The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-11-26
A FLOOD OF POSTAGE STAMPS.

DEOO6D1Y VIO OOCACSU 4OOA VI AoSOO RSSS
master in the United States. Kaneville
is a village of about 100 people, forty
miles from Chicago, and five miles
from the nearest railroad. An average
of 5000 letters, addressed to n per
son, Miss Edna r. Brown, arrive there
daily, coming from all parts Of the
United States and every civilized por-
ton of the globe, and each contain
either postage stamps or money, gen
orally stamps.
This all came about in a simple way,
and shows the wonderful power Of CO.
operation. Just think of it! You would
probably be richer than any person in
the world if every person would send
you a postage stamp. Miss Brown had
a girl friend, Miss Katie E Garman,
who has been afflicted from childhood
with a spinal trouble. Miss Brown,
believing that her friend could be re-
stored, if placed in care of specialists,
at the suggestion of some one, started
a fund to pay for the surgical opera
ton. The method of raising the money
was to form a ''chain." She wrote to
three of her friends asking them to
send a postage stamp each, explaining
what it was for, and also requesting
them each to write a letter to three of
their friends making the same request,
and so on. This was started in Sep
TENDER last year and has been a o
derful ucces and still the letters pour
in on the helpless postm ster at Kane
vile. Last week the letters began to
pour in from foreign countries contain
ing stamps, and the number grows
rapidly. To show how fast the letters
are increasing, some one has figured
out the matter as follows: The first
letter brought three replies. The three
persons each wrote to three others,
bringing twenty seven, the next series
brought eighty one, the next two hun.
dred and seventy three. When the
thirteenth series was reached the mum
Der Of letters received exceeded a mil
lion and one half. The increase is
colossal from thence. If the chain is
unbroken, the number of the letters in
the fttieth series would be 269 8 kill
lions, 18l quintillions, 72O qurdrillions,
169 trillions, GU billions, $40 millions,
GOA thousands and GIL.
Some of the letters contain money
sent by sympathetic people who hope
to benefit the afflicted girl. And still
they come. In a short while after the
"chain" was started the young lady
was sent to Chicago and pronounced
incurable. Miss Brown, the originator
of the idea, has since married. For
awhile efforts were made to open all
the letters, but it soon became a hope
less task, and they ri now piled up in
the Kaneville postofice and at the
home of Miss Brown, now Mrs Gar
man, unopened, The p~os5ofice authori-
ties at Washington have sent an In
spector to see what can be done about
it, and efforts will be made to give
publicity to the fact that stamps
enough have been received to make
the aft ,cted girl rich, and that no more
are needed. Some of the letters con
tanned as much as S. in cash. Many
of the stamps sent are what is known
as rare" onas, and have been sold for
good prices, two bringing S. Zach. The
first call vast for stamps from envelopes,
cancelled stamps, there being sale for
them, but many of the stamps are good
ones, having been used as post
age. Altogether it is a remarkable iu-
cident, and shows how easily a fund
can be raised for an aft cted person, if
this or a similar system is adopted,
and nobody contribute much either.