The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-11-29


ence. ~ s93f5.s 49,:
fsrc4u me new Hsvon Paliadtum.I
Our citizens mt1st have noticed thas for
sone months the periodical advertisement
of the names of parties 20 whom letters
have been written from this city and placed
in the post-office without stamps has not
In the public prints. There are
hundreds of careless letter-Writers whose
missires since last spring have been placed
in the post-oificc for distant correspondents,
and who have no suspicious that. except Tor
the enterprise of a gentleman here, Would
not have reached their destination without
the delay OF an announcement that the
Government requirement OF prepayment ior
carriage had been complied with. Mr. John
G. Chapman, partly from a good-llalnreu
wish to contribute to the happiness OF Inc
world generally, and partly from wlsn 10
render his place of business iamiliar WIN
people in distant places, has been III tne naplt
of calling at the post-ofice and alnxing Tue
stamps to such letters as had none, ID oroei
10 insure their immediate TRANSMISSION
through the mails. He buys the stamps anu
sticks them ON every unpaid letter. ana also
pastes on each The following small and neatly
printed card:
.'tTO 6O7lO phOf1tO' 1 has 'etuei w io. -
in the New Haven post-ottice. John u.
Chapman, of New Haven, No. 2oO state
street, has paid the postage. II it does thee
good, let's hear from thee" :,
The large number of letters thus prepaid
will astonish careful people. From April
10th to November 10th, 1872, Mr.. Chapman
has put stamps on 49, drop-etters, and LII
on letters for places out of town-1,6l2 IN
all. For amusement he has kept the letters
of thanks sent to him for his kindness, and
he has also been waited upon personally by
q great many of his beneficiaries, whose
gratitude has been in some instances plqt'tnt-
Nv expressed. From all parts of the country
these letters of thanks have been received,
nearly.al of them containing reimburse
ment of the money paid for the stamps. Two
grateful persons have enclosed in their let
tiers of thanks dollar bill each, and various
odd amounts in stamps have been sent 10
Mr.. Chapman, 4 something over the Original
OUTLAY. As test of the average quality OF
generosity in human nature, the experiment
has been interesting, and great many Tor
whom postage has been paid have taken no
notice of the circumstance. Mr.. Chapman
would be loser on his ventures, except for
the advertising benefit he derives from them.
We have seen some of the correspondence
received and filed, and will give our readers
a few specimens:
A hdy-cydcutly lady, if fine hand
writing is an cvidencc--say>, in lllac-coloreo
ink:
"Sir,-I an very greatly obliged to you for
my letter and forwarding Ii, for
was looking very anxiouSly for 1t, ana you
done me a great kindness
Pleasant reward for so small a matter US
the price of one postaSc-Stalnp. Moreover,
the lady sends two stamps backbone more
than enough to cover the expense.
Here is one from business firm that ap-
parently intends to do something nice
"BoSToN, -,
"John G.. CHAPMAN: Dear Sir,-Through
YOUR kindness we have received letter
which was putinto the office unSlamped. we
arc exceedingly obliged to you for your pains
and trouble. We have read your card upon
the envelope, and will endeavor so to re-
member it that you may some time hear
from U.s."
That is az good as to own a lottery ticket.
Here is a longer one:
"HARrFoRD, CoSN.
"IIy Dear Chdpmm,-NIany thanks for
YOUR kindness. 1t was a wedding affair.
Lest you appear against me in the Judgment
as an incorrigiblc debtor, please find the ac-
companying portrait of G. Washington,
who, according to my vague impression.
was ohsc,lrely connected with the early his
tory of this grl-reat republic. Would Grants
portraits show such Il lit of the skull in the
regions Of the moral sentiments. or Greeley's
portra Is indicate man who never stopped
over?
"Till this gu-rcat Republic promotes to be
its chief officers such men Us you and l
things will continue to 30 to the bad"
The following answer must be from dis
ciple of the lamented William Penn. Iwen-
tv-tive cents were enclosed:
"Many thanks to thee; if thee needs
more, send word and I will send to thee, for
the great good done by the letter received
tonight"
A letter from lawyer Of Rockford, ILL.,,
contains the information that the letter
stamped by the kindness of Mr.. Chapman
contained draft for II 800, and that the
party who sent it had been sent the envc-
lone with request to call and pay the post
age to Mr.. Chapman. The writer, however,
fearing that man who could forget to pre-
pay his letter in the first place would be liza
Die to pay no attention to any request OF the
kind, sends a stamp with this brief:
"Thanks. Respectfully and truly"
A business firm of considerable fame
writes as follows, enclosing ten cents:
L" Mr.. John G. Chapman Dear Slr,-lour
kindness in stamping letter directed to us
is appreciated and we herewith send you
tourfold, though the letter Was of no great
value. Yet it might have been. Had some
generous man like yourself done as much for
Us in New York, 4 few weeks since, on a let
ter stamped with revenue stamps, it would
have given lis the use OF thousand dollars
for ten days, and saved the expense to New
York TO look it up, and some shining to
keep square at the bank.
"Gratefully yours"
From publishing house in New York {:
"Dear Sir,-The letter forwarded through
your kindness and generosity is at hand. :
The law which requires unstamped letters to
be sent to the dead-letter office, where it is
apparent the omission was unlntentional,
ought to be repealed.
at is pleasant to see that there Is one man
at least in this country (yourself) who has
greater faith in the honesty Of the average
American than the Administration has.
Respectfully yours"
A Hartford real estate broker, who knows
how it is himself, writes this funny letter:
"John q. CHAPMAN Dear Sir,-Enclosed
find envelope addressed to me by one -
-, and stamped at your expense. Itwould
appear that she intended to refund me for u
similar outlay, and by inadvertency inhicts
you with cost. We both ca!ling ourselves
philanthropists or Good Samaritans-how
snail we settle our score? I send you stamp
to repay for kindness, with thanks. Its the
same stamp sent by - - to me. Ac-
count stands thus:
Mrs.. Dr., postage paid by S. J. B.......... .os
Mrs, -, Cr., by stamp received. ......... .o3