Business English: A Practice Book by Rose Buhlig

=Exercise 309= Write the following from dictation: 1 In New London, Connecticut, stands the oldest grist mill in the country. It is a picturesque building, having a water wheel like the one that it originally used when New London was first settled. The town was in the center of an agricultural community, and a mill to grind corn was a need that soon manifested itself to the settlers. Accordingly, in 1650 at a town meeting, six men were chosen to build a mill. John Winthrop and his heirs were granted the right to carry on the grist mill as long as they maintained the building placed in their charge. This is one of the first monopolies recorded in New England history. 2 The same standards by which a farming or a manufacturing investment may be judged are not applicable to a mining investment. A farmer may earn eight per cent on his capital, and with care his investment may increase in value. A manufacturer may earn eight per cent on his investment, and, if he keeps up his machinery, his business may be as valuable ten years, or even twenty years, hence; but a mine, after each dividend is paid, is that much nearer its end. Now, it is well known among mining men that the average life of a gold or silver mine is under, rather than over, ten years. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but, granting that the life of a certain gold or silver mine is to be ten years, then, in order to pay back both principal and interest, dividends of at least sixteen per cent should be distributed. Copper mining, of which the statistics have been most accurately kept in New York and Boston, offers many inducements to the investor; but too much care cannot be taken in the matter of selection, for copper stocks, in not a few instances, have been boosted out of all reason. As with gold and silver mines, so it is with copper mines. They have so much ore to begin with, and after each dividend are that much nearer to the day when they will close down. For such mines, provided they have a good lease of life, eight per cent or even ten per cent may be regarded as only moderate returns. These are merely samples of some general principles to be followed.--_Roger W. Babson._ 3 Dear Sir: At the close of a year which has presented many perplexing problems, not only to investors and dealers in bonds, but also to borrowing municipalities and corporations, there are several factors in the situation which in our opinion offer strong encouragement to every one in any way interested in bond investments. Of special significance is the marked change in sentiment which has recently taken place. There is every indication that this country enters the new year with an unusually substantial feeling of confidence. While a notable increase in the demand for bonds would undoubtedly bring out a large amount of new financing, on the other hand, there has been an accumulation of funds during the period of depressed markets, and it is generally understood that investment dealers are carrying comparatively small amounts of bonds. January has an almost unbroken record of higher average bond prices than the average prices in December. It is not our intention to predict an advance this January, although there are unquestionably many reasons for anticipating at least a moderate improvement; but, viewing the question in its broader aspects, we find many convincing arguments in favor of the purchase of bonds at this time. It is recognized that the decline in prices has been due to a variety of causes, which, except in a few individual cases, are not the result of any depreciation in real values. Basic conditions are admittedly sound. We, accordingly, not only recommend the judicious purchase of bonds for the investment of surplus funds, but also suggest consideration of the advisability in some cases of converting short time securities into long time bonds. What conditions could be more favorable from the standpoint of the purchaser of bonds than an extremely low level of prices; a wide-spread belief that fundamental conditions are sound; a general feeling of confidence that the problems which have tended to disturb business during the past year have been, or are being, solved; and a conviction that we are entering upon a period of probable ease in money rates? Very truly yours, INDEX NUMBERS REFER TO PAGES _A_, Italian, 9. Abbreviation, objectionable, of the introduction of a letter, 242; of the courteous close, 242. Abbreviations, of states, 26-27; of commercial terms, 27-28; of titles in letters, 235; objectionable in the body of the letter, 242. _Able_ and _ible_, 33. Absolute use of the nominative case, 65. Abstract noun, defined, 57. Accent, indication of, 17; words changing meaning with change of, 17. _Accept_ and _except_, 102. Account, opening an, 250; letters for opening an, 250 ff. Accounting department of a railroad, work of the, 360-361. Active voice of verbs, defined, 84; conjugation of, 88 ff. _Ad_, prefix, 32. Adjective, the, defined, 49; and the adverb, 75 ff.; following verbs of the senses, 75; clause, 54; comparison of, 78. Adjective endings, peculiar, 33 ff. Adjective modifiers, 49. Adjective pronouns, use of, 61. Adjectives and adverbs, confused, 51; incorrectly used, 81-82; _real_ and _very_, 81; _most_ and _almost_, 81. Adjectives, punctuation of series of, 171 ff. Adjectives to be distinguished, 80-81; _fewer_ and _less_, 80; _almost_ and _most_, 81. Adverb modifiers, 49. Adverb, the, defined, 49; and the adjective, 75 ff. Adverbial, clause, 54; modifier, case of, 66. Adverbs, conjunctive, 45; and adjectives confused, 51; and prepositions confused, 52; ideas denoted by, 75; modifying different parts of speech, 75; correct position of, 77; absolute use of, 79; incorrectly used, 81-82. Advertised articles, classes of, 311. Advertisements, motives appealed to in, 311; catch phrases used in, 312; suggestive names used in, 313; good and bad headlines for, 313; of still-life, 314; without a definite center, 315; illustrating the principle of balance, 315; exercises to write, 315 ff.; paragraph topics dealing with, 317 ff.; some examples of, 318 ff. Advertising, 308 ff.; importance of, 308; different forms of, 309-310; fundamentals of, 310-311; outline for debate on, 141 ff.; bibliography for, 320. _Affect_ and _effect_, 102-103. Affirmative of debate on advertising, 141 ff. _After_, as preposition and conjunction, 55. Agent, 134, 299-300; commission of, 323. Agreement, grammatical, 71-72, 85 ff. Amusement, motive appealed to in advertising, 311. Analysis, word, 29 ff. _Ance_ and _ence_, 34. _And_, in compound sentence, 45, 173 ff.; in series, punctuation with, 171 ff.; used in joining parallel expressions, 211 ff.; for _to_, 119; excessive use of, 127-128. Anglo-Saxon prefixes and suffixes, 29 ff. Answering complaints, letters to be used in, 257 ff. _Ant_ and _ent_, 33. Antecedents, uncertain, 207 ff. Apostrophe, the, used to form the possessive case, 67, 69, 159; used to indicate the omission of letters, 160; to show plural of letters and figures, 160. Appeals made in advertisements, 311-312. Application, letters of, 259 ff. Appositives, case of, 65, 66; punctuation with, 179-180. Article, incorrect omission of in business letters, 242. _As_, case following, 121; a conjunction, 124; followed by an understood verb, 124; punctuation with, 195. _As_--_as_, used in expressions stating equality, 125. _As follows_, punctuation with, 195. _Atlas_, story of the derivation of, 5. Authorized capital stock, 355. Baby blunder, 44. Balance, principle of, used in advertisements, 315. Bank draft, 341-343. Banking: inconvenience of barter, 332; kinds of paper money, 332-333; credit, 333; discount, 335; collateral, 335; promissory note, 336; forms of remittance, 338 ff.; letters pertaining to, 345 ff.; topics for investigation and discussion, 349-350; bibliography for, 350; dictation exercises on, 350 ff. Banks, departments of, 333; of deposit, 334 ff.; savings, 334, 336 ff.; trust companies, 334, 337 ff. _Be_, conjugation, indicative, 104; subjunctive, 112; used to form progressive tenses, 88 ff., 105; used to form passive voice, 105 ff. _Before_, used as preposition and conjunction, 55. _Beg to state_, 243. Bibliography, on manufacture, 280; on distribution, 304-305; on advertising, 320; on banking, 350. _Bill of lading_, 285; _straight_ or _order,_ 285. Blunder, baby, 44. Body of the letter, 232. Bonds, 357 ff.; redemption of, 358; maturity of, 358; long period, 358; short time, 358. Breve, 9. Brevity in business letters, mistaken for conciseness, 199. Business letters, 229 ff.; essentials of, 230; the form of, 231; the arrangement of, 232; cautions in writing, 235 ff.; directions for folding, 238; to order goods, 239; the tone of, 240; mistaken ideas in writing, 241 ff.; to make sales, 244; to accompany a catalogue, 245 ff.; to open an account, 250; to make collections, 253 ff.; to answer complaints, 257 ff.; applying for positions, 259 ff.; form, 264; circular and follow-up, 264 ff. Business news, to suggest topics for talks, 155. Business thinking, importance of, 2. _c_ and _g_, pronunciation of, 24. _Can_ and _may_, 102. Capital stock, explained, 353; preferred, 355; common, 355; par and market values of, 355 ff. Capitals, use of, 160 ff. Caret, the, 9. Carriers, common, 284. Case, defined, 64; nominative, 64 ff.; objective, 64, 66; possessive, 64, 67; exercise in, 70 ff.; following prepositions, 66, 119. Cause and effect, paragraphs developed by, 223. Caution, its appeal in advertising, 311-312. Cautions in writing business letters, 235 ff. _Cede_, _ceed_, _sede_, 34. Certificate, the gold, 332; the silver, 332. Certified check, the, 339-340. Check, the, 338 ff.; personal, 339; certified, 339-340. Choosing subjects, suggestions for, 146 ff. _Cion_, _sion_, _tion_, 34. _Cious_, _tious_, 33. Circular letters, 264 ff. Class paper, suggestions for a, 156. Classes of advertisements, 311. Clause, the, defined, 42; principal, 42; subordinate, 42; incorrectly used as a sentence, 45; introductory words for, 54; adjective, 54; adverb, 54; noun, 54; modifiers, 54; introduced by _than_ or _as_, 121; initial, punctuation of, 176; restrictive and non-restrictive, 59-60; punctuation of relative, 185 ff.; coming at the end of the sentence, punctuation of, 188-189; incomplete, 205-206; misplaced, 209 ff. Clauses, punctuation of series of, 171 ff. Clear title to property, explained, 322. Clearing house, daily routine of, 350-351. Clearness of the sentence, mistakes that prevent: dangling expressions, 205 ff.; pronouns with uncertain antecedents, 207 ff.; misplaced modifiers, 209-210; omission of necessary words, 210-211; shift of construction, 211 ff. Close, courteous, of business letters, 232, 237. Coherence between sentences, 127-128; 224 ff.; between paragraphs, 224 ff. Collateral, 335-336. Collection letters, 253 ff. Collective noun, defined, 57. Colon, use of the, 194. Colonization, 307. Combination of short sentences to secure unity, 202 ff. Comfort, its appeal in advertising, 311-312. Comma fault, the, 44 ff. Comma, use of the, in direct quotations, 163 ff.; in series, 171 ff.; in compound sentences, 45, 173 ff.; to set off initial clauses or participial phrases, 175 ff.; to separate the month from the year, etc., 178; to indicate the omission of words, 178; to set off appositives, 179 ff.; to set off parenthetical expressions, 180 ff.; to set off independent elements, 182 ff.; to set off non-restrictive clauses, 185 ff.; to set off modifiers coming at the end of the sentence, 188 ff. Command used in good headlines of advertisements, 313. Commercial department of a bank, 333. Commercial terms, abbreviations of, 27-28. Commission, agent's, 323. Common carriers, 284. Common noun, defined, 57. Common stock, 355. Companies, kinds of, 273. Company, the steamship, 284; the railroad, 284 ff. (See _Corporation_, 353 ff.) Comparative degree, of adjectives, 78; of adverbs, 79. Comparison and contrast, paragraphs developed by, 223. Comparison, of adjectives, 78; of adverbs, 79; negative, 125. Complaint, letters answering, 257 ff. Complement, subjective, 65. Complex sentence, defined, 42. Composition, oral and written, 127 ff. Compound nouns, plural of, 20. Compound relatives, 59. Compound sentence, defined, 42; punctuation of, 45, 173 ff. _Con_, prefix, 32. Conciseness of expression, 199. Condensation to secure clearness, 200. Conjugation, of _write_, active voice, 88 ff.; of _be_, 104 ff.; of _follow_, passive voice, 105 ff. Conjunction, and the preposition, 116 ff. Conjunctions. Coördinate, 45; punctuation with, 45, 173 ff.; distinguished from conjunctive adverbs, 45. Subordinate, list of, 54; _than_ and _as_, 121. Correlative, 122. Conjunctive adverbs, 45; distinguished from coördinate conjunctions, 45; punctuation with, 45. Connection, smooth, 127-128, 224 ff.; methods of securing, 224 ff. Conservation, 191-192. Consignee, 285. Consonant, final, doubling of, 22; silent, words containing, 11. Construction, letters dealing with contract for, 263; shift of, 211. Contract, letters dealing with, for painting iron-work, 262; for the delivery of property, 263; for construction, 263. Contraction, apostrophe used with, 160. Coördinate conjunctions, 45; punctuation with, 45, 173 ff. Coördinate expressions, 122 ff. Copulative verbs, defined, 83. Corporate organization, 359. Corporation, the, 353 ff.; finances of, 354; capital stock of, 354 ff.; dividends of, 355; stockholders of, 355; bonds of, 357 ff.; organization of, 359; directors of, 359; railroad, 360-361; public utility, 361-362; industrial, 363; topics for investigation and discussion on, 365; dictation exercises on, 365 ff. Correlatives, defined, 122; correct position of with coördinate expressions, 122-123; _either--or_ and _neither--nor_, 123. Cost of living, paragraph on, 173. Cotton seed, paragraph on, 176. Cotton in the Soudan, paragraph, 181. _Could_ and _might_, 102. Courteous close, in business letters, 232, 237. Courtesy in business letters, 231, 240. Credit, 333. Credit letters, 250 ff. Currency, bill, 333; legislation, 333, 349. Current events, to suggest subjects for talks, 155. Dangling expressions, 205 ff. Dash, use of, 195 ff.; too free use of in business letters, 243, 247. Dead letter sale, 190. Debate, outline for a, 141 ff.; subjects for, 139 ff., 144; on manufacture, suggestions for, 275; on distribution, 290, 302. Debating, 137 ff.; proposition for, 137; six rules for, 137 ff.; false conclusions in, 138; irrelevant matter in, 138. Declarative sentence, defined, 41. Declension of pronouns, personal, 58; relative, 59; interrogative, 60. Deed, 322. Degrees of comparison, 78-79. Demonstrative pronouns, 60. Departments, of banks, 333; of railroads, 360. Deposit, banks of, 334; slip, 334. Details, explanatory, necessary to secure interest, 147; paragraphs developed by, 222. Development of paragraphs, methods of, 222-223. _dg_, words containing, 25. Diacritical marks, 8, 10. Diaeresis, 9. Dialogue, paragraphing in, 168 ff. Dictation exercises, for series, 171; for compound sentences, 173-174; for initial clauses or participial phrases, 176; for parenthetical expressions, 180-181; for independent elements, 182-183; for non-restrictive relative clauses, 186; for the semicolon, 193-194; on manufacture, 280-281; on distribution, 305 ff.; on real estate, 329 ff.; on banking, 350 ff.; on corporations, 365 ff. Direct discourse, 163 ff.; use of comma in, 170. Directors of corporations, 359. Discount, 335. Discourse, direct, 163 ff.; indirect, 166 ff. Discussion and investigation topics, on manufacture, 278-279; on distribution, 304; on real estate, 327; on banking, 349-350; on the corporation, 365. Dishwasher, letters to sell a, 265 ff. Distribution. Transportation an essential element, 283 ff.; the steamship company, 284; the railroad company, 284 ff.; the retail merchant, 286 ff.; the wholesale merchant, 291 ff.; the mail order merchant, 295 ff.; the salesman, 298 ff.; suggestions for debates, 302; subjects for paragraphs, 303 ff.; topics for investigation and discussion, 304; bibliography, 304 ff.; dictation exercises, 305 ff. Dividends, 355. Dividing a subject into its natural divisions, 149 ff. Dot, 9. Double relative, 59. Doubling final consonants, rule for, 22. Draft, bank, 341 ff.; time, 343-344; sight, 344-345. Dropping of final _e_, 22, 25. Druggist, outline of advertising letters sent by, 268-269. Durability, its appeal in advertising, 311-312. _E_, final, retained, 25. _Each_, _every_, 62, 86 (3) Economy, its appeal in advertising, 311-312. _Effect_ and _affect_, 102. Efficiency, office, 217; stenographic, 217. _ei_ or _ie_, 24. _Either--or_, 123. Electric washing machine, outline of letters to sell, 269. Elements, independent, case of, 65; punctuation of, 182. Emphatic pronouns, 59. Emulation, its appeal in advertising, 311-312. _ence_ and _ance_, 34. Endings, peculiar adjective, 33; peculiar noun and verb, 34. Endorsing a check, methods of, 340. English, oral, 1, 127 ff.; written, 1. (See _Punctuation_, _The Clear Sentence_, _Business Letters_.) _ent_, 33. Enthusiasm in business, 230. _eous_, 33. Essentials, of a sales letter, 230; in manufacture, 272-273; of an advertisement, 310-311. _Every_, number of, 86. Examples and illustrations, paragraphs developed by, 222. Examples of advertisements, 318 ff. _Except_, a preposition, 124; incorrectly used as a conjunction, 124. _Except_ and _accept_, 102. Exclamation mark, use of, 162. Exclamatory sentence, defined, 41. Explanatory details, paragraphs developed by, 222. Explanatory expressions, punctuation of, 179 ff. Appositives, 179; parenthetical expressions, 180; independent elements, 182; explanatory relative clauses, punctuation of, 185; subordinate elements coming at the end of the sentence, 188. Exports in cattle, paragraph on, 76. Express money order, 340-341. Expression, conciseness of, 199; variety of, 111. _f_, and _fe_, plurals of nouns ending in, 19. False conclusions in debating, 137-138. Farm lands, 325 ff.; outline of letters to sell, 267-268; letters pertaining to, 325 ff.; topics for investigation and discussion on, 327; dictation exercises on, 329 ff. Farm reform, 329. Farming specials, 330. _Favor, your esteemed_, and similar expressions, to avoid, 243. Fee simple, 322. _Fewer_ and _less_, 80. Figures, plural of, 20, 160. Final consonant, rule for doubling, 22. Final _e_, dropped, 22, 25; retained, 25-26. Finance department of a railroad, 360-361. Finances of a corporation, 354. _Fly_, _flow_, _flee_, 101. Folding a letter, directions for, 238. _Follow_, conjugation of in the passive voice, 105 ff.; synopsis of, passive, 106. _Following, the_, punctuation after, 195. Follow-up letter, the, 264 ff. _For_, as preposition and conjunction, 55. Foreclosing a mortgage, 322. Foreign plurals, 21. Foreign news, to suggest subjects for talks, 155. _For example_, punctuation with, 195. _For instance_, punctuation with, 195. Form letter, the, 264. Form of the business letter, 231. Formation, of participles, 21 ff.; of possessive case, 67; of infinitives, 110. Freight bill, 286. Freight, receipt for, 285. Furniture, outline of letters to sell, 269. Future tense, 88 ff.; progressive, 89; perfect, 90. _G_, pronunciation of, 24. Gas mantles, paragraph on, 280-281. Gold certificates, 332. Good and bad headlines in advertisements, 313-314. Government's Laundry, the, 173-174. Greek roots, 30. _Had ought_, 103. "Hammock" paragraph, 216. _Have_ and _of_, 119. Heading of the business letter, 232, 235. Headlines of advertisements, good and bad, 313-314. Health, its appeal in advertising, 311-312. _Herculean_, 5. Homonyms, 14-15. How to advance, paragraph on, 177. _Hoping_ and similar expressions, to avoid, 242-243. Hyphen, use of, 196. _Ible_, 33. Ideas, mistaken, in letter writing, 241 ff. _ie_ or _ei_, 24. Illustrations and examples, paragraphs developed by, 222. Imperative sentence, defined, 41. _In_, prefix, 33. Income of railroads, 360. Incorrectly used, nouns and pronouns, 73-74; adjectives and adverbs, 81-82; verbs, 114-115; prepositions, 118-119. Indefinite _it_ or _they_, 207 ff. Indefinite pronouns, 61; used as adjectives, 61. Independent elements, case of, 65; punctuation of, 182. Indicative mode, defined, 112; of _be,_ 112. Indirect discourse, 166 ff. Indirect object, 66. Industrial corporations, 363. Industry, 273. Infinitive, defined, 109; tenses and voices of, 110; split, 77, 209. Initial clause or participial phrase, punctuation of, 176. Insurance, 327 ff.; letters pertaining to, 328 ff. Insurance and real estate, 321 ff. Interesting words, 1 ff. Interjection, 49; _O_, 161. Interrogation mark, use of, 162; position of with quotation marks, 163 ff. Interrogative pronouns, declined, 60. Interrogative sentence, 41. Intransitive verb, 83.