The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-27
ANOTHER ENDLESS CHAIN.
Scheme Sprung on Unsuspecting Public
Yesterday.

Yesterday.
A scheme of tremendous impossibilities
was sprung upon Portland's poor I'M
suspecting public yesterday. 1t appears
in the shape of the endless chain. and
plunges everybody into the intrlcaoies
of arithmetical progression.
A company has appeared on the scene
which proposes to sell $3.50 shoes for 10
cents per pair and this Is how it Is done:
Mr.. A. goes to this Office and buys
small. and innocent looking book contain
ing five coupons. For this hook he pays
90 cents. He is then to proceed to sell each
of these coupons to B, G, d, Il and r.
who each pays him Is cents for the cou-
pom. Now the company tells Mr.. A that
when he has sold these coupons to the
other i've persons and each of the other
i've have gone to the head Office and pur-
chased similar books paying the Office
rs cents therefor-when this done-then
the company agrees to give to Mr.. A an
order on q certain shoe dealer for pair
of 50. SO shoes which it is readily seen
actually cost Mr.. A. just 10 cents. All
right for Mr.. A, but what becomes OF
the other fellows. Messrs. B, G, D, e and
F, having purchased their books forth
with, proceed to dispose of their coupons.
each of them to five others, and when
they have done that and the five others
in each case have gone to the company's
Office and paid their rs cents then they
in turn get their shoes for Is cents. Now
26 persons have become involved. The
company has received 80 cents from A,
IS cents each from B. 9, D, and +, and
also rs cents each from the five others
to whom the second lot sold, or 80 times
IS cents, which is s22.5O, plus the original
80 cents. making S2s.40 for which they
have delivered six pairs of shoes at $3.50
each, or $21.00. The company is thus
81 80 ahead Of the game plus whatever
commission they compel the shoe dealer
to pay for this wonderful advertising
they are giving him. This 81. 80 seems
very small, but where do the 25 people
who have paid in their rs cents and as yet
got nothing for it come in? They must
each and all sell to five others or 1875 pao-
pie in order to get their shoes and these
1875 In turn to five others, each making
625, again another five and'you have
s, 125, again another five and you have
Is, 6s5, again. another five and you have
"a, 1876, again another five and you have
800, 625 persons, or more than half the
entire population of Maine. All this is
upon the basis of only one original book
being sold at 80 cents. As matter Of
fact however, this company started say
100 original books, then your ultimate
figures must be multiplied by 100. The
point of most Importance is that there
nan never be an end..to the thing. There
are not enough people In the whole world
to carry the thing through one series let
alone series of 100 originals. It is alb
solutely without limit, and the result of
1t must inevitably be that those on the
end come out losers, and the company
will have an enormous sum Of money as
q result of its brilliant mathmatical cal
culations.
Or, look at the scheme from little
different point Of view. Say there ale
100 original books sold announcing to
800. 90. these must be sold to 500 others,
and these 500 must pay 70 cents or $780,
90 plus the $50. making $4,000; now these
sell to another i've, making $500 people;
these to another five, making II, 500; an |
other five and you have SO, 500 persons
Now add all these figures together, 100,
500. $500, 1850. g. 500, making 70. 100
persons who have paid the company
I5S, 1880. Shoes have presumably been
delivered to all but th Q last 81, 500 or 49,
600 pairs at $3.50, making S54, 60U.00. The
company Is thus over 81, 600 winner and
SO, 500 people are out rs cents each or s52,
shoes..for the other 1860 people.
OF course the thing will never reach
such result, but stop the chain where
you will large number Of persons are
losers. having paid their good
money for others to wear out on their feet. |
Another feature of this remarkable
scheme is the loss to individuals through
the failure of the persons to whom they
sell coupons to 60 to the Office and carry
out the rest Of the plan. Surprising as
in the first instance Mr.. A sells coupons
to B, G, d, K and F, and either one Of
them loses his ticket or through care
lsssness or negligence or indifference
fails to go to the Office, then A loses his
shoes.
Though this scheme may not be in
Of statute law, it certain
" is in conflict with sound business
methods.
MAINE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.