THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY
OF THE UNITED STATES

HOME OFFICE NEW YORK,N.Y.

THOMAS |. PARKINSON, PRESIDENT

WARREN V. WOODY, AGENCY MANAGER

ROOM 2136
120 S. LA SALLE STREET CHICAGO, ILL.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS October 30, 1937

Dear Doc,

The stockmarket has all of us in the financial end of the business in
a dither the last few weeks. Consequently,I haven't had time to ans-
wer your nice letter of October 11.

The basketball arrived Tuesday and the proudest young man in these United
States lives over at 100 Girard Avenue. He is the envy of all the boys
in the community, and he particularly asked me to thank you for that
wonderful gift. I suppose there is no prouder person, unless it would
be his father.

I have been giving different intelligence and vocation test in the mat- ~
ter of selecting people for our business for ten years, as a matter of
fact, I was one of the pioneers, personally, in the insurance business
and not due to me or anything I had to do with it, but today it is be-
coming more and more used by businesse So, when I looked at Bobby

Allen I really wasn't guessing. I have been getting so many of these
that I can almost rate a guy when he comes in.

Earl Close's father and mother did not attend college. His father is
a carpenter. He has a brother, I believe, who went to college for one
year. You have been awfully nice to these boys, and if they make it--
fine=-if the don't, we have certainly done everything that we could to
give them an opportunity. They were all recommended to me. Merkel ani
Martin are the only ones I have watched inaction. If a boy was sent
to the “niversity of Kansas from a small town out in Kansas and he did
not make good, it might effect the sending of other boys to the Uni-
versity from that particular town, but Chicago is entirely different.
Selection from here must be on a broad basis and the failure of any
individual will not effect the possibilities of securing other students.
So, don't put yourself out, Doc, if these guys have it and make good--
fine.

Merkel I think ought to make anybody's football club and Martin looked
like a fellow who would develop. Close my be just a good highschool
player and MacLane I don't know about. It doesn’t look to me as if he
is big enough to play football. No promises went out to him. So, what-
ever happens to these guys, it still won't be your fault or anybody's
down at the University. I will say that you certainly have gone to
town with these fellows. If we get two good ones out of the four, it
will be a very fine percentage.