The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-09-22
KILLS LETTER WRITING.

Two letters lay on the business
mans desk. It was just before the
luncheon hour, and he slipped them
into his pocket before going out with
friend.
According to the American habit,
the business mans companion ex-
pected that their talk would touch
on matters of dollars and cents but,
as it happened, says the New York
San, the letters suggested the topic.
Look here" the business man
said, taking the envelopes from his
pocket, after the orders had been
given. "Here's something I've
been thinking of this morning.
"This is letter from my college
roommate don't know as you ever
met him, but no matter. He and I
were mighty close to each other, but
he hasn't been on East for a long
time and Our correspondence-my
fault as much as his-has been very
irregular.
"Don't think I've heard from him
before for year, and, without say
ing anything against him, this letter
was probably sent off to salve his
conscience. Well, here it is less
than sheet of typewriter matter,
and short sheet at that, and put on
business letterhead. He dictated
it and may have put in FIVE minutes
in writing it.
Now for the point of it. This
other letter is from an English friend
of mine. There are nine pages in
handwriting, not so easy to read as
the other, grant you, but they tell
something, and they're from man
whom I've known five years for the
twenty-five I've known the writer
of the first letter / showed you.
"That Englishman's letter took
him the better part of an hour to
write; he gave thought to it and he
expects as much thought to be given
to the reply. And, by Jove, he'll
get it.
IF you or got letter like that
from an American we'd think that
something was the matter, and 10 to
I, in answering him, we'd suggest
that he get typewriter.
1T seems to me-" he continued,
that letter writing is becoming a
lost art on this side of the ocean.
We think we haven't got time for
it, to begin with, and even if we had
the time for it. we might as we'll con-
fess that we'd find we had lost the
knack of expression.
"The rare personal letters that we
write become, by business training,
about as impersonal as anything we
could imagine. We're on the dead
business level of the typewriter, and
it's only when we're shaken up bit
by message from another world,
like this Englishman's scrawl, that
we realize there are people who put
something Of themselves into what
they write and do not deal in set
phrases.
The lunch was served and the let
tiers went back in the pocket.
(which letter will you answer
frst?" the business mans friend in
quired.
"Oh, I've answered one of them,"
was the reply. "My college friend
wanted some information and I die
tated note to him this morning.
II am not any better than the
average American in writing, al
though 1 may be something more
prompt; but during the next month
/ shall sit down and write-myself-
to my English friend, and 1 won't
be hurried when I'm doing it, either.
"His letters are altogether too en-
joyable for me to do anything to stop
them.
"Why don't you try that scheme
on your college friend?" suggested
the other.
81 might" said the business man
"but it would be only an experiment,
and know pretty well how it would
result"