Proclaim to the World the GOOD NEWS OF THE WORLD TOMORROW
Box 111, Pasadena, Calif. 91109
Publishing: The PLAIN TRUTH a Magazine of UNDERSTANDING
April 6, 1962
Dear Co-workers:
GREETINGS, in Jesus' name! This short special letter is to ask your help in an important matter,
As I'm sure you know, our mailing office is now fully equipped with the very latest in electronic equipment, the IBM card system. This is the same efficient mailing system used by all the really BIG circulation magazines today.
Your name and address is converted to punched holes in a card, and then, when the card is run through a machine, the machine actually PRINTS your name and address, reading electronically the punched holes in the card. But there is one major drawback in this system—-and in this we need your help.
Whenever we receive a letter requesting certain literature, we send a sample copy of the PLAIN TRUTH magazine. If the magazine is appreciated, we add the name and address card to our files, to receive the magazine absolutely FREE each month. You may not realize that we CHECK every "white" letter, that is, each letter we receive which does NOT come in one of our own printed return envelopes, which you always receive in the monthly Co-Worker Bulletins,—-that we check each of these letters received in plain envelopes to see if they are on the PLAIN TRUTH mailing list.
That's where the problem arises—-and where we need YOUR HELP! IF you should write us in a plain white envelope, and should happen to list your name a little differently, such as abbreviating, using only middle initial, or two initials, or changing the address slightly by including some additional information—-this letter is checked through the files as we receive it. Since it may be slightly DIFFERENT than letters we have received previously from you, the machine does not tell us that YOUR NAME IS ALREADY IN THE FILE! Then, a DUPLICATE card is made out, and your name appears TWICE in our files. We have received letters, with slight differences in names so often that we find some of our Co-Workers with as many as SIX DIFFERENT CARDS in our files.
Now—-here's the solution! IF you would ALWAYS use, wherever possible the colored envelopes we send you, your name would always appear EXACTLY THE SAME when we receive your letter—-and we would know automatically that you ARE receiving the PLAIN TRUTH regularly. IF you do not have one of the colored envelopes, and need to use a white envelope—-don't hesitate to do so—-but PLEASE TRY TO WRITE YOUR NAME, INCLUDING INITIAL OR MIDDLE NAME, EXACTLY AS IT IS LISTED ON THE ADDRESS APPEARING ON THIS LETTER YOU HAVE RECEIVED FROM US! This will be a GREAT help to us, and will save in many additional dollars by helping us save time in double checking files and costly surveys of our mailing list.
If you want your name and address recorded differently from the way you see it on the enclosed card, please return the card corrected as you wish it to be. If we have it correct as you wish it to be, please return the card marked O.K.
I want to THANK YOU, very much, for your help. This will save us a great deal of time—-and help us serve you more efficiently! Please remember to PRAY with us that God will continue to BLESS AND PROSPER His great Work, adding more and more faithful Co-Workers to share in this burden God has given us—-the wonderful commission to preach His TRUTH to a dying world!
Copyright © 2024 Herbert W Armstrong Library