The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1954-01-22
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Ineensidsrsta


IN Your Basement How to Play the Violoncelo,"
How TO Live S5642 Month if You Can Get
IT. How to Build Plywood-and-Plastic Home"
II is somehow comforting TO realize that, in
age which is generally addicted to the ponderous
technical phrase, there is still such power in the
simple words How to- Shrewd writer's take ad-
vantage of this fact The author Of continuing best
seller not uncanny to label his volume,
Methods of Establishing Pleasing and Potent Social
Relationships" book named might gather end
less dust on numberless shelves. But ii sold, and
sells very briskly indeed under the title, How to
Make Friends and Influence People
Among the many How books we find some
that deal with the writing Of letters. How to
Write Business Letter. How to Write Effec-
tive Appeal How TO Keep Up With Your Cores
pondenee;" How to Compose Letter Of Applica-
ton From such sapient brochures. and from one
or two more general Programmes of Protocol-or
books OF etiquette-we gather the following drec-
tives for the writing of letters.
II is now considered proper to typewrite any
sort OF letter except that is both personal and
severely formal Not long ago the typewriter
regarded business machine exclusively; it was
thought impolite for anyone TO attempt social cor
reSpondence in type But the typewriter is part
Of our domestic equipment and has place in every
well-stocked home alongside the radio, the phono-
graph, and the TN set not to mention the electric
sewing machine the gas dryer the deep freeze and
the steam dsh-washer Rule One therefore, is this:
you may typewrite your letters. Certain provisions,
however. required: obvious erasures; no
perimposed e er; no battering out of words or
phrases With ms OF ks
And while it is still unacceptable practice to
write letters with pencil,-even an expensive me-
chanicai pencil with cigarette-lighter cleveriy
concealed in tit is not considered impolite to do
a letter with ballpoint pen. Your bailpoint pen
is called pen and looks like pencil, and until re-
Gently, wrote like neither. The early efforts OF ball
pointers seemed to suggest that the writer had used
blue pencil on paper that pressed against
screendoor But science advances, the current crop
Of ball.points vastly improved instruments. we
hear that they are now capable OF drawing and en-
dorsing checks vadly. always supposing that there
is money in the bank TO back them up.
Rule Two for the letter write requires that he
use good paper and that paper and envelope be of
the same stock Nor should the paper bear evidence
its upper edge of having been ripped from pad.
Paper dealers viii confer a favor If they discard
the cnging red gum with which they have hereto
fore delighted TO weld sheets of paper into the
form of pads. II is possible for careful practi-
toner to remove one sheet from a red-gummed pad
without bringing along some shreds of the deter
mined adhesive but ii is not possible for him
glow along its edge like the dainty smudge of
lip-stick on discarded cigarette.
Rule Three for the polite letter-wrter is that
the outside and inside address should be both
accurate and complete. II your correspondent has
title. make sure that YOU give il accurately, and
not teXcept for the forms Mr.. Mrs, and their
pluralsl in an abbreviated form. If you writing
TO Doctor Smith, do not address him DR. If you
write Father Johnson, call him Father and not Fl.
And YOU will recall that the term Reverend is
used in the third person only and with the definite
article You address the envelope 10 The Reverend
Samuel Johnson not to Reverend Samuel Johnson and
you perer use the form Rec. Nor in direct address,
do YOU ever write Dear Reverend Johnson (Which
is much worse) merely Dear Reverend. The word
reverend is always an adjective, never noun. You
may write Dear Reverend SIR. Reverend and dear
Srr or Reverend and dear Father. II is ungracious
To show in your mode of address, direct indirect
that YOU are not quite of the title of the person
10 whom YOU write
And surely il is worse than impolite to misspell
the name of the person addressed. If you do not
know for sure how the person spells his name you
must find out. If YOU cannot possibly find out YOU
cannot possibly address him by mail. People are
uStifiahly "touchy' on this point; they resent be
ine misspelled This resentment extends 10 the
matter Of the middle initial. If you do not know the
middle initial. YOU must not supply one al guess
even II YOU have theory tas some dol that al
least one.third of all human males have the mid
die initial j.
Rule Four is a requirement to keep business forms
out of personal letters Even business letters are
vastly improved by eschewing advise due to. !"
account of" and re. But such words and phrases
are wholly inadmissble in personal correspond
ence, Remember, too that like is not coniunc-
ti6n. We cannot sing like the brides sing but as
the brides sing Like is an adjective And the
word sure" is also an adjective. II cannot serve
for surely
Nor must adverh stand alone When the letter
is done and you come to the signing, do not be
content with Sincerely OF "Affectionstely' Add
the word yours II is required by the laws Of
speech and II takes away the suggestion of quick
hrush-off. Why will write Sincerely and
sign his name. when he would account write a
mere Truly" and sign that?
The signature is familiar TO the writer, but not
always TO the recipient of the letter Therefore il
must be done carefully hat the reader of the
letter Will know that it comes from Horace Greeley
and not from Evaee Hevalloi Women ought always
10 use Miss" Mrs" when writing To people
who do not know them personally. Thus endett
the days lesson.