The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1895-02-06
STAMPS BY TIE MILLIONS.
LIMOS GIRLS RACKET THAT
~ KNOCKING OUT THE MAILS.

noR r. Brown, of Kaneville, Wanted
,,;uion Cancelled Stamps to Aid
Her INVALID Sister, a Good
MANY From Dawson.
,ho,t week since letter was re
,sived in Dawson which revealed Z
,.,,e in the form of geometrica
.hoin letter. the sort that has been used
,ofore which was ostensibly for good
orroose and no evidence of being fake.
rood many charitable persons were
:nnressed with it, and complied with its
suggestions.
T. said that there was young lady in
roreville, ILL.,, who had been cripple
.;nce she was ten years old. A medical
;n.titntion there had offered to treat her
g che would secure a million cancelled
~ost.oe stamps. The gIst of the scheme
was in the following paragraph:
nPlease take three copies OF this let
+ar as we have done, only changing the
number at the top, numbering them all
tba same and sign your own name. Re.
+nrp this letter with. ten or more cancelled
hostage stamps, to Miss Edna R. Brown,
Kaneville, ILL.,, also the names and ad-
drosses of the three new letters, and
thew were asked to do the same. Any
one not wishing to do this will please
notify Miss Brown So that she may know
+be chain has been broken. The person
receiving letter No. so will return it
without making any copies, as that ends
the chain"
These letters were not only received in
Dawson but throughout the state, and,
indeed, the entire country. The request
in the letter was in nearly every instance
complied with, and the chain was spin
ming on until some curious parties, who
began to reflect on the magnitude of this
scheme and the enormous number of
cancelled postage stamps thaAwould be
secured for the alleged invalid girl,
wrote to the postmaster at Kaneville
asking if MISS Edna Brown was recelV-
ing any letters. and received the follow
ing reply:
edna Brown does receive letters at
this office In fact, she received twenty
seven bushels of them today. She is
collecting stamps for her sister-in)aw, of
this place, who has been cripple since
six years of age. They collect the stamps
and sell them, but no medical institution
has offered to treat her for cancelled
stamps. She has already many tines a
million, and please do not send any
nore."
The Savannah News says that probably
hundred or more citizens of that place
have contributed to the stamp collection
of the artful little Edna, but they will
not do so again. Many whose sympathies
were aroused also sent Edna money or
deTs. 1t is said that the scheme took
pretty we'll in Columbus, aud hundreds
of cancelled stamps were forwarded to
make the required million.
Kaneyille is a little country place eff
from any railroad line, and is reached by
stage. Ordinarily one small pouch is
sufficient to carry the mail. Since Miss
Brown has gone into the cancelled post
age stamp business the stage is loaded
down with pouches, and extra teams
have been employed to haul the mail.
The worst of it is her mail is increasing
every day, and if the chain in the CORES
pOndence that she started is not broken
pretty soon, the village itself will not be
big enough to hold the mail. The post
master at Kaneville wrote to Washing
ton week ago that Miss Browns mail
vas averaging twentY-seven bushels of
mail day.
Now that the bubble has burst, how
ever, and Edna's little scheme will be
ventilated throughout the country, the !
Chain will be mashed to smithereens,
and the little Kaneville girls mail will
drop to its normal size, probably letter
q month.