Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-06-28

What does former service man
think--and say-when he gets Il letter
in hospital beginning:
Dear Friend: Don't YOU just love
I" receive interesting letters? Isn't
1t the loreliest sensation to get Il big
CHEEKY enVelop when YOU are in the
hospital getting over appendicitis or
some other unpleasant tronble?'
Boys at local vetera ms hoSpit al
have bucked mp against new in
dustry recently. receiving letters from
a California letter shop, which
offers to send out three letters for 81
10 any person whomsoever.
A reader of this column at Mount
Alto Hospital recently sent us the
following:
Dear Sir: The inclosed came to
me. and l pass it along to you as
apparently indicative OF the CONNER
cial spirit of the age. Ills an original
idea. of course, although only a pha Sc
of the paid secretarial system. and
probably will gain a following.
But can you imagine Shelley. for
instance, or Roosevelt. or Goethe or
Poe, or leGions of them, ordering
letters a Ia phone for friends?"
The form letter incloSed, after ask
lnc the recipient, as given above, II
he didn't Just love to receive inter.
estinG letters" goes ON to unfold the
happy. merry plan:
Haven't YOU often wished YOU had
the time to write a hit of gladness to
poor Aunt Fanny. who lives al the
Home for the Aged, or little Lucy
Smith. who is crippled and a shut-in?
And then there is poor Miss Jones.
casiOnal letter would make her..
True. true. dear friend. How happy
we could make many persons if only
we were not too lazy. too thoughtless.
too Indifferent! But let the letter
shop continue to circularze the Cos
pei of how to let George do 1t.
oh. what joy YOU could spread II
you only had the time. But life is 80
full of things that have to be done.
We know just how busy YOU are.
That is why we have opened our let
ter shop"
This is indeed kind. Away off In
California they know just how busy
we are and we have a suspicion just
how lazy, thoughtless and indifferent
we are. too. They do not put that in
the letter, however. What they do
say Is something along the following
line:
DO YOU know that every day we
manufactu just the kind of letters
that you would like to have Aunt
Fanny or little Lucy or Miss Jones
receive? We do. and we send them
along, too, so that all you need do is
telephone or write us your order
The letter shop is naively honest.
Notice that they make no pretense OF
writing letters. They ma nufacture'
them unblushingly without a second s
hesitation. The thing is a pure bust
ness proposition-everyth made
easy for the subscriber. Just write or
telephone.
This is how we do it: Dear Miss
Jones: Mrs. Anderson that is YOU
has told us that you are in the hos
pital and asked us to write you some
CHEEKY letters to help pass the time
away and so on. Then we sign our
name and our address.
I'VE use plain stationery and write
long hand. We make each letter in
dividual, gladly following any line of
thought you may suggest. For ex
ample, should you tell us that Miss
Jones has a passion for music. we
will let music be the keynote of our
letter, thus assuring her interest as
we'll as her pleasure.
Now for the master stroke: "Of
course, our work has made it neces
sary to keep alert on every subject
and TO keep closely in touch with the