The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-07-11

Dowden and Chief of Police Weeks OF
that village are In despair. and Miss
Schenck and her mother have asked the
Sun TO announce that they wish the
chain broken and the innux OF letters
and money 10 cease. o.
Miss Schenck liz IL years old. She
took a great interest in the war ana
decided TO help the Red Cross move
ment. Her mother is a cousin or Mrs
August Belmont, and during the sum-
mer they live With Mrs. scnencks
Ssrother. Mr.. Matthew Morgan. IL was
from Mr.. Morgan's house that MISS
Schenck wrote TO a number OF her
friends asking each OF them 10 send her
10 cents and 10 write to four OF their
friends with the same request. the
letter sent out was as follows;
THE ice plant auxiliary i'm connec-
ton with the National Red Cross, peing
in need OF money 10 supply the am
], bulance ships. a chain has been formed
To collect some and IL you. on receiving
this. viii make four copies and send
them to four of your friends you VIII
greatly help the wounded soldiers.
When you have made four copies,
please return this letter 10 Miss Nataile
Schenck. Babylon. Long Island, Win
10 cents inclosed. The number starts
at one and ends at one hundred, so that
the person receiving the latter number
will send 10 cents To Miss Schenck,
same address, without making copies
Please number the head of each copy
and make them exactly like this one
only number the next highest number
and sign your name and address TO
each copy. Please make no delay I'm
sending out copies. and above all do
not break the chain that means SO
much to our brave soldiers on land
and sea-"
Within three days Miss Schenck had
a
next day the number was slightly IN
| creased. Within a week Postmaster
| Dowden noticed that she was getting q
hundred letters a day.
That's good many" said Postmas-
ter Dowden. but all OF sudden things
took a big jump. The post office was
swamped by Miss Schencks letters.
| had to hire an extra clerk, and this
morning over $500 letters came To her
| I'm the one mail. III this thing doesn't
! stop I'll have to hire lot more clecks.
and there is no telling how far II Will
| go.''
| Then Postmaster Dowden began re-
| ceiving letters of inquiry asking IL Miss
| Schenck was really collecting money
| for the Red Cross, or IL IL was SWIM
die.
| "They inclosed stamps" said the
| postmaster. mournfully so / had To
answer them. am not Obliged to an
i
then some kicker writes TO washington
that l am keeping their stamps. Why,
/ I've sent hundreds OF answers to In
| quiries, simply taking their letters and
indorsing them This is O. X.
When Chief Of Police Weeks gets
angry he shows IL as he walks through
the streets by switching viciously with
his light rattan cane ut every weed he
passes. There's hardly a weed left I'm
| Babylon. Chief Weeks has been work.
ing overtime answering letters about
| Miss Schenck's chain" until his pa
thence Is exhausted. The Sun has also
received n number OF letters, or which
the following Is a sample:
Boston, July s, 1898.
ITO the Editor OF the Sun-Sir: j in
| close a copy OF chain letter which Is
flooding the country, Please inform
me II this letter Is what II represents
itself to be- namely, a help TO our sol
diers, or IL IL is only another bunco
game. READER.
But these are as nothing to what Miss
Schenck received. More than $4,000 let
ters have been carried to her home.
Some contained money, some contained
advice, some contained excuses. and
some contained threats. or these last
named one was signed by M. Williams,
1855 Jefferson avenue, Detroit, Mich
and read as follows:
There is n rumor here that your end
less chain is n swindIe. Unless j hear
from you by next Tuesday. telling me
everything is all right to my satisfac-
ton, 1 will advertise your game In the
newspapers and expose YOU -
or the letters received more than 200t
contained no money. The excuses were
| many and varied Many of the writers
declared their hostility to the scheme
One woman wrote six closely writer
| pages explaining that her eyes were 50
II a. n. ard
the four letters required, but she ap
proved of the scheme. She failed Il
inclose 10 cents. however.
All letters were not like these. Th'
majority contained dimes. but severa
had dollar bills, and number sen
checks. The postmarks showed tha
the chain had reached to every state II
the Union, to Canada. to Mexico ant
even to cuba. A letter containing |
dime came from Mrs. Mckinley; an
other came from Mrs. James A. Gar
field. while letter from President Nc
, | Kinley is saved and Is highly priced
The Hon. Levi p. Morton also sent
; | dime, as did each member OF his ram
, lily.
Twice each day a number of clothe
/ | baskets are placed In cart and drivel
TO the post office. The letters ofte
overflow the baskets and have to b
tied In bundles. Then the six member
| or the famtly all 20 10 WORK anu pcBi
opening the letters. They are no'
: about $500 letters behind, and are 1
q | dread Of what Monday will bring fort
| with the two days mail.
4 Miss Schenck has already forwarde
$500 to Miss Katherine Lcverich, VIII
has charge of the ice auxiliary funt
: She has received number of letters
. which the writer's demand that sh
publish In the newspapers each da
J, the amount OF money she obtains, bt
she has decided, on the advice of he
: uncle, Mr.. Morgan. to allow Miss Levs
| rich to make all announcements.
This is undoubtedly the most sue
cessful endless chain ever started" sal
Mrs. Schenck. ''and had realized whs
my daughter was starting / would ha>
n stopped IL. We did not consider wins
the patriotic Americans were capab
Of We want IL stopped, and IL the Su
n will print our desire, ] believe that "
will cease TO be overwhelmed. as "
u now are, by the food Of letters"
: Mr.. Morgan thinks that Postmast,
Dowden deserves great credit. 1T
: daily mail I'm this village" said M
Morgan, docs not average over 300 le
/ =. .lax, IIaro a. tut,no IN vaa ri