- TIME-SAVING IN OFFICE DETAIL—In the daily routine of a business office the incoming and outgoing mails have considerable place : a condition which is becoming inure pronounced as time goes on.
The old-fashioned methods of dealing with these mails are no longer good enough for the up-to-date business man who has respect for the economy of time and labour. Every year the number of letters received and the number of letters dispatched shows tendency to increase : hence the selection of appliances which have been invented to take care of a business man's letters with swiftness and accuracy.
The incoming- mail is in many business houses a large one. It is important that the letters should be opened and carried to their ditkrent departments as early as possible. The opening of letters is ordinarily a tedious operation, each envelope having to be slit open in turn. Nowadays there are machines which accomplish the purpose in a tenth of the time. One of the most effective and ingenious of these is a small instrument wherein is placed a batch of letters received. By a turn of a crank a band with a roughened surface is run against the lower edge of each envelope. The rough surface abrades the paper with just sufficient force to remove the edge without injuring the contents of the envelope. 'When the envelopes are removed from the hopper of the machine each is opened and ready for the withdrawal of its con tents.
The mailing clerk or the office boy will then stamp or pencil on each letter the date of its receipt. Many concerns use a stamp somewhat as follows:— The letters are then taken to the different departments where they will receive attention, and, when dealt with, are placed on file.
So much for the incoming mail, which calls for few remarks. The out going mail is another matter, for in this case the staff of a concern is called upon to look after the writing, addressing, sealing, stamping, and dispatching of a more or less numerous quantity of letters. These letters must be copied, envelope:; must he addressed for their enclosure, and in many instances the work has to be done against time. Circumstances frequently hold up out
going letters, awaiting the managers' and principals' signatures, till the wailing staff, unless it is working on the most up-to-date lines, is compelled to lose the post with a number or to pay a late fee surcharge: in either case an undesirable proceeding apart from other considerations.
Let us follow the progress of the outgoing letter. In the first place it is dictated to a shorthand writer, who transcribes it on her machine. If a vertical filing system is adopted, the stenographer may take a carbon copy of the letter, the copy being intended for the file (of this system we shall have something to say later), or she may write the letter with a typewriter ribbon from which a press copy can be obtained. When she has finished her letter the typist will probably type out the envelope, most business concerns pre ferring the typewritten envelope for legibility and business-like appearance.
This completes the stenographer's work. The letters are taken to the principal for signature, and the mailing clerk is afterwards called upon to copy and fold the letters and to seal and stamp their accompanying envelopes.
The copying process is the longest operation. It used to be done, and in fact is still done to a large extent, by means of a screw press and a pres..; copying book. The office boy damps the pages, removes the superfluous moisture, and places the letters to be copied against the tissue sheets. The book is then put in the press, and the pressure resulting takes oil a copy of each letter. A limited number of letters only can be copied at one time, so that the process is not conducive to rapidity. When the copying has been accomplished, the letters must be folded and inserted in the envelopes, the envelopes sealed, and the stamps affixed thereon. All is now ready for the post. The programme described is enacted daily in every business office, and frequently much depends upon the manner in which the details are taken care of. Many firms are still handling their mail in the old way, and are losing time and money thereby.