llow himself to recommend another for qualities which he
knows he does not possess. If he is asked for a recommendation he should
speak as favorably of the person under consideration as he honestly
can, and if his opinion of him is disapproving he should give it with
reservations.

At one time during the cleaning up of Panama there was considerable talk
about displacing General Gorgas and a committee waited on Roosevelt to
suggest another man for the job. He listened and then asked them to get
a letter about him from Dr. William H. Welsh of Johns Hopkins. Dr. Welsh
wrote a letter praising the man very highly, but ended by saying that
while it was true that he would be a good man for the place, he did not
think he would be as good as the one they already had--General Gorgas.
The Colonel acted upon the letter confident (because he had great faith
in Dr. Welsh) that he was taking the wise course, which subsequent
events proved it to be. "Would to heaven," he said, "that every one
would write such honest letters of recommendation!"

The general letter of recommendation beginning "To whom it may concern"
is rarely given now. It has little weight. Usually a man waits until he
has applied for a position and then gives the name of his reference, the
person to whom he is applying writes to the one to whom he has been
referred, and the entire correspondence is carried on between these two.
In this way the letter of recommendation can be sincere, something
almost impossible in the open letter. It is needless to add that all
such correspondence should be confidential.

The letter of _introduction_ is, in a measure, a letter of
recommendation. The one who writes it stands sponsor for the one who
bears it. It should make no extravagant claims for the one who is
introduced. He should simply be given a chance to make good on his own
responsibility. But it should give the reason for the presentation and
suggest a way of following it up that will result in mutual pleasure or
benefit. It should be in an unsealed envelope and the envelope should
bear, in addition to the address, the words, "Introducing Mr. Blank" on
the lower left-hand corner. This does away with an embarrassing moment
when the letter is presented in person and enables the host to greet his
guest by name and ask him to be seated while he reads it.

Letters of introduction should not be given promiscuously. Some men
permit themselves to be persuaded into giving letters o