How to Speak and Write Correctly Part 12

_News letters_ are accounts of world happenings and descriptions of ceremonies and events sent into the newspapers. Some of the best authors of our time are newspaper men who write in an easy flowing style which is most readable, full of humor and fancy and which carries one along with breathless interest from beginning to end.

The princ.i.p.al parts of a letter are (1) the _heading_ or introduction; (2) the _body_ or substance of the letter; (3) the _subscription_ or closing expression and signature; (4) the _address_ or direction on the envelope. For the _body_ of a letter no forms or rules can be laid down as it altogether depends on the nature of the letter and the relations.h.i.+p between the writer and the person addressed.

There are certain rules which govern the other three features and which custom has sanctioned. Every one should be acquainted with these rules.

THE HEADING

The _Heading_ has three parts, viz., the name of the place, the date of writing and the designation of the person or persons addressed; thus:

73 New Street, Newark, N. J., February 1st, 1910.

Messr. Ginn and Co., New York Gentlemen:

The name of the place should never be omitted; in cities, street and number should always be given, and except when the city is large and very conspicuous, so that there can be no question as to its ident.i.ty with another of the same or similar name, the abbreviation of the State should be appended, as in the above, Newark, N. J. There is another Newark in the State of Ohio. Owing to failure to comply with this rule many letters go astray. The _date_ should be on every letter, especially business letters. The date should never be put at the bottom in a business letter, but in friendly letters this may be done. The _designation_ of the person or persons addressed differs according to the relations of the correspondents. Letters of friends.h.i.+p may begin in many ways according to the degrees of friends.h.i.+p or intimacy. Thus:

My dear Wife: My dear Husband: My dear Friend: My darling Mother: My dearest Love: Dear Aunt: Dear Uncle: Dear George: etc.

To mark a lesser degree of intimacy such formal designations as the following may be employed:

Dear Sir: My dear Sir: Dear Mr. Smith: Dear Madam: etc.

For clergymen who have the degree of Doctor of Divinity, the designation is as follows:

Rev. Alban Johnson, D. D.

My dear Sir: or Rev. and dear Sir: or more familiarly Dear Dr. Johnson:

Bishops of the Roman and Anglican Communions are addressed as _Right Reverend_.

The Rt. Rev., the Bishop of Long Island. or The Rt. Rev. Frederick Burgess, Bishop of Long Island.

Rt. Rev. and dear Sir:

Archbishops of the Roman Church are addressed as _Most Reverend_ and Cardinals as _Eminence_. Thus:

The Most Rev. Archbishop Katzer.

Most Rev. and dear Sir:

His Eminence, James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore.

May it please your Eminence:

The t.i.tle of the Governor of a State or territory and of the President of the United States is _Excellency_. However, _Honorable_ is more commonly applied to Governors:--

His Excellency, William Howard Taft, President of the United States.

Sir:--

His Excellency, Charles Evans Hughes, Governor of the State of New York.

Sir:--

Honorable Franklin Fort, Governor of New Jersey.

Sir:--

The general salutation for Officers of the Army and Navy is _Sir_. The rank and station should be indicated in full at the head of the letter, thus:

General Joseph Thompson, Commanding the Seventh Infantry.

Sir:

Rear Admiral Robert Atkinson, Commanding the Atlantic Squadron.

Sir:

The t.i.tle of officers of the Civil Government is Honorable and they are addressed as _Sir_.

Hon. Nelson Duncan, Senator from Ohio.

Sir:

Hon. Norman Wingfield, Secretary of the Treasury.

Sir:

Hon. Rupert Gresham, Mayor of New York.

Sir:

Presidents and Professors of Colleges and Universities are generally addressed as _Sir_ or _Dear Sir_.

Professor Ferguson Jenks, President of .......... University.

Sir: or Dear Sir:

Presidents of Societies and a.s.sociations are treated as business men and addressed as _Sir_ or _Dear Sir_.

Mr. Joseph Banks, President of the Night Owls.

Dear Sir: or Sir:

Doctors of Medicine are addressed as _Sir: My dear Sir: Dear Sir:_ and more familiarly My dear Dr: or Dear Dr: as

Ryerson Pitkin, M. D.

Sir: Dear Sir: My dear Dr:

Ordinary people with no degrees or t.i.tles are addressed as Mr. and Mrs.

and are designed Dear Sir: Dear Madam: and an unmarried woman of any age is addressed on the envelope as Miss So-and-so, but always designed in the letter as

Dear Madam: