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THE 
 PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 HIS DUTIES AND 
 OPPORTUNITIES 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD JONES KILDUFF, M.A. 
 
 INSTRUCTOR IN BUSINESS ENGLISH, 
 
 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 
 SCHOOL or COMMERCE, ACCOUNTS, AND FINANCE 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE CENTURY CO. 
 
 1916 
 
If 
 
 Copyright, 1916, by 
 THE CENTURY Co. 
 
 Published, September, ma 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This book is the outgrowth of a series of lectures 
 on private secretarial duties delivered by the author 
 at New York University, School of Commerce, Ac- 
 counts and Finance. The lectures were given to 
 meet a demand from private secretaries and from 
 prospective private secretaries, who desired to learn 
 just what the duties of the private secretary were, 
 how best to perform these duties, and also how to 
 fit themselves fully for the position. 
 
 The purpose of this book, then, is to give to those 
 persons who are seeking to prepare themselves to 
 become private secretaries or assistants to employ- 
 ers in the business or professional field the informa- 
 tion that they will need to have about their specific 
 duties. In addition it seeks to aid prospective pri- 
 vate secretaries by pointing out briefly the general 
 knowledge and qualities that they should possess. 
 
 To Edward P. Currier, Secretary to Frank A. 
 Vanderlip (the President of the National City 
 Bank) ; to William B. Tyler, Financial Secretary 
 to Cornelius Vanderbilt of New York City ; and es- 
 pecially to John Burke, Secretary to Michael Fried- 
 sam (President of B. Altman Company of New 
 
 34270 
 
PREFACE 
 
 York), the author acknowledges a debt for infor- 
 mation given. 
 
 The illustrations used in the chapter on filing are 
 shown through the courtesy of the Library Bureau. 
 
 Professor George Burton Hotchkiss, head of the 
 Business English Department of New York Uni- 
 versity, School of Commerce, Accounts and Fi- 
 nance has contributed much to the making of this 
 book by his advice and criticism. 
 
 EDWARD J. KILDUFF. 
 
 New York University, 
 June 1, 1916. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTEB PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO PRIVATE SECRETARIAL WORK . . 1 
 
 I LEARNING? THE POSITION 21 
 
 II MANAGING CALLERS . . . . . . .35 
 
 III HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 60 
 
 IV POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 87 
 
 V THE MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF THE LETTER 111 
 
 VI FILING '..... 144 
 
 VII OUTLINES AND REPORTS 174 
 
 VIII TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING, AND CABLING 188 
 
 IX SOURCES OP INFORMATION ...... 208 
 
 X EDITING, PRINTING, AND PROOF READING . 220 
 
 XI APPOINTMENTS, DIARIES, AND ACCOUNTS . 244 
 
 XII ETHfbs AND AMENITIES 265 
 
 XIII SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE . . . . . 277 
 ^ 
 
 APPENDIX 293 
 
 INDEX . 319 
 
INTRODUCTION TO PRIVATE 
 SECRETARIAL WORK 
 
 Various classes of secretaries 
 
 The word secretary has its origin in common with 
 the word secret, for both are derived from the Latin 
 secretus which means private, secret, pertaining to 
 private or secret matters. Hence came the defini- 
 tion of secretary as one who is intrusted with pri- 
 vate or secret matters; a confidential officer or at- 
 tendant; a confidant. A secondary definition of 
 the word secretary is the following: a person who 
 conducts correspondence, takes minutes, and so 
 forth, for another or others; as for an individual, 
 a corporation, a society, or a committee; and who 
 is charged with the general conduct of the business 
 arising out of or requiring such correspondence, 
 the making of such records, and so forth. 
 
 The definitions of secretary given above are 
 general and are intended to cover all classes of 
 secretaries. More exact definitions are needed, 
 however, for secretaries are usually of a specific 
 kind. It may be said that there are five main classi- 
 fications of those who .besir t'he ti)er6f secretary: 
 
 i 
 
2 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 (1) the political public-office holding secretary; 
 
 (2) the secretary of the public or semi-public or- 
 ganization; (3) the corporation secretary and the 
 " company secretary " ; (4) the social secretary ; and 
 (5) the private secretary. 
 
 The political public-office holding secretary is 
 one who has been appointed or elected to a political 
 office where he performs the duties that go with the 
 office. The Secretary of the Navy in the United 
 States, for example, has charge of naval affairs and 
 acts as adviser to 'the President on such matters. 
 As a secretary of this type has more or less full 
 executive powers in his particular field, he can be 
 called a true executive. 
 
 The second classification of secretaries includes 
 those who are secretaries to educational institu- 
 tions, charitable organizations, chambers of com- 
 merce, merchants' associations, and so on. Such 
 secretaries, so-called, possess a specialized knowl- 
 edge of their particular fields and are usually in 
 direct charge of the workings of their organizations. 
 Although these secretaries are under the nominal 
 supervision of the executive committee or the execu- 
 tive head, yet they themselves are real executives. 
 
 In the third classification of those who bear the 
 title of secretary are those called corporation sec- 
 retaries and " company secretaries." The secretary 
 to a corporatioii in the. United 'States is usually one 
 
INTRODUCTION 3 
 
 of the elected or appointed officers of the organiza- 
 tion. He is commonly secretary in name only, as 
 subordinates usually perform whatever duties of 
 secretarial nature are attached to the office. Some 
 of these duties are: the keeping of minutes, the 
 notification of stockholders of meetings, the care 
 of the various documents, and so forth. In Eng- 
 land there is a special type of secretary known spe- 
 cifically by the name of " Company Secretary." 
 Ordinarily such a " Company Secretary " has re- 
 ceived training in performing the duties which de- 
 volve upon the secretary of a company or corpora- 
 tion, and is hired for the purpose of attending to 
 those duties. Seldom or never in England is the 
 position of the " Company Secretary " nominal, as 
 it so often is in the United States. 
 
 Social secretaries are included in the fourth 
 classification. A social secretary is one who per- 
 forms for an individual certain duties connected 
 with that individual's social intercourse. Some of 
 the duties of such a secretary are the handling of 
 social correspondence, the planning of entertain- 
 ments, the keeping of household accounts, the act- 
 ing as adviser, confidant, and living Who 's Who. 
 
 A line cannot be sharply drawn in definitions be- 
 tween the social secretary and the private secretary, 
 for these terms are often applied to the same per- 
 son and the duties of each are in many cases iden- 
 
4 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 tical. However, as it is not the purpose of this 
 book to deal with the duties of the social secretary 
 insofar as social duties are concerned, the so- 
 cial secretary will be considered as a special 
 type not included under the title of private sec- 
 retary. 
 
 The private secretary defined 
 
 In all probability the private secretary of the 
 fifth classification was the forerunner in the mat- 
 ter of time of the other four types of secretaries 
 mentioned above. The Roman Emperor Aurelian 
 (272-275) had his secretaries. In some cases these 
 men were not true private secretaries, but were more 
 like the present-day stenographers. In the major- 
 ity of instances, however, they were more than mere 
 clerks, for they were in charge of the correspondence 
 of the Emperor and also performed other duties that 
 the modern private secretary performs. The writ- 
 ing of letters was, nevertheless, the chief function 
 of these secretaries. 
 
 Within the confines of this book the private secre- 
 tary (sometimes called the "assistant," as, "the 
 Assistant to the President") will be considered as 
 one who performs for an individual certain duties 
 connected with that individual's personal, business, 
 or professional affairs. These duties will vary ac- 
 cording to the personal, business, or professional 
 
INTRODUCTION 7 
 
 There is a constantly increasing demand from 
 business men for private secretaries. Not many 
 years ago the business man or, for that matter, any 
 man in the United States who had a private secre- 
 tary, was a rarity. Private secretaries were 
 thought to be all right for England and the Con- 
 tinent, but it was not considered in accord with 
 our democratic tendencies to have one man sub- 
 merge his individuality to one better off finan- 
 cially. The duties of society in the United States 
 did not demand the private secretary. Business 
 was not yet complex enough to force many business 
 men to have some one act as their other self. As 
 time went on business became more complex and 
 intensive. The demands on the big executive be- 
 came so great that he had to find more time. This 
 is just the want that the private secretary meets, 
 for he takes so many details from the shoulders of 
 the employer that the latter can devote more time 
 to his important executive work. 
 
 Opportunities for stenographers 
 
 Many private secretaries to big men have begun 
 their careers as stenographers. Gradually they 
 have taken upon themselves various little respon- 
 sibilities ; gradually they have acquired a knowledge 
 of the workings of the office and of the wishes of 
 their chiefs. Then slowly they themselves have 
 
8 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 come to realize that they are no longer mere stenog- 
 raphers who take dictation and transcribe it on 
 the typewriter. They are private secretaries, if 
 not in name, then certainly in fact. 
 
 Stenography is a fertile field for the man who is 
 ambitious, for this kind of work leads to great suc- 
 cesses by a comparatively short road. Nearly 
 every department in a modern business corpora- 
 tion, nearly every important man, has stenogra- 
 phers. In his daily work, therefore, the competent 
 stenographer has the privilege of sitting at the 
 elbow of educated and highly trained men who are 
 holding responsible positions. This is a liberal 
 education in itself, for by coming in daily contact 
 with the forceful personalities of these men and by 
 gradually absorbing from them the keen knowledge 
 of business^ the stenographer has a wonderful op- 
 portunity for bettering himself. The details of the 
 work and methods of these important men daily 
 pass through the brain and fingers of the stenog- 
 rapher in every letter that goes out from the office. 
 Day by day the wide-awake stenographer is brought 
 into closer touch with the business of his employer. 
 He cannot but take in many valuable bits of in- 
 formation concerning his employer's business, his 
 customs, policies, and transactions. Moreover, a 
 great stimulus is at hand for the stenographer. 
 This stimulus comes from the constant and personal 
 
INTRODUCTION 9 
 
 contact with the trained mind and strong intellect 
 of his employer. 
 
 The direct line of advancement for the stenog- 
 rapher leads into the position of private secretary. 
 This fact the stenographer ought to realize. After 
 he has seen, then, that the next and logical step in 
 his career is to become a private secretary, he should 
 set about preparing himself for the place. He 
 should be continually alive to his opportunities. 
 He should be wide-awake. No matter if the one 
 from whom the stenographer takes dictation is an 
 unimportant officer in the company or is an un- 
 important man, yet, by making a good private 
 secretary for him, the stenographer will make him- 
 self a good private secretary foij the bigger man, 
 who must in time notice the stenographer's com- 
 petency in the smaller position. Good/work, com- 
 petency, and efficiency can never be hiclflen for long 
 either in business or in any other place, because 
 business men are constantly searching for just these 
 qualities. Moreover, since the stenographer is so 
 close to the one in charge of important affairs, he 
 has many opportunities to display those qualities 
 which lead to promotion and /advancement. 
 
 The opportunities of the private secretary 
 
 At the present time the need of and the demand 
 for secretaries to business men are continually 
 
10 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 growing. It is in the business field that the private 
 secretary of the near future will find his greatest 
 opportunities for work and advancement. Many 
 instances could be given which show that the able 
 private secretary does not remain a private secre- 
 tary for all time, but that he has unusual opportuni- 
 ties to advance into an executive^ position. For 
 such a position he is well trained by experience be- 
 cause the nature of his employment as private sec- 
 retary usually makes him the logical substitute 
 when the executive cannot act personally. 
 
 The career of George Bruce Cortelyou, president 
 of the Consolidated Gas Company of New York, is 
 directly to the point. In November, 1895, he was 
 appointed stenographer to the President of the 
 United States. In May, 1900, he became the 
 private secretary to President McKinley. Until 
 1903 he served President Roosevelt in the same ca- 
 pacity. At that time, he was appointed Secretary 
 of Commerce and Labor. In March, 1905, he was 
 made Postmaster-General, and on March 4, 1907, 
 he became Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker, in the Cab- 
 inet of President Wilson, had already had cabinet 
 experience, for he had acted as private secretary 
 to Postmaster-General Wilson in 1896. 
 
 The private secretary has a great advantage from 
 being in proximity to those at the top, for he may 
 
INTRODUCTION 11 
 
 learn a business thoroughly and directly without 
 the delays and rebuffs that are unavoidable when 
 one begins at the bottom. He is personally trained 
 in the large problems of the business by the head of 
 the business himself. Since he gains not only a 
 basic, but alsp a specific knowledge of his employ- 
 er's busines^, it is reasonable and likely that he 
 should be placed in a good executive position when 
 a man is demanded who is familiar with the in- 
 tricacies of the business. The private secretary 
 has the opportunity of impressing his employer with 
 his good personal qualities qualities which will 
 make the employer value and esteem him. 
 
 The private secretary has also the opportunity 
 of meeting the important persons who come to see 
 his employer. Upon these he has the chance of 
 making a favorable impression which will be of 
 great advantage to him in the future. Moreover, 
 the private secretary comes into such frequent and 
 intimate contact with these callers that he is soon 
 upon a friendly and personal footing with them. 
 Hence the private secretary has the opportunity 
 of making business friends and acquaintances of 
 the highest type and of the most valuable kind f 
 an opportunity which is not offered to the aver- 
 age man. Such acquaintances are of special help 
 if the private secretary ever secures an executive 
 position. Because of his friendship with men of 
 
12 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 such a high type and because of their knowledge 
 of his personality, character, and business worth, 
 the private secretary is of great value to the firm 
 which employs him for the executive position. 
 
 Knowledge that the private secretary should have 
 
 Although it is the duty of the private secretary 
 to carry details and to see that they are properly 
 presented when broad questions of policy are to 
 be determined, nevertheless he is very often called 
 upon to advise with his executive in large questions 
 of policy. Since this is so, the private secretary, 
 besides having a knowledge of the duties of a private 
 secretary, should have a sound, broad knowledge of 
 business in general and a specific knowledge of 
 the particular business of the employer. With such 
 knowledge he will be able to make his own decisions 
 and will also be able to advise and help his em- 
 ployer. Accordingly , it is well that the private sec- 
 retary should prepare himself as much as possible 
 in the business of his employer. His line of ad- 
 vancement lies in the developing of his knowledge 
 of the business of his employer. 
 
 A good education is an essential element. The 
 employer and the persons met by the secretary in 
 the performance of his duties are usually of such a 
 class that any weakness in the education of the 
 secretary is quickly perceived to his disad- 
 
INTRODUCTION 13 
 
 vantage. Those, therefore, who have had the ad- 
 vantages of the higher forms of education usually 
 make the best secretaries. A college training ( the 
 academic type will be found to be the most valu- 
 able) of some nature is desirable, for it will provide 
 a general knowledge and also some culture. If 
 the secretary has not received a college training, he 
 should work to secure its equivalent by wide read- 
 ing, personal study, and observation. The high- 
 grade positions positively demand that the secre- 
 tary shall have 7 refinement and culture! 7 To this 
 training should be added a training in the specific 
 work of the employer. An example of the type of 
 education that will give a man the basic knowledge 
 of so much value in the high-grade secretarial posi- 
 tions follows: 
 
 English^ 
 Economics 
 
 History (Ancient, European, and American) 
 Philosophy 
 Psychology 
 Mathematics 
 Geography 
 
 Two foreign languages (French and 
 usually). 
 
 As soon as the secretary has secured his first posi- 
 tion with a business or professional man, or has 
 
14 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 changed his position from an employer in one 
 branch of business to an employer in a different 
 branch, he should begin to study and specialize 
 on the subjects in direct relation to the business of 
 that employer. Several examples of such groups 
 of subjects are given below : 
 
 Secretary to a banker Secretary to head of a manu- 
 
 facturing industry 
 
 Banking (in general) Factory Management 
 
 Foreign Exchange Efficiency Engineering 
 
 Investment and Speculation Welfare Work 
 Finance Business Law 
 
 Financial History Accounting 
 
 Accounting Finance 
 
 Business Law Selling 
 
 Real Estate Advertising 
 
 Money and Credit 
 
 Secretary to a life insurance official 
 
 Statistics Money and Credit 
 
 Security Investments Accounting 
 
 Principles of Insurance Finance 
 
 Business Law Banking 
 
 Stenography and typewriting 
 
 A knowledge of stenography and typewriting, it 
 must be admitted, is not an essential requirement 
 for the private secretary in the higher type of posi- 
 tion. Few letters, if any, will be dictated word for 
 word by the chief to the secretary, because the 
 office stenographers will usually take such dicta- 
 tion. In the few cases, say of letters on very con- 
 fidential or delicate matters, the private secretary 
 might be asked to take down personally the chiefs 
 ideas. By using an abbreviated form of long hand 
 
INTRODUCTION 15 
 
 or by taking careful notes in long hand, the sec- 
 retary can secure a nearly verbatim record. De- 
 spite the fact that a knowledge of stenography is 
 not a prime requisite for the private secretary, such 
 a knowledge is an asset. In many instances it will 
 be of aid to the chief to have a word for word record 
 / of certain talks at a meeting, of a conversation over 
 ^ - the telephone, and so forth. Moreover, a knowledge 
 of stenography will aid the secretary himself, for 
 stenography is a time saver and allows its user to 
 make note of details in accurate form. 
 
 In the better positions, typists do the typing for 
 the chief and also for the secretary. On certain 
 occasions, however, a knowledge of typing will come 
 in handy for the secretary. Certain confidential 
 notes and short reports may have to be written. It 
 may be considered safer by the secretary not to in- 
 trust the writing of such matters to any one but 
 himself. To be sure, these matters can be written 
 out in long hand, but a knowledge of typewriting is 
 an asset that will frequently prove its worth. As 
 a matter of fact, most secretaries have a knowledge 
 of both stenography and typewriting. 
 
 The successful private secretary 
 
 There are too many ordinary private secretaries. 
 Capable secretaries, however, are difficult to find. 
 Unless a man intends to be a first-class secretary. 
 
16 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 he should not go into the secretarial work, for the 
 big rewards are only for the secretaries who are 
 above the average. 
 
 A secretary who has a real intention of becom- 
 ing a success must pull himself up above ordinary 
 secretaries. Every little point that will aid him in 
 helping his employer should be seized upon and 
 put to work. These little efforts bring remark- 
 able results and do much toward making the secre- 
 tary efficient and successful. Nearly every one can 
 easily and quickly learn the fundamentals and the 
 big principles of secretarial work, but to this knowl- 
 edge the good secretary ought to add those little 
 refinements which will make his work better. 
 
 The real peril of the private secretary is that he 
 is too often content to be of the average rather 
 than of the best. It is not enough that he should 
 be the same to-day as he was yesterday. It is not 
 enough to be automatic to be down at the office 
 exactly at nine o'clock and to leave exactly at 
 twelve; to be back promptly at one and to leave 
 again at five o'clock. It is not enough that he 
 should say, " I do everything I am told to do - 
 what more can I do? " It is the little extra service 
 rendered in business that tells with the employer. 
 He will soon realize whether you are bettering your 
 work with him and helping him more day by day 
 or are standing still in the kind and amount of 
 
INTRODUCTION 17 
 
 service that you are rendering. The difference be- 
 tween the successful private secretary and the un- 
 successful one is that the first makes the position 
 greater than he found it; and the second keeps it 
 where he found it and it keeps him there or drops 
 him. The secretary must continually be on the 
 search for ways and methods of aiding his em- 
 ployer; for the more he can help the employer, the 
 more valuable he makes himself to the employer. 
 
THE 
 PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 HIS DUTIES AND 
 OPPORTUNITIES 
 
THE 
 PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 HIS DUTIES AND 
 OPPORTUNITIES 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 LEARNING THE POSITION 
 
 " THEN, I '11 see you on' the train about five 
 o'clock." With these words John Forbes, presi- 
 dent of the Forbes Steel Company, hung up the 
 telephone receiver. 
 
 After a moment's thought, he pressed a button 
 at the side of his desk. Then he sank back in his 
 chair and musingly stroked his chin. He was 
 wondering whether Frank Campbell, the new 
 private secretary he had engaged a few days be- 
 fore, could manage the many business matters that 
 would come up during his absence from the city. 
 
 He had pondered this question for only a few 
 seconds when Campbell himself, a smooth-shaven, 
 
 alert -looking man, stepped into the private office. 
 
 21 
 
22 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 " Take a chair, Campbell/' said Forbes. And 
 he motioned Campbell to the chair beside his desk. 
 
 " I am leaving to-night for Pittsburgh for my 
 monthly meeting with the superintendents of the 
 mills," the president continued. " I shall be gone 
 about five days. Do you think you 've got the hang 
 of the office so that you can manage things until I 
 come back? " 
 
 " I feel sure that I can," answered Campbell in 
 such a reassuring tone that Mr. Forbes was in- 
 wardly satisfied that he could. 
 
 " You have n't been here very long, but I 've no- 
 ticed that you are taking hold of affairs very rap- 
 idly," said Mr. Forbes, and then added : " If any- 
 thing urgent does come up, you can get me at the 
 Fort Pitt Hotel where I shall stay. 
 
 " If Mr. Lambert should come in to see me about 
 the finance committee's report," continued Mr. 
 Forbes, "you might find out his opinion on the 
 recommendation, for the new bonus system." And 
 for the next five minutes he gave Campbell in- 
 structions about a number of different matters, 
 while Campbell jotted down the main facts. " I 
 think that will help you," concluded Mr. Forbes. 
 
 " Shall I look after train accommodations and 
 the other matters? " asked the private secretary. 
 
 " Yes, if you will," answered Mr. Forbes. " I 
 want to go on the five o'clock train." 
 
LEAKNING THE POSITION 23 
 
 After the secretary had left the private office for 
 the outside office, Mr. Forbes listened intently. He 
 heard Campbell telephone to his butler to pack his 
 suit-case and to have the automobile down at the 
 office by 4:30. He heard him telephone to the 
 Grand Central Station to reserve a stateroom on the 
 five o'clock train. He heard him dictate a telegram 
 for hotel accommodations. With an appreciative 
 smile he thought, " He is learning the position rap- 
 idly. " Then he turned his attention to the letters 
 on his desk. 
 
 The new position must be quickly mastered 
 
 Although the secretary has had experience or 
 knows the various things that the secretary should 
 know, nevertheless he is by no means fully pre- 
 pared to serve his employer. The experienced sec- 
 retary knows, and the beginner will quickly real- 
 ize, that there is a vast amount of knowledge which 
 he must secure just as soon as he can. ^ In other 
 words, he must learn his job the particular job 
 of being the private secretary to his new employer ; 
 he must catch up with his position.^ 
 
 This large amount of knowledge that the secre- 
 tary must obtain before he can be of much assistance 
 is divided into two main divisions : first, he must 
 learn how his employer wants things done; second, 
 he must secure answers to such questions as, " What 
 
24 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 kind of man is the chief? " " What is his life his- 
 tory?" "Who are his personal friends? his 
 business friends?" "What peculiarities have 
 these friends?" "What are the hobbies and ac- 
 tivities of the employer?" ^What has happened 
 in the office before I came? " and so forth. These 
 are only a few of the questions to which the secre- 
 tary must find answers almost immediately, for it 
 is only after he has acquired this knowledge that 
 he is able to understand how he is to act. The 
 learning of the job, then, is probably the most 
 arduous task that will be performed by the secre- 
 tary in his whole career in his position. During 
 the first month or two the secretary should make 
 every endeavor to master all these facts. Besides, 
 he will have to carry on his regular daily duties at 
 the same time. 
 
 Learning the employer's methods 
 
 The first step taken by the new secretary is to 
 become acquainted with the employer's method of 
 doing things. No two employers are exactly alike. 
 Each has his own individual and peculiar methods. 
 The secretary is there, not to force his ways on the 
 employer, but to find out how the employer wants 
 everything done and then to act in that way. Al- 
 though the secretary's ways may be better, neverthe- 
 less it is wise at first to do things as they have been 
 
J 
 
 m LEARNING THE POSITION 25 
 
 done previously. Later, when the secretary will 
 have more time, changes can be gradually brought 
 about and new methods introduced. 
 
 The secretary should bring with him, of course, a 
 knowledge of the more or less routine and mechan- 
 ical duties, such, for instance, as the keeping of a 
 record of engagements, the filing of correspondence, 
 and the keeping of personal accounts. But in such 
 matters as the composing of letters and the making 
 of appointments matters into which the element 
 of the personal taste and desires of the employer en- 
 ters it is always best to discover the wishes of 
 the chief. Even in the case of pure routine, it 
 will be found that the chief will want his own pe- 
 culiar way followed out to the letter. Whatever 
 these desires may be, however strange his peculiar- 
 ities are, they should be found out at once and then 
 should be conformed with. Friction will thus be 
 avoided. 
 
 The desires of the chief can be discovered by ob- 
 servation and by tactful inquiries. Of the two, the 
 first is the better method, for continual question- 
 ing by the secretary as to how the employer wants 
 things done is exceedingly wearisome to him. The 
 employer should be spared questions as much as 
 possible, but the secretary should always have the 
 courage to speak up and ask directly for informa- 
 tion without which he cannot go ahead intelligently 
 
26 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 with his work. A candid confession of ignorance 
 is better than going ahead blindly. Many an 
 employer will tell the secretary just how he is to 
 perform certain acts. But in case no such informa- 
 tion is forthcoming, the secretary should go ahead 
 and act as best he can. If he is w r rong, the em- 
 ployer will soon put him on the right road. 
 
 Learning about the employer 
 
 Since the secretary is going to act for his chief 
 and since he is going to be in close contact w r ith 
 him, he should set about learning as much as he 
 can concerning the employer. Not only should he 
 learn as much about the business history of the 
 employer as possible, but he should also become 
 familiar with the chiefs personal life and char- 
 acter. 
 
 In many instances a short history of the life of 
 the chief can be found in a Who 's Who, a social 
 register, or a blue book. Informatory works of 
 such types will give valuable information in the 
 form of the main facts about the employer, such as 
 the date of birth, parents, education, business con- 
 nections, clubs, hobbies, and so on. If his name 
 does not appear in these works, then the main facts 
 must be gleaned by tactfully inquiring from per- 
 sons who know. Many will be easily found who 
 can give the secretary this information. At all 
 
LEARNING THE POSITION 27 
 
 
 
 events, the secretary should secure the essential 
 facts of the employer's life. These facts can be 
 pieced together and woven into a more or less com- 
 plete and up-to-date history. 
 
 The business history of the employer can be 
 secured a little more readily and easily than can his 
 personal history. Practically the same method is 
 taken. If the former secretary has kept a diary 
 or a file of newspaper clippings, a mine of material 
 will be at hand for the present secretary to dig into. 
 A reading of the correspondence files and files of 
 important papers will also help to put the secre- 
 tary into close touch with the past. Such investi- 
 gation should be made as early as possible, since the 
 information that can thus be secured will be of 
 great aid in guiding the secretary in the forming 
 of his decisions and in the performance of his 
 duties. 
 
 The secretary should try to understand the chief. 
 He should know his character and the way his mind 
 works. Real intimacy with the employer cannot 
 be achieved until the secretary does understand 
 him. To gain this information the secretary must 
 study his employer. He should think as nearly as 
 possible along the same lines that the chief does. 
 He cannot decide a question brought up unless he 
 know r s how his chief w r ould himself have decided it. 
 The secretary should get clearly in his mind just 
 
28 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 what the chief is trying to do and then help him do 
 it. 
 
 If, for example, the chief is given to procrastina- 
 tion putting off the doing of things that ought to 
 be done the secretary should try to offset the 
 fault by persistently bringing the matter to his at- 
 tention until proper consideration of it has been 
 secured. Such a course of action necessarily im- 
 plies the use of much tact on the part of the sec- 
 retary. Again, if the employer has the fault of 
 acting undiplomatically, it is the duty of the sec- 
 retary to be on his guard to prevent such happen- 
 ings. -If he is unable to prevent them, he should 
 do as much as possible to smooth them over and 
 make reparation. 
 
 No matter how tactful has been the persistence 
 of the secretary to get the necessary thing done by 
 the employer, friction sometimes occurs. The em- 
 ployer may even go so far as to vent his spleen on 
 the secretary. The secretary, however, should not 
 allow his feelings to be hurt by any such outburst. 
 It may be hard to bear, but it is good training. 
 Moreover, if the employer is any kind of man, he 
 soon after realizes that what the secretary did was 
 in his interest, and regrets his angry remarks. 
 Such personal services as these are indeed the acts 
 of a mature and experienced secretary, for they 
 require a delicacy of touch foreign to the beginner. 
 
LEARNING THE POSITION 29 
 
 They are founded, however, upon an understand- 
 ing of the chief. 
 
 Personal intimacy with the employer 
 
 Personal intimacy with the employer one of 
 the compensations of the secretary's position is 
 given by the employer if the secretary has two char- 
 acteristics : viz., trustworthiness, and tastes in com- 
 mon with those of his chief/ If a secretary has the 
 confidence of his employer, he has a reward for his 
 trustworthiness. This confidence is not, however, 
 the most valuable and pleasing reward which the 
 secretary can gain, for confidence in the secretary 
 does not imply a personal intimacy with him. The 
 good secretary will try to gain not only the confi- 
 dence of his employer, but also the personal in- 
 timacy with him. After these two things have been 
 obtained, the secretarial position is indeed a pleas- 
 ant one. 
 
 This personal intimacy is usually gained through 
 tastes in common with those of the chief. The em- 
 ployer has a hobby of some kind. It may be that 
 he has several hobbies. The secretary should find 
 out what the main hobby or liking of the chief is 
 and then should make it his own. Suppose, for in- 
 stance, that the employer is interested greatly in 
 the collection and knowledge of paintings. The 
 secretary should study that subject. The employer 
 
30 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 will be pleased to discover a kindred liking and 
 knowledge. Conversations on the subject will en- 
 sue and result in another attachment between the 
 chief and the secretary. 
 
 If the employer is deeply interested in charitable 
 or philanthropic work outside his business, the 
 secretary should become versed in it. As soon as 
 the employer finds that the secretary has a well- 
 rounded knowledge of his own hobby, his regard for 
 him is likely to be increased. Moreover, he will ask 
 for opinions on certain related matters. He will 
 have the secretary act as substitute for him at com- 
 mittee meetings. His liking for the secretary will 
 increase. 
 
 The various forms of recreation of the employer 
 should not be overlooked. If he is forever telling 
 how he made the fifth hole in three and how he 
 overcame slicing his drives, then it is high time for 
 the secretary to take up golf or to gain a general 
 knowledge of it. The employer will soon learn that 
 his secretary is a golfer and the monotony of busi- 
 ness work in the office will be frequently relieved 
 by conversations on golf. 
 
 The work and effort expended in the acquiring of 
 a fair knowledge of the hobbies of the chief is much, 
 but it is a valuable knowledge and will broaden 
 the secretary, make him a bigger man for the future, 
 and a better man for the place. Not only should 
 
LEAKNING THE POSITION 31 
 
 the secretary see that by possessing such informa- 
 tion he is of more value to his employer but also 
 should he realize that he is educating and bettering 
 himself. y 
 
 Employer's friends and important callers 
 
 Another heavy task which the secretary should 
 immediately set about completing is that of learn- 
 ing about the friends and acquaintances of the 
 employer and about the important callers at the 
 office. The importance of doing this work as soon 
 as possible after the secretary has started in on his 
 new position is evident, for unless he has that knowl- 
 edge he will be unable to accord the consideration 
 and special attentions that should be accorded. 
 The various directions given in preceding para- 
 graphs in regard to finding out about the personal 
 and business histories of the employer can be made 
 use of in acquiring the necessary knowledge. 
 Again, constant observation of how the employer 
 acts towards certain callers will be of aid because 
 it will serve as an indication of how the secretary 
 should act. The secretary will soon learn, for ex- 
 ample, which friend is to have the right of way in 
 luncheon engagements, who has the privilege of 
 walking unannounced into the private office, and so 
 on. 
 
 The secretary, moreover, should strive to get into 
 
32 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 the good graces of his employer's friends. He 
 should be able to recall their names. He should 
 know their peculiarities and characteristics. He 
 should know their personal and business relations 
 with the employer, their interests in life, their hob- 
 bies, and so on. He ought to make it a point to 
 learn these things so that he can converse pleas- 
 antly with them on topics in which they have an 
 interest. Such points of information will also aid 
 him in avoiding faux pas social blunders. 
 
 If the employer has many important men calling 
 on him, it is wise to make note of their names. 
 Later these names can be looked up in Who ? s Who 
 or in other books that will give the kind of informa- 
 tion desired. Or inquiries can be instituted to 
 find out about them. The names should then be 
 remembered so that the secretary can recall them at 
 once. As an aid to remembering names, the sec- 
 retary will find it of help to attach to the name of 
 the caller some point of distinction about him, as, 
 his clothes, his manner, or any other noticeable fact 
 in his physical appearance. The next time the 
 caller comes in, the secretary will be able to call 
 him by name. Such a little act as that, even, is 
 quickly noticed and appreciated by the caller. It 
 shows that the secretary has taken enough inter- 
 est in him to remember his name and to greet him 
 by name when he calls. The caller's vanity is 
 
LEARNING THE POSITION 33 
 
 tickled when he is immediately saluted by name by 
 the secretary. The secretary should always strive 
 to remember names and to use them. 
 
 Learning of past events 
 
 Of special difficulty to the new secretary is the 
 learning of past events concerning the office. In 
 many cases no diary of past events will be at the 
 disposal of the new secretary to give him all the 
 information that he must have. A careful read- 
 ing of back correspondence files will be of help. 
 Inquiries made of subordinates or associated work- 
 ers will also be productive. By keeping his ears 
 open, the secretary will hear of various bits of past 
 history concerning the office and the policy hereto- 
 fore pursued. Most of these bits will be only cas- 
 ually mentioned in conversation and the secretary 
 must indeed be sharp and alert to get them. The 
 secretary should bear in mind the fact that the 
 more he knows about the office, the more valuable 
 he is. He will be the last resource for informa- 
 tion on many a point. Time and again will an 
 employer ask for information about things which 
 took place in the office long before the secretary 
 began his work there. The secretary, neverthe- 
 less, should know. He must be the chief's memory 
 for such things. 
 
 In conclusion, then, let it be stated again that 
 
34 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 the secretary in going into a new position has a 
 vast amount of information to acquire. He must 
 catch up with the employer and the office in knowl- 
 edge. The quicker he does it, the better it is for 
 himself and his employer. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 v MANAGING CALLERS 
 
 " DID a Mr. Russell call to see me last Tuesday? '' 
 questioned John Forbes, of the Forbes Steel Com- 
 pany, as he glanced up from the letters that lay 
 opened before him on his desk and looked at Camp- 
 bell, his new private secretary. 
 
 "Last. Tuesday?" said Campbell as he wrinkled 
 his brow m thought. " I can't recall, but I can 
 easily find out from my list." 
 
 " Perhaps you will recall him if I describe him," 
 said the chief. " He is short, about five feet three ; 
 slim ; has a heavy, gray mustache ; is rather poorly 
 dressed; and wears gold-rimmed spectacles. Do 
 you recall any one looking like that? " 
 - ( The look on Campbell's face told the chief that 
 Campbell did recall. ) 
 
 " Yes," answered Campbell thoughtfully, " a man 
 of that description was here. He wanted to see 
 you but I didn't let him in because he wouldn't 
 tell me his business with you." Then he added, 
 " Moreover, he did n't look as if he should be ad- 
 mitted to see you." 
 
 35 
 
36 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 " I thought so," murmured the chief to himself 
 but loud enough for Campbell to hear. " Just read 
 this letter," he continued, and handed to his sec- 
 retary the letter which lay on top of the pile. 
 
 As Campbell rapidly scanned the letter, the chief 
 watched his face. He smiled guardedly as he no- 
 ticed the look of consternation grow in Campbell's 
 eyes. 
 
 And no wonder that Campbell's face fell, for 
 from the letter he learned that he had refused ad- 
 mittance to George M. Russell, whom he recognized 
 from the letterhead as a valuable customer of the 
 Forbes Steel Company. 
 
 " Don't take it so much to heart," resumed Forbes. 
 " You made a mistake that any one could make. 
 Mr. Russell is rather eccentric in his ideas on 
 clothes and he must be handled with a great deal 
 oftact. But this is a good time to give you a hint 
 or two. 
 
 " In the first place," continued the chief, " don't 
 make the mistake of judging people solely by the 
 clothes they wear. In most cases it is safe to do 
 so but there are exceptions, as the case of Mr. 
 Russell has proved. In the second place, if a caller 
 won't tell the reason for seeing me, you must use 
 tact to find out. If you had taken both these pre- 
 cautions, you would have allowed Mr. Russell to 
 see me. Remember, too, that the correct managing 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 37 
 
 of callers is not only important but is also mighty 
 difficult." 
 
 After a short pause, he said, "Send in Miss 
 Andrews for dictation." 
 
 Importance of the duty of managing callers 
 
 "The secretary meets and manages callers." The 
 correct performance of this duty is important be- 
 cause it means a saving of from one to three hours 
 each day in the executive's time hours that can 
 easily be wasted if every caller at the office is 
 granted admittance to the chief. Again, the em- 
 ployer will be subjected to many annoyances, wor- 
 ries, and disagreeable experiences if beggars, cranks, 
 and others of such types are freely admitted. This 
 duty of acting as buffer between the employer and 
 the caller is difficult, for it involves the exercise 
 of great tact and discretion on the part of the 
 secretary if he is to be at all successful. The 
 secretary, in other words, must be able " to meet 
 people." 
 
 Wishes of employer in regard to callers 
 
 Employers may be roughly divided into two main 
 classes as follows: (1) those employers who will 
 see any one; (2) those employers who leave the 
 whole matter of seeing visitors and admitting them 
 to the private office to the discretion of the secre- 
 
38 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 tary. The first-named class is composed of the 
 democratic employers who, in their regard for what 
 they believe to be the rights of others, are neglectful 
 of their own rights and interests ; and of those who, 
 because they hold public offices, deem it a wise policy 
 to grant free access to any one. The second - 
 named class is, as a whole, truly businesslike in the 
 consideration that time is money and that time 
 can be easily wasted if every caller is allowed to 
 secure admittance. The true private secretary 
 should strive by a gradual and tactful process to 
 get his democratic employer to permit him to change 
 the system of giving audience to every one. The 
 secretary's duty, it will be recalled, is to help the 
 executive as much as possible. By saving the em- 
 ployer time and annoyances, he will accomplish that 
 aim. Hence, it is the secretary's duty to protect, 
 if he is able, his democratic employer from his 
 own fault. Of course, the wishes of the employer 
 should be followed out, but perhaps after a few 
 trials he will see that by allowing the secretary 
 to handle the callers he is not wasting so much 
 time as he had wasted before, and that he is re- 
 lieved of some disagreeable experiences. Such a 
 plan the secretary might attempt to put into prac- 
 tice after he has become well acquainted with his 
 position and his employer. 
 The employers of the second class are by far in 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 39 
 
 the majority. One of the reasons that an em- 
 ployer of this class has for hiring a private secre- 
 tary is that the secretary will save him time and 
 trouble by keeping from his private office unimpor- 
 tant and troublesome visitors. Although he may 
 give explicit instructions as to who may and who 
 may not be admitted, yet such instructions cannot 
 be so detailed that the secretary is not called upon 
 to exercise his own discretion. The secretary 
 should be extremely careful in granting admittance 
 to the private office. In deciding about the ad- 
 mittance of callers, the secretary should consider 
 above everything else the time and wishes of the 
 employer. Some very important men are of a re- 
 tiring disposition and do not wish to meet many 
 of the visitors. The secretary should recognize 
 the temper and disposition of the employer and 
 should be very careful in making appointments and 
 allowing callers to talk with the employer unless 
 he is sure that the chief would like to see those 
 persons. 
 
 Understanding how to handle callers 
 
 In a busy office the private secretary must take 
 care of at least one half of the callers who come 
 to see the chief. Every caller, however, has the 
 idea that his reason for seeing the chief is im- 
 portant enough to command a personal hearing. 
 
40 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 That the caller has such an impression, the sec- 
 retary must understand before he is able to cope 
 with the case. He must also realize that the caller 
 came not to see him but to see the chief. If the 
 secretary will but keep in mind those two facts, his 
 task of handling the caller will be made all the eas- 
 ier. 
 
 The secretary who gets rid of callers and induces 
 them to leave the office is not necessarily a good 
 secretary. The secretary is striving for results all 
 the time. One of the greatest results that the sec- 
 retary can achieve is to have every visitor who has 
 been denied admittance to the chief leave with a 
 warm spot in his heart for the treatment he has re- 
 ceived at this particular office. It is an easy mat- 
 ter to say " No " and get rid of the caller. If that 
 were all there was to be done and if that were the 
 correct way, then the office boy could handle the 
 callers. 
 
 All callers must be handled tactfully. There 
 should never be any flat refusals, for such might 
 give rise to public stories. Most " big " men are 
 very sensitive to public stories and news about 
 them, especially if they are of an unpleasant nature. 
 Energy should be expended not in striving to get rid 
 of visitors, but in trying to give them two impres- 
 sions: (1) that they have been well and courteously 
 treated; and (2) that they have accomplished with 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 41 
 
 the secretary as much as they could have accom- 
 plished with the employer^- that they have done 
 about the same as see the chief. To give callers 
 these two impressions, the secretary must be courte- 
 ous and sympathetic ; he should strive to please and 
 to do as much as possible for the callers. 
 
 Proper manner toward callers 
 
 A proper manner toward callers is the first thing 
 a secretary should train himself in, for nothing has 
 a greater effect on the caller than the reception he 
 receives at the hands of the secretary. Whatever 
 the secretary does reflects credit or discredit upon 
 the employer and the business. In the mind of the 
 caller the secretary is the institution the repre- 
 sentative of the head. Hence, whatever impressions 
 are received from the acts of the secretary are trans- 
 ferred to the institution or to the secretary's em- 
 ployer. A proper manner is made up of sincere 
 courtesy, tact, and self-possession." No matter who 
 the caller is, he should be greeted in a courteous 
 way and should be shown consideration. The sec- 
 retary should not regard the caller as an intruder. 
 It certainly will never injure the secretary to act 
 courteously to every caller, even though his dress 
 marks him out to be of the poor class. Incorrect 
 judgments have been made many times from the 
 clothes a man wears. Courtesy, moreover, should 
 
42 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 be made a habit not something to be shown to a 
 chosen few ; otherwise it is insincere and hypocrit- 
 ical and will be noticed for what it really is. It is 
 well worth the secretary's while to make every new 
 acquaintance met in this way feel glad that he has 
 met him. 
 
 Two facts about the caller should always be as- 
 certained by the secretary if possible. These facts 
 are as follows: (1) the name of the caller; (2) the 
 business which brings the caller to the office. , Only 
 when the secretary has such facts in his possession 
 will he be able to decide whether the caller is to be 
 admitted to the private office. Of course, if the 
 secretary can handle the business of the caller him- 
 self, he will save the employer trouble. And, in 
 many cases, the secretary can do more for the caller 
 than can the employer. The secretary will soon 
 find that he can send away satisfied a great major- 
 ity of the callers w r ho come primarily to see the 
 chief. 
 
 The business of the caller with the employer is 
 usually the criterion of whether or not the caller is 
 to be admitted, but not always. Even though the 
 caller's business may be unimportant, and he may 
 not be a known friend of the employer, his name may 
 be such that it would constitute an " open sesame." 
 The visitor may be some one of distinction or in- 
 fluence, and the secretary's ignorance of his name 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 43 
 
 may give him offense and may indirectly cause the 
 superior officer embarrassment or even loss. 
 > There are two main reasons for getting the name 
 of the caller : in the first place, the employer might 
 have instructed the secretary never to admit a cer- 
 tain person; in the second place, the secretary and 
 the employer should know to whom they talk and 
 what consideration should be given to the possessor 
 of that name. 
 
 Likewise are there two reasons for ascertaining 
 the business of the caller. The first reason is that 
 the secretary must decide if the caller's business 
 at the office is important enough for the employer's 
 consideration. The second reason is that the em- 
 ployer will be prepared for the caller if }ie knows 
 what has brought the caller to his office.' In fact, 
 some good business men, after having learned of the 
 business of the caller through the secretary, will 
 make an appointment for the next day and, in the 
 interval, will look up and prepare themselves on 
 the business that the caller desired to discuss. 
 
 In handling callers, the secretary will find that 
 it is most difficult to worm out of the caller the 
 business he has at the office, or his reason for de- 
 siring to see the chief. In obtaining this knowl- 
 edge, the secretary will be aided by his use of cour- 
 tesy. If the secretary is cold toward the caller, he 
 will never gain his confidence. Hence, by being 
 
44 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 courteous to the caller, the secretary not only makes 
 the caller friendly to him and his employer but 
 also finds that his own work in questioning the 
 caller is made easier. 
 
 When the visitor is rather obstinate about reveal- 
 ing his name and business (a common occurrence, 
 for nearly every caller thinks that he must see the 
 employer no matter how trivial his business may 
 be), despite the courteous reception and inquiry 
 by the secretary, the secretary will find his recourse 
 in tact. The strategy which the secretary is com- 
 pelled to use sometimes to secure the desired in- 
 formation would do credit to a diplomat. Alert- 
 ness, patience, and an express desire to do all he 
 can for the caller are needed. Sympathize with 
 the caller, make friends with him, try to draw him 
 out in a general conversation which always leads 
 back to what his business with the employer is 
 such acts must be done before the secretary is suc- 
 cessful with the caller. All this is done quickly, of 
 course, and the caller is kept unconscious and un- 
 suspicious, as far as possible, of what the secretary 
 is striving for. When the secretary has mastered 
 such detail in handling callers, he will be surprised 
 at the ease with which he gets visitors, at first ob- 
 stinate, to confide in him. 
 
 Self-possession or self-confidence is of aid to the 
 secretary. He must keep a strong grip on the sit- 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 45 
 
 uation ; he must dominate it. If the caller sees that 
 the secretary is timid, uncertain, and apparently 
 does not know what to do, he will try in many in- 
 stances to bluff his way through. Quiet self-posses- 
 sion, and by that aggressiveness is not meant, 
 not only will prevent the aggressive caller from 
 breaking through, but also will be of help in gaming 
 the confidence of the caller. 
 
 Alertness of mind, quick wits, and the active com- 
 prehension of the situation are also of aid in help- 
 ing the secretary to solve his puzzles and to gain 
 his ends. But whatever is done in " sizing up " the 
 caller, in determining his status, and in disposing of 
 his case, must be done quickly. Experience and a 
 quick brain will soon make the secretary proficient 
 in the smooth and polished manner of handling 
 callers. 
 
 Model conversations in handling callers 
 
 Until the secretary has had experience in han- 
 dling callers and in getting from them the informa- 
 tion that he wishes, it is wise for him to plan out his 
 methods of managing callers. If he has his plan all 
 arranged in advance to meet the various exigencies 
 and the different cases which may arise, he is very 
 likely to achieve his purpose diplomatically and 
 quickly. A few model conversations which show 
 how various callers are handled will serve to in- 
 
46 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 dicate how the secretary can best handle each sit- 
 uation. 
 
 \ 
 
 'The secretary should realize that the very first 
 few words with which he greets the caller gener- 
 ally determine the attitude of the caller toward 
 him/ Since the secretary is usually about to try to 
 find out certain facts concerning the caller, he will 
 find it wise to cultivate a greeting which will not 
 antagonize the caller. A tactful, well-mannered ap- 
 proach will usually break down the visitor's re- 
 serve. ( It is better to say "Good morning" or 
 " Good afternoon " or " Is there something I can 
 do for you? " than it is to say " What do you 
 want? " The greeting should be given courteously 
 and should usually be accompanied by the secretary 
 from his chair and advancing toward the 
 ^ 
 
 When name is not given by the caller 
 
 SECRETARY: Good morning. (A nod and a 
 questioning look.) 
 
 CALLER: I wish to see Mr. Blank. 
 
 S : Mr. Blank is rather busy just now. May I 
 have your name (or card) ? 
 
 C : Oh, that 's all right. Mr. Blank will know 
 who is calling. Just tell him I am here. He will 
 know who it is. 
 
 S: (Attitude is determined by the secretary's 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 47 
 
 estimation of the caller. ) I am Mr. Blank's private 
 secretary, and if you will give me your name it will 
 help me to get Mr. Blank to see you. 
 
 (Caller still refuses to give his name.) 
 
 (The secretary is a little uncertain as to the im- 
 portance of the caller's business, or has been in- 
 structed to be strict in allowing callers to see Mr. 
 Blank.) 
 
 S (continuing) : If I were to tell Mr. Blank 
 some one was outside, he would say " Who is it? " 
 It will help if you will give me your name and tell 
 me what you wish to see Mr. Blank about. 
 
 (If now the caller does not give his name and 
 business, the secretary's treatment depends upon 
 the judgment he has arrived at regarding him. 
 Usually, however, the caller will at this point give 
 in or leave, for he will see the futility of further 
 argument because of the secretary's determined 
 stand. ) 
 
 When business is not given by the caller 
 
 SECRETARY: Good afternoon. (Nod and ques- 
 tioning look.) 
 
 CALLER: I want to see Mr. Blank. 
 
 S : Mr. Blank is rather busy just now. May I 
 have your name? 
 
 C: Mr. Smith. 
 
 S : And you wish to see him about ? 
 
48 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 C : This is a personal matter. 
 
 S : I am Mr. Blank's private secretary. If you 
 will tell me just what you want to see him about, I 
 shall try to help you. 
 
 C : This is purely a personal matter. 
 
 (The secretary is favorably impressed by the 
 caller's appearance and decides that he should 
 strive further to find out what the caller's business 
 is. The secretary will now start an easy conversa- 
 tion general in nature, but with the purpose of 
 finding out the caller's business. If this be learned 
 and deemed important enough for the chiefs con- 
 sideration, the secretary will go into the private 
 office and announce the caller. If it is considered 
 to be a matter which the secretary himself can 
 handle, he will manage it himself.) 
 
 Business not important 
 
 S: How do you do? (Nod and a questioning 
 but pleasant look.) 
 
 C : I wish to see the president. 
 
 S: The president is engaged just now. May I 
 have your name? 
 
 C : Mr. Blank. 
 
 S : You want to see him about ? 
 
 C: (Mentions a subject which can better 
 be referred to some other department for han- 
 dling.) 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 49 
 
 S : The president is engaged now and is unable 
 to see you but possibly 1 can help you. 
 
 (The secretary should then take up the caller's 
 business and make arrangements for having it dealt 
 with properly by the necessary department. ) 
 
 Other conversations 
 
 C : Is Mr. Blank in? 
 
 S: I will see. (Although the secretary knows 
 that his employer is in, it is not necessary that he 
 should say " Yes." The expression-that is used is 
 merely a diplomatic expression to save the caller's 
 feelings, for if the secretary was so scrupulous about 
 what he said, he might frankly say, "Yes, Mr. 
 Blank is in, but whether or not he can see you de- 
 pends upon what your business is here.") What 
 do you wish to see him about? 
 
 C: Here's my card. 
 
 (The card shows that he is a bond salesman.) 
 
 The secretary can now dispose of the matter. 
 He will tell the salesman that Mr. Blank buys his 
 bonds through his regular broker, or he can give 
 him whatever other reason he has for not allowing 
 him to see Mr. Blank. 
 
 If the chief is in, the secretary should not tell 
 the caller that he is out, merely to get rid of the 
 caller. Many embarrassing situations will arise 
 if the secretary does thus misinform the caller. 
 
50 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 The employer might just at that moment walk out 
 of the office in the very face of the caller ; or while 
 the caller is still in the outside office, the secretary 
 may have to answer the telephone to find that he 
 must, by his conversation within hearing of the 
 caller, give away to the caller the news that he (the 
 caller) has been misinformed. ^Nothing can be lost 
 by the secretary's adherence to the facts. v '. The re- 
 mark, " Mr. Blank is engaged just now and will be 
 unable to see you," is franker and more efficient. 
 
 After the secretary has satisfied himself that the 
 caller should be permitted to see the chief, he should 
 go into the private office and announce the caller. 
 " \He should give the chief the name and business of 
 the caller and also any facts about either the caller 
 or his business of which he believes the chief to be 
 uninformed. He can then go to the office door and 
 ask the caller to enter. In some offices in which the 
 secretary is not allowed so much discretion, the sec- 
 retary will carry the caller's card and reason for 
 calling to the chief to learn if the employer will see 
 the caller. If the employer does not wish to see 
 him, the secretary will leave the private office and 
 then tell the caller, " I 'm sorry. Mr. Blank is in a 
 conference just now and is unable to see you," or 
 something to that effect. 
 
 If it is necessary that the caller wait, the secre- 
 tary should ask him to be seated. But if the em- 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 51 
 
 ployer is to be engaged for some time, it is best to 
 tell the caller of the conditions and to ask him 
 whether he wishes to wait longer or make an ap- 
 pointment to see the chief at some other time. 
 
 When the secretary is in a large concern, he 
 should keep himself well informed of the individuals 
 who make up the personnel of the offices and of the 
 duties of the various managers and heads of de- 
 partments so that he may be able to refer the caller 
 to the proper persons when the occasion demands 
 it. 
 
 In certain offices where important matters are 
 constantly being dealt with and also in the ordinary 
 office where a very important matter might arise 
 suddenly, a different plan has sometimes to be fol- 
 lowed out to get the best results. The caller who 
 comes to the office with an important matter comes 
 prepared, and because of this preparation, if he is 
 admitted to the chief's office, he will have a decided 
 advantage over the chief in discussing the business. 
 The suggestion is therefore given of taking the name 
 and business of the caller to the chief. The latter 
 upon seeing the importance of the proposition and 
 upon realizing that he ought to be prepared to dis- 
 cuss it when he meets the caller should do one of 
 two things: either he should come out and greet 
 the caller cordially and say that he is prevented 
 from taking up the caller's business at present be- 
 
52 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 cause of (and here a reason should be given) ; or 
 he may tell his secretary to ask the caller to make an 
 engagement for the following day. In the mean- 
 time, both the secretary and the employer can pre- 
 pare for the discussion of the important matter. 
 
 In still other offices, appointments with callers 
 are always made, if the secretary thinks that the 
 matter is of sufficient importance, for the next day. 
 At his first call, the caller is told by the secretary 
 that "Mr. Harrow is at a conference" (or some 
 other reason is given) "and is unable to see you. 
 If you will come to-morrow at eleven o'clock, I 
 think he will be free." Such a tentative engage- 
 ment can be canceled if the employer has some- 
 thing of more importance to attend to or does not 
 care, upon having the caller looked up, to keep the 
 appointment. If the person with whom the en- 
 gagement has been made can be reached by tele- 
 phone, the secretary can say that " Mr. Harrow was 
 unexpectedly called away and will be unable to 
 see you until next week," or, " Mr. Harrow is still 
 busy on the matter he was working on yesterday 
 and will be unable to see you," or some other reason 
 can be given. 
 
 Miscellaneous points about handling callers 
 
 In some offices four or five callers may arrive at 
 one time to see the chief. It may happen that all 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 53 
 
 of these four or five are there on matters which the 
 chief would care to see them about. In such event, 
 the secretary will be hard put to it to keep a grip 
 on the situation. Each of the callers will have the 
 idea that his business or he himself is of such im- 
 portance that he ought to be admitted immediately. 
 Unless the secretary is tactful in handling these 
 cases he is likely to find that the caller, himself a 
 busy man, will become disgruntled and will leave. 
 The result of this is that the employer is deprived 
 of an opportunity which he may have been wait- 
 ing for. It is part therefore of the secretary's duty 
 to exercise such finesse that he can keep four or five 
 callers in the office content to wait their turns. If 
 it happens that these callers are big men themselves, 
 it may be wise for the secretary to go into the 
 private office, and, interrupting the employer, tell 
 him of the situation and try to get him to come out- 
 side to see the callers in turn. 
 
 When the callers see that the man on whom they 
 called is striving as best he can to dispose of their 
 cases and is busily engaged in talking to one of their 
 number, they will be satisfied to wait a little longer. 
 
 Sometimes a caller after his admittance to the 
 office of the chief overstays a reasonable time or his 
 allotted time. Not only should the secretary exer- 
 cise his discretion in admitting callers but he should 
 also be alert in regard to the time they are taking. 
 
54 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 The chief may not care to interrupt his caller and 
 seem curt in dismissing him. Moreover, there may 
 be a caller or two waiting patiently to see the execu- 
 tive. If the executive does not know that there* are 
 others waiting, he may allow the caller to keep on 
 talking. In such an event, the secretary might go 
 into the private office and tell his chief that he 
 has an engagement at this time. He might remark : 
 " Pardon my interruption you have an appoint- 
 ment at this time." At this point the caller ought 
 to take the hint and leave. If he proves to be 
 tenacious in his hold on the chief, the latter will 
 probably sense the situation and will mention the 
 fact of the appointment. Even that will not be 
 necessary in most cases. 
 
 As has been said in a preceding chapter, the secre- 
 tary should show especial consideration to friends 
 and members of the chief's family. He should al- 
 ways be prepared to make the personal remarks 
 which show that He is taking an interest in who they 
 are and what they are doing. 
 
 Reporters also should be carefully treated, for 
 reporters can be of great help to the secretary's em- 
 ployer. Everything possible should be done to aid 
 them in getting the information they want. At the 
 same time it should be remembered by the secretary 
 that reporters, as a class, are keen observers of 
 human nature. They appreciate fair treatment, 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 55 
 
 but usually they abhor a fawning manner. The 
 secretary will achieve more by acting frankly and 
 candidly with them than he will by striving to 
 color or distort facts in favor of his employer. 
 
 It sometimes happens that callers come to see the 
 executive while the executive is out. In such a case 
 the secretary should take the name and business of 
 the callers and make a note of them. If the business 
 merits consideration, he should make an appoint- 
 ment with the visitor to see the executive when the 
 executive will be in. It may happen that the sec- 
 retary will be unable to set any definite time for the 
 engagement. . He should then ask the caller to tele- 
 phone at a certain time and he (the secretary) can 
 then tell when he may see the executive. Or it 
 might be wise in other instances to take the address 
 and telephone number of the caller and tell him that 
 he will be called up and informed as to the time 
 when he may see the executive. 
 
 A word should be said about callers who present 
 letters of introduction to the chief. In many cases 
 the unsuspecting secretary takes the letter to the 
 chief. The latter upon reading the letter finds that 
 he has been interrupted to read a letter from some 
 one whom he does not know, introducing some one 
 who desires a favor or who wishes to present an un- 
 important matter. Such letters have so often 
 served just to gain admittance to the chief and have 
 
56 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 been misused so frequently that the secretary should 
 scrutinize them. When the letter is presented by 
 the caller, even though this letter may be sealed 
 and addressed personally to the chief, the secretary 
 should open the envelope and glance at the letter 
 in order to judge whether the caller should be ad- 
 mitted. ^ In other words, the secretary should not 
 admit to the private office of his chief any caller 
 who happens to come in with a letter of introduc- 
 tion. 
 
 Another qualification which the secretary is some- 
 times called upon to have is the ability to "keep 
 things going " if the chief is late in keeping an ap- 
 pointment. A puncture in a tire of his automobile, 
 a meeting of a friend, may delay the chief in keep- 
 ing an appointment at his private office. There 
 may be two or three callers who are thus unavoid- 
 ably inconvenienced in their wait for the chief. If 
 such a case does arise the secretary will try to keep 
 the callers content and willing to wait a little 
 longer. Conversation can be entered into with the 
 callers and in this way, if the conversation is pleas- 
 ant enough, the embarrassing minutes will quickly 
 pass until the chief comes. 
 
 If the chief is a busy man and if his appointments 
 come close together, with no interval between, the 
 secretary must be especially watchful to see that the 
 schedule of appointments is maintained as nearly 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 57 
 
 as possible. If one caller overstays the allotted 
 time by fif teen . minutes, it might easily mean that 
 every other appointment throughout that day will 
 be about fifteen minutes late. Such a condition of 
 affairs must be avoided, if possible. The secretary 
 should try to get the caller who is overstaying his 
 time to leave. He should also try to cut down the 
 duration of the subsequent appointments so that he 
 may as quickly as possible catch up with the 
 schedule that had been arranged. 
 
 Mechanical aids in handling callers 
 
 There are certain mechanical aids in the handling 
 of callers which should be known by the secretary 
 so that he may make use of them in his own posi- 
 tion if he finds need for them. These mechanical 
 devices will be found to be helpful in the correct and 
 easy handling of office visitors. 
 
 In the first place, the physical arrangement of 
 the office is a matter of importance. The secre- 
 tary's desk should be so placed that he can guard 
 the door of the private office ; so that every one who 
 enters the door may be seen; and so that, if the 
 emergency arises, the secretary by physical means 
 can prevent the entrance of an undesirable. In 
 some offices the secretary's desk is railed off. If 
 this device is present, the secretary can greet the 
 caller and determine his status before he allows him 
 
58 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 to come inside the railing. For those who have 
 passed this test, chairs may be provided in the sec- 
 retary's inclosure. If the executive is busy, the 
 caller can be asked to take a chair until the execu- 
 tive is disengaged. Thus, callers whose business 
 is not at all important can be kept out of even the 
 secretary's inclosure and their cases can be dis- 
 missed much more rapidly than if the callers are 
 first provided with chairs. After some people once 
 get into a chair, it is nearly impossible to get them 
 out of it. Such a device as a railing, however, is 
 more suited to the purely business office than it is 
 to the private office of an important man. 
 
 It is sometimes desirable that the executive 
 should have a double office, that is to say, two ad- 
 joining private rooms. One caller can then be ush- 
 ered into one office while the executive is consulting 
 with a previous caller in his other office. More- 
 over, this device is efficient in that on certain occa- 
 sions where the caller has overstayed his welcome 
 with the executive, the latter can excuse himself by 
 mentioning some reason or other. He can then 
 arise and go into his other private office where he 
 can begin on some executive problem that needs his 
 attention. If the two private offices are divided 
 by a partition, it would be well to have this parti- 
 tion sound-proof. 
 
 Likewise is it found of necessity in some instances 
 
MANAGING CALLERS 59 
 
 to have a prearranged signal which will inform the 
 secretary that he is to come to the private office and 
 relieve the employer of the caller. This signaling 
 can be done by the employer who can press his foot 
 on a button under his desk. A buzzer is thereby set 
 in operation by which the secretary is informed of 
 what is wanted. He can then go into the private 
 office and say to the caller : " Pardon my interrup- 
 tion." Then he will turn to his employer and say, 
 for instance, " You have n't forgotten your appoint- 
 ment with Mr. Harris, have you? " At this hint, 
 the caller will probably take his departure. 
 ^ It is sometimes necessary that the secretary ask 
 the caller to wait. In order to keep the caller con- 
 tented, it has been found expedient to have a table 
 in the office covered with magazines. The secretary 
 can either intimate to the caller that he select one 
 of the magazines and glance over it while he is wait- 
 ing or the secretary himself may select one and 
 hand it to the caller. Newspapers can also be kept 
 on file in the waiting office for the convenience of 
 callers. In the outside offices of some large manu- 
 facturing concerns a display of samples of the ar- 
 ticles manufactured by the concern is kept on exhi- 
 bition. As the caller may have come to see the ex- 
 ecutive about certain of these articles, he will be in- 
 terested in looking them over while he is waiting. 
 
vl- 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE | 
 
 " COMB in with me for a minute," said John 
 Forbes after he had responded to the hearty " Good 
 morning " of his secretary and was entering the 
 doorway of his private office. 
 
 Frank Campbell, who had been appointed secre- 
 tary to the head of the Forbes Steel Company a 
 short time before, silently followed his chief. 
 
 " I have n't had much time to instruct you in 
 your work/' said the chief as he pulled off his gloves, 
 " but I 'm going to take a few minutes now to go 
 over some of the pointsvou have to handle. Take a 
 chair/' 
 
 As he spoke these last words, Mr. Forbes himself 
 sat down in the chair at his desk. In front of him 
 on his desk lay a pile of forty or fifty letters all 
 unopened. 
 
 " How long would it take me to open, read, and 
 answer these letters? " questioned Mr. Forbes. 
 
 "About an hour and a half or two hours," an- 
 swered Campbell thoughtfully. 
 
 " That 's about right/' said Mr. Forbes. " And 
 
 60 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 61 
 
 I can't spare that time. One of my reasons for hav- 
 ing a secretary is that I shall be saved as much time 
 as possible. Just watch me now as I go through 
 this mail." 
 
 Mr. Forbes picked up an envelope marked " Per- 
 sonal," opened it, merely glanced at it, and handed 
 it to Campbell. It was a letter that asked for a con- 
 tribution of $5 to the Eastern Missionary Society. 
 
 A second letter, marked " Important " was next 
 opened. It was another request for a contribution. 
 
 A third letter gave the details of a new issue of 
 bonds of a well-known railway. 
 
 A fourth letter told of the spring opening of a 
 men's tailor. 
 
 After all the letters had been opened and read, 
 Mr. Forbes again addressed Campbell. 
 
 " Out of all these letters," he said as he finished, 
 " there are just ten that you ought to have placed on 
 my desk. Of the others, you should have thrown 
 away about twenty. The remainder you should 
 reply to. In order to find out the important or 
 personal letters that I should see, you should open 
 all the letters excepting those few occasional letters 
 from members of my family. You will soon be able 
 to distinguish them by the handwriting and other 
 identifying marks. Moreover, if you are ever 
 doubtful about how to reply to letters of the unim- 
 portant kind, don't be timid about asking me. 
 
62 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 " I should like to tell you more," Forbes con- 
 tinued, as he glanced at his watch, " but I have an 
 engagement at 10 :15. You might, however, take off 
 part of this afternoon and go down to see Mr. Aek- 
 erly's private secretary he 's down in the Equi- 
 table Building and get him to show you how he 
 handles correspondence. The sooner you learn, the 
 sooner will you save me valuable time." 
 
 Sorting and opening the mail 
 
 Much time can be saved for the executive if his 
 secretary is given complete direction of the han- 
 dling of correspondence. The true executive has 
 not much time for anything but creative work. He 
 can very easily waste two or three hours a day by 
 personal attention to his mail. This personal at- 
 tention would include such matters as opening his 
 letters, reading them, dictating answers, and often 
 even such work as distributing and sending letters 
 to their correct destinations. All this, as a matter 
 of fact, should be looked out for by the private 
 secretary. 
 
 The handling of mail then will be about the first 
 thing that the secretary will do when he reaches the 
 office in the morning. As a rule, he should arrive at 
 the office early enough so that he will have plenty 
 of time to prepare the mail and digest the contents 
 of the various letters before his chief arrives. 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 63 
 
 All mail for the executive and private office 
 should be placed on the secretary's desk. The sec- 
 retary should first rapidly run over with his eye the 
 addresses on the letters and other mail. In this 
 way he will be able to pick out any letters to the 
 chief from his immediate family. These he will, 
 after a little experience, be able to distinguish by 
 the handwriting, seal, or other distinctive and 
 familiar mark. If any letter of this nature is met 
 with, it should not be opened but should be laid 
 aside to be given unopened to the chief. Very 
 rarely will the secretary be instructed by the em- 
 ployer to leave unopened letters other than these. 
 Again, the secretary by glancing over the faces of 
 the envelopes will be able to see from the addresses 
 if every letter belongs properly on his desk. 
 
 Many letters marked " Personal," " Private," 
 " Important," or " Confidential," will be received. 
 The secretary should treat such letters as he does 
 the ordinary letters, for letters so marked are 
 seldom, if ever, personal or important. As a mat- 
 ter of fact, they are likely to contain less personal 
 or less important matter than that which the ordi- 
 nary letters contain. The writers of such letters 
 usually mark their letters " Personal " or " Impor- 
 tant " because they hope to have the letters delivered 
 into the hands of the executive through the aid of 
 these words. Such letters upon being opened are 
 
64: THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 found in many instances to be begging letters. 
 Such notations on the face of the envelopes, there- 
 fore, are to be disregarded. 
 
 After the secretary has scanned the mail in the 
 manner just described, he should gather the letters, 
 still unopened, into a pile with the edges even and 
 with all the address sides toward him. Then he 
 should pound them on his desk on their left, narrow 
 sides. This gpimding-will force the letter-sheet in- 
 side the envelope, and also the inclosures if there 
 are any, down as far as possible from the top (the 
 right-hand, narrow sides). The purpose of this 
 pounding is to prevent any letter-sheet, or inclosure, 
 from being cut while its envelope is being opened. 
 In some instances if this pounding is not done, a 
 strip of the letter is cut off during the process of 
 cutting the envelope. This strip can very easily 
 have on it a figure or part of a word, the loss of 
 which may possibly affect the reading of the letter. 
 Moreover, the chances of injury to any other in- 
 closures the envelope may contain are lessened. 
 If an automatic letter opener is not at the disposal 
 of the secretary, a pair of scissors will be found most 
 satisfactory for the purpose of cutting a sliver of 
 paper off the right-hand narrow edge of the en- 
 velope. After he has opened all the envelopes, he 
 should read and examine each letter by itself. 
 He should carefully examine the interior of the en- 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 65 
 
 velope for possible inclosures. Every inclosure 
 should be pinned or otherwise attached to the letter- 
 sheet. The number of inclosures should be marked 
 or checked on the letter-sheet and a description 
 should be given, for examples, 2 Incls: 2 tickets to 
 the Charity tiall, or Check for $150. Thus a record 
 can be kept on the original sheet of the exact con- 
 tents that were received with the letter. If this 
 method is followed, disputes if they arise can be 
 easily and quickly settled. Moreover, the secretary 
 is saved much worry as to whether or not a certain 
 inclosure was received. 
 
 Envelopes that have been cut should not be 
 thrown immediately into the waste basket. They 
 should be piled together and kept for that day. If 
 such precaution is taken, the postmark or the re- 
 turn card on the envelope will be at hand to give 
 the often needed and valuable information about 
 the time and place of mailing and the address of 
 the sender. At the end of the day these envelopes, 
 if no longer needed because of the disposal of 
 their contents, may be thrown away. This little 
 precaution may save the secretary annoying ex- 
 periences. 
 
 After the inclosure has been pinned or otherwise 
 attached to the letter sheet, the date of receipt of the 
 letter may be stamped on the letter with a rubber 
 stamp. Time stamping.,, machines are sometimes 
 
66 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 used to stamp time of receipt of the letter. The 
 secretary should then carefully read and digest the 
 contents of the letter. After the secretary has read 
 the letter, he should place it in one of three piles as 
 follows: 
 
 Pile 1. Letters that are in his mind important or 
 personal enough to merit consideration by the 
 employer. 
 
 Pile 2. Letters which before they can be an- 
 swered by the secretary require that information 
 be first obtained. 
 
 Pile 3. Unimportant letters and letters that the 
 secretary himself can handle immediately. 
 
 If the letter is of sufficient importance in the 
 mind of the secretary to merit the consideration of 
 the employer, it is laid in a separate pile (Pile 1). 
 If the employer permits, the secretary may pencil 
 on the letters of this class, while he is reading them 
 and also after he has read them, notations or in- 
 formation that will aid the chief in his understand- 
 ing or answering of the letter. Other material, 
 such as a carbon duplicate of the last letter received 
 from the writer or a contract about whose terms the 
 writer is inquiring material that might be needed 
 by the chief should be procured and put with the 
 letters. This act will anticipate his asking for such 
 
HANDLING CORKESPONDENCE 67 
 
 material and will help him in the consideration and 
 disposal of his letters. 
 
 While the secretary is reading letters of class 2 
 or 3 and after he has read them; he should ma_rk the 
 ^important parts of the letters in such a way that he 
 will not miss those points in dictating his answers. 
 By doing this, he will save himself time, for at dic- 
 tation time he need not read the letter so carefully 
 as he did at first. 
 
 Letters in pile 1 should be arranged with the most 
 pleasing letters on top and the disagreeable letters 
 on the bottom. This arrangement will allow the 
 chief to begin his day's work by the reading of the 
 pleasant letters first. A disagreeable letter on top 
 of the pile might put him out of humor for the 
 whole day. Important and personal matters 
 should also be placed on top. To this pile should 
 then be added any letters that have been expressly 
 left unopened, to which reference was made in pre- 
 ceding paragraphs. The pile should then be put 
 upon the employer's desk with a paper weight to 
 hold the letters in place. 
 
 Telegrams that come into the office may be prop- 
 erly considered under the general heading of han- 
 dling the mail, for they have the same standing as 
 letters. All telegrams should be signed for and 
 opened by the secretary. The latter act should be 
 
68 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 performed immediately upon receipt of the telegram 
 because the message may be of a pressing nature 
 that demands quick action. 
 
 Answering letters 
 
 The secretary should. not be timid about under- 
 taking the answering of any letter which is not of 
 such importance in nature as those taken in to the 
 chief. At first, since the new secretary may not 
 fully understand the policy or business of the chief 
 or how the chief would handle such matters, it 
 would be wise, after having written the answers to 
 such letters, to ask the chief to look them over be- 
 fore they are mailed to their destinations. The 
 chief will usually direct and guide the secretary in 
 such cases. The secretary should not think that 
 because he does not yet know the business or policy 
 of the chief he ought not touch letters which are 
 semi-important. Such an idea is erroneous. If the 
 secretary did not start in to answer such letters, he 
 would never learn; and the chief would be given 
 much needless work. The secretary should con- 
 tinually watch and remember how the chief handles 
 his letters and should then imitate his good quali- 
 ties. 
 
 The secretary should make it a point to have all 
 letters answered on the same day_ on which they are 
 received, whenever it is possible. Courtesy and 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 69 
 
 good business demand that such should be the case. 
 If letters cannot be handled on the day received for 
 some reason or other, they should be acknowledged 
 and then should be filed ahead in a " tickler " or fol- 
 low-up system (see page 155) which will insure 
 that the matter will be brought up for attention at 
 the proper time. 
 
 When the secretary takes dictation 
 
 In many offices the private secretary takes dicta- 
 tion and does the transcribing on the typewriter. 
 If this is the case and if the chief dictates answers 
 to his letters word for word, the secretary should 
 revise the chief's letters when they need revision. 
 Theoretically, the secretary is supposed to put down 
 on paper just what is said and just as the dictator 
 said it. As a matter of fact, he should do no such 
 thing, for a busy man in dictating letters will often 
 be guilty of errors which would make his letter 
 ridiculous if it were written just as he dictated it. 
 In his concentration upon the idea, he is likely to 
 become mixed in tense and mood, and his verb may 
 not agree in number with the subject. These errors 
 should be corrected by the secretary as the letter is 
 being typed. For such revision of the employer's 
 letters, the secretary must have a good knowledge 
 of English grammar and rhetoric. 
 
 If the secretary does not fully understand what 
 
70 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 the chief has said in his dictation, it is better not to 
 interrupt the dictation until he has finished the 
 letter. If the secretary cannot understand what 
 the chief said, certainly the reader will never un- 
 derstand. It is much better to &sk than it is to be 
 compelled to write the letter over again because of 
 incorrect words or ideas. 
 
 In the early stages of employment, the secretary 
 will find that practically all letters are dictated to 
 him word for word. Sooner or later the time ar- 
 rives when the secretary has gained the confidence 
 of his employer by his well-written letters and the 
 employer will say : " I wish you would answer this 
 letter for me. You know just about what I want to 
 say in this matter," or he will say, " Just write a 
 nice little answer to this letter and give the informa- 
 tion asked for/' or, " Say that I should have been 
 delighted to accept their invitation but I have to be 
 out of town on that date." When such a point has 
 been reached, the secretary is being called upon to 
 do the actual constructing of the letter. In order 
 that he may be able to write the type of letter that 
 the chief desires, the secretary should understand 
 what he wants done from the tone of his voice, his 
 attitude, and from the ways in which former similar 
 letters have been handled. At first such directions 
 as are given may seem rather vague, yet with ex- 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 71 
 
 perience the secretary will put into the letter just 
 the right ideas in just the right tone. 
 
 After the letters have been typed they should be 
 laid, together with their envelopes, upon the chief's 
 desk. The proper inclosures should have been 
 placed in the envelopes. After the chief has read 
 and signed this outgoing mail the secretary should 
 glance over the letters for any penciled corrections 
 or changes made by the chief. ; He should also no- 
 tice whether or not each letter has been signed. If 
 everything is correct, the letter sheets are folded and 
 put into the envelopes ; then the envelopes are sealed 
 and stamped. The secretary should be sure that 
 the proper postage is used. 
 
 THE VARIOUS TYPES OF LETTERS 
 
 I Besides the ability to compose the common letter 
 on business matters (see Chapter VI) , the secretary 
 should possess the requisite knowledge of good 
 usage in regard to the writing of the various other 
 types of letters which he may be called upon to 
 make use of. 
 
 Third person notes 
 
 Although the third person notes are seldom used 
 at the present time, certainly not so much as they 
 were in the past, yet in certain cases the secretary 
 
72 THE PKIVATE SECEETAEY 
 
 will be called upon to make use of such forms. Im- 
 portant men are usually in receipt of many invita- 
 tions invitations to join associations of a busi- 
 ness nature, to attend public dinners, to speak at a 
 public function, and to be present at certain other 
 affairs. These invitations are often written in the 
 formal or third person style. If they are written in 
 such a style, they should be answered in the same 
 style. A letter such as that which follows is re- 
 ceived : 
 
 The National Manufacturers' Association 
 18 Wall Street 
 New York City 
 
 The National Manufacturers' Association desires the pleas- 
 ure of the company of Mr. John M. Andrews at a farewell 
 dinner given in the honor of its retiring president, Mr. Henry 
 Fall Simmons, at eight o'clock on January 15, at the Hotel 
 Astor, New York City. 
 
 R. S. V. P. 
 
 The chief has an important business engagement in 
 Pittsburgh on that date. He says to his secretary, 
 " Just answer this invitation and say that I can- 
 not be there." The secretary will then write a let- 
 ter such as this : 
 
 84 Nassau Street 
 New York City 
 
 Mr. John M. Andrews regrets that an engagement prevents 
 him from accepting the kind invitation of the National Manu- 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 73 
 
 facturers' Association to be present at the farewell dinner to 
 
 be given in honor of its retiring president, Mr. Henry Fall 
 
 Simmons, at eight o'clock on January 15, at the Hotel Astor, 
 
 New York City. 
 
 January seven, 
 
 Nineteen hundred and sixteen. 
 
 Whenever letters written in the third person style 
 are received, answers to them should usually be 
 written in the same form. 
 
 In other instances, third person letters will 'be 
 found useful, especially in the handling of certain 
 disagreeable matters, as, for example, letters beg- 
 ging explicitly or implied ly for money. Refusals 
 to requests in these letters can best be given without 
 much injury to the other person's feelings by means 
 of the formal and impersonal letter. The secre- 
 tary, for instance, has received in the morning's 
 mail an envelope addressed to his employer and 
 containing nothing but four f 5 tickets for a bazaar 
 to be held by the St. Thomas's Church Association. 
 If the employer does not indulge in this form of 
 charity, the secretary will write and return the 
 tickets : 
 
 The secretary is requested by Mr. Henry S. Henderson to 
 inform the St. Thomas's Church Association that four tickets 
 for the bazaar to be held at 7 :30 o'clock on Monday, January 
 18, have been received; and that as he cannot be present or 
 otherwise make use of these tickets, he is returning them. 
 
 Mr. Henderson expresses his sincere wish that the bazaar 
 will be a success. 
 
74 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 Great tact is needed in making refusals in such a 
 way that the feelings of the other person are not 
 injured. Hence, such letters of refusal must be 
 carefully worded and arranged. 
 
 Several points should be noted in regard to these 
 third person notes. The inside address, the saluta- 
 tion, the complimentary close, and signature are 
 omitted. The date -is generally, but not always, 
 given. When it is given, it is spelled out in full, as, 
 
 November the second, 
 Nineteen hundred and fifteen. 
 
 and is generally placed at the left hand margin be- 
 low the body of the letter. In certain formal invi- 
 tations, usually engraved and issued in large num- 
 bers, there is no need for the date of the writing or 
 sending of the letter, and hence the date does not ap- 
 pear. The four-page letter sheet is used with the 
 fold at the right (see page 137). The regular busi- 
 ness letter head should not be used. In fact, a 
 pretty general rule for the secretary to follow is 
 this : all letters with the exception of those purely 
 on business matters should be written on the four- 
 page letter sheet. These letter sheets bear a printed 
 or engraved heading as, 
 
 115 Broad Street 
 Philadelphia 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 75 
 
 If no printed heading is on the letter sheets, the 
 address of the writer should appear at the left-hand 
 margin below the body of the letter and above the 
 date, as, 
 
 115 Broad Street 
 
 Philadelphia 
 
 November the second 
 
 The thirdjperson is adhered to throughout. A com- 
 mon fault is the changing from the third person to 
 the first or second person. The following letter is 
 an example of this mistake : 
 
 Mr. George Angus Parsons thanks the United Charities 
 League for its kind invitation to be present and speak at its 
 Tenth Annual Conference to be held at three o'clock on 
 Wednesday, September 6, at its building, 351 Hanley Street, 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 Although I may not be able to arrive until 3 :30, I believe 
 that this will not disturb your arrangements. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 George Angus Parsons 
 
 In the second sentence of the above letter a 
 change is made to the first person. Such a change 
 is incorrect. Moreover, a complimentary close and 
 signature are incorrect in a third person note. 
 
 Another point to remark is the tenses of the verbs 
 used in the letter. In the following letter has been 
 requested should read is requested; will be unable 
 should read is unable. The present tense is usually 
 kept throughout. 
 
76 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 The secretary has been requested by Mr. H. M. Forbes to 
 inform Mr. S. R. Holmes that Mr. Forbes will be unable to 
 accept his kind invitation to take luncheon with him at one 
 o'clock on Wednesday at the New York Yacht Club. 
 
 Acceptances and refusals should be worded in as 
 close accordance as possible with the original letter, 
 although courtesy must also be combined. 
 
 Letter requesting appointment 
 
 The chief may sometimes tell the secretary to 
 write and ask for an appointment on a certain day 
 at a certain time with another important business 
 man. The letter shown below is of the type com- 
 monly used. 
 
 16 Waverly Place 
 August two 
 
 1915 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I am requested by Mr. John M. Williams to ask whether it 
 would be convenient for you to see him at your office on 
 Wednesday morning next, August 4, at eleven o'clock to dis- 
 cuss a matter concerning the Federal Reserve Law. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 F. M. Stress 
 Private Secretary 
 Mr. Frank H. Hand, 
 Woolworth Building, 
 New York City. 
 
 Letter making appointment 
 
 When a letter asking for an appointment is re- 
 ceived and if the employer is willing and able to 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 77 
 
 make the appointment, such a letter is answered as 
 follows : 
 
 Woolworth Building 1 
 
 August three 
 
 1915 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Mr. Frank H. Hand requests me to inform you that he will 
 be happy to meet you on Wednesday morning next, August 
 4, at eleven o'clock at his office. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 E. E. Price 
 
 Private Secretary 
 Mr. John M. Williams, 
 16 Waverly Place, 
 New York City. 
 
 Letter canceling an appointment 
 
 If the chief is unable to keep an appointment 
 through certain unavoidable circumstances, the sec- 
 retary should write to inform the other person of 
 the fact. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Mr. R. M. Andrews was unexpectedly called away from 
 New York and accordingly will be unable to see you at the 
 hour set for your conference, four o'clock, Tuesday, October 
 26. Before he left, Mr. Andrews directed me to inform you 
 that he was sincerely sorry to inconvenience you and that he 
 hopes upon his return you will do him the honor of calling 
 upon him. 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 Francis Thome 
 Secretary to Mr. Andrews 
 
78 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 When the words denoting time, like " to-morrow " 
 and " yesterday/ 7 are used in a letter, the date or 
 the name of the day should be added, as, for in- 
 stance, " I shall be glad to have you take luncheon 
 with me to-morrow, Thursday." Even in letters in 
 which the day is stated, the time may not be definite. 
 The letter may have been written on Tuesday and 
 may reach the other person on Friday ; and it might 
 read, " I shall be in New York next Friday and 
 wish you would meet me." The person who re- 
 ceived the letter would then be uncertain as to what 
 " next Friday " meant. All chance jof misunder- 
 standing can be eliminated if the date is added, as, 
 " next Friday, August 24." 
 
 In rare cases, a formal and impersonal note is 
 used in writing to tradesmen. The following letter 
 will illustrate: 
 
 854 Fifth Avenue 
 
 Mr. John R. Whiting desires Messrs. Lord & Taylor to send 
 for his examination the cedar chest #542 advertised in this 
 morning's (Friday) " Herald." 
 
 January 8, 1915. 
 
 Answering letters during the employer's absence 
 
 When the employer is absent, say on an extended 
 business trip, and will not be back in the office for 
 two weeks, it is the secretary's duty to look after the 
 mail which comes in. Besides having to answer 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 79 
 
 and handle the mail of classes 2 and 3 (as shown on 
 page 66) the secretary must now look after the 
 mail of class 1. Although he himself has neither 
 the power nor the knowledge with which to handle 
 such matters as will appear in these important let- 
 ters, nevertheless he must at least acknowledge the 
 receipt of them. If the writer of the important let- 
 ter receives no answer until after the chief comes 
 back (two weeks from the present time), he be- 
 comes very much dissatisfied at the treatment that 
 he has received. It is only fair and courteous that 
 he should be told that the chief is away and for that 
 reason the subject matter in his letter has not been 
 acted upon. A model form of the kind of letter 
 that is used in acknowledging such important mat- 
 ters is given below : 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 Your letter of June 30 to Mr. Hatches was received this 
 
 morning. At the present time he. is absent from the city. 
 
 Upon his return on July 15 your letter will be immediately 
 
 brought to his attention. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 James Blake 
 
 Secretary to Mr. Hatches 
 
 In certain cases the chief will not be ready to give 
 a definite answer in regard to the important mat- 
 ter which has come to him in the mail. In such 
 cases, although the letter cannot be fully answered, 
 
80 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 it should nevertheless be acknowledged. A model 
 form is given below : 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Mr. Tarryington has received your communication of Jan- 
 uary 8 in regard to the matter of the Atchison contract. He 
 has the proposition under advisement and will let you know 
 his decision within a few days. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 John 8. South 
 Private Secretary 
 Points on dictation 
 
 The following hints will be of aid to the secretary 
 in dictating answers to letters : 
 
 1. Read the letter very carefully and understand 
 what the writer says or tries to say. 
 
 2. As you read the letter pick out the subjects or 
 questions which are to be answered and to these add 
 questions or doubts which should be settled to make 
 the answer to the letter complete. These questions 
 may be numbered as you go along. 
 
 3. Gather the facts with which you are to answer 
 the letter. Arrange them in the most logical order. 
 
 4. If there is a problem of policy involved, deter- 
 mine on your attitude before you start to dictate. 
 
 5. Decide what action, if any, you wish to have 
 the reader take, and make your message work 
 toward that end. 
 
 6. Consider carefully the kind of man the reader 
 is and adapt yourself to him in language, mood, and 
 character. If you find that you are unable to put 
 yourself in the right mood and attitude, it is better 
 to postpone the dictation. It is most important 
 that the tone of your letter be suitable. 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 81 
 
 7. Dictate slowly and speak distinctly. By do- 
 ing so you will be able to think accurately as you 
 dictate and you will also be helping the transcriber. 
 
 8. Concentrate your thoughts upon the idea that 
 you are trying to express and impress through the 
 letter upon the reader. Continually keep ^the 
 reader in mind and talk as if he sat facing you. 
 
 An aid to dictation and transcription, on the me- 
 chanical side, will be found in this hint : After the 
 secretary has carefully read over the letters that he 
 is to answer and when he is ready to dictate, he 
 should place the figure " 1 " in .the upper right-hand 
 corner of the first letter to be answered. This num- 
 ber he should call out to his stenographer instead of 
 the name and address of the person or persons to 
 whom the letter is going. The second letter will be 
 numbered "2," and so on. After the dictation of 
 all the answers, the original letters with the num- 
 bers should be handed to the stenographer who can 
 copy the names and addresses with little chance of 
 error. 
 
 The tone of the letter 
 
 One of the difficult things about the writing of a 
 letter is to put in the right tone. Every letter that 
 is sent out by the secretary should have a certain 
 atmosphere of quality and distinction, and should 
 be written in a certain tone. As a general rule, it 
 may be said that the tone of the letter is determined 
 
82 THE PKIVATE SECEETAKY 
 
 by the position of the person addressed, by the de- 
 gree of acquaintance with him, and by the nature 
 of the communication. Moreover, the quality, dis- 
 tinction, and tone to be used are determined by 
 the policy and standing of the firm with which the 
 secretary's employer is connected. The character 
 of the employer, therefore, should so permeate the 
 secretary that he unconsciously puts into his letter 
 a tone that conforms with that character. 
 
 The language used must be adapted to the reader. 
 A certain spirit or tone in the letter is essential to 
 the best results. The one writing or dictating the 
 letter should consciously strive to use a type of 
 English (conversational, formal, etc.) best suited 
 to the reader. The tone of the letter aids greatly 
 in making a favorable impression. It can be easily 
 understood that letters to ladies should be polished, 
 courteous, and non-colloquial in style. A letter 
 written to a close friend of the employer would be 
 in a colloquial style. Letters that are written to 
 men known to be conservative should be written in 
 a conservative style or tone. Letters written to 
 people who are not well acquainted with the em- 
 ployer should not be so familiar in tone as letters 
 written to the people who are well acquainted with 
 the employer. 
 
 Once the tone or character of a letter has been 
 decided upon, this tone should be adhered to 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 83 
 
 throughout. Any false note that is struck destroys 
 the whole effect of the letter, as, for example, the 
 last paragraph in the following letter : 
 
 250 State Street 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 November 8, 1915 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I am very sorry to inform you that Mr. Davis has been 
 called out of the city on yery pressing business and will be 
 unable, therefore, to keep his appointment with you. 
 
 I shall be glad to make an appointment for November 15 
 at the same time if this hour is convenient for you. 
 Please be prompt in acknowledging this. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 H. E. Wilson, 
 
 ^^^^^^ [r. Davis 
 Mr. Arthur H. Marshall, 
 75 Court Street, 
 New York City. 
 
 Besides the style in which the writer adapts him- 
 self to the reader, besides the established tone in 
 the correspondence of the employer, there is still an- 
 other tone which comes from business sense and 
 which applies to all letters. This is the courteous, 
 agreeable, and positive tone so conducive to good 
 business relations. 
 
 Form letters 
 
 The secretarA|^i also find it of value to keep 
 on file, or at hfl Hiodels of letters that he may be 
 
84 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 called upon to write. He should first make out a 
 letter which conforms in mechanical make-up in 
 every detail with correct form or with the form that 
 the employer desires to be used. He should, more- 
 over, keep models of the various ways in which the 
 employer desires his letters to be written. 
 
 The employer may wish to have answers to in- 
 vitations composed in a certain style. If he dic- 
 tates one of these letters word for word to his sec- 
 retary, the secretary should keep the carbon of it 
 and use it as a model. In the future, whenever a 
 letter of this same type comes up for answering, the 
 secretary himself can make use of the model which 
 has been furnished him by his employer and with 
 a few changes in words, so that every letter will not 
 be identical, write the answer. 
 
 By keeping a file of such model letters the secre- 
 tary will find, first, that he is saving himself time 
 in writing letters of the type called for; and sec- 
 ond, that he is writing better letters, because letters 
 composed on the spur of the moment or when the 
 secretary is rushed are not so good as those care- 
 fully thought out and polished up beforehand. 
 
 Making of precis or digest 
 
 On certain occasions the employer will ask the 
 secretary to give him a digest of the correspond- 
 ence that has taken place between him and some 
 
HANDLING CORRESPONDENCE 
 
 85 
 
 
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 Remarks 
 
 Reasons wanted 
 detail. 
 
 Type of organizati 
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 Discussion to be he 
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 Best method of un- 
 derwriting? 
 
 Calling luncheon 
 
 meeting for April 10. 
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 Unable to attend 
 luncheon. 
 
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 p. 2 ^-^ 
 
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 Is |l 
 
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 Underwriting R & K 
 Company. 
 
 
 
 
 
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86 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 other man or firm, or which concerns a certain mat- 
 ter. When the secretary is thus called upon, he 
 should make out the precis or digest according to 
 an arrangement like that given on page 85. Thfe 
 form should contain the number of the letter in its 
 series, the date of the letter, the correspondent, the 
 subject matter, and remarks. 
 
 In digests of correspondence or of transactions 
 carried on in ways other than by letter (digests are 
 sometimes called for of transactions other than 
 those handled by letter), the secretary should strive 
 to put into as concise a form as possible both the 
 subject matter under discussion and the remarks on 
 how the matter was handled. 
 
 Another form of digest or history of a correspond- 
 ence is where the various facts are related in a story 
 or joarrative fo'rm. This story should be short, con- 
 nected, and should contain only the leading points. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 
 
 " FRANK," called Mr. Forbes from the doorway of 
 his private office, " bring in the carbon copies of the 
 letters you dictated this morning." 
 
 Frank Campbell, Mr. Forbes' private secretary, 
 immediately went to his stenographer, who took 
 from her basket the copies as yet unfiled and handed 
 them to him. 
 
 " I wonder what he wants with them," thought 
 Frank as he walked into his chief's office. There 
 he found Mr. Forbes, the president of the Forbes 
 Steel Company, seated at his desk and awaiting 
 him. Frank handed the carbons to him with the 
 remark, " Here are all the carbon copies of this 
 morning's dictation." 
 
 " I 've been thinking that I could give you a help- 
 ful idea or two about your letters," remarked Mr. 
 Forbes as he motioned his secretary to a chair. 
 " You have been with me only two weeks now, but 
 you have got into the swing pretty well." 
 
 Here there was a pause while Mr. Forbes care- 
 fully read through the carbon copies. 
 
 " There is just one criticism I want to make of 
 
 87 
 
88 THE PKIVATE SECKETARY 
 
 your letters/' said Mr. Forbes. " Just look at the 
 beginning of this letter." 
 The letter began as follows: 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Yours of the 15th instant just to hand and in reply beg 
 leave to say that Mr. Forbes will be glad to take up this mat- 
 ter with you if you will call at his office at 11 :30 on Wednes- 
 day . . . 
 
 "Why do you begin your letters in that hack- 
 neyed way? " questioned the chief. 
 
 " Because most of the letters we receive begin in 
 that way, I suppose," answered the secretary. 
 
 "Just so," said the chief. "You imitated what 
 you probably think is the correct way to begin a 
 business letter. That makes your own letters com- 
 monplace. Now, run through these other letters. 
 In nearly every case you begin in about the same 
 way. How much impression do you think your let- 
 ters will make if they are written like all other 
 letters? Not much, will they? You should make 
 your letters different, individual. Don't use these 
 old, stereotyped beginnings and endings. They are 
 not only useless; they make your letters common- 
 place. When you are dictating, keep away from 
 those meaningless phrases that you find in business 
 letters. 
 
 " And another point, Frank," went on Mr. 
 Forbes. " You and I in fact, the whole concern 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 89 
 
 are judged by the letters that leave the office. 
 Never send out a letter that you fear may create a 
 poor impression. Critically judge every letter be- 
 fore you sign it. If it is n't up to our standard, dic- 
 tate it again. 
 
 " If you want to learn our standards," continued 
 the chief, " get some of my letters from the files and 
 study them. I don't claim that they 're perfect, but 
 they will give you a good idea of the kind of letters 
 I should like to have you dictate." 
 
 The importance of the subject 
 
 The writing of letters is probably the most com- 
 mon duty of secretaries. Since a good part of the 
 success of the secretary rests upon his proficiency in 
 it, he should give much attention to the art. 
 
 The employer may be an excellent letter writer, 
 but he seldom has time to dictate word for word 
 each letter that leaves the office. He is compelled 
 to depend upon the secretary to see that the letters 
 which go out are up to his own standard. If he 
 finds that letter writing is a weak point of the sec- 
 retary, he must either do a large amount of the work 
 himself or get a new secretary. 
 
 Business English is used 
 
 As most private secretaries are secretaries to busi- 
 ness or professional men, it will be found that the 
 
90 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 type of English of most value to them in letter writ- 
 ing differs from the type used by the social secre- 
 tary, for the letters written are usually, although 
 not always, on business matters. The social sec- 
 retary's letters are written in more or less literary 
 English and in a conventional style. The English 
 used by the private secretary in business is not liter- 
 ary English but Business English. 
 v Business English composition has been defined as 
 the art of employing written English to arouse in 
 others such feelings as shall cause action that re- 
 sults in business profit, and to do so with the least 
 waste of time, effort, and money. It includes all 
 written messages used in commercial transactions 
 for the purpose of securing a favorable response for 
 the writer by impressing the reader. 
 
 Business English is not a separate language in the 
 sense of being composed of words and phrases 
 peculiar to business transactions. The secretary 
 or writer who mechanically uses such stock expres- 
 sions as " Yours of the 15th instant to hand," " Pur- 
 suant to yours of even date," and so on, is not neces- 
 sarily a writer of good Business English. These 
 stereotyped expressions are not so efficient as simple 
 expressions that mean the same thing; they injure 
 rather than aid. They are weak because they are 
 so common. Certainly the average man never 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 91 
 
 speaks them. They destroy the personality of the 
 letter. 
 
 Like any other branch of English composition, 
 Business English involves two processes, right 
 thinking and right technic. The writer must think 
 clearly, know the solution of his business problem, 
 and express and impress his ideas precisely- Busi- 
 ness English has to do not merely with composition, 
 but also with the motives which induce people to 
 act. In other words, the writer must comprehend 
 the whole psychological problem involved in any 
 given case, and must make use of his knowledge in 
 the expression of his thoughts. 
 
 Impression versus expression 
 
 The main difference between literary composition 
 and Business English is the purpose. In most 
 forms of literary composition the writer endeavors 
 to express his thoughts with clearness and preci- 
 sion for the purpose of giving information or en- 
 tertaining the reader; in Business English, however, 
 the purpose is profit. Since Business English must 
 produce a profit, it must not merely please or in- 
 struct the reader; it must cause him to act it 
 must make him respond. The test, therefore, that 
 the secretary should apply to the business letter is 
 this : " Does it make the reader do what the writer 
 
92 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 wishes him to do?" "Does it bring the response 
 the writer desires it to bring? " 
 
 In literary composition the writer usually con- 
 siders only the expression of his ideas ; in Business 
 English the writer must consider not only the ex- 
 pression of his ideas but also the impression upon 
 the mind of the reader. He must make such an im- 
 pression upon the reader's mind as shall arouse 
 him to the desired course of action. This im- 
 pression can be secured only by conveying the 
 writer's own idea to the reader in such a way 
 that the latter shall accept the former's point of 
 view. 
 
 Business men are not purists ; they do not always 
 demand nicety in language. It is not always neces- 
 sary that polished diction and well-rounded sen- 
 tences be used. Nor is it fatal if a business message 
 should violate a rule or a convention now and then. 
 Contractions, slang, colloquialisms are allowed in 
 many cases and at times are more effective than 
 pure English would be. All this is so, because the 
 important and, for that matter, the only real pur- 
 pose of a business communication is the transmis- 
 sion and impression of a message. If the reader ' 
 understands the message just as the writer washes 
 it understood and acts just as the writer wishes 
 him to act, there certainly can be no cause for com- 
 'plaint. At the same time it can never be certain 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 93 
 
 that the message will be fully understood unless the 
 expression is clear, the punctuation correct, and the 
 choice of words accurate. Hence it is necessary 
 that certain rules of form be observed, for they will 
 aid in getting the right result. 
 
 The "You" attitude 
 
 The " You " attitude means that the words, I, 
 we, my, mine, ours, and so on, are subordinated as 
 much as possible. It means that the writer shall 
 have a sincere regard for the reader and shall take 
 his viewpoint. No other appeal is so direct, so 
 effective as that which is summed up in the words 
 you, your business, your welfare, your interests. 
 The secretary should keep before the reader his in- 
 terests, not his own. He should look at the problem 
 through the eyes of the reader. He should remem- 
 ber that in the consideration of the three factors in- 
 volved in a message (the sender, the subject or idea, 
 and the reader), the third, the reader, is the most 
 important. 
 
 The weakness of most letters is due not to un- 
 grammatical sentences or to poor style, but to the 
 wrong viewpoint that the writer takes. To over- 
 come this weakness, two things will help : first, the 
 writer should know how to solve the business prob- 
 lem involved in the letter ; second, the writer should 
 keep the reader in mind. 
 
94 THE PEIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 Adaptation to the reader 
 
 In order that the secretary may make the desired 
 impression upon the reader's mind, through his 
 business letters, it is essential that some adjust- 
 ment should be made if the message is to be con- 
 veyed. Accordingly, Business English composition 
 should be adapted to the reader in language, mood, 
 character, and substance. By this is meant that 
 the language used in the letter must be such as the 
 reader would use or understand, and such as is best 
 suited for the occasion ; that the mood or tone must 
 be such as will make the best appeal to the reader 
 and will best aid the secretary in getting him to 
 do what the writer wants ; that the character or per- 
 sonality of the letter must be of the kind to make 
 the deepest impression o.n the reader ; and that the 
 arguments used must be those that appeal to the 
 reader. 
 
 The adaptation in language consists, first, in the 
 use of such words, sentences, and paragraphs as are 
 surely within the comprehension of the reader. In 
 answering a letter written on a mere scrap of paper 
 and showing the illiteracy of the correspondent, the 
 secretary should use simple words, sentences, and 
 paragraphs. Adaptation in language also means 
 that the language used should be well suited to the 
 direct purpose of the letter. Again, since the pur- 
 pose of certain letters is to incite action, the words, 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 95 
 
 sentences, and paragraphs of such letters should be 
 short, sharp, and incisive. If, on the other hand, 
 the secretary is answering a letter of complaint 
 written by an angry man, he should use the kind of 
 language which would tend, from its mere type, to 
 soothe and allay the anger of the complainant. He 
 would use long, smooth sentences and paragraphs, 
 for they tend to soothe. 
 
 Adaptation in mood means that the secretary 
 should adapt himself to the mood of the reader. If 
 the secretary is adjusting some difference, he should 
 put himself into a friendly, sincere, and sympathetic 
 attitude before he commits his thoughts to paper. 
 If the reader is antagonistic, the secretary must be 
 tactful and diplomatic. One object of the secretary 
 in handling such letters is to create a cooperative 
 and sympathetic state of mind and not to stir up op- 
 position or resentment. 
 
 Adaptation to the character or personality of the 
 reader means that the language and tone of the com- 
 position must not clash with the known characteris- 
 tics of the prospective reader of the letter. In most 
 cases the secretary is able to learn of the character 
 of the reader from his letter. He may know it from 
 acquaintance with him, from his business position, 
 his nationality, credit rating, or from many other 
 factors. If the secretary finds by analysis that the 
 reader is conservative in character, he should adapt 
 
96 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 the tone of his letter to the character of the reader 
 and make the' character or tone of his letter con- 
 servative by expressing his ideas in non-colloquial, 
 formal, and dignified language. If the secretary 
 finds by analysis, however, that the reader is pro- 
 gressive, live, and up-to-date, a short, brisk appeal 
 will be more likely to make a good impression. In 
 certain cases, the character of the employer or his 
 business will govern the character or tone of the 
 letter. For example, letters sent out from firms 
 like banking and bond houses should be dignified 
 and conservative. 
 
 Adaptation or adjustment in substance means 
 that from the ideas at the disposal of the secretary, 
 those should be selected and used that are closest 
 to the reader's experience and interests. The sec- 
 retary should sufficiently understand the reader to 
 know that of all the arguments, appeals, and ideas 
 that may be used, certain ones will most directly 
 reach the reader. The secretary, therefore, should 
 direct his persuasion at the interests that govern 
 the reader and so fit his appeals to these specific in- 
 terests. 
 
 Fundamental qualities in Business English 
 
 A careful examination of the correspondence, 
 business reports, and other forms of composition, 
 sent out by the best business houses T has revealed 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 97 
 
 the fact that certain qualities are common to all 
 forms of good Business English. These qualities 
 are five in number : clearness, courtesy, conciseness, 
 correctness, and character. 
 
 Of all these qualities or characteristics of Busi- 
 ness English, with the possible exception of the 
 quality of correctness, the reader and not the writer 
 is the judge. This fact can be easily understood 
 from an explanation of the matter of clearness. In 
 many cases the secretary thinks that his letter is 
 clear ; but yet the reader is unable to understand it. 
 It is not what the secretary thinks about his mes- 
 sage that counts so much as what the reader thinks. 
 Letters that the secretary intended to be courteous 
 may appear discourteous to the reader. 
 
 The quality of clearness 
 
 The first quality of importance in a business com- 
 position is that of clearness, for the purpose of 
 the composition is to convey a certain message to 
 the reader. Business men realize the importance of 
 clearness ; they have had it brought home to them so 
 often in matters of disagreements and misunder- 
 standings. It is obvious that, if a business composi- 
 tion is not clear and does not convey its idea to the 
 reader on the first honest reading, it is likely to be 
 a financial loss, for few readers will take the time 
 to study out what the writer had in mind when he 
 
98 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 wrote it. Clearness is obtained by clear thinking 
 and by simple and precise expression. 
 
 A composition is said to have the quality of clear- 
 ness when the ideas are so expressed that the ordi- 
 nary reader need exert little mental effort to un- 
 derstand them and cannot misunderstand them. 
 Clearness, in other words, recognizes the law of 
 economizing the reader's attention. Herbert Spen- 
 cer's idea of this law may be expressed as follows : 
 Every one at a given moment has a certain amount 
 of power of attention. Accordingly, whatever part 
 of this power is used upon the form of the message 
 must be deducted from the total ; the remainder is 
 left to comprehend the message itself. Those word 
 combinations therefore are best which require the 
 least energy for the comprehension of their meaning. 
 
 The quality of clearness is violated in three com- 
 mon ways : by ambiguity, by vagueness, and by ob- 
 scurity. 
 
 Ambiguity means that a statement admits of 
 more than one meaning. As a result of this double 
 meaning the reader is very likely to take a wrong 
 understanding of the idea. The writer should take 
 care that his statements can be understood in but 
 one way. He should first think clearly and then 
 write precisely. 
 
 Vagueness means that the statement is not defi- 
 nite in meaning. Although not meaningless, it is 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 99 
 
 likely not to convey much meaning. The reader 
 gets a meaning, but it is not the writer's entire and 
 exact meaning. Circumstances determine vague- 
 ness to a great extent. For example, if in answer 
 to a letter that asks what time an appointment can 
 be made the following is sent, it would be said to 
 be vague : " I think that perhaps I may be able 
 to make the appointment with you very soon." 
 Vagueness is caused by the use of inexact and un- 
 specific words and expressions. This fault may be 
 avoided by making the thought exact and specific, 
 and by using exact and specific words to express 
 it. 
 
 Obscurity means that a statement is not readily 
 understood, although by careful re-reading and 
 study the reader may finally understand what the 
 writer intended to say. Few compositions in Busi- 
 ness English, however, are usually considered im- 
 portant enough for a second reading. In fact, 
 many readers have neither the time nor the dis- 
 position to re-read a message. 
 
 Clearness, therefore, exists if the combination of 
 words used to express the thought carries to the 
 reader definitely and unmistakably the thought of 
 the writer. Clearness is secured by constantly 
 working for it. The writer should ask himself, 
 "Just what do I mean?" "Do these words say 
 exactly what I mean? " " Do they say anything I 
 
100 THE PRIVATE SECRETAEY 
 
 do not mean? " The secretary should be critical of 
 his own work. 
 
 The quality of courtesy 
 
 Courtesy means that the writer should have a 
 due regard for the point of view of the reader. 
 The writer must acquire the ability to put himself 
 in the reader's place and to view his own letter 
 through the reader's eyes. Curtness, snappishness, 
 and impoliteness should be avoided. The " You " 
 attitude should be used. The writer should be 
 courteous and show that he has a sincere regard for 
 his reader. 
 
 Discourteous : 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I have not heard from you in regard to my last letter. 
 What 's the matter with you anyway ! Don't you think I am 
 in a hurry for an answer? 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Better : 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I have as yet received no word from you in regard to* my 
 letter of January 24. Won't you kindly look up the matter 
 and let me know about it as soon as possible 1 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Curtness is a milder form of discourtesy, but it 
 is harmful to good business. It is usually brought 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 101 
 
 about unconsciously by the reader's striving for 
 conciseness of expression. Examples : 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Yours of the 15th to hand. I cannot answer it to-day. 
 
 Yours, etc. 
 
 In this particular example the discourtesy can be 
 changed to courtesy by a more adequate considera- 
 tion of the letter and by the use of several polite 
 phrases. 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 In reply to your letter of January 15 in regard to renew- 
 ing the lease for 83 Western Street, I am sorry to inform you 
 that Mr. Ackers is out of town. I shall be glad to let you 
 know of his decision upon his return. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Letters to women who for the most part are un- 
 used to the short, snappy letters of business 
 should be carefully watched for the fault of curt- 
 ness. Women very easily take offense at any ab- 
 ruptness in tone. 
 
 Courtesy does not, as many consider it, consist 
 only of polite terms and phrases. Many a letter 
 that has polite phrases scattered throughout is dis- 
 courteous. Politeness is merely a veneer. Cour- 
 tesy goes deeper. It is a sincere regard for the other 
 man the reader. Formal phrases of politeness 
 can in no way take the place of true courtesy. In- 
 
102 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 deed, such an expression as " Thanking you in 
 advance" is actually discourteous, as it discounts 
 the value of the favor asked. " Dictated but not 
 signed " also savors of discourtesy. Do not use 
 such expressions. 
 
 A violation of courtesy may arise from the dis- 
 courteous treatment given to a letter. The secre- 
 tary should not, for example, scribble the answer on 
 the original letter and mail it back. It suggests 
 that he considered the letter so unimportant that he 
 did n't care to keep it. Such an act is likely to be 
 resented. 
 
 The quality of conciseness 
 
 The quality of conciseness is a good example of 
 the fact that the reader is the judge of the qualities 
 that a letter possesses and that all qualities are rela- 
 tive. A letter that is considered concise by the busi- 
 ness man might be considered curt by a woman. 
 True conciseness in Business English is a matter of 
 adaptation to the reader. This much about concise- 
 ness is certain : the thoughts and ideas of the writer 
 should be expressed in as few words as will convey 
 the message unmistakably to the reader. Words 
 that do not help to carry the message merely serve 
 to clog the thought. Conciseness means that the 
 ideas are expressed briefly, but still with gram- 
 matical completeness. 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 103 
 
 Two common faults arise from the attempt to 
 secure conciseness: (1) grammatical incomplete- 
 ness of sentences, and (2) curtness or snappishness 
 in tone. Grammatical incompleteness arises if the 
 writer, in a mistaken attempt to secure brevity of 
 expression, omits the subject of the sentence, a part 
 of the verb, or some other important element that is 
 needed to complete the grammatical construction 
 of the sentence. Such omissions cause ambiguity, 
 obscurity, and hence, instead of hastening the com- 
 prehension of the thought, impede it. In telegrams, 
 cablegrams, and the like, the message is expressed 
 in the fewest words compatible with clearness. 
 Grammatical completeness may be prevented by 
 cost. 
 
 Example: SHIP FAST FREIGHT THIRTY 
 NUMBER EIGHTEEN BOATS 
 FIVE MODEL ENGINES. 
 
 The other fault brought about by a mistaken idea 
 of conciseness is that of curtness or snappishness of 
 tone. The message is expressed in as few words as 
 possible to convey the message, but in certain cases 
 the reader receives a disagreeable impression from 
 its tone. 
 
 The quality of correctness 
 
 The quality of correctness is present if the me- 
 
104 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 chanical form of the composition is in accord with 
 the rules of mechanical make-up, if the language is 
 in accord with the usage of good modern writers, 
 and if the technic the execution of the composi- 
 tion is correct from the business point of view. 
 
 At the first meeting, a man is judged by his per- 
 sonal appearance his clothes, his looks, and so 
 on and by his speech. Many of these snap judg- 
 ments based on a man's appearance have been er- 
 roneous but it takes much to change a first im- 
 pression especially if that first impression be a 
 poor one. So it is that the person or concern pre- 
 senting a business message to one reader or a hun- 
 dred thousand readers cannot afford to allow the 
 mechanical make-up the dress 1 of the message 
 to make a poor impression. The appearance of the 
 composition must be good. Correct dress com- 
 mands a certain amount of respect and atten- 
 tion. 
 
 The mechanical make-up deals with externals; 
 that is, the margins, the typing, the placing of the 
 matter on the page, and so on whether it be a 
 letter, report, or other form of business composi- 
 tion. Correctness of the dress of a letter is a mat- 
 ter determined by usage present-day usage. Be- 
 cause of its long and constant use, the letter has 
 become more or less conventionalized as to form, but 
 certain parts of the letter have changed. The slid- 
 
POINTS ON LETTEE WKITING 105 
 
 ing-off, participial ending of sixty years ago was as 
 follows : 
 
 Assuring you of our great pleasure in having been given 
 this opportunity to serve you, allow us to subscribe our- 
 selves as 
 
 Your faithful and humble servants, 
 
 John Jones & Company. 
 
 Such a complimentary close would now be judged 
 incorrect because of its not being in conformity 
 with the present-day custom of the best business 
 houses. To be in correct mechanical make-up, the 
 letter must conform with present-day usage. What 
 this usage is and by whom it is decided, are ques- 
 tions that naturally arise. Usage, it may be said, 
 is the practice of the majority of the best authori- 
 ties. Usage, however, like fashion, is constantly 
 changing. What was correct yesterday may not be 
 correct to-day; what is correct to-day may not be 
 correct to-morrow. Not many years ago the script 
 letterhead was in vogue; nowadays simple Roman 
 type is preferred. 
 
 A man is judged by his speech. If that be crude 
 and ungrammatical the speaker stands condemned. 
 Faults in speech are by no means so glaring as 
 faults in writing, for in the latter case faults are 
 in a lasting form so that all may see and laugh. 
 The secretary cannot afford to be misjudged he 
 cannot afford to send out letters that have errors in 
 
106 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 grammar, punctuation, or spelling. If he -does send 
 out such letters, he lowers himself and his employer 
 in the estimation of the men with whom he deals. 
 Bad grammar, therefore, is wrong from the business 
 standpoint not so much because it is liable to render 
 the message obscure, as because it lowers the user 
 in the eyes of the reader, and this means loss in 
 business results. 
 
 Correct grammar passes unnoticed, as it should, 
 for it is expected. Bad grammar, since it attracts 
 attention to itself, distracts the reader from the 
 message and gives him an unfavorable impression 
 both of the writer and of the proposition. Correct- 
 ness in language is a matter of usage the practice 
 of the majority of the best writers. 
 
 The mechanical make-up and the language are ex- 
 ternal matters. The execution of the composition 
 deals with internals. Correctness in executing a 
 letter or advertisement is a matter that concerns the 
 correct solution of the business problem involved 
 (this, of course, involves the use of correct facts and 
 ideas) ; in other words, correctness of execution is 
 a matter of internals of the ideas that are used. 
 A business composition is correct in execution, 
 therefore, if it conforms in construction with the 
 technic that has been found to be the best for re- 
 sults and if it is accurate in its ideas and facts. 
 
POINTS ON LETTER WRITING 107 
 
 The quality of character 
 
 In importance second only to the quality of clear- 
 ness is the quality of character, which is far rarer 
 than clearness. Character means that the composi- 
 tion is distinctive either because of the writer's per- 
 sonality or because of a certain tone, style, or qual- 
 ity which the secretary consciously or unconsciously 
 puts into his composition. Since a large majority 
 of business compositions are characterless, the com- 
 position that has character secures more than ordi- 
 nary attention. The secretary imparts his char- 
 acter to the writing as much as he impresses his 
 personality on the person with whom he talks. In 
 reading a letter that has character, the reader feels 
 as if he were listening to the real talk of a real per- 
 sonality and not to the mechanical jargon of a 
 mechanical correspondent. Many business com- 
 positions have the four other qualities, but few have 
 the quality of character. Hence, the composition 
 that has character stands out over all other com- 
 positions and commands, receives, and holds the 
 reader's interest. This distinctiveness results in 
 the securing of a favorable impression of both the 
 message and the writer. The quality of character 
 is an essential of effective business compositions. 
 
 Character, however, does not mean eccentricity 
 or oddity in expression. It is not to be secured by 
 
108 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 posing. Rather is it the personality of the secre- 
 tary injected into his writing and adapted to the 
 reader. Such a writer expresses his idea not by 
 means of mechanical expressions but by means of 
 individual expressions. 
 
 If the secretary wants to secure character for his 
 compositions he must first break away from the 
 habit of using the worn-out phrases that are com- 
 mon in commercial correspondence. His next step 
 should be to express his ideas and thoughts in a 
 natural way simple, direct, and exact. He 
 should write just as he thinks. 
 
 Business English style 
 
 In literary circles the conception of style is that 
 it is the individuality of the writer as shown in his 
 expression. Buffon's famous definition " le style 
 est de rhomme meme" (style is of the man him- 
 self) is the accepted one generally. This definition, 
 however, is inadequate for the writer of Business 
 English, for it takes into account merely the writer, 
 only one element of the three that affect every piece 
 of composition the writer, the subject, and the 
 reader. Style, in Business English, does not mean 
 simply the expression of the writer's individuality. 
 By far a better definition for style in Business Eng- 
 lish is : Style is the writer in the right relation to 
 his subject and his reader. The message must be 
 
LETTER WRITING 
 
 suited to the reader^the subject, and the standing 
 of the writer or business house. Of these three, the 
 reader is usually the most important. 
 
 The writer of Business English should forget 
 about his personal style, about himself, and should 
 think of the reader that he is desirous of reaching. 
 He should find the ideas that will appeal to him, the 
 language that he can understand, and the action 
 that he can be induced to take. Business English 
 style, therefore, must be suited to the reader. The 
 reader must be made to read, understand, and to 
 react. In addition it should be suited to the sub- 
 ject. The less style in the sense of literary style 
 that the secretary has the better. Certainly he 
 should have .no mannerisms. He should have suffi- 
 cient versatility and adaptability to suit his mes- 
 sage to the reader, the subject, and the employer 
 and forget himself. 
 
 The qualities of a good .Business English style, 
 considered above under the names of Clearness, Cor- 
 rectness, Courtesy, Conciseness, and Character, may 
 be grouped under two heads distinctiveness or 
 force, and ecpnomy. 
 
 1. Distinctiveness Js necessary in order -that the 
 message may stand~6ut from other messages and 
 impress the reader with its individuality. 
 
 2. Economy is necessary in order that the mes- 
 sage may 'Hold the reader's attention throughout. 
 The message should be so written that as little men- 
 
110 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 tal strain as possible is put upon the reader. Econ- 
 omy of attention is secured if the message is clear, 
 concise, and correct. 
 
 How to learn to write Business English 
 
 
 
 Good business writing is simply the encourage- 
 ment of right habits the fixing of good habits un- 
 til they become a part of one's nature and are exer- 
 cised automatically. Four points, therefore, should 
 be remembered in learning how to write Business 
 English : > 
 
 I The composition is judged by results; not by 
 
 critical standards of form. 
 
 II The message is conveyed to the reader only 
 if you have him in mind and sincerely 
 adapt yourself to him. 
 
 111 Learn the qv that successful letters 
 
 have and know how to obtain them. 
 IV Practice and Experience. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF THE 
 LETTER 
 
 IN answer to the soft warning of the buzzer, 
 Frank Campbell ceased his dictating to his stenog- 
 rapher and with the remark, " I '11 be back in a 
 moment, Miss Ray," hastened into his chief's private 
 office. 
 
 Mr. Forbes was just finishing the signing of his 
 letters and looked up with a pleased expression. 
 
 " I did n't notice that we had a new stenographer. 
 She does good work," remarked the president of 
 the Forbes Steel Company. 
 
 "Why, we haven't a new stenographer," said 
 Campbell rather puzzled. 
 
 " Well, who typed these letters? " questioned Mr. 
 Forbes. " They appear to be typed in a different 
 style from ordinary. And I think they show a big 
 improvement in appearance. How was it done? " 
 
 " Miss Ray typed them, but I must admit the 
 soft impeachment as to having changed the style 
 of make-up/' answered Campbell. " I have been 
 
 on the lookout for good-looking letters. I have also 
 
 in 
 
112 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 consulted several books at the Library on business 
 letters. Finally, I decided to make a change in the 
 mechanical make-up of our letters. I showed Miss 
 Ray what I wanted and after several trials we fixed 
 our standard form for all letters that go from this 
 office. I had copies of this standard form made and 
 given to the stenographers." 
 
 " That ? s good," said Mr. Forbes. " If there is 
 anything I believe in, it is good-looking letters. 
 
 " And is n't this a new letterhead? " he added as 
 he carefully examined the letter sheet. 
 
 " Yes," answered the private secretary. " By the 
 time the supply of letterheads gave out, I had 
 formed in my mind certain ideas of what our letter- 
 head ought to look like and so I just went ahead 
 and had this new one engraved. I hope you like it." 
 
 " I do," said Mr. Forbes. " In fact, I think that 
 the letters as a whole show a marked improvement. 
 I congratulate you." 
 
 A standard of form should be adopted 
 
 There are two reasons why the private secretary 
 should know the correct mechanical make-up of the 
 letter : first, heJnmseJJLmay be called upon to write 
 letters, in which case he must know the correct 
 forms used in letter- writing ; and, second, if he has 
 stenogr^phejs, he must be able to_criticize their 
 work. 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 113 
 
 Before any letters are sent out at the beginning 
 of his service, he should examine previous letters to 
 discover what has been the office standard in re- 
 gard to make-up. This form he should use until he 
 is ready to adopt and put into effect a better form. 
 As soon, however, as he has decided upon the me- 
 chanical form to be used, he should make copies of 
 it so that both he and the stenographers may have 
 some standard to go by. 
 
 The desirability of having all letters that leave 
 the office conform to certain rules of appearance is 
 readily recognized. If letters are handled by three 
 or four different correspondents and typists, there 
 are likely to be three or four different styles in the 
 make-up of letters going out from the office. Such 
 a state of affairs is by no means satisfactory. By 
 adopting a uniform policy in regard to the make-up 
 of a letter and by impressing upon the various 
 typists the fact that these rules should be followed 
 so that the mechanical arrangement of a letter may 
 be always the same, the secretary will secure a 
 definite, standardized form of letter. 
 
 It is wise, therefore, for the secretary to devise a 
 manual of the rules that are to cover the mechanical 
 make-up of the letter in its various forms. The 
 following pages on the mechanical make-up of the 
 letter cover the most important usages of the busi- 
 ness offices of the present day. The secretary can 
 
114 THE PEIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 choose those rules which he desires to make use of. 
 These rules can then be typed out and a copy given 
 to each correspondent and typist. 
 
 The outward appearance of the letter 
 
 The outward appearance of a letter makes the 
 first impression on the reader. It is important, 
 therefore, that the letter shall present as good an 
 appearance as possible in all the externals that 
 catch the reader's eye, such as arrangement, typ- 
 ing (or handwriting), paper, and so on. These 
 externals are called the mechanical make-up of a 
 letter. 
 
 In many cases the style and make-up of a business 
 letter are often all that the reader has to guide him 
 as to the standing of the firm or person with whom 
 he is dealing. The slovenly, careless-looking letter 
 makes a poor impression. The letter that is cor- 
 rect in mechanical make-up inclines the reader to 
 be favorably disposed to the message; at least no 
 unfavorable impression is made which must be over- 
 come by the message. 
 
 A part of the first impression made on the reader 
 is produced by the paper upon which the message is 
 written. Good paper stock is worth a high price, 
 not because it pleases the concern or the employer, 
 but because it influences to some degree the man to 
 whom the letter is sent. The kind of paper chosen, 
 
PERSONAL LETTEEHEADS 
 115 
 
116 THE PRIVATE SECRETAEY 
 
 as to size, color, and quality, depends upon certain 
 points. 
 
 In the first place, it depends upon the person or 
 class of persons to whom the.letterjtejjent, for in 
 every case should paper be selected which will meet 
 the expectations of the reader in regard to the man 
 from whom it comes. What the employer thinks 
 about his stationery is not so important as what 
 the recipients think. In the second place, the-teid 
 of^paper- used depends upon the_nalu->and the 
 standing of the business and upon the type of posi- 
 tion held by the employer. It certainly would be a 
 grievous mistake if the letters coming from the office 
 of a president of a large bank were written on poor, 
 cheap paper. For ordinary business corpespond- 
 ence the paper used is a sheet 8% x 11 inches, to fit 
 the standard envelope 6% x 3% inches. The 
 paper should be unruled and preferably white or of 
 some light tint. Bond papers are extensively used. 
 Half sheets should not be used, for the saving 
 in cost does f not compensate for the impression 
 of parsimony [that is made on the reader of the 
 letter. 
 
 The printed heading 
 
 The business letterhead gives the name of the em- 
 ployer or his firm, the address, sometimes the na- 
 ture of the business, and it may also contain the 
 
xzifrzzxazx. 
 
 )x MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY 
 
 AMERICAN WRITING PAPER Co. 
 
 HOLYOKZ.MASS 
 
 THF NEW YOR1C EDISON COMPANY 
 
 THC VoGutlTt COM PAN 
 
 I 
 
 AMIRICAK HOMES S GARDEH.S 
 
 I 
 
 BUSINESS LETTERHEADS 
 
 117 
 
118 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 telephone number and other essential information. 
 Seldom should it contain such unessential facts as 
 pictures of the products or of the buildings of the 
 firm and long lists of directors, for the heading is 
 not the essential part of the letter the typed mat- 
 ter is. Thejsimpler the letterhead, the better chance 
 has the message in the body of the letter to secure 
 the undivided attention of the reader. Nor should 
 the printed heading occupy more than one fifth of 
 the sheet. It should not extend down the margins 
 for advertising purposes. As a general rule, it may 
 be said that letterheads printed in script are not in 
 harmony with the typewritten letter. 
 
 The letterhead may be lithographed, engraved, or 
 printed. The color should usually be black. Other 
 colors are sometimes effectively used, but black ink 
 on white paper is the safe and correct form. One 
 style of type in the heading is much preferred to an 
 assortment of styles of type. A rectangular shape 
 of printed heading is in harmony with the shape of 
 the letter sheet. 
 
 The written heading 
 
 When the heading is written ~by hand, it is placed 
 at the top of the letter sheet, close to the right-hand 
 margin. It contains the street address, city ad- 
 dress, state address, and also the date. The ex- 
 ample below will illustrate; 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTEE 119 
 
 18 Prospect Street, / 
 Hartford, Conn., / 
 August 15, 1915. I 
 
 It is a practice of some to omit punctuation at the 
 ends of the several lines of the written heading. In 
 fact, it is coming into common usage. 
 
 It is better never to abbreviate the name of the 
 State when the abbreviation is likely to be con- 
 fused with the abbreviation of another State. In- 
 stead of writing St. Joseph, Mo., the secretary 
 should write St. Joseph, Missouri, for Mo. might 
 easily be mistaken for Me. (Maine). Ga. 
 (Georgia) could easily be read as Pa. (Pennsyl- 
 vania). This fact is especially true of letters in 
 handwriting. 
 
 No word or sign should be placed before the street 
 number. In $45 West Ninth Street, the sign before 
 the number should be omitted and in No. J}5 West 
 Ninth Street, the No., for number, should also be 
 omitted. 
 
 The date should consist of the month, the num- 
 ber of the day, and the number of the year. Do 
 not use a number for the month and do not ab- 
 breviate the year. Instead of writing 8-9-15 or 
 8/9 /'15, the secretary should write August 9, 
 1915. Although at first glance, the use of the num- 
 ber of the month and the abbreviated number of the 
 year seems to be more efficient than the use of the 
 
120 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 month written out, nevertheless the reader is often 
 confused and loses time in trying to find out exactly 
 what month is meant. In some European countries 
 8-9-' 15 would be read: September 8, 1915. The 
 number of the day should not be followed by nd, 
 rd y sty or th. In other words, do not write August 
 8th; write August 8. When reference is made in 
 the body of the letter to a date, either form is cor- 
 rect. In ordinary business'letters the numbers and 
 the date should not be written out in full, as Decem- 
 ber nineteen, Nineteen hundred and fifteen. In cer- 
 tain cases, however, as in official letters, the date is 
 spelled out to secure greater formality or to secure 
 a better appearance for the letter. 
 
 The entire heading, even though it be short, 
 should not be written on one line. It is better to 
 use three lines with the date on a separate line. 
 
 The inside address 
 
 The name and address of the person to whom the 
 letter on a business matter is directed is placed at 
 the left-hand side of the letter sheet below the 
 heading, and about one inch from the edge of the 
 sheet. Its distance below the heading depends upon 
 the amount of typed matter that is to go upon the 
 sheet and also upon the method of arranging that 
 matter. Two forms are used ; the straight edge, or 
 the slanting-in (encelon) form, as follows : 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 121 
 
 Mr. George L. Scott, 
 415 Wabash Avenue, 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 or 
 
 Mr. George L. Scott, 
 
 415 Wabash Avenue, 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 The inside address contains the name of the per- 
 son or of the firm and the address. The address 
 consists of the street and number, and the city and 
 the State. In certain cases the State is not needed 
 and may be omitted. Indeed, in some cases the 
 street address need not be given, but the best usage 
 is to include it. Punctuation may or may not be 
 placed at the ends of the various lines of the inside 
 address. 
 
 Courtesy and conformity with custom demand 
 that some title precede the name of the person or 
 firm. Among the commonest titles are Mr., Mrs., 
 Miss, Messrs., Dr., Honorable, Reverend, Professor. 
 The title Esq. (Esquire) follows the name of a man. 
 In the United States, however, the use of this title 
 is rapidly going out of custom. When it is used, 
 the title Mr. should be omitted. Do not write Mr. 
 Harry L. Morgan, Esq., but Harry L. Morgan, Esq., 
 or Mr. Harry L. Morgan. The latter form is pref- 
 erable. 
 
122 THE PEIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 The title Miss is not considered an abbreviated 
 form and is therefore not followed by a period. The 
 title Messrs, is an abbreviation of Messieurs. A 
 common error is to write Messers. or Mess. It 
 should be noted that Messrs, is used as a title in 
 addressing two or more persons engaged in business 
 under a firm title, but is not used when addressing 
 under an impersonal corporation title; i. e., the 
 partnership of Lewis and Hyde should be addressed 
 Messrs. Lewis and Hyde, or Lewis & Hyde, but the 
 United States Steel Corporation should not be ad- 
 dressed Messrs. United States Steel Corporation, 
 but United States Steel Corporation. 
 
 Such initials as Ph.D., M.A., etc., and titles such 
 as President, Secretary, Cashier, etc., follow the 
 name of the person addressed ; as Prof. Walter Dill 
 Scott, Ph.D., Northwestern University. 
 
 Salutation 
 
 The complimentary address at the beginning of a 
 letter is called the salutation. In business letters 
 it is practically limited to four forms : Dear Sir, 
 Gentlemen, Dear Madam, and Ladies or Mesdames. 
 Dear Madam is used in addressing a woman, 
 whether married or unmarried. More formality is 
 shown by the use of the salutation My dear Sir or 
 My dear Madam. Note that the first letter of the 
 second word is not a capital. In exceptional cases-, 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 123 
 
 as in writing to government officials, the plain and 
 highly formal Sir is used. If the writer is person- 
 ally acquainted with the addressee or has corre- 
 sponded with him before, he may use My dear Mr. 
 Jones or Dear Mr. Jones. 
 
 The salutation should be written flush with the 
 left-hand margin and in alignment with the first 
 line of the address. It occupies a line by itself. 
 Either of the following forms is correct: 
 
 Brooks Brothers, Brooks Brothers, 
 
 44th Street, 44th Street, 
 
 New York City. New York City. 
 
 Gentlemen : Gentlemen : 
 
 The salutations Dear Friend, and Dear Miss, 
 should not be used. Nor should the abbreviation 
 Messrs, be used as a salutation. Do not write : 
 
 Rogers Peet Co., 
 515 Broadway, 
 New York City. 
 
 Messrs. : 
 
 The correct form is: 
 
 Rogers Peet Co., 
 515 Broadway, 
 New York City. 
 
 Gentlemen : 
 
 Dear Sirs has of recent years become obsolete. 
 In the addressing of such firms as, for example, 
 
Trie SWMS PROMTS CO/ttPARY 
 
 50 C/WRCM STREET ... REWYORK 
 
 JUly 12. 1916 
 
 to-. K. C. Cannon. 
 
 1306 Williamson Building. 
 
 Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
 DMT Sin 
 
 Because of my abience from the city. I have bean unable to 
 anwer the question that you raised In your letter of June 
 24, about the Ulnnte Boo*. I hope that this delay will not 
 Inconvenience you. 
 
 The Minute Book w tent from He* Tork on June 22 by Adam* 
 Express. It could hardly have reached you by the time you 
 nailed your letter. By this tins you probably have received 
 It. If, however, you have not received It, let me know and 
 I will have It traced. I am enclosing two carbon* of letters 
 that will be of Interest to you. 
 
 Yours very truly. 
 
 AEKANGEMENT FOB BUSINESS LETTER 
 (Block Form) 
 
 124 
 
THE SWMS PROMTS COMPARY 
 
 SO CHVRCA STREET REU/YORK 
 
 July 12. 1916. 
 
 Mr. H. C. Cannon, 
 
 1306 tllllanwm Building. 
 Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
 DMT Sir, 
 
 Boua of ngr absence from the oity, I have bean un- 
 able to answer the question that you raised In your letter of 
 June 24. about the Vlnute Book. 1 hope that thle delay will 
 not Inconvenience you. 
 
 The Minute Book was eent from Hew Tork on June 22 by 
 adaas Expreas. It could hardly have reached you by the time 
 you mailed your letter. By this time you probably hare re- 
 ceived It. If, however, you have not received It, let me know 
 nd I will have It traced. I ara enclosing two carbons of letter 
 that will be of Interest to you. 
 
 Tours very truly. 
 
 Jlffl 
 RMJ 
 2 tads. 
 
 AEBANGEMENT FOB BUSINESS LETTER 
 (Old Form) 
 
 125 
 
126 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 John Wanamaker or John Butler, Inc., the correct 
 salutation is Gentlemen, because these names are 
 the names of the firms and not of the individuals. 
 Such a salutation is the correct form also if the cor- 
 poration or firm is composed of men and women. 
 
 Never should a name alone be used as a salutation 
 (except in communications between persons in the 
 same office). Example: 
 
 Wrong: Mr. Frederick Adams: 
 
 Will you let me know . . . 
 
 Right : My dear Mr. Adams : 
 
 Will you let me know . . . 
 
 Such abbreviated forms as D'r (Dear), Gents, 
 S'r (Sir), should be avoided. 
 
 The salutation is followed by a colon, or a comma ; 
 never by a semi-colon. The dash is unnecessary. 
 
 The body of the letter 
 
 Before the letter is typed or written the typist 
 or writer should judge the amount of material that 
 is to go on the sheet and plan for the space ac- 
 cordingly. The stenographer, before beginning to 
 type, should always glance over his notes and judge 
 the amount of space that will be required. If such 
 a plan is followed the typed matter can be placed 
 to best advantage on the letter sheet. The margins 
 at the sides should be made deep, provided the 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 127 
 
 letter is short, because a short letter will occupy 
 little space and this space should be as nearly in 
 the center of the page as possible. The beauty or 
 good appearance of a letter is usually secured 
 through good wide margins and from the correct 
 arrangement or placing of the typed matter on the 
 letter sheet. The marginal arrangement that is 
 most effective and most pleasing to the eye is one 
 that has the widest margin at the bottom, the next 
 widest at the top, and the sides next. 
 
 All paragraphs are to be indented an equal dis- 
 tance from the margin, say ten spaces or one inch, 
 regardless of the length of the salutation. It is 
 also wise to use double spacing between the para- 
 graphs. Some firms use no indention, but begin 
 each paragraph flush with the margin. In this 
 case paragraphs are indicated by double or triple 
 spacing between the paragraphs. In the illustra- 
 tions on pages 124, 125, and 137 may be seen the 
 correct forms of the typewritten letter. 
 
 If the letter is written in handwriting, the space 
 between the paragraphs should be double that be- 
 tween other lines. 
 
 Complimentary close 
 
 The complimentary close follows the body of the 
 letter. As a rule it begins in the middle of the 
 page below the body of the letter. 
 
128 THE PEIVATE SECRETAKY 
 
 The following forms are most used in business 
 letters: Yours truly, Truly yours, Very truly 
 yours, Yours very truly, Yours respectfully. Such 
 abbreviations as Y'rs, or Resp'y should not be used 
 in the complimentary close ; nor should Respectively 
 be written for Respectfully. And oblige should not 
 be used in place of a complimentary close. 
 
 In the complimentary close only the first word 
 should begin with a capital. The proper punctua- 
 tion at the end is a comma. Such expressions as 
 Believe me, I beg to remain, I am, I remain, etc., 
 should not be used, for they are unnecessary and 
 weaken the end. 
 
 The signature 
 
 The signature follows the complimentary close, a 
 little below and directly in alignment with it if the 
 block or straight edge form of letter is being used. 
 If the encelon or slanting-in form is used, the signa- 
 ture is written below but a little to the right (see 
 pages 124 and 125). 
 
 In letters from firms, the firm name should be 
 typewritten and below it should come the written 
 signature of the person directly responsible for the 
 letter. Sometimes his signature is preceded by the 
 word By and followed by his title such as President, 
 Secretary, Cashier, and the like. This title is also 
 typewritten. 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 129 
 
 On account of the illegibility of many signatures, 
 some business houses have adopted the practice of 
 typing the name of the writer directly under the 
 firm's name (see page 124). Below this the writer 
 signs his name. This assures that, in an answer- 
 ing letter, the writer of the first letter is correctly 
 addressed. Unless the name of the writer appears 
 in the printed letterhead it is best to sign the full 
 name, not H. Holt, for otherwise Harry Holt might 
 get the mail that Hobart Holt should get. Illegible 
 signatures are the cause of many misdirected let- 
 ters. The secretary should make sure that his sig- 
 nature can be easily and correctly read. 
 
 The signature of the writer, if a man, should not 
 be preceded by any title such as Mr., Prof., or Dr. 
 
 A married woman signs her full name (this in- 
 cludes her maiden name) and places immediately 
 below, in parentheses, her married name. 
 
 Grace Thompson Brisbane 
 (Mrs. George A. Brisbane) 
 
 The secretary uses the latter form in addressing her. 
 
 An unmarried woman signs her name with Miss 
 in parentheses before it. A widow signs her name 
 with Mrs. in parentheses before it. Examples: 
 (Miss) Anna Burden Shaw; (Mrs.) Edith Boiling 
 Gait. 
 
 A divorced woman is addressed with the title 
 
130 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 Mrs., not Miss, even though she has resumed her 
 maiden name. Should she retain her husband's 
 name, her signature is composed of her own sur- 
 name added to her Christian name. She would 
 sign her letters as follows: 
 
 Dorothea Thompson Thorpe 
 (Mrs. Dorothea Thompson Thorpe) 
 
 In addressing her, the secretary uses the latter form. 
 
 Other points about the letter 
 
 The postscript is sometimes added to business 
 letters. The letters P.S., however, are no longer 
 used to label it. Formerly the postscript was used 
 to express some idea which had been forgotten up 
 to that point. Now, whenever it is employed, it is 
 for the purpose of emphasizing some important idea. 
 Since it stands out as occupying a unique place in 
 the letter, it should be used to contain an important 
 idea and not simply the last thought of the writer. 
 
 Such expressions as Dictated but signed in my 
 absence, Dictated but not corrected after trans- 
 scribed, Dictated but not read, Dictated but not 
 signed, etc., should not be used, for they are dis- 
 courteous to the reader of the letter. 
 
 The identity of the dictator and transcriber of 
 the message should never become obtrusive. Ex- 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 131 
 
 pressions such as Dictated by Mr. John F. Royal to 
 Miss White, Dictated ~by Mr. Jones, etc., should be 
 omitted. When identification is absolutely neces- 
 sary it should be made by initials, such as EJK-C. 
 Every mark or expression that does not help the 
 message in the main part of the letter should re- 
 main inconspicuous, as otherwise it distracts atten- 
 tion from the body of the letter. 
 
 Enclosures should be indicated by the abbrevia- 
 tion, Encl. y placed next to the lower left-hand mar- 
 gin; e.g., 3 Ends, (see page 124). 
 
 Only one side of the paper should be used. If 
 more than one letter sheet is needed to contain the 
 message, plain sheets without the letterhead but 
 of the same size and material as the letterhead 
 should be used. At the top of these additional 
 sheets is placed the number of the sheet, the initials 
 or the name of the firm or person to whom the letter 
 is sent, and sometimes the date, as, 
 
 The Century Company 2. Jan. 8, 1916 
 
 Care should be taken that the last sheet of the 
 letter does not contain only the complimentary 
 close and the signature. The use of a little judg- 
 ment will prevent such a fault. 
 
 In the folding of the letter, the bottom edge should 
 be folded up until it is exactly even with the top 
 
132 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 edge or one-half inch from the top edge, and creased ; 
 then there should be folded over from the right a 
 little more than one-third of the letter, and creased. 
 The remainder of the letter is folded over from the 
 left. The free edge of the letter is thus slightly 
 below the right-hand crease. It should be placed 
 '/in the envelope with the free edge toward your- 
 self. 
 
 The personal attention of a certain individual in 
 a firm is secured to a matter of the firm's business 
 by the expression, Attention of Mr. Jones, written 
 in the center of the page. This may be placed just 
 below the salutation or just above the inside ad- 
 dress. The former position is preferable. 
 
 The envelope 
 
 In business correspondence the envelope is pref- 
 erably of the standard size 6% x 3% inches. It 
 should be made of the same kind of paper as that 
 used for the letterhead. The return address of the 
 sender should usually appear on the envelope in the 
 upper left-hand corner. It may either be printed 
 or written by hand. It should not be large or con- 
 spicuous, and should seldom if ever be used for ad- 
 vertising purposes. 
 
 The address should begin slightly below the mid- 
 dle of the envelope and should be well centered. 
 
SCHOOL OF COMMERCE 
 ACCOUNT* ANOPINANCB 
 
 Mr. Walter Bylund, 
 Hyatt Roller Bearing Co.. 
 Newark. Jf. J. 
 
 NEW YORK UNIVERSITY 
 SCHOOL OP COMMERCE 
 ACCOUNTS AND FINANCE 
 
 Mr* Walter By land, 
 Hyatt Roller Bearing Co. , 
 Newark, IT. J. 
 
 ABEANGEMENT ON ENVELOPE 
 
 133 
 
134 THE PEIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 Two forms are used just as in the inside address, as 
 f o'llows : 
 
 Mr. George L. Scott, 
 82 Broadway, 
 New York City. 
 
 or 
 
 Mr. George L. Scott, 
 82 Broadway, 
 New York City. 
 
 When the straight-edge form is used in the inside 
 address, this form should also be used on the en^ 
 velope. The main thing to be considered is that the 
 address should be well balanced. 
 
 The order of the address is usually as follows: 
 first line, name of addressee ; second line, street ad- 
 dress or box number; third line, city or town, and 
 State or country; or the State or country may be 
 placed on the fourth line. 
 
 The personal attention of a certain individual in 
 a firm is secured to a matter of the firm's business 
 by the use of such an expression as Attention of 
 Mr. Johns which is placed in the lower left-hand 
 corner of the envelope. 
 
 The envelope should have no unsightly blots, 
 finger prints, or erasures. It is better to have the 
 letter entirely rewritten than to take any chance of 
 having the effect of an otherwise perfect page 
 marred by any of these blemishes. Correctness and 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 135 
 
 neatness in a letter are of vital importance in win- 
 ning a passage to favorable consideration from the 
 reader. 
 
 ENVILOPES FOB BUSINESS USE AND FOR PERSONAL USE 
 
 Official form of letter 
 
 There is one class of letters with which the sec- 
 retary should make himself well acquainted, for he 
 will use letters of this class frequently. These let- 
 ters are called "official letters." Although the 
 name " official letters " is likely to confuse, yet the 
 
136 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 form of letter which bears that title has been so long 
 associated with and is in such constant use by offi- 
 cials that its name is firmly established. The con- 
 fusion arises from the fact that the many personal 
 letters written by the secretary for the employer 
 are correctly written in the official form but are not 
 " official letters " in the real sense of the name. 
 
 The name comes from the fact that the officials 
 of the city, state, and national governments use a 
 certain form of letter when they write on official 
 business. The form is now used by business execu- 
 tives and professional men in writing about mat- 
 ters that lie outside the scope of regular business. 
 These matters are sometimes of business value to 
 the firm or other organization but are frequently of 
 purely a personal matter. A letter written by one 
 business man to another for the purpose of invit- 
 ing the latter to luncheon so that the two may talk 
 over a business matter of value to both firms would 
 not be a business letter in the business form but 
 an official letter. Letters to officials and to busi- 
 ness or professional men (on matters not purely of 
 a business nature) belong to the same class, that is, 
 official letters. 
 
 Official letters 
 
 Official letters, then, are used in writing about 
 matters that are outside the scope of regular busi- 
 
SIXTY WALL STREET 
 
 August 9 t 1916. 
 Vy dear Mr. Fischer: 
 
 Your letter of August 5 reaches me just as I am 
 Leaving town for the aunner. The subject which 
 you present I. certainly a most Interesting one 
 but I am at present so overwhelmed with engage-' 
 menta of similar character that I must aak y?u 
 j> excuse me from taking an active part In the 
 organizing of a New York Branch of the Inter- 
 state Charity League. I really cannot under- 
 
 With sincere regards, 
 
 Mr. John B, Placher. 
 1154 Michigan Boulevard. 
 Chicago, in. 
 
 PEBSONAL LETTER IN OFFICIAL FORM 
 137 
 
138 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 ness. Any letter that is written by or to an offi- 
 cial, or to a business man on any other questions 
 than those which come up in the regular routine of 
 business, may be considered an official letter. The 
 secretary will use this form of letter to a great ex- 
 tent. It is used in the personal letters of the chief 
 to his personal and business friends in fact it is 
 used in all but purely business letters. 
 
 The stationery used in these official letters is dif- 
 ferent from that used to convey business communi- 
 cations. As a rule, the stationery is smaller in size, 
 usually of folder or four-sheet form, and similar to 
 social stationery. When the four-page folder sheet 
 is used the fold should be at the right; or, in other^ 
 words, that page which is ordinarily the back page 
 of the folder is the first page to be written on. If 
 a second page is necessary, the other outside page 
 is used. When three or four pages are to be writ- 
 ten on, the best order is the natural, as 1, 2, 3, 4 ; 
 and not, 1, 2, 4, 3, or 1, 4, 2, 3. This order is the 
 logical order and is the most efficient from the 
 standpoint of typing. 
 
 A small letterhead is regularly used. This con- 
 tains ordinarily only the name and address of the 
 sender sometimes only the address. ( See exam- 
 ples of letterheads on page 115). The printing or 
 engraving on this letterhead is plain, simple, and 
 dignified. 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 139 
 
 Formal official letters 
 
 There are two classes of official letters, the formal 
 and the informal. The formal letter is sent to gov- 
 ernment officials, members of Congress, officers of 
 the army and navy, and others in high position, and 
 generally to all business men except those with 
 whom the writer is on a footing of familiarity. 
 
 The mechanical form of the formal official letter 
 differs from that used for business letters. The in- 
 side address is written at the close of the letter at 
 the left-hand side. In it, all titles are given in 
 full. No abbreviations should be used. 
 
 The salutation is Sir or Sirs. The compliment- 
 ary close is Respectfully or Very respectfully. 
 
 In the body of the letter, the strictest formality is 
 observed. No abbreviations or colloquial expres- 
 sions are permissible. Very frequently the third 
 person is used throughout in speaking of the writer. 
 The language is stately, formal, and dignified to 
 the point of coldness. 
 
 Example: 
 
 January eight 
 
 1916 
 Sir: 
 
 In accordance with a resolution passed at the regular 
 monthly meeting of the Merchants' Association of this city 
 held on January 7, the Executive Committee on behalf of 
 this Association hereby tenders you tbe hearty thanks of the 
 
THE WHITE HOUSE 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 THC PRESIDSN 
 
 LETTERHEADS FOR PERSONAL USE 
 140 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 141 
 
 Association for your efforts in improving the water freight 
 conditions of this city. The Association as a whole has 
 watched wth appreciation the progress you have mad in 
 this matter. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 Executive Committee, 
 Merchants' Association, 
 By J. F. Ackerly, Secretary 
 
 Honorable Henry R. Thorne, 
 Harbor Commissioner, 
 Blanktown, N. Y. 
 
 Informal official letters 
 
 Informal official letters are used in writing to 
 business men, who are on terms of familiarity with 
 the writer, about matters outside the routine of 
 business. The very informal, conversational tone 
 is desirable. The informal official letter has a 
 warm, personal tone and character, whereas the 
 formal official letter is cold, formal, and character- 
 less. 
 
 As in the formal official letter, the inside address 
 is at the lower left-hand margin at the end of the 
 letter. 
 
 The salutation is informal; as Dear Johnston, 
 Dear Mr. Johnston, Dear Fred, or any other saluta- 
 tion the writer pleases to use. The complimentary 
 close may be Sincerely, Cordially, or Faithfully, 
 or in fact any other warm, persona) ending that the 
 writer desires to use. 
 
142 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 January seven 
 
 1916 
 Dear Mr. Johnston: 
 
 Mr. Hobart has carefully read your letter of January 5 in 
 regard to your new project and he requests me to assure 
 you that the matter interests him deeply. 
 
 He asks me to say, however, that he is just on the eve of a 
 trip abroad and has had neither the time nor the opportunity 
 to give the subject the consideration which it deserves. He 
 hopes for an opportunity to discuss this matter with you on 
 his return and expresses his best wishes for your success. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 Conde Bylund 
 Secretary to Mr. Hobart 
 
 Mr. Edward F. Johnston, 
 15 Wall Street, 
 New York City. 
 
 Use of titles 
 
 In official letters all titles that are used are writ- 
 ten out in full. The use of abbreviations is not 
 good form. As correctness is so necessary in these 
 letters, a brief explanation of the more common 
 titles might well be given. 
 
 The titles Reverend and Honorable and the for- 
 eign title Sir should be used with the first name 
 unless Mr. is included. An example of the use is 
 as follows : Reverend John Root, Honorable Frank 
 Rice. When these titles are used in the body of a 
 letter the article the should precede the title, as, 
 
MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF LETTER 143 
 
 The Reverend Mr. Tint will be among those pres- 
 ent. 
 
 With a title of Doctor or Professor, the first name 
 may or may not be used in the body of the letter, as, 
 Doctor Phelps, Professor Wildman. 
 
 By custom certain methods of addressing officials 
 of the Government are firmly established. The 
 President should be addressed The President; a 
 governor will be addressed as His Excellency, 
 Charles W. Whitman; a mayor will be addressed, 
 Honorable John P. Mitchel. 
 
 Judges and justices, members of Congress and of 
 the state legislatures, are given the title Honorable, 
 as Honorable Elihu Root. 
 
 Titles, no matter how long they may be, are writ- 
 ten out in full, as, Lieutenant-Governor. 
 
 The title Superintendent, Agent, and so forth, are 
 written after the name as Mr. Henry Jones, Agent. 
 Honorary degrees, likewise, follow the name, but 
 unlike titles, are generally abbreviated, as, LL.D., 
 D.D., and so forth. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 FILING 
 
 THE door of Mr. Forbes' private office opened 
 and Mr. Forbes came out with a letter in his hand. 
 His private secretary, Frank Campbell, was hard 
 at work tabulating figures for the quarterly report. 
 Mr. Forbes walked over to Campbell's desk. 
 
 " Put this letter away some place," he said as he 
 handed the letter to his secretary, " and bring it to 
 my attention on May 23 two weeks from to-day." 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Campbell as he took the letter 
 and casually placed it among other letters in his 
 lower right-hand desk drawer. 
 
 Mr. Forbes noted this seemingly careless dis- 
 position of the letter, hesitated, and then said: 
 " That ? s a rather important matter. You are sure 
 it won't slip your mind? " 
 
 " No, sir," answered Campbell. Then reading 
 the anxious expression on his chiefs face, he has- 
 tened to reassure him. 
 
 "You see," went on Campbell, sliding out the 
 lower drawer, " this is where I keep my follow-up 
 file. When you handed me the letter and said you 
 wanted to have it brought to your attention on May 
 
 144 
 
FILING 145 
 
 23, I just slipped it into this folder marked 23, in 
 back of this guide card marked May. Every day I 
 take out the folder marked with the date of the day 
 and handle all the matters in that folder." 
 
 " That 's a good idea," was the enthusiastic re- 
 mark of the chief. " Fix up a file like that for my 
 desk when you get a chance." 
 
 Necessity of knowing filing 
 
 Even though the secretary may not do the actual 
 filing of letters and other papers in the office of his 
 chief, yet he should be nearly as well informed about 
 filing as the file clerk himself. He must have this 
 knowledge, for he will need to go to the general files 
 to secure certain papers. To find them he must 
 know how the filing system works. Also, he will 
 give directions, even though he does not file letters 
 himself, as to how certain letters are to be filed. As 
 the secretary, moreover, usually has the supervision 
 of the office of his chief, he must have the requisite 
 knowledge of filing so that he can install an effi- 
 cient system of filing and so that he can be respon- 
 sible for the filing. 
 
 Another reason why the secretary should know fil- 
 ing is that he may personally be called upon to keep 
 a file of newspaper clippings or other data of in- 
 terest or information. He may find that a " tick- 
 ler " file or a follow-up file is necessary for the sat- 
 
146 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 isfactory performance of his duties. In such cases 
 as these, a general knowledge of the rudiments of 
 filing will be of great benefit. 
 
 It is important, of course, to keep letters that 
 have been sent to the office, for they serve as memo- 
 randa or records of past transactions, and are valu- 
 able for reference purposes when occasion demands. 
 Likewise, it is important to keep carbon duplicates 
 of letters which were sent in answer. Filing, it 
 might be said, is simply the storing away of cor- 
 respondence, copies of replies, or information, in 
 such an orderly way and according to such a sys- 
 tem that any letter or piece of information can be 
 quickly and easily found. One prime essential of 
 filing is that it shall bring together in one place 
 within the files, all papers from, to, or about one 
 correspondent or subject ; that it shall keep together 
 the things that belong together. 
 
 But the actual keeping of such letters or informa- 
 tion is of no avail unless there is some system un- 
 less the desired letter or fact can be found w r hen it 
 is wanted. Some correspondence files are grave- 
 yards for letters, because a letter once put in these 
 files is as good as buried. 
 
 First, then, it is necessary that letters be placed in 
 the files according to some definite and well-under- 
 stood plan. This plan must be fully understood 
 and should be simple enough so that some one be- 
 
FILING 147 
 
 sides the file clerk can find things. The system is 
 of little avail unless the persons who go to the file 
 can manage it. Whatever system is used must be 
 carefully and consistently followed out. 
 
 Qualities of a filing system 
 
 The five important qualities of a filing system are 
 these : quickness of reference, accuracy, elasticity, 
 economy in space and cost, and suitableness. 
 
 The first qualification that a system should have 
 is a provision for easy and speedy production of the 
 desired letter or information from the files. This 
 is the quality which a filing system has if the thing 
 looked for can be quickly found. A filing system is 
 next to useless if ten or fifteen minutes are taken to 
 find a certain letter. 
 
 The second qualification is accuracy. By this is 
 meant the quality a filing system has if the chances 
 of misfiling are small. If the secretary is forced to 
 go over every letter in the entire file in order to find 
 a letter that has been filed in the wrong place, he 
 will realize the value of having a filing system which 
 is nearly fool proof in regard to incorrect placing 
 of letters. The system must be simple and nearly 
 mechanical in operation so that there can be little 
 chance for a letter to go astray. 
 
 The quality of elasticity is the third qualification 
 of a good filing system. This is the quality a sys- 
 
148 THE PKIVATE SECKETAKY 
 
 tern has if it and its various sections can be easily 
 expanded to take care of an increase in the number 
 of letters filed. The system used should be such 
 that it can easily be expanded without much ex- 
 pense or delay in time. 
 
 The fourth qualification of a good filing system is 
 economy. ' The system has this qualification if its 
 mechanical operation is economical ; i.e., if the cost 
 of filing is small in proportion to the number of 
 letters filed. If several well-paid file clerks are 
 needed to take charge of a small system because 
 there are mechanical defects in that system, such a 
 system is not economical. This quality of economy 
 also includes the matter of the cost of transferring 
 letters. Every so often, say once every six months 
 or every year, letters that are six months or a year 
 old are removed from the files. If much time and 
 labor is used to transfer this old material, the sys- 
 tem is said to be uneconomical. Moreover, a third 
 factor enters into the economy of a filing system and 
 that third factor is the matter of spacejaken up by 
 filing cabinets. If a bulky system is used, it means 
 that much valuable space is wasted. The system 
 should be compact. 
 
 The fifth qualification of the filing system is its 
 suitableness. The system has this qualification if 
 it is suited to the peculiar and individual needs of 
 the business, or if it is suited to serve the purpose for 
 
FILING 149 
 
 which it is intended. Keady-made filing systems 
 are usually not satisfactory just as they come. 
 Since all systems, however, are based on certain 
 fundamental principles, a ready-made filing system 
 may be adapted to the peculiar needs for it. 
 
 The various systems of filing 
 
 In order that the private secretary may choose 
 the system best suited to meet the individual needs 
 and demands of his office, he should know some- 
 thing of the various systems of filing, and Jhe ad- 
 vantages and disadvantages of each. The explana- 
 tion and description of the various filing systems 
 given below are sufficient for a general knowledge. 
 Before having a filing system installed, however, 
 it is advised that the private secretary send to the 
 different manufacturers of filing equipment for 
 catalogues. Some of these catalogues contain de- 
 tailed explanation and description of filing systems 
 and filing equipment. As vertical filing is without 
 doubt the most efficient method of filing, no descrip- 
 tion is given of Shannon files, and other types of the 
 so-called flat filing. 
 
 All filing systems are based on the alphabetic 
 system, numerical system, or a combination of the 
 two. 
 
 Filing systems can be grouped again under two 
 main heads: self-classifying systems and card-in- 
 
150 THE PRIVATE SECRETAEY 
 
 dexed systems. Direct alphabetic, alphabetic -nu- 
 meric, geographical, chronological, and decimal sys- 
 tems are self-classifying ; numerical and subject sys- 
 tems are in the second group, as these systems re- 
 quire the use of the card indexes in order to find 
 letters or subjects in the files. 
 
 The alphabetic system is founded on the assump- 
 tion that every one who uses the files knows and 
 can easily remember the order and arrangement of 
 the letters of the alphabet (a, b, c, d, . . .) Tne 
 systems that are based on alphabetic filing are as 
 follows : 
 
 1 Direct alphabetic filing of correspondence by 
 
 2 Direct alphabetic filing of correspondence by 
 
 subject 
 
 or 
 
 Direct alphabetic filing of information (other 
 than that contained in letters) by subject. 
 
 3 Geographic filing. 
 
 ALPHABETIC FILING 
 
 Direct alphabetic filing of correspondence by name 
 
 Direct alphabetic filing of correspondence by 
 name is a system obtained by filing correspondence 
 in back of guide cards having the letters of the 
 alphabet. The first identifying letter of the part- 
 nership or corporation name of the correspondent 
 
ALPHABETIC FILING 
 151 
 
152 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 is taken (Standard Oil Company of New York; 
 The Connecticut Company) or the first letter of the 
 last name of the individual correspondent is taken 
 (James R. Cady). The arrangement, in other 
 words, is the same as that used for the city direct- 
 ory. 
 
 In most businesses reference is likely to be made 
 to correspondence by the name of the writer or con- 
 cern from which the letter came. This type of fil- 
 ing is the one which is most commonly used by the 
 secretary himself to keep the correspondence of the 
 chief and of the private office. With alphabetic 
 filing of correspondence by name, such reference is 
 easy and simple if the volume of correspondence is 
 not great. If the numbers of 'letters filed back of 
 each letter of the alphabet is small, quick reference 
 to the folder of any correspondent is assured. The 
 great advantage of the alphabetic system is that this 
 system is the simplest and easiest to operate of all 
 systems. Any one can -gtrtcTthe files and get the 
 desired letter. 
 
 The great disadvantage of the alphabetic system 
 is that its limits for the quick locating of corre- 
 spondence are soon reached, if the number of cor- 
 respondents becomes great. In detail, this disad- 
 vantage arises from these causesj 
 
 1 As the number of letters filed back of the letter 
 of the alphabet becomes large, it is neces- 
 
FILING 153 
 
 sary to insert sub-division guides, such as 
 " Ba," " Be," " Br," and so forth. 
 
 2 Such constant addition of new guides cuts 
 
 down the speed of reference and increases the , 
 dangers of misfiling. 
 
 3 The " miscellaneous folders " in which are 
 
 placed the papers of concerns whose corre- 
 spondence has amounted to only two or three 
 letters soon become choked and bulky. 
 
 4 The problem of transferring correspondence be- 
 
 comes more difficult and costly each year. 
 
 In the case of the alphabetic system of filing, mis- 
 filing results in many instances from the failure of 
 the file clerk to read the name of the correspondent 
 correctly or from the selection of the wrong name in 
 instances where the name of the person signing the 
 letters differs from the firm name. Mistakes of the 
 latter kind can easily be rectified by going over the 
 possibilities of the way in which the mistake might 
 have been made. 
 
 Direct alphabetic filing by subject 
 
 Direct alphabetic filing of correspondence by sub- 
 ject is a system obtained by filing correspondence in 
 back of various subjects arranged in an alphabetic 
 order. The first identifying letter of the subject is 
 taken (Advertising). This type of filing is used 
 when the subject referred to in the correspondence, 
 is of greater importance than the name of the 
 writer. This system has also the Same advantages 
 
154 THE PEIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 and disadvantages as the direct alphabetic filing of 
 correspondence by name. 
 
 Direct alphabetic filing of information by sub- 
 ject is of the same type as direct alphabetic filing of 
 correspondence by subject. 
 
 The equipment of these various types of direct 
 alphabetic filing consists of alphabetic guides with 
 their tabs or projections arranged in alphabetic 
 order in the drawer. Next in order are the wide 
 tab folders for individual names of active corre- 
 spondents or for subject names; and lastly are the 
 tab folders to contain the miscellaneous or infre- 
 quent correspondence, or miscellaneous subjects. 
 The individual foliders, one for each concern or sub- 
 ject, with name or subject and so forth typewritten 
 direct or upon a gum slip pasted to the top, are ar- 
 ranged back of the proper guides in exact alpha- 
 betic order. " Miscellaneous " tab folders are ar- 
 ranged identical with the guides, one for each. In 
 these folders are placed the papers of concerns 
 whose correspondence has amounted to only two or 
 three letters. If later the correspondence of any 
 one of these concerns or persons increases to, say, 
 half a dozen letters,, it is removed and given its own 
 " individual " folder. In some concerns an individ- 
 ual folder is used for each customer without regard 
 to the number of letters received from the customer. 
 
FILING 155 
 
 Geographic filing 
 
 Geographic filing or town filing is used where 
 exact territorial divisions are of prime importance. 
 This type of filing provides a means of grouping by 
 itself correspondence or other material from each 
 town. The territory (it may be a State or group 
 of States) is the unit; towns are sub-units, with the 
 records so separated in the files. This type of fil- 
 ing is suitable for mailing lists, for credit and col- 
 lection work, for the filing of orders and correspond- 
 ence based on territorial divisions either by State, 
 or salesmen's and agents' territories. 
 
 Guide tabs for the different States are distributed 
 throughout the drawers of the filing cabinet in al- 
 phabetical order. It may be that each drawer of 
 the filing cabinet is given over exclusively to the 
 towns of one State or territory. Then, in back of 
 each guide card are placed the town or city guides 
 for that State. Cities and towns are always ar- 
 ranged in alphabetic order. The correspondence 
 and other material are filed in alphabetical order by 
 name under each town and city. la l^ck of the 
 town or city guides, accordingly, will come the in- 
 dividual folders upon the tabs of which are written 
 the name of the correspondent or subject and, pre- 
 ceding it, the name of the town. The addition of 
 the name of the town to the name on the tab of the 
 
GEOGEAPHIC FIUNG 
 156 
 
FILING 157 
 
 individual folders acts as a check in refiling. The 
 larger cities with many individual folders require 
 alphabetic guides to facilitate filing and finding. 
 
 Geographic filing properly comes in the general 
 class of alphabetic systems, for here, too, it is 
 the system based on the assumption that those who 
 will use the files know the order of the letters of 
 the alphabet. The principle of geographic filing is 
 identical with that of direct alphabetic filing, except 
 that the material (correspondence, information, 
 contracts, and so forth) is filed by alphabetically 
 arranged towns instead of by the original divisions 
 of the alphabet. By this arrangement it is simple 
 to find the folder of a correspondent if the business 
 location is known. 
 
 NUMERIC PILING 
 
 All numerical systems of filing are based primar- 
 ily on the assumption that the person making use of 
 the files knows the order of numbers (1, 2, 3, 
 4 . . . ) . Such systems, however, are usually based 
 on the secondary assumption that the person mak- 
 ing use of the files knows also the order of the let- 
 ters of the alphabet (a, b, c . . .), for in order to 
 find the number assigned to a certain correspondent 
 or subject, it is necessary to refer to an alphabet- 
 ically arranged card index. 
 
 The various types of numeric filing are : 
 
158 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 1 Numeric correspondence filing 
 
 2 Numeric subject filing 
 
 a arbitrary 
 
 b decimal subject system (based on the 
 plan of the Dewey Decimal Classifica- 
 tion for public libraries). 
 
 Numeric correspondence filing 
 
 When the number of correspondents runs into the 
 thousands and the number of letters even into the 
 millions, the alphabetic system is no longer ade- 
 quate for filing purposes. The numeric system 
 remedies the principal difficulties of the alphabetic 
 system in the handling of large volumes of cor- 
 respondence. 
 
 In many types of business, moreover, numeric 
 filing is the most practical and most certain in re- 
 sults of all filing systems. It simplifies the most 
 complicated correspondence and brings together re- 
 lated papers with absolute accuracy and makes them 
 available for the quickest reference. Where the 
 correspondence pertaining to a given customer, sub- 
 ject, or contract may come from a variety of sources 
 and must be brought together in one place, it has a 
 peculiar fitness. No other system will so success- 
 fully handle the inter-office 'correspondence of large 
 corporations between its various branches, factor- 
 ies, departments, officials, and salesmen. 
 
FILING 159 
 
 The necessity of maintenance and of reference to 
 a card index in locating correspondence seems an 
 objection. Yet, in reality this feature has many 
 advantages found in no other system. The index 
 y furnishes a complete reference list of names, ad- 
 dresses, and so forth 9f all persons or firms with 
 whom business is transacted. All peculiarities, 
 
 jjp*5 
 
 exceptions, and doubts are cross-referenced in 
 the index and thus become a matter of record. 
 The ability to find or file any paper is there- 
 fore not dependent upon the presence of the file 
 clerk. 
 
 The advantages of the numeric correspondence 
 system are briefly : 1, that the indexjaumber locates 
 the correspondence in both the active and inactive 
 (transfer) files; 2, the danger of misfiling is mini- 
 mized ; 3, the time that is lost in making out the in- 
 dex card is more than offset by the time saved in 
 refiling the correspondence; 4, the filing number 
 may also be made the account number, if desired; 
 5, filing space is saved. 
 
 The numerical system of filing correspondence has 
 gained favor rapidly during .the past few years be- 
 cause it permits of indefinite expansion without the 
 sacrifice of either accuracy or speed of reference. 
 In a large concern with a complete numeric installa- 
 tion, where the same number serves for letters, or- 
 ders, invoices, credits and ledger accounts, the in- 
 
NUMERIC FILING 
 
 160 
 
FILING 161 
 
 dex proves an actual economy in operation and a 
 saving in time not always appreciated. 
 
 The plan of numbering papers from a central in- 
 dex once for all on their arrival saves the time of 
 every executive, department head, or clerk. With 
 all responsibility placed on one competent chief 
 filing clerk, less experienced assistants are needed 
 for merely the mechanical work. 
 
 The equipment consists of individual folders num- 
 bered consecutively. Each correspondent is as- 
 signed a folder or a number. Guides with wide tabs 
 in the center denote each one hundred folders. Be- 
 tween each pair of " 100 " guides, intermediate 
 metal tab guides arranged in four rows, re-divide 
 each group of 100 by 20's. By this method the eye 
 is directed instantly to the folder wanted. 
 
 Operation of the card index system 
 
 The numeric system of filing correspondence de- 
 pends for its operation upon the card index. 
 Whenever a letter from a new correspondent is re- 
 ceived, a card is made out that bears the name and 
 address, and a file number. The file number that 
 is given is the next succeeding one to that which 
 has been given to the last new correspondent. The 
 cards are then filed alphabetically in the file tray 
 according to the name of the correspondent. The 
 file clerk before assigning the number, however, 
 
CAKD INDEXES 
 162 
 
FILING 163 
 
 should look up the correspondent in the alphabetic- 
 ally arranged index to make sure that no corre- 
 spondence had been previously had with him. This 
 precaution will save duplication of folders to the 
 same correspondent; in other words, precaution 
 will prevent a correspondent who has already been 
 given a number from being assigned a new num- 
 ber. 
 
 Upon receipt of letters, or other papers, reference 
 is made to the card index. The file number of each 
 correspondent is found and is then entered in the 
 upper right-hand corner of each letter before the 
 letters are distributed. Previous correspondence if, 
 wanted by the reader of the letter may be instantly 
 obtained by the use of the file number on the letter. 
 This same file number should be entered on the reply 
 so that the carbon or press copy can be indexed. 
 Both the letter that has been received and the copy 
 of the reply are then filed^directly by number. So 
 it is then, that the one reference to the card index 
 has served for both operations. 
 
 Miscellaneous section in numeric correspondence filing 
 
 Miscellaneous matter should be classified by sub- 
 ject, so that the actual miscellaneous section may 
 be reduced to a minimum. Numbers are assigned 
 to these subjects in the same manner as to individ- 
 ual correspondents, and are entered on all letters 
 
INDEX CARDS USED IN NUMERIC FILING 
 
 164 
 
FILING 165 
 
 EXAMPLE 
 
 (See illustration) 
 
 Higgins & Parks, an old correspondent, incorporates in 
 March 1910 under the name of Parks Steel Co. The busi- 
 ness is not materially changed and the new correspondence 
 logically belongs with the old. 
 
 Upon receipt of such notice a new index card is filled out 
 with the name of the Parks Steel Co., bearing the same file 
 number as Higgins & Parks. The change in firm name is 
 noted on both cards as illustrated. 
 
 Gregory and Phillips, consulting engineers in this tran- 
 saction, are given a card in the index, directing all relating 
 correspondence to the Parks Steel Company's folder. 
 
 The latter's connection with the National Bridge Co. is 
 similarly shown. 
 
 EXAMPLE OF TRUSTEESHIP OK RECEIVERSHIP 
 
 Edward D. Parsons and John R. Collins are both old cor- 
 respondents, each with his respective card in the index and 
 correspondence in the file. Collins is appointed trustee for 
 Parsons; whereupon entry is made on the index cards as 
 illustrated. Subsequent correspondence from Collins relat- 
 ing to the Parsons trusteeship is then filed with the Parsons 
 papers. 
 
 Other cross references commonly used, are cards inserted 
 for the name of selling or purchasing agent, treasurer, man- 
 ager, superintendent, contractor, architect, etc. 
 
INDEX CARDS USED IN NUMEBIC FILING 
 
 166 
 
FILING 167 
 
 EXAMPLE 
 
 (See illustration) 
 
 An index card with its number is assigned to Bolts,-Split. 
 As Drew's correspondence is only in relation to his device, 
 his card in the index bears merely this subject number. 
 
 Cushman & Cushman, patent attorneys, are already cor- 
 respondents. On taking up the Split-bolt patent case, their 
 index card is endorsed with a cross reference to the Split- 
 bolt file number. 
 
 As patent matters progress, it becomes evident that the 
 papers regarding the Split-bolt patent demand a separate 
 folder, and the letter " A " is then added to the cross refer- 
 ence on Cushman & Cushman's card and all papers relating 
 thereto transferred to folder 746A and filed directly behind 
 the Split-bolt folder. 
 
 At the same time, a card is made out for Patents, Split- 
 bolt. 
 
 Similar instances of cross reference to other patents are 
 shown on Cushman & Cushman's card. 
 
 The Starr Mfg. Co. become licensees to make and sell 
 Split-bolts, and correspondence relating thereto is therefore 
 cross referenced to the original folder. A like reference is 
 shown for Toggle-bolts, but correspondence with th Starr 
 Mfg. Co. on their own account is filed under their regularly 
 assigned number, 1916. 
 
 By this method all papers relating to the subject " Bolts,- 
 Split" are filed together, whether relating to subject, in- 
 ventor, patent attorneys or licensees. 
 
168 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 pertaining to the subject regardless of the writers. 
 For example, applications for employment may be 
 assigned a number, say 342; applications for sales 
 positions, 342-1 ; as stenographers, 342-2 ; as clerks, 
 342-3; and so forth. The correspondence under 
 each division is then filed alphabetically by name. 
 The remaining miscellaneous matter which cannot 
 be classified by subject according to the example 
 given above may be filed under a separate section 
 and in alphabetical order. 
 
 Cross reference 
 
 The possibility of direct cross reference through 
 the use of the card index is one of the great ad- 
 vantages of the numeric system and constitutes one 
 of its great time-saving features. By means of a 
 cross reference any individual letter may be lo- 
 cated instantly, no matter whose signature it bears 
 or under what subject it has been filed. 
 
 A letter involving more than one name or sub- 
 ject is indexed under the most important or under 
 the one which in the judgment of the head file clerk 
 will be the identifying one. Unnumbered index 
 cards are made out for the other leading names or 
 subjects and merely refer to the principal heading 
 and the number of the folder in which the material 
 will be found. 
 
FILING 169 
 
 Numeric subject filing 
 
 Frequently a subject referred to in the corre- 
 spondence is of greater importance than the name 
 of the writer. Moreover, the advantages gained by 
 filing correspondence or other material, such as 
 information, by subject are of such importance in 
 certain lines of business as to demand a careful 
 study of the problem. In many offices the subject 
 matter contained in a part or all the correspond- 
 ence is of greater importance than the name of the 
 correspondent. In this case numeric subject filing 
 can be used to good advantage. Very intelligent 
 and careful handling as well as a preliminary study 
 is essential to secure logical headings and subhead- 
 ings and to prevent confusion of subjects. / 
 
 There are two methods in use; one is the simple 
 numeric system in which an arbitrary number is 
 given to the subject and which will meet the re- 
 quirements of the average business; the other, a 
 decimal system (based on the Dewey Decimal Classi- 
 fication for public libraries), which is especially 
 adapted to the needs of public service commissions, 
 railroads, or other large corporations, for the ma- 
 terial in the files of such organizations must be 
 definitely and permanently grouped. These two 
 methods of numeric subject filing are discussed un- 
 der the two following topics. 
 
170 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 Arbitrary numeric subject filing 
 
 In the arbitrary numeric subject filing, some- 
 times called " The Straight Numeric System," con- 
 secutive numbers are assigned to the' principal sub- 
 jects. Special care should be taken to make the 
 headings as clear and comprehensive as possible. 
 These subjects may then be divided into as many 
 dependent subjects as seem necessary, through the 
 use of auxiliary numbers. When the division of a 
 dependent or subordinate subject becomes advis- 
 able, a letter of the alphabet is added to the auxil- 
 iary number. The numbers used for the main sub- 
 jects can be expanded indefinitely. New subjects 
 may be added at any time by simply assigning the 
 next unused number to a subject as it develops. 
 
 Example: 
 
 4. Rents 
 
 4 1. Office buildings 
 
 4 1A. Offices 
 
 4 _1B. Stores 
 4 2. Tenements 
 
 15. Charitable work 
 
 15 1. St. Andrew's Home (General cor- 
 respondence) 
 
 15 1 A. St. Andrew's Home (Bills) 
 15 IB. St. Andrew's Home (New 
 
 building plans) 
 
 15 _ 2. Old Brick Church Charity Guild 
 (Correspondence as President) 
 
FILING 171 
 
 Dewey Decimal System 
 
 In the Dewey Decimal System, all possible sub- 
 jects are first grouped in ten or fewer large classes. 
 To these classes are assigned the numbers from to 
 9. Each class may then be divided into nine or 
 fewer sub-classes which in turn may be divided into 
 the same number of sub-classes. Further divisions 
 may be made by the use of a decimal number. The 
 divisions under each class are always limited to 
 9. In Mr. Dewey's own words the system was de- 
 signed to serve as "a method that would index 
 books and pamphlets on the shelves, the cards of a 
 catalog, clippings and notes of scrap-books and 
 index rerums, reference to all these items and in- 
 deed any literary material in any form as readily as 
 an ordinary index guides to the proper page of a 
 bound book." 
 
 The difficulty obviously is the construction of a 
 satisfactory scheme of classification. As the en- 
 tire field of the correspondence or subjects is divided 
 into nine main subjects and then sub-divided into 
 related topics which are classified decimally under 
 main subjects, the services of an expert capable of 
 digesting each letter and making the exact subject 
 classification are needed. This system is too ela- 
 borate for most businesses. Unless expert hands 
 operate it, it becomes disordered. 
 
 While not so elastic as the straight numeric sys- 
 
172 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 tern, this method has the advantage of allowing more 
 sub-classes arid shows more clearly the relation of 
 one subject to another. It also establishes defi- 
 nitely the class number for any subject so that uni- 
 formity is possible throughout the various branches 
 or departments of an organization. The illustra- 
 tion given below shows the method of numbering 
 used in the decimal system. 
 
 000. General 
 
 100. Executive Administration 
 200. Finance and Accounts 
 250. Accounts 
 255. Exchange accounts 
 
 255. 1 Subscribers' accounts 
 255. 11 Accounts in suspense 
 
 300. Construction 
 
 400. Equipment 
 
 500. Operation 
 
 600. Rates, etc. 
 
 V 
 
 Chronological filing 
 
 The chronological system of filing is devised to 
 supply the demand for a system that will automatic- 
 ally bring up certain letters or other matters that 
 should be attended to on certain days. An example 
 of the needs that this system is intended to meet is 
 the following : A letter is received to-day, January 
 15, which cannot be answered until January 21. 
 The reason for this delay is that the information 
 
FILING 173 
 
 requested cannot be obtained until January 21. 
 The letter cannot be sent to the general files until it 
 has been answered; it should not be left in, say, a 
 " matters pending " folder, for if such cases are 
 frequent, this folder soon becomes choked and un- 
 wieldy. 
 
 Such letters pending final disposal should be 
 filed in a follow-up file, or " tickler " a device 
 based on the chronological system. This follow-up 
 file is equipped with guides which bear the names of 
 the months. In back of each month guide there are 
 thirty-one folders numbered consecutively from 1 
 to 31. In other words, each folder bears a number 
 on its tab. On each morning the folder of that 
 date should be taken from the files and its contents 
 disposed of. If a certain letter even now cannot 
 be answered, it should be filed ahead in a folder 
 which will bring the matter up at a suitable time. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 OUTLINES AND REPORTS 
 
 THE OUTLINE 
 
 "How are you getting along on the report?" 
 asked Mr. Forbes as he stood beside his secretary's 
 desk. 
 
 " I have just about finished the outline/' answered 
 Frank Campbell, a bright-looking man who had been 
 the private secretary to Mr. Forbes for the past 
 three months. 
 
 " Well, bring it into my office and we can talk 
 it over together," remarked Mr. Forbes as he made 
 his way towards his private office. 
 
 For a week, Campbell had been at work on the 
 quarterly report of the President of the Forbes Steel 
 Company. He had collected and tabulated many 
 figures, he had talked over the situation with his 
 chief, and now he was finishing the outline of the 
 report. 
 
 This report was the first important piece of writ- 
 ing that the president had entrusted to him, and 
 Campbell wished to show his chief that he was 
 
 174 
 
OUTLINES AND REPORTS 175 
 
 worthy of the trust. He now had before him the 
 carefully planned framework of the report. 
 
 " I hope he will like it," thought Campbell as he 
 screwed on the cap of his fountain pen and placed 
 it in his vest pocket. Then he picked up the two 
 copies of the outline and went in to see Mr. Forbes. 
 
 Mr. Forbes was waiting for him and quickly took 
 the copy that Campbell offered him. As he looked 
 over the outline he nodded affirmatively several 
 times. 
 
 " There are only two places that need to be fixed 
 up," said Mr. Forbes after he had come to the end 
 of the outline. 
 
 A consultation held their undivided attention for 
 the next ten minutes. 
 
 "With such an outline as that, you won't have 
 any trouble in dictating the report/' said Mr. 
 Forbes. " You ought to be able to have it in com- 
 plete form for my O. K. to-morrow. It can then 
 be sent to the printer. And if I do say so, we are 
 going to have one of the best reports that we have 
 ever put out. Your use of the outline is respon- 
 sible." 
 
 The use of the outline 
 
 In certain instances the secretary may be called 
 upon to write a lengthy business report, a long 
 and important letter, a speech, a statement or in- 
 
176 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 terview for the press, a business article, or some 
 other form of composition of considerable length. 
 If he is desirous of saving himself time, worry, 
 trouble and at the same time is desirous of se- 
 curing a well-written piece of work, he should mas- 
 ter and make use of the outline. 
 
 Before any good piece of writing of any length 
 can be secured, a plan of construction of some kind 
 must be clearly laid out in the brain of the writer. 
 Now, the secretary should realize that if he begins 
 to write his composition before he has any well- 
 defined plan in view, he is almost sure to obtain a 
 completed work far from satisfactory. If the com- 
 position is written without any definite plan, the 
 clearness and logicalness of the piece of writing will 
 suffer. Good reports, good speeches, good business 
 letters, and good articles are not written off-hand 
 but are carefully thought out in advance. There 
 is little question of luck in the writing of a good 
 composition. Ideas must be presented properly and 
 in accordance with a certain arrangement. That 
 is just the purpose of the outline to help in the 
 writing of the composition. 
 
 What an outline is 
 
 An outline is a properly coordinated arrange- 
 ment of the important facts which are to be in- 
 cluded. In other words, it is a condensed form of 
 
OUTLINES AND KEPORTS 177 
 
 notes. A common fault is that it is made too soon 
 after notes have been taken on the subject. The 
 material should have been collected some little time 
 and the subject allowed to shape itself before the 
 outline is given an opportunity to crystallize. 
 
 The essentials of a good outline 
 
 The three essentials of a good working outline 
 are : unity, simplicity, and proportion. The prin- 
 ciple of unity is applied by seeing that one sub- 
 topic leads to another and all pertain to the main 
 topic. Care should be taken to see that nothing is 
 included in the main topic which is a part of the 
 subordinate topic. 
 
 The outline should be simple in construction. No 
 wearisome details should be included, and there 
 should be no confusion of topics. 
 
 The principle of proportion as here applied means 
 that the main ideas should be made main topics; 
 subordinate ideas should not be made principal 
 topics, but sub-topics of main topics. Sub-ideas 
 should be properly subordinated. 
 
 The five steps taken in the making of an outline 
 are: 
 
 (1) The statement of the definitely limited sub- 
 
 ject. 
 
 (2) The selection of tl^e point of view.. 
 
 (3) The selection and arrangement of the main 
 
 topics. 
 
OUTLItE 0? A PROSPECTUS TOR THE FOSlttTION 0? 
 
 1. What format arei 
 
 2. Historical development of foruna; 
 
 3. Principal forums In New York City. 
 
 II. SHORTCOmSGS AND FAULTS OP tXI3TIKi PORU3O 
 
 1. They are supported and endowed by wealthy person* who often try 
 
 to dictate the policy) 
 
 2. They are not ran on democratic principle*, for 
 
 A. General publlo le not admitted to Beabershlp; 
 
 B. General publlo has BO voice In 
 
 b. Selection of speaker* and topics. 
 
 c. General policy. 
 
 3. They are broad, community, clrlo fomas which 
 
 A. Treat of public questions solely from the viewpoint Of 
 
 men and woman as citizens and 
 
 B. Are non-partisan with respect to economic questions, and 
 
 C. Are not Interested In the use of the publlo schools as 
 
 nlty centers. 
 
 III. PROPOSED LABOR TCRtW 
 
 1. A labor forum should be organised and maintained In the publlo 
 
 schools, e. g., the Washington Irving High School j 
 
 2. Such a forum will treat everything from the viewpoint of taen and 
 
 women as workers or producers, for It will be 
 
 A. Non-sectarian; 
 
 B. Non-part lean as to politics) 
 
 C. Partisan as to economic principles In order 
 
 a. To strengthen the labor unions, and 
 
 b. To bring about the recognition of the 
 
 working class a* a class. 
 
 3. The Arrangement of the program will reflect the Interests of the 
 
 producing class through 
 
 A. Speakers on economic and social topics j 
 
 B. Labor dramas and motion pictures; 
 
 C. Labor music; 
 
 , a. Choral, 
 
 b. Mass singing, 
 o. Orchestral. 
 
 ARRANGEMENT OF OUTLINE 
 
 178 
 
OUTLINES AND REPORTS 179 
 
 (4) The subdivision of the main topics. 
 
 (5) Revision to secure clearness, unity, simplicity, 
 
 and proportion. 
 
 After the outline has assumed the above form, it 
 should be carefully scrutinized for any defects in 
 its mechanical and. logical arrangement. 
 
 THE WRITING OF REPORTS 
 Description and purpose of the report 
 
 The secretaries of certain men are often asked 
 to prepare various reports. The secretary's em- 
 ployer, for example, may be the president of a rail- 
 road. One of the duties of this employer may be to 
 write an annual report. The work of actually writ- 
 ing this report often falls to the lot of the private 
 secretary. The same fact is true of secretaries in 
 other lines of endeavor they are called upon to 
 prepare and write various business reports for their 
 chiefs. 
 
 These reports are usually statements which con- 
 tain in logical form specific facts and figures per- 
 taining to a certain phase of business. They may 
 contain, also, recommendations or conclusions based 
 upon the facts given in the reports. 
 
 The gurpas v of a report is to convey informa- 
 tion that_iLQf use and that is to be used, and the 
 secretary should never lose sight of that fact. No 
 report should be made unless it has some definite 
 
180 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 purpose or tries to convey some definite informa- 
 tion. 
 
 A report, moreover, implies a maker and a re- 
 j^eiver. The latter is usually some one in authority 
 who is to use the report and base a judgment upon 
 the information contained in it. Accordingly, the 
 function and purpose for which he wishes to use it 
 should determine its character and contents. A 
 report, for instance, to be made to go out to the 
 stockholders of a company should be adapted to 
 them and to their use; that is to say, the language 
 must be clear and free from many technical words, 
 the tone must be carefully selected, and, as the re- 
 port is being made so public, extreme care must be 
 taken in regard to various statements which in some 
 instances must be made more guardedly than if 
 these same statements were to be seen by, say, only 
 the directors. If a report is to go to the head of a 
 technical department, it need be adapted only to 
 him. 
 
 Different kinds of reports 
 
 Reports range all the way from the short, pub- 
 lished bank reports, and accountants' reports, 
 which are nearly all figures, to those voluminous 
 reports of consuls and others, which are mostly 
 narration, description, and exposition. There is 
 every grade of report from jtlie mere presentation 
 
OUTLINES AND KEPORTS 181 
 
 of facts or statistics up to a dignified persuasion 
 and the making of recommendations. 
 
 Two forms of reports are used r the personal and 
 the impersonal. The personal is used where dig- 
 nity and formality need not be observed; the im- 
 personal style is used when these characteristics 
 are essential elements. 
 
 As a rule, a report which contains recommenda- 
 tions is more important than one which contains 
 figures and facts only. The former demands that 
 the business judgment and knowledge of the writer 
 be exercised in the making of the recommendation. 
 In the latter, as only facts and figures are given as 
 they were found, the reader is left to draw his own 
 conclusions. In a report making a recommenda- 
 tion, the writer should realize the responsibility that 
 rests upon his judgment and should act accordingly. 
 
 Arrangement of a business report 
 
 A business report is largely dependent for its 
 value on the method of arrangement and presenta- 
 tion. Both the logical flnfl_ mechanical arrange- 
 ment of the report should, therefore, be very care- 
 fully considered. A report that is poorly arranged 
 will not be clear to the reader at all events the 
 poor arrangement will prevent a report from mak- 
 ing a good impression. A report illogically ar- 
 ranged is difficult to understand. Since most- re- 
 
182 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 ports are on important and intricate affairs, the 
 easier the reading and the intelligibility of the re- 
 port are made, the better. 
 
 The mechanical arrangement is necessary in or- 
 der that the various topics may be easily found or 
 referred to. For convenience of reference the re- 
 port should be properly displayed. It should have 
 numerous subheads, written in capitals, under- 
 lined, or in some other way separated from the body 
 of the reading matter, so that they can be seen at 
 a glance. Sometimes they are placed in the mar- 
 ginal space ; at other times they are boxed by rules 
 and placed in the text near the left-hand margin. 
 In every case, margins should be wide and para- 
 graphs should be separated by an abundance of 
 white space. The arrangement of these headings 
 and topics is a most important consideration in a 
 report. For further convenience, figures should 
 be tabulated, and maps and diagrams inserted wher- 
 ever possible. A figure or chart is often worth 
 pages^pf reading matter. 
 
 Recommendations should be separated from and 
 follow the facts on which they are based. A good 
 arrangement is secured by grouping all recom- 
 mendations at the end of a report or by placing 
 a recommendation at the end of each division of 
 facts which necessitates one. If a report is long 
 and involves the making of recommendations on 
 

 
 ir. .is ~ r sr^Ti'^r..sra ; 
 
 rstxssr, 
 
 
 
 =j=.-r?zK: 
 aEfL'SsiSs^iivsi'stsiiif: 
 
 DlFFEBENT ABRANGEMENTS OF TYPEWRITTEN PAGE OF A REPORT 
 
 183 
 
184 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 several topics, it is better to place the recommenda- 
 tions throughout the report following each separate 
 division of facts or statements. If a report is short, 
 they may be grouped at the end. In many cases 
 where recommendations are scattered throughout 
 the report, they are summed up at the end. 
 
 Recommendations should be simple, but definite, 
 comparatively few in number, and should deal with 
 only the essential points under discussion in the 
 report. 
 
 Recommendations should not be hidden within a 
 paragraph, but should be paragraphed separately, 
 as follows: 
 
 We therefore recommend that an appropriation of $10,000 
 be made for advertising and follow-up campaigns. 
 
 We also recommend that the present sales force be increased 
 to forty-two. 
 
 The purpose and source of any report should 
 decide the nature, form, and arrangement of its 
 contents. For example, if it is informal and is to 
 be seen by only one or two persons, it may be sub- 
 mitted in letter form. If the report is to be pub- 
 lished for the benefit of stockholders, it must have an 
 arrangement suitable for publication'. 
 
 Nothing should be included in the report unless 
 it pertains to the title and is common to it. Like- 
 
OUTLINES AND EEPORTS 185 
 
 wise, each sub-title must cover every point con- 
 tained in the passage which it titles. 
 
 The beginning of a report should state its object, 
 the ground to be covered, the sources of facts stated 
 (i.e., whether they have been obtained by personal 
 observation, by talk with employees, or otherwise), 
 and the authority by which the reporter is making 
 the report. The end should be a summary of the 
 essential facts given and a review of the conclu- 
 sions reached throughout. 
 
 The essential qualities of the report 
 
 As the receiver of a report is usually some one in 
 authority who can profitably use the information 
 and recommendations, the essential qualities are 
 clearness for the first reading and convenience for 
 reference. 
 
 To obtain clearness, it is necessary for the writer 
 to observe the principles of unity, coherence, and 
 emphasis both in the report as a whole and in its 
 separate divisions and paragraphs. Simple lan- 
 guage should be used; technical terms should be 
 avoided unless they are adapted to and can be easily 
 understood by the reader. Wherever possible, 
 maps, charts, diagrams, and illustrations should be 
 used. They are more vivid than pages of descrip- 
 tion. 
 
186 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 The most common errors of business reports are : 
 
 (1) essentials included, but the report not clear; 
 
 (2) non-essentials included ; (3) essentials omitted. 
 In some cases the writer of the report puts into 
 
 the report all the essential facts and figures, but 
 because of the ambiguous, vague, or obscure lan- 
 guage and the illogical arrangement of the ideas the 
 report is not clear. In other cases the writer care- 
 lessly includes ideas that are not essential. As a 
 result, the reader of the report is confused, for, 
 seeing that the writer has given much space to a 
 certain idea, he believes that idea to have some 
 value. And in still other cases the writer care- 
 lessly omits ideas, facts, or figures which should 
 be included if the report is to be clear and complete. 
 
 For the sake of securing the necessary qualities 
 and observing the principles of construction, ~ai 
 outline should first be made by dividing the sub- 
 ject according to some principle and then sub- 
 dividing the sections as this becomes necessary. 
 The topics thus secured should be arranged in 
 proper order and so far as possible should be ex- 
 pressed in definite sentences. 
 
 Proportion in a report means that important 
 facts should be given as much space as is needed by 
 them; and unimportant, but not unessential facts, 
 should be given as little space as possible. A wordy 
 report is an abomination. The reader will be saved 
 
OUTLINES AND REPORTS 187 
 
 much time and effort if the report is made as con- 
 cise as possible. 
 
 These four points, then, should be checked up in 
 revising the business report: (1) arrangement 
 (mechanical and logical) ; (2) proportion; (3) 
 clearness; (4) conciseness. 
 
 It is important that the writer of a report do not 
 use an aggressive or argumentative tone, for the 
 reader is likely to think that the reporter is biased 
 and is trying to force his opinion upon the reader. 
 Far better is it to use the deductive method; in 
 other words, the facts, such as they have been found, 
 should be presented in a cold way, and at the end 
 deductions should be drawn logically from them. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING, AND 
 CABLING 
 
 TELEPHONING 
 
 " I ? VE got a compliment for you," said Mr. Forbes 
 addressing his private secretary, Frank Campbell. 
 " At luncheon, to-day, two of my friends remarked 
 that they received the most courteous treatment in 
 the city over the telephone from my office. 
 
 " Those two men," continued the chief, noting the 
 smile on Campbell's face, " are not flatterers and I 
 believe what they say. Personally, there is noth- 
 ing that I dislike so much as rudeness over the tele- 
 phone. Hence I 'm especially pleased to hear from 
 outsiders such a favorable opinion of us. How do 
 you do it? " 
 
 " It ? s rather easy," answered Campbell pleased 
 with the compliment. " Just a matter of tone of 
 voice and promptness." 
 
 " I know," said Mr. Forbes. " But I meant, how 
 did you come to learn it ? " 
 
 " Well, to be frank," said Campbell, " I had so 
 
 188 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 189 
 
 many disagreeable experiences myself in telephon- 
 ing when I first came here to work for you that I 
 soon found out I could handle calls better and get 
 better results if I was extremely courteous in voice* 
 and manner." 
 
 Answering the telephone 
 
 Much of the chief's time can be wasted and much 
 annoyance can be caused him if he were to answer 
 the telephone every time it rang. Here again is 
 another place where the secretary should act as in- 
 termediary to save time and trouble for his em- 
 ployer. All incoming telephone messages for the 
 chief should first come to the secretary, who will 
 pass judgment upon the call. If it is necessary that 
 the chief should talk to the person at the other end 
 of the wire, the secretary can switch him in. 
 
 In passing upon the person calling, the secretary 
 will make use of practically the same principles that 
 have been laid down in regard to the handling of 
 personal callers. There is, however, one main dif- 
 ference the secretary cannot judge the telephone 
 caller by his personal appearance, as he is able to 
 do with the personal caller. In that respect is he 
 put at a disadvantage. The actual conversation, 
 nevertheless, might be said to be nearly identical 
 with that used with the personal caller (see page 
 45). 
 
190 THE PEIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 When the telephone bell rings, the secretary 
 should answer " Mr. . Blank's office " or " This is 
 Mr. Blank's secretary talking." " Hello " is 
 usually unnecessary. The following conversation, 
 for example, might then take place : 
 
 Caller : I wish to speak to Mr. Blank. 
 
 Secretary: He is busy just at this moment. 
 May I have your name? 
 
 C: Mr. Barton. 
 
 ( Secretary should be sure to get the correct name 
 of the caller. If he is not sure of it, he should ask 
 the caller to spell it out.) 
 
 S : And you wish to speak to him about ? 
 
 C : the Board of Directors meeting of the Sec- 
 ond National Bank for to-morrow morning. 
 
 (Secretary is satisfied about the matter.) 
 
 S : If you will hold the wire for a moment, I '11 
 see if I can get Mr. Blank to the 'phone. 
 
 (Secretary will then tell his employer the name 
 of the person calling and his business. The em- 
 ployer is thus prepared to talk with the caller and 
 is then connected.) 
 
 For other occasions when the caller is reluctant 
 about giving his name, his business, and so on, the 
 secretary will follow out about the same conversa- 
 tions as are given on pages 45-49 for the handling 
 of personal callers. 
 
 Using the telephone 
 
 Tact, quickness of wit, and a pleasant voice are 
 the main qualifications that are needed in the han- 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 191 
 
 dling of the telephone. The same kind of tact that 
 is needed in managing personal callers is needed in 
 handling the telephone caller. If anything, more 
 quickness of wit is necessary in the transacting of 
 business over the wires than is needed elsewhere. 
 
 As both tact and quickness of wit will be dis- 
 cussed at some length in succeeding pages (see pages 
 304 and 306) , these points need not be considered in 
 detail again here. The manner of speaking over 
 the telephone is, however, deserving of much atten- 
 tion. The favorable impression that is made on 
 the person at the other end of the wire by a clear, 
 clean-cut voice, restrained, and of pleasing tone 
 cannot be overestimated. The secretary should try 
 to cultivate such a manner of speaking over the 
 telephone if he does not possess it already. He 
 should be especially careful of the inflection of his 
 voice. One of the easiest methods by which to se- 
 cure a reputation for being a good secretary is as 
 follows: be very courteous, speak gently and dis- 
 tinctly. Little competition will be found. 
 
 It may seem strange, but yet it is a fact, that 
 many persons unused to the telephone actually 
 dread telephoning. Such nervous fear must be 
 overcome at once. The speaker must have no timor- 
 ous feelings to impair his efficiency. The correct 
 way to talk over the telephone is to speak clearly, 
 distinctly, with every word well enunciated. The 
 
192 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 lips should be close to or nearly inside the mouth- 
 piece of the transmitter. The secretary should not 
 talk at the telephone, but into it. Many secretar- 
 ies have the fault of being unable to realize that 
 they are talking not to a piece of mechanism but to 
 a person. The secretary should be courteous to all 
 telephone callers. A low, restrained voice will 
 carry better over the telephone than will a loud 
 voice. The voice should not be pitched higher than 
 the normal tone. As a matter of fact, the voice 
 pitched lower than ordinary is better. And speak 
 slowly! The habit of slow, deliberate, careful talk- 
 ing must be acquired. 
 
 The whole attention should be concentrated upon 
 telephoning. No attempt should be made to do 
 other things at the same time, such, for instance, as 
 signing or reading letters. If such an attempt is 
 made to do other work, it is likely to mean an in- 
 coherent and indistinct talk, because the doing of 
 other things at the same time distracts the atten- 
 tion of the talker from the thoughts that are be- 
 ing uttered, and also is likely to take the mouth of 
 the talker away from the transmitter. 
 
 A gruff, " important " tone or voice should never 
 be used. The secretary may not always know who 
 is at the other end of the wire. Moreover, the im- 
 pression made on any listener is extremely vexa- 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 193 
 
 tious. A pleasant voice, "a voice with a smile," 
 is of great value in telephoning. It shows that the 
 listener's feelings are being considered. It aids in 
 transacting the business quickly, easily, and pleas- 
 antly for both persons. 
 
 The person who is telephoning into the office 
 should be treated as courteously over the telephone 
 as is the caller who comes in person. It is unneces- 
 sary that the secretary should show how business- 
 like he is by speaking curtly and snappishly. Nor 
 should the caller be kept waiting long. The tele- 
 phone should be answered as soon as possible. If 
 the call is for the chief, and if the secretary has 
 found that the chief will talk over the telephone, the 
 secretary should try to get the chief to take up the 
 receiver as soon as possible. If he is busy at the 
 time and will be busy for a few minutes, the sec- 
 retary should tell the conditions to the caller and 
 let him decide whether he will hold the wire for a 
 few minutes or will call up again. Or the secre- 
 tary can ask the caller to leave the message ; or he 
 may say that he will notify him by telephone when 
 the chief becomes disengaged. 
 
 To recall " Central " or the exchange operator, 
 the receiver hook should not be jiggled rapidly. 
 The correct way is to move the hook slowly up and 
 down. 
 
194 THE PRIVATE SECEETAEY 
 
 Handling outgoing calls 
 
 When the secretary is asked to get Mr. Blank, 
 an important and busy man, on the wire, the sec- 
 retary usually talks with Mr. Blank's secretary. 
 He will say : " Mr. Ivens, President of the United 
 Flour Company, wishes to speak with Mr. Blank 
 about next year's contract." The secretary of Mr. 
 Blank gets Mr. Blank to the telephone. Then Mr. 
 Ivens's secretary must act carefully. It is wise 
 not to say : " Just wait a minute, please." Far 
 better is it to say : " Mr. Ivens, President of the 
 United Flour Company, wishes to speak with you." 
 Such a statement made by the secretary implies that 
 Mr. Blank should hold the wire. This method is 
 not so blunt or so likely to lead to the irritation of 
 Mr. Blank as the other method. 
 
 In certain cases where both men concerned are 
 important men, the secretary of each will try to get 
 the other principal to the 'phone before his own 
 chief takes the 'phone. Secretaries do this in order 
 that they may save their employers the trouble of 
 saying, " Hello, Mr. Blank? " and of then finding 
 out that the person talking at the other end of the 
 wire is Mr. Blank's secretary. 
 
 In some cases the battle of wits between the two 
 secretaries, each striving to get the other man on 
 the wire before he puts his own employer on, lasts 
 for four or five minutes. Various subterfuges and 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 195 
 
 stratagems are used. One secretary will say, " Yes, 
 Mr. Smith is here and is ready to talk. Put your 
 chief on." The other secretary will say : " Just 
 a minute " and then a few seconds later will say, 
 "Hello, is this Mr. Smith?" hoping that in the 
 meanwhile the other secretary will have put on his 
 own chief. As a rule, however, where the employers 
 are of about the same importance in business, the 
 secretary who is calling up the other man should 
 give in. 
 
 Other points about incoming calls 
 
 Whenever a telephone call comes in while the 
 chief is out, the secretary will first try to handle 
 the call himself. If, however, the matter is not 
 within his jurisdiction and if he is unable to handle 
 it, he should, if possible, get the other person to 
 leave the message. If this is unsuitable, he should 
 make a telephone appointment, that is to say, he 
 may ask the other person to call up at a certain 
 time when the chief will be in, or he may say that 
 he himself will call the other person up when the 
 chief comes in. 
 
 The secretary should always have handy on his 
 desk near the telephone a pad upon which he can 
 take notes of various conversations which come to 
 him over the telephone. By having this pad handy 
 he will save much time and the confusion which 
 
196 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 would otherwise arise if he had to leave the desk 
 to find paper upon which to write the message. The 
 time at which important messages are received 
 should be noted and the name of the caller should be 
 taken. Any notes about the secretary's conversa- 
 tion may also be jotted down. It may be wise, more- 
 over, to enter each separate note as closely as possi- 
 ble to the one preceding it. These slips of paper 
 should then be saved, for they will serve as a record 
 of telephone transactions. If the secretary will 
 train himself to take and hold the receiver with his 
 left hand, he will find it an advantage, for he will 
 thus be able to make use of his right hand to jot 
 down the notes he takes over the telephone. 
 
 A list of telephone numbers should be kept handy 
 also, for if the employer says : " Get me Francis 
 Hall & Co. just as soon as you can," the secretary 
 should not be compelled to look in the telephone 
 book. This list of numbers, of course, will contain 
 the telephone numbers of those concerns and places 
 which are frequently called up on the telephone. 
 
 TELEGRAMS 
 
 The secretary should make himself acquainted 
 with the matter of sending telegrams, for he may 
 at any time be called upon either by his employer 
 or by events to make use of this method of trans- 
 mitting messages. This is especially true since in 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 197 
 
 the present days so many various uses of the tele- 
 graph have come into being, such, for instance, as 
 the " Lettergram " or " Night Letters." 
 
 The ordinary telegram should be written in a 
 language which is, first, absolutely clear and, sec- 
 ond, as brief as is compatible with clearness. Of 
 these two requirements the first is the more impor- 
 tant. If the message is not clear, it not only is use- 
 less but it might easily cause financial loss or dis- 
 agreement. But at the same time if the message is 
 not as brief as possible it is wasteful. The secre- 
 tary should, therefore, make a study of the writing 
 of telegrams, so that he may train himself to send 
 explicit and concise messages without difficulty. 
 
 The minimum charge for telegrams is based on 
 ten words, not counting the name, address, and sig- 
 nature. Since this is so, nothing is to be gained by 
 reducing the message to less than ten words. A 
 charge at a certain fixed rate is made for every 
 word over ten. If, for example, the rate for ten 
 words is eighty cents, each extra word above ten is 
 charged eight cents. 
 
 Certain points about the writing of telegrams 
 should be noted. Avoid an arrangement of words 
 which can be interpreted in two ways. Sentences 
 should be clear and should not depend upon punc- 
 tuation for their clearness. Telegraph companies 
 do not hold themselves responsible for punctuation 
 
198 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 and in many cases where punctuation is used 
 trouble is caused. An example of this is given in 
 the case where one man telegraphed : " No ! Price 
 is too high." The telegraph company transmitted it 
 so that it reached the other person as : " No price is 
 too high." 
 
 Write sentences so that, even though they are run 
 together, the meaning is clear. 
 
 Use no salutation, or complimentary close. All 
 words that do not add to the clearness and that 
 might just as well be left out should be omitted, as : 
 
 !(The) CONCERN ACCEPTS (your) OFFER 
 (to) BUY EIGHTEEN NUMBER TWENTY- 
 FIVE CARS DELIVERY (on) APRIL FIF- 
 TEEN. 
 
 Usually, first person pronouns may be omitted 
 where they are certain to be understood. Words 
 in a telegram should not be divided. Compound 
 words are accepted as one word, as to-day, to-mor- 
 row, or to-night. In ordinal numbers, such as 18th, 
 23rd, and so forth, the suffixes st, d, and th are 
 counted as extra words. All numbers, therefore, 
 should be spelled out. There are two reasons for 
 spelling out numbers: (1) it assures greater safety 
 in having numbers transmitted correctly in the mes- 
 sage; and (2) a saving in cost is made. 
 Each of the following is counted as one word : 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 199 
 
 A Every separate letter, such as the B in Henry 
 
 B. Huyler. 
 B Every word in a person's or concern's name. 
 
 Example: Phillips and Van Brunt Co. 
 
 (four words) . A surname, like Van Brunt, 
 
 is counted as one word. 
 C Every dictionary word (in cablegrams, words 
 
 that exceed fifteen letters in length are 
 
 counted as two words). 
 D Each figure, as 400 (three words) . It should 
 
 be noted that, if this number is written out 
 
 (four hundred), it is counted as only two 
 
 words. 
 
 E The names of villages, towns, cities, states, ter- 
 ritories, provinces of states and territories; 
 
 common weights and measures; figures, 
 
 decimal points, and punctuation marks 
 
 within the sentence. 
 
 Examples: 
 
 New Hampshire one word 
 
 New York one word 
 
 A. M one word 
 
 P. M , one word 
 
 C. O. D. (written cod) one word 
 
 C. I. F. (written oif) one word 
 
 y s (figures and division bar) three words 
 
 one eighth two words 
 
 F. O. B. (written fob) one word 
 
 per cent one word 
 
 O. K one word 
 
 Alright (for all right) one word 
 
 25000 five words 
 
 Twenty-five thousand three words 
 
 52% five words 
 
200 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 No charge is made for the signature of the sender 
 or for the name and address of the person to whom 
 the message is sent. If the sender adds his own street 
 and number, a charge is made for such addition. 
 
 Conciseness must not verge upon abruptness or 
 curtness in sending messages to private people on 
 personal or social matters. Inability to fulfil a 
 social engagement ought naturally to be more fully 
 ..expressed than a message to a business house urg- 
 ing a despatch of certain matters, for it is wise to 
 avoid brevity that seems discourteous or parsimo- 
 nious. The following telegram is an example of 
 one sent on a personal matter. 
 
 MR JOHN M HEWITT 
 
 29 ORANGE STREET 
 PITTSBURGH PA 
 
 EXCEEDINGLY SORRY THAT A PREVI- 
 OUS ENGAGEMENT PREVENTS MY MEET- 
 ING YOU AT STATION FRJDAY FIVE 
 OCLOCK PLEASE COME TO MY OFFICE 
 
 DIRECT 
 
 FRANK CARLEY 
 
 The above telegram is better suited in this personal 
 matter than would be the curt note given below : 
 
 MR JOHN M HEWITT 
 29 ORANGE STREET 
 
 PITTSBURGH PA 
 
 CANNOT MEET YOU STATION FRIDAY 
 FIVE OCLOCK COME TO MY OFFICE 
 
 FRANK CARLEY 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 201 
 
 Codes 
 
 Code systems are used extensively in telegraphing 
 and cabling, for two reasons : first, in order to save 
 expense; and second, to insure secrecy. If a code 
 system is used by the employer or in the employer's 
 business, the secretary should make himself ac- 
 quainted with it so that he may have no trouble in 
 using it. 
 
 The code system is based upon these assump- 
 tions : 
 
 1 that both the sender and the receiver of the 
 message understand that a code or a prearranged 
 method of communication is Joeing used. 
 
 2 that each of the two persons concerned has 
 in his possession a code book so that he may trans- 
 late the meaning of the message. One word in a 
 code will usually represent several words, a phrase, 
 or a sentence. For example, analogous might mean 
 " We are shipping your order by fast freight." 
 
 If the secretary finds that his employer or his 
 employer's concern has no code book, he should 
 make use of such systems as the " A. B. C." or the 
 Western Union. Of course, if he uses these public 
 code systems, he does not secure secrecy for his 
 message. If he needs to have absolute secrecy for 
 his message, he must use a system prearranged with 
 the person receiving the message. There is no rea- 
 son why the secretary cannot make up his own code 
 and put it into the hands of his correspondents. 
 
202 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 If he does make up his code, he should follow out 
 the following rules: 
 
 1 Each code word should be a real word in a 
 recognized language ; not an arbitrary combination 
 of letters or figures. 
 
 2 Code words must be pronounceable. 
 
 3 No code word should contain more than ten 
 letters, if it is to be charged as one word. 
 
 EXAMPLES OF CODE WORDS 
 
 A. B. C. Code Word Meaning 
 
 Outstand Until further orders 
 
 Resultant Subject to reply in 24 hours 
 
 Mare Shipment stopped in consequence of strike 
 
 Worsted Write full particulars by next mail. 
 
 If no particular code has been agreed upon be- 
 tween the persons interested, the message may start 
 "abc code," which will indicate to the person re- 
 ceiving the message that the rest of the message is 
 to be interpreted by the A. B. C. code book. 
 
 When messages in code are received by the secre- 
 tary, it is his work to look up each word in the code 
 book and write out the message in plain language. 
 This is like translating from a foreign language into 
 English. Some judgment is required, for code 
 phrases often only approximate in meaning what 
 was intended to be said. Hence, in translating the 
 message the secretary should make two transla- 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 203 
 
 tions : ( 1 ) the literal translation which is the exact 
 translation of the code words; and (2) underneath 
 the literal translation should be little changes sug- 
 gested by common sense in order to make clear the 
 real meaning of the message. 
 
 Classification of telegrams 
 
 The secretary should also be informed of the vari- 
 ous kinds of telegrams so that he may use the one 
 best suited to his particular case. In general, there 
 are six main kinds of telegrams : 
 
 1. The regular day message, to which the stand- 
 ard rate applies : i.e., a certain rate for ten words 
 or less and an added charge for each additional 
 word pro rata. 
 
 2. The night telegram, which is accepted up to 
 2 A. M. at reduced rates. This message is sent dur- 
 ing the night and is delivered the morning of the 
 ensuing business day. It should be written on the 
 usual blank furnished for night messages. The 
 rate is about 15 per cent, less than day rates, but 
 there are no night rates when the day rate is a dollar 
 or more. 
 
 3. The day letter, which is a deferred day service. 
 The rate is also lower than the standard day rate 
 and is as follows : one and one-half times the stand- 
 ard night letter rate for the transmission of fifty 
 
204 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 words or less, to which is added one-fifth of the 
 initial rate for each additional ten words or less. 
 These letters must be written in plain English. . No 
 code language is allowed. Day letters are not al- 
 lowed to interfere with the regular day telegrams in 
 the matter of transmission and delivery. 
 
 4. The night letter, which is governed by the same 
 conditions which govern the night telegram, with 
 these additional points: night letters are accepted 
 up to 2 A. M. for delivery in the morning of the 
 ensuing business day. The rates are lower than 
 those for the standard night telegram. These rates 
 are as follows : the standard day rate for ten words 
 is charged for a night letter of fifty words or less, 
 to which is added one-fifth of the standard day rate 
 for ten words for each additional ten words or less. 
 No code language is allowed and the company is 
 permitted to deliver night letters by mail after they 
 have been transmitted to the city or town of des- 
 tination. 
 
 5. If the sender of a telegram desires to assure 
 himself that it has been sent correctly he may have 
 it repeated that is, he may have it telegraphed 
 back to the sending office for comparison with the 
 original by paying one-half the usual rate in 
 addition to the original charge. 
 
 6. The telegraphic money order in which the tele- 
 graph company transmits money for the sender. 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 205 
 
 Miscellaneous points 
 
 The secretary should always make a carbon dup- 
 licate of the telegram. In fact, triplicate copies are 
 made in many cases: one is sent in a letter that 
 confirms the telegram : another is filed in the regular 
 correspondence file or in a separate file kept for 
 telegrams; and the third is given to the telegraph 
 company to' be transmitted. 
 
 Telegraph companies are compelled by law to 
 send a message exactly as it is written without 
 change or the alteration of even obvious mistakes. 
 
 Cablegrams 
 
 If the secretary is called upon to do cabling, he 
 should procure from the telegraph company the 
 rules which govern cablegrams. Cablegrams are 
 subject to rules which differ greatly from those that 
 govern the telegram in the United States, for they 
 are based on the International Telegraph Regula- 
 tions. Certain points, however, might be noted, as 
 follows: a word of more than fifteen letter^ is. 
 charged as two; every word is counted, including 
 name, address, and signature. If full rate is paid, , 
 code language is permitted and expedited service is . 
 secured. 
 
 Hal^-rate messages (deferred half -rate) are sub- 
 ject to being deferred in favor of full-rate messages 
 for not exceeding twenty-four hours. These mes- 
 
-206 THE PRIVATE SECKETAKY 
 
 sages must be in the language of the country of 
 origin or of destination, or in French. This class 
 of service is in effect with most European countries 
 and with various other countries throughout the 
 world. Full particulars will be supplied on ap- 
 plication at any Western Union office. 
 
 Cable letters can be used for plain-language com- 
 munications. The language of the country of des- 
 tination may be employed, if the cable-letter service 
 is in operation to that country. These messages are 
 subject to delivery at the convenience of the com- 
 pany within twenty-four hours if telegraphic de- 
 livery is selected. Delivery by mail beyond London 
 will be made if the prefix CLP is written before the 
 address. The rate between New York, Boston, 
 Halifax, or Montreal and London or Liverpool, is 
 75 cents for thirteen words including the necessary 
 prefix and 5 cents for each additional word. Rates 
 from interior points are slightly higher. 
 
 Week-end letters may be used. These are similar 
 to cable letters except that the rate between New 
 York and the other places above mentioned is f 1.15 
 for twenty-five words including the necessary pre- 
 fix. Excess words are charged at the rate of 5 cents 
 each. These messages must be filed before midnight 
 Saturday for delivery on Monday morning, if tele- 
 graphic delivery is selected. 
 
TELEPHONING, TELEGRAPHING 207 
 
 Wireless telegraphy 
 
 Because of the fact that the use of wireless teleg- 
 raphy is becoming so common, the secretary should 
 know something about it. The method of transmit- 
 ting messages by this means is about the same as 
 the method used by the secretary in sending mes- 
 sages by cable and telegraph. It might be noted, 
 however, that both the cable and wireless system of 
 the counting of words and charging for them are 
 alike, that is, the address and signature are counted 
 and charged for. 
 
 To send marconigrams from the United States 
 to Great Britain and Ireland, the secretary should 
 have his message presented at the offices of the West- 
 ern Union Telegraph Company or the Great North- 
 Western Telegraph Company. If the secretary is 
 called upon to use the wireless very often, he will 
 find it advisable to procure the pamphlet " Instruc- 
 tions for Radio Communication " from the United 
 States Department of Commerce and Labor. This 
 pamphlet contains complete information on radio 
 communication. 
 
 v 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 SOURCES OF INFORMATION 
 
 WHEN Frank Campbell, private secretary to the 
 president of the Forbes Steel Company, reached the 
 office at 8 :30 that Monday morning, he found await- 
 ing him the following telegram from his chief : 
 
 MR FRANK CAMPBELL 
 15 WALL ST N Y CITY 
 
 SHALL NOT RETURN TILL TUESDAY 
 ABOUT FOUR MUST MAKE AFTER DINNER 
 SPEECH ON BONUS SYSTEMS HOTEL ASTOR 
 AT EIGHT OCLOCK PREPARE SPEECH FOR 
 ME 
 
 J C FORBES 
 
 Campbell noted that the telegram had been sent 
 from Mr. Forbes' country home at Highland Falls 
 and reasoned that Mr. Forbes had decided to 
 lengthen his week-end with his family. 
 
 As the Monday morning mail was always rather 
 heavy, and as other pressing matters needed to be 
 attended to, it was nearly two o'clock before Camp- 
 bell could give his attention to the wish expressed 
 by his chief in his telegram. For several moments 
 
 208 
 
SOURCES OF INFORMATION 209 
 
 he sat before his cleared desk and thought about the 
 speech on " Bonus Systems " which Mr. Forbes was 
 to deliver. He tried to recall to mind the after- 
 dinner talks he himself had heard in order to de- 
 cide on the kind of speech that would be suitable. 
 
 "Two things are needed anyway," he finally 
 thought. " Good, solid facts about bonus sys- 
 tems and a couple of apt jokes. The public library 
 at 42nd Street will give me the facts ; I shall furnish 
 the jokes. But first, the facts." 
 
 " Miss Ray," he said addressing the confidential 
 stenographer, " I 'm going up to the library and 
 shall probably not return until about five o'clock." 
 
 Then, after having told her how to handle certain 
 matters during his absence, he slipped a package of 
 note cards into his pocket and left the office. 
 
 During his trip on the subway, he carefully con- 
 sidered the topic about which he was seeking in- 
 formation so that by the time he arrived at the 
 library he had definitely planned his course of ac- 
 tion. He took the elevator to the card-catalogue 
 room where he quickly found the references he de- 
 sired. These references were not only to books, but 
 also to magazines and newspaper articles. He dis- 
 carded from his list of references all but the latest 
 and seemingly most authoritative and then handed 
 the revised list to the attendant. 
 
 Within a few moments he was seated at one of the 
 
210 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 long tables in the reading room, eagerly scanning 
 the table of contents and indexes of five books. 
 Next, he read the most promising parts of these 
 books. As he read, he made notes on his note cards. 
 At the end of an hour he had before him quite a little 
 stack of cards each card of which contained only 
 a single note. 
 
 He returned the books to the desk and went to the 
 magazine room where he repeated the procedure. 
 From there he went to the newspaper room. 
 
 At five o'clock Campbell was back at the office. 
 He cleaned up the few remaining business matters 
 of the day and departed for home and work, for 
 he had to write the speech that night if it were to be 
 done at all. 
 
 It was late that night before Frank Campbell had 
 finished the skeleton outline and the rough draft of 
 the speech, but the sound sleep, induced partly by 
 fatigue and partly by the consciousness of work well 
 done, left him much refreshed the next morning. 
 
 As soon as he reached the office in the morning, 
 he dictated the speech to Miss Ray by making use 
 both of the outline and the rough draft. He then 
 dismissed the whole matter from his mind and con- 
 centrated his efforts on the work of the day. 
 
 Half an hour later Miss Ray brought to his desk 
 the completed typewritten speech and four carbon 
 
SOURCES OF INFORMATION 211 
 
 copies of it. Campbell immediately scanned the 
 work, made a few corrections and changes, and 
 slipped it into the drawer of his desk. 
 
 Mr. Forbes did not arrive at four o'clock as he 
 had telegraphed Campbell. But at 5 :30 he walked 
 rapidly into the office and greeted the somewhat 
 worried Campbell. 
 
 " I was detained by a tire blow-out," panted Mr. 
 Forbes. " Must hurry along and get dressed. Is 
 the speech ready? " 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Campbell. He reached into the 
 desk drawer, pulled out the typewritten copies of 
 the speech and tlje outline which he had typed on 
 the note cards. These he handed to his chief, who 
 hurriedly glanced through the material, nodded to 
 himself once or twice, and then rushed out of the 
 office, stuffing the sheets into the pocket of his 
 duster. 
 
 When Mr. Forbes arrived at the office at 9:15 
 Wednesday morning, he first answered the greeting 
 of his secretary and then said, " The talk made quite 
 a hit last night. But where did you get such good 
 ideas?" 
 
 After Campbell's modest narrative of how he got 
 the information, Mr. Forbes remarked, " That just 
 goes to show how valuable it is to know where to 
 seek information." 
 
212 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 How and where to find needed information 
 
 A valuable asset to the private secretary is the 
 ability to secure needed information. There is an 
 old and true saying to the effect that " it is not so 
 much to know, as to know where to find." If the 
 secretary is employed by a chief who is often called 
 upon to make speeches, to write articles on financial 
 and other business matters, he will find it wise to 
 make himself acquainted with the various sources 
 from which he can obtain information. This in- 
 formation will be of aid to the secretary if he him- 
 self does the actual writing of the compositions, or 
 will be of help to the secretary in criticizing the 
 finished product. Often the work both of collect- 
 ing the material and of writing will devolve upon 
 the secretary himself. 
 
 If the subject of the composition requires that 
 more information be secured than that already at 
 hand, the first main source is the public library. 
 Too little use is made by secretaries of the advan- 
 tages offered by the public library. In preparing 
 himself to write on the subject assigned to him by 
 his employer, the secretary should be thorough and 
 painstaking in securing the necessary information, 
 for the employer relies upon him to produce the 
 best possible piece of work. Usually it will be 
 found that poor articles or compositions are caused 
 by the lack of thoroughness on the part of the sec- 
 
SOURCES OF INFORMATION 213 
 
 retary in securing all the possible information. If 
 the secretary will have recourse to the public li- 
 brary, he will have at hand the tools for doing good 
 work. 
 
 The secretary, who is called upon to do much look- 
 ing up of information for his chief, should first of 
 all master the methods of searching out the de- 
 sired facts at the library. He should understand 
 how to use the card catalogue and the various books 
 of reference to secure information on non-recent 
 material; he should know which magazines and 
 books of reference to use to secure information on 
 up-to-date or current topics. 
 
 The secretary should first judge whether the sub- 
 ject about which he is securing information is re- 
 cent or non-recent. If the topic is of recent event, 
 it is almost useless to go to the card catalogue ; the 
 recent magazines and the newspaper files should be 
 consulted. But if the subject is of non-recent oc- 
 currence, the card catalogue will be found very help- 
 ful. 
 
 The card catalogue or card index of the ordinary 
 public library has the subjects, the names of the 
 authors, and names of the books arranged together 
 alphabetically. Hence, if the name of the author or 
 if the name of the book is known, the book con- 
 taining the information can be easily secured. But 
 if neither the name of the author nor the name of 
 
214 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 the book can be recalled, or if both are unknown, 
 reference should be made to the specific subject. If 
 nothing is found there, reference should be made 
 to the subject that includes the subject being looked 
 up. For instance, suppose the secretary is asked 
 to collect information for an article on " Panics 
 and Depressions in the United States." If upon 
 reference to the subject " Panics " he is unable to 
 find anything in the card catalogue, he should look 
 under " Depressions." If nothing is found there, 
 however, he might look for a comprehensive work qn 
 the financial history of the United States or on 
 finance the general subject, which includes the 
 specific topics of " Panics," and " Depressions." 
 There at least will he find books. He can procure 
 these books and turn to the indexes where he will 
 find references to "Panics" and "Depressions." 
 After he has found some information, he should not 
 consider that he has exhausted his resources. 
 There may have been magazine articles on the sub- 
 ject. To find such references, he should ask the 
 librarian for " Readers' Guide to Periodical Litera- 
 ture," the purpose of which is made sufficiently 
 clear by its title. This book in large libraries will 
 be found on the shelf given over to reference books 
 in the card catalogue room. After he has obtained 
 this book, which is kept up-to-date by sections pub- 
 lished monthly, he should look up his subject under 
 
SOURCES OF INFORMATION 215 
 
 various heads, as, " Panics," " Depressions," " Fi- 
 nance," " Financial Panics," " Financial Depres- 
 sions," " Economics," and so forth. References will 
 contain the name of the magazine, the volume num- 
 ber, the month or week of publication, and the page 
 number of the article. 
 
 " Poolers Index " (the need filled by this publica- 
 tion is now filled by the " Readers' Guide to Period- 
 ical Literature," the " Readers' Guide Supplement," 
 and the "Industrial Arts Index"), the "Annual 
 Library Index," and the " United States Cata- 
 logue" (the "Cumulative Book Index") can be 
 used. References in these indexes, however, may 
 be made to books not in the library. If he needs 
 these books the secretary can then secure them 
 through his bookstore. The various encyclopedias 
 will furnish leads which will be of aid in looking up 
 the subject. The reference librarian or the libra- 
 rian himself is usually glad to help in the search 
 and should be consulted. 
 
 When the matter to be looked up is of some cur- 
 rent topic, such as " The Effect of the European 
 War on the Exports of the United States," refer- 
 ence must be carried still further. " The Readers' 
 Guide to Periodical Literature " will be of great aid 
 in giving reference to magazine articles, for as the 
 subject is of such a recent nature few, if any, books 
 will have been published on it. The latest monthly 
 
216 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 supplement of the " Readers' Guide " will be re- 
 ferred to. Even that, however, may be a month 
 behind, so recourse should be made to such monthly 
 magazines as the American " Review of Reviews," 
 and " World's Work." Reference to weekly pub- 
 lications will bring the reference nearly up to date. 
 Such publications as the "Nation," "Outlook," 
 " Independent," " New Republic," " Current 
 Events," and " Literary Digest " will be found valu- 
 able. And the secretary should also make use of the 
 table of contents and the indexes. This act will 
 save much time. 
 
 In the special subject given above, " The Effect 
 of the European War on the Exports of the United 
 States," such special trade papers as, " The Ameri- 
 can Exporter," " Exporters' Review," " Wall Street 
 Journal," " Moody's Magazine," and so forth must 
 not be overlooked. And last, the newspaper files 
 should be consulted in order to bring the list of 
 references up to date. The secretary should remem- 
 ber that he cannot do justice to himself and to the 
 composition he is to write for his employer until 
 after he has secured comprehensive information on 
 the subject. 
 
 The secretary as a source of reference 
 
 The secretary himself should be a source of in- 
 formation on outside matters and on matters di- 
 
SOURCES OF INFORMATION 217 
 
 rectly connected with the employer and his affairs. 
 He needs to have a general knowledge of matters 
 connected with his employer's business so that he 
 may converse intelligently with callers who are 
 likely to be interested in the same business endeav- 
 ors. He should also be well read on current events, 
 on the hobbies of his chief, and should note any 
 items of news or information about matters that 
 pertain directly to the chief. 
 
 The secretary should come to the office in the 
 morning with the important news of the day in 
 head so that he may be prepared to talk with the 
 chief or with the callers on such current events. 
 He should read at least two morning newspapers, 
 for items of news missed by one paper may be found 
 in the other paper. Editorials will give the secre- 
 tary good points which may be brought up in dis- 
 cussions. The newspapers should also be read for 
 matters of interest to the chief personally or to his 
 business. 
 
 If any item of news is found which, in the judg- 
 ment of the secretary, ought to be saved, this item 
 should be immediately clipped, as much time is lost 
 and many points are forgotten if this is not done 
 immediately. Such items once passed by are diffi- 
 cult to find later. The value of keeping and prop- 
 erly classifying clippings and other memoranda is 
 great. Such a collection of information will be a 
 
218 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 source of gratification, for the secretary will be able 
 to put Ms hands on just the information he wants 
 when he is suddenly called upon to write a speech, 
 article, etc. These clippings, however, should not 
 be kept in a scrap book because of the difficulty of 
 indexing them. A better method is the envelope 
 system. The envelope system is no more nor less 
 than an alphabetical filing system with envelopes 
 instead of folders. The clippings are dropped in 
 the envelope. 
 
 Until recently it has been extremely difficult to 
 use the back files of newspapers for information on 
 news items because of the lack of an index, and 
 hence the necessity to look through many papers 
 before the item could be found. This want has 
 now been filled by " The New York Times Index." 
 By the aid of the index the details of events are 
 quickly found who participated and what was 
 said and done ; the developments, with all dates and 
 references grouped. For complete information it 
 refers to page, column, and issue of the " New York 
 Times " ; also, through the dates, it serves as index 
 to the news of any other newspaper. 
 
 Trade journals and trade papers, business jour- 
 nals, and professional journals in the particular 
 field of his employer's business or profession, should 
 be carefully read. Articles of merit will be found in 
 guch magazines which are worthy of preservation 
 
SOURCES OF INFORMATION 219 
 
 for future needs. If the secretary does not wish to 
 mar the magazine by clipping the article, he can 
 enter the title, subject, and author of the article 
 and the name, volume, and page of the magazine on 
 a card which will then be filed in a card index kept 
 for this purpose. 
 
 Digests should be made of bills that are appearing 
 in the state legislature or in Congress which bear 
 upon the operation of his business. These bills 
 should be examined for any dangerous features. 
 
 Such books of handy reference to facts, figures, 
 and other information as the " World's Almanac/' 
 the Statesman's Year Book," Who 's Who," the 
 " Social Register," and so on, should be at hand to 
 be consulted by the secretary. 
 
 Secretaries in certain positions will need to know 
 the many points about postal rules. Upon applica- 
 tion, the Postmaster-General (Washington, D. C.) 
 will send the pamphlet " Postal Information." 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 EDITING, PRINTING, AND PROOF 
 READING 
 
 Supervision of printing 
 
 AMONG the duties which the private secretary 
 may be called upon to perform are those included 
 under the general title of supervision of printing. 
 His chief may be concerned with certain matters 
 which involve printing. In such a case, the super- 
 vision of this printing will devolve upon the private 
 secretary. The secretary, accordingly, should ac- 
 quire a sufficient knowledge of printing to handle 
 these matters satisfactorily. For instance, sup- 
 pose that the chief, as president of a certain cor- 
 poration, is called upon to submit to the stockhold- 
 ers his annual report printed. In this instance, 
 the secretary should not only help in writing the 
 report, but should also supervise the whole pro- 
 cedure necessary before the printed copies are 
 placed in the hands of the stockholders." He would 
 need to arrange with the printer for the printing; 
 i.e., the cost, the paper, the form, the type to be used, 
 
 the general make-up, the date of delivery, and so 
 
 220 
 
EDITING, FEINTING, PKOOF EEADING 221 
 
 forth. x Then he would need to read the proof that 
 the printer submits to him. In reading the proof 
 he would need to exercise not only his knowledge of 
 proof reading, but also his editorial powers in re- 
 gard to revision^ 
 
 Without a knowledge of such matters, the sec- 
 retary is likely to get into difficulties and waste 
 much time. 
 
 \The supervision of printing can be broken up into 
 three main divisions, as follows: (1) editing, (2) V 
 arrangements for the printer, and (3) proof read- ^ 
 ing. Although certain sub-editorial work might 
 well be considered under editing, yet more clearness 
 will be secured in this discussion if sub-editorial 
 work is considered together with proof reading. 
 With that exception the order of the three divisions 
 is the logical and chronological order. 
 
 Editing the manuscript 
 
 * After the ideas of the chief have been put on 
 paper and have been criticized and O. K'd by him 
 for their content, the secretary should carefully go 
 over the manuscript (the abbreviated form is MS.) 
 and edit it. ' This editing will consist in the revision 
 of the manuscript to catch errors in spelling and 
 in the grammatical structure of the sentences. 
 Some of the sentences will need to be changed to 
 avoid awkwardness, to obtain clear expression, 
 
222 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 smoothness, and so forth. Paragraphs need to be 
 examined for unity, or singleness of thought, for 
 coherence or logical arrangement of ideas and clear 
 connection, and for emphasis. 
 
 The whole composition should be considered from 
 
 several angles to see whether or not the arguments 
 
 ^1 or ideas are in logical arrangement; whether the 
 
 \ main idea is brought out well ; whether the points 
 
 ^which need stressing are stressed ; whether the tone, 
 
 character, and type of language used are the best 
 
 for this specific composition ; whether the reasoning 
 
 is logical and proves the case ; and so forth. 
 
 ^11 proper names should be checked up for their 
 spelling. Whatever facts and figures are given 
 should be verified. 
 
 Preparing " copy " 
 
 \The first draft of matter sent to the printer is 
 called " copy." If care is taken with the prepara- 
 tion of the copy that is to be sent to the printer, a 
 great amount of trouble can be avoided. The first 
 rule that the secretary should learn is that it is 
 easier to make changes in the copy than in the 
 proof. Moreover, author's corrections (the name 
 given to the changes made by the author in the 
 proof) are costly and mean much trouble both to 
 the printer and the author. The copy should be as 
 clean as possible from crossed-out words and in- 
 
EDITING, PRINTING, PROOF READING 223 
 
 terlineations, and should be as legible as possible. 
 Many secretaries in preparing copy for the printer 
 have the idea that the compositor can decipher any 
 kind of scrawl. They send copy to the printer 
 which the compositor can hardly read; in fact in 
 many cases he cannot read it. In all events, the 
 result is that the typesetting is slowed down and 
 mistakes are made. The compositor is bound to 
 follow copy in word and fact unless there should be 
 instances of punctuation or spelling obviously 
 wrong, which he may correct if he catches them. 
 Copy, however, should not be sent to the printer 
 with the idea that the printer will correct it before 
 it goes to the compositor, or type-setter. 
 *" > The following points in regard to the matter of 
 preparing copy should be noted : 
 
 1. The copy should contain all the ideas which 
 the writer wishes it to contain. In other words, the 
 copy should be complete. Changes in type take 
 time and cost money. The addition or canceling of 
 a single word in the middle of a paragraph may 
 necessitate the resetting of the paragraph from that 
 point on. 
 
 , 2. Write on only one side of the sheet of paper. 
 These sheets should be carefully numbered and ar- 
 ranged in consecutive order, but should not be 
 fastened together. The sheets should be of the 
 same size and not too large. In many cases the 
 
224 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 whole number of sheets is divided up among four 
 or five compositors by the " copy cutter." Each 
 batch of " copy " given to a compositor is called a 
 " take." The letter size of sheet, 8y 2 x 11 inches, 
 is the convenient size for the printer and composi- 
 tor. 
 
 > 3. It is best to have the copy typewritten and as 
 clean as possible, with little opportunity for the 
 compositor to go astray. Double or triple spacing 
 between lines should be used so that legible inter- 
 lineation is possible. A margin of at least one 
 inch should be left at the top. 
 
 t 4. Wide margins should be used so that instruc- 
 tions to the printer, inserts, etc., will not be 
 crowded. Do not write lengthwise in the margin. 
 Marginal up-and-down writing makes hard work for 
 the " copy cutter " who divides the copy into 
 " takes " for the typesetter. Copy should never be 
 rolled. It should be sent flat or folded. 
 
 5. The copy should be marked for different sizes 
 and kinds of type, capitals (i.e., if a word is to be 
 put into capitals), different fonts (style of face of 
 type), arrangement, and so on. The proof -marks 
 used on copy to direct the compositor in regard to 
 capitals, small capitals, italics, and so on are illus- 
 trated under " Proof-Marks " (see page 238). Di- 
 rections for the printer written on the copy should 
 have a circle drawn around them so that they may 
 
EDITING, PRINTING, PROOF READING 225 
 
 not be confounded with reading matter or inserts. 
 
 6. Never divide^ a word so that part remains at 
 the bottom of one page and part at the top of the 
 next page. In general, avoid the dividing of words 
 from line to line. Make your copy easy for the 
 printer to follow. 
 
 7. Use special care in writing names and figures. 
 
 back spacing and writing over a 
 
 name or figure without erasure first. 
 
 8. Be particularly careful if obliged to write in 
 long-hand. Underscore " u " and overacore ** n " 
 when there is any chance of confusion. Print 
 proper names and unusual words. 
 
 9. When pages. are inserted use letters. For ex- 
 ample, between pages 3 and 4 number the inserted 
 pages 3 A, 3B, and so forth. 
 
 10. A circle drawn around an abbreviation in- 
 dicates that the word is to be spelled out in print. 
 A circle around spelled-out words indicates that 
 they are to be abbreviated. This device, however, 
 should not be used unless the writing is in long- 
 hand and the time is short. If the meaning of the 
 abbreviation is not at once evident, do not use it, 
 Co. may be read either company or county. 
 
 11. When there is any chance that a word inten- 
 tionally misspelled (as in dialect) will be changed 
 by the printer, write "follow copy" in the margin. 
 
 12. To cross out a letter, or in other words, to 
 
226 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 elide a letter, draw an oblique line through it from 
 left to right. Cross out the letter unmistakably. 
 
 13. An oblique line drawn through a capital let- 
 ter from left to right makes it a small (lower case) 
 letter. But do not obscure the letter. Remember 
 that the printer must read it. Three straight lines 
 under a letter or word indicate that full capitals are 
 desired. Two lines call for small capitals, and one 
 line for italics. 
 
 14. Always watch names. Verify every name un- 
 less you are absolutely certain of its correctness. 
 
 15. Miscellaneous points to be observed are these : 
 uniformity should be observed in matters of capital- 
 ization, spelling, and punctuation throughout the 
 copy. Paragraphing should be indicated in the 
 copy by a deep indention or by a paragraph mark 
 (TJ), and should not be left to the compositor. 
 Punctuation should not be left until after proof has 
 been received. The copy should be carefully punc- 
 tuated. 
 
 Printing 
 
 +/ Usually before the copy is set up in type there 
 has to be some kind of understanding or arrange- 
 ment with the printer in regard to such matters as 
 cost, time of delivery, mechanical make-up or style 
 of the work, and so on. Such matters are consid- 
 ered under the title of printing. 
 
EDITING, PRINTING, PROOF READING 227 
 
 ' The private secretary who has much printing 
 work to look after will find that a wise policy to 
 adopt is to select carefully a printer from whom he 
 can expect (1) good work, (2) fulfilled promises 
 in respect to the time of delivery, (3) expert help 
 or service in the matter of preparing the lay-out or 
 make-up of the matter, and (4) a fair price. Of 
 these four considerations, the first is the most im- 
 portant. Poor printing is an abomination. No 
 matter how good is the content of the article or re- 
 port, poor printing will make it appear at a disad- 
 vantage. 
 
 At the same time it is important in many cases 
 that the printed matter be delivered on a certain 
 date. If the secretary cannot rely upon the prom- 
 ises of the printer in regard to time of delivery, he 
 will soon find that he is in trouble. Printers, as a 
 general class, are notorious for their breaking of 
 promises to deliver completed printed matter. In 
 many cases, this fault is the fault of those who are 
 having the printing done, because of their delay in 
 correcting and returning proof. The second qual- 
 ity, therefore, that the secretary should look for in 
 a good printer is reliability in regard to his prom- 
 
 j The third point to be considered concerning the 
 printer is service. Many large printing houses have 
 service departments, the purpose of which is to aid 
 
228 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 customers in planning and laying out their print- 
 ing. Such service from the printer himself or from 
 the service department will be of aid to the secretary 
 in deciding such a matter as the making of the lay- 
 out of the printed matter. At the same time print- 
 ers are not infallible and cannot be expected to 
 take a keen interest in each piece of work. In case 
 of doubt in regard to the looks of the " dummy " 
 (the sample form or specimen of the size and ap- 
 pearance of the real publication that is made up to 
 show how the printed matter will look), the sec- 
 retary should rely on his own judgment. As a 
 rule, the printer or the expert in the service de- 
 partment of the printer will show samples of paper, 
 type arrangement, and sizes and styles of type. 
 From these samples, there can be chosen, with the 
 advice of the printer, the paper, arrangement, and 
 type. 
 
 The mechanical make-ujp_pr lay-out will usually 
 be in a conventional form based on custom or usage. 
 The selection of the lay-out is governed by these 
 considerations: (1) utility; (2) custom or conven- 
 tionality; (3) originality; (4) harmony or beauty. 
 The main characteristic which governs the selection 
 of paper is that of appropriateness for the printed 
 matter. Type selection is based on legibility, ap- 
 propriateness, and beauty. For detailed informa- 
 tion on this topic the secretary is referred to vari- 
 
EDITING, PRINTING, PROOF READING 229 
 
 ous books on printing which may be found in the 
 libraries. 
 
 The fourth and last point to be considered by the 
 secretary is price. As there are no standardized 
 rates for printing, each individual printer makes 
 his own charges. The secretary should remember, 
 though, that cheap printing never pays. For small 
 pieces of printing it is well to take the price given 
 by the secretary's regular printer. For large pieces 
 of printing it is wiser to get bids from various 
 printers, but to give preference to the regular 
 printer in case his price is the same as those of the 
 competing bidders or even a little higher. The 
 reason for this course of action is that the regular 
 printer knows the style of make-up that is wanted. 
 Moreover, the private secretary can rely^on him for 
 good work and for his promises. This course is 
 better than giving the work to an untried printer 
 just because his price happens to be a little lower. 
 
 Proof reading 
 
 Proof reading is the art or business of correct- 
 j ing the printed " proofs " of articles, books, or 
 other pieces of printing set up in type before pub- 
 lication. Reading, correcting, and revising of 
 proof are duties which the p'rivate secretary is often 
 called upon to perform even though he may have 
 nothing to do with the editing of the " copy " or 
 
230 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 with making arrangements with the printer. Not- 
 withstanding the fact that the catching of typo- 
 graphical errors or errors of the printer can be 
 done by a clerical assistant, it is better that proof 
 reading should not be intrusted to assistants. This 
 advice is given because in many instances ideas 
 when set up in print seem to convey a meaning 
 or impression different from that given when 
 in typewritten form. If the secretary reads the 
 proof sent from the printer, he will in many in- 
 stances see the necessity of making certain changes 
 matters which would not be touched by the as- 
 sistant who would not know or who would not have 
 the skill and authority to revise. 
 
 Proof reading, including correction and revision, 
 is much more difficult and trying than it is thought 
 to be by the novice. The learning of the printer's 
 marks, called " proof -marks," used in correcting 
 proof is the easiest part of the work. Good proof 
 reading demands the following: (1) a knowledge 
 of the printer's marks used in correcting proof; (2) 
 the power to concentrate so that every letter, word, 
 and punctuation mark will be examined as a single 
 unit and also in its relation to the whole sentence ; 
 (3) a knowledge of "make-up," the printer's term 
 fpr the choice an<^ arrangement of type, rules for 
 paging, and so on; (4) a first-class knowledge of 
 grammar, spelling, and rhetoric; and (5) a good, 
 
EDITING, PRINTING, PROOF READING 231 
 
 general knowledge of the subject set up in type. 
 
 The importance of good proof reading is testified 
 to by Charles Dickens, who said : " I know from 
 some slight practical experience what the duties of 
 correctors of the press are, and how these duties are 
 usually discharged. And I can testify, and do test- 
 ify here, that they are not mechanical that they 
 are not mere matters of manipulation and routine ; 
 but that they require from those who perform them 
 much natural intelligence, much super-added cul- 
 tivation, considerable readiness of reference, quick- 
 ness of resource, and excellent memory, and a clear 
 understanding. And I must gratefully acknowl- 
 edge that I have never gone through the sheets of 
 any book I have written without having had pre- 
 sented to me by the corrector of the press something 
 I had overlooked some slight inconsistency into 
 which I had fallen some little lapse I had made 
 in short, without having set down in black and 
 white some unquestionable indication that I had 
 been closely followed in my work by a patient and 
 trained mind, and not merely by a skilful eye." 
 
 The influence of good proof reading upon the 
 character of the composition or general printing 
 is too often underrated. No perfection of paper, 
 English, or binding can atone for bad or slipshod 
 typography. 
 .* The route through which proof goes is somewhat 
 
232 THE PRIVATE SECEETAEY 
 
 as follows: After the compositor or type-setter 
 has set the " copy," either by hand or by a type-set- 
 ting machine, the first proof of the composed types 
 is " pulled." This proof is called " office proof," 
 and is corrected by the proof reader of the printing 
 house from the original copy. Any corrections in- 
 dicated on this proof are made by the printer at his 
 own expense. In some cases two other first proofs 
 are " fruited " upon which are copied the correc- 
 tions that have been made on the first proof which 
 the proof readers have read. One copy of the first 
 proof is kept by the^printer and the other two cop- 
 ies, together with the manuscript, are sent to the 
 author. The secretary should see to it that at least 
 two sets of proof are given to him. In other cases 
 the corrections as indicated in the first proof are 
 made in the type standing in the galleys ; then sev- 
 eral proofs called " author'^jprpjof s " -are pulled. 
 Two of these author^ proofs are sent together with 
 the manuscript to tkfc author. The author makes 
 whatever corrections or changes he desires on both 
 proofs. He keeps one proof for himself as a record 
 and sends the other proof with manuscript to the 
 printer. 
 
 The early proofs are " pulled " from type set up 
 in galleys (a galley is a long, narrow tray made of 
 brass or zinc with flanges on three sides to support 
 the type which is placed in a frame after the copy 
 
EDITING, FEINTING, PROOF BEADING 233 
 
 has been set up). If the amount of copy is small, 
 galley proof is seldom given. 
 
 If the author makes many changes in the 
 " author's proof " he receives a third or revised 
 proof again taken from the galleys of type. Later 
 these galleys of type are broken up into pages to 
 receive headings and page numbers. Proof is 
 " pulled " from these new divisions and sent with 
 the last revised proof to the author as " page proof." 
 
 Reading proof 
 
 The secretary will receive the proof together 
 with the manuscript. He should place the proof 
 sheets on his desk and directly in front of him. 
 The manuscript should be placed in a handy posi- 
 tion at the left. The secretary then compares the 
 matter on the proof sheet with that in the manu- 
 script. He should possess a quick eye and be ale^t 
 to catch every little error or mechanical imper- 
 fection in the type. He should scrutinize closely 
 every letter of every word, clause, and sentence, 
 while keeping at the same time a grasp of the sense 
 of the matter he is dealing with. 
 
 The secretary in reading the proof should ex- 
 ercise utmost care. Letters are likely to be in- 
 verted. The spacing majfrfbe wrong. Words may 
 have been left out or misspelled or transposed. The 
 wrong style of type or the wuong size of type may 
 
234 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 have been used. All such inaccuracies occur and 
 are likely to evade the reader unless he is extremely 
 careful. 
 
 Corrections are preferably made in ink rather 
 than in pencil. If the proof has been printed in 
 black ink, a different color of ink should be used 
 in marking corrections so that the contrasting color 
 will show the compositor in an instant the exact 
 change that is to be made. If the proof contains 
 the corrections that have already been made by the 
 printing house's proof reader, the secretary should 
 make his corrections or changes in an ink of a dif- 
 ferent color. For example, if the printing house's 
 proof reader has used green ink for correction, the 
 secretary might use red ink. This device will, in 
 some cases, save the secretary from being charged 
 for author's corrections brought about by mistakes 
 of the compositor. 
 
 Typographical errors in the proof are first in- 
 dicated usually by a line drawn through the incor- 
 rect letter or word, by a check mark, or by other de- 
 vices. The correction is then made on the blank 
 margin opposite the line in which the error was 
 found. If there are several errors in the same line, 
 corrections are placed opposite that line in exactly 
 the same order in which the errors appear. These 
 corrections are generally separated from each other 
 by oblique lines. Only when necessary for clear- 
 
EDITING, FEINTING, PROOF READING 235 
 
 ness should long lines connect the error with the cor- 
 rection in the margin. The frequent use of such 
 lines tends to confuse the compositor when he is 
 correcting the errors and slows down his work. 
 
 When several errors have been found in the same 
 line the corrections of these various errors are made 
 in the margin nearer the error which it is intended 
 to correct. These corrections, however, must al- 
 ways be made in exactly the same order in w r hich 
 the mistakes occur in the type. Sometimes many 
 errors occur in one word. In such an event it is 
 wiser to rewrite the w r ord in the margin than to 
 correct each individual error. 
 
 If a large amount of new matter is to be inserted, 
 it should be written on another piece of paper and 
 pasted to the proof sheet with definite directions 
 as to where it is to be inserted. If the new matter 
 is only a line or two, it may be written on the mar- 
 gin of the proof sheet. 
 
 It is a wise practice to read over the proof a sec- 
 ond time. Usually by this process several other 
 typographical errors are uncovered. Sometimes the 
 proof reader employed by the printing establish- 
 ment will question a certain statement, fact, sen- 
 tence construction, word use, and so on used by 
 the author. This question, called a " query," is in- 
 dicated by a question mark (?) or by the abbrevi- 
 ations Qy. and Qu. The query is the means by 
 
TREASURER OF YALE UNIVERSITY 
 
 To the President and Fellows 
 
 I fiave the honor to submit herewith my report as 
 
 Treasurer of Yale Univej^ty for the fifl^l year end- 
 ing June 30 A 1915, during which total gifts *and be- 
 Quests to both income and>d"principal actually re- 
 ^cei/ved by the University have amounted to $965,- 
 
 7 3i^> ^ -^ 
 
 Mt is to be noted that^this totaTTjfJ/ over eighty 
 
 per cent, (or $801,791.47) represents^ross^addi- 
 "lions to Fundsy- that ^deducting charges against 
 Loan and other non^erma- 
 
 / l ^n 
 
 L 
 
 ent/ < unds there is a^increase for the year in En- 
 dowment Funds of $768,015.71; and that, in spi^ 
 of the fact that gifts to Income aggregated $164,- 
 000.04, University General Account shows a. deficit; 
 of $5,628.06, which has beej/ charged to Contingency 
 Reserve //und^ 
 
 For purposes of comparisonX recapitulation 
 f~of the figures above given for the year is^ppended 
 I together with the corresponding items for 1913- 
 
 rK 0f the $106,839.29 originally set apart to constitute this Con- 
 tingency R-eserve Fund there remains, as of June 30. 1915. a 
 balance of $86,296.43 ^"available for use in future emergencies A 
 and as a present protection againsrUnlversity Advances to In- V 
 come Accounts, Equipment, etcr as listed in the statements of 
 the Funds and Assets of the University. According to the 
 vote of the Corporation it is 1 to be restored to its original 
 figures as rapidly ascij^ftfistances will permit. 
 
 / 
 
 A PAGE THAT HAS BEEN PBOOF-EEAD 
 236 
 
REPORT 
 
 OF THE 
 
 TREASURER OF YALE UNIVERSITY 
 
 To the President and Fellows. 
 
 I have the honor to submit herewith my report as 
 Treasurer of Yale University for the fiscal year end- 
 ing June 30, 1915, during which total gifts and be- 
 quests to both income and principal actually re- 
 ceived by the University have amounted to $965,- 
 791.51. It is to be noted that of this total, over 
 eighty per cent, (or $801,791.47) represents gross 
 additions to Funds:, that after deducting charges 
 against Building Improvement, Loan and other 
 non-permanent funds there is a net increase for the 
 year in Endowment Funds of $768,015.71 ; and that, 
 in spite of the fact that gifts to Income aggregated 
 $164,000.04, University General Account shows a 
 deficit of $5,628.06, which has been charged to Con- 
 tingency Reserve Fund.* 
 
 For purposes of comparison a recapitulation of 
 the figures above given for the year is appended to- 
 gether with the corresponding items for 1913-14. 
 
 *Of the $100.839.29 originally set apart to constitute this 
 Contingency Reserve Fund there remains, as of June 30, 1!)15. 
 a balance of $86,296.43 available for use in future emergencies 
 and as a present protection against "University Advances to 
 Income Accounts, Equipment, etc.," as listed in the statements 
 of the Funds and Assets of the University According to the 
 vote of the Corporation when establishing the Contingency Re- 
 serve Fund, it is to be restored to its original figures as rap- 
 idly as circumstances will permit. 
 
 AFTEB THE CORRECTIONS HAVE BEEN MADE 
 237 
 
Mark 
 
 in 
 margin 
 
 Mark 
 
 in 
 text 
 
 ( 
 
 .C J 
 
 {. 
 
 PROOF MARKS 
 
 1. KINDS OF LETTERS 
 
 One horizontal line under a word or a - 
 letter means change italic to roman. 
 
 One horizontal line under a word or a 
 tetter means change rom&n to italic. 
 
 Two horizontal lines under a word or 
 a letter means print in small capitals 
 ( s. caps, sm. c. ) 
 
 Three horizontal lines under a word or 
 a letter means print in capitals 
 (cop*) 
 
 (l.c.= lower case) Use small (com- 
 mon) letters. 
 
 (w.f.= wrong font). Directs attention 
 to a letter of a wrong size or style. 
 
 / 
 
 2. CHANGE OF MATTER 
 
 (dele) Take out. 
 
 Let types remain as set ; change marked 
 was wrong. A line of dots is placed 
 under the change. 
 
 */ 
 
 o 
 
 
 3. CHANGE OB INSERT LETTER OB 
 PUNCTUATION MARK 
 
 /* Indicates an insertion. 
 
 /\ Insert the letter k. 
 
 /\ Insert the word house. 
 
 /\ Insert a hyphen. 
 
 /\ Insert a period. 
 
 A Insert a comma. 
 
 ^ Insert superior characters, such as the 
 apostrophe, quotation marks, etc. 
 
 V' Insert an apostrophe. 
 
 MARKS USED IN CORRECTING PROOF 
 
 238 
 
PKOOF MARKS 
 
 Mark 
 
 in 
 margin 
 
 Mark 
 
 in 
 text 
 
 To transpose words, the words should 
 be enclosed and a line drawn from 
 them to the place where they are to 
 be inserted ; if the order of successive 
 words is to be changed, the words 
 should be numbered. 
 
 Examples. We XnlvV rnfldp/me report. 
 
 true and straight 
 
 To transpose one line or several lines, 
 the matter to be transferred should 
 all be enclosed and a line drawn 
 from it to the place where it is to be 
 inserted. 
 
 7. IMPEBFECT TYPE OF CROOKED LINES 
 
 Broken or bruised type. 
 
 Depress space or lead that shows in 
 print. 
 
 Straighten type in words. 
 Straighten crooked lines. 
 
 8. PARAGRAPHS 
 
 New paragraph. 
 
 Continue in the same paragraph. The 
 line unites the two portions of the 
 text. 
 
 9. NEW MATTER 
 
 A Compare with copy. Words are omit- 
 ted. 
 
 10. MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 .. Used to call attehtion to a supposed 
 error in the statement of a fact, to a 
 question of construction, etc. 
 
 - ^^ J Set in middle of line or page. 
 
 Carry forward to next line. 
 MARKS USED IN CORRECTING PROOF 
 239 
 
PROOF MARKS 
 
 Mark Mark 
 
 in in 
 
 b 
 
 Insert double quotation marks. 
 Insert single quotation marks. 
 Insert dash one em in length. 
 Insert dash two ems in length. 
 
 Place rule under word or words indi- 
 cated. 
 
 Print (e,1i,'5? etc.) as a ligature. 
 
 4. POSITION 
 
 Indent ; or, put in an em-quad space. 
 Bring word or words farther to the left. 
 
 Bring word or words farther to the 
 right. 
 
 Bring letters or words up. 
 Bring letters or words down. 
 ^ / Reverse an inverted letter. 
 
 f I Straighten the lateral margin. 
 
 5. SPACING 
 -4f. 
 
 ** More space between words or letters. 
 * * O Less space between letters. 
 
 v v^ Less space between words. 
 
 &.** xd. ^ More space between lines (insert a 
 lead). 
 
 > Less space between lines (take out a 
 lead). 
 
 v^^ Equalize spacing. 
 
 6. TRANSPOSITION 
 
 " To transpose letters, the letters should 
 be indicated in the proof and tr. 
 should be written in^the margin. 
 Examples : 
 
 MARKS USED IN CORRECTING PROOF 
 240 
 
EDITING, PRINTING, PROOF READING 241 
 
 which the proof readec calls to the attention of the 
 secretary his views on the matter. If the secretary 
 wishes the matter to stand as it is, he needs only to 
 draw a line through the query. If he sees that he 
 has made a mistake in his " copy," he will now make 
 the change. Queries, however, should never be left 
 standing in the margin. They should either be 
 crossed out or attended to; but they should not be 
 erased. 
 
 After the secretary has assured himself that 
 there are no further corrections or changes to be 
 made, he should O. K. the proof by writing " 0. K. 
 with corrections " ; then he should draw a line under 
 that expression and place his initials und^fcath. 
 If no corrections or changes were made, he should 
 write " 0. K./' draw a line, and place his initials 
 underneath. 
 
 Proof reading of page proof 
 
 After the secretary has seen the preliminary 
 proof and has made his corrections and changes, the 
 type matter in the galleys is broken up by the com- 
 positor into pages. Page numbers, page headings, 
 and other details are attended to. Then page proof 
 is " pulled " and submitted to the author, together 
 with the last revised galley proof. 
 
 Upon receipt of the page proof, the secretary 
 should compare it with the first proof which he has 
 
242 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 been keeping as a record. He should learn whether 
 or not the corrections have been made just as he 
 had indicated, without allowing other errors to 
 creep in on the same line. It sometimes happens 
 that the compositor will correct the correction that 
 is indicated, but will make another mistake in that 
 line. 
 
 After this comparison, the secretary should next 
 take the page proof and read it very carefully. 
 This reading should be done just as if the secre- 
 tary had not read the matter before. It sometimes 
 happens that the compositor has " pied " the type, 
 he may have dropped the galley or page of 
 then may have reset the type matter with- 
 out saying anything about it. 
 
 In making up page proof, the printer may find 
 that he needs a line of matter or a word or two to 
 fill out a page, according to paging rules. He will 
 ask the author to furnish the matter. The secretary 
 should comply with this request. He should count 
 the number of letters, including the spaces, that 
 there are in a line or that are needed, and should 
 see that the supply of material will fit the space. 
 Sometimes the secretary will be asked to take out 
 some matter so that the paging may be good. Here 
 again he must exercise his judgment. If a word 
 or words are canceled by the secretary in revising 
 the page proof, he should see that the space left by 
 
EDITING, FEINTING, PROOF BEADING 243 
 
 the cancelation of words is filled with other words 
 or that it is taken care of in some other way. If 
 this were not done, it might mean that two or three 
 pages would have to be reset. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 APPOINTMENTS, DIAKIES, AND ACCOUNTS 
 
 MAKING APPOINTMENTS 
 
 Secretary should have charge of appointments 
 
 THE office of the professional man or the private 
 office of the important business man cannot be run 
 to the best advantage unless the secretary has full 
 charge of the making of appointments for his chief. 
 If the latter has to be questioned every time some 
 one wants an appointment, he will be given much 
 trouble. Then, too, he may not always be at hand 
 so that the secretary can ask him about an appoint- 
 ment. If the system of making appointments is not 
 very definite that is, if sometimes the chief makes 
 an appointment without consulting his secretary 
 and the secretary makes an appointment without 
 consulting his chief conflicts in regard to ap- 
 pointments are going to arise. Far better is it for 
 the employer to have a secretary upon whose judg- 
 rnent he can rely, and to whom he can intrust the 
 whole business of making and keeping a record of 
 appointments. Only by the adoption of such a 
 method will the best results be obtained. 
 
 244 
 
APPOINTMENTS 245 
 
 Good management of appointments 
 
 The ability to manage appointments to the best 
 advantage involves two main considerations: "*(!) 
 a general knowledge of the business and personal 
 affairs and wishes of the employer; and 4 (2) ac- 
 curacy, or system. The secretary will at first find 
 himself puzzled about who should be given appoint- 
 ments. Moreover, he will have to gain the ability 
 to judge how much time should be allowed for the 
 duration of the appointment. Both of these dif- 
 ficulties can be solved by experience alone. As in 
 the case of managing callers and deciding who 
 should be allowed to see the chief (Chapter II), 
 the secretary must understand enough about his em- 
 ployer's business and personal affairs to know 
 whether the matter or person is of sufficient im- 
 portance to take up the chief's time. 
 
 The chief's time and wishes must also be taken 
 into consideration. He may have on hand for im- 
 mediate solution a difficult professional, financial, 
 or other problem to which he must devote for the 
 present nearly his entire time and on which he 
 must concentrate his whole mind. He has not 
 the time for any appointment that the secretary may 
 make unless the appointment is of utmost impor- 
 tance, nor should he be interrupted frequently and 
 forced to take his mind from the matters on which 
 he is trying to concentrate. 
 
246 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 These conditions should be understood by the 
 secretary. On such occasions appointments should 
 be made for days when the chief is likely not to be 
 so busy; and, perhaps, appointments coming due 
 should, if possible, be shifted to a time more con- 
 venient for the chief. 
 
 The time that the chief will need to give to each 
 appointment must also be judged and kept in mind. 
 If the chief has an appointment at 10 -30 to discuss 
 an important matter which will probably take at 
 least an hour, the secretary in making an appoint- 
 ment for the vacancy next to that appointment 
 should not set it for eleven o'clock and then have 
 the caller wait from one half to three quarters of an 
 hour. If the employer's morning is filled with the 
 exception of the interval from 10 :45 to 11 :00, the 
 secretary should not set for 10 :45 a conference on 
 some important matter which ought to be given an 
 hour. After a little practice the secretary will be 
 able to gauge nearly the exact amount of time 
 that the interview will consume. Nor should he 
 set an appointment for one o'clock, the time at 
 which the chief usually goes out for his luncheon. 
 If the secretary has made an appointment for the 
 chief himself to be at a certain office a mile or so 
 from his own office from 2 :15 to 3 o'clock, he ought 
 not to make another appointment for the chief to 
 be in his own private office at 3 o'clock and expect 
 
APPOINTMENTS 247 
 
 the chief to be there. All such situations must be 
 kept in mind and foreseen. 
 
 The shifting and canceling of appointments 
 
 Under this same topic of the knowledge the sec- 
 retary should have of the business and personal af- 
 fairs of his employer and his wishes should be con- 
 sidered the judgment and tact the secretary must 
 exercise in shifting appointments to make a va- 
 cancy in order to give more time to some emergency 
 that arises. A safe rule to follow in the shifting 
 of appointmentsjs that an appointment is a promise 
 and as such it should be kept under all, except most 
 urgent, conditions, unless the permission of the per-( 
 son who has the appointment is secured to change 
 it. Serious and disagreeable results will follow if 
 appointments are broken at will. Indeed, the sec- 
 retary should strive to prevent his employer from 
 breaking an engagement. It is better for the sec- 
 retary to incur the displeasure of his chief for the 
 time being, so long as he gets him to keep the ap- 
 pointment. An appointment that is made must 
 be honored. That is business. 
 
 Before an appointment is shifted, then, the sec- 
 retary should gain the consent of the other person. 
 To get this consent, much tact is needed. The sec- 
 retary might telephone or telegraph, if a quick de- 
 cision must be reached, to the effect that the secre- 
 
248 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 tary would consider it a kindness on the part of the 
 person who has the appointment if he would con- 
 sent to make a change in the hour or date set for 
 the appointment. At the same time out of regard 
 for the obligation that has thus been incurred, the 
 hour and date of the substitute appointment should 
 be arranged to suit the other person. In case im- 
 mediate action need not be secured a letter may be 
 sent (see page 77). 
 
 Accuracy in recording appointments 
 
 The second of the two considerations involved in 
 good management of appointments is accuracy in 
 keeping a record of appointments. Accuracy in- 
 volves a system of some kind which is understood 
 and consistently followed. A sample system is de- 
 scribed below. 
 
 Two separate and similar records should be kept, 
 one for the chief and one for the secretary. These 
 records are usually kept in the form of a book called 
 the "Appointment Book." A new leaf in the ap- 
 pointment book is used for each day. At the top of 
 each leaf stands the name and date of the day. Be- 
 low, the page is ruled. As soon as an appointment 
 is made, it is immediately entered in both appoint- 
 ment books. The record of an appointment at the 
 office consists of the time, the name of the caller, 
 and his business with the chief. The record for the 
 
9:15 
 9:30 
 9:45 
 10:00 
 10:15 
 10:30 
 10:45 
 11:00 
 11:16 
 11:30 
 
 12:00 
 12:15 
 12:30 
 
 12:45 
 1:00 
 1:15 
 1:30 
 1:45 
 
 2:15 
 2:30 
 2:45 
 3:00 
 
 3:30 
 3:45 
 4:00 
 
 PAGE OF ENGAGEMENT PAD 
 
 /V 
 
 CASH ACCOUNT APRIL 
 
 Received 
 
 r 
 tt 
 
 73 
 
 /5 
 
 2. 
 
 PAGE OF CASH ACCOUNT BOOK 
 
 249 
 
250 THE PEIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 chief outside of the office contains such information 
 as the time of the appointment, place to which he 
 is to go, name of person he is to see, and the busi- 
 ness. If the secretary thinks that the chief does 
 not know the best way to get to the place of appoint- 
 ment, he might put in directions. The illustration 
 on page 249 shows a sample leaf taken from an 
 engagement pad. 
 
 If an appointment is canceled or shifted, the 
 matter should be immediately taken care of. If the 
 original appointment is shifted to a definite time, 
 the secretary should write over the first appoint- 
 ment the time set for the substitute appointment 
 or indicate the change in other ways. 
 
 Whenever the chief leaves the office to attend 
 to several appointments which take him elsewhere, 
 he will usually take his appointment book with 
 him, so that he may keep a close record of the va- 
 rious times of appointments. If he is asked to make 
 an appointment while he is outside of his private 
 office, he will telephone to his secretary to find out 
 when an appointment can be given, or he may ask 
 the person desiring the appointment to telephone 
 to thB secretary in order to find out the hour that 
 the secretary could set for the convenience of both. 
 
 The secretary should look after the preparation 
 which is needed before the chief is ready to handle 
 various appointments outside his private office. He 
 
DIAKIES 251 
 
 should see that before the chief leaves he has every- 
 thing that he will need. It may be that he ought 
 to have various letters, papers, and other memo- 
 randa. The secretary should understand as much 
 as possible about the coming appointment so that 
 he may be prepared to help his chief. 
 
 Requests for appointments by telephone 
 
 If some one calls up the secretary on the tele- 
 phone and asks for an appointment -with the chief 
 and the " some one " is not known to the secretary, 
 an appointment should not be made immediately. 
 The caller should be put off for the time being and 
 should be investigated. 
 
 DIARIES 
 
 *^ ; ' ^ 
 
 Use of the diary H 
 
 A diary is usually a booT which records day by 
 day things which have been done or are to be done. 
 It is a memory, primarily for the secretary. In the 
 office of the busy man, the secretary will find that 
 the diary plays an important part. Although some 
 secretaries keep records of appointments in the 
 diary together with the other data which ordinarily 
 go into diaries, yet this plan is usually not the best 
 practice. If such a system is used, however, the 
 appointments for the day should be kept separate 
 on one side of the page and the diary entries on the 
 
252 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 other. For the sake of clearness and quickness in 
 reference, appointment and diary entries should not 
 be interspersed on the same page. If they are so 
 interspersed, confusion will arise in looking up 
 either appointments or things to be done. 
 
 The diary has three purposes : (1) it is used as 
 a book of record or reference in regard to acts of 
 past days; (2) it is used to remind the secretary 
 of or suggest to him things to be done on the present 
 day; and (3) it is used as a reminder of future acts 
 acts which will automatically be called to the at- 
 tention of the secretary or the reader on the proper 
 day. 
 
 As a book of record of the acts of past days, the 
 diary is important. The secretary or the employer 
 may want to know the exact date on which a cer- 
 tain thing was done, or* if a certain thing was done 
 on a certain date. If either the chief or the secre- 
 tary were to rely on his memory alone, he would 
 be likely to fail, but with the diary as a memory 
 both are saved the worry of remembering and the 
 chance of being wrong. Suppose, for instance, 
 that the question arises as to whether or not the 
 employer was in Buffalo, N. Y., on January 18, 
 1915. It is now January 3, 1916. Surely without 
 a diary to refresh his memory, neither the secretary 
 nor the chief can answer with any assurance of 
 being correct. 
 
y 
 
 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1913 
 
 267 days past 98 to com* 
 
 s- 
 
 /S 
 
 
 ADDRESSES 
 
 NAME. U~*f**vu**o, H. * 
 
 STREET. No. -31, U 
 
 CITT. 
 
 TKtEPHONt- N 
 
 NAME. 
 
 STREET, No. //*r&? 
 
 Cm. 'Ht^r^a-^i. 
 
 TELEPHONE No. Vc**dt*JLJU(: *J 1 
 
 PAGE OF DIABY 
 
 NAME. 
 
 STREET. No. /g tOcJU &t~. 
 
 CITY. 
 
 NAMO. 
 STREET. No. 
 CITY. 
 TBIEPHONB No. 
 
 PAGE OF ADDRESS BOOK 
 
 253 
 
254 THE PRIVATE SECEETARY 
 
 As a reminder of things to be done on the pres- 
 ent day, the diary is valuable. Important or 
 urgent matters which must not be overlooked are 
 automatically brought to the attention of the secre- 
 tary or the chief and can then be attended to. This 
 automatic reminding assures both the secretary and 
 the chief that no important matter is being over- 
 looked on that day. It may be that the day is 
 August 15, which is the last day upon which mu- 
 nicipal taxes can be paid without the 10 per cent, 
 penalty. The fact had been entered in the diary 
 by the secretary several weeks before with the in- 
 tention that it should prevent him from overlooking 
 the payment. After he had entered the fact, he 
 forgot it. Now it is brought to his attention, and 
 he informs the chief of it. 
 
 In the last place, the diary is used as a memory 
 to bring to mind on the proper day the act that must 
 be done at that time. Since the diary is used as a 
 memory, the secretary after entering the desired 
 fact in the correct place can then dismiss it from 
 his own mind with the assurance that it will come 
 up for his attention at the right time. Such a rec- 
 ord saves much worry for the secretary. For an 
 example of the use of the diary to bring to the mind 
 an act to be done in the future, let it be assumed 
 that to-day, August 15, the employer tells the sec- 
 retary that he has secured an option until twelve 
 
DIAKIES 255 
 
 o'clock noon, September 15, on the land at the corner 
 of South and Fulton streets. The secretary should 
 then enter the date on the page headed September 
 15, 1915, as follows : " Option on land at corner 
 of South and Fulton streets expires at twelve o'clock 
 noon. Agents for property, S. M. Goodman & 
 Company." 
 
 In cases where it will take some time to do the 
 act entered, it is wise not only to enter it on the date 
 upon which it is to be brought up for attention, but 
 also to enter it a week or so in advance. An 
 instance of this would be the preparation of a report 
 which is to be submitted by the employer, as presi- 
 dent of a certain corporation. This report is due 
 on September 15. It would be entered in the diary 
 on that page dated September 15, as : " Last day 
 for semi-annual report of President of Jones Steel 
 Company." Then another entry should be made in 
 the diary under the date of September 8, as follows : 
 " Semi-annual report of President of Jones Steel 
 Company due September 15." 
 
 Instructions in regard to entries in the diary 
 are frequently given by the employer, but usually 
 only casually and haphazardly. As soon as pos- 
 sible, the secretary should relieve his own memory 
 by jotting them down in the diary on the proper 
 page. In fact, anything that he himself thinks 
 ought to be called up for his own or his employer's 
 
256 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 attention should be jotted down as soon as possible 
 after it has occurred to him. 
 
 The diary should be kept always in one place - 
 usually on the secretary's desk easy of access 
 both to the employer and to the secretary. Al- 
 though entries are usually made by the secretary, 
 some employers will jot down in the diary things 
 which they wish the secretary to do or which they 
 desire the secretary to call to their attention. The 
 secretary, however, has the responsibility of re- 
 minding the employer of the entry. 
 
 Perpetual journals 
 
 Besides the appointment book and the diary, the 
 secretary will sometimes have need for a book of 
 record called the Perpetual Journal. The Per- 
 petual Journal is a diary book with the date, as, 
 January 3, at the top of the page. The number of 
 the year, however, is not included in the date. 
 The purpose of the Perpetual Journal is to keep a 
 record of transactions, engagements, or things that 
 come up year in and year out to be done on a cer- 
 tain day. Suppose, for instance, that interest on 
 a mortgage is to be paid on the first of January and 
 July. The secretary should turn to the January 1 
 page in his Perpetual Journal and enter this fact : 
 
 " Pay semi-annual interest mortgage on prem- 
 ises 28 Pitman Street." 
 
DIARIES 257 
 
 Then, he should turn to the page headed July 1 
 and enter the same fact. Year in and year out 
 then, these two pages would conie to the attention of 
 the secretary, on the right day during the life of 
 the mortgage. When the mortgage is paid, both 
 facts entered under January 1 and July 1 should be 
 canceled. 
 
 Or again, if Johnson and Anderson have the lease 
 for one year on the premises at 415 Frazier Avenue 
 and if this lease is usually renewed by them each 
 year on June 1, this fact should be entered on the 
 page headed June 1. Each year, then, will the fact 
 be brought to the attention of the secretary so that 
 the new lease for the ensuing year may be drawn 
 up and signed or arrangements made for a new ten- 
 ant. 
 
 Book of information 
 
 Another book which will be found of value to 
 the secretary is a book in which bits of valuable in- 
 formation are kept. Such a book may have the va- 
 rious items arranged in alphabetical order. It may 
 contain the names and addresses of the directors 
 of the corporations in which the employer may be 
 interested, the facts and figures about past trans- 
 actions, and other points of record with which the 
 secretary does not care to burden his memory, 
 
 This book of information may also contain a rec- 
 
258 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 ord of the life, accident, and fire insurance policies 
 carried by the employer, for it is commonly a duty 
 of the secretary to look after such matters. 
 
 It is necessary to keep a record of life and acci- 
 dent insurance policies in order to see that the 
 premiums are paid on time, that the policies do not 
 lapse unless desired, and so forth. This record 
 should contain the number of the policy, the name 
 of the insuring company, the amount, the kind of 
 policy, the amount of premium, the date when the 
 premium is due, the date when the policy expires, 
 the beneficiary, and the name of the agent who sold 
 the policy. 
 
 It is necessary to keep a record of fire insurance 
 policies so that they may be renewed, so that 
 premiums may be paid on time, so that new policies 
 on buildings are taken out after alterations have 
 been made which increase the value of the building, 
 so that new policies may be secured to cover new 
 contents of buildings and houses, and so forth. 
 
 A record should likewise be kept of burglar in- 
 surance, automobile insurance, and other types of 
 insurance in order that they may be attended to 
 properly. This record should be kept in spite of 
 the fact that the employer has an insurance broker 
 to look after his insurance affairs, for it serves as 
 a check and a handy source of useful information. 
 
 Such matters should be attended to by the sec- 
 
DIAEIES 259 
 
 retary whenever he has any leisure time, so that 
 he may keep them well in hand and prevent any 
 oversights in regard to them. He should remember 
 and attend to these little items whether or not his 
 chief remembers and attends to them. 
 
 Records of investments might also be left to the 
 attention and care of the secretary. If stocks are 
 held, the dividends will probably be paid once, twice, 
 or four times during the year. A systematic list of 
 stock certificates should be made out and should 
 contain the name of the company in which the stock 
 is held, the number of the certificate, the number of 
 shares, the usual dividend rate, the date on which 
 dividends are paid, the date of the stockholders' 
 meetings, and so forth. The records of the bonds 
 should contain the name of the bond, the number, 
 the amount, the rate of interest, interest dates, the 
 financial agents, and so forth. 
 
 There are two common kinds of bonds: coupon 
 bonds and registered bonds. The coupon bonds 
 are bonds which have interest coupons attached to 
 them. These coupons are cut off on the dates upon 
 which interest falls due and are presented through 
 the employer's bank for payment ; or they are some- 
 times sent direct to the financial agents of the com- 
 pany which has issued the bonds. The secretary 
 should see that the coupons are sent on the proper 
 dates. The registered bonds are bonds upon which 
 
t 
 
 260 THE PRIVATE SECRETAEY 
 
 the interest may have to be collected at a certain 
 place, usually the place of business of the financial 
 agents of the concern which has issued the bonds, 
 and on a certain date. 
 
 Mortgages need careful attention, for although 
 some may have special interest notes, much like the 
 coupons on a bond, which should be presented for 
 payment at the time when they fall due, yet most 
 mortgages have no such special interest notes and a 
 demand must be made for the payment of the in- 
 terest at the proper time and place. In the case of 
 mortgages and notes it is usually wise to give no- 
 tice some time in advance so that the persons who 
 are to pay may be reminded that the payment is to 
 fall due shortly and may prepare to meet it. 
 
 Such matters as taxes and club dues are like- 
 wise commonly taken charge of by the secretary. 
 
 ACCOUNTS 
 
 A knowledge of bookkeeping, even though it be 
 of the simplest kind, is useful to the secretary. The 
 amount of knowledge of bookkeeping that is neces- 
 sary for the particular position varies with the po- 
 sition. The position may be such that the secre- 
 tary is called upon to spend most of his time in 
 managing the financial affairs of his employer. In 
 such a case, he would of necessity be obliged to have 
 a rather complete and thorough knowledge of ac- 
 
ACCOUNTS 261 
 
 counting. Such a position is, however, the excep- 
 tion. Ordinarily a knowledge of the rudiments 
 of single and double entry will be sufficient, for 
 few employers make a comprehensive knowledge of 
 bookkeeping a requirement which their secretaries 
 must have. Nevertheless, such knowledge will 
 come in handy if the secretary takes charge of the 
 employer's bank book or check book, or keeps a rec- 
 ord of his own expenses incurred in behalf of the 
 employer. 
 
 In order to provide the secretary with money 
 with which to pay the small bills he incurs in fol- 
 lowing out his instructions, the employer will com- 
 monly open a checking account at his bank in the 
 name of the secretary. Although the chief may not 
 ask the secretary for an accounting of the money 
 checked out, yet the secretary is acting wisely if he 
 will keep an exact account of the amounts disbursed 
 and the cause of the disbursements. Everything 
 that can should be paid for by check. This method 
 in itself will give a close record of payments. An 
 accounting should be made to the employer every 
 month. The illustration that is given on page 
 2-19 shows a sample record of personal expenses. 
 
 Private Ledger 
 
 Another piece of special bookkeeping work 
 which the secretary may be called upon to perform 
 
262 THE PEIVATE SECKETAEY 
 
 is that of keeping a Private Ledger. If all the ac- 
 counts pertaining to the employer's business are 
 kept in the main ledger there is nothing to prevent 
 the one keeping the books from knowing everything 
 about the business. He could tell at a glance just 
 how much capital each partner contributed (if the 
 business is a partnership), the drawings of each 
 partner, the amount paid for certain lands and 
 buildings, and many other facts of a confidential 
 nature. The members of the firm, or the head of the 
 firm, may wish to keep such information regarding 
 these transactions from others, but if the books 
 are kept in the old manner (i. e., one main ledger 
 containing all accounts), they cannot do so. The 
 desired result may be accomplished, though, by 
 means of what is called a Private Ledger, which is 
 kept in the hands of the private secretary. 
 
 An explanation of the workings of the Private 
 Ledger is as follows : 
 
 A new ledger is opened by the secretary. This 
 ledger is kept in the private safe ; the regular book- 
 keeper has nothing to do with it. All accounts 
 which the owners of the business wish to keep 
 confidential and from the knowledge of the book- 
 keeper are now taken out of the main ledger and 
 placed in the Private Ledger. If, after these ac- 
 counts were removed from the main ledger, nothing 
 else were done, the main ledger would not balance. 
 
ACCOUNTS 263 
 
 In order to make it balance, an account is opened 
 up (in the main ledger). This account takes the 
 place of all the accounts removed to the Private 
 Ledger. 
 
 Suppose, for example, that only three accounts 
 were so removed to the Private Ledger. These ac- 
 counts and their balance are as follows : 
 
 JOHN DOB (Partner) 
 
 RICHARD ROB (Partner) 
 
 Dr. Cr. 
 
 , , , **UV> 
 
 Dr. Cr. 
 
 , . -. ssnnn. 
 
 LAND 
 
 Dr. Cr. 
 
 $3000. |[ - 
 
 In order to make the main ledger balance, an ac- 
 count (designated as the Private Ledger Account) 
 would in this particular case be credited with the 
 difference of the three accounts so removed, or 
 $7000. 
 
 Suppose that, after the above accounts have been 
 opened in the Private Ledger, a purchase is made of 
 a certain piece of land for |2000. Naturally the 
 transaction would be passed through the cash book. 
 Cash would be credited for $2000 and another ac- 
 count would have to be debited. Ordinarily, if the 
 Private Ledger were not in use, the account debited 
 would be " Land Account." The bookkeeper would 
 
264 THE PRIVATE SECRETAEY 
 
 then be familiar with the transaction, for he would 
 know that the land had cost $2000. But when the 
 Private Ledger has been installed, instead of " Land 
 Account" being debited through the cash book, 
 " Private Ledger Account " would be debited. 
 Thus would the regular bookkeeper be prevented 
 from knowing the facts about the expenditure of the 
 $2000. After the account, " Private Ledger Ac- 
 count," has been debited in the main ledger, an en- 
 try is made in the Private Ledger by the secretary 
 who would debit " Land Account " for $2000. 
 
 The balance of the one account, called " Private 
 Ledger Account," in the main ledger should equal 
 the balance of the detailed accounts in the Private 
 Ledger. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 ETHICS AND AMENITIES 
 
 The secretary holds a position of great trust 
 
 THE position which the private secretary holds is 
 such a place of trust that he needs to be extremely 
 careful in any actions which may affect his chiefs 
 interests. To the secretary are intrusted the se- 
 crets and confidences of the employer. To the sec- 
 retary, as the holder of this trust, will come many 
 questions that involve an interpretation of his moral 
 obligations to his chief the ethics of the relations 
 between employer and private secretary. So nice 
 are many of these questions that the secretary not 
 only must be continually alive to see that he does 
 not unconsciously betray the trust, but he must 
 keep his conscience sensitive indeed, if he is to do 
 the right thing each time. 
 
 The secretary must realize that his position is 
 one of high trust and confidence; that it demands 
 loyalty and trustworthiness. One broken con- 
 fidence, one betrayal of trust, done consciously or 
 unconsciously, and the private secretary's value to 
 
 265 
 
266 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 his chief is gone his reputation, also. Two 
 things, then, should the private secretary always 
 bear in mind: first that he may at any time, since 
 he is the custodian of his employer's business se- 
 crets, unconsciously give out information that will 
 injure his chief; and second, that if he does not keep 
 his conscience keenly sensitive he may consciously 
 do or say a thing which will be injurious to his em- 
 ployer's best interest. 
 
 Innocent betrayal of confidences 
 
 It is nearly as bad for a secretary to be an inno- 
 cent party in injuring his employer's interests as it 
 is for him to be a wilful accomplice the effect is 
 about the same for the employer in a business sense. 
 Employers wish to be sure not only that their sec- 
 retaries will not wilfully give away any secrets or 
 confidences, but also that they will be alert enough 
 not to allow themselves to be " pumped." As the 
 secretary is known to possess the real " inside " in- 
 formation of his employer's business, he is accord- 
 ingly made an object of the designs of cunning fel- 
 low employees, a subject of questionings by his 
 friends (?), and a butt of plans of scheming out- 
 siders all of whom seek to tap the secretary's 
 knowledge of his employer's plans, so that they can 
 make use of it for their own financial gain. The 
 methods used to secure the desired information are 
 
ETHICS AND AMENITIES 267 
 
 so insidious, that without being aware of it the sec- 
 retary sometimes " leaks." The wisest plan to fol- 
 low is never to talk about the employer's business 
 or as the president of one of New York's great 
 department stores said, "A secretary should keep 
 his eyes and ears open, but his mouth shut." 
 
 The secretary at the very beginning should let it 
 be known first for all time that he simply will not 
 discuss confidential matters with any one. This 
 stand is more difficult to take than it appears, for 
 it means that just at the time that he is trying to 
 make friends of those around him in the office, he 
 must refuse point blank to " talk." Even his real 
 friends, odd as it may seem, will want to know what 
 is going on in the private office. These questioners 
 must be turned down. But the reward is sure. 
 The secretary gains the respect of those whose ques- 
 tions he has refused to answer, and afterwards he 
 is seldom annoyed in this way. The man who gives 
 in at the beginning, even in regard to unimportant 
 information, is a marked man. He is known to be 
 "easy," and, as a result, he is pestered with ques- 
 tions. Nor is that all. The employer is usually 
 watchful at the beginning, for before he is ready to 
 give his full confidence to his secretary he will prob- 
 ably test him in some way. If he is found wanting 
 in discretion, he is discharged. 
 
 Unless of absolute necessity, note-taking of un- 
 
268 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 usually delicate matters should be avoided, for it is 
 not at all improbable that such memoranda may 
 get into the hands of persons who could make good 
 use of them. Notes taken on confidential business 
 should be carefully guarded, and the secretary 
 should hold himself responsible for their security 
 from the eyes of outsiders. 
 
 How to meet questions 
 
 It will be of aid to the secretary to know how to 
 meet the questions of those who are trying to secure 
 information from him. A statement guardedly 
 made can be easily colored and twisted into misin- 
 formation by the listener. The latter may also be- 
 lieve that what the secretary says has a hidden 
 meaning. Many secretaries in answer to questions 
 about their employers' business or affairs say, " I 
 do not know." This method has been found to be 
 a better way than a harsh and sometimes embarrass- 
 ing reply, "I can't (or, won't) answer that ques- 
 tion." Besides, such an answer will lead to con- 
 tinued efforts by the questioner : " Why can't you 
 answer it? I won't say anything," and so forth. 
 Evasive answers are seldom satisfactory. Although 
 the secretary has certain information and although 
 he realizes that his questioner knows that he has 
 the information, it is common practice for him to 
 say that he does not know. 
 
ETHICS AND AMENITIES 269 
 
 Suppose, for example, that the private secretary 
 to an important financial man is approached with 
 the question, " What is the Interborough going to 
 do about the coming dividend? " This question 
 may be put to him skilfully and tactfully and it will 
 probably come upon him suddenly. The questioner 
 may conceal its intent and bring it up as if it were 
 a casual matter. But let the secretary be careful. 
 Even though it is a friend ( !) who has asked the 
 question, yet, if this information leaked out, it 
 would probably be used against the employer. It 
 is common practice for the secretary to say he does 
 not know about it and then turn the conversation 
 into other channels as smoothly as possible. 
 
 Small bribes 
 
 The secretary is in a position to do various lit- 
 tle favors for others, such as trying to influence the 
 mind of the employer to a certain action, arrang- 
 ing interviews, calling the attention of the employer 
 to a certain matter, and so on. Since he does hold 
 such power in his hands, he is sometimes ap- 
 proached by those who desire to curry favor with 
 him in order that he may use his influence with the 
 employer in their behalf. In order to get the sec- 
 retary favorably inclined toward their requests, they 
 send in such minor bribes as cigars, theater tickets, 
 and so on. Although the wisest plan to follow is 
 
270 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 to refuse such bribes when they are recognized as 
 such and not as rewards for his kind or good offices 
 in the past, yet in many cases the refusal of such 
 things may seem boorish ; in other cases, the return 
 of the articles is practically impossible. 
 
 The secretary should remember that he is em- 
 ployed by his employer to protect him against just 
 such people, and it would certainly be a betrayal 
 of trust to accept these small bribes to do that which 
 the secretary would not otherwise do. If the sec- 
 retary will bear in mind the fact that these small 
 gifts are usually given in order to get him to do 
 something for the giver, he will understand the sit- 
 uation. The acceptance of such things renders 
 more difficult than would otherwise be the case the 
 refusal of requests made by the givers. The secre- 
 tary should avoid accepting the gifts, if he can. 
 But if he finds that it is impossible under the con- 
 ditions to refuse the small gift or to send it back, 
 he should keep it with the idea fully known that it 
 is not in any way to influence him to favorable ac- 
 tion for the giver. 
 
 Questions of conscious use of information 
 
 A difficult and perplexing question arises with 
 the secretary when he knows a bit of financial in- 
 formation which he can make use of for his own 
 financial betterment. He may have gained the in- 
 
ETHICS AND AMENITIES 271 
 
 formation by overhearing the conversation of the 
 employer with some one, or he himself may have 
 transcribed it in the form of a confidential letter. 
 With this information in his hands, he is sometimes 
 sorely tempted to use it, for he argues that since he 
 himself is not divulging any information he can- 
 not harm the employer. Such an assumption, how- 
 ever, is wrong. The private secretary has access 
 to this valuable information only through the con- 
 fidence placed in him by his employer. He should 
 not take advantage of this confidence to better him- 
 self. Moreover, the actions of the private secretary 
 to important men are carefully watched by those 
 who wish to learn what these men are doing. For 
 example, if the private secretary to a big financial 
 man on Wall Street were to go into a brokerage 
 office and while there were to buy or sell a certain 
 stock, his action would soon be known by others 
 who would be watching him. These others would 
 know that he is likely to have " inside " information 
 and that he himself is making use of it. They 
 themselves would then follow his example and the 
 result would be that the private secretary has given 
 away by his action the plans of his chief. 
 
 More stories are heard of private secretaries go- 
 ing wrong in using information for their own bene- 
 fit than are heard of private secretaries going wrong 
 in any other way. Such matters, if they ever come 
 
272 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 to the ears of the chief, and they usually do in time, 
 mean that the secretary will lose his position and 
 his reputation. Confidence once lost is seldom re- 
 gained. 
 
 Whenever the employer wants the secretary to 
 make some money he will say, perhaps, " We are 
 
 getting up a syndicate to handle . If you want 
 
 to take a share in it, just let me know." Such is the 
 way that an employer will reward a man in whom 
 at last he has placed his confidence. 
 
 The secretary should remember that confidence is 
 a fundamental upon which the relations between 
 private secretary and employer are based. De- 
 stroy the confidence and the private secretary loses 
 his value to the employer. In case of doubt, be too "^ 
 conscientious rather than not enough so. 
 
 T AMENITIES FOR THE POSITION 
 
 One of the characteristics of a good private sec- 
 retary is the possession of a practical knowledge 
 of the amenities necessary for his position. ^The 
 secretary should make himself agreeable and pleas- 
 ant in disposition, actions, and manners to his eu- 
 ployer and others into whose company he is thrown. 
 He should know and practise the requirements of 
 convention or custom in regard to social and busi- 
 ness intercourse. 
 
ETHICS AND AMENITIES 273 
 
 Dress 
 
 The matter of dress should be considered first 
 because it is usually the first thing that makes an 
 impression. By his dress is the secretary usually 
 judged first. If he has freakish ideas about dress, 
 he will soon find that he is laboring under a disad- 
 vantage. Correct dress for all occasions is the first 
 requirement. 
 
 Slovenly, careless attire is a great handicap. 
 Old, ill-fitting clothes and flashy or sporty dress are 
 offensive to good taste. The best way to dress is 
 in such conformity with convention that the dress 
 arouses no unfavorable comment. The clothes of 
 the secretary should not be such that they force 
 themselves into the attention of others ; his clothes 
 should not make him conspicuous but should be 
 noticed only for their good taste. 
 
 Besides the effect of correct dress on the minds 
 of others, the knowledge that he is clothed accord- 
 ing to the best custom has an effect on the mind 
 of the wearer. As he knows that his dress will not 
 be an object of criticism, he is not afraid to go 
 among important people. This knowledge gives 
 him confidence in -himself, for not only does he 
 perceive the consideration his dress secures from 
 others, but also he knows that he is correctly 
 dressed. Emerson wrote, " The consciousness of 
 being well-dressed brings a satisfaction which even 
 
274 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 religion cannot bestow." On the same subject Haz- 
 litt said, " Everything almost depends upon first 
 impressions; and these depend (besides person, 
 which is not in our power) upon two things, dress 
 and address, which every one may command with 
 proper attention." 
 
 Manners 
 
 It is largely by the manners of the secretary that 
 the feelings of the people around him are deter- 
 mined and feeling has as large a part in busi- 
 ness as reason has. If the secretary has pleasant, 
 agreeable, and correct manners he will usually 
 make a good impression on the people he meets. 
 The casual caller or new acquaintance is predis- 
 posed in favor of the secretary if he finds the sec- 
 retary well-mannered and pleasant. The old maxim 
 is, " Desire to please and you will infallibly please." 
 
 An easy, graceful, confident address certainly is 
 an asset in managing callers and in appearing 
 among people. The secretary should know how to 
 handle himself, how to meet people, and how to talk 
 to them. Hazlitt made the following wise observa- 
 tion : " I would not have you, from not knowing how 
 to enter a room properly, stumble at the very thresh- 
 old in the good grace of those on whom it is pos- 
 sible the fate of your future life may depend. Noth- 
 ing creates a greater prejudice against any one than 
 
ETHICS AND AMENITIES 275 
 
 awkwardness. A person who is confused in man- 
 ner and gesture seems to have done something 
 wrong, or as if he was conscious of no one qualifi- 
 cation to build a confidence in himself upon. On 
 the other hand, openness, freedom, self-possession, 
 set others at ease with you by showing that you are 
 on good terms with yourself. Grace in women gains 
 the affections sooner, and secures them longer, tEalT 
 anything else it is an outward and visible sign 
 of an inward harmony of soul as the want of it 
 in men, as if the mind and body equally hitched in 
 difficulties and were distracted with doubts, is the 
 greatest impediment in the career of gallantry and 
 road to the female heart." 
 
 The secretary should be well informed on eti- 
 quette. He should have this information so that he 
 will embarrass neither himself not his. employer by 
 his ignorance of social customs and conventions. 
 The story is told of a bright young man who was 
 being considered by the head of a concern for the 
 place of private secretary. This young man came 
 highly recommended as to ability and character. 
 The business man, since it was near luncheon time, 
 invited him to take luncheon with him at his club. 
 The young man accepted and both went to the club. 
 As soon as they were seated at the table, the young 
 man proceeded to tuck his napkin around his col- 
 lar. He ate so rapidly that he finished long before 
 
276 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 his host. Then he leaned back in his chair and be- 
 gan to pick his teeth. All this while the prospective 
 employer had been quietly observing his manner. 
 Such was his disgust that he could hardly restrain 
 himself. 
 
 The young man, although he had ability and a 
 good character, was not given the slightest consid- 
 eration for the position after the prospective em- 
 ployer had seen the manner in which he acted. The 
 business man could not afford to have such a man 
 represent him. 
 
 Any good book on etiquette will help. But best 
 of all the secretary, who desires to perfect his 
 knowledge of social or business conventions, should 
 observe the actions of those who know. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 
 
 Efficiency and system 
 
 THE routine work performed in the private office 
 is under the supervision of the secretary. The sec- 
 retary, therefore, is responsible for efficiency in the 
 office. The work of the office is done efficiently if 
 it is done in the easiest way, in the quickest time, 
 and with the best results. To that end the secre- 
 tary must have a definite system of some kind. 
 
 System, as applied by the secretary, is no more 
 nor less than a set of definite rules which govern 
 routine actions. As far as possible definite rules 
 should be laid down as to who is to do certain work, 
 as to how certain work is to be done, and as to the 
 order in which the different pieces of work are to 
 be taken up. These rules must be definitely under- 
 stood and must be unfailingly adhered to by the sec- 
 retary and the office assistants. The consistent ad- 
 herence to the rules will bring about the habit of 
 doing things in a certain way and in a certain order. 
 Such a habit conserves mental and physical labor. 
 
 The secretary should devise systems for the three 
 
 277 
 
278 THE PEIVATE SECKETAEY 
 
 main divisions of the work performed in the office. 
 These three divisions are: the general office work 
 of the office assistants, the work of the employer, 
 and the work of the secretary himself. 
 
 Systematizing the general office routine , 
 
 The secretary is responsible to the employer for 
 all the little details of the office. If the employer 
 calls for a certain letter and the secretary is unable 
 to find it in the files because of a mistake made by 
 the office assistant in filing it, the employer is likely 
 to hold the secretary responsible. If the employer 
 discovers that the letters he is signing are not type- 
 written in correct form, he is likely to place the 
 blame on the secretary 'and justly. He feels that 
 the secretary ought to take from his shoulders the 
 responsibility of such matters as training the office 
 assistants to file correctly and to typewrite letters 
 in correct form. 
 
 It is wholly in accord with the theory of the po- 
 sition of secretary, therefore, that the secretary su- 
 perintend all the various details in connection with 
 the general office routine performed by office as- 
 sistants. Suggestions as to improvements and 
 changes may come from the employer. Usually, 
 however, the employer will leave such matters to 
 the secretary because of the pressure of work. At 
 the same time the secretary will find that he, too, 
 
SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 279 
 
 is unable to give all his time to directing the routine 
 actions of the office assistants. The best he can do 
 is to lay down rules for them to follow in doing their 
 work. 
 
 If each office assistant knows definitely just what 
 he is to do and just how he is to do it, the work of 
 the office will be effectively carried on with but lit- 
 tle recourse to the secretary for instructions. The 
 secretary will thus relieve himself of the necessity 
 of much personal supervision. His system for the 
 office should call for as little personal supervision 
 as possible, in order that he may have time for more 
 important work. The system should be so rigid 
 that the chances for blunders are few; but yet so 
 flexible that the office assistants have an opportu- 
 nity to show their initiative in devising better ways 
 of doing things. 
 
 Ready-made systems that apply to certain types 
 of office work are not available, and, if they were, 
 they would not be so efficient as those devised by 
 the secretary for the peculiar needs of his office. 
 The secretary should make up and have typed out, 
 therefore, a set of rules to be followed by each 
 office assistant. For example, the set of rules to 
 be used by the stenographers would include rules 
 on the typing of letters. These rules would de- 
 scribe definitely the mechanical make-up of the dif- 
 ferent forms of letters used; moreover, samples 
 
280 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 would be given. Hence, if the secretary in dictat- 
 ing a letter tells the stenographer that the official 
 form of letter is to be used, the stenographer can 
 later turn to the rule on official letters and find 
 that in official letters the inside address is to be 
 placed in the lower left-hand corner just below the 
 body of the letter, that the date is to be spelled out 
 in full, that the special double letter sheet is to be 
 used, and so forth. 
 
 The office assistant who does the filing should 
 have a set of rules for his work. These rules can be 
 made up by the secretary from his greater knowl- 
 edge of filing. Even the office boy should be given 
 definite instructions in his work. 
 
 Systematizing the work of the employer 
 
 Although the secretary has no authority to force 
 his system on his employer, yet by means of tactful 
 suggestion he can remedy many faults in the em- 
 ployer's method of doing things. If the employer 
 is continually putting off action on important mat- 
 ters, if he allows letters to go unanswered, if he is 
 wasting his time on unproductive routine and un- 
 important work, the secretary should get him to 
 change his system. This he can usually do by first 
 planning the system for his employer and then 
 getting him to adopt it unconsciously. 
 
 The secretary should direct his energies first of 
 
SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 281 
 
 all to the employer's desk. A disorderly desk, it- 
 self a result of lack of system, breeds more lack of 
 system. If important letters, unfinished work, 
 blotters, memoranda, and so forth are indiscrimi- 
 nately thrown together on the working surface of 
 the employer's desk, and fill the drawers of the 
 desk to overflowing, then the secretary's work is 
 plainly cut out for him. If the secretary is ever 
 to help his employer to get his work done, he must 
 dispose of this mass which turns the top of the 
 desk into a cemetery. After the top of the desk is 
 cleaned up, it must be kept clean, for the sight of 
 the clean desk stimulates the user to keep it clean 
 and that means getting work done. 
 
 But the secretary should be careful in the dis- 
 posing of the papers on the employer's desk. Per- 
 mission should first be secured in a tactful manner 
 to sort out the papers. From this sorting the sec- 
 retary will be able to learn what papers can be 
 filed, what papers should be given immediate atten- 
 tion, and so on. 
 
 The secretary can sort all the material on the top 
 of the desk into the following four divisions : 
 
 1 Unfinished matter, such as the day's letters, 
 
 routine plans for the day, and so forth. 
 
 2 The matters pending, such as letters and papers 
 
 that cannot be answered to-day, but must be 
 held for several days. 
 
282 THE PKIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 3 Completed matters that can be filed now as they 
 
 have been attended to. 
 
 4 Desk tools, such as blotters, stationery, and so 
 
 on. 
 
 The first division can be further subdivided into 
 three divisions as follows : 
 
 A Matters which must be taken up immediately, 
 such as important telegrams, letters, memo- 
 randa, and so forth. 
 
 B Matters which can be taken up later in the 
 day ; but which must be done to-day. 
 
 C Matters which do not demand attention to-day, 
 but should be done if time permits. 
 
 The material in subdivisions A and B of main 
 division 1 can be taken care of by means of a tem- 
 porary portfolio, which the secretary can make for 
 himself. He can take four or five open end manila 
 filing folders and fasten them together with a string 
 or with brass staples. On the tabs of these folders 
 he can write such titles as will suit the peculiari- 
 ties of the work. The following titles are sugges- 
 tive: 
 
 " Letters Ready for Dictation." 
 
 " Matters for Immediate Attention." 
 
 " Take up with Andrews." 
 
 This portfolio, marked " Work for the Day," should 
 be kept on the working surface of the desk at the 
 left-hand side. 
 
SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 283 
 
 The material in subdivision C of main division 1 
 should be put into a folder marked " Unfinished 
 Work." This folder should then be placed in the 
 upper right-hand drawer of the desk where it can 
 be readily referred to after the material in " Work 
 for the Day " portfolio has been disposed of. 
 
 Material sorted into main division 2 is composed 
 of matters pending ; i. e., letters or papers which 
 cannot be finally disposed of because of lack of 
 facts or other information, necessity for further 
 study, and so on. This material should be put into 
 a folder marked " Matters Pending." The folder 
 should then be placed in the upper right-hand 
 drawer of the desk. 
 
 Material in main division 3 is made up of letters, 
 papers, and data of all kinds, that have had atten- 
 tion or need no further attention. This material 
 should be filed or passed on to some one else. 
 
 The material in main division 4 is made up of 
 that clutter of office tools, such as pens, pencils, 
 blotters, elastic bands, stationery, and so forth. 
 These articles are of little use unless they can be 
 found in their right places when they are wanted. 
 Stationery should be placed in the middle left- 
 hand drawer of the desk. One or two pens and a 
 pencil should be kept in the pen tray on the work- 
 ing surface of the desk. The rest should be placed 
 in the top middle drawer of the desk. The ruler, 
 
284 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 blotter, and shears should be placed in the same 
 drawer. A receptacle for rubber bands and clips 
 should be kept there also where these articles will 
 be handy. The working surface of the desk should 
 be kept clear of all tools, except those in constant 
 use. 
 
 After the secretary has cleared up the desk of 
 the employer, he should see to it that the system is 
 adhered to. He should straighten out matters 
 every day until the employer himself gets into the 
 habit of being more orderly. 
 
 The secretary still further develops a system for 
 his employer by consistently planning out his time, 
 by seeing that he keeps his appointments, by sug- 
 gesting that a certain piece of work %ught to be 
 done, and so on. It is the secretary's duty to keep 
 after his employer so that he does his work, but 
 there is, of course, great need for tact and diplo- 
 macy in getting the employer to adopt a system. 
 
 The secretary's daily routine 
 
 As has been stated elsewhere in this book, the 
 secretary is hired to take from the employer's 
 shoulders as much detail work as possible. To per- 
 form this detail work, and yet to have time to help 
 his employer on creative work, the secretary finds 
 that he needs a good system. He needs to plan his 
 own day's work so well that at the end of the day 
 
SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 285 
 
 he can honestly say, " I have satisfactorily disposed 
 of everything that needed to be disposed of to-day, 
 and yet I have been able to do some creative work." 
 The secretary can best handle the multiplicity of 
 his affairs by devising a system and adhering to 
 it. 
 
 The first step is to lay out a plan for the day's 
 routine. This plan goes into effect every day, even 
 before the secretary arrives at the office. Before 
 arriving at the office in the morning the secretary 
 should carefully read the morning papers. He 
 should read the general news for general informa- 
 tion. Any point of particular interest to the em- 
 ployer or his business should be clipped or other- 
 wise noted. The editorials should be read for the 
 mature comments on the important topics of the 
 day. After arriving at the office the secretary 
 should first consult his " tickler/' desk calendar, 
 diary, or follow-up file. Any one of these four may 
 remind him to get a certain piece of work under 
 way immediately. Even a delay of half an hour 
 might easily mean serious trouble later. He can 
 also plan the day's work. 
 
 Next he should open and digest the morning's 
 mail (see page 62). The third step is to consult 
 the appointment book and. get in mind the appoint- 
 ments for that day. The fourth step is to start on 
 the unfinished work of yesterday that demands ac- 
 
286 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 tion to-day. The fifth step is to take up new work. 
 After the third step, the secretary will be frequently 
 interrupted to answer the telephone, to meet callers, 
 and to perform other like routine matters of the 
 day. 
 
 There should be no pausing or dawdling after one 
 piece of work is done. The secretary must keep 
 everlastingly at it. If he is able to finish his 
 routine work, he should start on new plans and 
 ideas that would help his employer. He can con- 
 sult his diary and start work on matters which are 
 not due for some time. 
 
 Certain rules will be of aid in bettering the sec- 
 retary's system. The first is as follows: The 
 secretary should never put off for an instant the 
 execution of current business or the carrying out 
 of a wish or even a thought of his employer. This 
 rule is a great conservator of time, and, if strictly 
 followed, tends to form an invaluable habit which 
 will keep the secretary's slate clean. It will allow 
 the secretary to take up and dispose of new busi- 
 ness or an emergency. Besides, it will give him an 
 opportunity for original thinking and consequent 
 development. Once the secretary takes up a piece 
 of work he should see it through to completion. 
 Concentration is needed. 
 
 The second rule is : Always know where certain 
 papers are and how to get them instantly. 
 
SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 287 
 
 The third rule is : Don't promise until you are 
 sure. 
 
 The fourth rule is : When you make your prom- 
 ise, make a note of it 
 
 The fifth rule is: If you are forced to break a 
 promise, or an appointment, jgx^fxlM_pther man. 
 
 The sixth rule is: Do not forget anything. 
 
 Although the secretary may be capable of remem- 
 bering the many details attached to the perform- 
 ance of his duties, yet the constant worry and strain 
 brought about by the attempt to keep all details in 
 the mind will soon bring bad results. If his brain 
 is cluttered with details, the secretary will never 
 be more than a " routine man." The secretary 
 should remember that his brain has only a certain 
 capacity and that it should not be overloaded with 
 details. ^The big ideas should be carried in. his 
 head; the details in his 'pock'et. Some- system 
 should be devised by the secretary to take care of 
 the details. 
 
 The secretary has several methods of taking care 
 of the details, for he has an appointment book x to 
 keep track of the appointments; he has his per- 
 petual journal 2 to keep him in touch with matters 
 which must be attended to year after year ; he has 
 a desk calendar pad which will constantly keep be- 
 fore him the list of things still to be done ; he has a 
 
 i See page 248. 2 See page 256. 
 
288 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 diary 1 which is a record of the past, present, and 
 future events. And he needs most of these me- 
 chanical devices if he is to go home at night with 
 the assurance that all the details of that day have 
 been attended to, and with the unburdened brain 
 of the man who has been wise enough to plan and 
 use a system to take charge of details. 
 
 Another device that will be of aid to the secre- 
 tary is the " tickler." This device is an adaptation 
 of the card index and the chronological system of 
 filing. Its main advantage over the diary or desk 
 calendar consists in the fact that notations for work 
 which must be put off to-day need not be rewritten, 
 but merely transferred. Another advantage is that 
 original documents such as business cards, slips of 
 paper with notations on them, etc., can be kept until 
 the right time. 
 
 The equipment consists of a set of partition 
 cards with tabs which bear numbers from 1-31; 
 12 month cards, each with the name of a month 
 on its tab; and a container, usually a box. (The 
 cards are often kept in position by the parti- 
 tion boards in the upper left-hand drawer of the 
 desk. ) 
 
 A record of a matter to be attended to in the 
 future is written on a slip of paper and dropped 
 behind the card of the date on which it should be 
 
 i See page 251. 
 
SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 289 
 
 brought up for attention. On each morning the 
 secretary will take out the slips in the compartment 
 behind the card bearing the date of the same morn- 
 ing and will thus see the affairs he must attend to 
 on that day. If he finds then that any affair needs 
 to be postponed, the same slip of paper with any 
 added notations can be put back of the proper date 
 card for attention on that date. This system acts 
 as an effective follow-up. 
 
 The secretary's desk 
 
 It is unnecessary to describe minutely the sys- 
 tem that the secretary should have in regard to his 
 own desk, for it would be but a repetition of the 
 description of the system applied to the employer's 
 desk. It is not a waste of space, however, to advise 
 the secretary again to keep the working surface of 
 his desk clear of all but the material he is working 
 on and the tools he is working with. The influence 
 that a cleared desk has on the user of the desk is 
 great. The sight of a clear working surface is a 
 constant stimulus to get the work out, and to keep 
 the top of the desk free from piles of papers and 
 affairs that have been disposed of. " Keep the desk 
 clear " is a motto of value. 
 
 Besides keeping the working surface of the desk 
 cleared for action, the secretary should see to it 
 that the drawers of the desk are being used in ac- 
 
290 THE PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 cordance with a definite system. The first big rule 
 that the secretary should follow in regard to the 
 desk drawers is system. The basic law of this sys- 
 tem is, " The right place for the right thing." The 
 secretary should not keep the working surface of 
 the desk cleared at the expense of the desk drawers. 
 He should not shove the papers on his desk hap- 
 hazardly into the drawers. Each drawer should 
 be the receptacle of certain papers only. In this 
 way it is possible for the secretary to find, later, the 
 paper he wants. 
 
 A suggestive system for the use of the desk draw- 
 ers is the following: The upper left-hand drawer 
 might contain those books which are in constant 
 use, such as the diary, the perpetual journal, the 
 book of information; the front part of the drawer 
 might hold a 3"x5" "tickler." The middle left- 
 hand drawer might contain letterheads, envelopes, 
 and memorandum pads. 
 
 The bottom left-hand drawer might contain un- 
 finished work for the future, such as reports and 
 plans, to which the secretary might turn after he 
 has finished the pressing work of the day. 
 
 The top drawer in the middle of the desk might 
 contain in front, in proper receptacles, pins, clips, 
 rubber bands, pencils, pens, and so forth; in back 
 could be kept a large account book. The upper 
 right-hand drawer should be used to hold the folder 
 
SYSTEMATIZING THE OFFICE 291 
 
 marked " Unfinished Work " and " Matters Pend- 
 ing" described on page 283. 
 
 The bottom right-hand drawer is usually a deep 
 drawer. This drawer can be made excellent use of 
 to hold folders of different affairs to which the 
 secretary has constant recourse. Or it can hold 
 a follow-up file. (Description of such a file is 
 given on page 288. ) 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 NECESSARY CHARACTERISTICS OP THE 
 PRIVATE SECRETARY 
 
 Requisites for the position 
 
 IT is well to point out that not every one is fitted 
 to be a private secretary. A knowledge of general 
 business and of the specific business of the em- 
 ployer, of the specific duties of the private secre- 
 tary, and the possession of the ability to perform 
 such duties, do not alone make one suitable for the 
 place. The position of private secretary is pecul- 
 iar. It demands that knowledge and ability be 
 present, together with certain moral, mental, per- 
 sonal, and physical qualities. The private secre- 
 tary cannot be one-sided. He must have both 
 requisites. The possession of the moral and mental 
 qualities is the sine qua non, the essential element. 
 If he has the knowledge and ability, but lacks the 
 latter qualifications, he cannot be a real private 
 secretary. 
 
 It must always be remembered that the relation- 
 ship between employer and secretary is likely to be 
 
 293 
 
294 APPENDIX 
 
 intimate and personal. This relationship cannot 
 exist unless the private secretary has the right 
 moral and personal qualifications. Again, he who 
 has these qualifications can usually acquire the 
 knowledge and ability that are also demanded, but 
 the man who has not the moral qualifications is 
 usually unable to acquire them. The whole struc- 
 ture of a private secretary's usefulness, therefore, 
 rests upon his possession of certain moral and per- 
 sonal qualifications. 
 
 The moral qualities which are essential to the 
 private secretary for the performance of his duties 
 are: 
 
 1. Trustworthiness 
 
 2. Self-abnegation or unselfishness 
 
 Added to these moral qualities he should have 
 the following mental qualities : 
 
 1. Initiative 
 
 2. Tact 
 
 3. Good reasoning power 
 
 4. Quickness and alertness of mind; adroit- 
 
 ness 
 
 5. Retentiveness of mind 
 
 6. Concentration 
 
 7. Foresight 
 
 8. Skill 
 
APPENDIX 295 
 
 Together with moral and mental qualities, cer- 
 tain physical and personal qualities are looked for 
 in the good private secretary, as follows : 
 
 1. Agreeable personality 
 
 2. Correct and easy speech 
 
 3. Correct personal appearance 
 
 4. Correct deportment 
 
 5. Good health 
 
 ESSENTIAL MORAL QUALITIES 
 
 Necessity of moral qualities 
 
 Moral qualities and characteristics are taken up 
 here, not merely because they are highly desirable 
 characteristics, but because they are the essentials 
 that the secretary must have if he is to be of serv- 
 ice to the employer. If the employer knows or 
 fears that the secretary is weak in any one of the 
 essential moral qualities given above, he will not 
 confide in the secretary, nor will he allow him to 
 decide on executive matters. If the secretary is 
 not taken into the employer's confidence or if he 
 is not permitted to use his judgment and act for 
 the employer, his usefulness and the reason for his 
 position are destroyed. 
 
 Trustworthiness 
 
 Of the moral characteristics that the secretary 
 must possess, the most important is trustworthi- 
 
 
296 APPENDIX 
 
 ness. This is the state or quality of being worthy 
 of trust or confidence. The employer must be able 
 to confide his secrets to his secretary, supremely 
 confident that the secretary will be discreet. The 
 employer must know that his secretary can be 
 trusted and relied upon to act always in his best 
 interests that he can be depended upon to per- 
 form his duties faithfully. He must be assured, 
 moreover, that the integrity of his secretary is ir- 
 reproachable and incorruptible. 
 
 Secretiveness or discreetness is one of the di- 
 visions of trustworthiness. In the case of the 
 private secretary, it is the most important of the 
 divisions, for we have learned that the word secre- 
 tary comes from the Latin word secretarius, which 
 means oneintrusted with secrets. The secretary 
 is going to be in possession of many of the impor- 
 tant secrets of his employer and of his employer's 
 business. Hence, it is imperative that the secre- 
 tary should be one who will not divulge any of the 
 confidences of his employer. In certain cases he 
 will be offered bribes and in other cases he will be 
 cajoled to divulge some of that knowledge which he 
 has about his employer's business. The secretary 
 must realize that when he does give any of this in- 
 formation he is injuring not only his employer but 
 himself. He is injuring his employer because the 
 information he gives will probably be taken ad- 
 
APPENDIX 297 
 
 vantage of and used against his employer. He is 
 injuring himself because very soon will the em- 
 ployer find out that the cat has been let out of the 
 bag. The result of this is that the employer will 
 be afraid to trust his secrets to the secretary, and, 
 when that occurs, the secretary becomes of little 
 use to him. 
 
 The characteristic of loyalty is a second division 
 of the main quality of trustworthiness. Loyalty 
 is the state or quality of being loyal being true 
 and faithful to any person or persons to whom one 
 owes fidelity. The secretary must have this quali- 
 fication, for he is in a position of trust and is many 
 times called upon to handle executive matters. In 
 such cases he must always act in the best interests 
 of his employer. He must never take advantage of 
 his employer in any way, for that would be a breach 
 of trust. He must act for his employer as he would 
 act for himself. 
 
 Besides being loyal to his employer in the acts 
 which he performs, he must also have a belief in 
 his employer. He must take an interest in his 
 employer's business and welfare, and must believe 
 that his employer is usually in the right. If he 
 has not this belief in his employer, he will not put 
 into his work the enthusiasm which is so necessary. 
 Moreover, he should stand up for his employer in 
 all cases. In the case of verbal attack by enemies 
 
298 APPENDIX 
 
 or in the face of insidious remarks detrimental to 
 the employer, he should boldly defend his chief. It 
 is expected of him. 
 
 Truthfulness is the third division of the main 
 quality of trustworthiness. It means telling the 
 exact truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the 
 truth. The employer will in many oases depend 
 upon the secretary for information. This infor- 
 mation must be given with no exaggeration, no 
 shading of meaning, no mental reservation, and 
 should represent the real state of affairs so far as 
 it lies in the ability of the secretary to know and 
 state them. The employer is practically forced to 
 rely on the statements of his secretary and to back 
 them up if they are made to outsiders. Unless he 
 can rely upon the truthfulness of the secretary, he 
 is at a decided disadvantage in carrying on his busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Self-abnegation or unselfishness 
 
 The second of the two main qualities or moral 
 characteristics which the private secretary must 
 possess is that of self-abnegation or unselfishness. 
 The secretary must place his employer's interests 
 foremost. He must practise self-abnegation where 
 the employer is concerned. As his employer should 
 be relieved from as much work and worry as pos- 
 sible, the secretary must take upon his own shoul- 
 
APPENDIX 299 
 
 ders such worry. It will be remembered that the 
 secretary is the other self of the employer. The 
 secretary, accordingly, must submerge his own in- 
 dividuality and interest and be a part of the chief. 
 This does not mean fawning humbleness. It means 
 that the secretary should carry out the wishes of 
 his employer not his own wishes and in the 
 way the employer desires. The secretary, however, 
 should not be without independence of character, 
 for this quality is essential if the secretary is to 
 criticize in a constructive sense the plans and ac- 
 tions of his chief. If he lacked independence in the 
 matter of thinking or acting, he would probably be 
 a weak secretary. A man who is unafraid to voice 
 his own honest convictions when asked, gains the 
 esteem of the employer. The secretary should be 
 independent but he should not try aggressively to 
 force his ways on the employer. Independence can 
 be carried too far. The secretary should always 
 remember that the chief is the one in command. 
 
 ESSENTIAL MENTAL QUALITIES 
 
 Initiative 
 
 The rarest mental quality, and hence the most 
 valuable to the private secretary, is that of initia- 
 tive. This is the quality which the private secre- 
 tary possesses if he can do the right thing at the 
 right time without being told, if he can start an 
 
300 APPENDIX 
 
 undertaking, and if he has the capacity for inde- 
 pendent action. It is the power of thinking for 
 one's self the power of doing original work- 
 the power of exercising one's own judgment in the 
 performance of certain acts. As has been said 
 above, the private secretary should do more than 
 those things which he is told to do. If the em- 
 ployer constantly has to supervise what the secre- 
 tary does and has to lay out in detail exactly what 
 the secretary is to do and how he is to do it, the 
 secretary has not much initiative, and is not very 
 valuable. The man that is wanted is one who can 
 be left to his own resources and can be relied upon 
 to make and carry out plans. He is forever com- 
 pleting one thing and taking up something else. 
 All this he does alone with not a word from any 
 one with no need of hints or advice or encourage- 
 ment or prodding. Usually nobody knows what he 
 has been doing until he comes in to report that the 
 thing is done and then every one realizes that it 
 was the right thing to do, although no one else hap- 
 pened to think of it until that moment. He thinks 
 up all his action for himself and carries out his 
 plans to completion. 
 
 It is not sufficient that the secretary should at- 
 tend from day to day to casual details or some 
 of them that turn up of themselves at his elbow 
 and force themselves upon his attention. He must 
 
APPENDIX 301 
 
 have a perspective a view of his work as a whole 
 
 a clear conception of the main objects that he 
 ought to accomplish. If he has no systematic 
 method covering all the points that offer oppor- 
 tunities for action profitable to his chief, if he has 
 no schemes or plans, if he has no mind to plan and 
 no energy to put his plans through to completion 
 
 then he has no initiative. 
 
 Initiative rests upon three things: imagination, 
 reasoning ability, and energy of the will. The 
 secretary should have the imagination to plan and 
 to see what will result if his plan is put into opera- 
 tion ; he must have a perspective of his work so that 
 he can look ahead. Moreover, he should have the 
 ability to reason out matters so that his plan of 
 action will be based on good reasons. And lastly, 
 he should have the energy of will to start the plan 
 and push it through to the end. 
 
 Initiative, in the active sense as applied to the 
 private secretary, depends a great deal upon the 
 association with and the knowledge of the character 
 of the employer. The private secretary cannot 
 very well go ahead and exercise his own initiative 
 or judgment unless he first knows what the em- 
 ployer would like done in certain instances. Here, 
 again, it is seen that the private secretary is the 
 alter ego the other self of his employer. He 
 must pretty nearly know just what the ideas of the 
 
302 APPENDIX 
 
 employer are on the question in hand and just how 
 that employer, if he were there or if he were called 
 upon to decide himself, would decide certain ques- 
 tions. The secretary must strive to find the way 
 the employer's mind works, the lines which he fol- 
 lows in thinking out his decision, his character, 
 and so on, so that the secretary may decide and 
 plan just as the employer would. This knowledge 
 of the employer's method of doing things must be 
 secured before the private secretary can feel safe 
 and confident in exercising his own initiative. 
 The secretary should act, but he must act- accord- 
 ing to reason. 
 
 Initiative is a very necessary part of a private 
 secretary's equipment. It is capable of culture; it 
 can be cultivated just as muscular force can be cul- 
 tivated. Accordingly, it is the duty of the private 
 secretary to give it opportunity to grow. Muscles 
 .are usually developed by exercise. Initiative can 
 be developed by a systematic course of training and 
 by continually thinking up new ideas. Successful 
 effort very soon inspires a confidence which is con- 
 firmed and increased by repetition. The executive 
 qualities should be developed by persistently carry- 
 ing out everything that may come within the reach 
 of the secretary's duties. 
 
 Initiative is too often considered to be like genius 
 a gift which cannot be cultivated a gift which 
 
APPENDIX 303 
 
 is born in its possessor. No doubt some have more 
 initiative than others, but that is no reason why 
 the less gifted should despair of the development 
 of that which they really possess to some degree. 
 Some men have stronger muscles than others, but 
 they have secured them usually through develop- 
 ment. Every bright idea that comes to the secre- 
 tary's mind should be transformed to action when 
 the right time comes. If the secretary is deeply 
 interested in his work, that interest will soon spur 
 his initiatory powers. He will study the methods 
 of other successful secretaries and adopt them 
 bodily when he is himself unable to improve upon 
 them. He will continually try to pick up better 
 methods if he can. Then suddenly before the sec- 
 retary realizes it he has the initiatory habit strongly 
 fastened to him. After he has done that, he has 
 made one of the longest strides toward success that 
 it is possible for him to make. 
 
 Men are likely to lack initiative, not because they 
 lack the courage to make a decision, but because 
 they do not possess the judgment which is neces- 
 sary to decide matters correctly. If they have 
 made one bad mistake and have been severely 
 censured for it, they very rarely try to exercise their 
 judgment next time. They lose confidence in them- 
 selves and in their judgment of matters. Judg- 
 ment and experience are the foundations upon 
 
304 APPENDIX 
 
 which initiative rests. Hence men who find them- 
 selves weak in initiative should strive to secure the 
 experience and reasoning power which will enable 
 them to decide and plan correctly. They should 
 learn to reason carefully. 
 
 Women are likely to lack initiative because they 
 are by nature of a rather timid disposition. They 
 are afraid to make a decision, for they fear that it 
 may not be the right one. Women usually have 
 the necessary judgment and the taste in matters 
 which would come under their jurisdiction, but 
 they fear to assume the responsibility that such a 
 decision would bring upon them. Women private 
 secretaries, if they overcome their natural timidity, 
 will be found to possess initiatory powers. 
 
 Tact 
 
 Next in importance to the quality of initiative is 
 that of tact. Tact is a quality closely akin to that 
 of initiative, for it is the ready power of apprecia- 
 ting and doing that which is required by circum- 
 stances. It is the sense of doing the correct thing. 
 Such qualities as courtesy, politeness, diplomacy, 
 polish, smoothness, and patience are included in it. 
 It involves psychology the study of the work- 
 ings of the human mind. 
 
 Two very important duties of the private secre- 
 tary are the meeting of callers and the handling of 
 
APPENDIX 305 
 
 correspondence. In the successful performance of 
 these two duties tact plays an important part. 
 Callers must be received courteously and treated 
 politely, no matter what their position in life may 
 be. In the handling of the many puzzling matters 
 brought up in correspondence, tact is required. If 
 the secretary has tact he will be able to extricate 
 himself and his employer from many difficult places 
 without antagonizing or offending the other per- 
 sons concerned. We must live with other people 
 and hence we must adjust ourselves to them if this 
 living is to be agreeable. Tact can be said to be 
 the consideration of the sensibilities and feelings 
 of others. 
 
 Reasoning power 
 
 In certain circumstances matters calling for de- 
 cision are brought to the attention of the secretary. 
 To decide correctly it is necessary that he have good 
 reasoning power, that is, the power of reasoning 
 out for himself from the facts that he has at his 
 disposal and from his past experience, what should 
 be done in this particular case. Again, th^secre- 
 tary will be called upon and should be prepared to 
 help the employer in solving some definite problems 
 in his business. In order to give the aid that is 
 asked of him, it is necessary that he should have 
 some power in reasoning. Moreover, as has been 
 
306 APPENDIX 
 
 said above, the ability to reason out a plan of action 
 is one of the three components of the valuable 
 quality of initiative. The power of reasoning is 
 usually developed through education and study. 
 
 Quickness, alertness, and adroitness 
 
 The three characteristics of quickness, alertness, 
 and adroitness should be considered together, for 
 they are very much alike. Quickness is the power 
 to act quickly, to decide quickly. Alertness com- 
 bines the meaning of quickness with that of watch- 
 fulness. Adroitness is the special readiness in de- 
 vising means to meet difficulties, to extricate one's 
 self from puzzling circumstances, to avoid dan- 
 ger. 
 
 There are so many situations that demand quick- 
 ness in action and in decision that the qualification 
 of quickness is of importance. The secretary must 
 be able to decide quickly his course of action in 
 handling callers. He must be able to take in a situ- 
 ation at a glance. He must be quick in grasping 
 the significance of things at once, for if he were not 
 quick many little ideas and actions would never be 
 perceived by him. 
 
 In handling the telephone, too, the quality of 
 quickness is of value. The secretary must be able 
 to make up his mind on the instant whether or not 
 the caller can see the executive. If immediate ac- 
 
APPENDIX 307 
 
 tion is called for, quickness certainly is essential in 
 the successful handling of the matter. 
 
 Quickness in thinking is usually born in the 
 possessor of it. The secretary who realizes his in- 
 ability to think as quickly as he would like can 
 improve himself by various practices. He can have 
 a friend rapidly fire all sorts of questions at him, 
 if he desires to gain a greater facility in speech and 
 in thinking. Or he can practise on mental arith- 
 metic. Under such constant urging, the brain can 
 be trained to some extent to act more quickly. 
 
 The secretary must have a facility or readiness of 
 speech so that he can, for example, answer quickly 
 any questions that the chief may put to him in re- 
 gard to his opinion or in regard to things that have 
 happened in the office which the executive must 
 know immediately. The secretary should be able 
 to give him the information quickly. 
 
 Alerl^ne.ss combines the quality of quickness with 
 that of watchfulness. It means that the secretary 
 must be watchful of the interests of his employer. 
 He must be alert to prevent being imposed upon or 
 taken advantage of, for big executives are usually 
 made the object of all sorts of schemes by impostors 
 and by the unscrupulous. 
 
 Adroitness is a characteristic of the good secre- 
 tary. It means that he should be resourceful. On 
 many occasions puzzling and embarrassing situa- 
 
308 APPENDIX 
 
 tions will arise, which, the secretary will be at a 
 total loss to handle unless he can extricate himself 
 and possibly his employer by his own inventiveness 
 and quick wits. 
 
 The three characteristics discussed above are 
 usually the result of a keen mind. To keep the 
 mind keen the secretary should look after his health 
 and should be especially careful of the amount of 
 sleep that he gets. 
 
 Retentiveness of mind 
 
 Retentiveness of mind is also necessary if the 
 secretary is to have quickness, alertness, and adroit- 
 ness. In making a correct decision and in handling 
 a situation with adroitness and alertness, the secre- 
 tary must be able to call up immediately what ac- 
 tion he has taken in the past on similar occasions, 
 what facts and what points of knowledge will be 
 of aid in deciding this particular instance quickly, 
 and similar information. A general experience 
 then is of aid to the secretary in acting quickly, but 
 experience is of little value unless it is remembered 
 and can be recalled to the mind immediately. 
 
 The employer will expect that the secretary will 
 remember every important thing and nearly every 
 unimportant thing which concerns him or the of- 
 fice. He will rely upon the secretary to keep such 
 matters in mind and will himself dismiss them from 
 
APPENDIX 309 
 
 Ms own mind. Hence, to the secretary, a photo- 
 graphic mind is helpful. Everything that goes on 
 in the office must be remembered. Faces and names 
 must be recalled on demand. What was done with 
 a certain paper, with a certain letter, what a par- 
 ticular caller wanted, how a letter was answered, 
 and so forth these are facts which the secretary 
 must keep in mind. 
 
 Concentration 
 
 Concentration is the ability to focus and direct 
 all mental (or physical) energies on the thing to be 
 done. At the same time, the word concentration 
 implies the arriving at the completion or conclu- 
 sion the accomplishment. This quality is closely 
 allied to that of quickness, for to decide quickly the 
 secretary must be able to concentrate Ms mind and 
 his reasoning faculties upon the question at hand. 
 A man whose mind wanders and who is distracted 
 by every interruption will never be able to accom- 
 plish much at least he will not be able to ac- 
 complish much quickly. 
 
 Foresight 
 
 Foresight is the ability to foresee. It is provi- 
 dent care the ability to look ahead and prepare 
 for things. The secretary must always be pre- 
 pared for events and situations that may arise or 
 
310 APPENDIX 
 
 are going to arise in the future. Often he is called 
 upon to plan, and planning is nothing more than 
 looking ahead. If the employer has decided to go 
 to Chicago and has told the secretary that he is to 
 leave New York at 9 o'clock on a certain day, then 
 the secretary should exercise his foresight by pro- 
 viding railroad tickets, securing accommodations, 
 looking up people whom the employer is to meet in 
 Chicago in all, preparing for the future. The 
 secretary should never be taken by surprise; he 
 should always have a course of action already 
 mapped out to meet every possible contingency. 
 Foresight is akin to alertness, for it is a watchful- 
 ness for the future it is the deciding and acting 
 in the present with an eye toward the effects in the 
 future. 
 
 Skill 
 
 The quality of skill as applied in secretarial 
 work is the proficiency in performing all secretarial 
 duties. It is acquired from two things, knowledge 
 and experience. The secretary must have the 
 knowledge of the things which are to be done by 
 him and how they are to be done. At the same time 
 knowledge without experience will not give excel- 
 lence of performance. Experience is needed, and 
 in many cases experience will take the place of 
 knowledge, for in performing a certain secretarial 
 
APPENDIX 311 
 
 duty the secretary can act automatically by follow- 
 ing out what he has done in the past what his 
 experience tells him to do. The combination of 
 knowledge and experience is the most valuable. 
 Skill also implies dexterity expertness in the 
 performance of mechanical work. 
 
 PHYSICAL AND PERSONAL QUALITIES 
 
 Agreeable personality 
 
 An agreeable personality is somewhat difficult to 
 define. It is something that we are impressed with 
 that makes us like the possessor that attracts 
 us to him. It is a magnetic power which draws us 
 toward him. It constitutes his distinction. 
 
 People whom we like we strive to help. Hence 
 if the secretary's personality is such that it makes 
 a good impression upon callers and others whom 
 the secretary will meet, the secretary will thereby 
 be benefited, for he will get them on his side. 
 
 Cheerfulness is contagious. Anger and impa- 
 tience are powerless when met with good humor. 
 The ingratiating power of a pleasant manner can- 
 not be overestimated. In many cases will abuse 
 and impatience be shamed into apology because of 
 the amiable and pleasant disposition of the secre- 
 tary. Callers will leave the office with a good im- 
 pression an impression which bas been made by 
 
312 APPENDIX 
 
 the personality of the secretary. The secretary 
 should constantly try to make a good impression on 
 his employer and on others with whom he conies in 
 contact. An easy way to make a good impression 
 is by an agreeable personality. 
 
 An agreeable personality can be developed, but it 
 means practice every day until it becomes a habit. 
 The secretary must strive to have always a pleasing 
 manner. Good health is a factor in achieving 
 agreeable personality, for a man who is trou- 
 bled with indigestion or is not feeling well has a 
 rather difficult task to act pleasantly to other 
 people. 
 
 Correct and easy speech 
 
 A man is judged and gives his first impression by 
 his manner of talking and by his personal appear- 
 ance. If the secretary's speech is crude, he stands 
 condemned. The importance of conversational 
 powers needs no argument. Everybody acknowl- 
 edges it. The secretary who is an easy and polished 
 conversationalist or speaker is immediately marked 
 as being well educated and cultured. In no better 
 way can the secretary advertise himself than by his 
 speech. As a rule, he is in constant contact with 
 people who have received a good education. To 
 these people defects in speech, physical and gram- 
 matical, are especially annoying. Accordingly, the 
 
APPENDIX 313 
 
 secretary should give special attention to correct 
 speech. Not only should his speech be correct; it 
 should be polished. This means that he must have 
 at his command a well-stocked vocabulary and an 
 ability to speak fluently. As a matter of fact, ease 
 in speaking is usually secured through a command 
 of a large number of words from which the speaker 
 can choose quickly just the word that will express 
 his meaning. He should not be compelled to grope 
 and fumble for his words, nor should he stumble or 
 hesitate over what he is saying. His speech should 
 be natural, easy, free, and unaffected. There is no 
 need of showing his authority and position by the 
 use of a gruff and aggressive tone. 
 
 The secretary should adapt the tone and style of 
 his conversation, of course, to his listener. If he 
 is conversing with the caller who is waiting to see 
 the employer, he should select subjects that are of 
 interest to him. Hence he should be well supplied 
 with general information so that he can talk on 
 subjects of interest to the different men whom he 
 meets. If the secretary wants the other man to 
 listen, all he needs to do is to talk about him or his 
 interests. Very seldom indeed should the secretary 
 talk about himself. Easy speech, then, is aided by 
 gaining command of a good store of words and 
 facts. He should listen to good talkers and observe 
 how they make their remarks. 
 
314 APPENDIX 
 
 Correct deportment 
 
 Correct deportment means the manner of deport- 
 ing one's self especially with respect to the courte- 
 sies and duties of life. It means correct behavior 
 demeanor bearing. Specifically, it means 
 that the secretary should have a knowledge of the 
 customs and usages of social and official life and 
 should act in accordance with them. He must al- 
 ways observe due courtesy, respect, and etiquette. 
 In the handling of the mail for his employer he will 
 find many instances where he will be called upon 
 to make use of his knowledge of the customs of 
 social and official letter-writing. If the secretary 
 is not very sure of himself on points of etiquette 
 and deportment, he should read some good book on 
 etiquette. Such a book, however, will not give to 
 the secretary the fine touches and the experience 
 which he can secure if he will observe others. He 
 should then make these observations his own by 
 practice. 
 
 Correct deportment means also the attitude that 
 the secretary takes. Because he is in a position of 
 trust for his employer, he should not assume a dic- 
 tatorial or aggressive manner toward those who 
 call upon his employer. " Important " men are 
 not liked. Condescending ways are harmful. It 
 is far better that he should be modest and unassum- 
 ing although he does carry within his hands a great 
 
APPENDIX 315 
 
 deal of power through his connections with his em- 
 ployer. 
 
 Correct personal appearance 
 
 The expression " correct personal appearance ' ? 
 is here used in the colloquial sense which means 
 the various points about a person's outward appear- 
 ance that strike the eye of the caller, such as, for 
 instance, clothing, style in wearing clothing, neat- 
 ness of person, and so forth. 
 
 The secretary should know the value of good 
 clothes. He should realize this value because he 
 should realize the value that a first favorable im- 
 pression has. A well-dressed man always demands 
 a certain amount of respect and attention. By 
 good clothes, however, is not meant flashy clothes. 
 Here again the secretary must rely upon his powers 
 of observation. He should mark well the style of 
 dress that is in vogue and that is considered proper. 
 It does not mean that he should be adorned with 
 jewelry or with what are called "loud" clothes. 
 His taste should tend more toward the conservative 
 than toward the ultra. 
 
 Cleanliness and neatness of person also come 
 under the head of personal appearance. The sec- 
 retary must realize that he is under the constant 
 surveillance not only of his employer but of the 
 callers that come into the office. If he is careless 
 
316 APPENDIX 
 
 about his person and does not care whether he has 
 a clean collar on or whether he needs a shave, then 
 he can rest assured that such points are marked and 
 are set against him. The only reason in a business 
 way why the secretary should observe these two 
 qualities is because they have business value for 
 him. 
 
 In all matters of personal appearance the secre- 
 tary must be his own critic he must look in his 
 mirror. He can be sure that no one else, with the 
 possible exception of a very good friend, will criti- 
 cize him to his face in regard to his personal ap- 
 pearance, but he also can feel certain that if criti- 
 cism of his appearance is justified it is usually given 
 behind his back where it will hurt him most. 
 The secretary in this respect must look out for him- 
 self. 
 
 Good health 
 
 Good health is spoken about here because it is a 
 business asset for the secretary. The good secre- 
 tary must be energetic; he must be wide awake. 
 He ought to be the more active of the two the 
 secretary and the employer. A man who is weak 
 in health is usually weak in energy. Unless the 
 secretary is in good health he very seldom has this 
 energy, and hence does not do good work. More- 
 over, radiant vitality has much to do with a strong 
 
APPENDIX ^ ^ 317 IT * 
 
 and agreeable personality. If the secretary is con^ 
 tinually falling ill, it means that his employer has 
 to suffer, for he then must do a large amount of the 
 work himself. 
 
 For purely business and financial reasons, then, 
 the secretary must look after his health. Passive 
 care of the health that is, avoidance of dissipa- 
 tion of various kinds is good, but active care is 
 far better. The secretary should take exercise of 
 some sort regularly, even though it is only a setting- 
 up exercise every morning and evening in his room. 
 Open-air exercise, however, is best. 
 
 Let the secretary once realize that such qualities 
 as quickness, agreeableness, tact, initiative, concen- 
 tration, all depend largely on good health, and then 
 he is likely to strive to keep his own good health. 
 The private secretary's position means work and 
 very steady w r ork. Day in and day out, and usually 
 for three hundred and sixty-five days of the year, he 
 is called upon to help his employer. In order to 
 stand the grind and the continual strain, the secre- 
 tary must have physical endurance. With such 
 endurance he can do better and more work for his 
 employer. A man who is in bad health cannot de- 
 vote his whole mind to his work. Good health is 
 one of the most important of all requisites for suc- 
 cess as a private secretary. 
 
INDEX 
 

INDEX 
 
 Accounting knowledge, value Bookkeeping, value of, 260, 
 
 of, 261 
 Adaptation in letter writing, 
 
 94, 95, 96 
 
 Address forms, 120-122 
 Admittance of callers to office, 
 37-39, 42, 43, 50, 51, 53, 
 55, 56 
 
 Alphabetic filing, 150-157 
 " Annual Library Index," 215 
 Appointment Book, 248, 249 
 Appointments, changing of, 
 
 247, 248 
 importance of keeping, 245, 
 
 247 
 
 by letter, 76, 77, 78 
 making of, 52, 55, 56, 57, 
 
 244 
 
 records of, 248-251 
 timing of, 246 
 by telephone, 251 
 Arbitrary numeric filing, 170 
 Arrangement, of desk mate- 
 rials, 281-284, 289-291 
 of letters, 63, 66, 67 
 of reports, 181-185 
 of writing matter in letters, 
 
 131, 132 
 Aurelian, Roman Emperor, 
 
 secretaries of, 4 
 "Author's proofs," 232 
 
 Baker, Newton D., 10 
 Begging letters, 64 
 Bonds, care of, 259, 260 
 
 321 
 
 261 
 
 Bribes, 269, 270 
 Business English, qualities of, 
 
 96-110 
 Business English composition, 
 
 90-94 
 
 see also Letter writing 
 Business friendships, forma- 
 tion of, 11, 12 
 Business knowledge, value of, 
 
 12, 217 
 Business of office callers, 43, 
 
 44 
 Business reports, arrangement 
 
 of, 181, 185-187 
 
 Cable letters, 206 
 Cable rates, 206 
 Cablegrams, 205, 206 
 Callers, duties toward, 31-33, 
 
 37, 40-45, 50-55, 57-59 
 Card index in filing, 159, 161, 
 
 163-168 
 Character in letter writing, 
 
 107, 108 
 
 Chronological filing, 172 
 Clearness in letter writing, 97- 
 
 100 
 
 Clippings, newspaper, 217, 218 
 Club dues, 260 
 Code systems, use of, 201-203, 
 
 205 
 College training, importance 
 
 of, 13 
 
322 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Company secretary, 2, 3 
 Concentration, value of, 309 
 Conciseness in letter writing, 
 
 102, 103 
 Confidential business, notes on, 
 
 268 
 
 " Confidential " letters, 63 
 Confidential nature of secre- 
 tary's position, 265, 266, 
 272 
 
 Conversational ability, 313 
 Conversations with office cal- 
 lers, 47-49 
 " Copy," preparation of, 222- 
 
 226 
 
 Corporation secretary, 2, 3 
 Correct deportment, impres- 
 sion made by, 314, 315 
 Correct speech, impression 
 
 made by, 312, 313 
 Correction of errors in print- 
 ing, 234 
 Correctness in letter writing, 
 
 103-106 
 porrespondence, see Letters ; 
 
 Mail ; Filing systems 
 Cortelyou, George Bruce, 10 
 Courtesy, business value of, 
 40, 41, 43, 44, 53, 56, 274- 
 276, 305 
 
 in letter writing, 100 
 Cross-reference in filing, 168 
 
 Daily routine, plan for secre- 
 tary's, 285, 286 
 
 Day letters, 203, 204 
 
 Day telegrams, 203 
 
 Delivery of printed matter, 
 227 
 
 Demand for private secre- 
 taries, 7, 9, 10 
 
 Desk materials, arrangement 
 of, 281-284, 289-291 
 
 Details, care of, 287, 288, 289 
 
 Dewey decimal filing, 171, 172 
 Diary, arrangement of, 251, 
 
 252, 253 
 
 entries in, 255, 256 
 purpose of, 252 
 Dictation, 69, 70, 80, 81 
 Discretion, importance of, 266, 
 
 267, 268, 296, 297 
 Double office, uses of, 58 
 Dress, impression made by, 
 
 273, 274, 315 
 
 Education, importance of, 12, 
 
 13 
 
 Efliciency in the office, 277 
 Employer, acquaintance with, 
 
 26-31, 301, 302 
 Employers' business methods, 
 
 24, 25, 26 
 Employer's desk, care of, 281- 
 
 284 
 
 Envelopes, 132-135 
 Equipment, for alphabetic fil- 
 ing, 154 
 
 for numeric filing, 161 
 Errors in printing, correction 
 
 of, 233, 234 
 Etiquette, importance of good, 
 
 275, 276, 314 
 
 Filing, by name, 150-153, 161, 
 
 163 
 
 by place, 155-157 
 by subject, 153, 154, 163, 168, 
 
 169 
 Filing system, importance of, 
 
 145-147 
 
 qualities of, 147-149 
 Filing systems, alphabetic, 
 
 150-157 
 
 numeric, 157-161 
 types of, 149, 150 
 Follow-up file, 173 
 Foresight, value of, 309, 310 
 
INDEX 
 
 323 
 
 Form letters, 83, 84 
 Formal letters, 71-76, 139 
 
 Galleys, printer's, 232, 233 
 General office routine, 278, 279 
 Geographic filing, 155-157 
 Good health, value of, 316, 317 
 
 Hobbies, cultivation of, 29, 30 
 
 " Important " letters. 63 
 " Industrial Arts Index," 215 
 Information, about the em- 
 ployer, 26, 27, 29 
 book of general, 257 
 collection of, 212-216 
 " inside," use of, 271, 272 
 Initiative, value of, 299 
 Inserted matter in printing, 
 
 235 
 Inside information, use of, 
 
 271, 272 
 
 Insurance records, 258 
 Introduction, letters of, 55, 56 
 Investments, records of, 259 
 
 Language in letter writing, 94, 
 
 95, 97, 98 
 Legislation, study of recent, 
 
 219 
 Letter, appointments by, 76, 
 
 77, 78 
 
 Letter forms, model, 124, 125 
 spacing in, 126, 127 
 standardization of, 112, 113, 
 
 114 
 
 value of keeping, 83, 84 
 Letterheads, 116-120, 140 
 Letter paper, 114, 116 
 
 official, 138 
 Letter writing, adaptation to 
 
 reader in, 94, 95, 96 
 address forms in, 120-122 
 Importance of, 8y, 90 
 
 Letter writing continued. 
 
 salutation in, 122-126 
 
 style in, 108 
 
 viewpoint in, 93, 94, 95 
 Letters, answering, 68, 69, 78- 
 84 
 
 appearance of, 114, 126, 127 
 
 arrangement of, 63, 66, 67 
 
 carbon duplicates of, 66 
 
 form closing of, 127-130 
 
 formal, 71-76 
 
 of introduction, 55, 56 
 
 opening of, 64, 65 
 
 records of, 65, 66, 84-86 
 see also Filing systems 
 
 revision of employer's, 69, 
 71 
 
 style of, 81-83 
 
 see also Official letters 
 Library catalogue, use of, 213 
 Loyalty to employer, 297, 29 
 
 Magazine articles, information 
 
 in, 216, 218, 219 
 Mail, records of received, 64, 66 
 sorting and opening, 62, 63 
 see also Letters 
 Make-up, in printing, 228 
 of letters, 112, 113, 114 
 Manners, impression made by 
 
 secretary's, 41, 43, 44, 274- 
 
 276 
 Manuscript, editing the, 221, 
 
 222 
 
 Marconigrams, 207 
 Mechanical aids in handling 
 
 callers, 57-59 
 Memory, aided by diary, 252, 
 
 254, 255 
 importance of good, 32, 33, 
 
 308, 309 
 Mental qualities of secretary, 
 
 299-311 
 Model letterheads, 115, 117, 140 
 
324 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Model letters, 83, 84, 124, 125 
 Moral qualities of secretary, 
 
 295-299 
 Mortgages, care of, 260 
 
 Name, filing by, 150-153, 161, 
 163 
 
 Names, of office callers, obtain- 
 ing, 43, 44 
 remembering, 32, 33 
 
 " New York Times Index," 218 
 
 Newspaper clippings, preserva- 
 tion of, 217, 218 
 
 Newspaper reading, value of, 
 217 
 
 Night letters, 204 
 
 Night telegrams, 203 
 
 Numeric filing, 157-161 
 
 Office, system in the, 277, 278 
 Office callers, admittance of, 
 
 37-39, 42, 43, 50, 51, 53, 55, 
 
 56 
 
 conversations with, 47-49 
 Office history, value of, 33, 34 
 " Office proof," 232 
 Office rules, 279, 280 
 Official letters, 135-142 
 Outline of report, 175-179 
 Outline form for report, 178 
 
 " Page proof," 233 
 reading of, 241-243 
 
 Perpetual Journal, value of, 
 256, 257 
 
 Personal appearance, value of 
 good, 315, 316 
 
 Personal expenses, record of, 
 261 
 
 Personal intimacy with em- 
 ployer, 29, 30, 31, 301 
 
 " Personal " letters, 63 
 Personality, value of agreea- 
 ble, 311, 312 
 Political secretary. 2 
 " Poole's Index," 215 
 " Postal Information," pam- 
 phlet, 219 
 
 Pr6cis, making of, 84, 85, 86 
 Printer's galleys, 232, 233 
 Printing, correction of errors 
 
 in, 233, 234 
 essential qualities in good, 
 
 227 
 
 insertions in, 235 
 prices in, 229 
 
 selection of make-up in, 228 
 service in, 227, 228 
 supervision of, 220, 221 
 Private ledger, keeing of, 261- 
 
 264 
 
 "Private" letters, 63 
 Private secretaries, demand 
 
 for, 7, 9, 10 
 Private secretary, daily routine 
 
 of, 285, 286 
 
 discretion in, 266, 267, 268 
 duties of, 4, 5 
 manners of, 274-276 
 qualifications of, 5, 6, 7, 293- 
 
 295 
 
 responsibilities of, 277, 278 
 special knowledge of, 12, 13, 
 
 14 
 
 Proof marks, 237-240 
 Proof reading, 233-235, 241 
 
 importance of, 229-231 
 Proofs, 232, 233 
 Public institution secretary, 2 
 Public library, use of, 212, 213 
 " Pulled " proof, 232 
 
 Qualifications of secretary, 5, 
 6, 7, 293-295 
 
INDEX 
 
 325 
 
 Queries in printer's proofs, 
 
 235, 241 
 
 Questions, meeting, 268, 269 
 Quickness, value of, 306-308 
 
 " Readers' guide to Periodical 
 
 Literature," 214, 215 
 Reasoning power, value of, 
 
 305, 306 
 Recommendations in reports, 
 
 182, 184 
 Records, of appointments, 248- 
 
 251 
 
 of insurance policies, 258 
 of investments, 259 
 of personal expenses, 261 
 of telephone messages, 195, 
 
 196 
 Reference books, use of, 214- 
 
 216 
 
 Relationship between employer 
 and secretary, 29, 30, 31, 
 293, 294, 301 
 Report forms, 183 
 Report outlines, importance of, 
 
 175-177 
 
 Reporters, 54, 55 
 Reports, arrangement of, 181- 
 
 185 
 
 essentials of, 185-187 
 purpose of, 179, 180 
 various kinds of, 180, 181 
 Research work, 214-216 
 Retentiveness of mind, value 
 
 of, 308 
 
 Rules, in the office, 277, 278, 279 
 for the secretary, 286, 287 
 
 Salutation forms, 122-126 
 Secretaries, classification of, 2, 
 
 3,4 
 Secretary defined, 1 
 
 Self-abnegation in secretaries, 
 
 298, 299 
 Service in printing houses, 227, 
 
 228 
 
 Skill, value of, 310, 311 
 " Social Register," 219 
 Social secretary, 3 
 Spacing in letter forms, 126, 
 
 127 
 Standardization of letter 
 
 forms, 112-114 
 
 *' Statesman's Year Book," 219 
 Stenographers as private secre- 
 taries, 6, 7, 8 
 Stenography, value of, 8, 9, 14, 
 
 15 
 Stock certificates, listing of, 
 
 259 
 
 Straight numeric filing, 170 
 Style, in letter writing, 108- 
 
 110 
 in printing, selection of, 228, 
 
 229 
 Subject, filing by, 153, 154, 163, 
 
 168, 169 
 System in the office, 277 
 
 Tact, in managing office call- 
 ers, 40, 41, 43, 44, 53, 56, 
 305 
 
 value of, 304 
 Taxes, 260 
 
 Telegram rates, 203, 204 
 Telegrams, 67, 68 
 carbon duplicates of, 205 
 classification of, 203, 204 
 writing of, 197-200 
 Telegraphic money order, 204 
 Telephone, appointments by, 
 
 251 
 
 use of, 190-192 
 
 Telephone calls, handling of, 
 194-196 
 
326 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Telephone messages, 189, 190 
 Telephone records, 195, 196 
 Third person notes, 71-70 
 Time for appointments, 240 
 Titles in official letters, 142, 
 
 143 
 
 Topical arrangement in re- 
 ports, 182 
 Trade magazine reading, 218, 
 
 219 
 
 Trustworthiness in secretaries, 
 265, 260, 295-298 
 
 Truthfulness, value of, 298 
 'Typewriting, 14, 15 
 Typographical errors, correc- 
 tion of, 234, 235 
 
 " United States Catalogue," 
 215 
 
 Week-end letters, 206 
 
 " Who's Who," 219 
 
 Wireless telegraphy, use of, 
 
 207 
 " World's Almanac," 219 
 

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