Evening star., 1937-01-17

kAN W PuS1A GAL "a
ticle SO full of
facts that its subject might be con-
sidered complete, this jinx goes skip
ping and running to as many readers
of this column as he can find and shows
them Just how many facts I did not
put in. In other words, my article on
Christmas cards brought me an ava
lanche of reminders that had said not
a word about kilograms or telephoned
messages or notes of any sort. And so,
let me consider this article as a series
of postscripts beginning with the tele-
phone.
The obstacle to talking to some one
thousands of miles away.s the cost.
Advice therefore to you who are about
to talk to the other side Of the world
unless all you want is to hear a beloved
voice, no matter what it says - is that
it is best to make brief list of the
things you really want to say. or to
ask about before you make your call.
From the point Of view of social
usage. telephoned messages are proper
for all invitations and the replies to
them except genuinely formal ones.
Even so. a message sent by Senator
Gilding's butler worded: will Mr..
and Mrs. Green dine with Senator and
Mrs Gliding on the twenty fourth at
eight O'clock" might equally well be
an invitation to an informal dinner Of
six or a formal one of sixteen.
The Greens would have no way of
knowing which except by telephoning
on the day of the dinner to ask whether
Mr.. Green is to wear black tie TUX
edo) or white tie (tails). But properly
the invitation to a formal dinner
should be written in the third person
on the first page Of sheet OF note
paper. Obviously. the advantage Of
telephoning is that one does not have
to wait long for the reply. But it is al
ways best to follow each acceptance
with a reminder card. not only to
avoid mistake about the date but to
remind those who forget to write it
down.
The telephone is. Of course. invalu-
able for messages of inquiry about
people who are i'll. And yet. when the
patient is in hospital and very i'll. it is
better If possible to call member of
the family at home rather than make
it necessary for the nurse to be called
away.
An item of consideration which is
necessary - wherever the length and
number of local calls allowed to sub
scribers is unlimited - is that those
who have nothing to do but talk
should ask those who are likely to be
busy: Have you time to talk or shall
call you later?"
And now about kilograms Perhaps
I ought to add that sending kilograms
is my own most reckless extravagance
(seconded by air mail and special de-
livery stamps, in the use of which l
have really no restraints). But quite
seriously, the impulse to telegraph
and to be quite unperturbed about
running over ten words. or doubling
the fifty of night letter, is, as a mat
ter of fact, not such an extravaganza
after all when not only promptness
but assurance of attention is impor-
tant.
Time and again have timed the
answers made by certain business
firms to a telephone message, letter
ard a telegram. In my experience an
impersonal telephone call even when
the operator is told it is long dis
tance" lis often not answered mo-
ment sooner than letter bearing ordi-
nary postage. Even PERSONAL call to
an individual clerk or salesman rates
about the same as an air-mail letter.
An ordinary letter gets answered with
routine efficiency and in routine time.
But the result of telegram (par-
ticularly one whose meaning is not
lost by too economical pruning of