. Small characters, compactly written, are preferable to their opposites, are easier to read, and conduce to speed. Practice notes should be transcribed, and the transcript carefully compared with the original, when possible. All shorthand made by the learner should be repeatedly read, doubtful outlines assiduously studied and deciphered, and erroneous ones corrected and memorized. Law stenographers, especially those employed in court before juries, should be able to instantly refer to, and read without balk or hitch, any part of the notes of a trial. Some- times, it is necessary to read to the jury large portions of hastily written notes of testimony. * Also published separately in pamphlet form, consisting of 40 pages in cover. Price 25 cents 17? TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Most stenographers use pen and ink for law reporting. At least two reasons for this usage exist : First, shorthand notes of judicial proceedings are required, by law, to be preserved for a specified period ; these constitute an official record, and this should be durably made; ink, better than pencil, notes meet this requirement ; second, the gliding of a gold pen over properly finished paper is supposed to create the minimum degree of friction ; and, third, greater manual dexterity is believed to be possible with a flexible gold pen than with any other writing implement. A " light hand " that is the application of the least possible pressure in the making of the mystic strokes, circles, dots and dashes, is generally con- ceded to be favorable to increase of speed, and a deterrent to so-called pen-paralysis, or writer's cramp. The majority of law reporters use specially prepared reporting paper, with marginal and horizontal ruling. A few refuse to use any but unruled paper. A great many practitioners use loose sheets of reporting paper, while others prefer bound reporting note-books.* Law-office amanuenses universally use the latter. One advantage of unbound sheets is that the notes comprising each case, may, at its conclusion, be fastened together in book-form, properly endorsed and filed away for preservation. In case the reporter desire to dictate to more than one amanuensis from different parts of his notes, loose sheets are more convenient. Experienced law stenographers use few phrases. These seldom exceed three words. The phrasing principle is usually limited to what is known as "natural" phrases, which, broadly speaking, means combinations of such words as are frequently grouped in ordinary speech. Special phrases are sometimes adopted. These grow out of the peculiar nature of the subject-matter reported, For instance, in legal form No. 25, the phrase "liquor-tax-law" was coined for that particular case. It would, undoubtedly, be legible in that case, while in general use it might not be decipherable. Names of persons and places when first occurring should be written in longhand if time permit ; if not, in shorthand, and then in longhand at the first opportunity. Thereafter, they may be written in shorthand. This applies to the names * Pitman's Elastic-back Note-Book, No. 5. Officially used in the courts of New York and Brooklyn. See page 8 of catalogue at end of this book. LEGAL FORMS. 173 of witnesses when called and sworn. These should be written in longhand, followed by the words (in shorthand) "for plaintiff" or "defendant," as the case may be, but, at all events, designating the party in whose behalf the witness is sworn. No system of shorthand numerals has yet been devised which has given universal satisfaction. While, in some instances, law reporters have successfully utilized shorthand for this purpose, yet the Arabic figures continue prime favorites. The latter are often helpful in finding desired parts of testimony. In a mass of shorthand characters, they are conspicuous markers of particular sections of the examination of witnesses. Exhibits are documents and things produced in court, some- times merely for the purpose of identification, but, usually, to be offered in evidence by litigants. They may range from a simple receipt for money paid to the elaborate and intricate model of a railway locomotive. They take the name of the party who offers them in evidence, as "Pl'ft's Ex. A.," "Def't's Ex. No. i," and are marked accordingly, the word "exhibit" being shortened to " Ex." It is customary for referees, in proceedings before them, to mark the exhibits, while upon trials in court, before judge and jury, this duty devolves upon the stenographer. l Some stenographers mark all exhibits offered in evidence by the plaintiff, alphabetically, as " PPff's Ex. A.," etc., and those offered by the defendant, numerically, as " Deft's Ex. No. i," etc. ; while others mark all exhibits, by whomsoever introduced, by numbers, commencing the first with " Ex. i " and continuing consecutively with succeeding exhibits. Legal Form, No. 27, exemplifies the method of doing this. Rubber stamps, containing everything necessary to place upon the exhibit, except its letter or number, are sometimes used. This constitutes a time and labor-saving device. A temporary index of the lettering or numbering (or both), of exhibits, and of the numbers of the pages at which the various examinations of witnesses commence, is a valuable aid to promptly finding parts of the proceedings called for during a trial. 1 On this subject, and method adopted in a celebrated case where exhibits were numerous, see article by Prof. Brophy page 75, Report of New York State Stenographers' Association for 1900. 174 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Class i. Miscellaneous Legal Documents. Affidavit. (No. i.) State of New York ) sg County of New York j John Spencer, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That on the fourth day of April, 1895, he resided at the City of Johnstown, in said State, and that at that time one Thomas Case also resided at said City. Deponent further says : That he was well acquainted with said Case until the time of his death, which occurred on the day aforesaid ; that previous to that time, the said Case informed this deponent that he, said Case, was the only son of Joseph Case, of Milwaukee, in the State of Wisconsin. Deponent further says : That said Case, at the time of his death, was about forty years old ; that said Case had light hair and eyes and weighed about one hundred and eighty pounds. Deponent further says : That he is ready to testify to the foregoing matters whenever called upon to do so ; that deponent's age is seventy-three and that he now resides at New Rochelle in said State of New York. Subscribed and sworn to before } re me, this 6th day of April, 1898. f JOHN NOWILL, Notary Public, New York County, N. Y. Certificate of Acknowledgment New York. (No. 2.) State of New York \ County of New York/ 5 ' On this sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and one, before me, the subscriber, personally came Henry Harrison, George Morse and James Johnson, to me known, and known to me to be the same persons described in, and who executed, the within [or foregoing] instrument, and they severally acknowledged that they executed the same. WILLIAM H. DUNLOP, Notary Public, New York County, N. Y. LEGAL FORMS. 1/5 Will. (No. 3.) IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. I, Sophia Rosamond, of the Village of Greenpoint, in the County of Sullivan, and State of New York, widow, of the age of forty years and upwards, and being of sound, disposing mind and memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this to be my last will and testament, that is to say : FIRST. I direct that all my just debts and funeral expenses be first paid and fully satisfied. SECOND. I give and devise the real property, now occupied by me as my present residence, unto my beloved son, John Rosamond, absolutely and forever, THIRD. I give, devise and bequeath all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, both real and personal, of every name and nature, and wheresoever situate, unto my son, Charles Rosamond, of St. Johnsville, Montgomery County, N. Y. LASTLY, I nominate, constitute and appoint my said son, John Rosamond, to be the executor of this my last will and testament, hereby revoking all former wills by me made. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of November, 1900. Witru C JJ AMES BlNGHAM, SOPHIA R.OSAMOND 1 . s { ADDISON TORT. The above instrument, consisting of one sheet, was, at the date thereof, subscribed by Sophia Rosamond, the testatrix named in the foregoing will, in the presence of us and each of us ; and, at the time of making such subscription, the above instrument was declared by the said testatrix to be her last will and testament, and each of us, at the request of said testatrix, and in her presence, and in the presence of each other, signed our names as witnesses thereto, at the end of the will. JAMES BINGHAM, residing at Greenpoint, Sullivan County, N. Y. ADDISON TORT, residing at Greenpoint, Sullivan County, N. Y. 1 It is not necessary to affix a seal to a will. 176 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Notice to Creditors. (No. 4.) In pursuance of an order of Hon. J. Keck, county judge of Fulton County, notice is hereby given to all persons having claims against Dennis Moon, lately doing business in the city of Johnstown, N. Y., to present the same, with the vouchers therefor, duly verified, to the subscriber, assignee for the benefit of the creditors of said Dennis Moon, at the office of said assignee, No. 39 West Main street, in the city of Johns- town, N. Y., on or before the 3ist day of December, 1901. Dated Johnstown, N. Y., the 3d day of January, 1901. ANNA CASPER, SENECA SHARP, Assignee Attorney for Assignee, No. 49 West Main street, Johnstown, N. Y. Bond. (No. 5.) KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, that we, James Jackson, of the City of Boston, in the County of Suffolk and Common- wealth of Massachusetts, as principal, and William Belding and Charles Robertson, both of the same place, as sureties, are held and firmly bound unto Peter Harding, of the City of Johnstown, in the County of Fulton and State of New York, in the sum of four thousand dollars ($4,000), gold coin of the United States of America, to be paid to the said Peter Harding, his executors, administrators, or assigns ; for which payment, well and truly to be made, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators, jointly and severally, firmly by these presents. Sealed with our seals and dated the tenth day of December, one thousand nine hundred. The condition of this obligation is such that, if the above bounden James Jackson, his heirs, executors, or administrators, shall well and truly pay, or cause to be paid, unto the said Peter Harding, his executors, administrators or assigns, the just and full sum of four thousand dollars ($4,000), in gold coin of the United States, of the present standard of weight and fineness, in nine months from the date hereof, with interest thereon, at the rate of five per cent, per annum, LEGAL FORMS. 177 without fraud or delay, then the preceding obligation to be void, otherwise to remain in full force and virtue. JAMES JACKSON (Seal) In presence of WILLIAM BELDING (Seal) JOHN DOE. CHARLES ROBERTSON (Seal) Agreement. 1 (No. 6.) THIS AGREEMENT, made this tenth day of December, in the year nineteen hundred, between Earnest Bowdish and Fred A. Bowdish, composing the co-partnership firm of Bowdish Brothers, residing and doing business at the City of Johnstown, in the County of Fulton and State of New York, parties of the first part, and John Potts, of the same place, party of the second part, WITNESSETH : That said parties of the first part agree to furnish and set complete, according to the specification hereto annexed and marked Exhibit A. and the drawings also hereto annexed and marked Exhibit B., both of which are made part hereof, upon a foundation to be provided by said party of the second part, in his plot in the grounds of the Johnstown Cemetery Association, in Johnstown aforesaid, a monument which is to be of the best quality of granite known as the best medium Dark Barre granite, and each and every part and portion thereof shall come from the same quarry, and be of the same kind and quality of the best medium Dark Barre granite ; and, in consideration of the faithful performance of the fore- going agreement by the said parties of the first part, the said party of the second part agrees to pay the sum of one thousand dollars ($i,ooo), 3 when this agreement shall have been per- formed to the entire satisfaction of the said party of the second part, but not before the expiration of sixty days from and after the entire completion of the work herein provided for and performance of this agreement. And it is expressly understood and agreed by the parties hereto that the payment of the whole, or any part, of the said sum of money, or the permitting by said party of the second part of the erection of said monument, or any other act upon 'In law, practically synonymous with "contract." These words are used interchangeably. 2 It is well to write amounts in full, followed by figures in parentheses This is technically known as the " consideration " of the agreement. is D. B. 178 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. the part of the said party of the second part, shall not be considered, or construed, as an acceptance, in whole or in part, of the performance of this agreement on the part of, or by, the said parties of the first part, until one year shall have elapsed from and after the date of the actual erection of said monument upon said cemetery lot, and the completion of all work in con- nection therewith to the entire satisfaction of the said party of the second part as aforesaid ; and said party of the second part shall have the privilege at any time, within the said pericd of one year, to reject and refuse to accept said monument, and all, or any part of, the labor upon, or all, or any, of the material used in, said monument, on account of the non-com- pliance of the parties of the first part with this agreement, or any of the terms thereof, or with said specification and drawing, or either thereof, or any part of either thereof, or en account of the imperfect performance, or non-performance, by the parties of the first part of this agreement in any of its particulars, upon written notice of such rejection or non- acceptance, or both, to the said parties of the first part ; and, in case of such rejection or non-acceptance, said party of the second part shall be entitled to recover back the sums of money paid to the parties of the first part for, or on account of, said monument ; and, in that event, the parties of the first part shall remove the same from the said cemetery lot of the party of the second part, and restore the said cemetery lot to the same condition in which it was at the time of the commencement of operations thereon for the erection of said monument, at the cost and expense of the parties of the first part ; and, in case of the refusal of the parties of the first part so to do, the party of the second part may cause the same to be done at the cost and expense of the parties of the first part. And as a part of the consideration of this agreement the parties of the first part hereby covenant and agree that, in case the party of the second part shall purchase, or contract to purchase, the marker or index stone now set upon his said cemetery lot, they will and shall cut, dress and hammer the entire surface of said marker or index stone so that the same shall be fine and smooth and be of the best " twelve-cut " work, and polish or hammer the letters thereon, at the option of the party of the second part. It is also expressly understood and agreed, by and between the parties hereto, that all the provisions, statements and LEGAL FORMS. I 7 c, requirements, contained in, and ever}' part of said specification Exhibit A. and of said drawing exhibit Irrespectively, shall be treated as a part hereof, and the same shall be binding upon the parties hereto, and shall bind them the same as if the same were incorporated in the body of this agreement, fur all the purposes of this agreement. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have hereunto set their hands and seals the day first above written. EARNEST BOWDISH (Seal) 1 In presence of FRED A. BOWDISH (Seal) THOMAS COLLINS JOHN POTTS (Seal) General Mutual Release. (No. 7.) THIS INDENTURE, made this fourteenth day of December, A.D. 1900, between John Fudge, of Fonda, Montgomery County, and State of New York, of the one part, and Theodore B. Catchem, of Fultonville, in the County and State aforesaid, of the other part, WITNESSETH : That the said John Fudge and Theodore B. Catchem have this day canceled and delivered up to the other certain covenants, bonds, notes, and written contracts upon which he claimed to have demands on the other; the said claims and instruments so canceled and delivered up being supposed and intended to be all the claims and evidence of claims by either of the parties hereto on the other. And, in consideration thereof, each of them, the said John Fudge and Theodore B. Catchem, does hereby, for himself and his legal representatives, release and absolutely and forever discharge the other of and from all claims and demands, actions, causes of action, of every name and nature, so that neither of them shall have any claim on the other, directly or indirectly, on any contract, or supposed liability, or thing undertaken, done, or omitted to be done, from the beginning of the world to this day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the said parties have hereto inter- changeably set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written. In presence of JOHN FUDGE (L.S.) GEORGE JENKINS. THEODORE B. CATCHEM (L.S.) 1 In many states wafer seals are unnecessary, in such states the word "seal," or the letters "L.S." meaning, place of the seal) following the signature, being sufficient. See signatures, Form No. 7. l8o TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Certificate of Acknowledgment Illinois. (No. 8.) State of Illinois "1 County of Cook / On this sixth day of June, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six, before me, William H. Dunlop, a notary public in and tor the County of Cook, residing therein, duly com- missioned and sworn, personally appeared Henry Harrison, George Morse and James Johnson, personally known to me to be the same persons whose names are subscribed to the within instrument, and they, severally, duly acknowledged to me that they executed the same. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal, at my office in the City of Chicago, County of Cook, the day and year in this certificate first above written. WILLIAM H. DUNLOP, (L.S.) Notary Public, In and for the County of Cook, State of Illinois. Notice to Tenant. (No. 9.) Take notice, that you are justly indebted unto me in the sum of twenty dollars for rent of the following described premises, to wit : All the second floor of the building owned by me and known and designated as No. 4 South Tompkins Avenue, in the City of Rochester, Monroe County and State of New York, ten dollars of which said sum of rent became, and was, due and payable on November ist, 1900, and ten dollars of which said sum of rent became, and was, due and payable on December ist, 1900, which said sum of twenty dollars rent you are required to pay to me, on or before the expiration of three days from the day of the service of this notice, or surrender up the possession of the above-described premises to me ; in default of which I shall proceed, under the statute, to recover the possession thereof. Dated at Rochester, N. Y., this 3d day of December, 1900. PAUL JONES, To TIMOTHY TUGMUTTON, Landlord. Tenant. LEGAL FORMS. Class II. Legal Papers in Actions. Summons. (No. 10.) NEW YORK SUPREME COURT. Trial desired in Fulton County. SAMUEL BAKER, Plaintiff,! against 2 JOSEPH MOONEY et a/., 3 Defendants. 4 To the above named defendants : You are hereby summoned to answer the complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer on the plaintiff's attorney within twenty days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service, and in case of your failure to appear, or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. Dated, December 2, 1900. JAMES MORRIS, Plaintiff's Attorney. Office Address and ) 49 West Main street, Post-Office Address ) Johnstown, N. Y. Demurrer. (No. n.) Fol. i 5 . SUPREME COURT. FULTON COUNTY. LEONHARD CHERRY and JOHN HENRY MARTIN, against CHARLES BUNCE. The defendant, Charles Bunce, demurs to the com- plaint herein, and for the grounds of his demurrer states, that it appears, upon the face of the complaint, that 1 Abbreviation : " Pl'ff." "Against" is often abbreviated to "Ag'st." Sometimes ils Latin equivalent versus (abbreviation " vs.") is used. 3 et alia Latin, meaning "and others." 4 Abbreviation : " Def'ts." 5 See note i, page 182. l82 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. there is a misjoinder of parties plaintiff, in that the plaintiff, John Henry Martin, is improperly joined with the other plaintiff, because he is shown to have no cause of action jointly with him, but that the sole cause of action set forth in the complaint is shown to be in the 2 other plaintiff, Leonhard Cherry exclusive of said John Henry Martin. Dated, January 10, 1901. RUDOLPH SOUTH, Defendant's Attorney, Office Address and ) 50 West Main street, Post-Office Address/ Johnstown, N. Y. Notice of Pendency of Action. (No. 12.) Fol. i 1 SUPREME COURT. FULTON COUNTY. JOSEPH KEPLER, against WILLIAM DOBBS, Jr., ALBERT MOORE, MICHAEL L. FUNK, WILLIAM BATES, JOHN A. STARK and JAMES BUSH., To the Clerk of the County of Fulton : Sir : Notice is hereby given that an action has been commenced, and is now pending in this court, by the above-named plaintiff against the above-named defen- dants, the object of which action is to foreclose a mechanic's lien, a notice of which lien was duly filed in the office of the clerk of the County of Fulton on the 2 2d day of December, 1897. The real property affected by such lien is described as follows, viz. : All that tract or parcel of land situate in the city of Johnstown, County of Fulton and State of New York, designated as lot No. seventy-one (71) upon a map or plot of land commonly known and called " Kensing- ton Place," as laid out upon a map or plot made by C. Fiske, C.E., and filed in the office of the clerk of the County of Fulton on the 2d day of December, 1895, and 1 Fol. Abbreviation for " Folio." Certain legal documents are required by the rules of practice to be foliod, i.e. : commencing with the first word, every hundred words are numbered consecutively in the margin as shown in above form. In practice, it is customary to place the folio opposite each tenth line, ditto marks being used after the first, instead of the word, " folio." LEGAL FORMS. 183 being the same premises conveyed by William T. Brown and others to said defendants William Dobbs, Jr. and John A. Stark, by deed dated Ma}- i9th, 1896, 3 which deed was recorded in said clerk's office, May 23d, 1896, in book of deeds No. 98 at page 65, and also the same premises described in a contract for the conveyance thereof made by said defendants Albert Moore and Michael L. Funk to said defendant William Bates, dated Oct. igth, 1897, and filed and recorded in said clerk's office, Oct. 2oth, 1897, in book of deeds No. 10 1 at page 42. Dated December 27th, 1897. WILLIAM BALCOM, Plaintiff's Attorney, Office Address and ) Johnstown, Post Office Address 1 / Fulton Co., N. Y. To the Clerk of the County of Fulton : You are hereby directed to index the foregoing notice to, and in the names of, the defendants William Dobbs, Jr., Albert Moore, Michael L. Funk, William Bates and John A. Stark in the above-entitled action. WILLIAM BALCOM, Plaintiff's Attorney, Office Address and ) Johnstown, Post Office Address / Fulton Co., N. Y. 1 The rules of practice require the Attorney to state his office and post office address. Answer. 1 (No. 13.) Fol. i SUPREME COURT. FULTON COUNTY. LEONHARD CHERRY and JOHN HENRY MARTIN, against CHARLES BUNCE. The above-named defendant, for an answer to the complaint herein of the above-named plaintiff. First : Denies each and every allegation in said complaint contained. 184 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Second : For a further and separate answer to the complaint herein, the defendant alleges that, heretofore, and on or about the roth day of December, 1900, the plaintiff and this defendant fully accounted to and with each other as to the cause of action set forth in the complaint herein, and also as to all monies, accounts and matters of difference then, and previous thereto, existing between them ; and, on the day last mentioned, 2 stated the account then between them, and that, upon said last mentioned date, there was found due and owing, upon account of all said moneys, accounts and matters, from this defendant to said plaintiff, the sum of fifty dollars, which said sum of fifty dollars this defendant, on said last mentioned date, paid to said plaintiff, who received the same in full satisfaction and discharge of all claims and demands then existing in favor of said plaintiff against this defendant. WHEREFORE, the defendant demands judgment against the said plaintiff that the complaint herein be dismissed, ,, 3 with the costs and disbursements of this action. RUDOLPH SOUTH, Defendant's Attorney. Office Address and \ 50 West Main Street, Post-Office Address / Johnstown, N. Y. State of New York 2 ~\ County of Fulton / Charles Bunce, being duly sworn, says:. That he is the defendant in the above-entitled action ; that he has read the foregoing answer and knows the contents thereof, and that the same is true to his own knowledge, except as to the matters therein stated to be alleged on his information and belief, and that, as to those matters, he believes it to be true. Subscribed and sworn to before me "\ ^ this 2d day of February, 1901, / CHARLES BuNCE - JEROME BILLINGTON, Notary Public, Fulton Co., N.Y. 1 Answer. This is the instrument by which a person who is sued sets forth facts which are claimed to constitute a legal defense why the person suing him should not obtain the relief sought. The language of this instrument, as well as the complaint (see preceding form), necessarily varies according to the circumstances out of which the litigation springs. 2 Affidavit of verification. See note i under Complaint (Form No. 16, page 189). LEGAL FORMS. 185 Complaint in Mortgage Foreclosure. (No. 14.) Fol. i. SUPREME COURT. COUNTY OF FULTON. JOHN DOE, Plaintiff, against RICHARD ROE, NANCY ROE, his wife, JOHN JOYCE and JASON THOMPSON, Defendants. The complaint of the above-named plaintiff respect- fully shows to this court and alleges : That the defendant, Richard Roe, for the purpose of securing the payment to the plaintiff of the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000), with interest thereon, on or about the first day of November, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, executed and delivered to the plaintiff a bond, bearing date on that day, sealed with , 2 his seal, whereby the said defendant, Richard Roe, did bind himself, his heirs, executors and administrators, in the penalty of one thousand dollars ($1,000), upon con- dition that the same should be void if the said defendant, Richard Roe, .his heirs, executors or administrators, should pay to the said plaintiff, his executors, adminis- trators or assigns, the sum of money first above mentioned, as follows, viz. : One thousand dollars ($1,000), and interest thereon, on the first day of November, 1900 ; and, as collateral security for the payment of the said indebtedness, the said defendant 3 Richard Roe and Nancy Roe, his wife, on the same day, duly executed, acknowledged and delivered to the said plaintiff a mortgage, whereby they granted, bargained and sold to the said plaintiff the following described premises, with the appurtenances thereto, that is to say : All that tract or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the city (formerly village) of Gloversville, County of Fulton and State of New York, bounded and described as follows, viz. : On the northerly by land of John Pyle ; on the easterly by land of James Stand ; on the southerly by First Avenue, in said city, and on the 4 westerly by land of Joseph Moore. 1 86 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. That the said mortgage contained the same conditions as the said bond, and the further condition that, if the said mortgagor Richard Roe should not pay the moneys thereby secured, according to the terms thereof, then the said plaintiff, his executors, administrators or assigns, were empowered to sell the said mortgaged premises in due form of law, and out of all the moneys arising from such sale, to retain the said sum of money and interest in and by said bond secured to be paid, with costs and expenses of the proceedings thereupon, the 5 surplus, if any there should be, to be returned to the mortgagor, said defendant Richard Roe, his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns. And the plaintift further shows : That the said mortgage was duly recorded in the office of the clerk of the County of Fulton, New York, on the first day of November, 1899, at two o'clock p.m., in Book No. 124 of Mortgages at page 500. That the said defendants Richard and Nancy Roe have, and each of them has, failed to comply with the conditions of the said mortgage, and the said defendant Richard Roe has failed to comply with the conditions 6 of the said bond, by omitting to pay the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) and interest thereon for one year from the first day of November, 1899, which, b} 7 the terms and conditions of the said bond and mortgage, became, and was, due and payable on the first day of November, 1900, and there is now justly due the plaintiff, upon the said bond and mortgage, the sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000) and interest thereon from the first day of November, 1899. That no proceedings have been had at law, or other- wise, and no other action has been brought to the knowledge or belief of said plaintiff, to recover said 7 sum secured by said bond and mortgage, or to recover said mortgage debt, or any part thereof. And the plaintiff further shows, upon information and belief: That the defendants John Joyce and Jason Thompson have, or claim to have, some interest in, or lien upon, the said mortgaged premises, or some part thereof, which interest or lien, if any, has accrued sub- sequently to the lien of the plaintiff's said mortgage. LEGAL FORMS. iS'/ The plaintiff, therefore, demands that the defendant-, and all persons claiming under them subsequent to the commencement of this action, and every person whose conveyance or incumbrance is subsequent, or is subsequently recorded, may be barred and foreclosed 8 of all right, claim, lien and equity of redemption, dower, right of dower, or inchoate right of dower in said mortgaged premises ; that the said premises, or so much thereof as may be sufficient to raise the amount due to the plaintiff for principal, interest and costs, and which may be sold in parcels without material injury to the interests of the parties, may be decreed to be sold according to law ; that out of all the moneys arising from the sale thereof, the plaintiff may be paid the amount due on the said bond and mortgage, with interest to the time of such payment, and the costs and ,, 9 expenses of this action, so far as the amount of such moneys properly applicable thereto will pay the same ; that the officer, on making such sale, be directed to pay out of the proceeds of the sale all taxes, assessments and water rates which are liens upon the property sold ; and that the defendant, Richard Roe, may be adjudged to pay any deficiency which may remain after applying all of said moneys so applicable thereto ; and that the plaintiff may have such other or further relief, or both, in the premises, as shall be just and equitable. HENRY W. BALCOM, Plaintiff's Attorney. Office Address and \ No. 49 West Main Street., 10 Post-Office Address J Johnstown, N. Y. State of New York) County of Fulton j' John Doe, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is the plaintiff in the above-entitled action ; that he has read the foregoing complaint and knows the contents thereof, and that the same is true to his own knowledge, except as to the matters therein stated to be alleged on information and belief, and that, as to those matters, he believes it to be true. Subscribed and sworn to before me\ T n this i 3 th day of December, 1900, / Jo LEONARD WRITER, Notary Public, Fulton Co., N. Y. 1 88 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Stipulation. (No. 15.) Fol. i NEW YORK SUPREME COURT. > SAMUEL BAKER, Plaintiff, vs. JOSEPH MOONEY et a!., Defendants. It is hereby stipulated, by and between the attorneys for the respective parties hereto, that the defendant have ten days additional time in which to serve his answer, or otherwise plead, herein, to wit : to and including the 2d day of February, 1901. Dated, January 18, 1901. JAMES MORRIS, Attorney for Plaintiff. GEORGE JENKINS, Attorney for Defendant Complaint 1 (No. 1 6.) Fol. i SUPREME COURT. FULTON COUNTY. LEONHARD CHERRY and JOHN HENRY MARTIN, against CHARLES BUNCE. The above named plaintiffs, for a complaint and cause of action herein against the above named defendant, respectfully shows to the court and alleges : That heretofore, and on the 2ist day of September, 1900, at the city of Gloversville, Fulton County, N. Y., the plaintiff Cherry, at the request of the defendant, sold and delivered to him certain goods, wares and 1 "Complaint." In some states, and in the United States courts, this paper is known as Bill or Declaration. It contains a statement of facts which constitute the cause, or causes, upon which a person founds his right to maintain a law-suit. [This form should be read as if it appeared before No. 13, which is, supposedly, an answer to this complaint. H.W.T.] LEGAL FORMS. 189 merchandise, consisting of gloves and mittens, of the kinds, styles, qualities and quantities, and at the agreed prices next hereinafter specifically set forth, viz : 2 twelve dozens of gentlemen's outseam one-button gloves at the agreed price of nine dollars per dozen, and seven dozens of ladies' overseam seven-hooked gloves at the agreed price of eight dollars and fifty cents per dozen, amounting in the aggregate to the sum of one hundred and sixty-seven dollars and fifty cents. That by the terms of the sale of said goods, wares and merchandise, the purchase price thereof, viz : the said sum of $167.50 became, and was, due and payable on the 22d day of November, 1900, no part of ,, 3 which has been paid, and there is now justly due and owing the plaintiffs by the defendant the said sum of $167.50 with interest thereon from the 226. day of November, 1900. WHEREFORE the plaintiffs demand judgment against the defendant for the sum of one hundred and sixty- seven dollars and fifty cents, with interest thereon from November 22, 1900, besides the costs and dis- bursements of this action. HENRY W. BALCOM, Plaintiffs' Attorney. Office Address and 1 No. 49 West Main Street, Post-Office Address j Johnstown, Fulton Co., N. Y. State of New York 1 \ sg County of Fulton | Leonhard Cherry, being duly sworn, says : That he is one of the plaintiffs in the above-entitled action ; that he has read the foregoing complaint and knows the 4 contents thereof, and that the same is true to his own knowledge, except as to the matters therein stated to be alleged on information and belief, and that, as to those matters, he believes it to be true. Subscribed and sworn to before mel T r J-LEONHARD CHERRY. this 29th day of December, i9oo,J MAJENDLE JOHNSTON, Notary Public, Fulton Co., N. Y. 1 This is known as an affidavit of verification. It does not necessarily form part of the complaint, as the latter may be used, in certain cases, without being sworn to. 190 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Judgment. (No. 17.) Fol. i. At a Trial Term of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, held at the Court House, in the City of Johnstown, Fulton County, N. Y., on the 3oth day of December, 1900. President : Hon. Leslie IV. Russell, Justice. SUPREME COURT. FULTON COUNTY. SAMUEL BAKER, Plaintiff, against JOSEPH MOONEY et at., Defendants. The issues in this action having been regularly brought on for trial before Mr. Justice Leslie W. Russell, at a trial term of this court, held on the loth day of December, 1900, at the county court house in the City of Johnstown, in the County of Fulton and State of New York, and the summons in this action, with a ,, 2 copy of the complaint herein, having been personally- served on all the defendants herein, except the defen- dant, John Jones, who voluntarily appeared, and the time of all the defendants to appear and plead having fully expired, and none of them having appeared or pleaded, except the defendant Mooney, 1 who duly appeared and interposed an answer to the complaint herein, and the court having heard the allegations and proofs of the parties, and the argument of counsel, and, after due deliberation, having duly made and filed, on the 25th day of December, 1900, a decision in favor of 3 the defendant, Joseph Mooney, against the plaintiff, containing a statement of the facts found and the conclusions of law thereon, directing judgment as hereinafter stated ; and the defendant's costs having been duly adjusted at two hundred and fifty dollars ($250). 1 It is not uncommon to thus omit the first name of parties plaintiff and defendant, using only the surname. LEGAL FORMS. ly r Now, on motion of George Jenkins, attorney for the defendant, Joseph Mooney, and after hearing James Morris, attorney for the plaintiff", in opposition, IT is ADJUDGED, that the complaint of the plaintiff herein be, and the same hereby is, dismissed, upon the merits, as to the defendant Joseph Mooney, and that the said defendant, Joseph Mooney, do recover of the said plaintiff* the said sum of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250). Enter in Fulton County. L.W.R. CHARLES H. BUTLER, Clerk. 4 Judgment signed and entered this i5th da}' of January, 1901. CHARLES H. BUTLER, Clerk. Petition. (No. 18.) NEW YORK SUPREME COURT. ROBERT JONES against SARAH JONES. To the Supreme Court of the State of New York : The petition of Sarah Jones, defendant above named, respectfully shows : I. That the plaintiff, Robert Jones, has commenced an action, by the service of a summons and complaint on your petitioner, to obtain a judgment for separation between him and the petitioner; and that your petitioner has answered, denying all the material allegations in said complaint, except the allegation as to the marriage between this petitioner and said plaintiff. II. That said plaintiff has left your petitioner and ceased to provide for her support, and your petitioner is wholly destitute of the means of supporting herself, 192 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. pending this action, or carrying on her defense thereto, and defraying the costs and expenses attending the same. III. That the said plaintiff has real and personal property to a large amount, and amply sufficient to enable him to advance therefrom, to your petitioner such sums as may be necessary for the above- mentioned purposes, and in particular has money now 3 in bank and owns a house and lot No. 35 Lexington avenue, in the City of Thyneville, N. Y., worth, over and above incumbrances, the sum of $5,000. WHEREFORE, your petitioner prays that an order be made requiring said plaintiff to pay her a reasonable sum for her support and maintenance, during the pen- dency of this action, and such sums as may be necessary to enable her to carry on her defense of this action, and to defray the necessary costs and expenses thereof; and for such other and further order as may be just. 4 Dated December nth, 1900. SARAH JONES. RUDOLPH SOUTH, Petitioner's Attorney, Office Address and ") 50 West Main Street, Post-Office Address ) Johnstown, N. Y. State of New York 1 \ gs Fulton County. / Sarah Jones, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That she resides at the City of Johnstown, in the County and State aforesaid, and is the petitioner named in, and who subscribed, the foregoing petition ; that she has read the foregoing petition, and knows the contents thereof, and that the same is true to her knowledge. Subscribed and sworn to before me) c T this xoth day of December, i 9 oo,/ bARAH Jo JOSEPH TOMPKINS, Notary Public, Fulton County, N. Y. 1 Affidavit of verification often curtailed to verification. See note i under " Complaint," Form No. 16, page 189. LEGAL FORMS. 193 Order. (No. 19.) At a Special Term of the Supreme Court, held at the chambers of Justice Stover in the City of Amsterdam, Montgomery County, N. Y., on the 25111 day of June, 1900. Present : Hon. M. L. Stover, Justice. SUPREME COURT. FULTON COUNTY. WILLIAM H. HARRISON against PHILETUS P. JOHNSON and CATHARINE JOHNSON, his wife, MARGARET S. JOHNSON, individually, and as ad- ministratrix of the goods, chattels and credits of JAMES P. JOHNSON, deceased, JAMES P. JOHNSON, CATHA- RINE JOHNSON, ISABELLE JOHNSON and ELEANOR JOHNSON. , 2 On reading and filing the annexed petition of Margaret S. Johnson, verified the 24th day of June, 1900, for the appointment of James Lucas as guardian ad litem of the infant defendant Eleanor Johnson, in the above-entitled action, and the consent of said James Lucas, duly acknowledged, and proof by his affidavit, and the affidavit of Oliver Letman, verified the 24th day of June, 1900, that he is a competent and responsible person r 1 Now ON MOTION OF Henry W. Balcom, Attorney for said petitioner, it is ORDERED : That James Johnson be, and hereby is, appointed guardian ad litem for the said infant 3 defendant Eleanor Johnson, and directed to appear 1 From the words " on reading " to this point, this part is said to con- tain the " recitals " of the order. This portion of the document recites the proceedings upon which the court acts in making the order- i 3 A B. 194 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. and defend on her behalf in the action mentioned in said petition and above-entitled. 1 Enter in Fulton Coimty. C. H. BUTLER, M.L.S. 2 Clerk. 3 Filed and Entered June 29, 1898, at 3| H. P.M. C. H. BUTLER, Clerk. Notice of Motion. (No. 20.) Fol. i SUPREME COURT. ROBERT JONES versus SARAH JONES. Please take notice, that upon two affidavits, copies of which are herewith served upon you, and upon the pleadings on file in this action, the undersigned will move this court, at a special term thereof, to be held at the County Court House, in the City of Johnstown, N. Y., on the loth day of January, 1901, at the opening of the court on that day, or as soon thereafter as counsel can be heard, for an order requiring the plaintiff to pay to the defendant alimony and counsel fee, in ,, 2 such sum as the court shall direct, during the pendency of this action, and also such sum as may appear to be proper and necessary to enable the defendant to carry on the defense of this action ; or for such other or further relief as may be just, with costs of this motion. Dated December nth, 1900. HENRY W. BALCOM, Defendant's Attorney, Office Address and \ Johnstown, Post-Office Address / N. Y. To JOSIAH PYNTER, Esq., Attorney for Plaintiff. 1 This is termed the " decretal " part of an order. 8 Initials of the judge who grants the order. 8 Signature of the clerk of the court wherein order is made. LEGAL FORMS. Class III. Law Stenographer's Transcripts. Index to Stenographer's Transcript of Testimony. (No. 21.) FULTON COUNTY COURT. THE PEOPLE, vs. 1 WILLIAM BISSELL. Nora Serviss, recalled, 4 Minnie Kelly, ,, recalled, Fred B. Sperber, recalled, Joseph O'Connor, Silas France, Edward J. Reid, People Rested, Myrtie Johnson, John Sheppard, Seymour Van Auken, Libbie Van Auken, Grace Moore, Ira Hamlin, Frank Gould, Defendant Rested, People Rested, Testimony closed, INDEX. 3 Dr. 4, 206 126, 130, 205 135, 1 39, 145, 147 148, 1 60, 165, Cv. 127, 155 132, 140 146 154, i6 3 174 182 189, 194, 197 204 205 206 186, R-D. 134 R-C: I2Q 206 SILAS PEABODY, Sten., Johnstown, N. Y. 1 Abbreviation of the Latin word versus, meaning " against." 3 The custom appears to have grown up of placing the index at the front of transcript, instead of at the end. 3 Abbreviations for " Direct-Examination," " Cross-Examination," Re-Direct-Examination" and " Re-Cross- Examination," which occur in the examination of witnesses in the chronological order here given. 4 Witnesses are sometimes recalled for further examination several times during a judicial proceeding. Having been once sworn, it is unnecessary to repeat the oath in the same proceeding. 196 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Transcript Stenographer's Notes of Testimony. (NO. 22.) MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURT. 2 3 JAMES Y. VAN ANTWERP 4 and Another, against ROBERT GILLIES. 7 8 I0 This cause came on for trial at a term of this court, i j held in and for the County of Montgomery, at the court 12 house, in the village of Fonda, N.Y., commencing on the 13 1 2th day of March, 1889, before Hon. John D. Wendell, ! 4 County Judge, and a jury. 15 The trial was begun March i2th, 1889, at 9.30 a.m. 1 6 APPEARANCES: 17 JERE SITTERLY, Esq., 18 Attorney for the Plaintiff. 19 H. B. CUSHNEY, Esq., 20 Attorney for the Defendant. 21 A jury having been duly empaneled, and the case 22 opened by the plaintiff's attorney, the following testimony 23 was taken and proceedings had : 24 JAMES VAN ANTWERP, plaintiff, sworn for plaintiffs, 25 on being examined by Mr. Bitterly, 26 testified as follows : I live in Fonda ; I am one of the firm of Van Antwerp & Royce ; that firm was organized in about '82. The business of that firm was buying standing timber, cutting it and sawing it into lumber, and selling the lumber ; we sold brick and wood besides. That firm has not been dis- solved : it is still in existence. I know Robert B. Gillies, and have known him ten or twelve years along there. 1 Q. In 1884, did you sell and deliver some lumber to Robert B. Gillies ? A. I did. 1 Down to this point, a sample of " narrative " reporting is here shown. NOTE. It is not legally required, but many law stenographers prepare their transcripts of testimony upon paper containing marginal numbering to correspond with each line of matter, as shown above. This is for convenience of reference by attorneys in using the transcript. LEGAL FORMS. 197 Q. Can you state the time when you sold him that lumber, from your memory ? A. I can't from in}- memory. 1 can from a book. Q. At the time you made these sales, did you make a memorandum, or entry, of those sales ? A. 1 did. Q. Have you that memorandum ? A. I have. Counsel : You may produce it. (Witness produces a book.) Q. At what time with reference to the sales, were these memoranda made ? immediately after the sale ? A. Right away, the same day. Q. And as these memoranda were made at that time, were they made correctly ? A. Yes, sir ; they were. Q. Look at your memoranda and refresh your memory, and state when the first sale was made ? A. June the i4th, '84. Q. Was there any talk about a sale of this lumber before any lumber was delivered at all, and where was it ? A. Down in my office, in the village of Fonda, on Main Street. Abstract from Stenographer's Transcript of Actual Notes. 1 (No. 23.) Q. At the time you deposited that money to your credit, did you intend to go to New York and make a settlement with them ? Obj. 2 to as immaterial, irrelevant, improper and in- competent. Obj. sustained. Q. At the time you secured the proceeds of these notes, did you intend to steal that money from the complainants ? A. No, sir. Q. But did you not keep it for the purpose of procuring a settlement \vith Alphonse Miles & Bros. ? Obj. to as immaterial, irrelevant, and calls for a con- clusion and for an undisclosed purpose and also leading. The Court : Sustained in that form. Deft. 3 excepted. Q. Prior to the time of your acting with these defendants, had Joseph Manx been selling goods for them, do you know ? 1 Showing objections, rulings, remarks of court, exceptions by counsel. - " Obj." an allowable abbreviation in transcript for " objection," saving much time in voluminous work. 3 Deft., a permissible abbreviation for " defendant. " 198 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Obj. to as immaterial, irrelevant and improper. Obj. sustained, Deft, excepting. Q. Had Joseph Manx informed you that the complainants had not settled with him for his commissions, and did he at that time tell you that they would not settle with you ? Obj. to as hearsay, improper and leading. Obj. sustained, Deft, excepting. Q. State to the court and jury the circumstances of your going to Canada when you decided to go ? A. I came Sunday afternoon, I think so, seated in the house, I was to work at the desk even then, fixing up some things, and it was a nice day and the train just got running. I says to my wife, I am going to New York to night ; I have waited now a number of Obj. made to declarations to witness's wife, as im- proper and declarations made by witness in his own favor, and not in the presence or hearing of the com- plainants, and neither they, nor The People, are bound by it. The Prosecution moved to have stricken out so much of it as had been taken or given by the witness. The Court : How do you claim it is competent ? Deft.'s Counsel : I claim it is competent in this way : The prosecution will endeavor to show that his trip into Canada was not for a legitimate purpose. I wish to show that it was for a legitimate purpose, and I wish to show to this court and jury that the defendant's wife was in delicate health, and she requested him to take her for a day or two, and that they went to Niagara Falls. The Court : Yes, I think you can show, if he avowed publicly that he was going to Canada, you can show it. That is the rule, undoubtedly. If he avowed publicly, and told his neighbors. Deft.'s Counsel : He told his wife. The Court : We will overrule it. Prosecution excepted. Witness : And she says, when are you going ? I says, 1 guess 1 will take the train. I can get in New York this evening and get a nice night's rest there. She says, I am going with you. At that I looked up in kind of astonishment. 1 Observe how counsel breaks into answer of witness by objecting, and how it is to be treated by the stenographer. LEGAL FORMS. 199 It was about twenty minutes to train time not to exceed thirty minutes to train time. I says, you are not read}'. She says, I am ready enough, all I have to do is to slip on my sack. She says, I am all ready to go. I kind of thought of it a minute, and I says, really, I thought you were fooling, really, you don't mean it, do you ? Yes, she says, I am going with you. Well, I says, get ready and come on, and I laughed then, thought it was only a nice day, she would take a ride down as far as Fonda and come back home. I says, get ready then and come on. She grabbed up her little grip and we started. When we got down to Fonda she says to me, I wish you could take a day or two with me, can't you ? Well, I says, now, I might possibly, but I hadn't ought to, I says, because for the simple reason I have delayed now going to New York on account of waiting for goods to arrive to get the cash for, which are to arrive, and have not arrived and so that I could deliver them ; and I says, that has bothered me, and I am late now ; I want to get to New York and settle with Miles. I says, you know that I have been repeatedly and tried to get a settlement ; they never had time to settle Obj. made that it was a declaration made by deft to his wife not in the presence of anybody Witness : I says, where would you like to go ? She says, I don't know, I would like to go somewheres. I must get out of this, she says, I am sick and so nervous. Well, I says, I don't know, I will look the train up. And there was some other people right there ; talked together. I says, say, come on, I will give you a day's ride that will tire you out, I think, so you won't want to take any more trips with me. It will be no pleasure for you to be in New York with me, because I can't see to you at all. Abstract from Transcript Stenographer's Notes Examination of Jurors. (No. 24.) [Title of Court and case to be inserted here.] The Court : I give notice that the defendant must examine the juror as he is sworn, and that when a juror goes into the box, he will sit in the case as a juror. The defendant must exercise his right of peremptory challenge. On suggestion of the defendant's counsel, I make that holding now, and give notice accordingly. 200 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS" DICTATION TOOK. CORNELL GIFFORD, being sworn as a witness as to his qualifi- cations as a juror herein, upon being examined by District Attorney Jenkins, testified as follows : Q. Where do you reside ? A. Cranberry Creek. Q. What is your business ? A. Farmer. Q. You know Jerome Benson ? A. I never spoke to him, as I know of, in my life. Q. You have heard this matter discussed, have you, con- siderably ? A. I ain't heard it spoke of only just now, and then I heard such a person died, etc. ; like that. Q. Have you read about the case in the papers ? A. Have I read about it ? We take the S paper. We don't take no other paper. It is not in that paper. CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. JACKSON. Q. You know of no reason why you would not make a good and impartial juror in this case? A. No, I do not. Q. And would decide the case according to the evidence ? A. Why, certainly. Q. Do you know of any reason why you cannot hear the testimony in this case, and render a fair and impartial verdict between The People of the State of New York and this defen- dant ? A. I do not ; no, sir. Q. You know John Brown ? Objected to as incompetent, improper and inadmissi- ble. Objection overruled. Exception. A. Yes, sir. Q. And if you were sworn as a juror in this case, would }^ou give the defendant the "benefit of every reasonable doubt, the same as you would any other man engaged in any other business ? A. I would. Q. Do you know of any reason, whether one that has been discussed here or not, why you cannot take your seat in the jury-box, and listen to the testimony and the instructions of the Court, and render a fair and impartial verdict between The People of the State of New York and this defendant ? A. I do not. Q. And if accepted as a juror, you think you could disabuse your mind of any opinion you may have, or prejudice, far enough to render an impartial verdict on the evidence alone ? LEGAL FORMS. 2OI A. If selected as a juror, I should give in my verdict according to the evidence. Q. Regardless of any prejudice you might have regarding the liquor business? A. Yes, sir. Q. You do not believe that what you have heard outside, has influenced your mind ? A. No, sir. The challenge to the witness was overruled, the Court holding that the witness is qualified. Charge of Judge, Requests of Counsel to Charge and Questions by Juror. From Stenographer's Actual Court Notes. (No. 25.) Counsel for the respective parties having submitted their arguments to the jury, the court gave the following charge to the jury : Gentlemen of the Jury : You have heard the indictment in this case read, which charges this defendant with having violated what is known as the " Liquor Tax Law," in having sold intoxicating liquors on the i5th day of July, 1900, which was Sunday, at the town of Johnstown, in the County of Fulton. You well understand the law that the traffic in intoxicating liquors is forbidden by statute, excepting under certain re- strictions ; and no person is allowed to sell, or give away, on Sunday, under any circumstances, so far as that law applies to counties, or districts, of this kind that we have here. Some suggestion has been made in your presence and hearing that this case has once been tried. That should have no influence with you when you come to consider it and dispose of it. Whatever ma}' have occurred prior to this time should not swerve you in the discharge of your duties, in the least, in considering and disposing of the case. We take it up here, and must treat it, as a new case entirely, disposing of it without any reference to the action of any former court or jury. Now, The People have called three witnesses who have testified in your presence and hearing, and which is claimed by the learned counsel for The People to have made a case which would justify a verdict of conviction in this case. One of these is an officer of the State, who testifies that he has been appointed as such ; is a member of the State department 202 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. that has charge of the matters under this law. If we were to read the Act, we would find that the Act itself provides that the authorities certain officers may designate these officers, whose business it is to go about through the entire State and investigate and see whether or not this law is being violated by people who are holding even a tax certificate which authorizes them to deal in certain ways, either as hotel- keepers, or store-keepers, or druggists. Some criticism has been made upon this gentleman's testimony b}^ counsel ; but you are to say whether or not he has sworn to the truth before you. The great fact which you are to consider and determine is, whether or not this law was violated by the sale of intoxicating liquors, contrary to its provisions, on the occasion referred to in this indictment. If you should come to the conclusion from the testimony of these three men together, that the testimony that has been given with reference to the charge against the defendant is true, why, of course, } r ou would be warranted in finding a verdict of " guilty." You may find seme very serious dispute about the question as to whether or not this liquor was sold ; but there does not seem to be very much question about that fact, because the three witnesses called by The People, as well as the defendant, himself, have testified to the carrying of the liquor from one room to another where these people were, and having received the pay himself for it. The main defense is, that they came there and ordered, and that he undertook to serve it as a part of, a meal. It is for you to determine whether the defense is a good one or not. Now the statute defines who a guest of a hotel is. And there is no question but that this place, Palais Royale, is a hotel being kept there by Mrs. Jones ; that she then held a tax certificate which gave her the right to lawfully deal in the sale of intoxicating liquors under the restrictions which are pro- vided by this same statute, one of which is that she shall not, nor her agent or servant, or anybody else, sell, or give away, any liquor on Sunday. "The holder of a liquor tax certifi- cate who is the keeper of a hotel, may sell liquor to the guests of such hotel with their meals, or in their rooms there- in, but not in the bar-room or other similar room of such hotel." Were these men guests of this hotel ? It is for you to determine. Two of them were men who lived within a, LEGAL FORMS. 203 few rods of this place. The other man was a special agent of the State Commissioner of Excise. The manner of their going there, where they went when they arrived there, and what they did, have been given to you in detail. Did the relationship of guests attach to them and this hotel-keeper ? It is for you to determine. Was the liquor being sold in good faith as a part of a meal ? So far as the evidence goes, as I remember it, there was no meal being served in the room where the liquor was sold, and where the pay was delivered for the liquor. The statute further defines a guest as "a person who, during the hours when meals are regularly served therein, resorts to the hotel for the purpose of obtaining, and actually orders and obtains at such time, in good faith, a meal therein." You are to consider all the evidence bearing upon this question, and, if you come to the conclusion, upon the evidence in this case, that these men were guests, and that they went there and ordered and obtained a meal, and the liquor they received was a part of the meal if you come to that conclu- sion, the defendant would be entitled to your verdict. But if, on the other hand, you come to the conclusion in this case, that these men went there, and they called for liquor, and it was dealt out to them by the defendant, as has been described, and he received the pay for it, and that it was not a part of a meal, you understand what your duty would be, under the statute, in this case. As you well understand, in a criminal case, the defendant is presumed to be innocent ; and, if there is a reasonable doubt arising from the testimony in the case, he is entitled to the benefit of that doubt. Take the case and dispose of it as you feel the facts in it justify you doing. Defendant's Counsel: May it please the court: I understand your honor has charged that, if the witnesses were actually guests, and had ordered meals, and all done in good faith, defendant had the right to sell at that time. The Court : Yes, sir ; if they can find that. Defendant's counsel requested the court to charge as follows : I. That if the witnesses ordered a meal, and it was prepared for them, the defendant was not obliged to compel the wit- nesses to actually partake of the meal, in order to avoid the statute. 204 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. The Court : I decline to charge that proposition, To the refusal of the court to charge as requested, defendant's counsel excepted. II. That if the jury believe that a meal was ordered in good faith, the bad faith of the witnesses, or the witness Floyd, would not operate to make the defendant guilty. The Court : I decline to so charge, or to charge otherwise than I have. Defendant's counsel excepted. Defendant's Counsel : The proposition is this : That if the defendant believed, from the order given to him, that they intended to take it, in good faith, and there was bad faith on their part, that that bad faith could not be charged to him. The Court : I decline to charge that, under the facts in this case. Defendant's counsel excepted. III. That the defendant could not be chargeable with bad faith, unless he was a party to it ; and that that is the intent of the statute where it says, if the meal is ordered in good faith. The Court : I leave it to the jury to say. To the refusal of the court to charge as requested, defendant's counsel excepted. IV. That the jury have a right to take into consideration, in rendering their verdict, the fact that, upon a former trial of the same indictment, a piece of evidence, of strong evidence, was left out and withheld. The Court : I decline to so charge. To which refusal the defendant's counsel excepted. By a Juror: The law says "obtains." If a transient guest, a stranger comes along, and orders a meal, before the meal is served, or before there is anything eatable in sight, has the hotel-keeper a right, upon the ordering of that meal, to furnish liquor to the guest ? Has he obtained the meal by simply ordering it ? I think 1 understand it. The Court : As matter of law, we think not. Defendant's Counsel : That he is not a guest? The Court : That he is not. Defendant's Counsel: We except to your honor's charge in which your honor said, in substance, that he must partake of a meal, or have a meal, in order to be a guest. LEGAL FORMS. 205 The Court: I did not say. that. I have not said that in my charge. If you [the jury] find that he became a guest of the hotel, and that the liquor was served as a part of that meal, then he has not violated the statute. By the same Juror: The question was: Whether simply ordering the meal has made him a guest, and whether the hotel-keeper had the right to serve the liquor before any meal, or any semblance of a meal if he hadn't taken pay for the meal ; if he hadn't presented the meal. It says "obtain," you know. The Court: "Ordering and obtaining." By same Juror: I want to know whether a man has obtained a meal because he simply orders it ; or, whether if the hotel- keeper The Court (interrupting): I do not think that is the meaning of the statute. " Orders and obtains." By the same Juror: If the hotel-keeper sold him the liquor before he obtained the meal, and before he had a right, then he was violating the law, wasn't he ? The Court : You are to determine whether that is a part of the meal. Defendant's counsel excepted to the ruling of the court, and answer to the question by the juror, and requested the court to charge that, when a person orders a meal, he is, from that time, a guest of the hotel. The Court: I decline to so charge. To which refusal the defendant's counsel excepted. V. That if a stranger comes to a hotel, whether alone, or with residents 01 the place where the hotel is kept, and orders a meal, and the defendant believes that the order is in good faith, that, constitutes a guest, and the relationship of hotel- keeper and guest. The Court: May, as between a stranger, yes, sir, if he comes and takes a room. To the request as modified, the defendant excepts, and asks the court to charge that it is not necessary for a guest to procure a room. The Court : I decline to so charge. I will call your [the jury's] attention to the statute once more. "A person who in good taith, occupies a room in a hotel as a temporary home, and pays the regular customary charges for such occupancy, but who does not occupy such room for the purpose of having 206 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. liquor served therein," is a guest of the hotel. First: Did these people, on this occasion, go to that hotel and obtain a room for a temporary home ? And did they pay the regular customary charges for such occupancy, and did not occupy it for the purpose of having liquor served therein, is a question for you to determine, under all the evidence in this case. And second : A person who, during the hours when meals are regularly served therein, resorts to the hotel for the purpose of obtaining, and actually orders and obtains at such time, in good faith, a meal therein, is a guest of the hotel within the meaning of the liquor tax law. VI. That a person may be a guest of a hotel without being assigned to a room or ordering a meal. The Court: I decline to so charge. To which refusal the defendant's counsel excepted. VII. And that the question of good faith is not one on the part of the guest, but on the part of the landlord. The Court : I decline to so charge in this case. To which refusal the defendant's counsel excepted. The jury retired for deliberation, in charge of an officer. The jury came into court and rendered a verdict of "guilty." The court permitted the defendant's counsel to reserve until a later day of the term, the making of such motions as he might desire. Defendant's counsel moved that the verdict of the jury be set aside, and for a new trial, upon the minutes of the court, exceptions taken during the trial, and upon all the grounds specified in the Code. The court entertained, and denied, the motion. Defendant's counsel excepted. The District Attorney moved that sentence be now pronounced upon the defendant. The court thereupon sentenced the defendant to pay a fine of one hundred dollars, and that he stand com- mitted to the county jail one day for each dollar until the fine be paid. LEGAL FORMS. 2OJ Abstract from Stenographer's Transcript of Actual Notes of Testimony of Medical Expert Witness. (No. 26.) ADAM EVE, sworn for The People, on being examined by District Attorney Hopkins, testified as follows : Q. You reside in Hopeville? A. Yes, sir. Q. And are a duly licensed, practising physician and surgeon ? A. Yes, sir ? Q. And have been for how many years? A. Fort}' years. Q. Did you know John Doe in his lifetime ? A. No, sir. Q. Did you assist in the autopsy upon the body of John Doe ? A. Yes, sir. 1 Q. Will you state to the court and jury what you dis- covered with reference to any wounds or bruises or fractures on his body ? A. We found an injury to the left side of the face a contusion covering a space of about three inches, or three and a half inches, in length, by two inches wide, extending from the crown of the skull, crossing down across the ear to the mastoid portion there (indicating). 2 And we deemed it expedient to make a dissection of the brain. Removed the skull-cap by making a transverse incision through the heed. We found, upon removing the skull, a large blood clot on the brain, containing about six ounces of fluid six ounces of blood. We made a dissection from the blood clot down to its origin, and found a rupture of one of the small arteries one of the meningeal arteries that furnishes blood to the brain. And at the junction of the parietal bones we found a fracture of about three quarters of an inch, transversely in its separa- tion fracture of the skull. We found this wound of three or three and a half inches badly contused ; not lacerated. But the laceration of the vessel, causing the leakage of blood, together with the fracture and clot, of course, were the cause of death. We found a small mark on the left side of the temple, and a mark was found on the left shoulder about two inches below the scapula. That is, in brief, about what we found. Q. In your opinion, would a fall have produced such an injury as you there found ? 1 If the stenographer desires, he may record the questions and answers down to this point in the narrative form, which is shown in Form No. 22. - Meaning that the witness pointed out upon himself the spot described. 208 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. Objected to as incompetent, immaterial, irrelevant and improper, and not the subject of expert testimony, but a matter which a layman may as well know ; that there is no foundation laid which would entitle the prosecuting attorney to interrogate this witness in regard thereto. Obj. sustained. CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. MURPHY. Q. Describe the wound on the right side of the head that you discovered? A. That was simply a contusion, what we would call an ecchymotic spot. In common parlance, a black-and-blue spot. RE-DlRECT-ExAMINATION BY THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY. Q. Describe the difference in the results between a person receiving such a blow as to what direct result such an injury would have, whether they were standing up or lying down ? Same objection as before to last preceding question. Obj. overruled. Deft excepted. A. The effect would be that there would be more extravasa- tion of blood to the brain after a man lay down, on account of the parts, what little vitality there was there, would be warmer ; more blood would be sent through the heart, and it would be carried through the vessels and leave more of a clot. As you indicate, the standing up would allow the pressure of the blood to be removed from the brain, and there would be less ecchymotic condition. Transcript of Stenographer's Notes showing Method of Treating Exhibits. (No. 27.) [Here insert Title of Court and Case as in previous Forms.] JOSEPH JOHNSON, sworn for the plaintiff, on being- examined by Mr. Balcom, testified as follows : Q. Are you the City Clerk of the City of Johnstown ? A. I am. Q. Have you in your possession, as such City Clerk, the deed which the City of Johnstown received from Thomas Tobasco, transferring his interest in what is now New Street ? A. I have. Q. Will you produce it ? Witness produced a paper, which was marked '' Ex. A.," for identification. LEGAL FORMS. 2O ( insert number of case). At [insert name of place where hearing held], in said district, on the [insert date], A.D. 1900, before [insert name of referee], one of the reterees in bankruptcy of said court. John Doe, of [insert residence] in the County of and State of , being duly sworn and examined at the time and place above mentioned, upon his oath says : I am the bankrupt. I know Richard Roe. Previous to the filing of my petition in bankruptcy I owed him $500, and within four months previous to the filing of my petition 1 paid said Roe a part of his claim. I paid him $250 of his claim on the [insert date of payment]. Mr. Johnson, attorney for the bankrupt, objected to the claim filed by Richard Roe in this proceeding, upon the ground that it now appears that said Roe, within four months immediately preceding the filing of the petition in this pro- ceeding, was paid the sum of $250, upon account of his claim against the bankrupt, and that thereby said Roe has received a preference ; and Mr. Johnson also, thereupon moved that the claim of said Roe for the balance of his claim be disallowed, unless the said Roe refunds the said sum of $250 so paid to him, and that he be not permitted to file his claim until said sum is so refunded by him. Messrs. Bascom, attorney for Joseph Riggs (creditor), Benson, attorney for Henderson (creditor), and Bulger, attor- ney for Poltisch (creditor), joined in the foregoing objection and motion of the bankrupt's attorney. The referee sustained the objection, and granted the motion, disallowing the claim, without prejudice, however, to Richard Roe to file his claim for full amount of $500, upon refunding, to the proper person the sum of $250 paid to him by the bankrupt within four months previous to the filing of the petition in this proceeding. MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. Monroe Doctrine. The citizens of the United States cherish sentiments the most friendly in favor of the liberty and happiness of their fellow-men on that side of the Atlantic. In the wars of the European powers, in matters relating to themselves, we have never taken any part, nor does it comport with our policy so to do. It is only when our rights are invaded, or seriously menaced, that we resent injuries or make preparations for our defence. With the movements in this hemisphere, we are, of necessity, more immediately connected, and by causes which must be obvious to all enlightened and impartial observers. The political system of the allied powers is essentially different, in this respect, from that of America. This difference proceeds from that which exists in their respective Governments. And to the defence of our own, which has been achieved by the loss of so much blood and treasure, and matured by the wis- dom of their most enlightened citizens, and under which we have enjoyed unexampled felicity, this whole nation is devoted. We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers, to declare, that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere, as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power, we have not interfered, and shall not interfere. But, with the Governments who have declared their independence, and maintained it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration, and on just principles acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling, in any other manner, their destiny, by any European power, in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition towards the United States. In the war between those new Governments and Spain, we declared our neutrality at the time of their recognition, and to this we have adhered, and shall continue to adhere, provided no change shall occur, which, in the judgement of the compe- tent authorities of this Government, shall make a corresponding change on the part of the United States, indispensable to their security. (357) 212 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. The Right to Acquire Territory. Since the formation of our Government the right to acquire territory has never been successfully denied. The only con- troversy that has ever existed respecting this question has been as to the source of the power and the purposes for which it may be exercised. So far as the question of the right of acquisition is concerned, the Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly recognized that power. In view of these decisions, which hold that the power to acquire may be traced to either one of two sources, and that this power in its very nature can not be limited to any specific purpose, I shall not take the time of the house to discuss at any length the position taken by our friends on the other side upon this branch of the question. The powers and the rights of the sovereign nations of the world are equal. National constitutions as between nations are unknown. The United States in its external or international relations is assumed by all other sovereignties to possess absolute powers unrestrained by constitutional limitations. Possessing therefore, every attribute of national sovereignty, and, as said by Justice Lamar, " the Federal Government being the exclusive representative and medium of the sovereign nation," it follows that an}' power possessed by any sovereignty is possessed by the United States and, unless specifically prohibited by the Constitution, can be exercised without re- striction by the Federal Government. It is true that the war and treaty making power is in express terms given by the Constitution to the nation. But the war and treaty making power is not created by the Constitution ; it merely designates the agencies for its exercise. It will not be assumed that had such agencies not been designated our nation could not have waged the wars and made the treaties of our history. A nation needs no express grant of power for an inter- national act, and it has specific authority for but very few. The right to acquire territory irrespective of its location, contiguous or foreign, by conquest, treaty, purchase or dis- covery, is an acknowledged and well established attribute of sovereignty and has been exercised by the sovereign nations of the world from the beginning of history. No one will pretend to say that this inherent and unlimited right of sovereignty is specifically renounced in the Constitution or is MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. - I ^ limited to the acquisition of territory only for a specific pur- pose. Hence it remains an unlimited attribute of the sovereign people of the United States, and Congress and the President have been designated by the people as the sole and exclusive agents to whom has been delegated the exercise of this sovereign right. Hon. James A. Tawney. (45) Government and Currency. i desire now to direct attention to the fact that this measure- works the necessary reform in our monetary affairs in accordance with the principles of sound monetary science. It recognizes the incontestable truth that paper currency, to be kept at a parity with standard money, must be convertible into it directly or indirectly. Daniel Webster declared that something must be discovered that has hitherto escaped the observation of mankind before you can give to paper intended for circulation the value of a metallic currency any longer than it is convertible into it at the will of the holder. Another sound doctrine underlying the measure is that the circulating medium of a commercial country should be for most obvious reasons that which is the circulating medium of other com- mercial countries, or be capable of bein; converted into that medium without loss. With all the leading commercial nations on the gold standard it is necessary for the United States to maintain that standard also in order to escape great inconveniences and losses to which we would be subject if the par of exchange between ours and the countries with which we deal should be broken. This measure also recognizes the salutary and constitu- tional principle that it is the duty of the Federal Government to control the circulating medium of the country and provide for the maintenance of its parity with the standard money. It has been frequently asserted that the need of a uniform and stable system of national currency, safeguarded by the Government, so it would be current all over the country, was the chief object of the first bank of the United States, and one of the considerations that led to the Federal Convention in 1787 to draft a constitution. Washington foresaw, some writers say, that the confidence reposed in the United States under the Constitution would impart to whatever currency was authorized by Congress 2I 4 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. greater authority and value than could attach to anything emanating from any State. Webster said that the fathers who made the Constitution foresaw that paper currency bearing the mark of the Union, the American eagle, would command universal confidence throughout the country. There were more reasons, said he, for the prosperity of the national bank than the utilities it was so well calculated to perform. There was something that touched men's sentiments as well as their understandings. There was a cause which carried the credit of the new born bank as on the wings of the wind ta every quarter of the country. There was a charm which created trust and faith and reliance, not only in the great marts of commerce, but in every corner into which money could penetrate. That cause was its national character. It had the broad seal of the Union to its charter. Hon. Marriott Brosius, on the Financial Bill, March 14, 1900. (475) Extract from President Lincoln's Inaugural Address. The chief magistrate derives all his authority from the people, and they have conferred none upon him to fix the terms for the separation of the States. The people themselves, also, can do this if they choose, but the Executive, as such, has nothing to do with it. His duty is to administer the present government as it came to his hands, and to transmit it unimpaired by him to his successor. Why should there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people ? Is there any better or equal hope in the world? In our present differences is either party without faith of being in the right ? If the Almighty Ruler of nations, with his eternal truth and justice, be on your side of the North, or on yours of the South, that truth and that justice will surely prevail by the judgement of this great tribunal, the American people. By the frame of the Government under which we live, this same people have wisely given their public servants but little power for mischief, and have with equal wisdom provided for the return of that little to their own hands at very short intervals. While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no administration, by any extreme wickedness or folly, can very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four years. MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. 2 \ 5 My countrymen, one and all, think calmly and well upon this whole subject. Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time. If there be an object to hurry any of you, in hot haste, to a step which you would never take deliberately, that object will be frustrated by taking time ; but no good object can be frustrated by it. Such of you as are now dissatisfied still have the old Con- stitution unimpaired, and know the sensitive point, the laws of your own framing under it ; while the new administration will have no immediate power, if it would, to change either. If it were admitted that you who are dissatisfied hold the right side in the dispute, there is still no single reason for pre- cipitate action. Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance of Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulties. In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government; while I shall have the most solemn one to " preserve, protect, and defend it." (44 2 ) Extract from Washington's Inaugural Address. By the article establishing the executive department it is made the duty of the President " to recommend to your con- sideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." The circumstances under which I now meet you will acquit me from entering into that subject farther than to refer to the great constitutional charter under which you are assembled, and which in defining your powers designates the objects to which your attention is to be given. It will be more consistent with those circumstances, and far more congenial with the feelings which actuate me to substitute in place of a recommendation of particular measures, the tribute that is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt them. 2l6 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. In these honorable qualifications, I behold the surest pledges that as on one side no local prejudices or attachments, no separate views, no party animosities will misdirect the com- prehensive and equal eye which ought to watch over this great assemblage of communities and interests, so on another, that the foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the pre- eminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens and command the respect of the world. I dwell on this prospect with every satisfaction which an ardent love for my country can inspire, since there is no truth more thoroughly estab- lished than that there exists in the economy and course of nature, an indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous policy and the solid rewards of the public prosperity and felicity. Since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained, and since the preservation of the sacred fire of Liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered as deepl}*, perhaps as finally staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. Besides the ordinary objects submitted to your care, it will remain with your judgement to decide how far an exercise of the occasional power delegated by the fifth article of the Consti- tution is rendered expedient at the present juncture by the nature of the objections which have been urged against the system, or by the degree of inquietude which has given birth to them. Instead of undertaking particular recommendations on this subject in which I could be guided by no light derived from official opportunities, I shall again give way to my entire confidence in your discernment and pursuit of the public good, for I assure myself that while you carefully avoid every alteration which might endanger the benefits of an united and effective government, or which ought to await the future lessons of experience, a reverence for the characteristic rights of freemen, and a regard for the public harmony will suffi- ciently influence your deliberations on the question, how far the former can be more impregnably fortified, or the latter be safely and advantageously promoted. (538) MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. 2 i ; Extract from Washington's Farewell Address. I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with particular reference to the founding of them mi geographical discriminations. Let me now take a inure com- prehensive view, and warn you, in the most solemn manner, against the baneful effects of the spirit of part}- generally. This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists, under different shapes, in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed ; but in those of the popular form it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy. The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to part}- dissension, which, in different ages and countries, has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads, at length, to a more formal and permanent des- potism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual ; and, sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of public liberty. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which, nevertheless, ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continued mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms ; kindles the animosity of one part against another ; foments, occasionally, riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another. There is an opinion that parties, in free countries, are useful checks upon the administration of the government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of libert}'. This, within certain limits, is probably true ; and in governments of a monarchial cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon 2l8 TWENTIETH CElS'TURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. the spirit of p..rty. But in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From their natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit for every salutatory purpose. And there being constant danger of excess, the effort ought to be by force of public opinion to mitigate and assuage it. A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its bursting into a flame, lest, instead of warming, it should consume. (47 6 ) On Literature and Liberty. Literature is the voice of the age and the state. The character, energy, and resources of the country are reflected and imaged forth in the conceptions of its great minds. They are organs of the time ; they speak not their own language, they scarce think their own thoughts ; but, under an impulse like the prophetic enthusiasm of old, they must feel and utter the sentiments which society inspires. They do not create, they obey the Spirit of the age ; the serene and beautiful Spirit decended frcm the highest heaven of liberty, who laughs at our preconceptions, and, with the breath of his mouth, sweeps before him the men and the nations that cross his path. By an unconscious instinct, the mind, in the action of its powers, adapts itself to the number and complexion of the other minds with which it is to enter into communion or con- flict. As the voice falls in the key which is suited to the space to be filled, the mind, in the various exercises of its creative faculties, strives with curious search for that master-note, which will awaken a vibration from the surrounding commun- ity, and which, if it do not find it, is itself too often struck dumb. For this reason, from the moment, in the destiny of nations, that they decend from their culminating point and begin to decline, from that moment the voice of creative genius is hushed, and, at best, the age of criticism, learning, and imitation succeeds. When Greece ceased to be independent, the forum and the stage became mute. Nay, though the fall of greatness, the decay of beauty, the waste of strength, and the wreck of power, have ever been among the favorite themes of the pen- sive Muse, yet not a poet arose in Greece to chant her own elegy. The freedom and the genius of a country are thus invariably gathered into a common tomb. Everett. ( 320^ MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. 2 \ <, True Eloquence. When public bodies are to be addressed on moment." us occasions; when great interests are at stake, and .-tn>ni; passions excited ; nothing is valuable, in speech, farther ;lKin i: is connected with high intellectual and moral endowments. Clearness, force, and earnestness, are the qualities which pn;- duce conviction. True eloquence, indeed, does not crnsii-t in speech. It cannot be brought from afar. Labor and learning- may toil for it, but they will toil in vain. Words and phrases ma} 7 be marshalled in every way, but they cannot compass it. It must exist in the man, in the subject, and in the occasion. Affected passion, intense expression, the pomp of declamation, all may aspire after it they cannot reach it. It comes, if it come at all, like the outbreaking of a fountain from the earth, or the bursting forth of volcanic fires, with spontaneous, original, native force. The graces taught in the schools, the costly ornaments, and studied contrivances of speech, shock and disgust men, when their own lives, and the fate of their wives, their children, and their country, hang on the decision of the hour. Then, words have lost their power, rhetoric is vain, and all elaborate orator}' contemptible. Even genius itself then feels rebuked and subdued, as in the presence of higher qualities. Then patriotism is eloquent ; then, self- devotion is eloquent. The clear conception, outrunning the deductions of logic, the high purpose, the firm resolve, the dauntless spirit, speaking on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing every feature, and urging the whole man onward to his object this, this is eloquence; or rather, it. is something greater and higher than all eloquence it is action, noble, sublime, godlike action. Love//. (282) Uncertainties of Fortune. The sudden invasion of an enemy overthrows such as are not on their guard ; but they who foresee the war, and prepare themselves for it before it breaks out, stand, without difficulty, the first and the fiercest onset. I learned this important lesson long ago ; and never trusted to Fortune, even while she seemed to be at peace with me. The riches, the honors, the reputation, and all the advantages, which her treacherous indulgence poured upon me, I placed so that she might snatch them away without giving me any disturbance. 1 kept a 220 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. great interval between me and them. She took them, but she could not tear them from me. No man suffers from bad fortune, but he who has been deceived by good. If we grow fend of her gifts ; if we fancy that they belong to us, and are perpetually to remain with us ; if we lean upon them, and expect to be considered for them, we shall sink into all the bitterness of grief, as soon as these false and transitory benefits pass away as soon as our vain and childish minds, unfraught with solid pleasures, become destitute even of those which are imaginary. But, if we do not suffer ourselves to be transported with prosperity, neither shall we be reduced by adversity. Our souls will be proof against the dangers of both these states ; and, having explored our strength, we shall be sure of it ; for, in the midst of felicity, we shall have tried how we can bear misfortune. Lord Bolingb roke. ( 2 5 8 ) The Power of Little Things. The close observation of little things is the secret of success in business, in art, in science, and in every pursuit in life. Human knowledge is but an accumulation of small facts, made by successive generations of men, the little bits of knowledge and experience, carefully treasured up, growing at length into a mighty pyramid. Though many of these facts and observa- tions may have seemed in the first instance to have but slight significance, they are all found to have their eventual uses, and to fit into their proper places. Even many speculations seemingly remote, turn out to be the basis of results the most obviously practical. Had not mathematicians toiled so long, and, to uninstructed observers, apparently so fruitlessly, over the abstract relations of lines and surfaces, few of our mechanical inventions would ever, probably, have seen the light. When Franklin made his discovery of the identity of light- ning and electricity, it was sneered at, and people asked, " Of what use is it ? " To which his apt reply was, "What is the use of a child ? It may become a man ! " When Galvani discovered that a frog's leg twitched when placed in contact with different metals, it could scarcely have been imagined that so apparently insignificant a fact could have led to important results. Yet therein lay the germ of the Electric Telegraph, which binds the intelligence of continents together, MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. 22 I and probably, before many years elapse, will "put a girdle round the globe." So too, little bits of stone and fossil, dui; out of the earth, intelligently interpreted, have issued in the science of geology and the practical operations of mining, in which large capitals are invested, and vast numbers of persons profitably employed. The gigantic machinery employed in pumping our mines, working our mills and manufactories, and driving our steam- ships and locomotives, in like manner depends for its supply of power upon so slight an agency as particles of water expanded by heat. The- steam which we see issuing from the common tea-kettle, when pent up within an ingeniously contrived mechanism, displays a force equal to that of millions of horses, and contains a power to rebuke the waves, and to set even the hurricane at deh'ance. Nay, it is the same power at work within the bowels of the earth which has been the cause of many of those semi-miraculous catastrophes volcanoes and earthquakes that have played so mighty a part in the history of the globe. Smiles. (4 1 o) Study. Studies serve for delight, for ornament, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, is in privateness and retiring ; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgement and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars one by one ; but the general councils, and the plots, and the marshaling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies, is sloth ; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation ; to make judgement wholly by their rules, is the humor of the scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience ; for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning by study ; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them, for they teach not their own use but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. Read, not to contradict and refute, not to believe and to take for granted, nor to find talk and discourse, but to , J^h and to consider. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few, to be chewed and 222 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. digested : that is, some books are to be read only in parts ; others to read but not curiously ; and some few, to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts of them may be made by others : but that should be only in the less important argu- ments, and the meaner sort of books ; else, distilled books are like common distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man ; conference, a ready man ; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a present wit ; if he confer little, he had need have a good memory ; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning to seem to know what he doth not. Lord Bacon. (345) Character in Handwriting. In the last quarter of a century the identification of indivi- duals by means of their handwriting has been used more and more in criminal as well as civil cases in the courts. Through the handwriting of the individual will shine his personality as in no other thing he does. It is more personal oftentimes than the person himself; as frequently in fact, nearly always there is less change in the handwriting from year to year than in the features of the individual. And where changes in the handwriting do occur, the main characteristics remain. Disraeli has said : " To every individual nature has given a distinct sort of writing, as she has given him a peculiar coun- tenance, voice and manners." A man's personality is mirrored in his handwriting as it is not even in his photograph. His writing if it is his normal hand represents his natural self, and all portrait photographers know that portraits frequently lack truthfulness and indivi- duality. Given two pieces of natural writing, written at two different times, and the identity of the writers can be settled with a greater degree of certainty than by comparison of two photographs or of photographs with the original. A French graphologist, says that " Handwriting is a gesture of the mind." This I believe to be true. At the beginning the gesture and the handwriting were both more or less formal and studied, but as time passed and countless repetitions occurred, the writing became like speech and gesture merely a reflex action executed almost wholly without thought. In writing a letter we are concerned with the thoughts we are trying to express, and not, as a rule, with the handwriting. It MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. 2 2 ^ is in this natural, wholly unstudied writing that a person's characteristics are plainest shown, and these are the specimens sought for by the expert when called upon to make a com- parison. In school and early life we tr}' to acquire a more or less model hand and strive for a certain ideal. The exigencies of business in later life modify this ideal hand until it fits itself into our life in such a way as to serve our purpose by recording our thoughts, stamping our personality on it, and to a greater or less extent reflecting our character. (Many people mix character and characteristics. By the first is meant traits of character in the individual ; by the second, peculiar and personal marks in the handwriting that establish the identity of the writer.) When we attempt to disguise our writing we face the following propositions : We must know all of the character- istics of our handwriting. We must be able to eliminate them at will. If we wish to simulate the handwriting of another person we have the added propositions : We must know all the characteristics entering into his writing. We must be able to acquire these characteristics at will. I do not believe there is an individual who lives who knows and can successfully do these things. And but few people even know the character- istics of their own handwriting.^./. Kinsley. (57) The Wonders of a Watch. The watch carried by the average man is composed of ninety-eight pieces, and its manufacture includes more than two thousand distinct and separate operations. Some of the smaller screws are so minute that the unaided e}'e cannot dis- tinguish them from steel filings or specks of dirt. Under a powerful magnifying glass, a perfect screw is revealed. The slit in the head is two-thousandths of an inch wide. It takes 308,000 of these screws to weigh a pound, and a pound is worth $1,585. The hairspring is a strip of the finest steel, about nine and one-half inches long, one hundredth of an inch wide, and twenty-seven ten-thousandths of an inch thick. It is coiled up in spiral form and finely tempered. The process of tempering these .springs was long held as a secret by the few fortunate ones possessing it, and even now it is not generally known. The strip is gauged to twenty-one thousandths of an inch, but no measuring instrument has as yet been devised capable 224 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. of fine enough gauging to determine beforehand by the size of the strip what the strength of the finished spring will be. A twenty-thousandth part of an inch difference in the thickness of the strip makes a difference in the running of a watch of about sixteen minutes per hour. The value of these springs, when finished and placed in watches, is enormous in proportion to the material from which they are made. A comparison will give a good idea. A ton of steel made up into hairsprings, when in watches, is worth more than twelve and one-half times the value of the same weight in pure gold. Hairspring wire weighs one-twentieth of a grain to the inch. One mile of wire weighs less than half a pound. The balance gives five vibrations every second, three hundred every minute, 18,000 every hour, 432,000 everyday, and 157,680,000 every year. At each vibration, it rotates about one and one- fourth times, which makes 197,100,000 revolutions every year. In order that we may better understand the stupendous amount of labor performed by these tiny works, let us make one comparison. Take, for illustration, a locomotive with six-foot driving wheels. Let its wheels be run until they are given the same number of revolutions that a watch makes in a year, and they will have covered a distance equal to twenty-eight complete circuits of the earth. All this a watch does without other attention than winding once in twenty-four hours. (4 J 7) The Philippine Policy. The demoralization that follows war and the military spirit is always to be deplored. I am opposed to it because history teaches us that sovereignty acquired by the sword must be maintained by the same Cleans an d that power acquired by conquest and wealth gainec by robbery are certain in the end to weaken and corrupt the possessor. This rule applies to nations as well as to individuals. I am opposed to it again because by such a course we revolutionize our government, which was intended for a free Republic and self-governing people and not for subjects or vassal states without represen- tation in the making and execution of our laws. I am opposed to it because it shatters the Monroe Doctrine from top to bottom. I am opposed to it because I believe that at no distant day such a course will involve us in European and Asiatic MISCKLLANEOUS SELECTIONS. j J 5 quarrels. I am opposed to it because all the habits, traditions, surroundings, experience, education and aspirations of this people are opposed to our theories of government. I am opposed to it because such a course would be a repudiation by our Government of the principle that all governments must be founded on the consent of the governed. I am opposed to it because such a course is not calculated to advance the interests and promote the happiness of this people. Self-government does not mean that these people are to have such a government as we possess, but that these people shall have a government in keeping with their desires and suitable to their conditions. It has been said that great- ness does not lie in coffers or in territory, but it lies in the men and women of a nation and their ideals and acts, and that a nation is great as it clings to its ideals. A great bishop said : "The end of all worthy struggle is to establish morality as the basis of individual and national life, to make righteousness prevail, to make justice reign, to spread beauty, gentleness, wisdom, and peace, to widen opportunity, to increase good will, to move in the light of higher thoughts and larger hopes, to encourage science and art, to foster industry and thrift, education and culture, reverence and obedience, purity and love, honesty, sobriety, and disinterested devotion to the common good this is the patriot's aim, this is his ideal." If we should strive for this purpose and work in this spirit, the Republic of our fathers will never perish. Hon. Mr. Clay. (422) The End of the Century Controversy. What was said IOD Years ago. In view of the controversy raging throughout the country as to the time when the nineteenth century ends and the twentieth begins, an article in the. "Times" of Thursday, Dec. 26, 1799, nas both a historic and a typical interest. The article, after the hard-hitting style of the day, says : The ques- tion of when the present century ends is one of the most absurd that can engage the public attention, and we are astonished to find it has been the subject of so much dispute, since it appears to be perfectly plain. The present century will not terminate till January i, 1801, unless it can be made out that 99 are 100. Eighteen centuries are 1800 years, then how can 1 8 centuries be completed till the year 1800 has expired ? 15 D. B. 226 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. What is the meaning of a century but a clear, distinct series of 100 years? How can 100 be completed by 99? Some persons assert that the first year of the present era stands for nothing. At this rate, indeed, they will prove the present century to end with this month, but we know not how they will prove such a fact. We see no pretext for the assertion. Jesus was born January i in the year i ; the succeeding 12 months completed the first year, and the succeeding 99 years added to that first year, making together 100, completed the first century. The second century commenced January i, 101 ; every century begins \v'th i, and the next century will begin on January i, 1801. It is a silly, childish discussion, and only exposes the want of brains of those who maintain a contrary opinion to that we have stated, in which we are supported by the first authorities in the country, to whom wagers have been referred. (20$! Paper Making. Paper is made from many things, but nothing but new linen and cotton rags are used in this mill ; hence the mill is sur- prisingly clean and the paper is clean and strong when finished. These rags are obtained from shirt, collar, corset manufacturers, sail makers, etc., and give a strong, fine, uniform fiber. The rags come in large bales and are hoisted on an elevator to the sorting room, where they are run through a thresher to get rid of dust, etc. The " thresher " is a closed wooden box in which the rags are revolved on drums that have spikes in them. Wire gauze allows the dust to separate from the rags. The cleaned rags next go to the cutters (who are women), who stand before knives resembling scythes that lean forward at a slight angle from the perpendicular. The rags are sorted by hand and are drawn against the knife blade and cut into pieces about three inches in size. After cutting and classification the rags are run through a duster to remove every particle of dust and are then inspected. They are then boiled in large vats with lime, soda, ash or caustic soda and water to remove all coloring, dirt, grease, etc. This boiling is very thoroughly done and the rags are not taken out until they are perfectly clean. The rags are then transferred to the "engine" which is not an engine in the ordinarily understood sense at all, but a machine for the pur- pose of reducing the rags to pulp. The "engine " is an oblong MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. :_7 vat, with rounded ends. It is divided down the center. A steady stream of the purest water flows through. There arc knives at the bottom of the vat and other knives on a revolv- ing roll, and the water carries the rags around and against these knives, which reduce the rags to pulp. The setting of the knives and the time the rags are kept in the engine deter- mine the fineness of the fiber. When the stock is about half worked over the bleaching solution is added, and it soon causes the pulp to become a beautiful white. The pulp next goes to the beating engine, where it is given the same kind of treatment, but with finer knives. For fine grades of writing- paper the pulp is worked in the engines for fifteen to twenty- four hours, while for ledger, bond and banknote paper it is kept in and worked for forty-eight to seventy-two hours. The pulp is now drawn into a large receiving vat, where it is kept until the Fourdrinier paper machines call for it. By means of a regulating box the pulp is fed to this machine and special appliances prevent any lumps getting in. Any excess of pulp is carried back to the big receiving vat. After passing over sand tables and strainers the pulp is fed on to endless wire cloth, which has both forward and side motion, thus interweaving the fiber. All this time water is being extracted, but when it next passes to an endless felt between press rolls the water is quite thoroughly squeezed out and the fiber is knitted. On the sides there are guides or "deckles" to control the width. At the end of the machine is a dandy- roll, which makes the water mark. This is a cylinder of wire cloth, with the letters and figures of the design raised on it. It revolves at stated intervals, and the raised work or design makes an impression in the soft, pulpy mass. Plain woven wire cloth covered cylinders produce " wove " paper, and when the roll is covered or overlaid with parallel wires it produces what is known as th for mind and bod}'', among the toiling millions. Everywhere we look we see the inexorable law ever producing bigger and bigger things. Every enlargement is an improvement, step by step upon what has preceded. It makes for higher civili- zation, for the enrichment of human life, not for one, but for all classes of men. It tends to bring to the laborer's cottage the luxuries hitherto enjoyed only by the rich, to remove from the most squalid homes much of their squalor, and to foster the growth of human happiness relatively more in the work- man's home than the millionaire's palace. It does not tend to make the rich poorer, but it does tend to make the poor richer in the possession of better things, and greatly lessens the wide and deplorable gulf between the rich and the poor. Superficial politicians may, for a time, deceive the uninformed, but more and more will all this be clearly seen by those who are now led to regard aggregations as injurious. The people are aroused against trusts because the} 7 are said to aim at securing monopolies in the manufacture and distri- bution of their products ; but the whole question is, Have they or can they succeed in monopolizing products ? There are only two conditions other than patents which render it possible to maintain a monopoly. These are when the parties abso- lutely control the raw material out of which the article is produced, or control territory into which rivals can enter only with extreme difficulty. The genesis of trusts is as follows : Manufacturers of mosi. staple articles (especially of iron and steel) are subject to long periods of serious depression, succeeded by short intervals oi high profits. Because during depression no increase is made in capacity, and the world's population and wants are con- stantly growing, one morning it is discovered that demand has overtaken and outrun supply. It is during one of these long periods of depression, when many of the manufacturers are on 230 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION ROOK, the verge of bankruptcy, that there arises in the heart a hope, soon crystallized into a belief, that a new way has been found to avoid the natural consequences of the unchanging economic laws. It is soon felt that savage competition should cease between those enduring a common affliction, who should be brother manufacturers, and that the lion and the lamb should lie down together. They forget i i the hour of their misery, that the moralist has expressed the fear lest the one may be found inside the other. Few trusts have a monopoly through patents or through the supply of raw material or of territory, and what happens is this : For a short time competition is hindered, but rarely, if ever, completely stifled. The profits of the trusts are high, and capital, ever watchful for an oppor- tunity to make unusual gains, seeks its level by i law of its being, and need? only the opportunity to engage in this highly profitable manufacture. The masses of the people, the toiling million), ar^ soon to find in this great law of aggregation of capital and of factories another of those beneficent agencies which in their operation tend to bring to the homes of the poor, in greater degree than ever, more and more of the luxuries of the rich, and into their lives more of sweetness and light. The only people who have reason to fear trusts are those who trust them. A tiding Carnegie, condensed from " Century" New York. (656) Conciseness. To express one's meaning clearly, precisely, and in a few words does not come by nature. It is an art that has to be cultivated with steady perseverance ; and it is an art that must be acquired by those who desire to make their way in the world in these times. It is a busy age, given to dispensing with superfluities in all forms of every-day work. The oration of the past, with its elaborate exordium and its rhetorical peroration, has been displaced by the speech that plunges straight into its subject without preliminaries or introductory remarks, and ends as soon as the topic itself has been dis- cussed. The leading article has been almost universally shortened, and has lost the characteristics of an essay. It makes no pretence at exhaustiveness : it deals succinctly with its subject, goes to the points at once, is argumentative, com- mendatory, critical, playful, or severe, as the case may be ; but it never wastes words. The modern novel no longer meanders MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. j - , through three volumes, in which the story lingers in order thru chapters of irrelevant padding may be inserted so as to provide the requisite number of pages of matter. The novelist of to-day enters upon his narrative without introduction, and often commences his initial chapter with a fragment of con- versation between two of the characters who are to play their parts in the development of the plot. His story proceeds without deviation, and the dissertations with which older writers of fiction used to endeavor to instruct their readers in the middle of an attractive tale, have become rare. The long letters of the past have given place to telegrams and to epistles that contain little more than fills the ordinary telegram. The variety of modern life, the haste with which all its transactions have to be undertaken, the desire felt by all of us to utilize every minute and increase its productiveness in knowledge or in action, makes the cultivation of the art of conciseness imperative. (333) Character in Business. Character is that innate, that latent power, which makes our talents trusted. It is human nature in its best form. We may admire a man of learning but we trust only those with character. Character creates confidence in men in all the walks of life. There is a vast difference between character and reputation. Character is what a man really is, but repu- tation is what the world believes him to be. Sometimes we must accept reputation for character, for while some men show their character by their every act, deed and look, } r et others do not. The line of demarcation is finely drawn and not easily determined. It is hard to say where good character leaves off and bad character begins. So many times we must accept reputation and run the chances of its reliability. A man's habits do not always indicate his character in fact he may possess man}' good habits and still be, at heart, a veritable scoundrel. If an applicant for credit cannot produce a good showing as to character and a fair dealing, we have no use for him, and cannot afford to accommodate him with credit favors. We could afford to trust a man possessed of good character and habits, though he be without capital, and still feel compara- tively safe ; but a man with capital, and even with ability, but without character and integrity, would be a person that few would care to trust. 232 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION ROOK. The man must have an established record for honesty and fair dealing before he becomes a safe risk. Though by this we do not mean that he must be perfect in every way, for a man may have a proper record for fair dealing and still possess some very objectionable habits. We do not expect to find perfection, and many personal shortcomings and small vices must be overlooked from a business point of view ; but the general reputation must be good. And especially can we overlook a few shortcomings in a man who has been estab- lished in trade for a long period, though closer attention should be given to this trait in a new comer. But in any case where a credit or trust is involved we cannot afford to ignore so important an element as that of character and habits. / B. Duryea. (385) Patents and Copyrights. Patents are documents issued by the United States, through the Patent Office, signed and sealed by the Commissioner of Patents. Their effect is to give to the person to whom they are issued, the exclusive ownership, use and control of the invention described in the document. The invention is said to be patented. Several conditions must exist to entitle an applicant to a patent. The inventor must have discovered something new and useful in art, machinery, manufacture, or composition of matter, or some new and useful improvement thereof. The invention or discovery for which the patent is claimed, cannot be anything known or used by others in this country. It cannot be anything described in any printed publication, in this or any foreign country, prior to inventor's discovery ; it cannot be anything which has been in public use, or on sale for more than two years prior to the application, unless the discovery has been abandoned. Copyrights differ from patents because they apply only to something a person has written or drawn. The principle is the same, in that the copyright gives to the person the exclu- sive right to make copies of what he has written or drawn, just as a patent gives to the inventor the exclusive right to manu- facture and use what he has invented. Patents are obtained by application to the Commissioner of Patents, at the Patent Office in Washington. The application is accompanied by a formula of priority of invention, and a model or drawing of MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. j - ^ the invention. Copyrights are obtained by simply filing copic.- of the literary work or drawing in the office of the Librarian of Congress. There is but little formality required. Before publication the author must deposit a printed copy of the title of his work with the Librarian of Congress at Washington. In case it is a drawing or engraving, a description must be deposited. The title page of a literary work is usually deposited. After publication two copies of the completed work must be deposited. ( ^ >5) Pens. It is recorded that iron pens were first used as early as 1685, but certain it is that quills were by no means displaced by them, for as late as 1825 qaill pens were made by the gross and sold regularly to the trade in boxes containing a dozen. But the demand for something more durable had been stimu- lating inventors long before the patent office was thought of, and late in the eighteenth century, horn, tortoise shell, glass, steel, silver and gold were in turn experimented upon. Horn made a good pen, and so did tortoise shell, but both soon grew soft in the ink and became worthless. Silver was an improve- ment, it was just flexible enough and when mixed with the proper alloy and tempered to the exact degree required, it was the best pen made. The glass pen was simply the old stylus with grooves down the side to hold the ink, but they were clumsy, untidy, and so easily broken that they were practically worthless. In 1803 a man named Wise made what he called a barrel pen. It was bent or grooved like the pens of the present day, and was the first pen ever made of metal in the shape suggested by the quill, all the others having been flat. In 1820 Joseph Gillott, who had a factory where toys were made, fashioned a steel pen which commanded instant favor, and others soon followed him. These were all Englishmen and their product soon became popular, though their price was $36 a gross wholesale. In 1830 the price had fallen to $2 a gross, and in 1860 twelve cents were paid, and the annual pro- duction of steel pens was 50,000,000 in the latter year. Americans have only recently been able to make a steel pen equal to the English, but in late years pens have been made in America for export all over the world, Philadelphia being a sort of center for that industry. In the making of steel pens fine sheet steel, generally pre- pared from Swedish bloom is used. It is cleaned of scale by 2^4 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK the use of sulphuric acid, and after being carefully washed, is passed between successive sets of rollers until reduced to the required thinness. It is then divided into strips wide enough to allow the cutting of three or four pens. These are passed through a cutting machine, which, by means of dies, punches out the pens, or blanks, as they are then called, for, although they have the exact shape of a pen, they are still flat, and have no holes or slits in them. Successive operations, first cut the side slits in the pens and then the hole in the center, all being done by lever and by hand, the careful adjusting of each blank under the die requiring the utmost nicety. This work has rendered the blanks brittle, and they are now annealed by putting them in an iron box and heating them. The name of the maker or his trade mark is then stamped upon them with a die and they are at the same stamping bent into the grooved form in which they are known to commerce. The most important operation, that of making the central slit, follows, after which they are again tempered, this time by immersion in oil, and are carefully polished by emery powder, the pens and powder being thrown into a large revolving cylinder. The nibs are then ground to the required point, and the pens are again tempered in a revolving cylinder over a charcoal fire, until they acquire the brown or blue color, when they are glazed with a solution of lac and naphtha. They are then examined, counted and boxed and delivered ready for sile. The constant tempering is the solution of the problem which troubled the ages, for steel pens were not made in a day, and for many years after they were attempted the stub- born metals defied manipulation. Millions of them are made annually, and if every man, woman and child in the United State could write, a gross of pens could be placed at his disposal tomorrow. (690) Some Reasons for Learning- Phonography. First : Because of its Practical Usefulness. You are inter- ested in learning to write. And you are interested in learning to write in the best way. The best way is (not always, but generally) the quickest and easiest way. The quickest and easiest way is by the use of Phonography. At least four times as much time and effort are consumed by the use of ordinary longhand, in producing legible and accurate writing, as need be consumed by the use of Phonography in producing the SELECTION'S. same result. The saving accomplished by Phonography to any one who has frequent occasion to put thoughts 'on 'paper, is therefore something of incalculable value and forms the strongest reason why you should learn it. It saves time to the author, in penning his manuscript ; to the editor in preparing his articles ; to the newspaper reporter in noting interviews, etc.; to the physician :n recording his cases; to the lawyer in preparing his briefs and other docu- ments ; to the minister in writing his sermons ; and to each of these and to every other intelligent man and woman who has memoranda to make, diaries to keep, or letters to write. And not only does it save time, but it also saves the nervous irritation, the wear and tear inseparable from the tedious, plodding drudgery of longhand writing. The late lion. Thomas H. Benton summed up the whole matter when he said, " Had this art been known forty years ago it icanld liai'e saved fitc twenty years of hard labor." Second : Because of its Business or Professional Usefulness. The degree of skill which makes Phonography so eminentlv useful for all personal writing, is not necessarily an expert degree of skill, but is such as can be readily acquired and easily retained by ordinary people. The phonographer, how- ever, who is willing to bestow a reasonable amount of time upon the acquirement of expert skill ma} 7 always find profes- sional employment and profitable remuneration at a rate proportionate to his ability. The ability to write 100 words per minute from dictation may be acquired by an}- intelligent young man or woman in the course of a few months' diligent practice, and this with the ability to make a correct and intelligent transcript of notes so written, into good longhand or upon a writing machine, is a guarantee against enforced idleness and an assurance of honorable independence. If you are seeking such a means of self-support here is another reason why you should learn Phonography. Phonographic amanuenses are now largely employed in business houses, railroads and express offices, banks, insurance companies, and other corporations, and by professional men ; and the field of employment is constantly widening. The salaries paid to amanuenses vary largely, according to the amount and nature of the work to be done, but it is safe to say that no purely clerical work, which requires the same degree of education and skill, is better paid for, or more highly appreciated than is the 236 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. work of the amanuensis. Nor is this all ; the nature of the amanuensis' work is just such as to bring him into an intimate knowledge of the vital feature of the business of the concern with which he is engaged the correspondence. He has therefore, incomparably the best chance of any employee for promotion to higher and more responsible employment in the n.anagement of affairs and in this way Phonography may become a stepping stone in his business career. An education that does not embrace a knowledge of Phono- graphy must be regarded as incomplete and short of the wants of the age. (594) Mis-Hearing. Mr. Thomas A. Reed, in his very readable " Reminiscences of a Reporter," in the Isaac Pitman's Phonetic Journal, gives his experience under this head as follows. I remember a witness once saying, " My brother was home by three o'clock ; I was home by four," or " before." Which he meant I did not know, and I do not know to this day whether I gave a correct interpretation of his evidence. " What do the Turks want ? To be a nation," said a speaker in Parliament. , Alaska, and the various states. Abroad, it is useful bringing order out of chaos, for, until congress provides the proper legislation, the building up of the fabric of civil government must be accomplished by our army the ever faithful exponent and messenger of the Stars and Stripes, the flag and symbol of liberty, enlightenment, progress and individual rights and liberties. Henry C. Corbin, Adjutant-General, U.S.A. (607) Opportunities in the Civil Service. The civil service examination is, of course, the mountain which must be scaled. But, before attempting it, or beginning to prepare for it, one should know something of the conditions which prevail in the civil service ; otherwise, he may make the unfortunate mistake of entering upon a career not suitable to him. In the service, promotion is usually slow and the duties confining. You must be content to wait, to work long and hard, to always take orders from some one higher in authority, and to give up dreams of riches. The life is not the kind that appeals to a young man who is restless under restraint, or wants to do things in his own way. If his way is not so good as the one prescribed for him, the civil service does not want him, and if it is better, he does not want the civil service, where tried systems tend to bligiu originality, and prevent it from bearing fruits it might yield in less restricted fields. On the other hand, men and women in the civil service are standing on comparatively solid ground. They are not re- moved except for specified cause. They need not worry about f heir future prospects as long as they remain good workers and respectable members of society. They are reasonably sure of their positions, since the municipal and federal governments do not fail, or sell out, or retire from business, leaving their employees to begin over again. Ambitions may be realized, 24O TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. too. By showing special ability or unusual industry, a young man- may rise in his department, and obtain, through his position, special knowledge that will enable him to gain top marks in examinations for places of greater responsibility and higher pay. Marked capa bihty and careful work will carry him up in the civil service, just as in business or the professions. But the great majority of those who desire to enter th: public service fail in the very first step; that is, they do nov pass the first examination. These examinations are based on two things, namely : general knowledge and imelligcnce, and the special knowledge that is required in the position for which the examination is being held. For technical and scientific work, the special qualifications naturally have the greater weight, and the examinations cannot be passed by those who have not had previous training in these lines. But, for the majority of places in the service, the general qualifications are the more important, thus causing these places to be open to any American citizen of intelligence and fair education. The duties are mainly clerical in a very large number of positions, and, in the competitive tests for appointment to them, hand- writing, English composition, spelling and arithmetic, are the subjects to which the largest number of marks is alloted. The applicant who is master of these simple branches has an excellent chance of being high up on the eligible list, for my experience with great numbers of examination papers has proved to me that the average citizen is none too accurate in these rudiments of an education. In papers submitted in the contests for positions of a more or less clerical character, we look first to the penmanship. It must be legible and it must be neat, without flourishes. Next, the applicant must be able to compose, properly spell, punctuate, and paragraph, a letter. And he must be able to work out mathematical problems reaching through percentage. Haste and carelessness are very often evident in the papers. Questions are wrongly read or interpreted, and answered in a slipshod manner. Those taking the examination should remember that, in the civil service, careful execution of work counts for as much as knowledge of how to do it. On most of the papers, a certain number of marks is given for experience or special knowledge of the duties of the position which is sought. The man who has learned what he could of a line of work during a few months before the examination, MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. 241 frequently passes better than the man who has been engaged in it for a number of years. The latter is apt to have narrowed himself to some particular phase of the work, and to have lost sight of the broad fundamentals. A great advantage of this system is that it opens to many persons opportunities of profitable work that would otherwise be closed to them. Lee Phillips, Secretary, New York Civil Service Commission. 16 D. R. 242 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. SHORT TALKS WITH THE AMANUENSIS, A collection of timely talks condensed from editorials which have appeared in the columns of " Pitman's Phonetic Journal," The First Situation. The first situation is a test. It puts the beginner on his mettle. He has not only to show what he can do, but to dis- cover for himself what he can do. He finds usually some quite unexpected short-comings, some hitherto unsuspected weaknesses of knowledge. The first letter that he takes down from the dictation of an actual employer is somehow different from anything that he had anticipated : he wonders whether he has got it correctly, and whether his transcript will be satisfactory. If it proves to be accurate, he enjoys a sense of exhilaration that never comes to cheer the older and more staid worker. The test of character occurs when the beginner is confronted with his own mistakes. Mistakes there will always be. We may learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. How does the beginner use his errors ? Has he the wit to search and see how the blunder originated, and how it can be avoided in the future ? Or does he merely shrug his shoulders and excuse himself with the reflection that he "could not help it" ? In short, does he profit by his mistakes or not ? When he finds that his knowledge is defective, as, for instance, when he encounters in dictation some word or phrase with which he is unacquainted, does he look up a dictionary or a book of reference, or inquire of a fellow clerk, so as to be sure that the expression is rendered correctly in his transcript ? Or does he make a guess at what it should be ? Little things like this are important indications of character. They are among the tests that come to every beginner in his first situation. Ability counts for much ; knowledge counts for much ; but behind them both, more important than either, is character. The first situation may be the beginning of a long and suc- cessful career ; or it may be the first of a long series of failures. SHORT TALKS "WITH THE AMANUKNSIS. 243 To have a sound knowledge to start with begets confidence, and in no other subject more than in shorthand is this the ca-c. But a sound knowledge is never acquired except by those who possess some good qualities of character, and it is these that business life needs. Where they are present, the initial knowledge will be steadily supplemented, will grow and in- crease day by day, and as it grows by use it will strengthen the aptitudes, upon the proper exercise of which success in business very largely depends. (4 16) On Entering a Situation. " He who would be useful to mankind must accommodate himself to their manners." The shorthand clerk who enters an office with which he has not been previously connected, ??.nnot afford to disregard this old truism. He must begin at once to look about him and adapt himself with all speed to his surroundings. The first consideration will be to find out those peculiarities of the business, either in technical language, figures, or routine, which are likely at the first to prove a stumbling block in the exercise of his art as a phonographer, and in the way of an intelligent transcript of his notes. No more ready or valuable means of doing this can be afforded than by acquainting himself with the contents of the letter books, and especially the recent ones. In these letter books he will find the history of the business written in the language which he will have to write in shorthand. He will there note what are the peculiar terms employed, and what are the most frequently recurring groups of words. Having entered the same in a book provided for the purpose, he should then pro- vide some special contractions, if necessary, so as to enable him to take down such terms or groups of words with facility and despatch. To get the full value out of such contractions, they should be written out again and again until he can write them readily. A little time spent in this way at the outset will soon make the new comer familiar with the peculiarities of the business, and will not only prove useful by enabling him to anticipate difficulties and giving him confidence in his first attempt at note-taking, but every addition to his know- ledge of the business will also be of the greatest value to him in transcribing his notes. (3S) 244 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. The Shorthand Writer's Vocabulary. For the shorthand writer the need of an extensive vocabu- lary is more urgent than for anybody else. Without it he cannot possess that readiness to undertake whatever work he may be entrusted with work that has to be undertaken usually at a moment's notice. How shall he get an extensive vocabulary? It is only to be got by study and practice: there is no other way. As the statistician reduces everything to figures, so it is the shorthand writer's business to reduce everything to the symbols of his art. Even in the humblest sphere of shorthand work it is not safe to neglect the cultiva- tion of a good range of words. Unless a word is known when it is heard, it causes embarrassment to the writer who attempts to take it down. Embarrassment means delay, and delays are peculiarly dangerous to the writer who is following a speaker. Extensive reading and study of all kinds of literary, commer- cial, and technical matter, equally extensive practice in writing it, the rigorous consulting of dictionaries and other works of reference when any doubt is felt as to spelling or signification : these are part of the discipline to which the shorthand writer who would shine in his calling must inevitably subject himself.. When that discipline has been undergone, he may take first rank as an artist in words : without it he must be content with an inferior position in the profession he has chosen. (240) Things that Pay. The universal desire to " get on," to rise in life, means, in one aspect at all events, the desire to find out the things that pay, the things that in the long run produce the best results, pecuniarily and otherwise. Unfortunately the desire is by no means necessarily accompanied with any adequate conception of the nature of the things that do pay, or of the methods by which a grip of these things may be obtained. Too commonly the desire co-exists with a strong determination to put forth a minimum of effort, and expect that great results are to be reached with the scantiest possible expenditure of energy and thought. Ultimately life reveals the hopeless fatuity of the delusion, but the lesson is often too late. What, then, are the things that pay the things that always pay if they are persevered in and followed consciously, deliberately, and per- tinaciously ? Let us enumerate a few of them. SHORT TALKS WITH THE AMANUENSIS. 24; It pays when you take up a study, to learn it thoroughly. No trifling with it, no smattering of it, helps anybody very much. If it is shorthand, it will pay those only who master all there is to be learned from the text-books, and then practise reading and writing it strenuously until they are able to pro- duce the very best results. We are not all equal in native skill, we are not all endowed with the same qualities, but there- is much that we can all do before we reach the limits of our capacity. It pays the young clerk to stud}- every subject a knowledge of which is wanted in the commercial office. A knowledge of modern languages, and especially of German and Spanish, pays in the business world of to-day. A precise knowledge of business technicalities pays too. It is a false economy to stint oneself in accomplishments because the acquisition of them involves expenditure in money and inroads upon leisure time, and frequent absence from attractive or exciting "sports." It pays to learn everything that will help to make you a more efficient worker, and it does not pay to neglect anything that will increase your efficiency. And there are certain things of character that it pays the shorthand clerk and the typist to cultivate with all the assiduity and persistence of which they are capable. It pavs to be punctual in arriving at the office, and it pays to be willing to stay after office hours in times of pressure. It pays to make concessions sometimes rather than adopt an inflexible habit of insisting on one's rights. It pays to be painstaking, to do as well as it possibly can be done every little bit of work that falls to your lot ; it pays to be zealous, and to do rather more than your mere duty ; it pays to be courteous and obliging to your colleagues, to be ready and willing to assist them in their tasks when they need assistance ; it pays to be entirely conscientious in small things as well as in large things ; it pays to be strictly honest even as regards trifles, for it is not without good reason that the experience of the whole world has established the proposition, " Honesty is the best policy " ; it pays to be patient, to watch for opportunities of advancement, to seize them as soon as they come, and to work always for future rather than immediate results. It pays you to fit yourself for more re- sponsible and more lucrative work than that in which you happen at any moment to be engaged, but, if you desire the more responsible and more lucrative work, it pays to show that you can be relied upon to perform your present tasks in 246 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. such a way as to give satisfaction to everybody whom they concern. It pays to be vigilant about little things. Great things are the sum total of little things, and there is no great success that does not depend upon the scrupulous utilization of many little things. There is such a thing as luck that is to say, events that influence our careers favorably or unfavorably do happen apart from our individual wills ; but it pays to forget that there is such a thing as luck, and to work in the conviction that one's success in life depends entirely on one's own efforts. (724) The Essential Thing. The acme of attainment in shorthand is the correct tran- script, and in order that it may come into existence, there must be legible notes in shorthand, and they must be not merely notes that are legible to the expert, but notes that are legible to the writer of them, and so legible that he can transcribe them promptly and without error. This is the essential thing to which all other things are subsidiary and subordinate. Phonography is not written for the purpose of conforming in every possible instance to some one rule of writing. It is not to be written for the purpose of showing how many words it is possible to join together in one ingenious phraseogram. It is written for the purpose of being translated correctly and quickly into longhand. Other purposes it may serve and serve well. It may help in the study, of foreign languages. It may help to create and foster the habit of observing the sounds of speech, the distinctions between those sounds, the analogies between them, and the contrasts of one with another. But primarily it is written to be read, and the man who can take his notes accurately at the speed with which the exigencies of his work require the notes taken, and can afterwards read his notes without blunder, is the man that is wanted in commerce to-day. The critic perusing the notes may shrug his shoulders at them, but the testimony of a correct transcript is unanswer- able. The essential thing has been achieved. The degree of skill that the correct transcript implies is worth attaining, and it is only to be attained by the beginner who sets himself assiduously to the task, at first an unattrac- tive one, of reading everything he writes. Where this task is SHORT TALKS WITH THE AMA.NU1.NSIS. 247 shirked, as it often is neglected as a piece of undesirable drudgery danger looms ahead. The nicest conformity to theory, the most beautiful array of correct phraseogrnms, the most perfect system of vocalization, will not atone for inability to read the notes. The teacher may, as many teachers do, spend innumerable hours correcting exercises, but, unless the corrections are utilized by the learner as a means of leading him on to the goal represented by the production of an accurate transcript, the corrections represent so much wasted effort. A very large percentage of the failures at examinations are clue to the lack of careful and persistent preparation for the produc- tion of that accurate transcript. The by no means uncommon spectacle of a shorthand note that is almost perfect, and a transcript that is full of errors, speaks quite plainly to the examiner. It tells of determination to get mere skill in writing without the absolutely indispensable skill in reading also. In real life it spells failure : the essential thing is the one thing that cannot be neglected with impunity. (479) Punctuation. Punctuation, as we employ it to-day, is a modern device At one time the period enjoyed a monopoly. The colon has been in use for little more than four hundred years. Both the comma and the semicolon are later inventions, and belong to the Sixteenth century The period originally meant " stop," and became known as " the stop " ; and its associates, provided subsequently to serve subordinate purposes in the sentence, were grouped with it in popular phraseology, under the general description, "stops." Some authors use the colon very sparingly, and prefer the period. Others multiply commas needlessly. Lawyers adhere to old customs, and still frame documents without a punctuation mark of any kind from beginning to end. This involves a special arrangement of words, and compels a certain amount of repetition, not unlucra- tive to the legal practitioner. By the use of commas, colons, and semicolons we avoid a multiplicity of connecting words, and shorten our sentences while we increase their expressiveness. For ordinary pur- poses, and in all every-day writing, punctuation marks are indispensable. Young shorthand writers are not always so keenly alive to this fact as they ought to be. Many of them 248 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. enter a business house with but the vaguest notions on the subject of the right employment of "stops," and the transcripts they present to impatient emploj'ers give signs only too often of complete failure to grasp the ordinary rules of punctuation. Time cures the defect in most cases, but complaints, criticisms, and censures are frequently necessary before the existence of the defect receives ample recognition at the hands of the scribe. More important still is it for the shorthand writer who is also a typist to have clear ideas on the subject. Typewritten matter so strongly resembles print, that we look for the same characteristics in both. We are so accustomed to correct punctuation in print that we expect it in every typewritten production. Its absence or its misuse is, therefore, more readily noticed. Its acquisition presents no special difficul- ties; the rule for the use of the various punctuation marks are simple ; everything that one reads may serve as a reminder of those rules by showing the practical application of them ; and daily experience shows they are important. Beginners are apt to regard punctuation as a minor matter, but there is nothing that the shorthand writer and the typist need to understand more thoroughly, or to apply with more intelligence. (406) PRACTICAL TALKS. 249 PRACTICAL TALKS. A collection of enthusiastic and ambitious talks, taken by permission from " Success," New York. Study should have a Single Purpose. One cannot know too much of a subject. Every boy and young man should have a regular course of study of some kind, even if he does not expect to use his knowledge at once. He will learn to accumulate facts, and will eventually have his mind in good working order, a most important and desirable thing nowada3^s. In fact, there is everything in having one's mind systematized, or accustomed to system. It is a great mistake to try to do many things at once, for certainly none of them will be done well. Try one thing at a time, and do that thing well. , It is the best general rule of conduct to follow. Let us consider what the consequences are likely to be. A person so trained will be able to take advantage of the oppor- tunities which are sure to come his way. I am a believer in opportunity. It comes to everyone sooner or later, and it is indispensable that one be ready to take advantage of it. This is, by common consent, the only secret of success, so-called. There is really no secret about it. It is world-wide experience. When opportunities do not seem to come to us, it is entirely possible to make them for ourselves. I certainly do not believe in waiting for them. 1 think they come to all of us, sooner or later. We may not know it, but that is not the fault of the opportunities. William C. Whitney. ( 2 5) The Great Test Question. To be successful in the ordinary acceptation of the word rhould not, by any means, be the object of the highest ambition. Many a robust, magnificent nature has been hopelessly withered and shrivelled by the hot blast of so-called good for- tune. The question is not, How can I get rich, or win a seat 250 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. in congress, or a governor's chair ? but, What will be the result of my choice of a life-work upon my own mind and nature? How will it help me to develop that divine germ within me without which development must be a failure, though I accumulate millions? If I develop the brute faculties by cultivating a grasping nature ; if I harden my finer sensibilities while struggling to accumulate that which rightly belongs to another, have I succeeded ? The only real success possible to any human being is the higher growth of himself. Many a man has made millions, but lost his right to be respected. Many a man has accumulated lands and houses and stocks and bonds who cannot face his own manhood, for he knows that he has for ever forfeited the right to his own self respect. The man who cannot respect himself, who is guilty of violating the sacred divinity within him, can never even regard himself as successful. He may, to be sure, take a little satisfaction in the thought that the world thinks him so, and that thousands covet the luxuries which he enjoys, but there is a self-condemnation which is constantly dragging at his heart, and robbing life of its supreme satisfaction. The great test question, Can I, after this pro- posed transaction, after the carrying out of this thought of plan, this projected course, respect myself as much as before ? would doubtless save many self abasements and check many a character wrecking scheme. It is surely a question which it would often pay to ask, for self respect is the great bed rock of real happiness. (33 Self-Confidence. A man.'s success in life is usually in proportion to his con- fidence in himself and the energy and persistence with which he pursues his aim. In this competing age, there is little hope for the man who does not thoroughly believe in himself. The man who can be easily discouraged or turned aside from his purpose, the man who has no iron in his blood, will never win. Half the giant's strength is in the conviction that he is a giant. The strength of a muscle is enhanced a hundredfold by the will power. The same muscle, when removed from the giant's arm, when divorced from the force of the mighty will, can sustain but a fraction of the weight it did a moment before it was disconnected. PRACTICAL TALKS. 251 If you would succeed up to the limit of your possibilities hold constantly to the belief that you are success-organized, and that you will be successful, no matter what opposes. Never allow a shadow of doubt to enter your mind that the Creator intended you to win in life's battle. Regard every suggestion that your life may be a failure, that you are not made like those who succeed, and that success is not for you. as a traitor, and expel it from your mind as you would a thief from your house. Oh, what miracles confidence has wrought ! What impossible deeds it has helped to perform! It took Napoleon over the Alps in mid-winter ; it took Farragut and Devvey past the cannons, torpedoes and mines of the enemy ; it led Nelson and Grant to victory ; it has been the great tonic in the world of discovery, invention, and art ; it has helped to win the thousand triumphs in war and science which were deemed impossible. A man's greatest enemies are his doubts. Resolutely refuse to surround yourself with an army of doubts, fears, and anxieties. Vigorously dispel these foes of your success and happiness, or they will undermine your future. Be firmly convinced that you are made in the image of perfection, designed for success and happiness, and that you have the power to strangle the evils which would thwart you. Never admit defeat or poverty, though you seem to be down, and have not a cent. Stoutly assert your divine right to be a man, and hold your head up and look the world in the face ; step bravely to the front, whatever opposes, and the world will make way for you. No one will insist upon your rights while you yourself doubt that you have any. Hold firmly the conviction that you possess the qualities requisite for success. Never allow yourself to be a traitor to your own cause by undermining your self-confidence. There never was a time before when persistent, original force was so much in demand as now. The namby-pamby, nerveless man has little show in the hustling, bustling world of to-day. In the twentieth century a man must either push or be pushed. Every one admires the man who can assert his rights, and has the power to demand and take them if denied him. No one can respect the man who slinks in the rear and apologizes for being in the world. Negative virtues are of no use in 252 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. winning one's way. It is the positive man, the man with original energy and push that forges to the front. The man without self-confidence and an iron will is the plaything of chance, the puppet of his environment, the slave of circumstances. With these he is king, ever master of the situation. (603) The Miracle- Working Passion. Enthusiasm has always been the ruling passion of men and women who have attained to greatness. No one has ever moved the heart of the world who has not been touched by this divine fire. Emerson says : " Every good and commanding movement in the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusiasm. Nothing great was ever accomplished without it." Disraeli considered enthusiasm an incomparable faculty, a divine gift which enables a statesman to command the world Phillips Brooks used to caution young clergymen against the danger of losing their enthusiasm, as he thought nothing of importance could be accomplished without it. No, there is no substitute for enthusiasm. It makes all the difference between a half heart and a whole heart, between signal defeat and splendid victory. The young man who hopes to succeed to-day must be smitten with this master passion or his life will be a comparative failure. The one-talented who. has fallen in love with his work, who is enthusiastic over his vccition, will accomplish infinitely more in life than the ten- talented man who has not been touched by this heavenly spark. It is the enthusiasm of youth which cuts the Gordian knot, which age cannot untie. If a youth is possessed by the divine flame of enthusiasm he is not likely to be chilled by the most uncongenial surroundings, or daunted by seemingly insurmounted obstacles. ( 2 3 ] ) The Road to Success. There is but one straight road to success, and that is Merjt The man who is successful is the man who is useful, Capacity never lacks opportunit} r . It cannot remairT undiscovered, because it is sought by too many anxious to utilize it. A capable man on earth is more valuable than any precious deposit under the earth, and the object of a much more vigilant search. Whoever undertakes to build a house, to cultivate a farm, to work a mine, to obtain relief from pain, to maintain a PRACTICAL TALKS. 25:; legal controversy, or to perform any function of civilized life, is actively searching for other men qualified to aid him. To appreciate the thoroughness of the search, it is necessary only to realize the number of persons engaged in all these pursuits and undertakings throughout the world. From such a search, no form of ability can remain concealed. If the possessor of capacity sought to hide himself, he would be discovered and induced to employ his ability for the benefit of those who need it. To be successful, then, one has but to quality himself thoroughly for some occupation. Every man has some natural aptitude. In these days, the training by which natural aptitude is developed into effective ability can be obtained by every youth. No man can hope to be the best in any field of labor, but everyone can hope to be among the best. Time occupied in worrying about opportunities, openings, and starts, is time wasted, because, to every capable man, a " start " and an " opportunity " are always furnished by the necessities of all other men. W. Bourkc Cockran. ( 2 74) Stick to a Thing and Carry it Through. There is no luck, for all practical purposes, to him who is not striving, and whose senses are not all eagerly attent. What are called accidental discoveries are almost invariably made by those who are looking for something. A man incurs about as much risk of being struck by lightning as by acci- dental luck. There is, perhaps, an element of luck in the amount of success which crowns the efforts of different men ; but even here it will usually be found that the sagacity with which the efforts are directed and energy with which they are prosecuted measure pretty accurately the luck contained in the results achieved. Apparent exceptions will be found to relate almost wholly to single undertakings, while in the long run the rule will hold good. Two pearl-divers, equally expert, dive together, and work with equal energy. One brings up a pearl, while the other returns empty-handed. But let both persevere, and at the end of five, ten, or twenty years, it will be found that they have succeeded almost in exact proportion to their skill and industry. Stick to the thing and carry it through. Believe you were made for the place you fill, and that no one else can fill it as well. Put forth your whole energy. Be awake, electrify 254 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. yourself; go forth to the task. Only once learn to carry a thing through in all its completeness and proportion, and you will become a hero. You will think better of yourself; others will think better of you The world in its very heart admires the stern determined doer. (267) Your Ideal must Possess You. To succeed, a man must be possessed, carried away with his work. Who ever heard of an artist producing a great picture who did not fall in love with his ideal, who did not dream of it at night, did not constantly see the vision during his waking hours, did not return again and again to his canvas, each time finding room for improvement, adding a touch here and there, working with tireless zeal to reproduce the beauty of the pic- ture photographed on his brain ? What great book was ever written without the inspiration of enthusiasm : without utter absorption in the characters, the plot, the minutest details of the work ? Dickens was so enthusiastic over the characters of his creation, that he lived with them day and night. They seemed to possess him, and he would go wandering around, at times, as if in dreamland, while under the pressure of this intense consciousness of their reality, literally haunted by them. Michael Angelo was so filled with enthusiasm in his glorious work, and so afraid that the thought of money might taint his brush, that he positively refused to accept any remuneration whatever for his masterpieces in the Vatican and St. Peter's. Raphael's enthusiasm inspired every artist in Italy. Indeed, what has enthusiasm not accomplished? It has painted the great pictures, written the great books, inspired the great poems, performed the great engineering feats t built the great bridges, tunneled the great rivers and mountains, built cities, crossed " impossible " Alps. It has founded colleges and universities, built hospitals and asylums, founded newspapers, invented the telegraph and telephone. It laid the Atlantic cable after thirteen years of struggle and defeat. It sent Stephenson's locomotive triumphant on its way, in spite of carping critics. It forced Fulton's " Folly " up the Hudson to demonstrate to all coming time the wisdom of the inventor. It swung Brooklyn Bridge over the East River. In fact, it has accomplished what the world considered the impossible everywhere. (3 2 9) PRACTICAL TALKS. 2;; Choosing an Occupation. The first requirement cf the college graduate is power. It does not matter how much you know or how much talent you have ; if you cannot transmute your acquirements into prac- tical power, you will be a failure. This is a very hard, practical, common-sense century. Theories do not avail. The world does not ask what you know, but " What can you do '. J " " Can you make use of what you know ? " It wants men who can do things, not dreanToT them or theorize about them. If yoiThave learned to think in practical terms ; if you have used your college as a grindstone to give edge to your faculties and sharpen your mental powers ; if you have used it as a gymnasium, not that you may carry away the weights and pulleys and other apparatus, but to develop your native force ; if your education has been a calling out, an expansion of the forces within you, and not a mertTstuffirig and cramming pro- cess, the world will not long keep you waiting for a place. If your college has increased your power to do, and not merely polished you up a little, you will have no difficulty in winning 3'our way. The world wants leaders, thinkers, doers, men of power and action, men who can step out from the crowd and lead instead of following. The first years after graduation mark the dangerous period in a young man's life. In the majority of cases, the graduate is open-hearted, generous, and susceptible. He has- faith in men and institutions ; he is optimistic, and does not realize how quickly contact with hard facts and actual conditions will tend to harden him, to lower his standard, to dwarf his ideal. He does not appreciate the demoralizing, brutalizing influence of a mere money-making career, which strangles all the finer instincts for the good, the beautiful and the true, dries up the sympathies and dwarfs the growth of the higher self, marbleizes the affections, and crushes^ out all that makes life strong, serene, sweet and noble. He does not realize that the highest character cannot be developed under a low, sordid aim. The young man leaving college feels that he has spent a great deal of time in preparation, that his education has been expensive, and he is anxious to get into something as quickly as possible that will give him the best return in money. And so, unconsciously, he often chooses an occupation which calls into play his inferior qualities, which develops cunning, 256 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. shrewdness, deception, and, for want of activity, permits his finer instincts to shrivel and die. One of the greatest questions a human being is ever called upon to decide is the choice of a career. It affects one's entire character and destiny. No graduate can afford to choose an occupation merely because there is money in it, and he must learn that to look upon a vocation as only a means of getting a living is contemptible. , He must learn that the highest suc- cess is not living-making, money-making, or fame-making, but man-making, woman-making, character-making. Manhood and womanhood overtop position, wealth, vocations and titles, and are grander than any career. Don't go out in life with false standards of success ; but, whatever you decide to do, choose upward. There is no more pitiable sight in the world than that of a promising young graduate selecting a career simply because there is money or possible fame in it. Don't measure everything by the standard of wealth or fame. Don't start out with the idea that poor or obscure men or women are necessarily failures. The brother or sister or mother who remained at home to earn money to send you to college that you might have a career, and who may never be heard from, while your name is blazoned over the earth, may, in reality, be a far greater success than you can possibly be considered. If you look upon your college course as simply a means of raising your commercial value, it will not help you to real success. To have one's mentality stirred by the passion for expansion ; to be dragged out of the narrow rut of ignorance ;, to feel one's life grow larger, wider, and fuller this is success. Whatever you do, choose an occupation which has expan- siveness in it, which will keep you out of a rut, which will develop you along your higher manhood, which will call out your highest and noblest qualities. In other words, select a vocation which will make you more of a man or woman, whether there is money in it or not. (778) The Race to the Plodder. Arago, the great French astronomer, tells us that he became so discouraged in the study of mathematics that he almost re- solved to abandon his effort. He was just about ready to give up when he happened to notice something printed or written under the paper binding of nis book. He unrolled the leaf PRACTICAL TALKS. 257 and found it was from D'Alembert. The letter said : " Go on, sir, go on ! The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Persevere, and the light will dawn and shine with increasing clearness upon your path." This striking passage made an impression upon the young mathematician's mind which he never forgot. It was a perpetual spur to his ambition, and came to him just in the nick of time. He resolved then and there that he would surmount every difficulty ; that he would become a great mathematician himself. He tightened his grip, and urged himself on until fame took him up and told the world the story of one of the greatest astronomers of his time. Gen. Wilson told the writer that he was invited to dine at the White House only ten days before Lincoln's assassination, and in the evening they occupied a box in the theater. Mr Lincoln, as usual, paid very little attention to the play, as he said he went to the theater to get rid of office seekers for a few hours. Arousing himself on this occasion, from an apparent nap, he slapped Gen. Wilson on the shoulder, and said, " I want to tell you a story about Grant and the mule. When Grant was a youngster, the circus came to his town, and he went to the tanner and asked him for a ticket. The hard- headed tanner refused him, so Grant, doing the next best thing (as I did myself), crawled under the tent. The ring-master had an ugly mule, which no one could ride, and offered a prize of a dollar to any boy who would ride the animal round the ring, without being thrown off. Quite a number of boys tried it without success. Finally young Grant ventured out from behind the seats where he was viewing the show, and said to the ring-master, ' I'd like to try that mule.' ' All right,' said the ring-master, and Grant got on, and rode nearly round the ring, but was finally thrown over the animal's head. The boy got up, threw off his coat and said, ' Let me try that again.' This time he got on with his back to the head of the animal, and clung with all his might to his tail, and in spite of all the animal could do held on, and won the dollar." Now, said Lincoln, " Grant will do the same at Richmond. He will hang on, he will never give up. He will try again and again till he succeeds." Hanging op was one of Grant's strong points. He did not know how to let go. He would keep pegging away, no matter what the obstacles, until he triumphed. 17 D. B 258 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. The race is to the plodder. I have in mind several very brilliant graduates of last year and years before, who promised a great deal, and of whom friends predicted great things, but somehow they have disappointed all expectations, simply because they lack sticking qualities. They are good scholars, and they imagined because they ranked high in college, that the} 7 would rank high in life, without great effort. But they lack the hanging-on quality. They do not realize that, in practical life, the race is to the plodder, and not necessarily to the swift. This is why so many brilliant class leaders have become disappointments to their friends. The chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and lack of perse- verance is a fatal deficiency which nothing else will supply. Perhaps the greatest secret of success in life is due to those sticking qualities. Grip conquers the world the faculty of sticking and hanging on when everybody else lets go. It is the five minutes more which wins the battle the dogged perseverance, the determination of never giving up until death or victory comes. (687) Why Many Fail to Obtain and Hold Good Positions Many young men fail to achieve success, because they lack the power or inclination to do hard work. The head of one of our large department stores, in addressing a body of teachers, said: ' No man in the practical world of to-day can hope to get on if he shirks his work. I ask you to use all your power and influence to instill in the minds of those you teach the truth that a man owes work to the world, while the world does not owe him anything. 'V An expert accountant of many years' practice said : " The best man I ever had in my employ was a plodder." The writer, in his experience as a teacher, coming into contact with many thousand young men, has rarely, if ever, found a student who did not possess sufficient ability to make a successful start in life if he was thoroughly imbued with the precept " Keeping everlastingly at it brings suc- cess." Let every young man keep constantly before him the maxim, "If I would succeed I must work." This is the decree of destiny from which no power of genius can absolve us. Many good positions are obtained through well-written letters of application. The ability to write a letter in good straightforward English, in a rapid, neat, and legible style of PRACTICAL TALKS. ?-Q penmanship, free from errors in form, punctuation, and spelling, is an accomplishment well worth acquiring. A large portion of letters of application show on their lace the utter incompetency of the writer, and find their way to the waste basket. A young man of good ability and liberal education applied for a position paying one thousand dollars a year. The letter was written from a large city, and did not contain the street and number of the applicant. The recipient could have obtained the full address from another source, but this omission caused the application to be considered unfavorably. Another applicant lost a position through failure to remove his hat during an interview. Another wore soiled linen. A few cents invested in a laundry bill would have yielded a large return in that instance. It is not indispensable to have the assistance of influential relatives and friends in order to obtain a desirable position. Let any young man show his worth in any reputable school which makes a specialty of training young men and women for business vocations, and he will have little difficulty in obtaining remunerative employment. A well-known commercial school in New York City has standing orders from several large financial institutions to send them any especially worthy graduates. The high-salaried situations are the ones most difficult to fill. Let a position paying from five to ten thousand dollars per annum become vacant, and it is usually with great difficulty that a man can be found who is competent to do the required work and earn the salary. Above .all else, the young man who would succeed must be honest and temperate. He must be what he would appear. There is a premium upon those who possess sterling manhood, fixity of purpose, and a determination to overcome obstacles. Life's highest prizes are within their grasp. (539) Young Men and their Chances. A slogan of the coming campaign will be, " Give the young man a chance ! " I think that his chance to-day depends more upon his relationship to some rich man than it used to, and more than it ought to. In other words, as wealth is concen- trated in the hands of a few, it is more potent to help, or to harm, those who are beneath its immediate influence The young man of to-day is powerless to avoid this, except as he may secure legislation which will protect the God-made 260 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. man froin injury at the hands of the man-made, the corpor- ation-made person. In the meantime, he must endure it. The American youth, when protected by a just government, has more opportunities than the youth of any other nation. An industrial despotism, however, would prove as destructive to the highest manhood as a governmental despotism. American boys aspire to something higher than clerkships under monopolies. Where success depends upon merit, instead of favor, as it always should, intelligence, industry, and honesty, are the three most necessary" qualities. A man's success cannot be measured until he dies. A business man may be counted among the successful one day, and he ma} 7 be a bankrupt the next. A man in public life may be popular one year, and may be forgotten the next. In public life, a imn's success depends more upon his ideas, and upon his honesty, than upon his ability either to speak or write. If his ideas agree with those of the people, he will be popular. If, in addition to having popular ideas, he is able to present them well, his influence is increased. A popular idea is an idea which the majority of the people believe to be con- ducive to the welfare of the country. In regard to the young man in politics, there were never better opportunities for him whose sympathies are broad enough to take in all the people, and who has the ability to defend his convictions, and the courage to abide by them. Such a man should, if he can, obtain a college education, though it is not indispensable. No education, however limited, can be a disadvantage, anywhere, unless it makes the possessor feel himself superior to those about him, and leads him to depend upon his diploma, instead of depending upon his usefulness to others day by da}*. William Jennings Bryan. (43) Character the Test of a Man. A college education will not make a man of a boy. It adds to his knowledge, broadens his mind, puts him on a higher plane ; but it does not necessarily elevate his character or increase his store of moral strength, vhich are the vital things. Every man must work out his own salvation. Aid and inspi- ration from without may awaken and develop the latent force and fire within him; but if the smoldering fire is there, the young man need not go to college to have it brightened into PRACTICAL TALKS. :6: flame. If he reads good books, listens to sermons preachui \< strong, sincere men, associates with good women, and ti.u'rt the weak and evil propensities that lurk in every man, tic- develop his higher possibilities and grow and keep on gn >\v- ing, and be as much of a man as if he were able to tack to his name the abbreviations of university degrees, - perhaps more of a man : for a college education tends to make a bov feel superior to his fellows who have not been through college. It gives him an artificial prop. It tends to the creation of exclusiveness, of classes and of a proclivity for climbing to success on the backs of others. The trouble with the colleges is that they are not democratic enough. They do not teach the broad humanities enough, nor the important fact that character and not culture is the real test of a man. Very many college graduates are reluctant to take off their cuffs and go to work with their hands. They see a wide breach between mental and physical work, and are disinclined to bridge it, even for the forwarding of a high ultimate purpose The young man who feels this great difference between the two kinds of work has been falsely trained. - It is of course better tor him to work with his brain, if he has a good one, but the best brain workers are always those who have done, and never hesitate to do, physical work. If I were a young man and decided to go to college, I should go to one of the institutions where special courses are provided from the beginning to tit the student for the career which he proposes to follow. I should make every effort to master my subjects, not with a view, however, of out-distancing or triumphing over others in the struggle of life, but through a desire to do useful and effective work. The real pleasure and true success in life are to be found in this kind of achievement, and not in winning victories over fellow workers. It is merely the application of the golden rule. If the majority applied it to everyday affairs, most of our social and political problems would be solved, and this world would be a much happier one to live in. Many colleges teach selfishness, that the way to succeed in life is" to defeat others. For the professions, special preliminary training is necessary, but for business, and, speaking more broadly, for successful living as true men and women, the great essentials are character_and self-disci pljne^ in which the college graduates Have no monopoly. Samuel M. Jones, Mayor of Toledo. (539) 262 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. The Triumphs of Enthusiasm. Men and women who have accomplished great things have invariably been dead in earnest. Their souls have been fired with a mighty purpose which has buoyed them up in difficul- ties, and carried them through hardships which, without enthusiasm, they could never have endured. Enthusiasm multiplies power. It is that mysterious some- thing, that indefinable quality that forces conviction, that makes mediocre ability more successful than great talent without it. It was enthusiasm which enabled Cyrus W. Field, after thirteen years of defeat, to lay the Atlantic cable. It was enthusiasm, in spite of carping critics, that sped Stephenson's locomotive to its triumphant goal. It was enthusiasm that sent Fulton's " Folly " on its successful way up the Hudson, to the dismay and consternation of his croaking detractors. It was enthusiasm that led Patrick Henry to utter those burning words of patriotic eloquence, which every school boy and girl delights to declaim. It was enthusiasm or patriotic zeal that sent Sherman dashing down the Shenandoah Valley on his triumphant march to the sea. Enthusiasm has given birth to every invention, every masterpiece of painting or sculpture, every great poem, novel, or essay that holds the world breathless with admiration. It has been the determining factor in many a great vjictory.. Nothing is more contagious than enthusiasm. ' One man fired with the resolve of a noble purpose will sway thousands, and carry them along with him by the force of this power. This quality is the promise of strength and victory even in youth. When a boy comes to me bubbling over with enthusiasm and earnestness, I believe there is a future for him. The enthusiasm of youth is almost irresistible. It casts all shadows behind. It sees nothing but sunshine. It drives away fear and limitation. Nothing can take its place. Ability cannot ; education cannot ; industry cannot. Enthusiasm, like beaut}', is a divine gift, and yet it can be cultivated. To the admonition of the wise man, then, " With all thy getting, get understanding," I would add this other, with all thy getting, get enthusiasm. It is the salt of life, the transmuting power that renews and enriches everything it touches. It gives new heart and courage to the timid, new hope to the disheartened, and to the already strong and courageous increased power for good. (387) PRACTICAL TALKS. 263 Don't Wait for your Opportunity. Make it, as Lincoln made his in the log cabin in the wilder- ness. Make it, as Henry Wilson made his during hi? evenings on a farm, when he read a thousand volumes while other boys of the neighborhood wasted their evenings. Make it as the shepherd boy Ferguson made his when he calculated the distance of the stars with a handful of beads on a string. Make it, as George Stephenson made his when he mastered the rules of mathematics with a bit of chalk on the sides of the coal wagons in the mines. Make it, as Douglass made his when he learned to read from scraps of paper and posters. Make it, as Napoleon made his in a hundred im- portant situations. Make it, as the deaf and blind Helen Keller is making hers. Make it, as every man must who would accomplish anything worth the effort. Golden oppor- tunities are nothing to laziness, and the greatest advantage will make you ridiculous if you are not prepared for it. (174) Learn to Expect a Great Deal of Life. An infinite benefit comes from forming the habit of expecting the best of life for oneself. Do not go about with an expression of discontent on your face, giving everybody the impression that the good things of this world were intended for some cne else. Practise the art of stretching your mind over great expectations. In this way you will broaden your position. If you learn the art of expecting great things for and from your- self, you are more likely to prepare yourself for great things. A sort of discontent has led to all the great things which have happened from the time of the earliest Hottentots to that of the Lincolns and the Gladstones. No one can accomplish anything great in this world who is contented with little, who is confident that he was made for little things, or is satisfied with what happens to come in his way. A man who expects great things of himself is constantly trying to open a little wider the doors of his narrow life, to extend his limited knowledge, to reach a little higher, to get a little farther on than those around him. He has enough of the divine disposition within him to spur him on to nobler endeavors. He looks to get the best of the things offered to him. (228) 264 TWENTIETH CEXTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. SPELLING. Incorrect spelling is one of the worst faults of a steno- grapher. With dictionaries* as cheap and accessible as they are, there is no excuse for one who habitually mis-spells. Many stenographers fail to obtain a position because they mis-spell their letters of application, and the unfortunate fact regarding it is that, generally, they do not know that it was their mis-spelling that disqualified them. Look up every word of a letter rather than send it out with one word mis-spelt. A habit of using the dictionary will correct the very worst of spellers. This art is best learned from spelling- books and dictionaries, and from observation in reading. Rules for Spelling. Monosyllables. i. The final letter of a monosyllable ending with f, 1, or s, preceded by a single vowel, is doubled ; as, muff, bill, moss. 2. The final letter of a monosyllable ending with any other consonant than f, 1, or s, is not doubled ; as, bar, rag, rod. Exceptions. Clef, if, of; nil, sol ; as, gas, has, was, yes, his, is, this, us, pus, thus ; ebb ; add ; egg ; inn, bunn ; burr, err ; butt ; buzz, fuzz Doubling the Final Consonant. i. The final consonant of a monosyllable, or of a word accented on the last syllable, ending with a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, is doubled on receiving a suffix beginning with a vowel ; as, hot, hotter ; occur, occurring : transfer, transferring. 2. The final consonant is not doubled if it is not preceded by a single vowel, if it is preceded by one or more consonants, or if the accent is not on the last syllable ; as, toil, toiling; sound, sounded; differ, different. Final x is never doubled, being equivalent to the two con- sonants, ks or qz ; as, fix, fixed ; tax, taxing. * " Pitman's Pocket Dictionary of the English Language." Thoroughly revised. Contains many new features. Size, 5 by 3 in. Leather, gilt edges. Price 75C. APPENDIX. Final E. i. In words ending with silent e. the e i- ally omitted on receiving a suffix beginning with a vowel ; as, move, movable ; love, loved ; able, abler. In words ending with ce or ge, c is retained before termina- tions beginning with a, o, or u, in order to preserve the soft sounds of c and g; as, trace, traceable ; courage, couragmiif. E is retained in dye, singe, springe, swinge, tinge, hoc, shoe, and toe, before the termination ing; as, dye, dyeing; shoe, shoeing. In words ending with ie the c is omitted and the i is changed into y before the termination ing in order to prevent the doubling of i ; as, tie, lying: belie, belying. 2. In words ending with silent e, the c is generally retained on receiving a suffix beginning with a consonant ; as, dire, direful ; care, careless. The following words are exceptions : Abridgment, ac- knoivlcdgment, argument, judgment, duly, truly, awful, nursling, cci^dom, wholly. Words ending with y. i. In words ending with y, preceded by a consonant, y is changed into i on receiving one or more suffixed letters or syllables ; as, try, tries ; lively, liveliest. Y is not changed into i before the termination ing ; as, dry, drying ; rely, relying. 2. In words ending with y preceded by a vowel, y is retained on receiving one or more suffixed letters or syllables ; as. money, moneys ; joy, joyful; pay, payable. Paid from pay; laid from lay; said, and aaith from say ; slam from slay ; and daily from day; are exceptions. Words ending with a Double Letter In words ending with any double letter except 1, the double letter is retained on receiving a suffix which does not commence with the same letter ; as, puff, puffing; careless, carelessly. Compounds. In compound words, the simple words from which they are formed are generally spelled in the same manner as when alone ; as, scoop-net, blue-eyed, pay-master. In words ending with 11, one 1 is often dropped when forming part of a compound, or derivative word, except on icceiving a suffix beginning with a vowel; as, all, also,- till, until ; roll, rolling. 266 TWENTIETH CENTURY BUSINESS DICTATION BOOK. PUNCTUATION. Punctuation is necessary to mark the parts and sections into which sentences and paragraphs are divided, so that the exact meaning may be quite clear. The real use of punctua- tion is to cut off and separate single words, or groups of words, from one another. A correct method of punctuation is often the means of preventing ambiguity, and of marking the exact sense in which the words of a sentence are to be understood. Incorrect punctuation sometimes renders a sentence com- plete nonsense. The practice of modern business writers is to avoid the too frequent use of punctuation. The relation of the different parts of a sentence to each other, or of one sentence to another, should be made as clear as possible by a proper arrangement of the words ; because punctuation tends to break the continuity of the written language. The chief stops used in commercial correspondence are : 1, The comma, , 5. The point of interrogation, ? 2, The semicolon, ; 6. The dash, - 3, The colon, : 7. The parenthesis, ( ) 4, The period, . 8. Brackets, [ ] The Comma (,). The comma denotes the shortest pause in commercial correspondence. i. A comma is used to separate the short parts of compound sentences, when they are connected by con- junctions. There zvas a sudden fall in the price of these securities yesterday, and buyers were, consequently, very cautions. 2 A comma is used to separate the clauses of complex sentences, except where the connection is very close, or where the qualifying clause or clauses are very short. The buyers were instructed to withhold their orders, prices being so high. 3. An inverted or transposed clause must be divided by commas from the rest of the sentence. When you have completed the work, you may send in your bill. APPENDIX. 267 4. Clauses, phrases, and words which occur between other parts of a sentence and interrupt the connection must be separated by commas. The prices at which the goods were supplied, as <\r have already remarked, were for prompt cash. You may, generally speaking, depend upon receiving g'//// of the i oth inst. : " The great demand for rubber has caused a rise in the market price of from ten to fifteen per cent." The colon is less used than formerly, its place being taken by the period or the semicolon. The Period (.). 1. A period must be placed at the end of every sentence ; as We expect to forward your order lo-mornw. 2. A period must be placed at the end of every abbrevia- tion, and after single letters standing for a full word. When the abbreviated word occurs at the end of a sentence, one period is sufficient to denote both the abbreviation and the end of the sentence ; as We have charged interest at the rate of 5 per cent. A period must be placed at the end of headings, titles, and other expressions used alone and equivalent to abbreviated sentences; as Jones and Sons. The period is also used after figures and letters employed as figures, when successive facts or particulars are stated in order, such as the figures employed in numbering paragraphs. The Point of Interrogation (?). A point of interrogation must be placed at the end of every sentence which contains a direct question ; as What are your terms and prices for your Text-book of Phonography ? When several questions are included in a single sentence, and the meaning is not complete until the last one is put, only one point of interrogation is'used ; as Shall we remit the amount due to you by check, or would you prefer to draw on us ? - -- - - --- r- = ;-s:\-vc.i -""_ T - :\ Tbe dash is used to deno^ a change in die construction or meammgof a .UHH.HU., an interruption., a hesatatkxi, or words and cbmses used ttretttibetkally. *~t*fA*g**~&tfir**s*f Amw whiiJi may be temporarily tafcm as a single* as, "Oar ever-to-be-famented friend.*' hyuheu is also emptojed to mark die division of a word into its syllables ; as, In-com-pre-hen-s^bil-i-ty. [arks ( ) are used to denote the omission letters, as S -r D -w for Senator Depew. APPENDIX. The Caret ( ' ) is used in manusc word omitted in its proper place is to be t j the margin. The Brace (* ) is used to connect tw words or expressions with one common terir The Ditto, or Double Comma (,. ), 'epeating the word or the words above it. 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