The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-05-04
A "CHAIN-LETTER" EXPERT
ENCE.

I have received several requests to
warn correspondents against the last mil
lion-stamp- collector, and as our imitation
of Trumbull's famous portrait of Wash
ington represents him as dropping down
miniature likeneses of himself in the
shape of two-cent postage stamps, this
is the place for it, although most of you
must have already read the exposure in
the daily papers. The device was on
the familiar "chain-letter" plan, which
was supposed to have outlived it's USE
fullness as vexatious method of beg.
ging contributions for some worthy
charity. The letters were in this form.
MATTAKEEsETT.
Miss Alice c. Bradford, Plymouth:
| A medical institution has offered to
treat young lady of Kaneville, who has
been cripple since six years of age, if
she could collect one million Cancelled
stamps; so we have started the chain
in which you are asked to aid. Make
three copies of the letter as have done,
only changing the date and putting the
next higher number at the top, number
ing all the same, and signing your own
name. Return this letter with ten or
more cancelled stamps to Miss Edna r.
Brown, Kaneville, Kane Co., Ill. Also
the names and addresses of the three to
whom you have written and they in their
turn are asked to do the same. Any one
not wishing to do this is asked to return
the letter to Miss Brown, that she may
know the chain is broken. Although
this may seem very small thing to you,
yet any one breaking the chain will in.
volve serious results to this enterprise.
The person receiving No. so will please
return this letter without making any
copy, as that ends the chain.
Yours truly,
BETTY ALDEN.
Now, this looks very simple, innocent
and pretty. The only risk seems to be
less some careless or upsympathetic per-
son should "break the chain" and thus
Involve serious results to the enter
prise!" The fifty letters were apparent
IL written. That received by Sarah
Noah was No. 10. and with cheerful
alacrity she mailed the copies to three
like-minded candidates for benevolent
work. One Corner boy sends me copy
of his letter-No. 35. An old friend of
mine away down on the st. Croix River,
within a biscuit toss of New Brunswick
! twho never allows any one to get to the
windward of him), sent me the appeal
No. Az took the liberty of breaking
my link in the chain and returning the
letter to Miss Edna r. Brown, asking
the name of the medical institution"
and one or two other practical?? No re-
ply has been received.
Noticing the location of Kaneville, l
also wrote to Corner boy near by and
received from him cutting from the
"home paper" of Kaneville, trying
-. to discourage the farther sending of
stamps to Matte German. She already
has more than she knows what to do
with. 1t is estimated that she has four
or five millions. From fifteen to twenty
thousand letters day containing
stamps. besides numerous packages,
both by mail and express. are received.
There is romantic side of the matter
too, for our member writes
You will notice that the article says,
Matte German" Miss Edna R. Brown
started out to get stamps for Miss Cor
man, who is the cripple. and bias since
married her brother. l do not know of
any medical institution, and it certainly
cannot be very big affair if there is one
at all. BRADLEY B.
The ludicrous side of the affair is the
distressed condition of that little coun-
try town, with 400 people. utterly
swamped by the tremendous response to
their appeal for charity, the ministers,
postmaster and doctor receiving scores
of letters asking about the case, bushels
of letters still unopened, 10000 letters
day coming in at last accounts, the
seventeen sacks Of mail" preventing the
stage driver from carrying passengers
flor Uncle Sans letters always have the
preference), the postmaster general
writing from Washington to know who
these parties are, etc.
The remarkable thing about it is the in
credible number of letters which would
have come in il and others had not
broken the chain! A Corner boy. whose
mathematics l have no reason to doubt,
tells me that if all the fifty "links" had
been completed, the total number of
persons sending would have been three
hundred and fifty-nine million trillions.
and the number of stamps. if all sent
only ten each, ten times that amount.
He says there are not SO many people
living on the globe.-The Congregations
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