314 MANAGEMENT OF DAIRY PLANTS 



that part which contains the real thought and substance. It is 

 only that business letter which is full of good thoughts and ideas 

 that is worth while writing. The other kind may just as well 

 not be written, for it gains no friends, creates no new business, 

 and may even be a business loser. It is well, especially for the 

 beginner, to study each letter before delivering it to the mail. 

 Single out the strong parts of the letter as well as the weak 

 parts and the entirely superfluous parts. Such analysis may 

 often reveal the fact that the letter is of no value and should be 

 rewritten. 



A letter which answers the purpose for which it is intended 

 must present the thought which the writer wants to convey in 

 such a way that the reader takes an interest therein and feels 

 that the writer is telling something that is of value to know. 

 It is therefore to the writer's interest first to make clear to him- 

 self how best to present his subject so that it will appeal to the 

 reader and appear of interest to him. 



The very first sentence of the letter should arouse interest, 

 but often the beginning of a letter is the weaker part. It should 

 never begin with "I " or " we " as " We are pleased to inform you 

 that we will be in a position to manufacture all kinds of fancy 

 ice creams beginning May ist and we most earnestly solicit 

 your patronage, etc." This information might be of some inter- 

 est to a party owning a financial interest in this particular ice 

 cream factory, but not to a customer and even less to the one 

 who has never purchased ice cream from that factory. The 

 writer should endeavor to place himself in the background 

 and the one addressed in the foreground. It would appeal 

 more to a woman if it could be shown to her that this letter 

 were written entirely for her benefit. A letter such as the fol- 

 lowing comes nearer meeting this requirement. 



" Dear Madam: You always desire to have for your parties 

 an ice cream which is somewhat different from that served by 

 your neighbors. If you consider that we can assist you in this 

 matter then we should be glad to have you call us over the 

 phone at any time. We are just equipping our factory for 



