The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-01-19

victims continue to write me for sympa-
thy. am sorry for them, but am
amazed at their stupidity and credulity
Now here are two clever, needy women
in this community who sent $25 each to
one of these fakirs and each sent him a
list of twenty-five names-not subscribers
but names. The women knew very we'll
that nobody here wanted the paper and
so they begged or borrowed or made some
sacrifice to get the money and went dill
igently to work writing letters and send
ing circulars to other, women at other
places urging them to join the scheme
and get years employment at $40 a
month. And these last women sent So
each and got to work writing to a third
set of women, and so it goes on and on
in an endless chain growing longer and
longer and widening and branching out
as it goes until, if it keeps on, it will en-
brace the continent and then cross the
ocean and chain up all Europe. That is
the principle on which all these endless
chain schemes are based. OF course the
chain will break sooner or later and
am pleased to learn that one of them
he will protect his agents. He cannot do
it, His last circular tells his agents to
stop working in North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama
for he has pretty well covered these States
with agencies and now they must work
up the western and northwestern States
And so / continue to receive letters from
Arkansas and Texas almost overy day
oc1yi OH bo
writes me from Colorado, Texas, that her
little children picked cotton to raise the
s25 for her invalid sister who wanted to
work and to get the monthly salary. She
sent the money and list of names, for
she could not get single subscriber,
and the fakir sent her dollar and that
is all she has ever received, and she asks.
rs 1t possible that any human being is
mean enough to rob starving woman
and her children? Is it possible that
Bill Arp would raise up boy like
that?" No, he cannot protect his agents.
1t would take Alsddin's lamp to comply
with his promises. He got $50 from these
two women in this town. ! don't know
how many al Kingstown and Adairsville.
He has promised $175 to each, which
makes $3.50 for one town. No doubt he
has 300 agents in Georgia and it will take
over $4,000 to pay them. Then multiply
that by four other States that he says he
has already covered. OF course he can't
lay his agents. But he pays enough to
get few credentials. One lady writes
me from Milledgeville and defends him
and says he has paid her so far and she
believes he is an honest man. Another
writes from the same county and says he
won't pay her anything and will not an
swer her letters. 1T is to be hoped how
ever, that he will refund the $25 to each
agent. But take another view of this
wonderful scheme. There are fifty of his
papers received here at this office ard
not one of them represents subscriber.
Our people took them out for a while,
thinking they were some of these sample
copies that flood the country. But they
have found out better and refuse to take
them out, for they do not want them and
they fear that somebody will be calling
for the money. Now If our county is an
average there has been sent from the
State to that one town from eight to ten
thousand dollars and got back nothing
that anybody in Georgia wants.
Another paper writes me very tartly
about it's scheme and advises me to let
things alone that l do not understand.
The publisher sends to me copies of his
circulars and asserts that it is nothing
like the other plan. Well it is more
liberal, for it asks only $40 to get ten sub
soribers and an agency and start the
chain ard promises $24 month for every
FIVE agents secured ip month My We
had already received two letters urging
her to take an agency and make $25
month so easy. OF course she declined,
for she didn't care to beg any one to
take paper he didn't want, nor would
she send her own money and list of
names and write to other women to come
in the scheme.
| will not say it is fraud, for have
reason to believe that the publisher is
honest and conscientious, but the scheme
is a delusion and a snare and is in very
bad company. The agents can't get gen
uine subscribers and will send their own
money and list of names.
And here comes another scheme from
another Georgia town. 1t says: "Send us
$50 and we will employ you at $40 month
for twelve months to write five letters a
day and get agents to work for us and
will pay 50 extra for each agent over five
in month. Some Of our agents get from
ten to fifty new agents monthly and make
from $40 to s1i0 month. 1t will take
only few minutes every day to write
the letters" That beats the original. l
reckon they must have thousand agents
in Georgia getting $40 a month. That
takes $4,000 year to pay them. Does
anybody believe that? And yet this in
vestment company does not seem to have
anything to SELL but will get you a sew
ing machine, gold watch, bike or
gun. They refer you to long array of
references.
But here is one from North Carolina,
where the cherry trees grow: Greatest
money making plan of the twentieth
century.
$50 per day made at home mailing cir
culars 1t breaks all records and the
money comes rolling in" These are the
head lines of the offer. The body of the
circular is too long and too fascinating to
copy. 1t might injure Atlanta's shoe
trade to spread this kind of news in your
columns. A lady writing to me from
brownsville says her neighbor, a good,
sensible lady was induced by this cir
oular to send $3.50 to another lady, who
was an endless chain agent for this North
Carolina party and got q pair OF shoes