The dotted lines on page 1 of the model represent the creases between the foldsa,b, andc.acontains theBriefin the relative position shown and is folded away fromb, the crease between the two being toward the reader.bbegins theBodyand may contain it or only a part of it according to its length.ccontains the continuation of the Body or the whole or parts of indorsements, as the case may be.bandcare folded toward each other, the crease between the two being away from the reader.
Page 2 contains the body or indorsements of the letter. All pages are folded as page 1 in three equal folds.
When foolscap is used instead of the ordinary sized letter paper as above, the only difference is that there is an extra fold. Imagine this fold to be tacked on to the bottom of page 1 in the example and to be markedd.dandcwould be folded just asbandc. The page would contain a third crease and be a fold longer. Otherwise the letter would be the same as the first one described.
The number at the upper left-hand corner is the filing number of the office.
It will be noticed in the seventh indorsement that three inclosures have been added. The whole transaction is noted in the proper place. The eleventh and twelfth indorsements should be noticed in the same regard.
Where “stamp” appears in parenthesis, the word does not actually occur in letters. It indicates that the office which received the letter noted by means of a rubber stamp at that particular place on the letter the date on which the communication was received or received back. In other words, what follows “(Stamp)” was placed there by some one of the office force as soon as the letter was received in that office.
The writing on all pages should begin one inch from the top. The pages, beginning with the first will be numberedserially. The number will be placed half way between the edges and one inch above the bottom of the page. In referring to an indorsement by number, the number of the page will also be given, thus: “5th Ind., page 3.”
All ceremonial forms at the beginning and end of letters such as “Sir,” “I have the honor,” “I would respectfully,” “Very respectfully” and the like will be omitted. In referring, transmitting, forwarding, and returning papers, the expressions “Respectfully referred,” “Respectfully transmitted,” “Respectfully forwarded,” and “Respectfully returned,” will also be omitted.
“An officer will not be designated in orders nor addressed in official communications by any other title than that of his actual rank.”[22]Wherever appropriate the name should be supplanted by the title, such as “Commanding Officer, Co. A, 99th Infantry” in place of “Captain James L. Douglas.”
“All letters and indorsements which are typewritten, excepting letters of transmittal, reports of taking leave of absence, periodical reports, and communications of a similar nature, will be made with two carbon copies. One copy will be retained for the records of the office in which the letter was written, and the other will be forwarded with the communication for the files of the first office in which a complete copy is required for the records, but such copy will not be regarded as an enclosure. It will be initialed by the person responsible for the communication.”
“In official correspondence between officers or between officers and officials of other branches of the public service, and especially in matters involving questions of jurisdiction, conflict of authority, or dispute, officers of the Army are reminded that their correspondence should be courteousin tone and free from any expression partaking of a personal nature or calculated to give offense. Whenever questions of such character shall arise between officers and officials of other branches of the public service, and it is found that they cannot be reconciled by an interchange of courteous correspondence, the officer of the Army, as the representative of the interests of the War Department in the matter involved, will make a full presentation of the case to the Secretary of War through the proper military channels, in order that the same may be properly considered.
In order to reduce the possibility of confidential communications falling into the hands of persons other than those for whom they are intended, the sender will enclose them in an inner and outer cover; the inner cover to be a sealed envelope or wrapper addressed in the usual way, but marked plainly “Confidential” in such a manner that the notation may be most readily seen when the outer cover is removed. The package thus prepared will then be enclosed in another sealed envelope or wrapper addressed in the ordinary manner with no notation to indicate the confidential nature of the contents.
The foregoing applies not only to confidential communications entrusted to the mails or to telegraph companies, but also to such communications entrusted to messengers passing between different offices of the same headquarters, including the bureaus and offices of the War Department.”
We have so far discussed in this chapter official letters to persons in the military service. We now come to consider the second form of official letter—the one to persons outside the military service. Often an adjutant or quartermaster is called upon to write to individuals or firms not conversant with the military forms. For a variety of reasons, the business form in that case is best.
In general the two forms present the following differences and likenesses. The headings are the same. The business form substitutes theAddressof theRecipientand theSalutationfor theFrom Whom Sent,To Whom Sent, andSubjectof the military form. TheBodyin each case follows the principles of paragraphing, and unity and coherence of the whole, as set down for the military form. In the business form the paragraphs need not be numbered. The business form has a complimentary close before the signature, rank, and organization of the writer. Letters are retained by the recipient and answered by him with a new letter, the sender retaining a carbon copy. Indorsements are not used in the business form.
An example of a good business form appears below.
Office of the Quartermaster,West Point, N. Y.,August 7, 1930.Messrs. D. C. Johnson and Company,312 High Street,Boston, Massachusetts.Gentlemen:In reference to your letter of the 5th inst., I desire to inform you that there is no need here at present for the roofing mentioned.I regret that we cannot at this time become customers of your firm, but we shall hold you in mind when the necessity for roofing arises.Yours very truly,J. H. Smith,Major, Q. M. Corps, U. S. A.Quartermaster.
Office of the Quartermaster,West Point, N. Y.,August 7, 1930.
Messrs. D. C. Johnson and Company,312 High Street,Boston, Massachusetts.
Gentlemen:
In reference to your letter of the 5th inst., I desire to inform you that there is no need here at present for the roofing mentioned.
I regret that we cannot at this time become customers of your firm, but we shall hold you in mind when the necessity for roofing arises.
Yours very truly,J. H. Smith,Major, Q. M. Corps, U. S. A.Quartermaster.
The entireaddressof the recipient had best be written before thesalutation.
Other propersalutationsare:
My dear Sir:My dear Madam:Ladies:
Other properComplimentary Closingsare:
Yours truly,Yours respectfully,
Stick close to the forms of the model above. A very slight departure will make you appear crude. For instance, to say
D. C. Johnson,Boston, Mass.Messrs.—
would be entirely wrong.
As to theBodyof the letter, however, write it your own way so long as you use words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs, of a kind we have striven to attain throughout this work. Do not make your letter telegraphic; complete your sentences.
The instructions given for the attainment of the proper forms in ordinary business communications are in no sense as rigid as those given for the military communication. Many officers now use the military forms for their correspondence with business firms, and, indeed, many of these firms have themselves adopted the military form.
The third type of official letter is that of the official telegram. It does not differ in principle from the ordinary telegram, and therefore does not require separate practice. Those who have conquered the field message should have no trouble in its composition.
It is written on an official telegraph blank which may be obtained from the Quartermaster. The blank is for the purpose of having the message go at Government expense. Army Regulations state that “telegrams will befollowed by official copies sent by the first mail in cases of financial transactions of more than trifling importance, and in cases in which chiefs of bureaus of the War Department may deem it necessary themselves to send, or to require officers serving under their immediate control to send them, such copies.” It is a good thing in any case to mail a copy of a telegram.
The other kinds of official correspondence which need no letters to accompany them areRolls,Returns,Estimates,Requisitions, andRoutine Reports. A study of these forms of communication belongs properly to the subject of administration. They are, therefore, simply mentioned here.
The principal Rolls with which the novice in the military service is confronted are theMusterandPay Rolls. The former is rendered every two months and the latter every month.[23]Full instructions as to what is required in each set of rolls are found on the last page of each form. On application to the Adjutant General of the Army, a list ofmodel remarksfor the rolls will be furnished.
The principalReturnswith which the novice should become familiar are theRation,Clothing,Ordnance,Company(monthly), andFieldReturns.
EstimatesandRequisitionsare used most frequently by the Supply Departments. But organizations must prepareEstimatesof what they will need, and must prepareRequisitionsfor the desired articles when needed. TheClothing EstimateandClothing Requisitionare two common and important forms.
Among theRoutine Reportsin the military service should be mentioned theMorning,InventoryandInspection,Sick, and certainReportsin official letter form.
The form ofRoutine Reportwhich is most common is theMorning Report.
As we took up in each case after written work pertaining to combat the similar verbal task, so now after we have discussed written correspondence we are going to dwell upon the ordinary verbal labor incumbent upon officers and non-commissioned officers in the military service.
In war or peace a military leader is useless without an effective tongue. We have demonstrated his uselessness in combat; we shall see that he is just as unsatisfactory in training men for combat.
The work of any military individual in command of men is not only that ofdoingbut also that of telling othershowto do. TheExplanationof the efficient leader is a continuous process from morning until night. He is constantly called upon to make his words count. If he halts, he loses time. If he hesitates, he makes his men restless. He must speak straight through to the end in a clear-cut way, never hedging or repeating; and when he has finished, the listeners should feel that the subject has been completely covered.
If he does not form the habit of so talking, he forfeits his power of leadership. For what good is an intelligent or inventive officer, if he cannot put his intelligence or invention out through his lips? The military profession is one which depends upon quick instruction by word of mouth. The officer who does his own work and the work of his sergeants too, is plainly inefficient. He has avoided the harder task—that of teaching others how to carry on the work. He has done worse. He has lessened the value of his organization as an automatic machine. When he leaves it, it will either fall to pieces or place a weighty burden on the officer relieving him.[24]
There is one caution which a military man should observe in his speech on the drill ground, in barracks, or in the field. He should not repeat unnecessarily. He should not allow his men to gain the idea that if they do not listen at once he will tell them later. It should be an understood fact that hisExplanation, once stated, stands. Of course he may reiterate during his talk for the sake of emphasis. But he should by practice be so capable of telling everything so unmistakably the first time over that no reasonable question can be asked.
Good explanations make for attention on the part of his men, and attention makes for an increase of good work. Sooner or later the achievements of his organization contrast it favorably with other organizations and his brother officers say, “He has made a success.” Much of that success has come to him because he has set for himself, and followed these simple rules:
(1) “I will try today not to say anything which is not exactly expressive of what I mean.”
(2) “I will try whenever I write to make myself unmistakable.”
(3) “I will try whenever I speak to make every word distinct from every other word.”
(4) “I will try whenever I read to see how others express themselves so that I may at the next opportunity imitate that part of their style which says most in the simplest way.”
(5) “I will make every good new word my own, because the vocabulary of my present life is limited.”
(6) “I will do all this because by so doing I shall develop myself in my profession, and because I may some day fail that profession if I neglect that development now.”
Lecturesare but extendedExplanations. Officers are more and more being called upon to appear before large audiences of educated people in order to give to the country military knowledge. Training Camps and war are increasing the necessity for the delivery of lectures.
Because theLecturetakes more time, it should be more carefully developed than theExplanation. The subject should be divided into its various parts in a logical way. It should be bound together coherently. And each part should have in it only what belongs there. This process is simply that of following the rules of English with which we are already acquainted. The purpose is speed and clearness.
There are other elements which enter into the betterment of a long talk. Since an audience is human, there is reason in helping it through a dry subject. The treatment of theLecturemay in this way, besides aiding the interest, make the points stick longer. Two qualities which help to attain this treatment areHumorandPresence.
Ordinarily the American does not need to be told to cultivate humor. He reeks with it. But there are some instructors whose minds work along so impassively that it is difficult for them to be wakened from their gravity. To them the conscious development of the short anecdote, homely illustration, and incongruous phrase is a splendid aid. The great majority, however, must be guarded in the use of humor. The quality itself may be overworked so that the proportion of matter in the Lecture is small in comparison to the witticisms. Humor is but a means to an end. Its sole object should be to lighten the talk in order to help the subject into the auditor’s mind more easily. Fun should be incidental and made without effort.
As toPresencemore can be said in its favor. It is an indispensable quality in a speaker. If his diaphragm is in his mouth during his delivery, or if his heart action is violent, the audience cannot be fooled. It will be made uncomfortable. A speaker should have such ordinary fluency of accurate expression through practice that he entertains no fears of obscure or halting language. He should be so familiar with the sensations of looking into a number of faces that he will feel at ease. He should impress his audience that he enjoys standing before them for the purpose of imparting interesting knowledge. SuchPresencecan be attained only by taking advantage of every opportunity for correct public and private speech. The military novice should enter every impersonal discussion he can find, and should urge himself to speak whenever possible to more than a dozen people at a time.
He must be more than an ordinary talker, for he must have speed and interest as ready agents of his ideas. To gain those qualities is a matter of constant attention to speaking and to writing exactly what he wishes to say.
We have now covered the territory of military communications. We have seen the necessity for correct expression, and the difficulty of its attainment. What we have done should be but a beginning. It may be a long struggle to gain brevity and clarity—the terse and the unmistakable. But achievement will come with practice and will repay us fully in future satisfaction, and increased worth in our profession.