WHEN GOVERNMENT WRITES TO ITS CITIZENS.

The effectiveness of the business of government, therefore, depends largely upon the effectiveness of its letters. Each government letter containing irrelevant details and unnecessary repetition may cause a taxpayer to conclude that the government is wasting his money. Each letter that bears incorrect information, or fails to contain all necessary information, adds weight to the familiar charge of inefficiency in government. Each involved, too-detailed, or confusing letter suggests red tape. Each letter written, no matter how unintentionally, with a curt, commanding, or arbitrary tone may convince the reader that the government, which presumably exists for his good and betterment, is in fact high-handed and dictatorial. This article does not represents criticism, for indeed many of the letters which were examined were excellent representatives of the efficient organizations from which they were sent. Surveys which the writers have also made of the correspondence of private business organizations show that government compares favorably with private industry as regards both quality of letters and efforts toward increasing their effectiveness. The examples cited in this article serves to demonstrate how easily correspondents, through ineptness or lack of thought, may damage an agency's reputation and reduce its effectiveness.