The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-19

why some People Get SO Many Cir
cuIars.

why some People Get So Many Cir
cuIars.
From the Philadelphia Record.
Men who have Rugged the delusion
that they are not bald, although the
hair on top of their heads may be
little thin, have been surprised and
panied to receive from distant city
a series of circulars which offer
cure for the most desperate cases of
badness. Other men, with disorderly
internal arrangements. who have been
fighting the fear of Brights disease
have been thrown into panic by the
receipt of confidential circulars which
promise to stay the ravages of that
grave ailment. Still others, who have
or who fear they have some organic
malady, have wondered how remote
vender of proprietary medicines has
discovered that fact and has been able
to deluge them with depressing litera-
| ture.
The explanation is that there has
been a development of the Jay list
idea AS most persons know, the Jay
list" consists of the names of persons
who have in a moment of strange
credulity or idle curiosity replied 70
an advertisement which has offered
something for nothing and valuable
prize thrown in. From the day one re-
plies to such an advertisement he 10
a marked man and a nuisance to the
| overworked local postmaster. He Is
| doomed to receive circulars and pam
| phlets by the CARLOAD from all parts
| of the country. and on all subjects,
from green goods to gold bricks. The
! advertiser to whom he wrote has solo
his name and the names of thousands
of other credulous or curious persons
to every firm which has scheme FOR
wrestling money from the conhding.
Out of this has grown the enterprise
| of an advertising agent, VINO
has made It his business to
| compile lists of afflicted per-
sons in different communities These
lists he offers for sale to manufacturers
| and vendors of cures. He boasts that
he employs persons to discover people
who are afflicted in any way His al
phabetical list begins with asthma ana
extends to and includes warts. He Of
fers to sell the names of 275,OOO bald
| headed persons, !, 800 persons. who have
| each lost an ear and 100 persons who
have lost a nose. 100000 very fat per-
| sons 900 stammererS, etc. While the
| average price per 1000 names is about
IS, in the case of warts he demands
| $40 for each 1000 names. He offers the
names of 5000 persons who are inter-
| ested in amateur photography, 100000
believers in hypnotisn, 10000 red hair
| ed women. etc. 1t is conceivable that
many of the 5000 persons who have ffts
may be sources of profit to the manu-
| facturer of a cure, or that some OF
the 100000 unmarried men twhose
names are offered at the low rate OF
81 per 1,000) may be induced to patron
ize a matrimonial bureau, but what can
be the object in compiling a list of 20,-
900 red haired women? Perhaps Il a
man should want TO buy white horses,
and should want to know where to find
them, this list might be of service; but
| such a contingency is remote.
If the object Of the originator of this
scheme be to bring the vendors of rem
| e6ies into direct communication with
the afflicted. without the cost OF news
paper advertising. there are many sub
stantial reasons against his plan. The
fact that the compiler of the lists has
| himself advertised his collection in a
| publication suggests that he lacks con
| fidence in the efficacy of the system.
Otherwise he would compile a list Of
| the persons who buy lists and would
assault them with circulars.