In view of the large proportion of business transactions which are consummated by correspondence, I regard any well directed efforts toward the improvement of business letter writing as most worth while. I am very glad to improve the opportunity to add a word of emphasis to the obligation which I feel rests upon our teachers of English and our business executives to do all in their power to improve the standards of such communications. A business letter is really a substitute for an interview. Within its text the writer makes a request, outlines a proposition, expresses an opinion or gives information, more briefly, it is true, than he would in conversation, but often much more convincingly.

A letter is effective to the extent that it impresses and influences the person to whom it is addressed. Those who receive letters are impressed favorably or unfavorably by the character of the stationery a business house uses, and by the way its letters are typed, but they are influenced

by what a letter says and how it says it. Hence, it is highly important that both the form and the substance of business letters be carefully studied. They should be attractive in appearance, courteous, concise, straightforward, and so clearly phrased that they cannot be misunderstood. More than that, they should be builders of good will and a fair expression of the character and purpose of the writer, whether it be a corporation or an individual. They should accurately reflect the spirit of their institution or the person who writes them. Brevity, sincerity, and utility should distinguish them. Trite phrases and long sentences should be avoided as far as possible. The cultivation and maintenance of mutually pleasant and profitable human business relations should always be the end sought.

My own feeling is that every effort should be made to make our letters simple in construction, kindly in tone, and pleasing to the eye, but that special insistence should be placed upon the necessity of not committing ideas to paper until they have been clearly thought out and adequately

supported by the necessary data.

The cultivation of a convincing correspondence style is a worthy ideal for every business executive and those who aspire to be business executives. It has both economic and social value and well deserves the study and consideration which you invite to it.