attention, we can not but feel that your inquiry for our printed matter must have been prompted by a reasonable interest in our line, and in view of the fact that we have not been favored with any orders from you, we are forced to believe that we have failed to furnish the information you desired.

Although we have endeavored to make our catalogs as comprehensive as possible, we appreciate their shortcomings and realize that there may be a number of things about which you would like more information, and if you will please advise us as to your requirements we shall be very glad to go into the fullest possible details concerning the application of our methods to your business.

We have spent sixty-two years inventing and perfecting Office Devices, and we know positively that there are no records which can be kept well with the card system or in any other manner which cannot be kept better and cheaper in our Loose-Leaf Books.

We are perfectly willing to assume all the responsibility of shipping stock goods on approval, and we trust. under these liberal terms, to hear favorably from you.

If our descriptive matter has not convinced you that our Loose-Leaf Methods are superior to all other systems, for keeping records of every kind, the fault is with our printed matter and not with our Methods.

If you will order one of our Special Introductory Outfits, it will convince you more thoroughly of the superiority of our Methods than anything we could write; if it doesn't, send it back and we will do the same with your money.

We are enclosing herewith our booklet “Evidence," which shows pretty conclusively that customers are well pleased with our goods.

There are probably many things in connection with your business that you would like to know more about—things that it would pay you well to know ALL about, and you can easily know them, without wasting time or money, if you will let us show you how.

We have spent over sixty years inventing and improving office methods, and it won't cost you anything to try them; we are anxious to prove to you that they are the best, and we can easily do this if you will tell us for what purpose you are willing to use them.

Very truly yours,

THE HENRY T. BLANK COMPANY

(5)

(Dated March 6, 1005.)

Mr. Frank C. Irwin,

Boston, Mass.

Dear Sir:

If there is any truth in the good old adage, that STICKING EVERLASTINGLY AT IT BRINGS SUCCESS, we intend to secure at least a portion of your valuable patronage.

We are not only manufacturers of the best "follow-up" system on earth, but we are firm believers in the good results to be obtained from using it. We have found that it pays to answer all communications promptly and to continue to answer them until requested to desist, or an order is secured.

Business men are justified in assuming that letters of inquiry and requests for catalogs are prompted by a reasonable interest in their wares, and if no sale is made, the reason can be attributed to some failure in the way the inquiry is handled.

We have been successful in satisfying the wants of a very large number of those who have written us, but we have not succeeded in obtaining a favorable reply from you and we are naturally anxious to ascertain the reason.

We enclose circular of Special Introductory Outfit which we send prepaid, on approval, for one dollar; isn't it reasonable to suppose that what has proved valuable to thousands of other business men will prove so to you? If you don't like the outfit it won't cost you a cent, while if you use it, it will save you more money than you paid for it.

Trusting to be permitted to send you something besides letters, we remain, Very truly yours,

THE HENRY T. BLANK COMPANY

EXERCISE.

You may write a series of three letters to be sent to your customers in the wholesale trade and to other retail dealers, advertising some two lines of goods in which you are dealing. Assume that these are not sent in answer to inquiries, but simply to create a demand for these goods. If you wish, you may take the tea and coffee and oranges which you have been advertising and writing about; or two kinds of canned goods; or prunes and dates; or olives and pickles. Be sure you know enough about the goods before writing to enable you to write three strong letters.

FILING CORRESPONDENCE

LESSON LVIII.

All letters received should be preserved and filed in such a way that reference may be made to them easily and quickly at any future date. This may be accomplished by filing them alphabetically according to the names of the correspondents and also according to their dates. Copies should be made and filed of all out-going letters. If a carbon copy is made and the letter is in answer to one received, a good method is to attach the copy to the letter it answers and file them together.

Sometimes, in addition to filing the letters, a card system is used, and on a card is placed the correspondent's name and, in the fewest possible words, the substance of his letter and of the answer to it. There are numerous forms of filing devices, from the single letter box to huge cabinets; some for filing vertically and some for

filing horizontally. So, too, the manner of indexing varies somewhat. Suppose, in a cabinet, where the letters are filed vertically, we take the drawer marked D-i. This means that the drawer contains letters to or from persons whose names begin with D and having for the first vowel in the name, a, e or i. At the front of the

drawer we find two heavy paper leaves opening at the top like a book and on one of them a tag labeled A. B. Day & Co. Between these leaves we find the letters from this company and copies of let- ters to them, arranged according to dates. In the horizontal file letters are arranged in much the same way, except that they are laid flat instead of on edge.

One of the first things a person should do on entering an office

as an employe, is to acquaint himself with the method of filing correspondence and other documents.

(To the Teacher. Have the class visit some large office and inspect the filing methods in use there if it is convenient. Arrange

for this beforehand, as there is occasionally a man who objects to giving object-lessons. Most business men, however, will gladly assist you in making the work as practical as possible.)