In addition to charging each client with the time of the operative working for him, each assistant reports to the superintendent how the operatives in his charge are getting alon^f, and whether or not their work is satisfactory. In this way the superintendent is kept posted daily on the doings of every operative working out of his office.
Besides this daily system of reporting verbally to the superintendent, each assistant, once every two weeks, dictates to a stenographer a summary of the work of each operative under him for the period, together with a full account of what canvassing he did during the time covered by the report. The superintendent, likewise, dictates an account of his canvassing^ and also reports fully on the work of each and every operative under his especial charge.
This report, which is commonly known as the General Business Letter, contains between sixty to sixty-
The Pinkerton Labor Spy. 27
five closely typewritten pages. Appended to this report is a typewritten financial statement of the bookkeeper, giving a complete account of the income, expense, profit or loss for the period, and also stating the amount of cash on hand in the bank. Three copies are made of the General Business Letter. The original goes to the manager of the division, one carbon copy to the general manager at New York, and the last copy is kept on file at the office making the report.
The division manager, on receiving a Greneral Business Letter, studies it carefully, and in a day or two dictates what is known as his "Comments" on it. He refers to each operation, commends or criticizes the work of the operative and the official in charge, as each case demands. Here and there he offers suggestions, and gives instructions.
After the division manager has studied and commented on the General Business Letter of every office in his division, he draws up a division