The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-10
THAT CHAIN OF STAMPS.
The True Story Of Crippled Mettie Garman
She's Not an ImpOstOr.
But Crazy PhanthrOpS Have Driven The Kane Postmaster Wild With
Cancelled Stamps BY the Ton

mans now famous stamp chain" has
Given the little village Of KaneviIle, Ill,
a notoriety which year ago it had not
dreamed Of possessing. A shy little Grip
Med girl has received an amount Of free
advertising many an actress might envy.
The village postmaster has had his ac-
counts overhauled by the postmaster
General, with the result that one or two
rostal clerks are likely to land in the
penitentiary. The government threatens
10 break summarily the endless chain Of
cancelled postage stamps which has buried
Kaneville under its links, and yet very
few people know what all the bother is
about what it means or how it started.
Like other outbreaks of the cancelled
stamp mania this one began innocentIy
and ignorantly. Wild stories are always
aaoat to the effect that somebody Will
give a fortune for a million cancelled
postage stamps. There was a poor old
lady in Yonkers, y. Y, who spent sew
eral years in collecting a million with
which TO get herself into an old ladies'
home. When she had the million she
all the knowledge they can of the real
value Of cancelled stamps. but the grip
Of superstition has upon life was never
better illustrated than in the case of
Mettie Garman.
NIetde has been called fake" but.
far from that, she is a modest, patient
little cripple the life and comfort of the
Garman family and the cherished friend
Of every man, woman and child in the
village Of Kaneville. Bright and cheer
full at all times, she is often singularly
witty in her quaint expressions.
But how did she become involved in
this endless maize of cancelled postage
stamps? Mettie was born 10 years ago
in a little log house in the edge of the
woods locally known as Charter Grove, a
part Of the township of Sycamore, De-
Kalb county, Illinois. Her father was a
country blacksmith. When Mettie was
years old he removed to the village of
Kaneville In an adjoining county. Met
tie at that time was a bright, healthy
child, but two years later, just when she
was about to enter school, she was
stricken with a severe attack of spinal
meningitis. For weeks she lay between
life and death, realizing nothing but the
acute suffering which raeked her little
frame and recovering only to the point
where the terrible pain ceased-the life
and activity of the growing child were
apparently gone forever. After a few
months the useless limbs resumed their
growth and gradually she developed into
young woman of somewhat lessthan the
medium hight, but the paralysis never
departed.
Younger brothers and sisters came to
swell the cares of the already overbur-
dened father, and the hopes Of relief for
the afflicted one through medical aid,
was placed farther and farther in the dis
lance At one time money enough was
saved TO take her to Chicago for cleo
trlcal and massage treatment. She re-
--'mained there short time, deriving
some benefit from it, but the expense was
so great and the Improvement so slow
that she was Obliged to return home be-
lore any great change was apparent.
She afterward went to Aurora, H., but
the old story of big expense and small in
come again necessitated a return home
before 1t was proved whether she could
be cured or not Through this aid and by
constant effort on her part she recovered
the partial use of her hands, proving that
the case was not altogether hopeless.
She had always maintained that some day
She would walk. despite the many disap-
pontments and discourage ments. With
her it has always been Just wait until
next spring, or next summer, or next
winter when papa gets some more money
and then he'll take me to some big DOCTOR
and you'n see"
But papa never got the money. and
the little cripple has remained the little
cripple" and has gone on hoping. One
day last winter a friend in a neighboring
town sent her a package of some 600 can
celed postage stamps, with the message
mat if she could collect a million she
might get enough money out of them to
send her to a hospital. How the story
originated no one knows, but it was a
common rumor in Kaneville that some
hospital school ready to open it's doors.
10 any cripple WHO could turn over
million Cancelled postage stamps. One
lesless boy was said to have received
cork leg for his million and another in
Nalld a reclining chair No one had any
conception of what the stamps were used
Tor or where the hopsital was or what the
hospital wanted of them, but, like the
browning man with the straw, Mettie
was eager to collect her million. She told
an her friends, but as her friends con-
SISTED mostly of Kanevillites who re-
celved an average of one letter a fort
look very easy.
Among Mettie's friends was the Edna
crown whose name has become so wide
~ known through connection with the
vAaln' Edna Brown was Mettie's
brothers. aftianeed wife. and of course,
very warm friend of the little Grip
ple. But Edna Brown had not always
nVed in Kaneville; she had friends out
sue OF Kane county, actually one as far
away as Massachusetts. To this friend
Ssne wrote of her coming marriage and
ner future sister-in-law, and, incidentally,
VI Mettie's efforts to collect a million
SS.dnns. Now, the Massachusetts girl
.aG heard of chains. Hadn't she helped
W Duild church once through a chain
VI Glmes? If chain of dimes would build
aEhurch, why wouldn't chain of stamps
oIect million? She would start at
VHce She wrote three letters of which
is following is a copy, mailing one to
ner friend in Illinois as a sample of the
"orh she had begun.
"A medical institution has offered to
tSeat young lady of Kaneville, ILL.,, who
.'s oeen a cripple since six years of age
a. she can collect 1,O00,O0 cancelled post
se stamps So we have started the
. AN, IN which we ask your aid.
FIease make three copies of this let
w. as l have done, only change the num-
~ 10 the next higher, numbering all
t,|Iee letters the same. Return this let
ri I 10 Miss Edna R. Brown, Kanevllle