A In some regiments it seems to be the practice for enlisted men to use the expression, "I would respectfully, etc.," while officers use the expression, "I have the honor," etc. In other regiments both forms are used by enlisted men. The author does not see the force of the contention that the expression "I have the honor, etc," should be restricted to officers, as the degree of honor in addressing correspondence to a superior is naturally inverse to the rank of the writer. For example, it would seem a greater honor for a private to have the opportunity and privilege of addressing a general than for a colonel to do so. B Official communications and envelopes should be addressed to the OFFICE and not to the individual, thus: “The Adjutant General, Headquarters, Department of Dakota," "The Adjutant, Fort Missoula, Montana," "The Commanding Officer, Company 'A,' 24th Infantry," etc., and not to "Major John Smith, Adjutant General," etc. So likewise should checks and postal money orders pertaining to official matters be made payable to the OFFICE and not to the individual, thus: "Pay to the order of the Chief Paymaster, Dept. of Dakota," or to "The Paymaster, Kansas City, etc." It is astonishing how many officers fail to do this and how much trouble and annoyance it causes in the Army. C The envelope containing G. C. M. proceedings to be forwarded to the convening authority, should be plainly marked "G. C. M. Proceedings." D All communications intended for the action of the War Department should be addressed to "The Adjutant General, War Department, Washington, D. C." A letter to any officer in the army addressed, "Care of The Adjutant General, U. S. A., Washington, D. C.,” will be forwarded. E Whenever writing to civilians for information of an official nature, always inclose an addressed penalty envelope for reply. F Stamps for foreign official mail and official registered mail can be obtained from the quartermaster. G There is a tendency in the Army to burden letters and official documents with the rank and regiment of the officers referred to in the text. It is rarely necessary in ordinary official correspondence to give more than the officer's rank and name. Thus, "Captain Smith has frequently invited attention to the needs," etc. There is no use writing, "Captain John A. Smith, 15th Cavalry, has frequently," etc. If, however, it be not perfectly evident who the officer is, his full name, rank and regiment should be mentioned once; after that his title and last name alone need be given. In writing to a post commander concerning one of his officers, it is hardly necessary to designate the latter (certainly never more than once) by full name and regiment. In other words, ordinary official correspondence should not be burdened with the repetition of titles usual and necessary in a formal order or in court-martial proceedings. Thus it seems almost ridiculous to write in the body of a letter: 4th Cavalry, Military Attaché, Rome, Italy. The address on the envelope might bear all of this; the letter itself might better commence: officer. MAJOR FRANK A. EDWARDS After that "Major Edwards" is quite sufficient to designate this A It is not uncommon for officers of experience to begin an official letter addressed to another officer, with the title of the latter instead of with "Sir." Thus, an official communication to Lieutenant John R. Smith, would begin, "Lieutenant;" one to Captain Jas. A. Corbin, "Captain," and so on. B Formerly it was quite common for officers to begin official letters to The Adjutant General of the Army, the Quartermaster General or the head of any other War Department bureau, as "General," instead of "Sir," and some few of the older officers still do so. An officer's rank and regiment always appear below his signature in official or semiofficial communications, but not in personal letters, unless, of course, there is some reason why the officer should wish to establish his identity. For instance, in writing to dealers, in order to let them know he belongs to the Army-in writing to strangers, so as to give them the same information and thus enable them to address him by proper title in their answer—in writing to officers of the Army or civilians who may not recall him readily. In the last case the rank and regiment may be placed in parentheses. с Some officers, and also certain editors and writers in civil life, always write out in full military titles, using the forms "General," "Colonel," etc., instead of "Gen'l," "Col.," etc., on the ground that the full spelling possesses a certain suggestion of courtesy and good form that is lacking in the abbreviation. According to the practice of The Adjutant General's office it is considered better form to spell out titles in full in all formal communications, although sometimes, on account of their length, the words "Brigadier General," "Major General," "Lieutenant Colonel," and "Lieutenant," are abbreviated "Brig. Gen'l.," "Maj. Gen'l.," "Lieut. Col.," and "Lt.," or "Lieut.," but it is preferable to spell them out in full. Except colloquially, or sometimes in the body of a communication where the formal use of the full title would seem unnecessary, the office never uses the term "General" alone, but it is always "Lieutenant General," "Major General". or "Brigadier General." A It is also the practice of The Adjutant General's office to omit the hyphens in the designations "Adjutant General," "Quartermaster General," "Commissary General," "Inspector General" and "Judge Advocate General" (not Adjutant-General, etc.) B Make it an invariable rule to keep carbon or other copies of all letters, telegrams, and other official communications sent. In forwarding letters from enlisted men, officers should verify the statements made therein. Keep your Army Regulations posted up to date and before forwarding any paper read carefully the paragraphs on the subject and then see that all requirements are fulfilled. Letters and indorsements requiring answers should be carefully analyzed and the constituent parts requiring answers should be answered categorically. с A faithful compliance with the two foregoing paragraphs takes time, patience and labor, but in the long run saves much extra paperwork and trouble. It is really astonishing how many communications are returned to officers for compliance with certain indorsements or with certain paragraphs in the Army Regulations. In this connection, it may be remarked the paragraph in the Regulations that is violated the most is the one requiring officers who forward communications to indorse thereon their approval or disapproval, with remarks. See Supplement, Chap. XVI, Par. 112. D The following are some of the errors most frequently committed in paper work: I Persons who are the first ones to receive communications, fail to brief them as required by Army Regulations. 2 Fourth-fold indorsement slips are added in the wrong place. 3 Papers that should be compared are carelessly compared or not compared at all before being submitted. 4 Court-martial charges are laid under the wrong Article of War. 5 Reports, returns, estimates, requisitions and other blanks that are prepared for an officer's signature, do not contain his rank, regiment and office held after the place for signature. Return promptly all papers that should be returned. If directed to complete a paper, return a communication or do anything else without delay or by a certain time and if it be impossible to do so, then the office concerned should be so notified without delay, with a full explanation. Thin, transparent paper should not be used in writing letters on which indorsements are to be placed, but should such letters be re ceived, then before indorsing paste stiff paper on fold. A Returns, Reports, Estimates and Requisitions. I Before filling out a blank form read carefully all notes thereon, and all Army Regulation paragraphs and orders on the subject. 2 All columns on forms must be filled in. When, owing to the absence of the necessary information or for any other reason, columns or headings can not be filled in, "Unknown" or should be entered. a dash 3 When periodical reports are required they should be rendered whether or not there be anything to report. 4 One or more diagonal lines should be drawn through the blank space after the last entry on estimates, requisitions and pass lists. B Miscellaneous. I “INDORSEMENT” and “INCLOSURE" (not "Endorsement" and "Enclosure") are the forms used in the Army Regulations. 2 The term "Through Military Channels" is really not a definite, exact statement and should be used very rarely on papers going up. "The Military Channel" to The Adjutant General, U. S. Army, for example, may be direct or through Department Headquarters. There are cases, of course, where the use of the term would be proper, but they are rare. If a paper is forwarded through military channels, saying so is useless. 3 A letter is always briefed in the first office in which it is received. The brief is always on the first fold, which, beginning at the top, is apportioned about as follows: (a) About 1 inch space for office stamp of A. G. O., Div., Dep't., etc.; (b) Office, place and date of letter; (c) About 1 inch space; (d) Name of writer and rank (in case of commanding officers and staff officers, only the official designation should appear); (e) About 1 inch space; (f) Briefest synopsis of contents (only a general idea of the subject); (g) Remaining space, upper part for enumeration of inclosures-lower, for office marks. The inclosures should be noted serially, by number and indorsement. When the brief is typewritten, ruling is unnecessary, but when a pen is used, a and ƒ should be followed by a red line clear across, and cand e spaces should have a short, red line across the middle. Α 4 In making out Descriptive Lists, the following should be borne in mind: (a) In case a noncommissioned officer is to be discharged during his absence on detached service, the company commander should note on the Descriptive List whether it is desired his warrant be continued in force upon reenlist ment. (b) When a man is transferred to another organization, evidence of previous convictions by court-martial within the last year and during the present enlistment, if any, should accompany the Descriptive List. Also, if he has been absent without leave, the number of days absent should be noted, as not only does he forfeit his pay and his clothing allowance during such absence, but the |