Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-08-07

| with the public. If people refuse
to cooperate, the project cannot
| spread.
49,. =. Geometrical Progression -"
A little figuring shows that If nine
series of persons should carry out
the instructions of the original
writer of the current chain letter.
the number of persons assured OF
good luck within a month would
be ABS, 84S, 050-four times the pop
| ulation of this country. Anyone
| knows that even If that many per-
sons would write a chain letter
there isn't enough extraordinary
good luck, or bad luck either, in ex-
istence that could be applied in a
month to the population of a conti-
nent.
Yet a chain letter gets serious at
tention from large numbers OF peo-
pls as Is shown by the protests which
the Post Office Department has re
ceived about the latest one. The
complaints have come from differ
ent parts of the country and have
been spread over a considerable
time.
Why anyone should want to start
a chain letter is a problem in psy-
chology. There is a type of person
who likes to feel that he is exert
ing power. By forcing or introduce
ing a large number of people to do
his will he gets a thrill of pleasure.
| This type of person who does not
' exercise power over others in his
daily life may be the originator OF a
chain letter. This is, however, only
a theory. Some chain letters read
like the product of a joke loving
school boy.
The good luck epistle is the only
l fNyNx ~ ahaip 1Affnr &c pnrhQ ne
the least Objectionable type because
it does not attempt to get money or
to promote the interests of the origi-
nator. AS soon as the chain letter
enters the business field it takes on
a more serious aspect.
The Post Office Department gets
numerous inquiries from people who
realize that the chain system has re-
markable possibilities as a business
device. A firm wants to sell gloves
or stockings or stick pins, perhaps.
1t plans to print books Of tickets.
"a" buys one ticket for one dollar
and sends the ticket and three dol
larst more to the firm. In return he
receives the stick pin advertised and
a book Of three tickets.
One dollar is the price of the pin.
He RECEIVERS the three dollars sen in
extra by selling the three tickets at
one dollar each. The buyers then
each send three dollars and the
three tickets and sell the tickets,
and so the project advances.
The firm cannot lose money. II
gets the price of m article and the
money of the next three customers
before it delivers a pin.
1t the buyer cannot sell the three
tickets sent him he loses that money
and the firm profits by his loss.
The Postal Guide says that: End
lese chain enterprises designed FOL
the sale Or disposition of merchan.
disc or other things of value through
the circulation or distribution Of
coupons, tickets, certificates, I'm
Productions, and the like are hello
to embrace the elements of a lot
terry and also to be fraudulent"
Charity Chain Letters
Tho chain scheme has been ap'
piled to charitable purposes. Or
CARNATIONS of high standing writ,
to the Post Office to know whether
they may solicit funds by sending
out chain letters. Each person woult
be asked to contribute, perhaps. II
cents and copy the letter five times
In other cases the charitable or,
~ganization exists only in the mind O
, the writer. The charitable chair
letter asking for a few cents SEEM
an easy way to get rich quick.
In n instance a political part!
wrote to know whether it could
raise campaign funds by a chain let
ter carrying a request for rs cent
and the mailing of four copies o
the letter.
Some one in the postal service fig
ured out how this apparently tri1int
sum of 25 cents would multiply l
the chain were carried unbroken I,
the twenty-ffth series. The mum
Der of persons reached, he sail
would be 1901, 1855, 790,164. Pu
into words this runs into quadril
iocs, or 100000 times the popula
ton of the world. The amount col
lected would be $S75.2s9,9 6S, 947,
SAL. .
There is still another kind of chair
letter which is sued for advertisinl
purposes. A firm sends out letter
describing the article it handles
The letter say hat il the addresse
will write to the firm he will re
ceive a premium and ten more let
te~s which he is to send to nj
friends in return for the premium.
Ii Where a chain letter is being ussl
to further some interest. the persol
or organization back Of II . ,
I