Business English: A Practice Book
CHAPTER XXI
THE CORPORATION
THE study that we have thus far made of the various kinds of businesses would be incomplete did we not briefly outline the different types of organization by which modern business is conducted. This will naturally lead us to a discussion of stocks and bonds, which are of great importance in every big business and of interest to individuals as means of investment. However, as the subjects are probably outside the experience of most students, we shall treat them as simply as possible, letting the chapter stand rather for the information it contains than for its application to the study of English expression.
Business to-day is carried on in three different ways; viz., by individuals, by partnerships, and by corporations. The grocer, the butcher, the baker, or any one man who carries on a business is an example of the first. If, however, the grocer and the butcher, or the grocer and the baker, combine their businesses for the good of both, they form a partnership. When the amount of capital necessary for carrying on the business becomes so large that the money of many people is needed, a _corporation_ is formed. The amount of money which any one individual invests in the company is represented by a certain number of shares of the _capital stock_ of the company, entitling him to his portion of the dividends, or interest on the money he has invested. These shares of the capital stock are transferable and can be bought and sold like an automobile or a house. Since there is no time limit as to how long a corporation may do business, a change in the ownership of part of the stock, or the death of a stockholder, is not accompanied by the same result as in a partnership, where the death of one of the partners sometimes breaks up the business. Furthermore, in a partnership each one of the partners is personally liable for any debts made by any of the partners in behalf of the business, whereas the personal possessions of a stockholder in a corporation cannot be held as security for any debts incurred by the corporation. These are two of the more important advantages of corporate organization over partnership.
The Finances of a Corporation
It has been estimated that if one were to count money, dollar by dollar, one dollar every second for eight hours six days a week, it would take him six weeks to count one million dollars, and over one hundred years to count a billion dollars. This may help us to appreciate the sums of money spoken of in the following: In 1914 the market value of the Commonwealth Edison Company of Chicago was over $83,000,000. The valuation placed on the properties of the Chicago Railways Company in 1914 exceeded $79,000,000. The Union Pacific Railroad Company had invested in its properties in 1914 approximately $500,000,000. The capital obligations of the United States Steel Corporation in 1914 were over $1,500,000,000. There are hundreds of such organizations in our country, the investments in which run to and beyond $50,000,000 each. It must be plain that, except in a very few cases, these vast amounts of money do not represent the investment of one, or of a few, but of many persons. In uniting their capital, these persons decrease the cost of making or distributing the product and so increase their profits.
Stocks
When a large company of this kind is organized, a certain amount of money is agreed upon to be the capital of the company, and it is divided into small portions, ordinarily $100 each, called _shares_. The total of the shares is called the _authorized capital stock_. These shares are sold, the purchasers of the shares being called _shareholders_, or _stockholders,_ of the company. The number of shares a person holds determines what part of the profits he is entitled to. For example, if a company is organized for 1000 shares of $100 each, or a capital stock of $100,000, and you owned 100 shares, you would be entitled to one-tenth of the divided profits of the company. Such profits of the company, divided proportionately among the stockholders, constitute the _dividends_.
Often the capital stock is of two kinds, _preferred_ and _common_, as in the case of the Union Pacific R. R., which has $200,000,000 of authorized preferred stock and $296,178,700 of authorized common stock. As the names signify, preferred stock is ordinarily better than common stock, the dividends on preferred stock being paid before any dividends are paid on common stock and usually at a stated rate of interest; as, 4, 5, or 6 per cent. In the case of the Union Pacific, this rate is 4 per cent. If the company earns only enough profits to pay the dividends on the preferred stock, the common gets no dividends. On the other hand, if the profits are enormous, the common occasionally gets more than the preferred.
Par and Market Value
The _par value_ of a stock is the face value of one share of stock, indicated on the face of the certificate. This may be $10 or $50 or $100, whatever the amount agreed upon for one share when the company is organized. The amount most commonly used as par is $100. The _market value_ of the stock, however, need not be this amount, but may be greater or less, dependent on how successful the company is and what rate of dividends it pays. If a company's standing is very good and the dividends are high (over 6 per cent), the stock will probably sell on the market above par. If the company's finances are in a doubtful condition and there are evidences that the company will pay small dividends, if any at all, the market price of the stock will fall below par. For example, in January, 1914, Union Pacific R. R. common stock sold for about $158 per share, because the finances of the company were in good condition and the company had paid 10 per cent dividends steadily each year since July 1, 1907. If, however, any occasion should arise to make the public doubt the payment of future dividends at the same rate, the stock would probably decline. To go to the other extreme, in the same month Wabash R. R. common stock sold as low as $8½ per share, although the par is $100. This was because for some years the company had paid no dividends and was then in the hands of receivers. To take a middle case in the same month and year, Erie R. R. first preferred stock sold at about $45 per share, notwithstanding the fact that since 1907 no dividends had been paid. The reason for this seemingly high price was that the company had for some time been reconstructing its property, had gradually increased its business, had earned a $9,000,000 surplus in 1913, and had a good outlook to a dividend in the near future.
These are not the only influences that affect the price of stocks. The old factor of supply and demand has a great influence on price. If, for example, a financier decides to buy a large "block" of some stock, the market will almost immediately be affected, and that stock will go up. One example will suffice. In 1901 E. H. Harriman set out to buy $155,000,000 worth of Northern Pacific stock in the open market to gain control of the Northern Pacific railroad. Of course, the market felt the demand, and the price of the stock rose from a little above par until it touched $1,000 a share before it started back to normal. When Mr. Harriman unloaded that same stock in 1906, because he failed to gain control, the market went down so considerably that he lost $10,000,000 and almost caused a panic.
Often the stocks of a company sell below par because the stock is watered; that is, the company has issued more stock than there is value invested in the property. Many of our railroads, for example, were built on borrowed money--that is, from the proceeds of the sale of bonds--and, to make the bonds sell more readily, stocks were given away with them. This, of course, increased the capitalization greatly without increasing the value. The temptation in forming new companies, especially in mining schemes and wildcat ventures, is to water the stock heavily by voting a large block of stock gratis to the organizers. Before one invests in any of these companies, he should thoroughly investigate them. Sometimes companies water their stocks when their dividends have become very large and they wish to bring the rate down to that commonly paid. The Wells Fargo Express Company did this in 1910, presenting their stockholders with $16,000,000 worth of new stock without any new investment in the property.
Bonds
Suppose that A owns a house with a store in it, and in the store he carries on a grocery business. Suppose that by enlarging his store and putting in a bigger stock of goods he can make more money. The improvements will cost $1,000, but he hasn't the money. He goes to B to ask B to lend him $1,000 for five years, offering B the house as security. B gives A the $1,000 and in return gets a certain amount of interest each year and A's mortgage note against the property. This means that, if at the end of five years A cannot pay the $1,000, B has the right to sell A's house and collect the money due him.
When a corporation borrows money to extend its properties, plants, or rights, the transaction is really the same, although the form is somewhat different. Just as all the capital stock of a corporation is divided into shares owned by a number of people, so, when the corporation borrows money, the amount borrowed is divided into smaller parts of $500 or $1,000 each, called _bonds_, which the corporation sells through its bankers to people who have idle money to invest. Twice each year, as stated in the bond, the corporation pays interest on the borrowed money at the rate, probably, of 4, 4½, 5, or 6 per cent. After a definite number of years, as stated in the bond, the corporation is obliged to pay back the amount of money that it borrowed. This is called _redeeming_ the bonds. To show that it intends to pay back the amount borrowed at the end of the time stated, or redeem the bonds when they become due, the corporation puts a mortgage on its real estate, buildings, machinery, and equipment. When the bonds become due--or _mature_, as it is called--if the corporation does not pay back the amount borrowed, the holders of the bonds may take possession of the company's real estate, buildings, machinery, and equipment on which the company has placed the mortgage and may sell them to recover the money they have loaned. Thus, while the stockholders of a corporation have no assurance that they will ever get their money back or will ever get any interest on it, the holders of carefully selected bonds are reasonably sure of getting a certain amount of interest each year and of getting their money back when the bonds mature. Shares of stock represent the investment made by the stockholders who own the company, whereas bonds represent the investment of those who loan money to the company. We can readily see, then, that the stockholders take the greater risk. For this reason it is expected that stocks should yield a higher profit than bonds, and this is usually the case.
The greater portion of the bonds that are issued by corporations run for long periods--twenty, forty, fifty, and even one hundred years. At times when money rates are high, corporations that need funds are reluctant to pay a high rate for so many years, and so they issue _short time bonds_ to run from two to five years, in the hope that at the end of the time money rates will be lower and more favorable to their issuing long time bonds. Many companies, especially industrial corporations and railroads, have issued obligations to pay, _notes_ running from six months to five years. They are not usually secured by a mortgage on the property but are merely the company's promise to pay, the interest and the principal taking precedence over the dividends on the preferred and the common stocks.
Corporate Organization
Before a corporation can carry on its business, it must obtain a charter from one of the states of the United States, whose laws it must obey. The laws of some states are more lenient than those of others, allowing the corporations more privileges. New Jersey is thus lenient; consequently we find many large corporations--such as the United States Steel Corporation, the American Sugar Refining Company, and others--organized under the laws of New Jersey. After the charter is granted and the stock bought by the stockholders, the latter have a meeting, at which they elect a small number of men to be _directors_, who, as the name signifies, conduct the business of the company for the stockholders. They choose a president, one or more vice-presidents, a treasurer, a secretary, and any other officers necessary to carry on the business under the control of the directors. The term of office of the directors is usually so fixed that the term of a part of them expires each year, so that each year the stockholders have an annual meeting at which they elect new directors or re-elect the old ones whose term has expired.
The Railroad
Corporations divide themselves into three large groups; viz., railroad companies, public utility corporations, and industrial corporations. Of these, the group composed of the largest and most powerful corporations is the railroad group.
Railroads have two general sources of income, the larger being the revenue received from operating trains, both freight and passenger; and the smaller being the return from investments in other companies, from real estate, and from the rental of lines, terminals, stations, and cars to other railroads. To carry on the second or smaller part of its business, the company needs an organization much like any other business, but to conduct the first part it requires a special organization. This divides itself into four departments, usually with a vice-president at the head of each: (1) the traffic department, (2) the operating department, (3) the finance and accounting department, and (4) the legal department.
It is the duty of the traffic department to get the business for the company and adjust all traffic claims. In short, it does everything to increase the business and the earnings. This department naturally divides into the freight traffic and passenger traffic departments, with a superintendent or manager at the head of each.
After the traffic department has solicited the business for the company, it is the duty of the operating department to render the services required by the traffic department. The work is done by four large divisions: (1) the engineering or construction department, whose duty it is to build the roads over which the company may operate; (2) the maintenance-of-way department, whose duty it is to see that the roadbed and rails are kept in good order and repair; (3) the equipment department, whose duty it is to see that the company is supplied with proper locomotives and cars and to see that such equipment is kept in repair; and (4) the transportation department, which has to do with the operating of the trains.
The financial policy of a railroad is usually in charge of one of the vice-presidents, who must be a man of experience in financial matters and who acts with the approval of the directors. The accounting department is more important than may appear at first sight. Railroads are now under the supervision and regulation of the government, and one of the rights that the government has is to examine the books of the company at any time and to require all companies to submit a monthly report to the government.
The legal department of a railroad is especially important for two reasons: (1) In performing its services, the company has business dealings with a large number of persons, and in the adjustment of claims against the railroad, expert legal advice is constantly necessary. (2) The railroad, as stated above, is under the regulation and control of the state and the national governments, and the enforcement of this regulation makes the railroad a party to numerous proceedings in the courts and before the Interstate Commerce Commission. The large railroads operate in from ten to twenty states. It can thus easily be seen that the legal department has a great deal more to do than if the railroad operated under but one political power.
Public Utility Corporations
Public utility corporations supply services without which the people of to-day could not very well live. They are those supplying water, light, heat, power, telephones, local transportation, gas, etc. They may properly be called public necessity corporations. The nature of these businesses practically gives them a monopoly in their locality; this is the reason that they have grown so enormously during the last thirty years. The Commonwealth Edison Company, which supplies a large part of Chicago with light and power, began in 1887 with a capital of $500,000 and in 1914 its capital obligations had a market value of over $83,000,000. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company began in 1885 with $12,000,000 of capital stock and in 1914 had practically $340,000,000. The other public service corporations have kept pace, according to the growth of the locality they serve. In the depression of 1907 this class of corporation kept steadily increasing the volume of its business when all others went back a step. Since these corporations are dependent on the local community for their business, if the community grows the company must grow, and usually faster than the community. For this reason the stocks and bonds of these companies are usually a good investment.
It is a common practice for municipalities to demand a share of the profits of the company, by way of a fixed sum, a certain percentage of the gross profits, or a share of the net profits. For example the city of Chicago receives, from the Commonwealth Edison Company each year 3 per cent of its gross receipts from the sale of current and 10 per cent of its gross receipts from the rental of conduit space, amounting in 1913 to more than $300,000, quite a considerable sum. The Chicago Railways Company and the Chicago City Railway Company, the two large street car companies of Chicago, after deductions for expenses and charges and 5 per cent on the amount invested are made from the gross income, pay to the city 55 per cent of the surplus earnings, keeping for themselves 45 per cent. Whenever these companies pay part of their earnings to the municipality, they are really under municipal supervision, and their books and accounts are open to examination by the city at any time. These companies are called quasi-municipal corporations.
Industrial Corporations
As the name indicates, industrial corporations are those that carry on our industries. They are by far the largest class of corporations and have among their number some very powerful companies, whose assets run up toward the billions. This class of corporations has not had the gradual, steady growth of the public utility corporations, but in the case of the most successful, the growth has been amazing. The Standard Oil Company for many years prior to its dissolution had paid dividends on its capital stock of about $100,000,000 at the rate of 40 per cent a year. The Steel Corporation is said to have produced a thousand millionaires and is still producing them. This class of corporations has not been so closely under the supervision of the federal and municipal authorities as the railroads and public utility corporations, and their financing has been carried on in a looser fashion than that of the other two classes. For this reason the securities of these corporations are not generally regarded as highly as those of the other two. However, the federal government has taken and is taking steps to regulate these corporations, and this will tend to bring them eventually to the standards of the railroad and public utility corporations.
=Exercise 307=
_Oral_
Explain carefully:
1. What is a corporation?
2. What is a share of stock?
3. What is a bond? a security?
4. Explain the difference between par and market values.
5. Why do stocks and bonds vary in value?
6. What is the difference between preferred and common stock?
7. What are dividends?
8. What is meant by watered stock?
9. What are the advantages of a corporation over a partnership?
10. The following was copied from a morning paper. Explain it.
"The Canadian Westinghouse Company, Ltd., declared its regular quarterly dividend of 1½% and an extra dividend of 1% on its stock, both payable Jan. 10."
11. Explain the following bond quotations:
MUNICIPAL BONDS
_Security_ _Maturity_ _Yield per cent about_
Albany, Ga., 5's Nov. 1, 1941 4.75 King Co., Wash., 4½'s Nov. 1, 1931 4.50
RAILROAD BONDS
Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fé, general Oct. 1, 1995 4.20 mortgage, 4's Louisville and Nashville, unified Feb. 1, 1946 4.35 mortgage, 4's
PUBLIC SERVICE CORPORATION BONDS
New York Telephone Co., 4's Nov. 1, 1939 4.75 Chicago Railways, first mortgage, 5's Feb. 1, 1927 4.99
12. Why are the bonds of successful public utility corporations a good investment?
13. Which company do you think would grow faster, a light and power company or a gas company? What effect would the growth or the failure to grow have on the price of the stocks of each?
14. Should a street car company pay part of its earnings to the city?
15. If the population of a city doubled, what effect would there be on the price of public utility stocks?
=Exercise 308=
Topics for Investigation and Discussion
1. Harnessing our streams to secure electric power.
2. The growth of the Interurban.
3. In your own town:
_a._ Have gas rates increased or decreased? Can you explain the change?
_b._ Have electric light rates increased or decreased? Can you explain the change?
4. Street railway, electric light, and gas company franchises.
5. The earnings of the street car company in your city.
6. Municipal ownership of public utility corporations.
7. The effect of mergers and consolidations of big corporations.
8. The effect of a trust on competition.
9. Trusts and prices.
10. Government suits against trusts.
11. The tariff and the steel industry, the wool industry, and the sugar industry.
12. Railroad rate increases.
=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.
Introduction of the letter, 232, 235-236.
Investigation and discussion, topics for, on manufacture, 278-279; on distribution, 304; on real estate, 327; on banking, 349-350; on the corporation, 365.
Investments, mining, 365-366.
Investors, 184, 185.
_ious_, 33.
Irregular plurals of nouns, 19.
Irregular verbs, principal parts of, 95 ff.
_ise_, _ize_, _yze_, 34.
_It_ used indefinitely, 207 ff.
_Italic_, derivation of, 3.
Italian _a_, 9.
_Its_ and _it's_, 160 ff.
_k_, insertion of, 25.
_Kindly_, abuse of, 243.
Labor, 274.
Local news, to suggest subjects for talks, 155.
Land business, the, 325 ff.
Latin-American trade, the, 306.
Latin prefixes and suffixes, 31.
_Lay_ and _lie_, 100-101.
_Learn_ and _teach_, 101.
Lease, 321.
_Least_, used in the superlative degree, 78.
Legal department of a railroad, 360-361.
Length of good headlines in advertisements, 313.
_Less_ and _fewer_, 80.
Letter beginnings, 240, 247, 248-249.
Letter, to investors, 47; to accompany a style book, 172; to sell a trip on the water, 183-184; to sell a house coat, 221-222; ordering goods, 239; from A. Lincoln to Mrs. Bixby, 240-241; to accompany a catalogue, 245 ff.; to sell cheese, 246; to sell hinged paper, 247-248; to open an account, 250-251; credit, 251-252; requesting payment, 254 ff.; answering a complaint, 257-258; of application, 260-261; follow-up, 265 ff.; from a bank, soliciting a trust (to be punctuated), 348-349; market, 366.
Letters, plurals of, 20.
Letters, business, in the manufacturing business, 276 ff.; in the retail business, 287 ff.; in the wholesale business, 292 ff.; in the mail order business, 295 ff.; to help the salesman, 301; pertaining to banking, 345 ff. (See _Business letters_, _Letter_.)
_Lie_ and _lay_, 100-101.
_Like_, followed by the objective case, 124.
_Loose_ and _lose_, 103.
_Lose_ and _loose_, 103.
Luck and labor, paragraph on, 174.
Macron, the, 9.
Magazine advertising, 311 ff.
Mail order business, the, 295 ff..
Manufacture, 270 ff.; essentials in, 272-273; subjects for themes on, 275; suggestions for debates on, 275; letters in, 276 ff.; topics for investigation and discussions on, 278 ff.; bibliography for, 280; dictation exercises in, 280 ff.
Market letter, 366.
Market value, 355 ff.
Marks, diacritical, 7; question, 162; quotation, 163 ff.
Materials, raw, 274.
Maturity of bonds, 358, 364.
_May_ and _can_, 102.
Merchant, the retail, 286 ff.; the wholesale, 291 ff.; the mail order, 295 ff.
Methods of endorsing a check, 340.
_Might_ and _could_, 102.
Mining investment, principles of, 365.
Misplaced modifiers, 209-210.
Mispronounced, words commonly, 13, 17.
Mistaken ideas in letter writing, 241 ff.
Mode, defined, 112; indicative and subjunctive of _be_, 112; subjunctive denoting possibility, 113.
Model letters. (See _Letter_.)
Modern business done by letter, 229 ff.
Modifiers, adjective and adverb, word, 49; phrase, 52 ff.; clause, 54-55; used to secure unity, 202; misplaced, 209-210.
Money, 332; kinds of paper, 332 ff.; its appeal in advertising, 311-312.
Money order, express, 340-341; postal, 341.
Monosyllables ending in silent _e_, 9.
Month from year, comma used to separate, 178.
_More_ or _less_, used in the comparative degree, 78.
Mortgage, 322, 357 ff.; foreclosing a, 322.
_Most_ or _least_, used in the superlative degree, 78.
Motives to which advertisements appeal, 311.
_Namely_, punctuation with, 195.
Names, suggestive, in advertising, 313.
National bank notes, 333.
National news, to suggest subjects for talks, 155.
Necessary words, omission of, 210-211.
Need, its appeal in advertising, 311-312.
Negative comparison, 125.
Negative, outline for a debate on advertising, 143 ff.
_Neither--nor_, 123.
News, to suggest topics for talks, 155.
Nominative absolute, 65.
Nominative case, 64 ff.; as subject, 64; as subjective complement (predicate nominative), 65; as appositive, 65; independent, 65; absolute, 65.
_Nor_, 123.
Notes, 359; promissory, 336.
Noun, defined, 49; clause, 54; and the pronoun, 57 ff.; common, 57; proper, 57; collective, 57; abstract, 57; verbal, 57; modified by _every_ and similar words, 86; collective, number of, 86.
Nouns, rules for plurals of, regular, 18; ending in _y_, 19; ending in _o_, 19; ending in _f_ and _fe_, 19; irregular, 19-20; compound, 20; foreign, 21; possessive case of, 67; incorrectly used, 73-74; joined by _or_, 86; punctuation of series of, 171 ff.
Number of verb, 86.
_O_, capitalization of, 161.
_o_, plural of nouns ending in, 19.
Object, of a preposition, 55, 66; of a transitive verb, 66; indirect, 66; second, 66.
Objective case, 64, 66; as direct object of a transitive verb, 66; as object of a preposition, 66, 119; as indirect object, 66; as second object, 66; as appositive, 66; as adverbial modifier, 66; following _like_, 124.
Observation, subjects taken from, 146 ff.
Obsolete words, 3.
_Of_ and _have_, 119.
_Of_ phrase substituted for the possessive case, 67.
_Oh_, 161.
Omission, of letters, 160; of necessary words, 210 ff.; of subject in business letters, 242.
Opening an account, letters for, 240 ff.
Operating department of a railroad, 360.
Oral English, exercises in, 127 ff.
Oral expression, 127 ff.; variety of, 111.
Oral reproduction, from magazines, 147; from newspapers, 154 ff.
Oral exercises, in general, 127 ff.; on manufacture, 273 ff.; in the retail trade, 286; in the wholesale trade, 290 ff.; in the mail order business, 295; in connection with the salesman, 299 ff.
Order bill of lading, 285.
Ordering goods, letter for, 239.
Order, express money, 340-341; postal money, 341.
Organization, corporate, 359; of a railroad, 360.
Outline, for a debate, 141 ff.; how to make an, 151 ff.
Paper money, kinds of, 332 ff.
Paragraph, the, 215 ff.; in dialogue, 168 ff.; proper length of, 215-216; topic sentence in, 216 ff.; "hammock," 216; how developed, 222-223.
Paragraphs on, Sacramento City, 48; exports in cattle, 76; cost of living, 173; the government's laundry, 173-174; luck and labor, 174; sawdust, 174-175; a new kind of wood, 175; hogs as mortgage lifters, 175; cotton seed, 176; making paper, 176-177; how to advance, 177; bubonic plague, 177; politics of a city, 181; cotton in the Soudan, 181; the "yellow" invasion, 182; saving, 182, 184, 193; investors, 184, 185; Chicago's milk supply, 186; the dead letter sale, 190; industries, controlled, 193; the secret blotter, 197; a mummy's doll, 198; office efficiency, 217; stenographic efficiency, 217; business courtesy, 218; the rural landscape of Norway, 218; the _Spectator_, 218-219; income, 225; gas mantles, 280-281; production of wool, 281; casting metals, 281; transportation, 305; the Latin-American trade, 306; the parcel post in Africa, 306; the remedy for wrecks, 306-307; colonization, 307; farm reform, 329; farming specials, 330; selection of seed, 330-331; the clearing house, 350-351; washed money, 351-352; an early monopoly, 365; mining investments, 365-366.
Paragraphs, subjects for. See _Subjects_.
Parenthesis marks, use of, 196; wrongly used to cancel expressions, 196.
Parenthetical expressions, punctuation of, 180 ff.
Participle, defined, 109; tenses and voices of, 109; the dangling, 205-206.
Participles, formation of, 21; of verbs in _y_, 23.
Participial phrases, punctuation of, 176 ff.; 188 ff.
Parts of speech: The noun and the pronoun, 49, 57 ff.; the adjective and the adverb, 49, 75, ff.; the verb, 49, 83 ff.; the preposition and the conjunction, 49, 116 ff.; the interjection, 49.
Parts, principal, of irregular verbs, 95 ff.
Par value, 355.
Passive voice, defined, 84; conjugation of _follow_, in the, 105 ff.; synopsis of _follow_ in the, 106.
Past tense, 88; progressive form of, 89; emphatic form of, 89; perfect, 90.
Payment, letters requesting, 253 ff.
Perfect tenses, 89 ff.
Period, use of, 162.
Personal pronouns declined, 58.
Personality essential in a salesman, 298.
Persons of the pronouns, 58.
Phrase modifiers, 52 ff.
Phrases, prepositional, 52 ff.; adverbial, 52-53; adjective, 52-53; classification of, 110; punctuation of series of, 171 ff.; initial participial, punctuation of, 176; incorrectly used as a sentence, 45, 242.
Plurals, of nouns, 18 ff.; of letters and figures, 20, 160; of foreign nouns, 21.
Positive degree, 78, 79.
Possessive case, 64, 67; rules for forming, 67; separate possession, in the, 67; with verbal nouns, 67 ff.; _of_ phrase substituted for, 67; use of the apostrophe in the, 159.
Possibility, use of the subjunctive mode to show, 113 ff.
Postal money order, 341.
Predicate, of the sentence, 41; nominative, 65.
Preferred stock, 355.
Prefix, usually constituting a syllable, 16; Anglo-Saxon, 29; Latin, 31; _ad_, _con_, and _in_, 32-33.
Present tense, 88; progressive, 88; emphatic, 88; perfect, 89.
Preposition, defined, 49; phrase introduced by, 52; followed by the objective case, 66, 119; and the conjunction, 116 ff.; the wrong, 119; necessary, 119.
Prepositional phrases, 52-53.
Prepositions, and adverbs confused, 52; list of, 53; used with certain verbs, 116-117; incorrectly used, 118-119.
Pride, its appeal in advertising, 311-312.
Principal clauses, 42.
Principal parts of irregular verbs, 95 ff.
Progressive tenses, 88 ff.; 105.
Promissory note, 335.
Pronominal adjectives, 60.
Pronoun, defined, 49; and the noun, 57 ff.; incorrect use of _same_ as a pronoun, 72-73.
Pronouns, 58 ff.; personal, declined, 58; emphatic, 59; reflexive, 59; list of relative, 54; declension of relative, 59; compound relative, 59; double relative, 59; restrictive relative, 59 ff.; interrogative declined, 60; demonstrative, 60; indefinite, 61; adjective, 61; possessive in form, not in use, 59 (note); incorrectly used, 73 ff.; joined by _or_, 86.
Pronunciation, 7 ff.; slurring syllables in, 7; of _c_ and _g_, 24.
Proper noun, defined, 57; capitalization of, 57, 161.
Proposition for debate, 137.
Public utility corporations, 361 ff.
Punctuation, 158 ff.; apostrophe, 159 ff.; capitals, 160 ff.; period, 162; interrogation mark, 162; exclamation mark, 162; quotation marks, 163 ff.; comma, 170 ff.; semicolon, 192 ff.; colon, 194 ff.; dash, 195 ff.; parenthesis marks, 196; hyphen, 196 ff.; of series, 170 ff.; of compound sentences, 45, 173 ff.; of initial clause or participial phrase, 175 ff.; of explanatory expressions, 179 ff.; after _as follows_, etc., 195; after _namely_, etc., 195.
Quality, its appeal in advertising, 311-312.
Questions for discussion on, manufacture, 273-274; the retail merchant, 286-287; the wholesale merchant, 291-292; the mail order merchant, 295; advertising, 309-310; real estate, 323; the corporation, 363-364.
Quitclaim deed, 322.
Quotation marks, use of, 163 ff.
Quotations, use of comma in, 170 ff.
Railroad, the, 360; sources of income of, 360; organization of, 360; departments of, 360 ff.
Railroad company, the, 284, 360.
_Raise_ and _rise_, 101.
Raw materials, 274.
Reading, subjects taken from, 147 ff.
_Real_ and _very_, 81.
Real estate and insurance, 321.
Real estate business, 321 ff. Rent, 321; lease, 321; warranty deed, 322; quitclaim deed, 322; clear title, 322; fee simple, 322; mortgage, 322; foreclosing a mortgage, 322; agent and commission, 323; letters in, 324 ff.; topics for investigation and discussion, 327.
Receipt for freight, 285.
Redemption of bonds, 358.
Reflexive pronouns, 59.
Reform, farm, 329.
Relative pronouns, list of, 54, 59; declined, 59; double, 59; restrictive, 59 ff.; compound, 59.
Relative value of different forms of advertising, 310.
Remedy for wrecks, 306-307.
Remittance, forms of, 338 ff. Check, 339; certified check, 339 ff.; endorsement, methods of, 340; express money order, 340; postal money order, 341; bank draft, 341 ff.; time draft, 343 ff.; sight draft, 344 ff.
Rent, 321.
Reproduction, oral, from magazines, 147 ff.; from newspapers, 154 ff.
Requesting payment, letters, 253 ff.
Restricting the subject, 150.
Restrictive relative pronouns, 59 ff.
Retail merchant, the, 286 ff.
Richards' baby stocking fund, 337.
_Rise_ and _raise_, 101.
Roots, Greek, 30.
Rules. For spelling: regular plurals in _s_ and _es_, 18; changing final _y_ to _i_, 19; nouns in _o_, 19; nouns in _f_ and _fe_, 19; plural by change of vowel, 19; by adding _en_, 19; no change for the plural, 20; two plurals, 20; compound nouns, 20; plurals of letters and figures, 20; foreign plurals, 21; doubling final consonant, 21-22; retaining _y_ before _ing_, 23; _ie_ or _ei_, 24; soft _c_ and _g_, 24; dropping final silent _e_, 25; retaining final _e_, 25-26. For punctuation: the apostrophe, to show the possessive case of nouns, 159; to show omission of letters, 160; to show plurals of letters, figures, and words not regularly nouns, 160; capitals, 160 ff.; the period, 162; the interrogation mark, 162; the exclamation mark, 162; quotation marks, 163 ff.; comma in direct quotations, 170; comma in series, 171 ff.; comma in compound sentence, 173 ff.; comma after initial clause or participial phrase, 175 ff.; comma to separate month from year, etc., 178; comma to show omission of words, 178; comma to set off appositive, 179 ff.; comma to set off parenthetical expressions, 180 ff.; comma to set off independent elements, 182 ff.; comma to set off non-restrictive relative clause, 185 ff.; comma to set off subordinate element at the end of the sentence, 188 ff.; the semicolon, 192 ff.; the colon, 194 ff.; the dash, 195 ff.; parenthesis marks, 196; the hyphen, 196.
_S 1_, comma fault, 44.
_S 2_, use of phrase or clause as sentence, 45.
Sacramento City, paragraph on, 48.
_Salary_, 3.
Sales letter, the, 244 ff.
Salesman, the, 298 ff.; letters to help the, 301-302.
Salutation, the, of business letters, 232, 236-237.
_Same_, not a pronoun, 72-73; distinctly business blunder, 243.
Saving, paragraphs on, 182, 184, 193.
Savings banks, 334, 336; postal, 337.
Savings department of bank, 332.
_Saw_ and _seen_, 99-100.
Sawdust, paragraph on, 174.
Second object, 66.
Secretary's report, the, 115 (note).
_Sede_, _cede_, _ceed_, 34.
Selection of seed, 330-331.
Semicolon, uses of, 45, 174, 192 ff.
Sentence, the, and its elements, 41 ff.; subject of, 41; simple, 42; complex, 42; compound, 42; compound, punctuation of, 45, 174; predicate of, 41; declarative, defined, 41; interrogative, defined, 41; imperative, defined, 41; exclamatory, defined, 41; simple, defined, 42; compound, defined, 42; complex, defined, 42; errors, 44.
Separation, the keynote of punctuation, 159.
Series, punctuation of, 171 ff.
_Set_, and _sit_, 101.
_Shall_ and _will_, 89, 92.
Shareholders, 355.
Shares, of capital stock, 355.
Shift in construction, 211 ff.
Short sentences, combination of, 202 ff.
_Should_ and _would_, 93-94.
Sight draft, 344-345.
Signature, the, in business letters, 232, 237-238.
Silent consonant, words containing, 11.
Silent vowels, 11.
Silver certificates, 332.
Simple sentence, defined, 42.
_Since_, as preposition and conjunction, 55.
_sion_, _tion_, _cion_, 34.
_Sit_ and _set_, 101.
Slang, 129.
Slurring of syllables, 7.
Smooth connection, 127-128, 224; methods of securing, 224.
Snappy style, in letter writing, 246.
_So--as_, in negative comparisons, 125.
_So_ habit, to avoid the, 111, 128.
Soudan, cotton in the, 181.
South Africa, parcel post in, 306.
Specials, railroad farming, 330.
_Spectator, The_, paragraph from Macaulay, 218-219.
Speech, parts of, 48 ff.
Speech, plan in making, 131 ff.; outline for, 151 ff.
Spelling, rules, 18 ff.; 500 words for, 36 ff.
Split infinitive, 77, 209.
States, abbreviation of names of, 26-27.
Steamship company, the, 284.
Steel, trouble in introducing, 191.
Stenographic efficiency, 217.
Still-life advertisements, 314.
Stock, capital, common and preferred, 353, 355; authorized capital, 355.
Stockholders, 355.
Stocks, of a corporation, 354 ff.
Straight bill of lading, 285.
Style, in letter writing, 244 ff.
Subject, as a whole, 148; divisions of, 149 ff.; making outline of, 151 ff.; restricting the, 150, 153; of the sentence, 41, 65; simple, 55; complete, 55; of subordinate clause, 55; compound, number of, 86; incorrect omission of, in business letters, 242.
Subjective complement, 65.
Subjects, how to choose, 146 ff.; for debates, 141, 144, 275, 290, 302; for compositions on manufacture, 274, 275, 278-279; on distribution, 299, 301, 303, 304; on advertising, 317, 318; suggested by personal experience, 147; suggested by reading, 147, 154.
Subjunctive mode, defined, 112; of _be_, 112; used to denote possibility, 113.
Subordinate clauses, adjective, adverb, noun, 54; subject of, 55.
Subordinate conjunctions, list of, 54.
Subordination, in the sentence, 201 ff.
Subscription, outline of letters to sell, 268.
Success, elements of, 135.
Successful men and women, 136.
Suffix, usually constituting a syllable, 16; Anglo-Saxon, 29; adjective, 30; verb, 31; noun, 31; _able_ and _ible_, 33; _ant_ and _ent_, 33.
Suggestions for debates, 139 ff., 144; on manufacture, 275; on distribution, 290, 302.
Suggestive names in advertisements, 313; headlines, 313-314.
Superlative degree, of adjectives, 78; of adverbs, 79.
Superlatives, to be avoided, 129.
Syllabication, 15.
Syllables, slurred, 7; division of words into, 15 ff.
Synopsis of _write_, active voice, 91.
_Teach_ and _learn_, 101.
Technical words, 4.
Tense, defined, 88; of participle, 109; of infinitive, 110.
Tenses, distinguished, 88 ff. (See _Present tense_, _Past tense_, _Perfect tenses_.)
_Than_ and _as_, case following, 121.
_That_, restrictive relative, 59 ff.
_That is_, punctuation with, 195.
_The following_, punctuation with, 195.
Themes, oral, 127 ff. (See _Oral themes_.)
_There_, _their_, 126.
Thinking, business, 2.
_Thus_, punctuation with, 195.
Tilde, 9.
Time draft, 343-344.
_Tion_, _sion_, _cion_, 34.
_Tious_, troublesome ending, 33.
Title, clear, to property, 322.
Titles, 150; of officials and of honor, 161; of books and plays, 162.
_To_, _too_, _two_, distinguished, 125-126.
Tone, of the letter, 240.
Topic sentence, in the paragraph, 216 ff.
Topics for investigation and discussion, on manufacture, 278-279; on distribution, 304; on real estate, 327; on banking, 349-350; on the corporation, 365.
Trade, Latin-American, 306.
Traffic department of railroad, 359.
Transitive verb, followed by objective case, 66; defined, 83.
Transportation, 283.
Troublesome verbs, 100 ff.; _lie_ and _lay_, 100 ff.; _sit_, _set_, 101; _fly_, _flow_, _flee_, 101; _rise_, _raise_, 101; _teach_, _learn_, 101; _may_, _can_, 102; _might_, _could_, 102; _accept_, _except_, 102; _affect_, _effect_, 102 ff.; _lose_, _loose_, 103.
Trust companies, 334, 337.
Trust department of a bank, 332.
Uncertain antecedents, pronouns with, 207 ff.
United States treasury notes, 333.
Unity, in the sentence, 199; in the paragraph, 216.
Unless, a conjunction, 124.
Until, as preposition and conjunction, 55.
Usefulness, its appeal in advertising, 311.
Utility corporations, public, 36 ff.
Value, par of stock, 355 ff.; market, 355 ff.
Vanity, its appeal in advertising, 311.
Variety of expression, 111.
Verb, the, 83 ff.; defined, 49; transitive, 66, 83; intransitive, 83; copulative, 83; active voice of, 84; passive voice of, 84; number of, 85; person of, 85; singular with certain words, 85 ff.; plural with certain subjects, 86; tense of, 88 ff.; _shall_ and _will_, 92; _should_ and _would_, 93; conjugation of _be_, 104 ff.; _be_ used to make progressive tenses, 105; _be_ used to make passive voice, 105 ff.; the participle, 109; the infinitive, 110; mode, 112 ff.; conjugation of _write_, active voice, 88 ff.; _follow_, passive voice, 105 ff.; synopsis of _write_, active voice, 91; synopsis of _follow_, passive voice, 106.
Verbal noun, defined, 57; possessive case with, 67 ff.
Verbs, incorrectly used, 114; participles of verbs in _y_, 23; taking two objects, 66; taking indirect and direct objects, 66; principal parts of irregular, 95 ff.; troublesome, 100 ff.; _lie_, _lay_, distinguished, 100; _sit_ and _set_, distinguished, 101; _fly_, _flow_, _flee_, distinguished, 101; _rise_ and _raise_, distinguished, 101; _teach_ and _learn_, distinguished, 101; _may_ and _can_, distinguished, 102; _might_ and _could_, distinguished, 102; _accept_ and _except_, distinguished, 102; _affect_ and _effect_, distinguished, 102; _lose_ and _loose_, distinguished, 103; _had ought_, incorrectly used, 103; certain prepositions used with, 116 ff.
_Very_ and _real_, distinguished, 81
Voice, active and passive, defined, 84; of the participle, 109; of the infinitive, 110.
Vowels, pronunciation of, 9; length of, in monosyllables ending in _e_, 9; words containing silent, 11.
Warranty deed, 322.
Washed money, 351-352.
Washing machine, letters to sell, outline, 269.
Watered stock, 357.
Way-bill, railroad, 286.
_Were_, _where_, distinguished, 126.
_What_, double relative, 59.
_Who_, and _which_, used restrictively, 60.
_Who_ and _whom_, 70 ff.
_Whoever_ and _whomever_, 71.
Wholesale merchant, the, 291 ff.
_Why_, childish use of, 128.
_Will_ and _shall_, 89, 92 ff.
_Will you be so good as to_, 243.
Wish, subjunctive to express, 113.
_Without_, a preposition, 124; incorrectly used as conjunction, 124.
Word analysis, 29 ff.
Words, interesting, 1 ff.; obsolete, 3; technical, 4; similarly pronounced 14, 15; frequently mispronounced, 13, 17; containing _dg_, 25; ending in silent _e_, retain or drop _e_, 25; analysis of, 32; easily confused, list of, 35 ff.; 500 for spelling, 36 ff.; used as different parts of speech, 51; omission of, punctuation to show, 178.
Wordiness, 130 ff, 200-201.
_Would_ and _should_, 93 ff.
_Would say_, to be avoided, 243.
_Write_, conjugation of, active voice, 88 ff.; synopsis of, passive voice, 91.
Writing advertisements, exercises in, 315-316.
Written composition, 1, 127 ff.
Written expression, 1, 127 ff.
_Y_, nouns ending in, plural of, 19.
"Yellow" invasion, paragraph on the, 182.
_You_ attitude, the, in letter writing, 244.
_Yze_, _ize_, _ise_, 34.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Text uses both "to-day" and "today."
Obvious punctuation errors were corrected.
Pages 116-117, entry for "confide" was originally placed after "correspond." It was relocated to be in the correct alphabetical order.
Pages 171-172, the examples were placed out of order. The section beginning "reporter, business manager" to the end of the paragraph was originally located after a space following the Abraham Lincoln paragraph. The first part of the Abraham Lincoln paragraph originally ended with "nor a year it". The rest of that paragraph was originally located at the top of the next page. These paragraphs have been adjusted to read correctly. Copies of the original pages may be seen in the trascriber's notes for the HTML version of this text.
Page 245, "foward" changed to "forward" (We shall forward)
Page 337, "committe" changed to "committee" (A committee was appointed)
Page 359, "natually" changed to "naturally" (will naturally lead us)