The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-05-24

cases brought lean years, thought the
millennium had arrived. Every avail
able one had been pressed into service
and was working overtime. Notaries
were receiving 25 cents a letter.
Typewriters, ordinarily rented for So
for three months, were getting as much
as $3.50 day. Great lines Of people
were. stampeding to gain entrance to
the exchanges where they could lay
down their hard-earned dough and pro-
mote some easy money. One account
said nothing like it had happened since
the Confederates rode into town in 81
A typical exchange was one which
called its letter the "Cream of the
Crop" Ten names appeared on the
list. To join the chain, one had to call
at the exchange with his So, put 1t in
letter addressed to the top man, and
have the mailing and sealing attested
to by the ever-present notary public.
He was then given two blanks, each
attested by the notary; he had to cor
raj two others, bring them back to the
exchange, get them to mail So each in
notarized letters and then each start
out after two others, and so on. The
exchange told it's buyers to expect
return of $3,072, the result of two
being raised to the tenth power.
OF course the buyer had to help his
customers sell two letters, and his Gus
toners customers, and so on down the
line, in order to get his name up at the
top of the list. This left Springfield
citizens with little time to do any,
thing else. They wandered about the
city with haunted looks in their eyes,
dragging workers from offices, wives
from ironing boards, school ma'ams
from their classes. If there were
flagpole sitters the inspired citizens
would have fought to climb their poles
Real estate promoters would have
frethed with envy at the spectacle of
the most intense concentration of high
pressure salesmanship this much-solic-
tied world has ever seen.
A brisk business was conducted for
time at the "Pot of Gold" chain ex-
change, where SIS was the entree. This
beneficent organization promised an
immediate return of the original in
vestment. You paid S., got two let
ters, then went out and sold them for
S. apiece, sending SIS on and keeping
S.. Even people on relief were sink
ing their checks in this one.
Where the Catch Came.
The catch of course was that pretty
soon everybody in Springfield and its
environs within 40 or so miles had
been sold" AS a matter of fact,
strangers were virtually the toast Of
the town. Localities pounced upon
them eagerly in almost undeniable
efforts to sell them chain letters.
Down in Nashville, Tenn, chain
letter fan finally saw the light. He
was DR.. G. r. Fountain of Peabody
college, who began thinking hard and
heavy about dime letter that came
to him In the morning mail. It said
that he might get as many as $4,000
dimes. Doctor Fountain began to fig
ure out just what would happen If
everyone in Davidson county fell
for the craze and played fair.
''If there were just one chain and
1t was confined to Davidson county,
and If everyone was fair about it." he
concluded, Everybody in the county
would eventually get $4,000 dimes.
''Bnt In order to bring that about
the chain would have to keep spread.
ing until it reached everyone $4,000
times when each person will have to
give back all the dimes he takes in.
"Then we will all be back where we
started-only each one will be out the
money he spends on postage, or about
$780,"
That's not so bad, at that. Every
body has lot Of fun and excitement,
and Uncle Sam winds up $500 to the
good for every soul in Davidson county.
If you think it's not possible for
practically everybody in one COM
munity, you simply don't realize the
lengths to which this gag has gone, and
don't try to tell your views to Post
master Nelson Of Denver. In fact
don't try to tell anything to Postmaster
Nelson. He isn't in speaking mood.
A Les Angeles woman who had re-
ceiyed some chain letters wrote to him
recently asking him for an authentic
list Of the names Of people who were
members Of the chains in Denver. He
mailed her copy Of the city direc-
torn