Show CANCELLED STAMPS STAMP LETTERS A young lady writing tu the NEWS from american fork makes this inquiry please tell me what la Is understood by the enclosed letter and if it is really true that a medical institute has offered to cure the young lady mentioned of what value would the cancelled be the rho enclosure from which we have stricken the names of ano addres addressee soe anu the signer reads as aa follows lol lowe N 81 31 FORK jan 12 1895 miss dear friend A medical institute has haa offered to treat a young lady of kanes ville who hati ban been lame a cripple since six years of age if she he could collect one million cancelled stamps so we started this chain in which we kindly ask your aid please make three copies of this thin letter as I 1 have done only change the date and put the next highest number at the top number numbering ingall ail the same return this letter with ton cancelled stamps to miss edna R brown kanes ville kane county III also the name and address of the three to whom you yon have writ written teD and they in turn are asked iced to do the same any one not wishing to do this is in asked to reburn return the loiter letter to miss brown that she may know the chain to is broken although this may seem a small thing to you yet any one breaking the chain will involve serious loss 1088 to this ibis enterprise P rise th the person no 50 will please return this letter without any copies of the same as an that ends the chain your loving friend the ascertainment of how many letters and stamps bamps would oft be thus than brought to the miss brown 91 9 1 named provided the chain were unbroken up to go the number 60 50 would be an interesting te exercise in multiplying by three and iu in addition for a student in the public mo schools bools suppose three letter were bent out as no 1 and all were responded to this would give nine for no 2 twenty seven for no ft eighty oue cue for no 4 and so on no 10 would call for letters and no 20 for the million mark in cancelled ellea stamps would be passed on the eleventh number which would call for when no 20 was reached its complete register inola eive dive of all those which precede it would be letters with ten times that number of samps or over fifty two billions in the original mailing of these letters at two cents each there would be spent for postage by re malling them to miss brown y 1 a like amount for postage stamps would be required this makes no calculation for papers paper envelopes or time in writing sad and the fagu figures roe are counted up to only no 20 it if they were calculated up to so N 60 the amount represented for postage man alone would pay the pat rational iOnal debt many twee over or would render all the working m ono camj lies in the union comparatively independent no wonder our american Amer ioan fork correspondent wants wanta to know what is ie un anderst derst od by the letter she received particularly if she be took the matter seriously if en effort were made to carry out the scheme cleire cb eire long before no 20 was reached every man woman and child in the country would have received a letter and seat out oat three so BO the chains chain is ia sure eure to be broken the trick Is ie ao an old one and it is IB said eaid was wag originated years yeara ago when a request emanated from a stamp house bouse which bad a contract with the government at that time however the me limit in the request was no mo 10 As aa to the value of cancelled stamps practically there Is ia none except to some ome dealers who sell collections and possibly they may augment their supply from miss browns N As aa to the offer to cure a cripple that may be set down as a hoax the chicago papers have contained rt quests t bat no more letters of the class named be sent to a young lady in ID but we do not dot now DOW remember the name it was waa said aid she abe was waa being made the victim of a cruel practical joke of the cancelled stamp P order and that life bad become burdensome burde naome of the daily arrival of buri bub bredof of bettem let another scheme boheme that to worked in this way is IR the securing ot of addresses addred aeB particularly of young people for the purpose of distributing among them literature of an us character no sensible Ben elble boy or girl should hould have anything to do with cancelled stamp communications |