Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-08-10
WORK OF A FOOL OR A KNAvE.
Was 10 be Sent to Nine Persons
Who in Turn Were 10 Send
II Forward.
"Dreadful Accident" TO Follow Failure
To Do So. To Rewrite II Was 10
BE Delivered from All Calamity.

Boston. Aug. 1910 much annoy
ance has been caused TO the Right
Rev. William Lawrence, Episcopal
bishop Of Massachusetts,, by the food
Of letters which has been pouring In
FIR reyeral months regarding the So
called endless chain Of prayer al
leged to have been started by him that
the bishop has found II necessary to
issue the following denial that he
IS connected with the matter
The endless chain OF prayer. said
70 have been written by Bishop Law
renee, IS a hoax. Bishop Lawrence Of
Massachusetts, never wrote It and
knows nothing about It. 1t IS the
work OF some demented or mischeyi-
Gus person
A denial that such q scheme had
been started by any church official or
dlgnitary was promptly published In
el the Episcopal church papers. az
well as IN the local secular papers IN
many cities. The church officials ESQ
sent 10 Episcopal clergymen through
cut the country o letter describing the
hoax. Despite this. however there IS
scarcely q day when Bishop Law
renee does not receive letters contain
Ing inquiries concerning H. Such
queries have come recently from Flor
ida. Texas. northern and western
states and pointa IN Canada. while
only this week a query regarding II
vas received by Bishop Lawrence
from Paris France.
The prayer begins with an invoea-
ton for divine mercy on an mankind
and says II was SEM by Bishop Law
r1lce who recommended IL 10 be
sent to nine persons Misfortune was
threatened 10 whom sOcyer failed TO
send II. on the other hand It promises
that 'he who will re-write this prayer
will be delivered from every calamity
The inquiries concerning the endless
chain and comments on Il which have
been received by Bishop Lawrence and
by church and secular papers indicate
that the fears Of many persons have
been so worked upon by the mention
of dreadful accident" as the penalty
FOR falling 10 comply with the condi-
tons OF the scheme that they have not
only aided In the spread Of the prayer
hut have felt great terror lest they
might meet With misf01ur,a. One OF
the most striking letters regarding the
matter was received by the editor OF
a Montreal paper from a correspondent
IN British Columbia.
This correspondent wrote as follows.
81 enclose you a copy 81 a letter (the
endless chain letter. with which the
United states and Canadian malls are
flooded received the seventh today
from Canada and have resolved % give
the matter publicity. one Of my lady
correspondents writes me that she IA
sick with fear for her husband would
not Jet her follow the directions IN the
letter she received ~ the kind and
she was a afraid that some calamity
would befall herself or family that she
has disobeyed lim and written secretly
nine letters and sent them on 10 as
many different parties. myself being
one Of the victims. thus placing nine
others under the ban OF the curse as
she calls H. n they do not do likewise.
] am sending a copy ~ the letter that
is causing so much discussion to several
ot The leading newspapers IN Canada
and the United States. and hone the
matter VIII be 50 widely discussed that
Il Viii put a stop to such sacrillglon."