173 Edu EDUCATION DEPT. COPYRIGHT, 1912, 1916, BY GEORGE W. MINER COPYRIGHT, 1918, BY GEORGE W. MINER AND FAYETTE H. ELWELL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 319.9 The Athenæum Press GINN AND COMPANY. PRO- PREFACE The modern business world demands of its employees economy and efficiency, and the commercial training in our schools, to be successful, must meet this demand of the business world by texts whose value is educational as well as practical. Such a text the authors have tried to furnish in this volume. Their aim has been an elementary book which shall present a simple, practical study of the basic facts of bookkeeping in a manner that will command the interest of the pupil and that will impress upon his mind the methods and practices of the office as well as the duties and technical knowledge and vocabulary of the bookkeeper and the accountant. The grading and development of the work, its classification, the terms used, and the forms adopted all have the same aim, the making of an efficient, well-informed bookkeeper. To apply a principle is of far more practical value than the ability to define it, and in this text principles are described and applied by the pupils before they are formally defined for them. This inductive method, characteristic of the entire book, stimulates the pupil to think for himself and to cultivate the self-reliance and independence so universally demanded of him. The numerous exercises and illustrations used in the approach to a given subject, and the many and varied reviews and problems, are positive factors in appealing to and developing this independence. As a basis for the elementary work, the authors have adopted the pupil's own knowledge of simple business transactions, the exchange of values with which he is already familiar in the buying of many of the articles used in the home. Thus the new subject is approached with confidence through well-known operations. A number of sets are arranged for business practice which may be carried out as fully as the instructor desires; for since all of this work is optional, it may be fitted to the needs of the individual class. The business practice may be omitted in any set at the discretion of the instructor. The introduction of a retail set in which a cash journal is used, and of a set presenting departmental bookkeeping, add to the extent and the value of the work. RY M118285 The authors wish to acknowledge their indebtedness to the following persons for helpful suggestions and criticisms of the manuscript: Henry R. Hatfield, Professor of Accounting, University of California; Stephen W. Gilman, Professor of Business Administration, University of Wisconsin; John R. Wildman, Professor of Accounting, New York University; J. A. Book, Head of the Commercial Department, South Division High School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Ivan E. Chapman, Head of the Commercial Department, Northwestern High School, Detroit, Michigan; Elizabeth Campbell, Commercial Department, High School, Somerville, Massachusetts; Myron F. Palmer, Principal Bay Path Institute, Springfield, Massachusetts. Business men, bookkeepers, and certified public accountants have also been consulted freely regarding many features of the text, and their practical suggestions have added to the working value of the book. ᎡᏙ |