The Portland daily press., 1895-01-26

More Chain Letters i'll DeerlDg.-Some
Tremendous Calculations.
1t will he remem bered that in Satur-
days PRESS was published an article
in regard to "chain" letter that has
been received by not few people Ill
this city and vicinity, requesting the
sending of ten cancelled postage stamps
to Miss Edna Brown of Kaneville, H.,
so that she might sell them for the bene-
fit of a crippled friend.
This calls forth the following remarka-
BILE story from young Portland man,
who is a Catholic and who says that last
SUNNI err be was collecting cancelled pos
tage stamps, together with several of
his friends, to send to Catholic society
in Not-e Dame, Ind.
He did not know at first for what pur-
pose the stamps were requested, but
learned later, on creditable authority
that this society in Notre Dame, was
sending the stamps to Catholic missions
in China.
AS is we'll known in rural districts in
China the people have decidedly
unique and apparently unfeeling custom
of throwing many of their female infants
into the river, as it is only considered
desirable that certain proportion Of
such infants should be allowed to live.
In fact, one missionary has said that fire.
quently as soon as a female infant is
born It s dropped into tub of water
and only bubble or two proclaims the
end of the life that had just begun.
The Catholic missions according to
the story that comes from Notre
Dame, are making special
special efforts to save these helpless in
fants, and it has been found that they
can be purchased of the parents with
postage stamps, when all other efforts
fail. The people seem to have taken a
great fancy to postage stamps, which
they consider of great attractiveness for
the adornment of the walls of their
houses.
The good sisters in tine missions there
fore, purchase the female infants with
the cancelled postage stamps collected
in this country (some of them in this
city,, and bring them up in the faith
at the missions. saving their souls, as
we'll as their lives.
This is the story as told by this young
Catholic of this city. He has
stopped sending the stamps, but we pre-
sumo that the collection Of stamps for
that purpose is still going on in this city.
MORE ABOUT THE CHAIN LETTER.
Since the publication of the chain"
letter and the facts of it's extraordinary
result, the PRESS has learned of at least
six of these letters received in Deering
during the past week, aud doubtless
there were many more, as these letters
were received by ladies who took the
trouble to comply with the request and
sent three letters each to lady friends.
But we have learned that as a result of
the article in the PRESS at least two of
these ladies have broken the chain," as
far as they were concerned, though
really their action has about the same
Importance that the plucking of two
leaves from tree in full foliage would
have on an effort TO strip the tree of
leaves.
A little calculation will show this to
be true comparison. The numbers of
these letters in Deering were Al and AZ.
Now if you multiply 90 by and SO on
40 times, and then add together the AZ
results, you will have the astounding
total of 1874, 1O4. sos, s57, $50, 449, s12, which
being interpreted is 1874 quintilllons, 104
uuadrillions, sos trillions, S57 billions,
$50 millions, 449 thousands and S12
That represents of course the in
copceivably vast numbe of letters that
would have poured in upon that unfor-
tunate postmaster at Kaneville had
every body complied with the request of
the "chain letter"
Of course the "chain" must
have been more frequently
broken than extended, aud the spreading
of the letters over the country was fire.
quently checked. Yet that so many
should have received these letters in this
far distant section gives some idea of
the enormous number that have been
sent from all over this country to Kane
vile, III.
The only possible way to stop this
thing and save the Kaneville postmaster
from the most unique and horrible fate
in the worlds history is through the
medium of newspaper notoriety. Yet it
is probable that even every newspaper in
the country should publish the clergy
mans request to stop sending letters to
Kaneville as printed in the PRESS,
there would still be people who would
be sending stamps for the crippled girl.
But whether it stops or not it is surely
good thing for the postofice, depart
ment, and who knows but that the de-
ficiency there will be made up, as we'll as
the deficiency in the crippled girls
finances.
Two bookkeepers in this city, experts in
mathematics, saw one of these chain let
tiers, which stated thatthe person receiving
No. 60 need not comply with the request,
as by that tim enough stamps would
be received. 4heir calculation revealed
the fact that possibly more than enough
stamps might have been received, for had