Forgotten courtesies
Sir: May I appeal, through your columns, to newspaper editors to restore one or two of the
traditional courtesies extended to their contri- butors? I was trained as a young journalist to arrange that (a) a copy of the newspaper con- taining a contribution should be sent to the contributor with the compliments of the Editor; (b) a cutting of the book review contributed by an outside and non-regular contributor should likewise be sent; (c) cuttings showing any re- actions by letter or otherwise to an article Should be sent to its author.
The thought behind this practice, I was told and until very recently believed, was that this enabled contributors to keep files without muti- lating their newspapers (an important point in 'a family household) and to keep track of delays in publication or matters they might have missed. It was, in other words, a piece of simple good manners and public relations.
As secretarial staffs are, generally speaking, larger, in newspaper offices than ever before it should be possible to resume this practice be- fore the memory of it is lost.
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