The New American Business Cyclopedia

Parts of a Letter.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:43:00 +0000

The Complimentary Closing follows the body of the letter, on the line below the last line of the letter, and consists of the words of respect or regard used to express the writer's feelings toward the person written to. They are in a sense conventional and are often used without thought as to their meaning. The most common forms in business use are: "Respectfully," "Respectfully yours", "Yours very respectfully," "Yours truly," "Yours very truly," "Yours faithfully," "Sincerely yours," etc. "Gratefully yours" may be used if the writer is under obligation to the one written to, or "Fraternally yours" if a member of the same order or society.

In official letters a more formal style is used: as, "I have the honor to be, Yours very respectfully."

The complimentary closing should always be consistent with the salutation. For example: to begin a letter with a formal "Sir" and close with "Sincerely yours" would show very bad taste.

The Signature is the name of the writer or the firm or company he represents. It should be written under the complimentary closing and should end just at the right-hand edge of the sheet.

It should be written very plainly. Many writers have a habit of making their signature the most unintelligible part of their letters, presuming that because their name is familiar to themselves it is to everybody else.

A lady writing to persons with whom she is not acquainted should always prefix the title, Miss or Mrs., in parenthesis, to her signature.

Folding.-- The letter sheet should be folded so as to nearly fill the envelope. To fold a sheet of letter paper to fit the No. 6 or 6½ envelope, turn the bottom of the sheet up to the top, making one fold, then fold equally from the right and from the left, making the letter, when folded, a little narrower than the envelope. If the envelope is held with the left hand, back up, and the letter inserted as folded, all the receiver has to do when he opens the envelope is to withdraw the letter and turn back the folds, and he has it before him right side up. This is important.

Sealing.-- Be particular to seal your letter properly especially if it contains money or other enclosure.

A letter of introduction or recommendation should never be sealed when entrusted to bearer.

The Envelope Address.-- The name and title should be written on the center of the envelope lengthwise. When street and number are given, or the direction "In care of Mr. ______" they follow on the second line, the city or town on the third, and the state on the fourth or lower right hand corner of envelope.

The envelope should be placed before the writer with the flap farthest from him, otherwise it will be addressed upside down and the letter should not be inserted until after the address is written.

More than five million letters and packages reach the dead letter office at Washington every year because they are improperly directed, therefore great care should be exercised in addressing envelopes.

See examples of addressed envelopes.

The envelope used for business purposes should have either written or printed upon its upper left-hand corner the name and address of the sender, with the request to be returned in a certain number of days if not called for.

Opening Letters.-- Letters are properly opened by inserting a knife or other convenient instrument under the flap at the end and cutting across the top of the envelope.

Previous entry Next entry

Common Faults in Writing and Speaking Corrected.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:27:00 +0000

"I shall walk no further" should be "I shall walk no farther." Further refers to additional quantity.

"I have no farther use for it" should be "I have no further use for it." Farther refers to distance.

"Is that him?" should be "Is that he?"

"If I was him" should be "If I were he."

"Better than me" should be "Better than I."

"I am very dry" should be "I am very thirsty."

"Both of these men" should be "Both these men."

"He had laid down" should be "He had lain down".

"I have got the book" should be "I have the book."

"If I am not mistaken" should be "If I mistake not."

"It was her who called" should be "It was she who called."

"Lay down or set down" should be "Lie down or sit down."

"When I get off from a car" should be "When I get off a car."

"It spread all over the town" should be "It spread all over the town."

"If I was him I would do it" should be "If I were he I would do it."

"He is down in the basement" should be "He is in the basement."

"I know better; that ain't so" should be "Pardon me, I understand differently."

"I see him every now and then" should be "I see him occasionally."

"I never play it if I can help it" should be "I never play if I can avoid it."

"His works are approved of by many" should be "His works are approved by many."

"I went to New York, you know, and when I came back, you see, I commenced attending school," should be "I went to New York, and when I returned I commenced attending school."

"It is me" should be "It is I."

"We enter in" should be "We enter".

"I don't think so" should be "I think not."

"What are the news?" should be "What is the news?"

"He fell on the floor" should be "He fell to the floor."

"He is in under the wall" should be "He is under the wall."

"Two spoonsful of tea" should be "Two spoonfuls of tea."

"A new pair of boots" should be "A pair of new boots."

"I had rather ride" should be "I would rather ride."

"I only want five dollars" should be "I want only five dollars."

"Continue on in this way" should be "Continue in this way."

"I expected to have seen him" should be "I expected to see him."

Previous entry Next entry

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:03:00 +0000

The Materials.-- Good pen, ink, and paper. For business correspondence three styles of paper are in general use, viz.: commercial note, about 5x8 inches; pocket note, about 5½x8¾ inches, and letter paper, which is usually 8½x11 to 13 inches. The smaller sizes for short letters and the larger for long ones.

The envelopes most commonly used are Nos. 6 and 6½.

Parts of a Letter. -- for convenience in explaining the form of a letter we call the different parts by the following names:

1. Heading (Place and Date). 4. Body of Letter.
2. Address. 5. Complimentary Closing.
3. Salutation. 6. The Writer's Signature.

The following diagram will show clearly their position.

Heading.-- The heading indicates where and when the letter was written and should contain information the person written to will need in directing his reply. It should be written to the right-hand side of the sheet and about two or two and one-half inches from the top. There is no objection to using two or more lines for the heading if required.

The Address of a letter consists of the name and title of the person or firm to whom you are writing, the residence, or place of business, as the case may be, to which the letter is to be sent.

The inside address, as this may be called, will be the same as the address on the envelope, excepting that on the inside address the city and state may be written on the same line. Begin the address on the left-hand side of the sheet, one inch from the edge of the paper and on the line following the one on which the heading is written. The second line of the address should begin an inch farther to the right than where the first line is begun.

The Proper Use of Titles.-- Two titles of courtesy should not be joined to the same name; as, Mr. John Hartley, Esq.; nor should a title of courtesy be used with a professional or official title: as, Mr. J.B. Wilson, M.D., or Hon. Henry Weston Esq. One exception to this rule, however, is permitted where a clergyman's initials or first name is not known, to write Rev. Mr. (----), giving only the surname.

The Salutation is the complimentary form used to begin the letter. The forms most in use are Sir; Dear Sir or My Dear Sir. In addressing a firm, Sirs, Dear Sirs, Gentlemen or My Dear Sirs. If the person addressed be a lady, Madam, or Dear Madam. If she be a young, unmarried lady, Dear Miss, or it is quite correct to omit the salution where doubt exists as to whether she be married or not, or if the writer has no acquaintance with her.

Follow the salution with a comma and dash, and never write Gents for Gentlemen, or Dr for Dear, etc.

The Position of the Salutation depends somewhat on the number of lines in the address. The examples on next page will illustrate this and the form of letters in general.

The Body of the Letter is that part which contains the message or information to be imparted. In this, good form, penmanship, spacing and paragraphing should receive due care.

The body of a business letter should begin on the same line following the salutation.

Previous entry
Next entry

Correspondence

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:27:00 +0000

Correspondence is the interchange of thought by means of letters.

A large per cent of the world's business is transacted by correspondence, and in these days of rapid transit and cheap transportation friends and relatives become widely scattered and their only means of keeping in touch with one another is through letter writing.

To be able to write a good letter is therefore not only an accomplishment but an important necessity.

It is the opinion of competent judges that a man's habits and qualities as a business man may be fairly estimated from familiarity with his business letters, and his social correspondence is likewise an index to the trend of his thought, and his general character. It is safe to say that the majority do not appreciate the value of the ability to write a good letter.

First in Importance. -- Perhaps the matter of first importance in a letter is the expression of the proper ideas in the proper language.

Next to That an easy, graceful style of writing, with words correctly spelled, and sentences properly punctuated. Improper punctuation often renders the meaning unintelligible or the opposite of what was intended altogether.

Classes of Letters.-- Letters are usually divided into two general classes, Social and Business.

Social Letters are those that grow out of social and personal relations: as, letters of affection, friendship, congratulation, sympathy, introduction, condolence, etc.

Business Letters, as the term implies, are such as are written regarding matters of business of whatever kind.

Previous entry Next entry

The Practice of Short Selling Sometimes Abused.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:22:00 +0000

That the practice of "short selling", though ordinarily legitimate, is sometimes perverted so as to work an injury to the public is shown by the following extract from a message of Governor Sulzer of New York, sent to the Legislature in January, 1913:

"The subject of so-called 'short sales' is one requiring your serious consideration. A contract to sell property which a man does not own at the time, but with which he can provide himself in time for the performance of his contract, is a general transaction in various branches of business.

"The best views seem to be that short selling in and of itself is not wrongful, but the abuse of this practice works injury to the public.

"Your efforts should therefore be to draw a distinction, so that what will be condemned is the perversion of a legitimate form of business to improper ends."

Previous entry
Next entry

Gambling on Prices

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:10:00 +0000

Gambling on prices is betting on the rise and fall in market prices by means of pretended purchases and sales or pretended employment as a broker or commission merchant to make pretended purchases and sales. In other words, it is using the forms of buying or selling, or the forms of employment to buy and sell, where no real buying or selling or real employment is contemplated, the parties agreeing to settle with each other by the mere payment of differences of the prices of pretended purchases and pretended sales.

Thus is appears that in speculation and in gambling on prices the result depends upon an uncertain future event. The difference is that, in one the parties are engaged in legitimate business beneficial to both of them, while, in the other they are engaged in an idle and useless occupation beneficial only to the party winning and, when carried to excess, injurious to society.

Previous entry Next entry

Selling Produce Short

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Selling produce short is selling it for future delivery when the seller does not own the property at the time of the sale, but hopes to be able to buy it at a less price when or before the time for delivery arrives, thus making a profit from a fall in price. The short seller is therefore a speculator.

In a 'short sale' of stock the contract for future delivery employed is a contract of borrowing. The seller does not, at the time of the sale, own any of the stock sold, but he borrows the same amount of stock from one who does own it and delivers the borrowed stock to the purchaser. The seller must return the stock to the lender and for this purpose he must buy it at some future time. He hopes to be able to buy it at less price than he sold it and thus make a profit of the difference between the two prices.

Previous entry Next entry

Abuses of the Stock Exchange.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:57:00 +0000

The distinction between legitimate speculation in "futures" and gambling on prices is not generally understood and, therefore, to many people both are equally objectionable.

The difference between gambling and selling "short" -- the limit of legitimate speculation and futures -- is thus clearly pointed out by Mr. T. Henry Dewey, of the New York Bar, in a booklet he has recently published.

Previous entry Next entry

Bank Loans to Stock Brokers.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:19:00 +0000

"The making of bank loans to stock brokers is bottomed primarily on the confidence which the banker has in the broker as a person, and secondarily on the goodness of the securities offered. The modus operandi is substantially this: The broker, knowing from the clearing sheet of yesterday what payments he has to meet today, obtains from his bank in the morning authority to draw for this aggregate amount at an agreed rate of interest. As his checks come in during the day the bank certifies them and the banker sends to the broker the bank securities whose market value is greater by a certain margin than the amount borrowed.

"These loans are usually payable on call. As National Banks are forbidden by law to certify checks for a sum greater than the drawer of checks has on deposit, the practice in such cases is for the broker to execute a promissory note, which note the banker discounts, putting the proceeds to the credit of the broker, and attaching the security to it as it comes in during the day. While this method exposes the banker to some danger of loss in the interval between the certification of checks and the receipts of the securities, such losses seldom occur. There is an unwritten rule of the stock exchange that the bank must be protected at all hazards, both as a matter of personal honor and because the stock brokerage busines cannot be carried on otherwise."

Previous entry Next entry

Capital

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:08:00 +0000

"Capital is the result of saving. If not the parent of civilization, it is the indispensable promoter and handmaid of it, since capital gives mankind the leisure and the means to take new steps forward in solving the problems of human existence. It is desirable that there should be facilities for investing the savings of the people without serious delay. Such facilities promote saving. It is desirable that investments should be convertible into cash without delay. The raison d'etre of a stock exchange is to supply a place where money can be invested quickly and recovered quickly, or investments made upon which the investor can borrow money if he so desires. It is an incidental advantage that the stock exchange informs all investors, and intending investors, daily and without cost to themselves, of the prices at which they can buy or sell the securities on the active list of the exchange. These prices are made by the competition of buyers and sellers in the market, who are acting under the spur of self-interest. There is no other way in which true prices can be made. If the quotations so made are not precisely the truth in every case, they are the nearest approach to it that mankind has yet discovered."

Previous entry Next entry

The Stock Exchange.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:50:00 +0000

"The Stock Exchange is a meeting place of the buyers and sellers of invested capital; that is, of incomes present or prospective. This is a comparatively modern institution because invested capital transferable by negotiable instruments is of modern origin. There were exchanges in the ancient world where traders met to deal in various kinds of movable goods. The Agora of Greece and the Forum of Rome, and the Fairs of the Middle Ages were such exchanges, but negotiable incomes (stocks and bonds) did not then exist. At the present time no person of intelligence keeps surplus money uninvested. He buys some interest-bearing security, or puts it in a savings bank, in which case the savings bank buys an interest-bearing security, or employs it in such manner as to yield an income."

Previous entry Next entry

The Money Market

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:42:00 +0000

"The Money Market," explains Horace White, in a recent issue of The Annals of the American Academy, "consists of the loanable funds in the country. The money which people are using in their daily business, which passes from hand to hand in retail trade is no part of the money market. Such money is not marketable, because it cannot be recalled from the immediate service which it is rendering to society. The bulk of loanable funds of the country consists of bank credits which are bottomed on gold, and the magnitudes of such credits is limited by the amount of 'lawful money' held by the banks as reserves. Bank notes are not available as reserves of National Banks, although they are such for State Banks and Trust Companies.

Previous entry Next entry

Trust Companies.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:39:00 +0000

Trust Companies, in nearly all the States, have most of the characteristics of the State Banks. Besides having authority to execute trusts, they may receive deposits, lend money on real estate and any other security, and their reserve requirements are lower than for National Banks. In fact they are not a distinct class of banking institutions, but only State Banks with additional powers.

Previous entry Next entry

Deposits, Discounts, Loans and Banks.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:54:00 +0000

Deposits, Discounts and Loans.-- It is very important for merchants requiring credit accommodations of banks, that they place their deposits in the kind of banking institution that can most certainly and conveniently accommodate them in the matter of discounts and loans. Depositors are given preference over outsiders on the loanable funds of the bank in which their money is deposited.

The State Banks, that is to say, banks organized under the laws of a State instead of under the National banking act, are not, in most of the State, required to hold a reserve against savings and time deposits, and therefore, are usually in better position than the National banks to accommodate their depositors by advances to them on notes, drafts, bills of exchange, and collaterals of various descriptions.

The National Banks are required to maintain a certain portion of cash reserves to their liabilities, and when their reserves fall to a certain point they must stop loaning.
Under the new Federal reserve system (see page 462) only those National Banks that are not situated in a central reserve city may make loans on real estate, while in most of the States all State Banks may advance such loans. This makes patronage of State Banks generally desirable in locaties where loans on real estate are common.
Where, however, business is to be transacted with persons in other States, the National Banks have an advantage over the State Banks, since the residents of one State are not acquainted with the provisions of the banking laws of another State, while they know the general character of the provisions of the National Bank Act.

Previous entry Next entry

In Time Transactions

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:10:00 +0000

In Time Transactions Credit is given either in goods or in money. By the former mode goods are supplied to a purchaser, for which the payment is deferred for some fixed period, or indefinitely, and the person who supplies them idemnifies himself for the delay by an increased price. By the latter mode, money is advanced, upon security or otherwise, and interest is charged upon the loan. Both these modes are used, in conjunction with each other, in the large transactions of commerce. A manufacturer, for example, sells to a merchant, for exportation, goods to the value of a thousand dollars. The merchant however is unable to pay for them until he has received remittances from abroad; and the manufacturer, aware of his solvency, is contented to receive in payment a bill of exchange due at some future period. But in the meantime he is himself in need of money to carry on his business, and instead of waiting for the payment of the bill when it shall become due, he gets it discounted by a banker or other capitalist. Thus, having given to one person credit in goods, he obtains credit from another in money.

Previous entry Next entry

Origin and Nature of Credit.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:10:00 +0000

Origin and Nature of Credit. — There can be no system of credit until there has been a considerable accumulation of capital; for, when capital first begins to be accumulated, those who possess it apply it directly in aid of their own labor. As a country increases in wealth, many persona acquire capital which they cannot employ in their own business, or can only employ by offering inducements to purchase in the shape of deferred payments. As soon as a sufficient capital exists, a system of credit has a natural tendency to arise, and will continue to grow with the increase of capital, unless it be checked by a general insecurity of property, by imperfect legal securities for the payment of debts, or by a want of confidence in the integrity of the parties who desire to borrow. When the society and laws of a country are in a sound state, and capital is abundant, credit comes fully into operation.

In a recently published article, the Hon. George B. Roberts, Director of the United States Mint, thus lucidly discusses the nature and value of credit as a substitute for money:

"There is a very common misunderstanding of the meaning of the word 'credit' when used as a banking term. Some people associate it wholly with advances of money or goods upon time, but credit is also a substitute for money in cash transactions. When a customer gives a merchant a check for a bill of goods and the merchant deposits the check for his own bank account and simultaneously draws against it, credit is being used, and a great convenience and economy are effected over payments of money from hand to hand. When payments are between distant localities the advantages are obviously greater. The great bulk of the payments between the East and West are accomplished by offsetting the purchases they make of each other. The great bulk of the bank deposits of the country are created in this way, and not by passing money over the counter. All of this involves the use of credit. This method of doing business will not be changed. The public will not go back to a greater use of money from hand to hand; on the contrary, it is certain that the various forms of bank credit will more and more become the means by which payments are made."

Previous entry Next entry

Financial Panics in America

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:42:00 +0000

Financial panics in America were common before the adoption of the Federal Reserve Act of December 23, 1913. They were chiefly due to the want of a centrally controlled banking system. That there had long been a movement among American bankers to remedy this deficiency is strikingly shown by the following extract from an article by the Hon. A. Piatt Andrew, published in the "American Academy of Political and Social Science" for November, 1910.

"No phase of recent American banking is more striking than the groping of over 25,000 independent banks toward some coherent organization and leadership. This is shown not merely in the consolidation of great city banks and the affiliation of banks and trust companies, but in the development of association and joint control through the clearing houses, and the absorption on the part of these institutions of new and far-reaching functions. The adoption of methods of mutual supervision through clearing-house bank examinations which has been so much in evidence in western and middle cities during recent years is one step in this direction. The more careful regulations governing the conduct of firms which are admitted to membership in the clearing-house, and with regard to the non-member institutions which clear through members, about which so much controversy has centered during, recent years in New York, is another instance of the same tendency. Above all, the resort to clearing-house loan certificates in times of unsettlement which became so surprisingly general throughout the country in 1907 is the best illustration of the way in which our banks are forced at times to act together under common leadership. It shows, too. how an ingenious people can improvise a needed institution if it does not already exist.

"The operations of the clearing-house associations during the panic of 1907 were essentially akin to the ordinary functions of the Bank of England, the Reichsbank, and the Bank of France. With the banks as customers, these clearing-house associations made loans on collateral, re-discounted notes, and made the reserves of all of the banks available for each other in practically the same way as do the great national banks of Europe. The operations were of an identical nature, but there were two essential differences in form and in measure of effectiveness. First, the arrangements had to be devised in the stress of an emergency, and only began to operate after the panic had become acute, and it was no longer possible to forestall the general collapse. Second, there was no general clearing-house association for the country as a whole, and even though the banks of each locality were able by a belated expedient to pool their reserves and transform their commercial paper into available, liquid assets, there was no arrangement for a similar settlement of accounts as between different cities. Hence the struggle which was witnessed, of each locality endeavoring to fortify itself at the expense of every other locality — a spectacle which could not have occurred in any European country and which we ought to make impossible of recurrence here."

Previous entry Next entry

FINANCE, CREDIT AND COMMERCIAL EXCHANGE.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 13:13:00 +0000

Money and Credit are so closely interwoven with the commercial life of a nation that it is essential for every person engaged in business to have some knowledge of the part which they play in it.

The Part Played by Banks.-- As generally understood, bankers are merely middle men who borrow from one set of persons at a rate in order to lend to another set at a greater rate, the difference between the two rates being their margin of profit. But in reality they are much more than this. They are conservers of a nation's capital and promoters of its trade and industry.
The most common function of banks is the discount of commercial paper running for short periods of time and representing actual transfers of property in the business world. In this way the bank exchanges its well known credit for the less known credit of merchants and manufacturers.

How Banks Increase the Potency of Capital.-- By means of banking, a given amount of wealth acquires nearly the same potency when diffused among millions as when concentrated in the hands of a few. Banks take the place of large capitalists; they gather into one fund the small savings or reserve-wealth of the masses, and thus render these as available for the employment of labor as if they belonged to a single possessor. And also they supply the knowledge and enterprise requisite for the employment of that wealth, which is in great part wanting on the part of the actual owners of it. Hence the banking system accomplishes the same results as if the wealth of a country were concentrated in the hands of a few large capitalists, and yet allows of that wealth being actually diffused among tens of thousands of owners. The banking system, in short, immensely increases the potency of capital, which has quite as much to do with national progress as the actual amount of national wealth.

Banks, as before stated, take the place of large capitalists; so that the money expended by the wealthy and enterprising portion of the community in trade or industrial works, such as railways, etc., although dispersed in wage payments among the laboring classes, who do not themselves employ the money thus acquired in reproductive industry, is not thereby withdrawn from production, seeing that it immediately finds its way back into the banks, who employ it just as a large capitalist would.

If there were no banks, a large portion of the money employed in the construction of a railway would stagnate as small hoards in the hands of thousands of owners, and a very long period would elapse before it became again available for production by returning it into the hands of large capitalists; whereas, through the agency of banks, the small sums are quickly re-united, and become disposable anew for industrial investment. In this way capital is re-collected as soon as dispersed, and hence, by means of Banking, the reserve-wealth of a country, although ceaselessly dispersed in industrial expenditure, practically remains massed or concentrated in compartively few hands and therefore in the most effective condition for augmenting production. In this way a very large amount of capital which would otherwise become "fixed", in consequence of its being employed in industrial enterprise, immediately reappears as "floating" capital, available for similar investments by other parties.

Previous entry
Next Entry

COMMERCE.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:03:00 +0000

"Commerce is King," remarked Thomas Carlyle, and if the aphorism was true in his day, how much more truthful and pertinent is it at the present time! To it England owes her wealth, power, dominion and influence, and by means of it America bids fair to outstrip all history in the achievement of commercial success and importance.

The close and steadfast pressing of our material interests during the past twenty years; the wonderful inventive genius of our people, so richly productive in labor and time-saving devices and processes of manufacture, and their aggressive, inquisitive and enterprising spirit have combined to place this nation in the front ranks, if not in the lead, of the great civilized powers of the world. The political expansion of the United States is only a visible and symbolical representation of the growth in commerce, manufacture, art, education and general progress. With our varied climates extending now from the tropics to the frozen north, our vast seaboard, expansive lakes, broad, rolling rivers, exhaustless mineral and agricultural wealth, no argument is necessary to establish beyond peradventure the manifest destiny of this nation.

Next Entry

Introduction: NEW AMERICAN BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA.

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:14:00 +0000

This work is intended as a safe and authoritative guide to the proper transaction of all kinds of business. It supplies the necessary legal and business information, together with the appropriate forms. No one man can possibly know everything about business; for that matter, no one man can know everything there is to know about any single business. Next to possessing all the knowledge in the world, the most valuable thing is to know where to find it ; to be able to turn readily, with the expenditure of little time and small effort, to the subject sought. In order to transact business successfully, a man must carry in his head a great mass of details to be drawn upon when needed, or he must know exactly where to find information on any matter when he requires it. The person who knows where to find what he wants, does not have to burden his memory with things used perhaps only once in a lifetime, and then be in doubt as to whether or not he is right.

This volume tells you what you want to know when you want to know it. The opinions and the mass of material which form it, come from the best authorities of the land — practical specialists, experienced in the particular kinds of business of which they respectively treat. It is a book which every man, no matter what his business, should have where he can lay his hand on it at any time.

It is compiled upon sound, constructive business lines. A novice may take it as a safe instructor in Founding, Building and Conducting a business. Its collection of commercial and legal forms is so complete as to enable any person to readily draw up almost any kind of business document — Contracts, Deeds, Leases, Mortgages, Bonds, Bills of Sale, Bills of Lading, Building Agreements, Articles of Partnership, Promissory Notes, Orders, Due Bills, Guarantees, Wills, etc.

Every imaginable question that may arise in a business transaction is answered. It gives a history of and explains every phase of the Banking Business. It gives complete information on Stocks, Stockholders, etc., covering Treasury Stock, Common and Preferred Stock, Watered and Deferred Stock; what is Fully Paid and Non-assessable Stock ; the Stockholder and his Rights; Dividends, etc. It covers Corporation Bonds, Mortgages and Legal Investments; the
Promotion and Financing of Enterprises; How to Incorporate a Company: form of By-Laws; Minutes of Meetings; how to transfer property to the company and how to issue stock. The Stock Exchange is dealt with very thoroughly ; Duties and Liabilities of Brokers; Market Manipulation; Trading in Grain, Cotton, Stocks, etc.

There is sound advice and helpful instruction on such subjects as, Ordering Goods, Collections, Lawsuits, Claims and Taxes; Income Tax; How to Buy and Sell Anything; Hiring and Discharging Help; Hiring a Minor; Building, Interests, Shipments, Agents, Affidavits, Bail Bonds, Insurance, Landlords and Tenants,; Leases, Liens, Patents, Advertising, Coal and Land; Sending Money by Mail; How to Become Naturalized; Starting a Business; Discounts, Commissions; Window Dressing; Business Letter Writing and almost everything else.

Besides its legal and practical business information, the work contains:

1. Easy Lessons in Penmanship and Bookkeeping, with helpful forms and illustrative examples in Social and Official Correspondence.

2. Exhaustive explanations of the various Swindling Schemes of the Day, thoroughly exposing the dangerous confidence games and other frauds by which honest farmers, bankers, merchants and business men generally, are so frequently victimized.

3. The Latest Census Tables; Interest, Limitation and Exemption Laws of all the states, and a large amount of statistical information that cannot be found in any other publication.

4. Tables for Rapid Computation and Ready Reference, constructed so simply that they can be easily understood and practically used by anyone having the slightest knowledge of figures.

5. A miscellaneous collection of useful and instructive facts pertaining to all the Business and Social Relations of life. The innumerable points of law and valuable business Helps and Hints are not scattered haphazardly through the work, but are all arranged systematically under appropriate headings, with index commencement words printed in bold-faced type.

Welcome to the New American Business Cyclopedia!

noreply@blogger.com (The Author) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:24:00 +0000

This blog will feature a page a day (or so, time permitting) from the New American Business Cyclopedia, a book I found a few weeks ago.

While some of its usefullness may have been distilled by time into mere quaint and amusing facts, anecdotes and insights about a country that has radically changed, some might say almost wholly replaced over the past 80 years, I also decided to publish pages from this book to share the enduring passages which to this day still contain sound, practical financial and business advice.

If you run a similar blog and would like to exchange links, please leave a comment. All other feedback and reactions are welcome too.

Thank you,

Lionel Houde