Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-05-25
x, BRATTLEBORO, FRIDAY, MAY 25, 1894.
a Word of Warming,
Given by l.. VI. woodland of Halifax
against the "Chain" Method of Rais-
ing Money.

Given by l.. VI. Woodland of Halifax
against the "Chain" Method of Rais-
ing Money.
Editor Of The Phonir:
Dear Sir:-It is not often that have
occasion to ask a favor by way of a little
space in your paper, but now have a case
which | believe justiiies me, for the benefit
of friends and the public, in asking for
| such favor. | have received a letter of
| which the following is an exact copy
25
THE ladies' of the Congregational church Of
| Whiting, Vt, are DESTROYS of starting fund for
/ the purpose of repairing their church, and they
/ ask your assistance The plan is this: Make
/ three copies of this letter and put the number
next higher than the one on this page at the top
| of each Then return this letter with 10 cents
and the name and address OF each Of the three
| persons to whom you have sent letters to Mrs.
/ Oliver Huntey, Lei. ester Junction, Vt. Any
| one who receives a letter and is unwilling TO do
| this is asked to forward this to Mrs. Huntley,
that she may know that the chain is broken
! The person receiving number p should send 10
| cents without copying any more, as that is the
completion of the chain. Although this may
| seem small matter, yet will you not do it for
! Christs sake? Any one breaking the chain Will
cause a serious loss to the enterprise
A careful perusal of this letter shows it
to contain three modest requests: First,
will you make three copies of this letter.
sign your name and send them to three of
your friends. The letter you receive has
at the top say number / you will put
number , on your copies, and your friends
to whom you send them will put number
3 on the copies they make, and so on up to
p.
Second, you will please send 10 cents to
the enclosed address for an object which
you know nothing about, returning this
letter, with the name and address of each
! tp rt,n nj 70 f,a
original writer, of whom you know moth
ing. Every one who receives a letter is re-
quested to do the same.
Third to provide against failure, if you
are unwilling to do this you are asked to
forward this "to the address given, so she
may know the chain is broken and have
an opportunity to mend it. although
this may seem a small matter, yet will you
not do it for Chrst's sake? Any one
breaking the chain will cause a serious loss
! to the enterprise These letters are to be
| passed on till number p is reached then
q no more letters are to be written.
Now the apparently modest request con-
tanned in this letter, when viewed from the
. standpoint of mathematical demonstration,
becomes a monster of such huge proper
. tions as to startle the mind in its contem-
j plation. Take the case before us: The
q original writer sends out three of these
: begging letters; each of these three letters
y is TO be copied three times, making nine
; more; each of the nine copied three times
. adds - to the number; three times - is
81, and three times 81 is 243. The sum OF
y this series, and there is a rule for it which
every well-informed mathematician know:
# how to apply is 1858. According to the
v plan then, 363 letters have been written
6 each bringing contribution of 10 cents
n making 5000. Now continuing thi,
s reckoning through the p multiplications
q if no links have been dropped, 1870 932
; 9l4, 1913 letters have been written and a.
many 10 cents sent back to headquarters
! making fund of Sl21, 093, POI, 1850 t
e assist in accomplishing the object named
v Surely it ought to be enough to build any
i church the promoters desire, and breakin.
the chain must be disastrous indeed.
: Nor is this all Each of the first tire,
dimes represents 10 cents in postage-on,
I stamp to send the letter out, one to return
q it with the contribution to headquarters
, and three to send out the copies. Ever!
- time the request in the letter is compiled
"a with it costs the donor eight cents in post
a age, or four-fifths as much as is sent to tn,
N solicitor. In the case of a limited serie
N like the present, if the entire series is full
ly completed, each letter costs four cents
"A two to send it out and two to return it t,
Ia headquarters with the dime, two-fifths a
To- much as contributed.
10 In the present series of % terms tn
I 1,27O,9 1882, 9l4, 1913 letters would cost il
~ postage S25, AIS, 65S, 2S3.26; allowing one
a half cent for sheet of paper and enve
10 ope, the stationery would cost ST, 3j4 COS
4 570.S1, and adding together the stationery
the postage and the contribution asked fol
10 we have a total of $15S, 500, 6lS, 270.31
~ without taking account of time demande
20 % to do the work, and all this for cause c
- which the writers know nothing, eXceI
~ ~ the first three. This is exactly what
"a asked for by this very modest letter.
lT We are asked to approve of this plan b
~ sending our mite of 10 cents to its pre-
~ moters ''for Christ's sake" Can any san
man or woman believe that Christ woul
= approve of such plan, with such poss
bilities of evil in it? l would not sa
aught against any Christian, charitable o
philanthropic work, by whomsoever III
dertaken, nor am | unmindful of the eN
hortation in Gal. VI, 10: GAS we have or
g portunity let us do good to all men, bu
will not the receivers of such letters OF
serve the spirit of this eXhortaton quit
as much by breaking the chain, burnin
n up the letter, and so do one good deed
they never do another?
If this letter should come to the motto
k of the promoter of this plan she will un
q derstand why the receiver of No. - doe
y not respond to the request therein contain
+ ed. In fact the writer looks upon thi
plan as an evil, feeding voraciously upon a
r unsuspecting public; and as he makes II
+ secret of his position in regard to the plan
Y he signs himself, Truly,
L. NJ. WooDARD,
\ Halifax, VT