New-York tribune., 1903-07-11
FRAUD ORDER ISSUED.
ENDLESS CHAIN SCHEME.
Use of Mails Denied to american
Streetcor Transportation Co.
IFRoM THE TRIRuNE BUREAU.l ]

Washington July 10.-One of the first official acts
of Postmaster General Payne arriving in Wash
ington from the Catskllls yesterday was to sign
his name to an order forbidding the of the
mails the American Streetcar Transportation
Company, of Brooklyn This company presents to
the public an auring scheme by which tickets for
rides any streetcar in the country can be OBJ
tanned for cent each. Assistant Attorney Gen
eral Robb in drawing up his against the COM
pany goes into the scheme with his slate and pen
ell and arrives at the conclusion that to do what
the company p1 omises would involve the partclpa-
ton of seventyseven billion people before the six
teenth series of the endless chains had been
reached. with only hundred chains started,
and the company. it is said. has started many more
than this number.
The plan, as explained in the opinion of Mr. Robb.
contemplates the purchase by individual of a
book containing four coupons. called '1ntroduc-
tons" for 81. Three of these coupons are to be
sold by the purchaser to three of his friends for %
cents each These purchasers are to remit 10
cents to the company for coupon books OF their
own and when they have done this the original
purchaser receives twenty-five tickets for the
% cents he has expended.
Mr.. Robb makes his opinion novel and interesting
by figuring out a single chain to the sixteenth
series The numbe~ of persons required to continue
the chain proceeds geometrically by multiples of
three, while at the same time the field OF avail
able purchasers narrows correspondingly with each
step of progression. With single chain which
has reached the sixteenth series, the number or
persons involved. according Mr.. Robbs figures
amounts to 12913287S. If all these persons are to
receive twenty-five car tickets each, they must
find 3S7,3S9,519 persons who will each purchase
coupon and send it to the company with 70 cents
1t is to be noted Mr.. Robb remarks. that not only
these 12o 1872 S73 persons addition all their
predecessors in the chain, aggregating in number
43 291 have been removed from the field Of avail
able purchasers. Thus. if these 12e 1$2SlS persons
must deal with $685. 519 persons exclusive OF them
selves and their predecessors.
the company is assumed TO be operating at least
should reach the sixteenth series there would be
S people 4X9ived who must "a So ~ IN STder G 70
persons who will buy 'introductionS'' and remit
e eed hf In emp M e ofs fs of se Which
the company would have TO dispense would be 6d5.-
man. woman and child of the SoIO0O population
Coming back to what actually happens in the
working of the scheme, Mr. Robb says that out Of
m 6rfS fe eases Of get Sot6fng
borton Of the tickets each The money
in the scheme is shown when Mr.: Robb declares
foS tckets tbe in se three hundred cases is 20 cents
for each ticket 1t is because OF the impossipty
of making the scheme work out--an imposslbity
not set forth by the company to its PatroRs-t5at
lent lottery and a violation or law
Adam Kessel jr., secretary of the American
Street Car Transportation Company, of Brooklyn,
against which the Postof1ce Department has issued
a fraud order said late yesterday afternoon that
they had received intimation OF any such action,
and up to that time had received their mail regu-
larIy. Thomas w Bolles. jr. is president of the
company and W. Neumann is treasurer. The COM
pany tas been doing extensive business for sew
eraI years. Six employed all the time
in the offices of the concern. in the Temple Bar
Building.
The scheme Is an endless chain enterprise
whereby the public is supposed to be able to get
fve-cent streetcar tickets for cent. They
call it Cooperation" scheme, and describe it
to prospective patrons in their advertising
follows
First-You must secure Introduction from
friend or agent which Will cost you % cents. You
then return the Introduction and 10 cents to us
and receive a book of three introductiOns Up
to this point you have invested 81. You then dis
pose of the three introductiOns from the book re-
ceived from for % cents and keep the 10 cents.
You then have only 25 cents invested. The stubs
are returned to us and as the introductions which
you dispose Of arrive at Office you are notified
follows
Should only one introduction return, you receive
eight rides; if two inlroductions are returned
receive sixteen rides, and II three introductohs
are returned you get twenty-five car rides.
The company gets % cents for hundred car
rides under all circumstances and has, it is said,
made large profits through the failure of persons
to sell their certificates. The officials of the COM
pany say their business is legitimate.