This annotated bibliography was compiled for use in writing "Chain Letter Evolution." For articles in periodicals, the name of the publication is listed first (not the author). This aids in checking if an item from a data base search has already been entered in the bibliography. The user can, of course, search for an author using the browser search function.
This incorporates prior bibliographies on chain letters prepared by Alan Dundes, Alan E. Mays and Paul Smith. Few new items have been entered here since around 1998. In particular, numerous articles on chain email are not recorded.
Here are the directories (folders) and files in directory /chain-letter/, all pertaining to paper chain letters.
evolution.html ("Chain Letter Evolution" - analysis and history of paper chain letters)Abbreviations and conventions.
bibliography.htm (Annotated Bibliography - this file)
glossary.htm (Definitions of terms used for paper chain letters)
/archive/ (Directory containing The Paper Chain Letter Archive, system generated list of filenames)
/archive/!information.htm (Information on The Paper Chain Letter Archive)
/archive/!search.htm (Search through the /chain-letter/ directory. Provided by FreeFind.)
/e-archive/ (Directory containing chain email, system generated list of filenames)
CL = chain letter,
LCL = luck chain letter,
MCL = money chain letter,
XCL = exchange chain letter
specs = numerical specifications
of a chain letter, namely:
d = deadline in days, n =
number of names in a list, s = send (or deliver)
q = copy quota, w = waiting period in days, max = maximum,
or promised pay off
Example of specifications for a luck chain letter (Luck by Mail type).
q5n28d1w4 = copy quota 5, a list of 28 names, deadline of 1 day to comply,
wait 4 days to receive good luck.
Example of specifications for an exchange chain letter
[Postcards].
s1n4q4 max 64 = send 1 card to the top name on a list of
4, distribute four such appeals, promises possible 64 postcards in
return
Example of specifications for money chain letter (Send-a-Dime).
sd, q5, n6, d3, max $1,562.50 = send a dime (d) to top name, copy quota
5, list of 6 names, deadline 3 days, maximum payoff $1,562.50.
Example of specifications for pyramid scheme (Circle of Gold).
s$50q2x$50n12 = send $50 to top name, sell two copies for $50 each (implies
you have bought your copy for $50 also), 12 tier list of names
Reports on Chain Letters in 1935 are day-numbered from Friday, April 19 (Day 0) - the day of the first newspaper account of the Send-a-Dime money chain letter craze.
In the annotations, if a topic search word does not appear naturally in the text it may be added in corner brackets <> so a statement may be readily found on a subsequent search of the bibliography. Words so added include the following: abate, charity, French, gender, immunization, law, mental, method, motive, number, origin, politics, pyramid sales, recruit, target, variation.
Quoted text from chain letters appears in bold in
the bibliography. Conventions for links in Chain Letter Evolution (such
as using square brackets for links to chain letter texts) are not followed
here. Often "text" links to the Paper Chain Letter Archive.
AMERICA. 1960.
"Chain-Letter Nonsense." V. 102, March 26: p. 751-752.
[Denunciation of LCL specs q5n28d1w4. Some text: "General Bratton
received $8,000 but lost it after breaking the chain." Names
are said to be "28 California schoolgirls." <origin> "They (LCLs)
are usually initiated by malicious pranksters."]
AMERICAN CITY. 1935. "Anti 'Racket' Rulings."
V. 50, July: p .68.
[City laws against MCLs. Some wording of Los Angeles ordinance. Undated
reference to U.S. Municipal News.]
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE. 1895. "Notes
on the Folk-Lore of Newfoundland." Vol. 8: p. 286.
[Brief mention of use of "the letter of Jesus Christ" for safe
childbirth and protection from harm.]
AMERICAN STATISTICIAN. 1977. Joseph
L. Gastwirth, "A Probability Model of a Pyramid Scheme."
V. 31, May: p. 79-82.
[Analyzes "quota-pyramid" scheme in which (1) entry fee is c dollars,
(2) participants receive d dollars for each person recruited, and (3) no
more than N participants will be registered. In "The Golden Book
of Values" (Connecticut), c = $2500, d = $900, and N = 270. Lesser money
can be made by selling advertising and coupons. Assumes that "the
probability that any one of the k current members recruits the next one
is 1/k." The number the kth participant will recruit is expressed
as a sum of random variables Xi, from i = k to N-1, where Xi=1
with probability 1/i and Xi = 0 with probability 1-1/i.
Deduces the proportion of participants who recruit at least r persons is
1/(2r ). Hence about half will recruit no one. Shows investors
are defrauded as a class, depending on ratio d/c. (Says results hold
for non-quota pyramid but does not justify. Certainly there will be some
upper bound, N, of possible recruits for an endless scheme. However
there is no way to determine N, and thus
to know how "early" one is getting into the scheme. Class defraud still
holds. - DWV).]
ANNALES CATHOLIQUES DU DIOCÈSE
DE BAYONNE. 1905. "Dévotions et pratiques superstitieuses."
No. 26, October 29, p. 2.
[<French> Have English translation by Sarah Winter. Complains
of a circulating manuscript with "two prayers" that is an early form of
the Ancient Prayer luck chain letter.
No quoted text. Descriptions: copy once a day for nine days; send to nine
different people; a great joy ("grandes joies") at the end of nine
days; terrible punishment for not complying; this predicted by a voice heard
in Jerusalem during the holy Liturgy. <abate> "No prayer ought to
be accepted unless it has been approved by the standard of the diocese."
"Further, by attaching to the recitation and the propagation of certain
prayers an efficacy that the Church does not recognize, one commits an act
of true superstition." Source provided by Jean-Bruno Renard.]
ARNOLD, DAVID. 1976. Chain of Letters.
San Francisco: Trike.
[Text and graphic arts embellishments of a DL type LCL. Includes 7 fictional win/lose testimonials
in newspaper format. "C. Jason, . . . 4 days after receiving
the letter, after winning $23,000 playing Keno ... was struck and killed
at a Las Vegas Blvd. intersection by a multi-colored Las Vegas Regional
Transit Bus." " Its simple. You will win & you will lose."]
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION.
1985. Web Garrison, "Dixie Scrapbook" - "Chain-letter craze prompted
many to mail away a fortune in dimes." Sunday, Oct. 13, sec. H, p.
2:4.
["Maybe you've recently received this letter or a variant of it."
Only known record of "prayer exchange" LCL; complete (?) text (less name list). Brief history
of Send-a-Dime. For a letter restricted
to residents of a single Tennessee county, Dr. C. R.
Fountain calculated a $300 loss per person for postage.]
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL
CONSTITUTION. 1987a. Francis Cawthon, " 'Love
letter' tempting but not worth it." July 5, sec. J, p. 3:1.
[Humor. Receives LCL in mail with Kiss
title. Initial five sentences of text given, plus further descriptions
(R.A.F. Officer, Joe Elliot, Dalea Fairchild).
Says compliance would require typing and international postage to "make
a tour of the world." <motive> Says that a factor to not comply
was the lack of a Georgia lottery. Speculates it is a plot by Post Office
to sell stamps.]
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION. 1987b.
Francis Cawthon, "Letter Seeks to Inspire Chain of Hopeful Kissers." Dec.
29, sec. E, p. 2:1.
[LCL received anonymously in office mail slot. Kiss title, original in "England."
Further description but no exact text. Had received XCL for "bottles
of booze." Humorously speculates LCLs are a post office plot.]
BAKST, AARON. 1952. Mathematics: Its Magic
and Mastery. 2nd. ed., New York: D. Van Nostrand Co., p. 246-247.
["The Silk-Stocking-Bargain Bubble." Description of a pyramid sales scheme (not Sheldon).
Startup: ads in papers promise three pair of stockings for 50 cents.
Sender gets four coupons to sell for 50 cents each, money and addresses
of purchasers sent to company for stockings. Continuation: Coupon
buyer gets five coupons from company to sell, sends $2.50 and addresses
to company for stockings, etc. Tabulated calculations. <politics>
Use of CLs in political campaigns.]
BASHAM, DON and LEGGATT, DICK.
1974. The Most Dangerous Game. A
Biblical Exposé of Occultism. Manna Christian Outreach.
[Christian Fundamentalist warnings. In the appendix, Section B, is a
ten page list of 92 "Present-day Occult Practices." These are "Satan's current
activities" and the reader is advised to "repress any inclination to further
inquire into any of these practices." "Chain letter" is on the list,
and these "may be used to psychically compel a person, since the usual
rewards for compliance are material wealth or power, and refusal to comply
(as stated in many chain letters) is met with a curse or future bad luck
or even death." Basham then claims that "the mailing of chain letters is
also against the law," confusing luck chain letters with money chain letters.
Other of Satan's current activities on the list include: Halloween, parapsychology,
legerdermain, meditation, phrenology and "zombie."]
BERKELEY DAILY GAZETTE.
1949. Oct. 27.
[Cited in Western Folklore 1950
for a luck chain letter started by a French officer (Chain of Good Luck?)]
BERKELEY DAILY GAZETTE.
1950. Feb. 2.
[Cited in Western Folklore 1950
for a Mexican prisoner letter.]
BHATTACHARYA, P. K. & GASTWIRTH, J. L. 1983.
"A Nonhomogeneous Markov Model of a Chain-Letter Scheme." Recent
Advances in Statistics: Papers in Honor of Herman Chernoff. Rizvi, M.H.,
Rustagi, J. S. & Siegmund, D. ( eds.). New York: Academic Press.
[Markov model of a s$500 q2x$500, n6, max $32,000 pyramid
scheme.]
BITTNER, MAXIMILIAN. 1905.
Der vom Himmel gefallene Brief Christi in seinen Morgenländischen
Versionen und Rezensionen. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der
Wissenschaften in Wien, phil.-hist. Klasse, 51.1. Vienna: Alfred Hölder.
[Traces Letters from Heaven back to Greek original, gives Greek texts.
Ref. from W.F. Hansen.]
BLOOMINGTON (INDIANA)
HERALD TELEPHONE. 1985. Jan. 22. Ann Landers.
["Heartsick in Calgary" reports that her mother failed to send out a
chain letter shortly before husband died and now feels responsible for his
death. Unable to persuade her otherwise. Denounces "crazy nuts who start
such letters." Ann Landers replies: "People who start those letters are creeps
who have failed to achieve anything in life and use this means of exercising
control over others." Suggests eventual counseling.]
BLOOMINGTON (INDIANA)
HERALD TELEPHONE. 1988. Hotline, p. A14. "This sounds like recipe
for trouble." **?**ber 17, 1988.
[C.D. of Bloomington reports recipe chain promising hundreds of thousand
of dollars. Response: Indiana Attorney General's Office says state's statutes
in effect only if $100 or more is asked for outright. Plan: send $2 to
each of six people for their "recipes." Mail a minimum of 100 copies of
the letter to friends, acquaintances, relatives or total strangers. Promises
you will make $275,000.]
BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL. 1995.
James Owen Drife, "The Chain Letter." V. 310, March 25,
p. 809.
[Receives Media LCL, specs.
q4+1, w4 typed in capitals, crude English. Attached "wad" of
"memos." Sample memos: "I can't believe I'm doing this," and "There
is some evidence that these letters work." Names: Ministry of Defense,
Metropolitan Police, NHS Management. Author's parody.]
BUDGE, E. A. WALLIS. 1904.
The Gods of the Egyptians. Dover (1969), Vol. I & II.
[Various ancient Egyptian texts in English. Vol. I. Book of the Underworld,
Second hour: "The text adds that those who draw pictures of these Souls
of the Tuat and make offerings to them upon earth will gain benefit therefrom
a million fold after death (p. 208). Fifth hour: "Whosoever maketh
a picture of these things which are in Ament in the Tuat, to the south of
the hidden house, and whosoever knoweth these things, his soul shall be at
peace, and he shall be satisfied with the offerings of Seker. And Khemnit
shall not hack his body in pieces, and he shall go to her in peace. (p. 221-2).
Seventh hour: "The man who shall make a picture of these things which are
to the north of the hidden house of the Tuat shall find it of great benefit
to him both in heaven and on earth; and he who knows it shall be among the
spirits near Ra, and he who recites the words of Isis and Ser shall repulse
Apep in Amentet, and he shall have a place on the boat of Ra both in heaven
and upon earth. The man who knows not this picture shall never be
able to repulse the serpent Neha-hra." (p. 230-1). Similar, p. 242. "In
the first place, he (Thoth) was held to be both the heart and the tongue
of Ra, that is to say, he was the reason and the mental powers of the god,
and also the means by which their will was translated into speech; from
one aspect he was speech itself, and in later times he may well have represented,
as Dr. Birch said, the logos of Plato." (p. 407). ]
BURRELL, MARTIN. 1928.
Betwixt Heaven and Charing Cross. Toronto: MacMillan,
p. 277-282.
[Receives "Good Luck"
LCL, specs q9w9; some text. List
of 99 names: officers, actors, lawyers, judges; gender all men.
Calculations. <origin> Thinks started as a joke. Conclusion:
"It is hard to write all the letters I ought to write. I will not undertake
those I ought not to write."]
THE BUSINESS WEEK.
1933a. " 'Endless' Chains." Feb. 1, p. 11.
[Pyramid sales. "Selling by endless chain . . . has increased enormously
during the past 2 months." "Over 100 chain selling schemes are operating
out of New York" (pens, hosiery, wallets, razor, blades, stationery, golf
balls, kitchen utensils, clothing, bridge sets). Legal: U. S. Supreme
Court ruled against Tribond Sales Corp. (stockings) in 1927. Current
proponents claim legality because they are selling actual merchandise instead
of a coupon (Tribond).]
THE BUSINESS WEEK. 1933b. "Endless Chains
End." June 7, p. 12.
[Pyramid sales. Post Office Department fraud order against Sheldon Hosiery
Co. Pyramid sales schemes "about played out anyhow." Estimated 200
companies recruited 750,000 participants.]
BUSINESS WEEK. 1971. "Cracking down
on 'pyramid plans' " Dec. 11, p. 104+
[Pyramid sales. "Like the familiar chain-letter scheme, an investor
antes up a fee for a distributorship, and thereby becomes eligible to sell
distributorships himself." Securities & Exchange Commission ruling:
"Agreements between the companies and their distributors may involve an
'investment contract' or a 'participation in profit-sharing agreement.'
These would constitute a security, within the meaning of the Securities
Act of 1933, and therefore they must be registered with the SEC.
Further, anyone selling such distributorships must register with the commission
as a broker-dealer." Glenn Turner's Koscot charges $2,000 for the
right to distribute "kosmetics." Holiday Magic (Bus. Wk. 2/10/75,
p. 38) and Bestline Products experiences.]
BUSINESS WEEK. 1972. "The pyramid king
gets sandbagged." June 24, p. 30.
[Pyramid sales. State, FTC and SEC actions against Glenn
W. Turner and "Koscot Interplanetary" (cosmetics) and "Dare to be Great"
(sales training). These corporations "are based on a complex system
of finders' fees, commissions, and overrides paid to participants for recruiting
others into the program at anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 a shot."
See also Bus. Wk. 3/27/78, p. 47.]
CHEERS OF THE CROWD.
1935. Monogram Pictures Motion Picture directed by Vin Moore, written
by George Waggner, starring Russell Hopton, Irene Ware and Harry Holman.
61 minutes.
[The date on this movie may be given as 1935 or 1936; 1935 seems more
likely. A printed label on the cassette states: "A series of murderous
chain letters draws the attention of a publicity expert who tries to find
out who is behind the letters." If this were the actual plot it would be
the earliest example of the "evil chain letter" theme, which appears in
recent young adult fiction such as Chain
Letter by Christopher Pike (Avon Books, 1986). However this is not
at all the plot. There is one brief mention of the "Send-a-Dime" letter
when a "sandwich man" gives a chain letter to one of the characters on a
busy sidewalk. It is called the "Spread Prosperity Letter" and asks that
a dime be sent. The recipient is entreated to "Share your wealth." No other
mention of a chain letter appears in the movie. Later the recipient throws
a dime in a spittoon. IMDB lists the movie
but does not give a plot summary.]
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE. 1994. "Enough already."
Metro Northwest, April 20, p. 1.
[Business card variant of Craig Shergold appeal. Requested these
be sent to Atlanta headquarters of the Children's Make-A-Wish Foundation;
20 copies of appeal to other offices. "Mountains of cards arriving
daily."]
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY. 1935 (D26). "Are
Chain Letters a Hopeless Evil?" V. 52, May 15, p. 629.
[Complete text of a sdq5d1 anti-war CL asking also that 10 cents be
sent to The Christian Century for an exposé of the munitions
industry. Parodies Send-a-Dime. This letter may not have actually
circulated.]
THE CHRISTIAN CENTURY. 1970. "To Break the
Chain." V. 87, Sept. 2, p. 1051.
[<numbers> Editor assesses economic condition by "the number of
fiscally promissory 'chain letters' that are being circulated - and the
number is rising." Quotes John Boni, Saturday
Review and gives fragments of same (?) LCL. Recalls handkerchief
XCL among young girls. Quotes Biblical Recorder (a North Carolina
Southern Baptist journal) on MCL among pastors. Text begins: "Do
you need an immediate $8,000 for your Church Project or Personal Ministry?"
Specs. s4x$1 q20 n4 d2, max $7,300+ (originally n3 ?). Gives
8 participant names.]
COHN, NORMAN. 1957.
The Pursuit of the Millennium. London
[Himmelsbrief. Mentions use of "heavenly letters" in late Middle Age
millennial movements. Peter the Hermit kept a letter on his person
(c. 1090) that was given to him by Christ at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
in Jerusalem (p. 62). Jacob, organizer of the Crusades of the Shepherds,
claimed (c. 1251) the Virgin Mary appeared to him and gave him a letter which
he always carried in his hand (p. 94). German flagellants (1261)
possessed a Heavenly message: a shining marble tablet had recently descended
upon the altar of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre with an angel who read
out the message which God himself had inscribed. The text has survived: God,
angry at human sin, has brought recent afflictions and decided to destroy
all life. But the Virgin intercedes and God grants humanity one last
chance to mend its ways (p. 129). "And any priest who in his worldliness
omitted to pass on the divine message to his congregation would be infallibly
and eternally damned" (p. 130). <variation> After the Black Death (1348)
the same letter, with a paragraph on the plague added, was used by a flagellant
revival movement. At gatherings this "manifesto" was read publicly,
the audience being "swept by sobbing and groaning." "Nobody questioned the
authenticity of the Letter." (p. 134)]
COLLIER'S. 1944. "Chain-Letter
Nuisance." V. 113, No. 22. May 27, p. 78.
[Editor complains of quota four+ luck chain letters as a waste of paper,
especially during wartime. "One frequent specimen claims to have been started
by a U. S. Army officer." This is likely the "Luck of London" version
of the "Prosperity" type chain, for example 1944.]
COLOMBO, JOHN R. 1975. "Chain
Letter." Colombo's Little Book of Canadian Proverbs . . .
Edmonton: Hurtig, p.128-129.
[Full text of earliest
known LD type letter. Reference supplied
by Paul Smith.]
COLUMBUS DISPATCH (Columbus, Ohio). 1991.
Jan Harold Brunvand, United Feature Syndicate, Urban Legends: "Good-luck
chain reaches the affluent." Sept. 9, p. 3D.
[Media LCL. "A chain
letter that's been racing through the American business, legal, government
and entertainment communities like an out-of-control virus is a faint echo
of its former self." Complete text (standard, no golf item).
Compliance motivated because secretary does "the dirty work," also the "Can't
hurt, might help" attitude expressed in many of the forwarding notes. "A
folk practice has gone uptown." Spy reference. Compares
text unfavorably to prior versions that "typically began with a blessing,
a prayer, a Bible verse or the statement 'Kiss someone you love when you get
this letter, and make magic'. "]
CONTEMPORARY FOLKLORE AND
CULTURE CHANGE. 1986. Mihály Hoppál. "Chain letters:
Contemporary folklore and the chain of tradition." Ed. Irma-Riitta
Järvinen. Finnish Literature Society Editions 431. Helsinki:
Suomalaisen Kirjallisuunden Seuran. p. 62-80.
[<hoppal> Author received 8 LCLs in Hungarian town in 1983.
Three complete texts in both Hungarian and English [text]. Specs q20/10,
d9, w9. Titled "The Chain/Flame of Luck." Analysis of text. Copying
error "flame" from "chain" (láng from lánc). Testimonials
paired by "opposites" - e.g. girl vs. boy, West Germany vs. East, loses
vs. wins, unconscious offense vs. deliberate, small punishment vs. great.
Quotes Dundes & Pagter 1975 extensively. Quotes International
Herald Tribune, Dec. 7, 1982 on Circle of Gold in London. XCL for
scholarly articles received by Hungarian professors in mid 1970's.
Older generation in Hungary called LCLs "Saint Anthony's chain." Biographical
data on Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), miracle-worker and master of
alms. Latin and English translation of 13th century poem to Anthony;
ends: "All peril shall disappear and so shall want; say this those, who
feel it, and tell those living in Padua." Later Hungarian version, confusion
with Anthony the Hermit (d. 365). Custom to pray to St. Anthony nine
Tuesdays. Qualifying characteristics of contemporary folklore.]
CORONET.
1952. Ben Nelson, "The Greatest Hoax of the Century." V. 31,
March, p. 135-137.
[Send-a-dime. Text with 3 title variants incl. "Send a Dime and
Redistribute Wealth." "Good Luck" LCL dates from World War I. Los
Angeles stamp sales, deliveries to movie studios. Humorous variants.
Springfield craze. U.S. daily mail volume of CLs ten million (estimated
by Post Office statisticians - source?). Theft of dimes. Telegraph
chain. German suppression. Since 1935 "Don't send money" appears on
"good luck" letters.]
THE (LOUISVILLE KY.) COURIER-JOURNAL.
1978. Mervin Aubespin, "Bigger stakes all that's new in the latest chain
letter." Nov. 29, p. 1, col. 6.
[Circle of Gold MCL / Pyramid scheme. Specs q2x$50, n12, s$50.
Present in Louisville and Bowling Green. Investigated in San Francisco
since October. James W. Winegar, Cincinnati postal inspector:
"Mostly, our biggest problems have been with the pyramid schemes which promise
people that they can make large sums of money at home in their spare time
doing almost nothing. These people send off money only to receive a pamphlet
telling them they have to send more money and get others involved."
Craze during 1960's: ". . . a young Marietta, Ga. man ... set out to make
himself a millionaire by begging contributions through the mail." 1950's:
"the Panty Club" flooded the mail. 1940's: "a postcard promising
good luck if you copied it and sent it on and bad luck if you didn't."]
CRAZY HOUSE - PURVEYORS OF JUST FOR FUN ITEMS.
Match book advertisement, date unknown. Crazy House, 2221 Robb St.,
Baltimore 18, Md.
[Pre-zip code address. Sells "Crazy Chain letters." Also Insulting greeting
cards, Comedy patter books, Hilarious bull-thrower tags. Coupon for ordering
catalog, 10 cents, plus get one gag free.]
THE CREDIT UNION
BRIDGE. 1958. "Chain Letter Rackets." V. 23, n. 5,
July, p. 21-23.
["March of Bonds" MCL, specs q2x$18.75, n11, s$18.75, max $38,400.
Says started "three years ago." <origin> Unreferenced historical
accounts: "... the 'endless chain' formula . . . was probably used by the
ancients in much the same form . . ."; "in this country before the founding
of the republic"; ". . . in the files of the Post Office Department
as early as 1830." Some CLs end with "The curse of the ancient Aztecs
will fall on you if you break this chain." <motive> Help
friend whose name appears at bottom of list. Oscar Auton pyramid sales
scheme. Details of "Tribond" hosiery chain. 1942 MCL used U.S. saving
stamps (three examples have been collected [text] -DWV). Postcard
XCL, specs s1q4n4 max64. Circulated by Boy Scouts; Cub Scouts advised they
can earn "collecting" badge by joining. <target> Sometimes
contains text: "If you are not planning to cooperate give this letter to
someone else. Some of the people in this chain are polio victims and
it would not be nice to disappoint them."]
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN (Pennsylvania State University).
1987. Maryann Liddy, "Students fall prey to pyramid game." April 30,
p. 1.
[ Pyramid football game modeled after the Airplane Club. Ante
from $10 to $100. Roles: quarterback (1), running backs (2), linebackers
(4), and substitutes (8). "The object is to fill the eight sub spots."
"Someone on the floor holds the money until all eight subs are found."
Results. No complaints to law enforcement.]
THE DAILY NEWS-DEMOCRAT,
1902. "The Endless Chain." Feb. 26, 1902, front page.
[Subtitles: "Scheme being used in an effort to find missing ones. From
Evanston, Ill. Relatives of Miss Florence A. Ely and Frank Ely Rogers have
started it." Gives full text of an "endless chain letter
scheme" to find two missing persons. Supplied by Richard Stephens.]
DANIELS, C. L. & STEVANS, C. M.,
(Eds) 1971. Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult
Sciences of the World. Detroit: Gale Research Co., p. 1119.
[Text of Lady Cubass Letter by Jesus Christ. Once popular in Wales,
"printed and sold by J. Salter, Newtown." Also contained 3 hymns
and a description of "The Happy Man."]
BEED & SEAL, GRAHAM. 1993. "Chain letters."
The Oxford Companion to Australian Folklore. Melbourne: Oxford Univ.
Press, p. 62.
["The most common traditional chain letter is one that begins 'This
paper has been sent to you for good luck.' " MCL beginning with the
text "To the women friends in my life who know how to dream and create their
own reality" said to be "traditional," other MCLs not. XCL spouse
exchange "relatively recent."]
DAWKINS, RICHARD. 1976.
The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[Introduces the term "meme" for a "unit
of cultural transmission."]
DAWKINS, RICHARD. 1995. River
Out of Eden. BasicBooks.
[Chain letters discussed, pp. 146-150. Mechanics of chain letter evolution:
"In the case of chain letters, being efficient may consist in accumulating
a better collection of words on the paper." "The variants that are more
successful will increase in frequency at the expense of less successful rivals.
Success is simply synonymous with frequency in circulation." Full text of
LCL as given in Nature, 1994.
Suggests testimonials are "just invented." Chain letters vs. natural replicators:
"Chain letters are originally launched by humans, and the changes in their
wording arise in the heads of humans."]
DEAR MR. THOMS.
1990. "Chain Letters." V. 14, p. 32, 33.
[Full text of luck
chain letter (Kiss title, many modifications, trailing notes). Full text of luck chain letter (Kiss title).]
DE LYS, CLAUDIA. 1948.
A Treasury of American Superstitions. New York: The Philosophical
Library, p. 458-460.
[<motive> "It is believed by millions that anyone who breaks the
chain-of-luck by not sending out the prescribed number of letters, after
having received one, will meet with disaster." And for compliance "unexpected
good fortune." <origin> Good Luck type started in 1920 by American
lieutenant in Flanders. Population: boom in World War II (?). "The Luck of London" LCL started during
blitz, still circulating in Europe and America. "A Letter of Protection"
(Holstein type Letter from Heaven) sold to thousands during WWI, large
block of text. " Letter from Jesus" distr. by Howard and Evans, West Smithfield,
London over 200 years ago; much text, "Lady Cubass" (Sabbath) type.
Compares to magic word-charms.]
DENTON (MD) JOURNAL.
1892. "Easier Than Working." June 18, p. 1: 4.
[Newspaper article describing charity CL started in 1889 to collect
dimes for college student. Subtitle: "A clever scamp in college raises
money in an ingenious way." Ten copy with selfterminating after 10
levels. Full text
but missing level number. Editors had apparently not seen such a
letter; no use of term "chain letter." Started with women in small
western towns. "In some cases ministers read the letter in the pulpit
and recommended the scheme to their congregation. The letters which
he received were studies. Some contained stamps, some dimes wrapped
in paper, some motherly old souls wrote long letters with volumes of good
advice, and some more philanthropic people sent fifty cents, a dollar,
and a few even five." -E. J. Barnes in New York Press. Reference
provided by Neal Coulter of Chattanooga, Tennessee.]
DENVER POST.
1935 (Day 0). "Send-a-dime Chain Letters Trick Thousands in Denver."
April 19, p. 1.
[First publication on Send-a-Dime: Friday, April 19 is "Day
0" for 1935 send-a-dime reports. Subtitle: "Postal Inspectors warn
get-rich-quick scheme is fallacious and every participant is violating law;
originators of racket are sought." <origin> "Its a modern variation
of an old chain letter scheme" - Denver postmaster J.O. Stevic. Postal
Inspector Roy E. Nelson claims illegal, seeks to arrest originators and
charge them with federal crimes. Complete text of letter, no names.]
DENVER POST.
1935 (Day 1). "Dime-a-day chain letters still flood mails despite govt.
warning." April 20, p. 1+.
[Other headlines: "Denver's post office staff takes question up with
Washington," <number> "Nearly every home in Denver believed to have
been solicited on scheme to make 10 cents grow to $1,562" (<origin>
in the 3 to 4 weeks since the first letters were started). Stevic has way
to find originator (presumed male!). Plan defended. Verified $400 winning.
Charity use. Many dimes unwrapped. Four women's accounts. <gender>
"Most of the calls (received by the Post) came from women, . . ." Purchases
by winners. Dimes pop out at canceling machine. Origin unknown but
reported that it started in Denver. Other articles on legal issue and calculations.
"Thousands of Denver persons, especially women, are participating in a gigantic
send-a-dime chain letter program, . . ."]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 2). "Send-a-dime
fad covers Colorado." April 21, p. 1+.
[<number> Mail volume. Send-a-dollar: distributed by hand.
Support of plan. Charity for families on relief. Posing as postal
inspector.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 4). "Chain letters
passed out on streetcars." April 23, p. 1.
[Subtitle: "Send-a-dime circulators canvass passengers on train." <target>
They "asked people if they would circulate the chain letters," (if yes were
handed copies). <recruit> House-to-house canvassing thru Edgewater
for send-a-dollar. <law> Nelson said P.O. not interested if letter
not mailed.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 5). "Chain letters
calling for $10 appear in Denver." April 24, p. 8.
[Nelson receives $10 version, otherwise worded like dime letter.
Send-a-dollar in wide circulation. Mail still heavy.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 7). "Stop chain
letters! Officials plead, with Denver mails facing collapse." April
26, p. 1+.
[Subtitles: "67,000 extra pieces of matter in single day clog post office."
<number> " 100 extra workers employed in desperate effort to keep
up normal service; new notes solicit $1 to $10." <motive> Rumors of
big winners spur fad. Letters spread to all parts of country.
Copying methods: mimeographed, multigraphed and printed. Winnings:
503 dimes in 3 weeks, 60 dollars in five days. <charity> Participant
claims man sent out letters for four families on relief; they received $38+
and withdrew names from the rolls.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 8). "Government
Rules Chain Letters are Plain Violation of Postal Laws." April 27,
p. 1+.
[Karl Crowley, solicitor of Post Office Department, rules "cash chain
letters are illegal and subject the participant to a $1,000 fine or five
years imprisonment or both." Chains "clearly violate lottery laws
because they contain an element of chance." However . . . "we will
be guided by the legal principle of de minimis non curat lex, which means
that the law does not take notice of trifles" (meaning they wont go after
dime letters). Starter of $10 letter put members of family from around
country on letter, they did not need to send any money themselves.
The man was on relief, had crippled daughter, so was not charged. Mail
volume. <variation> XCL: "Liquid Assets Club" worked through
liquor dealers - no use of mails. <recruit> Crowds thronged about telephone
directories in library.]
DENVER POST.
1935 (Day 9a). "Postal force labors late into night sorting 165,000
Denver chain letters." April 28, p. 1+.
[Subtitle:" Stamp sales advance 50 per cent as fad makes fresh gains."
<numbers> Of 260,00 letters sorted Saturday, only 95,000 are normal
volume (165,000 CLs handled on one day). Long lines at four stamp
windows. <recruit> "Hawkers sold cash chain letter blanks on street
corners." First a penny apiece, then 5 for a penny. "Thru out
Denver, the chain letter fad was the principal topic of conversation Saturday."
<law> Many distributed filled in letters on the street to avoid mails.
Omaha, 4/27: <variation> A $1 letter with ten names appeared here.
Also a flood of send-a-dime letters. Topeka, 4/27: Santa Fe railroad
forbade employees to place letters in railroad's outgoing mail or use company
stationery and stamps.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 9b). "Chain
Letters Put Voluntary Tax on Participants, Says Dr. Kaplan." Francis
Wayne, April 28, p. 3.
[Sociological comments. Desire for quick riches spreading geographically
and across social barriers. Dr. A. D. H. Kaplan (Denver University):
"From the economic viewpoint, aside from the creation of a voluntary tax
thru purchase of stamps, stationery and the like, people who get the
largest return probably will make larger purchases. While the inflow
lasts, the
shift will be from light to heavier buying.". He disputes economic
utility. <recruit> Telephoning friends before others get to
them.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 9c). "Dime Letters
to Run into Millions if Chain Lasts Few More Days." April 28, p. 3.
[Washington, 4/27: "A Nationwide brother-can-you-spare-a-dime bubble
was about to burst of its own geometric inflation Saturday . . ." <origin>
"Post office inspectors said they would like to wring the neck of whoever
started the chain-letter scheme of wealth for everybody. In hardly
more than a week he has caused one of the most amazing mass demonstrations
of the get-rich-quick philosophy in history." <variation> Hundreds
of other chains have sprung up. XCL: "Send-pint-of-whiskey" closed
with "how would you like to have 2,000 gallons of whiskey?" Kildroy
P. Aldrich, chief postal inspector: "We'll simply have to wait until it collapses
which shouldn't be long." Enforcement would require "they arrest most
of the residents of Denver." Classified Ads (Personals): "Chain Letters
1 cents Each, Out-of-towners include postage. Mutual Multigraphing
Co." Two other ads, one at 5 for 10 cents, 100 for $1.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 10). "Chain Letters
Triple Denver Mail." April 29, p. 1+.
[Subtitle: "Carriers struggle under burden of 350,000 pieces."
<numbers> Some afternoon deliveries canceled. Thieves broke into
five mail boxes Sunday night. Mail volume. P. 3: "Chain Letters
Make Farley's Aids Jittery." ". . . hope impending arrests will bring
an end to the scheme." <origin> ". . . admitted the 'dime' plan
is a little different from anything they have heretofore known." St.
Louis, 4/29: "Denver Letters Appear in St. Louis." Pueblo, Colo. 4/29:
"Chain Letters Take Big Jump in Pueblo."]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 11). "Chain Letters
make Denver Mail Nearly Half Million Pieces a Day." April 30,
p. 1+.
[Denver mail volume and stamp sales. Greeley and Pueblo volumes.
West Coast mostly dollar letters. Luncheon club speakers debate merits
of CLs in Kansas City. p. 1: "Chain letter cash pays taxes."
Classified Ads p. 28: Howell Printing offers 1,000 blanks for $3, including
10c, 25c, $1 and "univ. forms." "Guaranteed" letters offered on 14th
St. Hit of the Month Music Co. offers "The Chain Letter Song"
by "a well known music composer" for 10c.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 12). "Chain Letters
in Denver Show Some Decline." May 1, p. 1+.
[Subtitle: "Fad is gaining headway elsewhere in State, Pueblo deluged."
Collections and stamp sales slowing in Denver. Pueblo mail volume
doubled. Grand County Commercial club officially favors cash chain letter
enterprise. Their telegram to Farley concludes: "Everyone is smiling
in Colorado. Hope, faith and charity bring prosperity." Jake
Gerbes, a crippled boy from Iowa, sends Denver woman a dime, says: "I hope
I am lucky."]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 13). "Farley
Winks at Chain Letters: 'Illegal' but they sell stamps." May 2, p.
1.
[Quotes Farley: "They help postal receipts." Classified
Ads, p. 35: General Printing offers 1000 for $2.50. Howell Printing:
"Chain fans starting today 'Cash on the Barrel' prosperity club forms.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 14). "Chain Letter
Fad Brings Boom to Denver Business." May 3, p. 1+.
[<recruit> More than 30 boys selling blanks on streets in city.
Printers turned out about 275,000 blanks at average price of 1/2 cents.
Estimated $50,000 received locally from chains. Benefits: stationers, typewriter
rentals, delinquent bills paid. XCL: commodities exchanged "from
cigarettes to liquor." Sale of 150 $1 blanks to single man taken as
evidence of racketeering. Mail from outside city increased.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 15). "Studios
Rush Films on Chain Letters." May 4, p. 12.
[Hollywood, May 4, UP: Film "Chain Letter" with Fred MacMurray planned.
Sol Lesser wedged in a CL sequence in movie starring George O'Brien.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 16). Letters
to Editor, May 5, p. 11.
["Bless the chain letters, the little white messengers of good will.
It may not be good business . . . time will tell. It is good psychology,
this gigantic interchange of thoughts of good will and it should thaw out
even God's 'frozen people.'" -Lois Sorrell. Three other letters
on CLs. Classified Ads: "CHAIN letter club nationwide, money back
guarantee. Call 1405 Glenarm, room 207."]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 18). "Businessmen
Plead Not Guilty to Chain Letter Fraud Charges." May 7, p. 4.
[Their defense: Postal authorities made conflicting statements about
illegality. OK to put relatives names on letters (who else?).
OK to send out more than five - boys selling wholesale quantities on streets
- most people sent out more than five. Nelson said they rented an office
for mimeographing, and mailed letters third class (illegally). Photo.]
DENVER POST.
1935 (Day 19). "New Types of Chain Letters . . ." May 8, p. 2.
[Subtitle: Give-a-party plan spreads in amazing fashion in Denver."
<variation, recruit> "The chain party scheme works as follows: A hostess
receives a letter bearing five names. She invites four other friends
to attend a chain party which she is giving. Each of her guests gives
her a quarter, making a dollar, which she sends to the person who
headed the list of names which she received." Hostess then updates
list, gives copies to guests who must give a party within three days. Caterers
business increased. Difficult to find guests - friends dated up for
others weeks in advance. Mother's day chain: send 25c to mother heading
list, drop, add your own or another's mother. <variation> Send-a-dime
variant: dime to each on list of six. XCLs: gasoline, neckties, stockings,
liquor, rare stamps (catalog value specified.). St. Louis, May 8. AP: "Chain
Letters Clog St. Louis Mails." "Postoffice officials said the chain letter
splurge had increased the normal daily mail average from 450,000 letters to
an estimated 800,000."]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 20). "Today's
Picture Today." May 9, p. 1.
[Photo of crowded interior. "A Chain Letter 'Factory'" in Springfield,
Mo. Notary attests that required amount is sent to head of list.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 21a). "Denverites
Rushed for 'Certified' Letters." May 10, p. 1.
[Striking photo of mostly men crowded at tables, lights wired haphazardly.
Caption: Denverites Rushed for 'Certified' Letters Friday as the latest
variation of the chain letter system gained favor. Fans overflowed the
offices of a printing concern, which was forced to open another office to
handle the rush. The concern charged 50 cents for blanks, envelopes,
stenographic service, and a certification that the names of the letter were
not juggled." P. 4: "Dime Letter Chain Locates Lost Kin." Classified
Ads, p. 48: Howell Printing offers: "Standard chain blanks, 1c to $1; also
Luncheon, Friendly Hosiery, Food,
Mother, Gas, etc. 100, 50c: . . . 1,000, $2.50. Assorted to your
choice. . . Also samples of Barrel Head club, Universal Guaranteed
(copyrighted) forms."]
DENVER POST.
1935 (Day 21b). "Chain Letter Fad Adds $1,000 Daily to Postal Workers'
Pay." May 10, p. 1.
[Postal receipts increased $80,000 for last fifteen days. Collections
in Denver have declined, but incoming letters (no accurate count) sharply
increased. Work figures, mail volume. Box robbed for third time.
"A thriving business was done by a printing concert that charged 50 cents
for "certifying" $1 chain letters carrying three names" (error: had
four names - DWV). Complete (?) text of certified letter.
Some letters limited to persons of same last name (Greeley, Co.).
Chain parties also popular in Greeley.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 22). "Certified
Chain Letters Halted by Government." May 11, p. 1.
[U.S. District Attorney Thomas J. Morrissey accuses operators of "conspiracy
to violate the postal lottery and fraud laws." Says certification
"did not guarantee returns to purchaser, but merely purported to certify
that the names had not been juggled, and that the first purchaser had sent
cash to the person whose name was at the head of the list when the letter
was sold."]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 23). "More Chain
Letter Establishments Closed by U.S. Officials in Denver." May 12,
p. 3.
[CL fad steadily declining in Denver, but heavy incoming volume of CLs
from other cities. Many dead letters. Letter to Editor (p. 11): Helen
J. Hopper says "many of the chain letter fans are using their car to deliver"
CLs to avoid mails. <mental> "At last it's happened! Chain
letter fan goes batty." Bellhop Arnold Arnberg, 23, became obsessed with
calculations, called Univ. of Calif., others, with odd questions. Stopped
cars, asked mathematical questions. "Saturday night they took Arnberg to
the psychopathic ward of a local hospital." "Saturday Classified Ad: "Certified
Chain Letters Delivered by Western Union messengers. Bring certified
4-name, 3-letter copies to 2335 Larimer St. Open Sunday."]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 25). "Fugitive
Trapped Thru Chain Letter." May 14, p. 1.
[Jack Rodie from Denver mailed CL to brother in Texas. Texas authorities
had felony warrant - telegraphed Denver police who arrested him at mother's
address used on CL. Photo.]
DENVER POST.
1935 (Day 26). "U.S. Jury Refuses to Indict Three Chain Letter
Mailers." May 15, p. 1.
[<law> Federal grand jury refused to indict three on fraud charges
for mailing cash ($1) CLs. They mailed 1,200 $1 MCLs. Fairfield, Ill. <mental>
UP: "Chain Letter Craze Results in Suicide." ". . . Cecil Headlee,
39, father of five children, . . . shot and killed himself because he thought
a mob was going to get him for breaking the chain.'"]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 27). "New Chain
Craze Probed by Police." May 16, p. 1.
[DA's office swamped with complaints but none violations of state law.
Eight men detailed to investigate chains. Looking for: racketeers,
jumping of location, operating more than one chain, and failure to pay.
Some store operators complain chains they had built up were "strangling them"
- no way to quit. Small merchants approached to establish chains,
split with three promoters. Reno, UP: Four arrested for $5 chain
operation, 20% fee for handling the transaction.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 28). "Chain Fad
on Wane, Says Post office." May 17, p. 6.
[Washington, May 16, AP: Letters forwarded for investigation
decrease from 200 to 100 a day. No reports from west and middle west
where craze was biggest.]
DENVER POST. 1935 (Day 32). "Mail Box
Containing $8,000 Chain Letter Remittances Stolen." May 21, p. 1.
[Los Angeles, May 21, UP: Stolen from 8th & Grand, near several
"dollar prosperity stores." Southern California dotted with crowded
"dollar stores" - eleven arrests on fraud charges.]
DENVER POST.
1935 (Day 118). "100,000 Chain Letters Go Unclaimed at Post Office."
Aug. 15, p. 1.
[Subtitle: "Faulty Addresses Leave Notes Containing $3,000 to
$4,000 on Hands of Denver Mail System; Money Will Go to Government."
Says craze died with "equal suddenness" as it began. "Stevic kept
a scrapbook on stories printed about the chain letter craze. It contains
clippings from all over America and fills scores of pages of a large book."
LCL with same text circulating in New Zealand.]
THE SUNDAY DENVER POST. 1980. Jane Cracraft,
"Chain Letter Users Call 'Gift List' Legitimate." March 16, p. 3+.
[The Gift List MCL / Pyramid scheme. Specs: q2x$50, n12,
s$50 (cf. Circle of Gold). Payments sent by check marked "a gift."
". . . it has touched thousands of lives in Colorado. It is passed from
person to person by hand - often at a rally." Brenda Richardson,
32, bought into 13 lists: <origin> "My understanding is that this
began in California with a church that needed to remodel and didn't have
the money. One of the men went on a prayer weekend and came up with
this idea and it worked, and then the chain was extended to other areas."
Brenda mentions frustration with the recession: "We are helping the economy
by getting money in circulation." "If someone below her has trouble
selling the list within 24 hours she recruits a buyer or buys the list back."
Businessman got $3,000 - goes to meetings with 200-300 people gathered to
exchange lists and explain program to new people. His name, wife's
and children's names appear on a dozen lists. Teacher: "Every fourth
person on the list is a monitor and keep it going." "Its a fun thing"- attends
rallies where investors cheer each other on. "I've never met
so many people." June 12, p. 2: "Two More Persons Arrested In
Illicit Pyramid Scheme" by Howard Pankratz. Undercover investigator
attended meeting at restaurant with body microphone and transmitter.
Tipped by concerned citizen. Get $16,000 for $1,000 investment. Authorities
warn promoters get in early along with their relatives. Investigator
with DA: those involved are "solid, middle-class people." "They frequently
have an expensive lifestyle and are having a hard time adjusting to a lack
of income."]
DENVER POST. 1985. "Unchained letter"
- Woody Paige. March 17, p. 2A: 1.
[Paige receives DL type LCL. Complete text (title omitted?). Humorous
fiction about bad luck for non-compliance and good luck for late compliance.
Humorous testimonials.]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN
NEWS. 1935 (Day 1). "Send-A-Dime Chain Notes Worry Postal
Authorities." April 20, p. 1. (This newspaper is titled ROCKY
MOUNTAIN NEWS except for 1935-1938.)
[<gender> Mostly women. Callers hail as boon to poverty
stricken. All callers enthusiastic. "Re-distribution of wealth."
Motivation: participants have "fun." Complete text of a letter, targeted
recipients, no names. <origin> Nelson thinks started in Oklahoma.
Defended as wealth re-distribution. One and ten dollar versions. <gender,
recruit, target> Discussed at bridge parties and "wherever women gather."
Most women call addressees to make sure chain won't be broken, and caution
them to take like steps.]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 2).
"Send-a-dime Game is Put Up to Washington," April 21, p. 1+.
[Thousands call to support send-a-dime: hurts no one, keeps money in
circulation, aids cause of silver, offers hope, increases postal receipts.
Editorial (p. 10): compares to false hope in prior oil boom.]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 4).
Letters. April 23, p. 14.
[Lecie M. Violett (of the originator): "the only man in the world
who ever figured out a way to distribute the wealth and keep it from getting
into the hands of a few." Author made 15,625 marks on paper to "figure
how it works." William Howard: dime CL a "harmless past time," helps
substitute mail employees.]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN
NEWS. 1935 (Day 8). "Dime Letters Ruled OK." April
27, p. 1+.
[Subtitle: "Postal Inspectors Prepare to Smash Ten-Dollar Chain."
Claims an "exclusive" dispatch from Washington postal officials stated
"there is nothing in the U.S. postal regulations to bar such letters from
the mails" (dime letters). "Overworked carriers and clerks, while fatigued,
viewed the situation with no great alarm." Hundreds getting overtime
(time plus 10 %). One said: "Let the chain letters come." <gender>
Carrier besieged by house wives demanding to see their mail. Postal
receipts. A.A. McVittie, returning after a two day vacation, had 2,363
letters awaiting him. P. 4: humorous "The Dime that Broke the
Postman's Back"]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 9).
Editorial: "Chain of Hope." April 28, p. 10.
[Approves of send-a-dime. "Confidence in the other fellow's fundamental
honesty is the basis of the entire fad." "Estimates of the value of
silver now in the mails are as high as a million and a half." "Who
originated the fad? Probably many will claim the credit..."
"The fad . . . has given to thousands a new faith and a stronger hope."]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 10).
"Postal Clerks Dig Thru Chain Letter Mountain." April 29, p. 1+.
[Mail volume in Denver & other Colorado towns. W. Osborn,
president of the Postal Carriers Union: "You can notice a different atmosphere
along the routes: people are happier." P. 6: "Chain Letters Hit Hollywood."]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 15).
"Chain Letters Bring Denver 'New Money'. " May 4, p. 6.
[Estimated (method given) $250,000 circulated in Denver by CLs - much
from outside. Predicted $500,000 before fad dies. 25c, 50c, and $1
chains rapidly supplanting 10c chains. "Thousands of chains with
Denver names in payoff positions have gone thru out the U.S." Huge
demand for dime containers (50 per). Winnings used for home improvements,
spring outfits. San Antonio AP: "Four more charged with Dime Chain
Fraud" - two others previously makes total six. Classified Ads -
Personals: "1000 for $2.50, printed - not multigraphed." <origin>
"CHAIN letters, the guaranteed to go prosperity plan, is like a Townsend
revolving plan, a wheel within a wheel. There is no refuge for chiselers
here. Cut out little uncertainties, for a larger real amount.
I will help you promote your list. No charge. Phone CHerry 0162."]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 22).
"Mobs Besiege Chain 'Mills'" May 11, p. 1.
[Thousands "laughing and shouting" gather seeking certified letters.
Promises $81 for $1 invested (plus 50c for letter). Strangers
approach each other to keep letters going. Several shops selling,
hire attractive women barkers. Other women work crowd silently.
Kansas City UP: Notarized letters started by two notaries in Springfield.
"A chain letter player would bring a prospective player to the notary and
before witnesses see that he mailed out his contribution before he was allowed
to sign his name to the chain." "Within 24 hours exchanges were opened
in a dozen Missouri and Kansas towns." "Townspeople were induced to
send money to names supplied on waiting chain letters and to have their
copies of the chain letter made by the waiting stenographers." Promoters
move on to another town after about a day. Display ad p. 2: "Certified
chain-letter station at Home Public Market with a genuine Notary Seal on
each letter."]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 23).
"Five Certified Chain-letter Mills Closed." May 12, p. 8.
[Three other printing shops voluntarily sell out letters. Last
minute rush before crack down. "Now they have gone and spoiled our fun" -
said by man who had been 'chaining' for three weeks (had pocket full of $1
bills). Automobile chain (no details). Chickasha, Okla, AP: Three
chain letter emporiums closed down. Oklahoma City, Okla UP: Six
sue 7 businessmen with failing to sell enough letters to put their names
at top. Slump at a dozen local CL mills. <mental> Oakland, Calif.
UP: "Figuring out Chain Letter Profits Puts Youth in Psychopathic Ward."
Bell hop called UC, post office, etc. with questions about profits. Then
asked people on streets.]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 24).
"Send-a-Dame Chain Letters Worry Co-Eds." May 13, p. 1.
[Berkeley, AP: Send-a-Dame: list of five coeds at top, date top,
update list adding a girl to bottom, copies to friends. Originated
by Eldon Grimm, College of Commerce. Denver: Certified CL rush continues.
Most establishments use messengers and pigeon-hole distribution cases
to avoid mail. Special officers required to keep order and guard money.
One mill employed 10 stenographers, 10 clerks, and stayed open from
7:30 AM to 12:30 AM. Some mills handle "'old fashioned' revolving
chains" but certifieds more popular.]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 28).
"City to Check Chain Letter Promotions." May 17, p. 20.
[Proposal to license and bond Denver CL establishments.]
DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. 1935 (Day 29).
"Chain Letter Fraud Scented." May 18, p. 12.
[Some operators getting 10-50% profit on funds placed. Proposed
regulations similar to that for brokerage firms.]
DEVIANT BEHAVIOR. 1984.
Charles H. McCaghy & Janet Nogier, "Envelope Stuffing at Home: a Quasi
Confidence Game." V. 5, p. 105-119.
[Detailed description of envelope stuffing and follow up schemes.
" ... those answering ads buy materials encouraging them to advertise in
order to sell the same materials." Comparisons to traditional confidence games.
Researchers answered 73 "Moneymaking Opportunities" ads in the National Inquirer.]
DEVIANT BEHAVIOR. 1988. Jacqueline
Boles & Lyn Myers, "Chain Letters: Players and Their Accounts."
V. 9, p. 241-257.
["This paper analyzes the content and structure of the chain letter
and also describes the accounts which chain letter players (N=129) provide
for their participation. <gender> Differences between male and female
accounts and participation strategies are provided." Authors' husbands
advertise mail order business, 534 unsolicited MCLs were sent to the address
in these ads. Five essential parts of MCL: salutation, legitimization,
psychological motivation, scheme description, moral and ethical exhortation.
Certain names appear in different schemes: Steve Bessemer, Bill Needham,
Nelson Robbards; "used like talismans." "About 85% of letters close with
an exhortation to participate ... like "It works!", "This gives big results,"
and "Hurry up!" "The typical chain letter player . . . was a middle-aged,
lower-middle class man living in a small town." For men MCLs are a
way to beat the system, and illegality is acknowledged. Women are
more likely to accept the letter's legitimization, see more value in the
"product" delivered, and use the scheme to make friends. Quotes from Butterfield
on Amway.]
DEWAN, BRIAN. 1993. Song lyrics: "The Letter."
CD: Tells a Story, Bar/None Records.
[ Cautionary tale in seven four line verses. The sixth: "A butcher
got the letter and read it top to bottom / But he did not consider himself
a superstitious man / The minute that he threw it out his blind and deaf
assistant / Cut him into pieces and sold him by the pound." E-mail from John
Burkhardt.]
DICKSON, PAUL. 1980. The Official Explanations.
New York: Delacorte Press, p. 236.
[Author's parody of Death20 type text with book pyramid: "...and the
estate of Harriet P. of Toledo has 1,406 copies (accumulated before she broke
the chain and died)."]
DIOGÈNE. 1987.
Jean-Bruno Renard, "L'idée de chance: attitudes et superstitions."
No. 140, Oct.-Dec., pp. 106-130. Gallimard, Paris. English edition: Diogenes,
140, 1987, pp. 111-140.
[Definitions of superstition. The idea of good and bad luck. Freud on
undone or symptomatic acts. Upsurge of superstition during historical crises.
Mother of Algerian War soldier sends out chain letter. Professions prone
to superstition (hunters, miners, farmers, deep-sea fishermen, athletes,
performers). Most women (ca. 80%) think it preferable to be lucky rather
than beautiful. Women more superstitious than men (esp. women at home).
The old and young more superstitious. Practices associated with difficult
moments whose outcome is uncertain (sickness, decisions, examinations). Good
luck held responsible for escaping injury, recovering from sickness, success
in an examination. Bad luck held responsible for disease, failure, accidents.
Belief in signs of good luck stronger than in signs of bad luck.]
DOL, MATT. 1978. Chain Letters -Road to Riches?
2nd. ed., Lanham (MD): Dol's House Press,
[Mail order publication - part of "Between the Lines in the Mail Order
Game." Says promoters sometime place an alias in second or third place (of
4 to 6 total on list). MCL texts: "Does $125,000 get you excited! (1974);
"$10,000 in your mailbox IN ONE WEEK." (1974); "Do you need $125,000 Business
Capital?" (1976). Legal discussion with codes. Text of letters sent by Postal
Inspectors to participants in MCLs. Text of letter sent in response to complaints
about LCLs: "This concerns your recent complaint regarding mailings
known as the "prayer" or "good luck" type of chain letter. These mailings,
which contain a threat of bad luck to those breaking the chain, do not request
money or other items of value. They are not in violation of the postal
lottery and fraud laws, Title 18, Sections 1302 and 1341, U.S. Code. When
sent by way of postal card, however, they become unmailable under Title
18, Section 1718, U. S. Code, which prohibits threatening matter on the
outside of mail. (But declared unconstitutional in 1973 -DWV). "It is unfortunate
the mails have ben used in such a way as to cause complaint." Statistical
data on mail fraud investigations, FY1975 - FY1978 . One billion dollars
public loss to mail fraud in FY 77. Comments of readers.]
DUNCAN, ROBERT J. 1976.
"Chain Letters: A Twentieth Century Folk Practice." What's Going On?
(In Modern Texas Folklore). Ed. Frances E. Abernathy. Austin: Incino
Press. p. 47-58.
[Mostly based on newspaper and magazine reports referenced here. Text of LCL from Goodman Ace, text of MCL from Olson, text of wife exchange from Sat. Eve. Post, 1959, and text of charity CL from the
Independent. Motives: "play it safe,"
"gamble on it," and not to disappoint a friend who passed it to them.
XCL items: S&H green stamps, pieces of string, pieces of cloth for
world friendship quilts, children's books, aprons, others. Send-a-dime
and Springfield history. Five-dollar notarized letters sold for 50
cents in Springfield (?). Familiar spin-off incidents. Hearsay
influential. Immunization effect ("duplication"). <numbers>
"They seem to be enjoying a current revival".]
DUNDES, ALAN & PAGTER,
CARL. 1975. Urban Folklore from the Paperwork
Empire. Austin: University of Texas Press for the American
Folklore Society.
[Traditional letters. Com. Mapak variations (5). Complete text of Death20 type LCL. Complete
text of fertilizer club
and dated wife exchange.
Husband exchange letter from 1968 (little text). Medgar Evers, other, as in
Northwest Folklore, 1966.]
THE ECONOMIST. 1991. "Rimbaud-hoopla
goes overboard: A season in hell." Nov. 2, p. 85-86.
[The French Ministry of Culture sponsored a "Rimbaud chain letter" as
part of a celebration of the centenary of the poet's death.]
ELGART, J. M. 1955. Furthermore Over Sexteen.
New York: Grayson Publ Corp., p. 89.
[Wife XCL parody complete text,
possibly edited.]
ELLIS, BILL. 2004. Lucifer Ascending. The Occult in Folklore and
Popular Culture. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 64-68.
[Chapter 3: Black Books and Chain
Letters. Dates Himmelsbrief
(or a certain type?) from the 1700's. Translates St. Germaine Himmelsbrief
(Fogel, p. 290) that demands: "Write this letter out, one person to another,
or get it printed, ..." Following Fogel, relates Ancient Prayer
LCL [1908] to Himmelsbrief
tradition. On recent LCL: "The contemporary version derived from this tradition
maintains the essential elements of the Himmelsbrief: an unexceptional religious
sentiment followed by directions to copy and distribute it in the form of
written, typed or printed copies." Gives text of 1952 (Halpert) LCL.
Argues that a "1960's chain letter" (Death20 type, Dundes, 1973u) put greater emphasis on misfortune
for breaking the chain; and that in the 1980's and 90's this "section"
was "gradually lengthened ... so that it now makes up most of the letter."
Gives the lose
parts of two testimonials from the Death20 block of a DL chain letter and the lose parts of three testimonials
from its Lottery block (including the Car testimonial) as evidence. No
"win" parts of testimonials are mentioned; does not seem to be aware that
the transition from the Death20 type to the DL type chain letter was not
"gradual" but instead involved the addition of an entire other letter to
the bottom (the Lottery block, see Preston 1976).
Claims Chain Letter Evolution states that "chain
letters exist in an 'information environment' in which the 'fittest' versions
continue to circulate ...", and that it describes chain letters as an entity
"largely independent of the persons who circulate it" (compare motives). Quotes Don Basham favorably on his characterization of chain letters.
Summarizes: "the chain letter is essentially a contagious curse, contained
in an amulet-like piece of writing, which can only be removed by passing
it on to other people."]
ELLISON, E. JEROME & BROCK, FRANK W. 1935.
The Run for Your Money. New York: Dodge Publishing Co. p. 221-225.
[Commercial CLs (pyramid sales). Oscar Auton, Gagetown Mich. buggy
dealer, said to have originated scheme in 1890's: (1) pay $3.75 for
coupon (from Auton or a friend), (2) send Auton the coupon plus $15, (3)
receive book of four coupons, (4) sell four coupons for $3.75 each ($15
total), (5) when Auton receives the four coupons you sold, each with $15,
you are entitled to receive $60 worth of merchandise (for cost of $3.75).
In 1932 "nearly every person in the United States capable of opening his
mail was 'chained' to one or another of the myriad progressions . . ."
". . . millions of the general public were made willing, hard-working salesmen
for fountain pens, automatic pencils, flashlights, playing cards, key rings,
stationery, bath salts, kitchenware, lingerie, hosiery, billfolds and golf
balls." 1932 pioneers: Amoeba Stationery Co. of Princeton, Pierce
& Co. in New York (pocketbooks) and Prosperity Sales Plan Corporation
in New York (pens). Amoeba scheme: (1) buy box of stationery for $2.50,
(2) included were ten slips each entitling you to sell 10 boxes yourself,
(3) no commission on first 3 (per ten) sold, $1 commission on remaining
7, (4) $1 commission on first three (per ten) sales of second level agents.
Prosperity Sales Plan similar but did not limit number of sales. Brief
description of Sheldon scheme. Schemes collapsed just prior to send-a-dime
craze.]
ESQUIRE. 1977. Andrew Tobias,
"The Great Chain Robbery." V. 88, Aug., p. 12-14.
[Receives Death20 type CL - much text. Received MCL, specs s$1,
q20, n4, w90. Miscalculates return. Checked with no. 2 slot
- no return. Send-a-dime. Springfield notarized letter. Ponzis:
Harold Goldstein, Stanley Goldblum (Equity Funding
Corp.), Glen W. Turner (Koscot Interplanetary, Dare To Be Great).
Approves Medgar Evers chain, coffee boycott. Text of "Go play golf" office
humor item, omitting CL that accompanied it.]
ESQUIRE. 1979. William Flanagan, "The
Circle of Gold, Mr. Ponzi, and the Tooth Fairy." V. 91, Jan. 2, p.
101.
[Workings of Circle of Gold MCL: specs s$50, q2x$50, n12 . Some text. Debunks. Methods
of cheating.]
ESQUIRE. 1990.
"I'm on the 'A' List, Pass it on." Dec., p. 49.
[Brief comment on Media CL. Three named transmittals incl. Pierre
Salinger to Art Buchwald. <motive> "The real reason behind the
letter's success, of course, is not fear, but the thrill of having written
certification that, yes, indeed, you do belong to the inner circle."]
ETC: REVIEW OF GENERAL SEMANTICS. 1995.
Edward MacNeal, "The Power of Powers: Schemes, Scams, and Panties."
V. 54, n. 4, Winter 1995-6, p. 406-415.
[Basic operation of five different MCLs received from 1993-94:
(1) Recipes (s5x$2, n5), (2) Reports (s4x$5, n4), (3) "Please
add my name to your mailing list" (s5x$1,n5), (4) Wealth documents
for $50 (Wealth Masters International, n4), (5) Holiday gifts for $85 (first
phase $10 to KNM Ventures to join Holiday Unity Foundation and s5x$10
for secret techniques to use in filling your ten-new-member quota q10x$10;
second phase s5x$5 on Dec. 1 as holiday gift). Exponential growth
calculations. Foundation for New Era Philanthropy (New Era) ponzi:
promised to match deposits of non-profit institutions
with matching funds from charitable donors within 6 months. Two local
religious leaders got 10% of $20 million in donations they arranged.
New Era references (11) from Philadelphia Inquirer.]
ETHNOLOGIE DES FAITS RELIGIEUX EN EUROPE, Actes
du Colloque de Strasbourg. 1993. Albert, Jean-Pierre. "La 'chaîne de
saint Antoline" : religion ou superstition?" Éditions du C.T.H.S.,
1993. pp 207-220.
[No English translation. At least one French text.]
EVENING NEWS (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1987. George
Weigel, " 'Airplane Club' Illegal pyramid scheme may be flying our way."
May 15, p. C1.
[Airplane club pyramid scheme. Specs s$2,200 (amounts vary), q2,
n4, max $17,600. Roles: pilot (1), co-pilots (2), crew members (4), passengers
(8). State investigator obtained promotional packet at meeting, some
text: "Of what concern is it to anyone if we wish to give a friend,
or a friend of a friend, $2,200?" "In the spirit of sharing
and fellowship, in the spirit of Christian charity, and trust in your fellow
man - this is the spirit of Airplane." State Attorney General filed
three lawsuits. At outset of meeting promoters ask if any police,
FBI, IRS or reporters present. Club literature advises: avoid using
last names on airplane charts, be discreet about talking about the club,
deposit and withdraw small amounts from bank, avoid using cordless phones
when talking about the club. Rampant in New York state a few months
ago; more than 20 arrests there.]
EVENING NEWS (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1987a. " 'Airplane
Club' grounded, charged in pyramid caper." May 22, p. B2.
[UPI. State Attorney General filed suit against 12 founders of
the Airplane Club MCL. Said members recruited at parties featuring alcohol,
food and music. Names of defendants. Suit seeks to bar continuing
club, restitution and $1,000 for each violation.]
EVENING NEWS (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1988. George
Weigel, "Chain gangs: Despite some new wrinkles in old pyramid scheme, using
the mails is still illegal, postal inspector warns." May 13, p. C1.
[Describes Dave Rhodes MCL. Specs s5x$1, q100+, n5, max 60x$50,000.
Some text. Postal inspector: <numbers> "Chain letters seem to run
in cycles, and we've been in an up cycle for about the last four months."
Rhodes scheme advised buying mailing list for $13 from S.E. Ring Mailing
Lists, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A spokesman there said he did not know
how his company's name got on the Rhodes letter, and that the firm did not
sell lists if the names were to be used to promote chain letters. Amounts
lost by four participants. Postal Inspectors have tried to track down Dave
Rhodes, Edward L. Green, Harry R. Rhodes with no success. They use
a computer to log names on chain letters. Remainder of article missing.]
EVENING NEWS (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1991.
George Weigel, "Chain letters disguised." Jan. 18, p. C1.
[Subtitle: "Promoters use different approaches to hook consumers."
Describes "Friendship Club" MCL. Specs q=20/year, s5x$5, n5, max $555,550.
Includes letter from alleged founder Betsy A. Jordan "who claims to be a
53-year-old widow with terminal lung cancer who got the idea after getting
a $5 birthday gift in the mail one day from her mother." Jordan claims
received $1.8 million in three years. "I have absolutely no reason
to story you: I'm too close to meeting my maker." Letter claims
attorney checked out for legality; receipt of up to $10,000 a year
tax exempt because they are gifts. CPA: "When you have to do something
to generate money, you can't call it a gift," hence taxable. State
Attorney general recently closed the "Executive Income Program" MCL.
One woman has received 60 pyramid and MCL pitches. Accompanying article
gives claims of winnings & losses.]
FATE. 1975.
Harold Sherman. "The Chain Letter: Don't You Believe It!" August
1975, 28.8, pp. 82-86.
[Psychic Harold Sherman estimates that in his lifetime he has received
"at least 100 chain letters, all of them promising great good luck, usually
within four days, if I will continue the chain by making 20 copies of the
letter and mailing them on to a list of friends." If you receive one he advises
you throw it away, and gives a meditation to accompany this. A "condensed"
text of a DL letter (names were present but are not given) is given [le1975_dl_n_sherman]. The text
appears very nearly complete. Sherman notes some inconsistencies, including
that late compliance nevertheless produced good luck. He does not note the
compound nature (contradictory origins) of the DL letter.]
THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION. 1978. Karen
Brune & Ray Huard, " 'Circle of Gold' chain letter surfaces in Jacksonville."
Sunday, Dec. 10, Sec. B, p. 1+.
[$100 per person Circle of Gold MCL in South Georgia and Jacksonville.
The Times-Union purchased a letter for $100: it claims to have received
"approval of legal counsel," has two pages of instructions and two
(?) lists of 12 names. Top name an Indiana man who says he has collected
$1000, says letter came from California. Participant: "You have to call
people and push it. I called one woman who said she sold the one but
couldn't sell the other. I just picked up the phone and sold it."
Savannah saturated. <law> State Attorney's Office can file injunction
in circuit courts forcing participants to return items of value received
and get back items they have sent.]
FLS NEWS (THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FOLKLORE SOCIETY -LONDON).
1995. Jacqueline Simpson, "Chain Letter (2)." n. 21, June, p. 11.
[Summarizes and contrasts two DL type LCLs received in 1993 (FLS, Dec.
1993) and 1995 (The Independent, Jan. 16, 1995). Few direct
quotes. Name and amount variations. The 1993 is signed by "Samuel
& Gordon." The 1995 uses pounds and reads: "The
chain comes from Venezuela and was written by Gordon Lane de Sampa . .
."]
FLS
NEWS (THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FOLKLORE SOCIETY). 2000. Jacqueline Simpson,
"Chain Letters." n. 32, November, p. 5.
[Gives partial text
of 1916 postcard chain letter, likely one collected by Paul Smith. Cites
Phyllis Nye ( The Independent, 6 May 2000, Review section, p. 2)
that her parents thought of chain letters as "pernicious" (even a postcard
exchange) because "during the First World War they and many people they
knew had received letters threatening death or horrors to their loved ones
in the trenches of France if the chain was broken." Comments on the Letters
from Heaven.]
FLS NEWS (THE NEWSLETTER OF THE FOLKLORE SOCIETY).
2001. T. R. Edwards, "Chain Letters." n. 33, February, p. 8.
[Translates the "Letter of St. Nektarios" (from I. M. Hafzifatis, Orthodoxia
ke Laikes Doxastes, Ellinika Grammata, Athens, 1996, p. 81). Full English
text. "Write this letter 13 times and send it to 13 people and in 13
months you will be fee from various problems."]
FOLKLORE.
1915. J. S. Udal, "Obeah in the West Indies." V. 26, p. 284-286.
[Text of "Letter from Jesus"
sold in the Caribbean to protect homes from fire.]
FOLKLORE. 1917. "Letters from Heaven."
V. 28, p. 318-320.
[Responses to FOLKLORE 1915 concerning Letter from Heaven. Presence
in south England (to protect against witchcraft and assure safety in childbirth)
and America ("written . . . in letters of gold, or with His blood").
References. Father Delahaye traces back to end of sixth century.]
FOLKLORE. 2005. Stephen G. Olbrys,
"Money talks: folklore in the public square." V. 116, No. 3, December,
p. 292-310.
[Thorough discussion of "currency chains:" messages and petitions written
on paper money.]
FOLK-LORE RECORD. 1878. "West Sussex
Superstitions." V. 1, p. 23.
[An old woman keeps a copy of the Letter from Jesus (to Abgarus), purchased
from a peddler, to ward off witchcraft and the evil eye.]
FORBES. 1994. Fleming Meeks, "Chain
letter investing." June 20, p. 251-52.
[Investment in Alpacas merely because the price is going up (the "greater
fool theory").]
THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE. 1867.
"A Curious Charm." J. T. Fowler. Dec., p. 786
[Jesus' Sabbath Letter. A copy of "one in the possession of an
honest farmer's wife at Saltfleetby St. Clement's, who was very loth to part
with it, even for an hour." Complete text. "This curious document has
doubtless been copied many times and treasured up, as it is even now at
Saltfleetby."]
GEORGE WASHINGTON LAW REVIEW. 1936.
Andrew G. Haley, "The Broadcast and Postal Lottery Statutes." V. 4,
p. 475-496.
[Essential elements of a lottery: consideration, chance and prize. Detailed
definitions of these. Lottery statutes construed to prevent evasion
"for the mind of man, inspired by cupidity and the desire for unjust enrichment
over his fellow man, has invented innumerable subterfuges." " 'Chain
letter' enterprises have as their inducement the awarding of prizes on
the basis of one's position or relative standing in line." "After
the first few 'pay offs,' many contingencies governing one's standing are
so remote as to be unascertainable. Even where the schemes are
so planned that eventually all participating will receive a prize, but at
different times, it is apparent that an inequality of chance prevails."
Legal references.]
GERMAN AMERICAN ANNALS.
1908. Edwin M. Fogel, "The Himmelsbrief." V. 10, p. 286-311.
[Traditional letters (Himmelsbrief) among Pennsylvania Germans. " .
. . we have in the Himmelsbrief the old heathenism under the garb of Christianity."
Six categories: St. Germain, Holstein, Mechelburg, Himmelsriegel, Count
Philip of Flanders, and Magdeburg. All in German except one Holstein, the Count Philip letter, and the "Endless
Chain of Prayer" (an early form of the "Ancient Prayer" LCL).
Two versions exist, a long and short. Complete text given of the short version,
later referred to as the "Endless Chain Letter." Bishop Lawrence
mentioned in the text was an Episcopalian (not a Methodist) - see Lawrence 1926. Reference supplied by Alan Mays.]
GODDARD, DWIGHT (Ed.).
1938. A Buddhist Bible. Boston: Beacon Press (1970).
[The Diamond Sutra promises great merit to those who "zealously and
faithfully observe and study this Scripture, explain it to others and circulate
it widely..." (p. 96). The Surangama Sutra: "Ananda, should any sentient
beings in any of the kingdoms of existence, copy down this Dharani on birch-bark
or palm-leaves or paper made of papyrus or of white felt, and keep it safely
in some scented wrapping, this man no matter how faint-hearted or unable
to remember the words for reciting it, but who copies it in his room and
keeps it by him, this man in all his life will remain unharmed by any poison
of the Maras." (p. 275)]
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. 1969. "Why most chain
letters are illegal." V. 169, July, p. 141.
[Basic legal facts. Miscalculated return from a MCL with specs
s$1n6q6. "Ninety-nine percent of the people who participate in circulating
chain letters do not realize they are breaking the law" - H. J. Wallenstein,
Asst. Attorney General of N.Y.]
GOOD OLD DAYS.
1977. "Chain Letter Madness." Esther Norman. Vol. 13, No. 9, March, p. 4-48.
[Rare nostalgia magazine. Esther Norman comments on the 1935 Send-a-Dime
craze. "The best kind, the experts decided, were the ones that would 'scare'
the ones who received the letters into complying with keeping the chain
unbroken." Gives complete text (no addresses) of Send-a-Dime type with
general bad luck threats, mle1936uu_sd_badluck_q5.
Also gives text of a Send-a-Dime letter with non-traditional explanations,
me1935u_sd_norman. Says she
and her friends were "afraid" to break chains. Says handkerchief and tea-towel
exchange letters followed. Quit responding after receiving quarter money
chain. Only source for a money chain letter with bad luck threats.]
GOOD PROFITS IN CHAIN LETTERS? YOU BE THE JUDGE.
1978. Darien Publications, Huntington Beach, CA.
[Mail order publication, 16 pages stapled. MCL appeal: (1)
promise of big, quick profits. (2) small start-up costs, (3) easy work, (4)
all cash business. Sent out 86 questionnaires with SASE to participants
in five chain schemes. Received 54 responses (25 positive, 19 negative,
10 uncertain). Promoters strategies: use of aliases, group efforts,
selling addresses and printing services. Woman in top slot (of four, selling
reports) knew nothing of chain, returned dollars. Legal: text of codes.
MCL texts include "Millionaire's Newsletter" testimonial accompanying "The
Letter." Sample of "report": "How to Raise $10,000 Overnight."]
GOODSPEED, EDGAR J. 1931.
Strange New Gospels. Univ. of Chicago Press.
[Christian apocrypha - much was expanded upon in Goodspeed 1956. "The
most ambitious and yet the most commonplace of modern apocrypha is probably
the "Letter of Jesus Christ," said to have been found under a stone near
Iconium, where it was deposited by the angel Gabriel. It is sometimes
sent through the mail with a request that the recipient send copies of
it to three others, as some great misfortune is likely to befall him if
he does not. 'Do not break the chain.' It was published almost in full some
years ago in the Chicago Evening Post, and is sometimes found framed
on the walls of people of more piety than intelligence." (p. 100)]
GOODSPEED, EDGAR J.
1956. Modern Apocrypha. Boston: Beacon Press. p. 70-75.
[History of the "The Letter from Heaven" (concerning Sunday, Lady Cubass).
Complete text. Origin
(R. Priebsch): Ebusa Island (Latin) sixth century. Bishop of Carthagena
denounced it in a letter of 584 AD. Reappeared through the centuries.
English form much simplified, from 1700, may have added the Abgar and Lentulus
letters. Mentions "A Letter of our Lord Jesus Christ, Found on the
Grave of the Mother of God," revealed when the patriarch of Jerusalem
smote a stone that had fallen from heaven.]
GREGG, JOHN ROBERT. 1941.
Applied Secretarial Practice, Second ed. New York:
The Gregg Publ. Co.
[Up to 4 carbons OK with standard weight first sheet (20#) and light
copy sheets (13#). Up to 10 copies OK with light first sheet (p. 12).
Now obsolete duplicating methods: mimeograph, gelatin duplication, liquid
duplicators, multigraph, multilith, Vari-Typer, Hooven typewriter, Postal-card
duplicators and multifax (Ch. VI). Multigraph (p. 142) produces letters
that look typewritten. Type is set on a cylindrical drum and covered with
an inked fabric ribbon. Paper fed between type drum and a rubber platen
roller.]
THE (MANCHESTER) GUARDIAN. 1990. "Diary"
- Judy Rumbold. Nov. 7, p. 21: 2.
[Brief mention of husband exchange parody CL "currently circulating
in New York." Some text; receive 16,748 men. One woman
broke the chain and "got her own son-of-a-bitch back."]
GUIGNÉ, ANNA. 1993. The
'Dying Child's Wish' Complex: A Case Study of the Relationship Between Reality
and Tradition. (M.A. Thesis), Memorial University of Newfoundland.
[<guigne> Thorough analysis of the Craig Shergold appeal. Examples
of similar appeals, many full texts. References.]
HAND, WAYLAND. 1959.
"A North Carolina Himmelsbrief." In Middle-Ages-Reformation.
"Volkskunde." Univ. of North Carolina Studies in Germanic Languages
and Literatures, No. 26. Chapel Hill, p. 201-207.
[Complete text of "Our Saviour's Letter" (Cubas) from No. Carolina,
with differences present in an earlier English broadside (Herefordshire).
Legend of how the "Ancient Letter" reached America, with bad luck for failing
to publish it. Newspaper references. Early Christian belief in letters
from heaven. Some believe magic & holy writings lose efficacy
when copied off (note 13). "...a practice whose origins are to be found
more in journalism and in the printing trade, perhaps, than in religious
history or folklore."]
HAND, WAYLAND (Ed.) 1961. The Frank
C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, V. 6. Durham:
Duke University Press, p. 11-12.
[ "A charm known as 'The Letter of Jesus Christ' will insure the safe
delivery of a child, if possessed by the mother." References to published
texts of Himmelsbriefe, including Jewish, foreign, Islamic.]
HAND, WAYLAND; CASETTA, K. & THIEDERMAN, S
(Eds.) 1981. Popular Beliefs and Superstitions: A Compendium
of American Folklore From the Ohio Collection of Newbell Niles Puckett,
V. 2. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co.
[P. 845 & 907: Six accounts of belief in good / bad
luck, e.g. <motive> ". . . if you break a 'chain-of-luck
letter,' disaster is sure to follow" (F, age 66). Complete text of LCL with specs
q4+1, d1, w4. Name list of 15 at bottom omitted.]
HAND, WAYLAND & TULLY, FRANCIS. 1996?.
"Chain Letter."Encyclopedia of American Popular Beliefs and Superstitions.
New York: Oxford Univ. Press.
[Quotes Duncan, Dundes and de Lys.
African missionary letter - ref. Hyatt. Send-a-dime basics.
Classification of CLs: (1) financial, (2) religious/lucky, (3) humorous/satiric,
(4) leisure/interest. For MCL calls copy quota its "width," number of names
on list its "length." Motivations.]
HOBBIES, THE MAGAZINE FOR COLLECTORS. 1935.
V. 40, No. 8, October.
[(1) Autographs - A Chain Letter. "A chain letter that was started in
1894 by seventeen members of the Eureka College, Eureka, Ill., graduating
class, has been going the rounds for these forty-one years. When a member
receives it he chronicles his activities and thoughts and sends it on.
So far it has traveled to China and the remote corners of the world several
times. Fourteen members of the class are still alive and contribute to
the letter about twice a year." (2) Market Notes and News. "The custom
of inscribing the initials S.A.G. on the backs of letters, dates back to
1729, and supposedly insures the letter against any mishaps along the route
to its destination. The letters abbreviate Saint Anthony Guide, and the
custom is mainly Roman Catholic." (3) Market Notes and News. "The chain-letter
racket, which is practically non-existent now, has been the cause of some
interesting oddities in the news. When the idea first started, about five
months ago, many collectors started a "philatelic chain" and sent to many
(if not all) of their friends. A number of these letters were sent abroad,
especially in Europe. And therein lies the story. It seems that our foreign
neighbors have more faith in this American idea, then our own brethren,
for they (in most cases) promptly continued the chain and the recipients
promptly forwarded additional letters. Now reports come from all over the
United States that the original instigators are receiving stamps for their
trouble - and in most cases very good stamps. One South American collector
boosted the value up to about $5, and then forwarded that amount in mint
airs to an Eastern collector."]
HYATT, HARRY MIDDLETON. 1935.
Folk-Lore From Adams County Illinois. New York: Memoirs of the Alma
Egan Hyatt Foundation, p. 420-421.
[Population: "During the latter part of 1933 a 'chain letter' fad appeared."
Complete text of LCL, q5n6d1w9.
Hyatt deleted two names and two towns. Possibly deleted addresses (?). Chicago
(Cook County) appears twice in senders list.]
THE INDEPENDENT.
1916. "Chain Charity." V. 86, May 8, p. 199
[Complete text of charity
chain letter (for Billy).]
INDIA OBSERVER. 1872. "Some strange papers
. . . " Feb. 17, p. 101, col. 2
[Cited in JOURNAL OF SOCIAL HISTORY. 1987. "Some
strange papers have been going around the north of Tirhoot." ". .
. the cows have complained to Jagannath that all the wastelands are being
cultivated, and that Jagannath has promised to curse any one who cultivates
waste lands . . . " and "cause the house of anyone who fails
to pass on these papers to be burnt." Reporter suggests local police detectives
track down the origin, possibly across the border in Nepal.]
INTELLIGENCER JOURNAL (Lancaster, Pa.). 1988.
David Sturm, "Illegal Chain Letter Surfaces Here." Jan. 20, pp. 1,2.
[Dave Rhodes MCL. Norfolk, Va. had one Dave Rhodes but number was unlisted.
Postal Inspector speculates that Dave Rhodes is a fictional person, and
that the letter was a way for a mailing list company to drum up business (S.
E. Ring Mailing Lists Co. of Fort Lauderdale). <numbers> Says
"chain letters have crossed his desk every day for the 23 years he has been
a postal inspector."]
JAMES, MONTAGUE R. 1953. The Apocryphal
New Testament. London: Oxford Univ. Press. Correction of the 1924
edition.
[Mentions "the Letter of Christ concerning Sunday, extant in almost
every European language and in many Oriental versions. It was fabled
to have fallen on the altar at Jerusalem, Rome, Constantinople..."
English text of the letter
from Abgarus (of Edessa) to Jesus and his reply. "Later texts add
a promise that where this letter is, no enemy shall prevail; and so we
find the letter copied and used as an amulet." English text of the
"Letter of Lentulus," a description of Christ's physical appearance from
about the 13th century. The oldest text does not present the document as
a letter, but begins: "It is read in the annal-books of the Romans that
our Lord Jesus Christ, who was called by the Gentiles the prophet of truth,
was of stature..."]
JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE. 1895.
"Notes on the Folk-Lore of Newfoundland." V. 8, p. 286.
[Brief mention of "the letter of Jesus Christ" which promises safe delivery
in child-bed and freedom from bodily hurt.]
JOURNAL OF MODERN HISTORY. 1990.
Lynne Viola, "The Peasant Nightmare: Visions of Apocalypse in
the Soviet Countryside." V. 62, p. 747-770.
[Peasant rumors and apocalyptic prophecy in protest of Soviet collectivization
in the 1920's. Rumors of miracles: renewed icons, appearance of crosses,
secret flames, holy springs. Rumor that disbelief was punished: "a peasant
who laughed at the story fell off his horse and became ill."
Three apocalyptic themes: "the reign of Antichrist, impending war and invasion,
and the destruction of traditional ways of peasant life." ". . . leaflets
or proclamations were distributed or appeared mysteriously. Elsewhere,
heavenly letters written by the hand of God, the Virgin Mary, or Christ appeared."
In one God wrote: "If this non-belief continues, then in two years the world
will come to an end. I can no longer be patient." Heavenly letters
played a similar role during the late Middle Ages (Cohn 1957). Footnote 59: "In addition to leaflets,
rumors were circulated in chain letters, promising great joy or sorrow depending
on whether the letter was delivered or not." ]
THE JOURNAL OF POPULAR CULTURE. 1976.
Gerard O'Connor, "The hoax as popular culture." V. 9, n. 4, p. 767-774.
[Brief mention of depression era MCLs as a "popular money hoax."]
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL HISTORY. 1987.
Ananda A. Yang, "A Conversation of Rumors: The Language of Popular
Mentalitès in Late Nineteenth-Century Colonial India."
V. 20, p. 485-505.
[Rumors of peasants in the Bihar region of northeast India in the late
nineteenth century. Illiteracy widespread, regular channels of communication
closed to them. Census rumors: prelude to: household and other taxes,
inscription, forced emigration, forced conversion. "Religious rumors were
generally encoded with the sanction of a sacred authority, either a place
or person, and with a message promising dire consequences if they were not
disseminated further - often in chain-letter fashion - by their recipients."
Some text of three CLs. Tree
daubing: splash of mud with black hairs imbedded - replicated - spread described
- rumors followed. Rumors often invoked Hindu gods to attain authority
- "fittest" survived.]
JOURNAL OF SOCIAL HISTORY. 1991.
Robert Orsi. "The Center Out There, In Here, and Everywhere Else: The Nature
of Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Saint Jude, 1929-1965." V5, Winter, N2: pp.
213-239.
[National shrine of Saint Jude Thaddeus founded by Spanish Claretian
Fathers in Chicago in 1929. Jude's devout told "they need never come to Chicago
to participate fully in the cult." Jude called "the Patron Saint of 'Anglos'"
by Mexican American women (1958). Jude's early titles included "the Forgotten
Saint," the "Obscure and Unknown Saint." Social history of Catholic ethnic
communities in 20th century contribute to decentralization of Jude devotion.
Note 44: "This desire and commitment to making Jude known around the country
is also the motive for the ubiquitous notices thanking the saint that appear
in the classified sections of newspapers." "Synchronicity, the unexpected
coincidence of events, was thought to disclose Jude's actions or intentions,
and so the devout carefully marked the moment when they first encountered
the saint and noted the timing of his response" (p. 221). <deadline>
"They also referred self-consciously to the timing of their own expressions
of gratitude: what was important to them was not that they went someplace
in return for the saint's intervention but that they did something within
a certain amount of time." "Jude's was a postal devotion and writing replaced
going as the primary devotional act."]
JOURNALISM MONOGRAPHS. 1994. Nathaniel
Hong, "Down with the Murderer Hitler!" No. 146, Aug.
[Dissident expression in Denmark, 1940-42, incl. leaflets, chain letters,
stickers, posters, graffiti, songs, symbols, flags and theater demonstrations.
Based on police reports. Leaflets encouraged hand copying; two early
forms became combined (p. 6). Police tracing and other investigative
methods. Lord's Prayer political parody: "Our Führer / Who is
in Germany / . . ." (p. 9). "This is about Denmark's Freedom" had heading
"KÆDEBREV" (CHAIN LETTER), explicitly asked copies be made and admonished
"Don't break the chain" (p. 12). Government posters "improved" with
anti-German messages (p. 15). BBC Danish-language broadcast initiated
use of "V" graffiti (p. 15). Methods of distribution (p. 21-2).]
KEYSTONE FOLKLORE QUARTERLY. 1972.
Mac E. Barrick, "The Typescript Broadside." V. 17:1, Spring,
p. 27-38.
[Several examples of erotic print folklore. Circulated since the 1920's.
Once typed with reversed carbon so only read with mirror. Complete text of "Fertilizer Club"
parody & variant from 1971. Printed material has advantage over oral
in the workplace since it can be read surreptitiously.]
KIPLINGER'S PERSONAL FINANCE MAGAZINE. 1993.
Ronaleen R. Roha, "Inside the Head of a Mail-Order Crook." Jan., p.
73-75.
[Strategies of mail-order cons including stuff envelopes.]
KITCHING,
I. J. & FOREY, P. L & HUMPHRIES, C. J. & WILLIAMS, D. M.
Cladistics - The theory and practice of parsimony analysis. Second
edition. Oxford University Press. 1998.
[From the back cover: "The book begins with an explanation of the fundamental
concepts in cladistics, such as the meaning of relationships, systematic
groups, and their recognition through processes of homology. The types of
characters that can be used in cladistic analysis are examined, followed
by the methods used for coding these observations for computer analysis. The
construction of cladograms and consensus trees is explained, and the contentious
area of three-item statements, a different method of representing relationships
among taxa, is explored."]
LAMAR TRI-STATE DAILY NEWS. 1979. Michael
J. Preston, "Colorado Lore and Language . . . What Evil Will
Plague You If Chain Letter Is Broken?" July 30, p?
[Receives DL type LCL; partial text (have original letter -DWV). Female
recipient of LCL worried about bad luck for three days, then sent 20 copies.
General Walsh name and amount variants. Partial text of recipe XCL.]
LA PORTE HERALD-ARGUS.
1976. (Laporte County, Indiana). D. Reed Eckhardt. "Chain letters blooming."
April 10, 1976.
[Debunks pyramid schemes. Bicentennial Savings Bond scheme (send $2
- $1 for each hundred years). Exchange of recipes and post cards
are not illegal "because they are not considered a 'thing of value'." Claims
post cards with threat of bad luck are prohibited "because it is against
the law to place threatening matter on he outside of mail." (Ruled unconstitutional in 1973
- DWV)]
LARDNER, RING. 1946.
"On Chain Letters." The Portable Ring Lardner, New York: Viking, p.
567-570. Originally from "Ring Lardner's Weekly Letter," distributed by Bell
Syndicate, August 6, 1922.
[Complete text (no names)
of Good Luck LCL. Name list: fifty. <numbers> Received twelve of these
"endless chain" letters since the summer. Original source supplied
by Scott Topping.]
LAWRENCE, WILLIAM. 1926.
Memories of a Happy Life. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin
Co., p. 282-283.
["For two or three years, beginning in 1906, I was harassed by an outcropping
of superstition in the form of a prayer chain, the source of which I have
never discovered. Complete text,
includes "This prayer was sent out by Bishop Lawrence . . ." Lawrence
continues: "Letters of inquiry, protest, and condemnation came to me from
over the country, Europe, and beyond. The Associated Press and leading
newspapers cooperated in an effort to stop the nuisance."]
LETTERS TO AMBROSE MERTON.
2001. Jean-Bruno Renard. "Chain Letter from France." Spring, 2001,
p. 24-25.
[Original French text and English translation of
1999 luck chain letter, plus image of envelope. Copy quota nine (including
received copy). Miracle working sick child attributed as author. ".
. . see what will happen to you within 4 days." Write "RF" on envelope
instead of stamp. Renard suspects circulation among children. French post
office response to chain letters, envelope stamped "Chaine Inadmis".]
LIBERTY.
1935 (Day 92). Donald Furthman Wickets, "Chain Letter Madness."
V. 12, n. 29, July 20, p. 30-33.
[Questionable text of
send-a-dime with fictitious names. Only source for LCL protesting Sabbath
violations (c. 1902); specs q7d7w7, titled "The Prayer Chain." Near
complete text. Text of harsh
threat says was added, then "tens of thousands of prayer letters flooded
the mails." Circulation in China, Africa and South America (source?).
<immunization> "Folks who sent out some of the early letters
began to receive their echoes." Plausible origin story of send-a-dime:
"A Denver attorney . . . told the writer a tale that seems likely. One day
early in April a woman client came to his office. She was deeply distressed
over the plight of several families she had known for years. These people
had been forced to go on relief through no fault of their own and at a considerable
cost of pride. She had worried and pondered. The result was a plan to help
these families and possibly many more in similar circumstances. She proposed
sending out dime chain letters to her friends, listing the families' names.
Did the lawyer consider the plan illegal? He told her he could see
no harm in thus soliciting charity donations - and so perhaps the snowball
was started." Methods of cheating. "Cheater-proof" notarized letter.
The "guaranteed" letter in which two copies are "sold," letters pass
hand-to-hand. Stories of winnings. "Donald Furthman Wickets" was a pen name
for George Sylvester Viereck]
LITERATURA LUDOWA. 1988. Bednarek
Boguslaw, "Lancuszek sw. Antoniego." no. 1, pp. 23-30.
[<Polish> My copy is missing text. Contains text of nine
luck chain letters. Have English translation by Yana Tishchenko of four
dated ones (1, 2, 4, 5).]
LITERARY DIGEST. 1933. "Chain Selling Competes
with Jig-Saws." June 24, V. 115, p. 31.
[Brief account of chain selling scheme from the Burlington (Vt.) Free
Press: "You buy two packs of cards for a dollar. Their worth is questionable.
You then become a registered salesman with the playing-card sales promoter.
You then sell three people the same article and start them selling . . .You
get a commission on the first three sales they make. You get a commission
on all that you sell after the first three."]
LITERARY DIGEST. 1935 (Day 29). "Chain-Letter
'Prosperity-by-Mail'." V. 119, May 18, p. 38.
[Send-a-dime. <variations> XCLs: liquor, hay, kiss, find lost
husband. Benefits business: stationers, type-writer agencies, stenographers.
Recruitment: hiring boys to drop CLs on porches. Calculations. Postal receipts.]
LITERARY DIGEST.
1937. "Quick Riches." V.123, April 24, p. 5-6.
[Questionable Prosperity type LCL text fragment. Prior letters
typed on tissue paper (Good Luck) - "this letter was started in the fields
of Flanders for the good of humanity." Celebrity testimonials. Send-a-dime.
Subsequent get-rich-quick schemes: radio club (Toledo), recreational-park
membership (Dayton), vacation-fund (Atlantic City), Ruby Hospital building
fund (Ponca City Florida, 1935).]
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER. 1980a.
"Get-rich-quick 'chains' multiplying too fast to stop." May 21, p.
A3.
[California pyramid schemes. Participants a "cross-section". Los
Angeles: hundreds of calls a day asking about legality; at least 100 clubs
(c. 30 persons each). Parties busted. Herschel Elkins, Asst. State
Attorney General: pyramid clubs were known in Los Angeles in the 1940's.
4 or 5 weeks to clean out an area before plan collapses. Alameda County
High school pyramid: ounce of marijuana to buy in, pay-off a pound.]
LOS ANGELES HERALD
EXAMINER. 1980b. News Focus: "Pyramids: 'Brother can you
spare a dime,' 1980-style." May 22, p. A1+.
[<recruit, methods> Local pyramid schemes. Harold Gerard,
UCLA social psychologist, blames economy. About 40,000 attend "pyramid
parties" in Los Angeles last night (est. 150 to 400 parties). Accounts
of arrests. Most common ante $1000, win $16,000. Studio employee:
"Studio people are talking about nothing else." "... experts said the concept
has been around for a long time, as far back as ancient Greece or Egypt."
Dr. Richard P. Barthol, UCLA Psychologist: "This (buying into a pyramid)
seems like a way to get ahead of inflation, at least for a while."
Dr. Jerald Jellison, USC Psychologist: "... if you can get people
to think bad times are coming, you can lessen rational thinking on the
advisability of the investment." Cash withdrawals from banks.
Robberies of winners. Some brought to meetings blindfolded.
"I never saw anything like it in all my experience as a bunco detective,
completely beyond the scope of my imagination." P. A15: "A
pyramid winner tells how she won her money." Elizabeth Kyger, free-lance
writer, 24, tells of splitting $16,000. "I've made great business contacts
because of this." Says Ventura freeway westbound jammed in evenings because
of pyramid parties.]
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER. 1980c.
"Mood of pyramid participants turning ugly." May 24, p. A5.
[Two accounts of anger at Burbank pyramid party site. Out-of-towners
now predominate. State Attorney General's office investigating possible
links to organized crime. P. A1+ "Ante goes up to $5,000" Celebrity
attendants to day-time pyramid party attempt to deceive or intimidate reporter
upon leaving. Photo (p. 1): Policeman holds up "Pyramid Power"
T-shirt confiscated in a raid. Letter "A" of "PYRAMID" forms pyramid.]
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER. 1980d.
"A Parable of Pyramids and Pipe Dreams." -Marvin Chester, Ph. D. May
28, p. A11.
[Analysis of s$500, q2x$500, n5 pyramid scheme. Hypothetical recruiting
calls. <origin> "Pyramid money schemes are quite ancient." (?)
Mentions tripling pyramid scheme in Grenoble, France in 1971, 21 francs to
get on a list of 10 persons.]
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER. 1980e.
"500 rally at Griffith Park to promote money scheme." May 27, p. 1+.
[Sign at rally: "Business Concept Power Happening." Attendants
defend scheme, claim winnings, exchange pyramid gossip (meeting with 237
buys, a $100,000 ante game). <law> Ventura county brings felony conspiracy
charges. Lawyers address crowd - urge no guilty pleas. Petition
circulated to DA. Citizen's Individual Rights and Collective Legal Expression
(CIRCLE) distributes fliers criticizing police and media. Photo:
Bearded man in pyramid power T-shirt, $ sign between the two words.]
LOS ANGELES HERALD EXAMINER. 1980f.
"I really feel like a sucker." June 1, p. 1.
[Young printer's account of collapse of pyramid. Printed 300 pyramid
charts. Went in with 3 others at $250 each. Meeting at 8 PM
sharp, door locked, a letter was read asking law enforcement and tax collection
personnel to admit role. Another person explains pyramid and asks
for buy-ins. Last meeting: only people who had lost were present,
talk of violence.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1935 (Day 2). " 'Send-a-dime'
Letters Cause Postal Puzzle." April 21, p. 2:6.
[Housewives called newspapers wanting to know why the postal officials
did not mind their own business. "President Roosevelt wants to redistribute
the wealth, doesn't he." <origin> Nelson suggested person who
started may have placed fictitious names on list.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1935 (Day 8).
"Senders of Send-a-dime Letters to Face Charges." April 27, p. 1:2.
["Asst. U. S. Attorney Palmer said the senders will be arrested and
charged with using the mails to defraud if any complaints are brought to
his attention." "Postmaster Briggs said . . . the mailing was a violation
of Sec. 215 of the Postal laws which govern endless chain enterprises."
No local mail increase noted.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1971. "Pyramid Distributor
Plans Put Under SEC." Dec. 1, Part III, p. 9: 2.
[<law> Means (1) companies must register multi-level distributorships
as securities, (2) disclose information about itself and plan to sell products,
(3) puts them under anti fraud provisions of Securities Act. Exemptions
include selling in just one state.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1975. "Suit to Halt
'Endless Chain' Plot Filed." Feb. 12, Part I, p. 3:1.
[Three law enforcement agencies file suit to block massive 'endless
chain' schemes in So. California involving savings bonds. Names of
26 persons indicted (misdemeanors). "An 'endless chain' is a scheme
in which operators make money from the sale of memberships rather than from
commissions on sales or legal investments." Scheme: recruit pays $37.50
to sponsor, receives list of 10 names and $25 savings bond (cost $18.75)
which goes to top name. Recruit makes two lists with his name at
bottom, sends two bonds to his top name. Then recruits two, regaining $75.
$3 dues and cost of materials also asked. Specs: s$37.50, q2x$37.50,
n10. Pyramid company names: the Six Pack (6 names); the Century Club ($100
bonds); the Exclusive One Million, Inc. (closes at one million membership);
Uncle Sam Investment, Inc.; Your March of Bonds; the Inflation Defense Foundation.
Fraudulent claims: system legal, infinite membership not required because
of recycling, approval of state authorities.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1980a. "Pyramid Scheme
Sweeping California," May 21, p. 1: 4.
[The "Business List Concept" MCL, specs. s$500, q2x$500, n5, max
$16,000. Complaints to police. Legal: Section 327 of state Penal code
reads "Every person who contrives, prepares, sets up, proposes or operates
any endless chain is guilty of a
misdemeanor." Parties of 123 (Burbank) and 235 (Costa Mesa) raided,
charts and names taken. Shortage of $100 bills, rush of withdrawals,
run on safe deposit boxes (to hold hoped for unreported winnings).
<methods> Participants locked in meeting room for up to five hours
while "cells" are sold. <origin> Investigator says pyramid schemes
are as old as this century (?). May 21, p. 24: "Visit to a Pyramid Party"
by Nancy Graham. "Players Buoyed by Faith - and Greed." "It is a revival
meeting, complete with exhortation and testimony and a final coming-forward
of converts." Meeting arranged at a beauty parlor - venue shifted for
security. Prior investors divided from others; they call out names
of guests they invited, who cross the room to them. Speaker declares legal
because of an expiration date. Demand for any law enforcement officers to
depart. Claim untaxable (false). Testimonies: "This is friends
- helping friends.!" ]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1980b. J. Michael
Kennedy, "Pyramid Schemes are a Sure Thing - at Least for the Losers"
May 22, p. 3.
[Participants often professionals. All money exchanged at meetings,
held by invitation only. <methods> Position indicated by a chart.
To "buy a cell" (one of 32) new investor pays $500 to top name and $500
to person recruiting them (at bottom of list). When all 32 cells sold
pyramid splits in two, new meetings arranged. "The rule of thumb is
that for every dollar someone makes, some one else will lose a dollar."
Police usually stop pyramids by busting one and publicizing illegality
- didn't work this time. Economic inflation may be a factor. Meeting described:
30 people, chart, door locked, fear of robbery. Male participant
was on two other $1000 lists that "will probably die" because he had seen
people buy in who were not willing to recruit. Kennedy says good luck
letters started in WWI. Business List may be biggest MCL since depression
fad. Origin unknown, describes spread. State: more than 200 arrests
for Business List under Section 327. Complaints of supervisors pressuring
employees to invest. Over 3000 protest crackdown at State Capitol: spokesman
Tony Stathor, lawyer. Speculation that con artists start lists without
paying.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1980c. "Unable to
Stop Pyramid Games, Police Officials Say." May 23, p. 3: 5.
[Growing number of complaints from people who lost money and offered
to take undercover officers to the meetings. Location of raids.
<methods> Shills now active in the pyramids, manipulation of the pyramid
lists detected.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1980d. "Pyramid Party,
Raiding Party Go to Queen Mary." May 29, Part II, p. 1+.
[Long Beach undercover police raid party of 100 people participating
in a "Paradigm Foundation Seminar." Seize $15,000 and arrest five people.
Group used circle divided into four quadrants, with seven positions in each
quadrant. Entrance fee was $2,000, jackpot was $28,000. Half
the funds go to "the foundation." The foundation "welcomes losers of
pyramid parties ... for a "charismatic energy exchange" where participants
"give, take and share while being together and having fun." Five pyramid
parties raided in a Hollywood recording studio, 8 of 200 participants cited.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1987. "Despite Claims
'Chains' Ignore Letter of Law" S. J. Diamond. Oct. 2,
Part IV, p. 1: 1.
[Describes MCL received in Los Angeles, originated by "Edward L. Green"
- untraceable and probably fictional. Sells token "reports."
Specs: q200+, s4x$5, n5, max $55,550+. Phony affidavits. Quotes Don
Davis, manager of U.S. Postal Inspection Services fraud branch on illegality
and prosecutors strategies. Return: $40 one month after mailing 400
copies (Alton Fulton, Ky.).]
LOS ANGELES TIMES. 1990a. "Direct Sales:
A Party Line to Profit" - Susan J. Diamond. June 7, p. 1+.
[Direct sales. About 150,000 Tupperware parties in U S. on any night.
Other products sold at parties: Sarah Coventry costume jewelry, Stanley
Home Products, Princess House crystal stemware, Deco Plants, Miracle Maid
"Water Seal" cookware, oil paintings, wine. "Direct selling" includes parties
and door-to-door sales, representing about 1% of retail sales. Amway:
60% growth last year to $800 million. Stanley Home Products (est.
1931) credited with origin of home party sales - salesmen began doing demonstrations
at club meetings. More the 80% of peddlers are women
- DSA ( Direct Selling Association). About 33% sales done in offices.
"The goods themselves are a necessary but minor part of the whole
phenomenon of direct selling" - Harry Davis, Univ. of Chicago Prof.
of Marketing. "Friends, neighbors and relatives are the best prospects
for any new recruit" - Amway training literature. Home parties: hostess
gathers friends and neighbors for the
salesperson. Includes group games, entertainment. Reciprocal
obligations promote sales. Amway has 4600 employees and 500,000 independent
distributors. Companies charge distributor for catalogues, order blanks,
samples, hostess gifts and shipping. "You can do it" pep rallies.
Praise and flashy gifts for sales achievements. Motivations of participants:
(1) getting out, (2) meeting people, (3) belonging to an organization,
(4) money. "Truly God has a plan, a purpose for our Company and He
is working it out through ... our President." - Home Interiors and Gifts.
"...it is sponsorship that moves people to higher
levels of command and income, usually depending on the total volume
of their recruits' sales and the sales of their recruits' recruits."
"They have . . . been judged false and deceptive only when recruiting itself
brings reward, untied to product sales, or when new members have to buy their
way into the organization." In 1975 the FTC found Amway to be misrepresenting
distributor earnings and fixing prices.]
LOS ANGELES TIMES.
1990b. Jack Smith, "The Chain Stops Here - Then Again, Maybe
Not." July 31, View section, p. E1+.
[Receives q5 LCL, the "Media" chain, from friend Jonathan Kirsch, "the
distinguished attorney and literary person." Complete text (same as
others). ". . . 28
previous letters enclosed, each signed by one person and addressed to five
other persons." Most names are "well-known persons in the media, publishing
and related fields. Also, there is a charming self-conscious flippancy
in their notes of transmittal." First: "I can't believe I'm sending this."
Second: "Sorry about this. . .but the game must go on." Others include:
"What the hell. . .better safe than sorry!"; "A man will do anything out
of fear."; "It's a comfort to know that not all strange behavior commences
in California"; "Oh vey - this is the third one of these I've received - I
should be really lucky by now. At least we're in tremendous company!"]
LUCAS, E.V. 1923. "The Snowball."
Luck of the Year, Methuen, p. 34-35.
[A friend receives Good Luck LCL. Full text. Long list of names not given:
"...joined by the word 'to'. The last two names were written by hand,
the last of all being his own." Hence a "sent-to" list. Motivations
to comply.]
LUKACH, HARRY C. 1913.
The Fringe of the East. London: Macmillan & Co.
p. 243-245.
[About Turkey. Abgar was a dynasty name in a Frankish state in
the Edessa area - first home of Christianity east of the Euphrates.
Legend: Abgar V., suffering from an incurable disease, wrote Jesus asking
him to come to Edessa to live and to heal him. Jesus replied: "Blessed
art thou who hast believed in me without having seen me." Says will send a
disciple. Complete text.]
LURE, V. F. 1993. "Holy Chain Letters as a
Phenomenon of Traditional Folklore." Russkaia Literatura, N1,
p. 144-149.
[Have copy (Russian), no translation - DWV]
LYND, ROBERT. 1923.
Solomon in All His Glory. Putnam, p. 71+
[Same as THE NEW STATESMAN.
1922.]
MAD MAGAZINE. 1988. "A Mad Good Luck
Chain Letter." V. 280, July, p. 48.
[Non-circulating parody of LCL with list of 10 prior recipients
- all celebrities who had bad luck in 1987.]
THE MAIL EXCHANGE. 1996. "Chain Letter Collector."
Sept. / Oct., p. 2. (Collectibles newsletter distr. by Dianne Olsen, P. O.
Box 1277, Lompoc, CA 93438).
[Based on an E-mail interview with Daniel VanArsdale. VanArsdale comments
on the ethics and illegality of chain letters, also early examples. "They
(chain letters) represent an evolution independent of human needs and beyond
our present understanding . . ."]
MIZUNO, KOGEN. 1982.
Buddhist Sutras: Origin, Development, Transmission. Tokyo: Kosei
Publishing Co.
[ p. 172: "The world's oldest extant examples of printing are dharani,
or magical incantations, printed in Japan between 764 and 770, during the
reign of Empress Shotoku. A total of over one million copies of four different
dharani from the Great Dharani Sutra of the Spotless and Pure Light
. . . were printed to be placed in the Hyakuman-to (One Million Pagodas)
built at the command of Shotoku. In this sutra it is stated
that if a person were to build several million small pagodas and place copies
of dharani in them, that person's life would be lengthened, evil
karma would be expunged, and rebels and enemies would be vanquished."
A million 23 centimeter high wooden "pagodas" were constructed, a printed
dharani was placed in each, and they were distributed to major temples.]
MUNRO, ALICE. 1971. Lives
of Girls and Women. [Fiction]. New American Library. New York. pp.
137-138.
[Not examined.]
NASH, JAY ROBERT. 1976. Hustlers and Con
Men. New York: M. Evans & Co., Inc. p. 26-32.
[Detailed operation of the "Spanish prisoner game" (con) - said to date
from 1588 (ransom for Spanish Armada sailors imprisoned in England).
By 1900 scheme involved wealthy prisoner in Mexico with beautiful young
daughter. Very little text of traditional letter.]
THE NATION. 1935 (Day 54). Jay
du Von, "Chain-Letter Madness." V. 140, n. 3649, June 12, p. 682-683.
[First "widely spread chain letter in the years since the war was the
'Good Luck' letter, based on the 'magic seven,' which was supposedly started
by an army officer in Flanders." (Quota was nine for the US Good Luck letter
-DWV). Send-a-dime. Chisel-proof variants: specs s$1,q2x$1,n10, max $1024
and q3x$1, n3, max $27 (?). Springfield Mo. phenomenon: salesmen hired to
sell letters, "chain-letter factories" sell your letters, lines for blocks,
12 factories in Springfield (pop. 100,000). Letters mailed wholesale using
city directories (Texas, Iowa). Relates to "Redistribute the wealth."]
NATIONAL LAMPOON. 1979. "Milo Kush." "Unchained
Melodrama." March, p. 41.
[Humorous fiction. "I was opening my mail one morning and got one of
those chain letters. You know the kind -- very long, single-spaced, with
a lot of instructions on how to keep the chain going. Something about continuing
the Great Circle of Zoki." Cartoon. Describes various misfortunes until
finally Milo Kush escapes from a government institution and tells his story.]
NATURE. 1994a. Oliver
R. Goodenough & Richard Dawkins, Letter: "The 'St Jude'
mind virus". V. 371, Sept. 1, p. 23-24.
[Receipt of DL type LCL. Full text. Authors' name
for letter: "St Jude 1." Paul M. Griffo, national spokesman for the US
Postal Inspection Service: ". . . it goes back farther than the institutional
memory of the US Postal Service, and has periodic outbreaks." Newspaper
references to other receipts. Analogies to a virus. Anxiety
from receipt. Immunization effect. XCLs: underwear, postcards of
naked Asian girls. CL protest of a disappearance. Craig Shergold
appeal. Culture systems as "more complicated mental parasites and
symbionts."]
NATURE. 1994b. Ian Dunn, Letter:
"The 'St Jude' gambit" V. 372, Nov. 3, p. 49.
[Response to above. Booster effect: anxiety from not complying
discloses "a prior infection, a 'meme', that was successfully implanted in
them. It required a challenge from the St Jude virus to uncover the
meme."]
THE NEW REPUBLIC. 1989. Joe Queenan,
"Chain of Fools." V. 201, July 17&24, p. 8.
[Author's parody of DL type letter]
THE NEW REPUBLIC. 1990. Joseph
Nocera, "Northampton Diarist - Chain Gang." V. 203, Nov. 12, p. 46.
[Nocera: "Got the media chain letter in the mail the other day."
Circulated among Washington media personnel last summer, New York earlier.
Celebrity names and their comments. John Sterling: "I'm counting on
you to break this ridiculous chain." ]
NEW SCIENTIST. 1992. Robin Dunbar,
"So what's in a probability?" V. 134, n. 1820, May
9, p. 49-50.
[Dunbar receives a "Media" CL in a large brown envelope "some weeks
ago." Usual q5 with "accumulated correspondence that had passed successively
down the line from at least one starting point in the US." All statements
were from "professional scientists," says all "ended with a plea for
understanding" for why they yielded to the threat of bad luck (e.g. "grant
application pending," "a job interview next week"). Dunbar doesn't
comply, has bad luck (family gets flu, more). However, "the chances
of something going wrong on any given day are actually quite high, though
we tend not to notice most of them unless something draws them more forcibly
to our attention."]
THE NEW STATESMAN.
1922. Robert Lynd (Y.Y.), "Good Luck." V. 19, April
15, p. 37-38.
[Prior postcard prayer chain: nine copies, to go around the world, magic
of repetition. Full text
of current secular Good Luck postcard chain: anonymous, disguised handwriting,
received by half the population (England). Recipients annoyed. Agonizing
over who to send it to. Same as Lynd 1923.]
NEWSWEEK. 1935 (Day 8). "Chain Letters:
Cast a Dime on the Waters and Get Rich." V.5, April 27, p. 8-9.
[Basic facts of send-a-dime: a combination of "CL luck scheme"
and "share-the-wealth plan." Sheldon Hosiery "chain selling-plan" of
1933.]
NEWSWEEK. 1935 (Day 29). "Chain: Al Smith Gets
Thousand Share-Wealth Letters, One Dime." V. 5, May 18, p. 9-10.
[Send-a-dime spreads. Cheating. <variations> Springfield:
guaranteed letter, "Pot of Gold," "Chance of a Lifetime," "Cream of the
Crop." Photos. Humorous variations. Celebrity receipts.]
NEWSWEEK. 1979. "Fool's Gold."
V. 93, Jan. 1, p. 56-57.
[Pyramid Schemes. Circle of Gold. Selling parties: pitches, Est
and New Age overtones. Circle of Platinum ($1000). LA Actor
Paul Kent charged with misdemeanor. <recruitment> Charges brought
after organizers placed newspaper ad in Tulare County. Drying up in
California.]
NEWSWEEK. 1995. Periscope: "Femail."
Vol. 126, n. 7, Aug. 14, p. 6:1.
[Brief mention of the "Pretty Panty Exchange" XCL. ". . . mailboxes
are flooded." "The girls-only nature of the letter is a big draw."]
NEW
WEST. 1978. Marlene Adler Marks, "Chain of Fools."
Nov. 20, p. 15-18.
[Circle of Gold MCL: specs s$50, q2x$50, n12. Letter claims legality.
Some text. Circle of
Abundance MCL cost $1,000. Many comments of participants: "High energy,"
"It's the community," "Life is the number ones helping the number twelves."
Recruitment parties: Vern Black (700 in SF); Beverly Hills (25); Est-like;
pyramid power tie-in. "Gabriel" came from "the unknown Marin county headquarters
of the Circle of Gold to address the faithful." <gender> Women
participate five to one according to one authority. Origin: No. California,
Marin County since July, "no one seems to be able to pinpoint the letter's
original source." Woman in no. 1 position attends party, announces she has
entered Circle of Abundance.]
THE NEW YORKER. 1995. The Talk of the
Town: "Trust Funding." V. 71, n. 20, July 17, p. 23.
[Describes charity CL sponsored by the Orphanage Trust, legitimate British
charity. Generated $200,000 in last 2 years for support of Romanian families
willing to offer homes to Romanian orphans. Some text: "Please
retype this letter on your letterhead and send it to ten individuals."
Asks for three dollars - "no more." Media chain letter (or Brill?):
"As with the self-conscious chain letter that seeped out of Hollywood several
years ago promising good luck to those who passed it on and bad luck to
those who didn't, photocopied lists of recipients are enclosed in each new
appeal." Gives celebrity participants and in the case of Demi Moore
the ten people she sent it to. Lists are scrutinized. "The lists are
prime examples of the nineties phenomenon of celebrity friendship - the
ethos of 'I'm not a celebrity myself, but some of my best friends are .
. ."]
THE NEW YORKER. 1995. Jay McInerney,
"Philomena." V. 71, n. 42, Dec. 25 - Jan. 1, p. 76.
[Short story. A writer is losing his girlfriend. He discovers
a LCL that he had received and speculates that breaking the chain is responsible
for his difficulties. Actual text of DL type LCL but not complete.
Parody of the "office employee" lose-win testimonial: "Collin
McNab left the letter sitting on his desk. A week after he received
it his girlfriend packed up her diaphragm and disappeared. Two weeks later
Collin discovered the letter. He sent out 20 copies and his girlfriend
returned and said she loved him . . ."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1906.
"Mason's McKinley Fund." Sept. 27, p. 7: 2.
[Statement that McKinley National Memorial Association is not involved
with an effort by Masons to collect money for a McKinley memorial.
They received "a number of endless-chain letters" soliciting money for a monument
at late president's cemetery lot in Canton, Ohio. Two such letters have been
collected [1901, 1905].]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1914. "The 'Chain Prayer'
Nuisance." Letter - Maud Nathan, April 28, p. 12: 5.
[Complains of receiving a "chain prayer," LCL (q9) with an "imputed
curse". No text.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1915. "A 'Prayer' for the
Sick." Letter - M. R. C., April 4, Sect. III, p. 2: 7.
[Hospitalized person complains of receiving an "Ancient Prayer" chain
postcard with specs q9d9w10. Much indirect text .]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1916.
"Denounces Chain Prayer." Jan. 9, p. 6: 4.
[<abate, law> Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cincinnati denounces
a "chain prayer letter." Ancient prayer type, specs q9d9w10, complete
text . "Any one who recites
the prayer and believes in the promise, sins against the First Commandment
of the Decalogue." Estimated thousands circulating in NY City.
"No legal way yet devised to punish its senders" - U.S. District Attorney.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917a.
"Endless Chain Binds Her." Feb. 9, p. 20: 4.
[Subtitle: "Nurse again urges that no more quarters be sent to her."
Charity CL started more than a year ago by Miss Elizabeth Whitman, Superintendent
of Nurses at the NY Eye and Ear Infirmary. Solicits quarter to buy
anaesthesia for Allied hospitals. Collected more than $16,000.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917b. "The British Red Cross."
April 1, part II, p. 3: 3.
[American Committee of the British Red Cross has taken over the "Miss
Whitman Chain Letter."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917c.
"War Endless Chain Overwhelms Nurse." June 3, p. 12: 1.
[Miss Whitman charity CL. Started more than 2 years ago.
Transfer to American Committee of the British Red Cross - agreement for disbursement.
"She proposed to stop the chain when it reached 100 letters, through the
medium of numbering each letter sent out, but the chain went on beyond 100,
and is now on its way to the 500 mark." Brought in $28,000+.
Complete text (no generation
number). Committee answers inquiries.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917d.
"Germans Here Plot to Clog U.S. Mails." Nov. 5, p. 22: 1.
[<variation, numbers, politics> Subtitle: "Many endless chain
letters started with view to overloading postal facilities." "The scheme,
which calls for flooding the mails with millions of letters, each letter
a link in one of a dozen or more chains, is said to have originated in Boston."
Some propaganda, "others for peace or the protection of American soldiers
and sailors in Europe." Copy quotas: 1,6,7,9. Letter targets:
Masons, other fraternal organizations, Catholics (this nation-wide). Believed
a plot because "most of them are worded alike." Partial text (Masonic
- several lodges instructed members to ignore it): "Masons of old are said
to have used this prayer." "Those that say or write it to another person
will be blessed with good fortune." There follows a supplication for
peace. Complete text of alleged
German propaganda letter from Boston. Concludes: "Endless chain.
Please write at least one copy and send this and that to friends of immediate
peace."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917e. "Denounces
'Peace Prayer'." Nov. 10, p. 13: 4.
[<abate> Baltimore, Nov. 9. "The 'peace prayer' chain which
has been sent to many persons of this city in the last few weeks was denounced
by priests of the city as insincere and an insidious attempt to further
the enemy cause." Ref. The Baltimore Catholic Review. Cardinal
Gibbons urges destruction of the letter.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917f. Editorial - "A Familiar Form
of Stupidity." Nov. 10, p. 12: 5.
[<numbers> "Great numbers of people in this vicinity as
well as in other parts of the country are receiving just now, among the
many other appeals that come to them, anonymous communications asking them
to copy and mail to nine other persons a brief
prayer for the success of the Allies." CLs often used to raise
money. Disputes possibility of clogging the mail, but gives credence
to plot. For compliance: a "great joy" otherwise "misfortune."
Federal receipts for stamps slightly increased.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917g. "No Red Cross 'Chains.'"
Nov. 21, p. 8: 3.
[Red Cross announces "it does not approve the chain letter system of
raising money, and that it has never authorized any chain letter promoter
to use the name of the Red Cross." They receive such letters. See New York Times. 1917h]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1917h. "A
Foolish Chain Letter." Letter - Mrs. Joseph Benhall, Nov. 26, p. 12: 6.
[Receipt of LCL (Ancient Prayer
type) titled "Red Cross Chain." Complete text. Cites as waste of
money for stamps, better to donate.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1923. "Criticize Charity Plan."
Aug. 6, p. 19: 1.
[The Merchants Association Bulletin criticizes as naive a current charity
appeal that requests an envelope be passed for ten steps, each recipient
adding a dollar, the last recipient sending it to the original solicitor.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1927.
"Reed Chain Letter Boom." April 19, p. 12: 6.
[ <politics> "Chain letter system" started urging support for
U.S. Senator James A. Reed (Missouri) for the Democratic nomination for
President. Similar prior effort for Champ Clark in 1912.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1927. "1,200 'Chain Letters'
Out." Nov. 23, p. 24: 1.
[<politics> Chain petitions to draft Calvin Coolidge for President
mailed out from Boston. Complete text. Coolidge had announced
he would not run on Aug. 2. The petition plan was dropped after Hoover
disapproved. See New York Times Nov. 23 (p. 1: 2), (p.
6: 4,5) (p. 24: 1) and Nov. 24 (p. 9: 1).]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1931.
"Appeals to Boy Scouts." Dec. 28, p. 11: 1.
[<abate> London, Dec. 27. "Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy
Scouts, appealed today to Scouts throughout the world to destroy any "chain
letter" that comes into their hands instead of passing it on." Says
he has received and destroyed "scores" in his life with no ill consequences.
(Baden-Powell: 1857-1941)]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1933. "Seized for Fraud in Endless
Chain." May 19, p. 11: 1.
[<pyramid sales> Sheldon chain hosiery sales scheme. Method:
"Sheldon and his aides . . . had mailed 12,500 sales letters promising to
deliver six pairs of stockings to every woman who sent in $1. Persons who
parted with their dollars were informed that they would receive the stockings
upon inducing three friends to send in dollars." April 7, 1934, p.
5:3: " . . . the plan involved selling a coupon for $1 and giving the
buyer three other coupons for distribution. When all three were returned
with a dollar each, the original buyer was to receive hosiery worth
$10." About half received nothing for their $1. About 10,000
complaints. Bringing in $2,000 a day through mails, "$100,000 in recent
weeks." Apparent method: (1) initial issue of coupons for $1 each; coupons
have slots for two addresses, (2) X sends in a coupon and $1
to company, receives 3 blank coupons, (3) X puts her address in slot #1 of
the three and sells them to friends who agree to send it in with $1
to company, their address going in slot #2, (4) the company agreed to send
stockings upon receipt of the three coupons and remittance with address of
X in first slot. Note this is $10 merchandise for $4 received. But
any who failed to sell all three coupons would lose the dollar they
paid for them. For other articles on case see New York Times Index,
"chain sales," 1933-1935.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 2). "Dimes Flood
Mail in Chain Letters." April 21, p. 22: 3.
[Send-a-dime basic facts. Letter headed: "Prosperity Club -
In God We Trust." <origin> Letters said to have started in
New York, among relief workers, but unconfirmed. Stories of winnings (one
woman got $400 - Post Office). <number> ". . . in the last five
days almost every family in the city has received one or more."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 9a). " 'Send-a-Dime'
Plan Is Ruled Illegal As Officials Doubt It Can Be Halted." April 28,
p. 31: 2.
[<law> Solicitor Crowley rules "scheme is in conflict both
with postal lottery and fraud statutes." Ruling also sent to Des Moines and
Mason City, Iowa (where scheme is also in operation). Decision based on
ruling on a chain sales scheme.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 9b). "Denver Warns
Other Cities." April 28, p. 31: 2.
[<number> Denver, April 27, AP: Stevic: "This fad is spreading
like hysteria to all parts of the country and to foreign countries."
A. A. Mc Vittie, Denver restaurant owner: "I have received 2,300 of these
send-a-dime and send-ten-bucks letters" - places ad asking people not to
send them to him. Mail volume doubles over year prior (4/26: 168,695 to 325,000).
Also part IV p. 11: 7. "Chain-Letter Fad a Postoffice Pest."
". . . this perpetual-motion plan was devised it seems, only to gain quick
unearned wealth for its participants . . ." <motive> CLs generally
designed to: sell goods (fountain pens, hose), arouse interest in a movement
or issue, or stir up religious or patriotic feeling. "Prosperity Club"
method and calculations. <law> Legal weapon against commercial
CLs is postal regulation: "Endless chain enterprises designed for the sale
or disposition of merchandise or other things of value through the circulation
or distribution of 'coupons,' 'tickets,' 'certificates,'
'introductions' and the like are held to embrace the elements of a lottery
and also to be fraudulent. Matter of every kind relating to
such enterprises should be withdrawn from the mails."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 13). "Send-a-Dime Letters
Received in New York." May 2, p. 23: 8.
[Five letters turned over to postal inspectors, one a $1 ante.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 16). "Chain Letter Urges
'Send Pint of Whisky'; Four More Seized in 'Send-a-Dime' Case."
May 5, p. 39: 4.
[<variation> "Sweet Adeline Club" whisky XCL in Lincoln,
Neb. High volume MCLs in Los Angeles, Spokane. Kiss XCL in Muskogee,
give a kiss to person whose name was at top, "surely he may find a true
love among the 15,000-odd trading kisses."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 19). "Dime Chain
Letters are Ruled Illegal." May 8, p. 4: 4.
[Subtitle: "Postal Solicitor Declares Scheme Is a Lottery and Violates
Fraud Laws." St. Louis, May 7: 330,000 CLs swamp mail facilities.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day
20). "Chain Fad Ties Up Business of a City." May 9, p. 23: 5.
[<pyramid scheme> Springfield, May 8, AP: Subtitle: "Crowds jam
Springfield, Mo. streets in mad rush for $2, $3 and $5 Letters. "Society
women, waitresses, college students, taxi drivers and hundreds of others
jammed downtown streets. Women shoved each other roughly. . ."
"It started last night as a joke." Experienced salesmen "pushed" the letters.
"Persons unable to sell letters to friends turned the copies over
to the salesmen, who disposed of them on a 50% commission." <method
for May 8 - "Springfield" type lottery> Seller accompanies buyer to notary
where he encloses payment p dollars. Letter sealed by notary for 25c , mailed
in presence of seller. Buyer then escalates names on list and becomes a
seller himself, offering two copies with revised list at p dollars each.
Specs ($2): s$2, q2x$2, n10, max $2024. Claimed to be "cheater-proof." "Factories"
sprung up in drug stores, corridors, any available space. Washington,
May 8, AP: White House gets 200 send-a-dimes, turned over to Farley.
Legal aspects, could ban delivery. Govt. workers participate.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day
21). "Market Crashes on Chain Letters." May 10, p. 23: 4.
[Springfield, Mo., May 9, AP: "Sad-faced men and women walked around
in a daze tonight, seeking vainly for some one to buy chain letters." "Ten
chain letter 'factories' yesterday were swamped with customers. Today
there were less than five and they waited on stragglers." Springfield
variation: authenticate the list before notary public and work from person-to-person
instead of through mails. "The Pot of Gold club" ($5), "The Cream
of the Crop" ($3). Scores of notaries involved. Grocery store
manager got $400, spent almost four days & nights working chain.
<method> "When you get into a chain you have to keep track of the letters
your name is on. When some one gets one with your name on it and can't
pass it, you have to get out and help them sell it." Washington:
"Government Seeks Evidence." Winnings. Legal aspects. Rush in
Denver, Los Angeles, Pueblo, Kansas City Mo., Kansas City Kan., Tulsa, Joplin,
Sioux City. Chicago, May 9. (p. 23: 4): "Telegraph Variation Started."
$5 chain telegram started to avoid mails or to cash in quickly. <numbers>
Alfred E. Smith has received about 1,000 send-a-dimes, coming in at 50/day.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 22). "Gambler's
Fleece Chain Letter 'Fans'." May 11, p. 6:5.
[After Springfield, fad swept over St. Louis, Oklahoma City, Fayetteville.
$1 chain started in Pittsburgh, Kan. netted $1,500 overnight. Hundreds
of complaints. "Promoters had left with batches of letters after promising
contributors to deliver them elsewhere in Missouri to save postage and avoid
prosecution." Burglars rob post office at Springfield. ]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day
23). "Sue 7 for $35,840 over Letter Chain." May 12, p.
26: 1.
[<law> Oklahoma City: Suit charges breach of contract - the seven
sold letters at $5 each, promised to sell other letters until the names of
plaintiffs reached top of the list. Promised profit of $5,121.
Defendants failed to sell sufficient letters. Names of plaintiffs and
defendants. Church leaders demand closure of CL establishments. Three
closed at Chickasha, Okla - three fined $13 each. Denver: "Guaranteed"
chain letter sales. Says list of three names (error). <number>
One factory sold 10,000 letters in two days. Pittsburgh: Mayor
gets $5 chain telegram which asks him to answer the sender collect if the
chain were broken. <variation> St. Louis: Chain letter requesting
$1 to mayor of Concordia, Mo. (pop. 1,140) to fight against utility monopolies.
Callandar, Ontario: Dionne quintuplets get CLs from U.S. and Canada.
Pt IV, p. 9:2 Letter by W. Fowler, "Voluntary Foolishness." "At least
a voluntary choice of participation is offered in a foolish craze while the
political shell game is forced upon us by judicial decree."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 25). Letter by R.
J. Warshaw: "Postoffice to the Rescue." May 14, p. 20: 7.
[Satirical letter stating the benefits from the postage on ten quadrillion
MCLs.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 27). "Indictment
is Refused in Chain Letter Test; Denver Jury Blocks Attempt to Halt Scheme."
May 16, p. 17: 3.
[Three men had mailed 1000 "send-a-buck" letters with their names and
relatives. Post office inspector closed Denver CL "factories."
Since then most use messenger, express or telegraph service. <variation>
"Gold Seal Club" (N. C. Mueller in Wichita) forced to halt, certified letter
appeared like bond or stock.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 30). "Chain Letter
Finds Kin." May 19, p. 29: 4.
[Arkansas woman spots name on CL of brother-in-law in Bakersfield after
15 years no contact.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 36). Editorial:
"Dimes and Morals." May 25, p. 14: 4.
[Disputes send-a-dime claims with calculations. "As to the ethics
. . . they rest on the same sure foundation as the '520 per cent Miller'
enterprises which every body recalls."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 37). "Chain Note
Sender Seized." May 26, p. 7: 2.
[St Paul: High School teacher indicted - sent out 100 mimeographed
dime letters with his own name leading and closing the list.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day
39). "Chain-Letter Fad Reported on Wane." May 28, p. 22: 3.
[Subtitle: "Postoffice officials deny it is 'cluttering up' mails -
carrier held as thief." A survey in NYC: "few of those questioned were
receiving letters by mail. <numbers> But almost every one had
been approached by sponsors of a wide range of 'hand-to-hand' chains."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 42). Letter by C.E.B:
"Chain Letters for Relief." May 31, p. 14: 6.
[Satirical letter on the bonanza of helping people on relief participate
in send-a-dime.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 44). "Odd Chain Letters
Now Clutter Mail." June 2, IV, p. 10:5.
[Subtitle: "Passing of the craze marked by fantastic requests and humorous
appeals." XCLs: whiskey, hay, postage stamps, dates with college girls,
elephants. Origin of send-a-dime unknown. Activities by telephone
and telegraph. Telegraph chains $5, $10, and $100.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 59). "Chain Letters
Boomed Mail Pay at Denver; 1,400 Extra Hours Daily Gave Men $20,000."
June 17, p. 19:4.
["The chain letter has gone the way of miniature golf, but it left a
deep imprint behind it." Denver mail volume, overtime hours and pay.
Mail box robberies.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day
62). "Chain Telegrams in $3,600,000 suit." June 20, p. 15: 2.
[Trenton, NJ: William F. Zwirner of Merchantville NJ in role of
"common informer" names Western Union. Acted under Gambling Laws
of 1877. Charges company had violated gambling laws by accepting
and transmitting chain telegrams. "Half of penalty fixed by court goes
to the 'common informer' and half to county where violation occurs." Says
Western Union accepted 1,800 chain telegrams between June 7 and 15 in Camden.
Text of form. Company
claimed chain telegrams not a violation of laws.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 63). "Suit Asks
$20,910,000 for Chain Telegrams." June 21, p. 15: 2.
[Andrew W. Mulligan of Camden sues as "common informer." Seeks
$2,000 for each chain telegram. NJ counties listed with number of telegrams
in each.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 70). "Chain Letters
in Britain." June 28, page 3: 2.
[London: MCLs now widespread throughout Great Britain. Sir John
Simon, Home Secretary: " . . . certain types of snowball schemes, to which
chain letters bear some resemblance, have been held by courts to be illegal
lotteries." Discourages participation.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 86) "Women Protest
Tax Plan." July 14, P. 13: 3.
[<politics> Boston: "Chain letters are sent by 60,000 in Bay State
to Roosevelt." Opposed "share-the- wealth" taxation. Goal 100,000
letters. Organized by Republican women. Some text.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935 (Day 89). "Chain Letter
Aids Flood Fund." July 17, p. 14: 7.
[Rochester, NY: Someone sends Red Cross a dime to aid flood victims
with a chain letter he composed. Text includes: "You have
no chance for any personal gain." Writer says mailed 200 copies.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1935
(Day 158). "Chain Letters Ask for Quilt Pieces." Sept. 24, p.
7: 6.
[<variation> Concord, NH: Local letter requests six-inch
square of new print cloth, suitable for quilt patches, be sent to top name
as in send-a-dime. To be made into "world friendship" quilts.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1936a. "Groups will Push Buy-At-Home
Drive." April 5, p. 9: 6.
[Industry organized "Made in America Club, Inc.": pledge cards
"used to gather member ship are based on a 'chain' system with each member
endeavoring to obtain five other signers to similar pledges."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1936b. "Chain Phone in Relief
Work." April 5, III, p. 6: 1.
[N.C. welfare officer starts a "chain-letter revival" to collect $1
donations: a q5 telephone chain.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1936c. "Chain letter for Harvey."
Sept. 8, p. 5: 2.
[<politics> "The chain letter is being revived, this time for
political purposes." Supports George U. Harvey in primaries.
Text: "If in favor of the sentiments expressed below, please copy the
letter and sign your name. Then send a copy to not less than ten
Republicans you know in the greater city."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1948. "Disclaims Chain Letters."
July 14, p. 46: 3.
[Subtitle: "TWA says it has no connection with 'Luck' messages."
A "luck" chain-letter is making rounds under facsimiles of the company's
letterheads. Several thousand received at airline's Washington office.
Letters are anonymous.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1949. "Chain Letters Ask Elections."
April 28, p. 10: 6.
[<politics> CL circulating in Czechoslovakia asking protest
of Communist dictatorship be sent to U.S. embassy in Prague. Communist
leaders ordered a counter-campaign but no examples of this known.
Complete text.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1951. "Asks U. S. Tax Boycott."
March 24, p. 26: 5.
[Cincinnati businessman starts chain letter to five friends which said
"I solemnly swear that I shall refuse to pay a single cent towards income
tax on March, 1952, unless the Government has taken action on the house-cleaning."
More text. March 27, p. 31: 5: "Regrets Tax Strike Idea." Says should
have taken complaint to congressman.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1955a. "U.S. Eyes Chain Letters."
Feb. 10, p. 35: 5.
[Postmaster General Arthur E. Summerfield says department investigating
new MCL titled "This is a Give-Away-Your-Wealth Campaign." Advertises
a "possible return of $38,400 or $51,200 if you wait ten years." See
NYT 1958a]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1955b. "U.S.
Workers Warned." Oct. 30, p.44: 2.
[<politics> Civil Service Commissioner warns Federal employees
against participation in Nixon chain postcard / chain telephone campaign
scheme. Oct. 31, p. 25: 5: "Nixon is Accused on Postcard Plan."
Sent to Federal employees "by the hundreds of thousands." Violates
Hatch Act. Nov. 3, p. 10: 1: "Nixon is asked by Senate Unit
for Comment..." Nov. 10, p. 31: 5: G.O.P. denies it targeted Federal Employees.
Postcard & instructions
have been collected.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1956a. "Car Buyers Warned
Against a New Hoax." Sept. 10, p. 22: 7.
[Better Business Bureau warns of swindle. Buyer promised new car
free by referring six customers. Each referred worth $100. These six
must in turn supply six more prospects, each worth $50 to original buyer.
Promoter sets base of 300 participants. See NYT 1959c.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1956b. " '150 Club' Based
on Chain-Letter Idea Raises $45,000 for Eisenhower in Trial." Sept.
11, p. 28: 4.
[<politics> X puts up $150, gets 150 friends for $15 apiece, and
150 more for $1.50 apiece. Others ($15 members) become organizers.
Celebrity contributions.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1957. "Chain Letters Revived."
Aug. 30, p. 12: 2.
[Brief warning on MCLs by Postmaster General.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1958a.
"Chain Letter Warning." Feb. 15, p. 13: 2.
[P.O. Dept. warns of bond MCL. Says copy quota is 10 ( but q=2,
see NYT 1958b).]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1958b.
"Chain-Letter Plan Gets a New Twist." April 1, p. 33: 1.
[Bond MCL. Prospect purchases list of ten names for $37.50 - buys
two $18.75 savings bonds in name of first person on list and sends.
Makes two copies of list after updating - tries to sell to new prospects
for $37.50 each. . Specs. s$37.50, q2x$37.50, n10, max $38,400 ($51,200
when mature). See NYT 1955, 1958a, 1958c, 1960, 1961, 1963.
]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1958c. "Chain Letters Fight
Slump." May 11, p. 85: 4.
[Chicago president of Insurance Company sends 1,000 letters to his company's
salesmen instructing them to work an extra half hour per day and send five
copies to any other salesmen.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1958d. "Bologna Prelate Sues
Red Journal." Sept. 14, p. 15: 1.
[Ponzi? Subtitle: "Objects to report that he urged Vatican honor
for 'do-it-yourself' banker." Vatican had decorated former bank clerk Gianbattista
Giuffre. After WWII Giuffre offered 20-40% interest. Later offered
to double in a year - has done so for ten years. Often borrowed from parish
priests who borrowed from their parishioners. Gave big to charities. No charges
or complaints yet. Also Aug. 31, 1958, p. 28: 4. and Jan. 23, 1959,
p. 2: 4.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1959a.
"L.I. Woman Receives Note from Pasternak." -Milton Esterow, April
11, p. 14: 2.
[<propagation> Subtitle: "She sent him 'Good Luck' chain letter
and he replies." Mrs. Roth received LCL (with name list) on
Friday 13th, 3/59. Some text.
She sent five copies to: 11 year old niece, Jack Paar, Alexander King, Vladimir
Nabokov and Pasternak. Pasternak replied: "It is not the habit in
USSR to make circulate such sendings, but I won't break the chain and so
I return immediately the text of the Prayer to you to forward it in other
directions." Pasternak crossed out top name, added his.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1959b.
Letter: "Chain Letters Condemned." Apr. 20, p. 30:5.
[<abate> Letter to editor. "Such letters prey on the weakness
of the recipient's character, create fears, undermine his self-confidence
and are therefore not at all harmless." "Ministers and educators should
speak up against the spreading of these unreasonable and pagan epistles."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1959c.
Carl Spielvogel, "Advertising: Drive Held 'Phony'." Nov. 19,
p. 58:2.
[Same scheme as in NYT 1956. Promoted by telephone calls by an
"advertising agency" claiming word of mouth campaign cuts advertising costs.
Said to be limited to 300 participants. Also June 19, 1960, p. 72:3:
"Chain-Sale Plan for Cars Scored."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1960. "A Savings-Bond Chain
Bilks Harvard Students." June 16, p. 15:2.
[Bond MCL. Banks near Harvard restricting sales of U. S. savings
bonds. Said to have started in Yale, spread to Princeton and Brown.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1961. "Chain-Letter
Unlinked." April 10, p. 21:3.
[Postal Inspectors claim 50% of professionals in parts of Puerto Rico
involved in bond chain.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1963. "Chain Letter Nuisance."
Jan. 25, p. 14: 1.
[Treasury Department denounces bond MCL. Even when many bonds
received, likely to be cashed quickly, burdening Treasury. Specs
s$75, q2x$37.50, n10, max $38,400]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1964. "Barnett
Flooded with Evers Checks." Feb. 27, p. 20: 2.
[Jackson, Miss: Former Governor Ross Barnett has received 5,000 envelopes
in response to a chain letter
asking checks for $1 be sent to him to aid family of slain civil rights
leader Medgar W. Evers.]
NEW
YORK TIMES. 1968. Marylin Bender, "The Chain
Letter, Back Again, Breaks Into Fashion and Society." July 2, p. 30:
1.
[<propagation, immunization> Useful interviews. Current
LCL "epidemic": depends on photocopying, circulates among fashion industry
and socialites. MCL: "Executive vacation quickie." Promises
$2190 for $15 in 10 days. Says check accompanies first receipt - should
return if you don't participate. XCL: recipes. LCL: some text, q20, most copies made on
office copying machines. Recipients (some names): socialites (4), fashion
designers (2), editors, writers, art dealer. Multiple receipts of LCL:
5,7,6. Spoiler effect: most recipients feel compliance with first
letter is adequate, but fashion publicist got 7 and complied with all. Wife
of industrialist, bothered by threats, made her own copies (2): "I
don't think it works with Xerox." Xerox costs 25c per copy. <origin>
WWI dough boys wrote 'good luck' variety. 1949 pyramid clubs: members recruited
at parties. <politics> Political CLs: Free France from Nazis,
Czechoslovakia from Communists, Eisenhower-Nixon campaign. Stockholm
Peace Appeal, 1950: end Korean War, ban atomic bombs, seat Red China in UN.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1973. "Pyramid Sales
Are Now Chief Consumer Fraud Here." April 3, p. 45: 1.
[Complaints against: Action Industries (fuel additive), Alexander Taylor
(clothes), Ameriprise (home cleaning products), Bestline (soap), Bob Cummings
Inc. (vitamins), Cash-chek (buying club), Computerex (buying club), Dare
to Be Great (motivation course), Futuristic Foods, Galaxy Foods, Golden
Products (household items), Guardiante (fire and burglar alarms), Holiday
Magic (cosmetics), Koscot (cosmetics), P.R.I.C.E Club (buying club), Princess
Club of America (hosiery and cosmetics), Sta-Power (fuel additive), Steed
(fuel additive). P.R.I.C.E Club in New York specialized in minorities,
held "opportunity" meetings as respectable hotels, helped investors get
Citibank loans, used planned bankruptcy to bilk prior investors.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1978. "A 'Gold' Chain
Letter Has Come Full Circle, with Trail of Victims." Dec. 17, Sunday,
p. 69: 4.
[Circle of Gold MCL aftermath. Workings. Origin and tracking
(8 locations). No one prosecuted yet in San Francisco.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1979. "Abrams Gets Writs
on a 'Pyramid' Plot." Aug. 31, p. B3: 6.
[Attorney General obtains permanent injunctions from State Supreme Court
to shut down Circle of Gold ($100 ante). Against 15 organizers
in NYC, Syracuse and Rochester.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1980. "Fraud Investigators
Report Epidemic of 'Pyramid' Investment Schemes." May 18, p. 24.
[Pyramid schemes spreading around country (states named), possibly related
to inflation and harder times. Hundreds arrested in California -
mostly middle class. Most popular now: the Business List Concept
(described). Tony J. Stathos, Sacramento defense attorney: hundreds
of thousands of participants in California. Parties: euphoric atmosphere,
testimonials, those "cashing out" cheered. 3,000 protest crackdown in Sacramento.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1981. "Four Agree to
Repay Pyramid Losers." July 13, p. B3: 1.
[New York State Attorney General's office obtains 3 convictions on misdemeanor
violation of the state's General Business Law for pyramid games in summer
of 1980. Restitution made to investors, payment of investigation costs.
Involvement not illegal, recruitment is.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1987. " 'Airplane':
High-Stakes Chain Letter." Elizabeth Neuffer. April 7, Sec. B, p. 7: 4.
[". . . an illegal pyramid scheme called the airplane game." Widespread
in state, on Broadway. Roles: pilot (1), co-pilots (2), flight
attendants (4), passengers (8). Pilots collect $1500 from passengers
and bail out. Co-pilots become pilots, attendants become co-pilots,
etc., two "airplanes" formed. "Each passenger is required to recruit at
least one new investor." Specs s$1,500, q1+, n4, max $12,000. State
law against promoting a pyramid scheme: $500 fine, year in jail.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1987a. "Finding Links
in a Chain Letter." Sept. 20, p. 72: 1.
[The Airplane game. See NYT 1987 for specs. "As far as we
know, the 'airplane' has crashed." - spokesman for Attorney General.
3 guilty pleas, ll agreed to make restitution and inform. New
game: "Corporate Ladder" promises $12,000, enter as "vice president."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1990. Alan W. Petrucelli in
Ron Alexander's column: Metropolitan Diary, Sept. 5, p. C2.
[Receives media LCL. Says threats include "suicide, insanity and
bankruptcy" (?). Some standard text. Comments by celebrity participants.
"Effusive epistles" from Oliver Stone, Tom Smothers, Dick Martin, chief
executives of Lord & Taylor and Macy's.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1990a.
"The Chain Letter Of the Rich and Famous." Deirdre Fanning column:
The Executive Life. Oct. 7, Sec. 3, p. F25. *check page designation
[Media LCL. Circulating "in the last year." Recipients
and their comments. "Respondents are asked to send their signed reply
to the letter to five friends, along with copies of all previous responses
to the letter that they received in the packet." <origin> Fanning's
packet suggests origin in Hollywood, then television executives, New York
book-publishing, newsrooms, Washington political circles. Side trips
to Wall Street and Detroit auto industry. "The originator of the chain
must have recognized that its recipients would be loathe to pass up a chance
for social cachet - to be among the inner circle." Richard Holbrooke
(Lehman Brothers): "As soon as I broke the chain, I ruptured my Achilles'
tendon."]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1993a. "Book
Notes" by Esther B. Fein. Jan. 6, p. C19: 1.
[Used paperback ("of recent vintage", "not too badly worn") XCL circulating
nationwide. Specs. q6n2s1max36. Four accounts of participants. Receipts:
15-20, 2, 0, 0. Negative feelings about chain letters in general.]
NEW YORK TIMES. 1993b.
David Gonzalez, "A Haven for Hopeless Causes." Nov. 10, p. B1:2.
[ Devotional practices of St. Jude, the "patron saint of impossible
causes." Raymond Orsi (Indiana Univ.): "... St. Jude is not firmly
identified with the religious experiences of any particular ethnic group.
. . Jude is really an Americanized saint." St. Jude classified ads:
"some priests worry that the ads are part of an improvised religious tradition
that in some extreme cases are more akin to superstition..." and that "the
money spent on the ads could be better used on donations to soup kitchens
or homeless shelters." A LCL "promises solutions to any problem
in return for saying a prayer to St. Jude and other prayers over a nine-day
period. It also asks the worshiper to leave nine copies of the letter
inside a church each day."]
NEW REPUBLIC. 1935 (Day 34). Ted
Olson, "Brother, Can You Share A Dime?" V. 83, May 22, p. 43-44.
[Send-a-dime: early text,
no "wrap dime" instruction. Denver mail volume, legends of winnings.
"For the last two weeks most of Western America has talked and thought of
nothing but the dime chains." Originator unknown. Comparison
to Huey Long (Share the Wealth), Father Coughlin (National Union for Social
Justice).]
NORTHWEST FOLKLORE. 1966.
Alan Dundes, "Chain Letter: A Folk Geometric Progression." V.
1, n. 2, Winter, p. 15-19.
[CL structural pattern: (1) proclamation that the letter is a CL, (2)
injunction to send a specific number of copies, sometimes within a definite
period of time, (3) description of desirable consequences of compliance
to injunction, (4) warning of undesirable consequences if injunction is
ignored or disobeyed. Full text and psychological analysis
of wife exchange parody. Full text of scholarly reprint (R)
XCL, specs s1q4n4d3 max 272. An XCL "...like other forms of folklore,
provides a socially sanctioned outlet or excuse for the overt expression
of an actual wish." Full text of Medgar Evers social action & charity
CL, specs C=9, W=10$100,000, one dollar to be donated to family in
care of Ross Barnett, governor of Mississippi.]
OMNI. 1992. Antimatter: "Chain-Letter
Black Hole." V. 15, n. 3, Dec., p. 100.
[Mostly same content as Skeptical
Inquirer 1991. Since forming Chain Letters Anonymous (CLA) Emery
has received 163 letters.]
OUTLOOK. 1907.
"Superstitious and Profane." May 11, V. 86, p. 48-9.
[<abate> Two LCLs "recently received." Ancient Prayer type,
prayer text given and remaining
letter described. Letter claims it was "sent out" by Bishop Lawrence.
"It was an outrage to associate his name with so gross a profanation of the
Christian view of prayer, and to make him stand sponsor to this attempt to
turn the union between the human child and the Heavenly Father into a species
of cheap jugglery, a kind of vulgar magic." The chain contained a
negative testimonial and accompanying letter.]
THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY.
Second edition, 1989. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[Definition of "chain letter": "A letter written with an invitation
to the recipient to pass it on to another (or copies of it to others), the
process being repeated in a continuous chain until a certain total is reached."
Example: "1906 Daily Chron. 27 July 6/2 In 1896 Miss
Audrey Griffin, of Hurstville, New South Wales initiated a 'chain letter'
with the object of obtaining 1,000,000 used postage stamps." (This letter has been collected
-DWV). Definition of "snowball": "A scheme or project that
relies for its growth on a snowball effect (see quotes)." Example:
"1892 Whitehall Rev. 17 Sept. 7/1. The system of 'snowball'
is multiplication at a very rapid rate, each giver being obliged to bind
himself to find a certain number of others who will not only give, but bind
themselves each to find an equal number of contributors on the same terms."
Other quotes.]
THE PATRIOT-NEWS (Harrisburg, Pa.). 1990.
Robert M. Andrews, "Chain (letter) of command.," Aug. 29, p. B5.
[Associated Press report. Media LCL - no complete text.
Celebrity recipients and some of their comments. Resulting luck for
NewsWeek reporter (Iraqi invasion of Kuwait). Jack Nelson (Washington
bureau chief of LA Times) breaks chain, no bad luck.]
THE PATRIOT-NEWS (Harrisburg, Pa.).
1991. Kathleen Hendrix (Los Angeles Times), "Celebrities make up new
kind of 'chain gang,' " Jan. 18, p. C1.
[<motives> Informative survey of Media LCL. It is "the chain
letter of the stars, real or wannabe, or the chain letter from hell."
Multiple receipts. Los Angeles writer Nikki Finke (10 receipts) breaks
it: "Maybe that's the bad luck: You keep getting the letter." Full
text. Variant text has story of Dutch farmer who started the letter,
had best harvest, concluded "God touched his land." "These accompanying documents,
most recipients admit, are what prompt recipients to play the game and write
their own 'I can't believe I'm doing this' notes, as they pass the letter
on." Started latter half of 1989, toured major publishing houses,
television networks, newspapers and magazines, studios, law firms and public-relations
agencies. Earlier 1989 letters now illegible. Participants comments.
Tom Goldstein (Dean of School of Journalism at UCB) breaks chain (10 receipts)
but retrieves phone numbers: "the chain letter could be a plot of the photocopying
companies." Time spent thinking of who to send it to, and tracing
how it got to you. Mention of "Just play golf" item. Jim Murray
wrote about this item in May 1978 LA Times.]
THE PENNSYLVANIA DUTCHMAN.
1949. Dr. Wilbur H. Oda, "The Himmelsbrief." V. 1, n. 21, Dec.,
p. 3.
[Summary of the types of Himmelsbrief (Letters from Heaven) Oda was
able to find in the U.S. Used during both World Wars. Often rendered
in gold or blue letters, framed and displayed in homes. Many variations.
Most enjoin Sabbath observance, alms giving and protect the bearer from
various harms and facilitate child bearing. Letter types: (1)
Cologne stresses Trinities, no Sabbath admonition, (2) St. Germain had added
poems, (3) Count Philip [text] protects
against a long list of weapons, no Sabbath advocacy, (4) Lady Cubass may
have attached the letter from
Jesus to King Abgar, (5) King Charles [text] protects from death in war,
say five Vater Unsers and seven Ave Marias daily, (6) Frauen letter ( Cologne,
1750) is introduced by a dream of Mary, (7) Madgeburger [another text] is the most common, only one
published in illuminated form. References to early American sources.]
THE PENNSYLVANIA DUTCHMAN. 1953. "A
True Prayer for Everybody." V. 5, n. 6, Oct., p.12.
[Contains English text of
a King Charles Himmelsbrief. Original is located in the Berks County
(PA) Historical Society.]
PENTHOUSE. 1975. "The Sex Chain Letter."
Thom Racina. Nov., p. 112.
[Fiction. In beginning author mentions common chain letters: money,
recipe exchange, pen pal (?). Gives prayer from luck chain letter: "Trust
in the Lord with all your heart and all your knowledge and He will light
the way of consciousness." The purported "sex chain letter" is fictional.]
PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS. 1991. Stu Bykofsky column:
"Pulling the chain: Examining links in the letter." March ?, p. 37.
[Media LCL. "Do you strangle the person who sent it to you? Or
are you happy that a friend passed along good luck (and made if necessary
for you to send out five copies to others)?" Links among Pennsylvania
politicians.]
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. 1989. Clark DeLeon,
("The Scene") "Chains: What did Aretha Franklin call it?" March 28,
P. B2.
[Humor. Receives KISS LCL, some text. Concludes with "Dale
Fairchild" warning. <numbers> Received about a dozen over the years.]
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. 1991.
Darrell Sifford, "Chain letter's welcome message." Jan. 1, p. 4-C.
[Receives Media LCL "in a big envelope, all 25 pages of it..."
Complete text. Senders' comments, mostly often quoted celebrities.
Sends to five friends, gives motivation: "There's something about the idea
of wishing your friends good luck that appeals enormously to me. If nobody
gets anything tangible from it, we at least know that people who matter
are thinking about us, cherishing the friendship. " "I liked the letter
because it made me feel good." Interprets fourth day hence for
good luck.]
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER. 1991a. Katharine Seelye,
"Alas, Goode's chain letter doesn't deliver." March 22, p. 1-B, 6-B.
[Media LCL - no text. Mayor of Philadelphia, W. Wilson
Goode, receives the chain during a city fiscal crisis and sends it to "five
key players in the city's money mess." No luck results. Other
well known recipients. GOP leader William A. Meehan did not send it
on and is presented as having bad luck after four days. Meehan said:
"I try not to put too many things in writing, let alone a chain letter."]
PITTSBURGH PRESS. 1937. "Chain
Letter Gangs Start Up Once More" Feb. 26, p. ?
[Clipping without a year dating but 1937 likely: "The fugitives from a
chain letter gang are at it again, this time not with dimes but with dishcloths.
Brooklyn, it developed tonight, is the seat of the new chain letter iniquity,
and it is strictly for the ladies. No men are wanted unless they happen
to have a yen for tea towels." Describes a q=3, n=3 exchange chain letter
promising 27 tea towels. "Unlike the dime chain letters which often gave
nasty warnings of disaster to anyone who might contemplate breaking the
chain, the tea towel chain is conducted in a spirit of neighborly cameraderie.]
PITTSBURGH PRESS.
1938. "New Chain Letters Take Religious Turn." Feb. 2.
[Clipping, complete text: "A new wrinkle in 'chain' letters - a mysterious
message to St. Anthony that will bring good or bad luck - was making the
rounds in Pittsburgh today and frightening many superstitious persons who
have received a copy of it. Written in a poorly penciled scrawl on
an ordinary penny postcard, the message requests only that it be kept alive
'to go around the world' and that it be sent to 13 friends. Ill luck is forecast
for persons not following instructions. Postal authorities, however, who
discovered the latest in 'chain' letters last night, believe them to be the
creation of a religious fanatic." See Anthony13
type.]
POLSKA SZLUKA LUDOWA. 1981.
Czeslaw Robotycki, "Lancuch Szczescia W Pól Wieku Pózniej",
no. 1.
[Polish, no translation. Contains seven photocopies of old chain
letters (or Letters from Heaven) including 1826 and 1852.]
POSTAGE AND THE MAILBAG.
1935. James Calhoun, "Within Three Days Make Five Copies."
V. 23, June, p. 264-269.
[Send-a-dime MCL as a sales letter: (1) brevity, (2) simplicity, (3)
clearness, (4) direct, emotional appeal, (5) action-compelling ending.
Complete text with address
list. Population: early estimates. Modes of person-to-person recruitment.
Purchases by winners. Families on relief benefit. Purchasing power
theory.]
PRIMO TIMES (Bloomington, Indiana).
1976. Letters: "Don't break chain." July 26, p. 2.
[Complete text of DL type
LCL.]
RÉSEAUX. 1995. Le Quellec, Jean-Loïc,
"Des lettres célesetes au 'copy-lore' et au 'screen-lore' : des textes
bonjs à copier." no. 74, Nov.-Dec., pp. 145-190. Molineaux, France.
[<French> No translation except for three chain letter texts.
Important source. Covers luck and money chain letters, Craig Shergold,
banknote chains, parodies. Discusses the Car testimonial and initials on the outside of envelopes. Some English and German texts also in appendix. L-36 is from Dear Mr.
Thoms, Jan. 1990 (not 1980). Several
chain letter texts within article. Thirty-eight texts in appendix (L-1 to
L-38). English translations by Sarah E. Winter are available for L-7, L-8 and L-12.]
REVUE DES SCIENCES
SOCIALES DE LA FRANCE DE L'EST. 1984, Serge Bonnet & Antoine
Delestre, "Les Chaînes Magiques", no. 13, pp. 383-402. Strasbourg,
Université des Sciences Humaines.
[<French> No translation. Many texts. Saint Antoine. Chain of
Lourdes.]
REVUE D'ETHNOGRAPHIC ET DES
TRADITIONS POPULAIRES. 1928. W. Deonna, "Superstitions actuelles."
V. 9, p. 213-216.
[<French> Have English translation by Sarah Winter. French texts
(a, b with English translations) of two
LCL's that circulated in Geneva in 1928. Text (less a list of senders
at end) in Italian of similar letter. References to earlier examples (including
Christian World, referenced in Revue D'ethnographic, 1927,
p. 127). Supposed authors are an "American colonel" and "the ladies of the
American army" - who are repeating "the immemorial formulas with a mentality
that makes them and their disciples akin to primitives of all ages,
and with the puerile naiveté typical of Anglo-Saxons."]
RUSSKAIA LITERATURA. 1993. Luri,
V.F. "Holy Chain Letters as a Phenomenon of Traditional Folklore. N1: pp.
144-149.
[Russian. Have translation by Yana Tishchenko. Stresses traditional
aspects of "Holy Letters." Structure: (1) title, (2) a prayer - exorcism,
(3) legend about origin or finding of the Holy Letter, (4) thesis - statement
of supernatural strength of the letter, (5) request that the letter be
re-written and distributed during a period of time, (6) promise of good
fortune for compliance, punishment for refusal. Possibly re-writers introduce
what they have heard or read in a similar letter. Origins of Letters from
Heaven (M. Beliayev). Much on Sabbath Letter (Verlovsky). Sabbath Letter
said to have been used to counter pagan derived celebration of Friday by
Slavs, up to 19th century. Sabbath Letter popular in Russia, spread by singing
and story telling as well as written form. Partial text. Appendix has three
(1, 2, 3) full texts of recent LCL's.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. 1935 (Day 21).
"Prosperity Club Idea Is Replacing Send-Dime Letter." May 10, p. 3A.
[Subtitle: "Enterprises spring up to collect 25-cent notarial fee on
pleas for $1, $3 and $5." Local MCL events. Profiting envelope manufacturers,
printers of blank letters, manufacturers of "play money" and printers of
"fantastic parodies." First "Prosperity Club" in St. Louis opened last
night - by midnight six others. One started in law office, $3 chain
promising $3072. One had 100+ waiting in line for opening.
Five and ten cent stores selling thousands of printed forms and envelopes,
5 for 5c. Mail volume 798,200 letters; 19,000 more than previous day,
double over last year. <numbers> Downtown restaurants and cigar keepers
have received and discarded hundreds. When handed one they pay for
it with play money.]
SANN, PAUL. 1967. Fads, Follies and Delusions of the
American People. New York: Crown Publishers. Chapter 15,
p. 97-104.
[Send-a-dime incidents: requiem (Denver
Post, 8/15/35); Denver dead letters 100,000; photos. Springfield
craze (thorough): extensive quotes from Springfield Leader and Press. "The
Cream of the Crop" ($3) and "The Pot of Gold" ($5) hand delivered.
Springfield crash (AP "Sad-faced" quote). <variations> Biblical
citations; GOP square deal; American Legion support for Patman bonus; GOP
tax protest; draft Calvin Coolidge; Hollywood $100. Humorous variations:
Send-a-Pint; Sweet Adeline Club (Lincoln, Neb.); Good Riddance Club ("When
you receive this letter buy yourself a gun and shoot the guy at the top of
the list"); Kiss-chain (Birmingham, Alabama); "Send-a-dame" (UC Berkeley).
National dead letter count: 3 million. Subsequent variations: Defense
savings stamps (1943); Robert A. Taft fund; Pantie Club (Dallas, gets 30 panties,
barred by Texas postal authorities); Stop-the-Bomb (alleged Communist plot);
$18.75 bonds (1953, suppressed). Threats on MCLs (?): Japan, England, Germany,
China, Abyssinia. Wife exchange full text.]
SATURDAY EVENING POST. 1947. Robert
M. Yoder, "Sucker's Delight." , V. 220, Nov. 22, p. 12.
[Interviews C. W. Hassell, Post Office lawyer working on CLs for 30
years. New money CL: $2 in mail but copies handed out. Complex
hosiery scheme (Sheldon?). League of Equity. Send-a-dime. Bohemian
Oats.]
SATURDAY EVENING
POST. 1959. "We Have Finally Reached the Ultimate in Chain
Letters." V. 231, May 23, p. 10.
[Received wife exchange anonymously. Full text.]
SATURDAY REVIEW. 1967. Goodman
Ace, "Luck Be A Prayer Tonight." , V. 50, September 30, p. 10.
[Humorous treatment of compliance to a 20 copy Death20 type LCL. Presumes
one copies by typing. Complete text.]
SATURDAY REVIEW 1970. John Boni,
"The Weakest Link." V. 53, July 25, p. 4.
[Humorous treatment of receipt of a quota 20 LCL. Name list: 60. Some
text. Copying: typewriter makes
at most 5 or 6 legible carbons. Complains of 20 copies even in "age of
Xerox." Variations on Death and Money protagonist (Cal Napke, Cal
Nips, Col. Napak, General Wasp). Mother once received quota 3 letter.
History: Hollywood celebrity letter received 4 years prior (name list had
Agnes Moorehead, Elizabeth Montgomery, Larry Hagman, George Halas). Col.
Napak variants.]
SCARNE, JOHN 1961. Scarne's Complete Guide to
Gambling.
[Has section on chain letters and pyramid schemes.]
SCIENCE & MECHANICS.
1935. "The Mechanics of Chain Letters." October.
[Not examined.]
SCIENCE NEWS LETTER. 1953. "Chain Letter Lottery."
V. 64, Dec. 12, p. 372.
[<numbers> Wave of CLs "every few years." War bond chain in 1942.
Current money CL with specs. s$2q5n5. Calculations. <immunization>
"Repeats begin early" - spread from where started.]
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. 2003.
Charles H. Bennett, Ming Li, Bin Ma. "Chain Letters and Evolutionary
Histories." June, Vol. 288, No. 6. p. 76.
[Subtitle: "A study of chain letters show how to infer the family tree
of anything that evolves over time, from biological genomes to languages
to plagiarized schoolwork." "We believe that if (algorithms used to infer
phylogenetic trees from the genomes of existing organisms) are to be trusted,
they should produce good results when applied to chain letters." Describes
method of measuring the distance between two letters using a file compression
program (GenCompress by Xin Chen). Constructs a cladogram of 33 DL type letters
collected by Bennett from 1980 to 1995. Advent of nine changes marked on cladogram
(two pairs supposed concurrent). Changes used to diagnose phylogeny include
variations in names and dollar amounts. Differing mutation rates related
to replicative functionality. Applications to biological and linguistic evolution.
Link to chain letters used (updated): www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~mli/chain.html.
SCOTTISH ANTHROPOLOGICAL
AND FOLKLORE SOCIETY PROCEEDINGS. 1937. Anderson, Walter. "Chain
Letters." October, 1937. 15.
[Not examined]
SEAL, GRAHAM. 1989. The Hidden Culture.
Melbourne: Oxford Univ. Press, p. 66-68.
[Complete text of DL type
LCL with LOVE title which "has been circulating the world's postal systems
for decades in one version or another." Husband XCL parody complete
text (the "man chain") collected in Perth in 1986, "popular in recent years
throughout Australia, and possibly elsewhere."]
SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. 1991.
Eugene Emery, "Chain Letter Weighs Heavily on Top Journalists." V.
16, Fall, p. 24-25.
[Derides participation in the "media" chain. Possible origin:
"The decision to copy other people's cover letters as part of the package
apparently started with Judy Kurianski of cable TV's Consumer News &
Business Channel." Gives celebrity participants and their comments,
including Jody Powell and Pierre Salinger. Gene Foreman of the Philadelphia
Inquirer: "Understand that I am not doing this because I'm superstitious.
I just want to avoid bad luck." Offers to receive LCLs to allay anxiety
at: Chain Letters Anonymous, P.O. Box 6866, Providence, R.I. 02940.
Also in Omni 1992.]
SKOLNIK, PETER L. 1978. Fads: America's
Crazes, Fevers and Fancies from the 1890's to the 1970's. New York:
Thomas Crowell and Co., p. 69-70.
[Basic facts of send-a-dime craze, Springfield craze, aftermath.]
SOCIAL NETWORKS. 1994. "Defining and
locating cores and boundaries of social networks." P. Doreian & K. Woodard.
V. 16, pp. 267-293.
[Authors' abstract: We propose a general procedure for locating the
boundary of a network and a second, related, procedure for discerning the
boundaries within a network. The first is an expanding (snowball) selection
procedure. The second requires the specification of two critical parameters:
the value of k for a k-core and the threshold, w, for the quantitative
magnitude of network ties. The use off these parameters generates a sequence
of nested cores. Single sector and multi-sector social service inter-agency
networks are used to illustrate the procedures.]
THE SPECTATOR. 1922. "The Evil Eye in Modern England."
Letter - A. Hugh Fisher, V. 129, July 29, p. 141.
[Complains of Good Luck type letter ("snowball-commands") with fifty
names. Text fragments.]
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. 1988. "Scorecard:
For Your Wardrobe." V. 69, n. 1, July 4, p. 13.
[Briefly reports XCL for basketball T-shirts. Text: "we can
all use 216 shirts."]
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. 1989. E. M. Swift, "Post-nuclear
mutant mayflies and other chain-angler items." , V. 71, July 10, p. 8.
[Detailed results of participation in the "Trout Fly Club". Partial
text, letter specs s1q6n3w21 max 216.]
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. 1991. "Chain Gang."
Jan. 21, V. 74, p. 47.
[Media LCL "made the rounds of the NBA recently." Recipients named,
incl. Pierre Salinger and Art Buchwald. Transmission to NBA traced:
novelist Judith Krantz sent it to Laker general manager Jerry West.]
SPRINGFIELD (MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 13).
"Chain Letter Gang Riches Fade Under Investigation." May 2, p. 1:3&4.
[<motive> "Scores of exaggerated reports of Springfield people
cashing in on send-a-dime chain letters were current today." Interviews
dispel reports. Woman received $1.50 instead of $18. Only a few dimes have
been detected in letters handled at the Post Office. "Yesterday there was
a a widespread report that a waiter in a St. Louis street cafe received 40
letters containing dimes. I found that no mail was delivered to the
cafe yesterday." ""Everywhere people were speculating upon the possibilities
of the scheme for getting rich, and upon its legality. Stories of people who
got $300, $800 or $100. Some thought the Post Office was going to start opening
letters that contained dimes. Others claim legal because the letter said
the dime was a charity donation, hence not gambling.]
SPRINGFIELD (MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 17).
"The Day's Best Story." May 6, p. 1:4.
["Chain letters began to flood the postoffice here today. Between
8000 and 10,000 extra letters were handled." Mostly dime letters, some quarter,
a few dollar. Variety of envelopes, usually no return address. Dollar chain
letters being circulated. "They instruct the sender not to give away his
letter until he has made sure that a dollar has been paid to the proper
person. This is supposed to eliminate cheaters."]
SPRINGFIELD (MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 18).
"Dollar Chains Hamper Business Here As 'Fortunes' Are Made Over Night." May
7, p. 1:5,6.
[Photos: (1) crowd lined up at print shop. (2) overburdened mail man,
(3) secretaries at work. Subtitle: "Postoffice Burden Vastly increased,
Printers Reap Quick Profits and Few Folks Are Talking About Anything Else."
Lead sentence: "Springfield has gone wild over chain letters." 15,000 extra
pieces of mail this morning, thousands of letters circulated by hand. "Printing
shops all over town are turning out letters as fast as they can be run off."
Many businesses virtually paralyzed. A barber (who had realized $72 on his
letters) could not remain in his shop - "the telephone kept ringing: calls
from people who said they had a chain with his name on top and could he help
them find a couple of buyers to carry it on." "Wild stories of fabulous sums
received . . ." Dime chains forgotten. Dollar chains: mail not used except
to send $1 to winner. $5 chain, $5 and $10 chains circulated by telegraph.
<method> Garbled account, reorganizing: (1) You agree to take a letter
with ten names on it, and to send a dollar to the top name (addressed envelope
provided). (2) You go to a print shop and get two printed copies of the letter
and pay a typist to type in the names, escalated, with your name at the
bottom, plus two envelopes with the address from the top of the list. (3)
You try to find two people who will take the letters off your hands by sending
$1 to the top name.]
SPRINGFIELD
(MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 19). "Money Making Magic Starts Fevered
Boom." May 8, p. 1:4,5,6,7,8. & other articles.
[Photo: Men, a few women, crowd around a bank of typists. Caption: "Letter
Go, Gallagher! We'll Make a Fortune.!" Col. 8: Subtitle: "Like a Nation-Wide
Lottery Chain Letter Craze is Causing Amazing Frenzy." By Docia Karell.
Lead sentence: "Everybody's crazy!" "Dooley and me haven't been abed all
night! We're just staying in and pushing 'em - carryin'' 'em around - pushing
our names up and everybody else with us." Compares to the "good old days
before the depression." Col. 6-7: Subtitle: "Springfield Spins Madly
on Financial Whirligig." "Chain letter exchanges popped up like mushrooms
all over the business district and soon filled with milling throngs eager
to turn dollars into thousands." "Hatless men hurried along the sidewalks
waving chain letters. They stopped every one they saw, desperate to dispose
of their wares before the urge to buy should die down." Crowd presented a
fair cross-section of Springfield's population - cab drivers, debutantes,
elderly matrons, business men, clerks, students, soda jerks. "Freak chains
began to spring up. One is said to be circulating for children under 14 years
old, and another confined exclusively to persons with the surname "Mason."
(surname?, or lodge!). Col. 3: Alabama kiss chain. Col. 4: "Chain Fortunes
not Guaranteed." <method> "When you get a copy of the letter ($2) -
you must . . . accompany the salesman who sold you the letter to a notary,
where you enclose $2 in an envelope addressed to the top name on the list
on your letter. The letter is sealed by the notary, and you pay him 25 cents
and buy a stamp and mail it in the presence of the salesman." <abate>
School superintendent complains: (1) people are willing "to surrender their
mind to the collective mind," and to refuse to see that the whole fantastic
structure must soon "collapse of its own weight." And (2) "It isn't polite
betting on your own friends - you put them on the spot, and they either have
to break your chain and feel they are not good sports, or else send money
to somebody they never heard of against their better judgment . . ."
Banker notes that "conservative, cultured women that you would never dream
would do such a thing - out on the streets trying to sell their letters!"
SPRINGFIELD
(MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 20). "Day's Career as Chain Letter
Gangster Takes Reporter to the Verge of Madness." May 9. p. 1: 5,6.
[Photo: Passers-by look at store front window with "Pot O' Gold" chain
letter sign. Reporter Allen Oliver recounts his experiences pushing chain
letters. Details on methods in the "factories." (p. 2, dialogue): <origin>
"Someone was yelling in our ear. 'They're starting a $5 one right now.
If you want in on the bottom, now's your chance. Got all I can handle. This
one's a honey. You sell two copies, mail one $5 out, and pocket the other
one. That way you get your money right back." Col. 8: "'Chain Gangs'
Nearly Broke as Gold Ebbs." Subtitles: "Glittering Fortunes Turn to
Brass as Everybody in Town Becomes a Seller." "Craze Swiftly Waning." "Tales
of easy money and quickly-made fortunes continued to spread through the city,
but to the thousands who came in late they were tales and nothing more."
Well known Doctor denies story he made $2,700 on a $20 chain. "Every one
had a letter to sell, and no one wanted to buy." "It was conceded the craze
would die down tonight and there was a grimness in the air that contrasted
with the hysterical speculation of yesterday." <origin, see also nyt 1935-20> "One chain that was doing a big
business last night and early today was supposed to be unbeatable. You bought
a letter for five dollars and sold two copies for the same price each, keeping
one five. It died before noon." <method> Postoffice officials investigating
a printing plant . . ."Six men were operating it and the name of one of
them was in the pay-off position on every letter. They got a mailing list
from the city directory of Springfield and are supposed to have collected
considerable money."]
SPRINGFIELD (MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 21).
"Fever Passes, 'Magic Money' Places Close." May 10, p. 1:1.
[Subtitles: "Most of City's 'Exchanges' Find Operations Aren't Any Longer
Profitable." "Shouts of 'Gyp" Heard." Many complaints from . . ."people
who 'just knew' they had gone over the top. - Their names were ahead of
someone's name who did go over the top, consequently they were bound to
have gone over." Others thought that because they went over the top on one
list that they would on all others. Others were told they went over the top
falsely, to get their help. Stories of success were deliberately fabricated.
"A dollar chain was charging 25 cents to keep an register of all persons
to whom money was mailed and agreed to check by phone to see if it had been
received." p. 8: 4 "State Promoters Get Kansas Haul." Accounts of chain letter
exchanges in Joplin, Poplar Bluff and St. Louis. Police describe "professional
chain letter promoters." "Copying the model originated in Springfield six
exchanges were doing a rushing business in St. Louis today."]
SPRINGFIELD (MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 22).
"Stolen Letters Are Abandoned in Alley But Officers Unable to Trace Thieves."
May 11, p. 1:2,3,4.
[Photo: Postmaster examining letters. 680 letters stolen from a postal
substation. 444 opened, of these 236 taken out of their envelopes. Of these,
"scores were love notes which started with such greetings as 'Sweetie' and
'Darling'." "Only 25 letters were of the chain variety and all but
one of them were for less than $1."]
SPRINGFIELD (MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 23).
"Guaranteed Chain Spreads to Denver As Suckers Hunted." May 12, p. 1:6.
[Denver. May 11. "Factories" open in Denver to crowds. Traffic increased
at Oklahoma chain-making facilities.]
SPRINGFIELD (MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 24).
"Probe of Chain Gangs Promised." May 13, p. 1:2.
[Says will not go after dime chains, or letters passed friend to friend.
Will target "the people who started big chains with promise of a quick turnover."]
SPRINGFIELD
(MISSOURI) NEWS LEADER. 1935. (Day 28). "Negro Sleepily Gives New Slant
on Chain Letters. May 17, p. 10:2.
[Police inquire about mobs that beset home of J. H. Edwards. He was
running the "negro personal chain letter exchange." Edwards says he doesn't
put his name on any. For a week his home has been used by those trying to
sell their dollar letters. Hires two typists, three runners and some relatives.
Had not slept for six days. Avoids use of mails entirely.]
SPY. 1990. Aimée Bell & Josh
Gillette, "Chain of Foolishness." Dec., p. 74+.
[Media CL. Described as co-opting of "numb, credulous lower-middle-class
escapism" by the "haute bourgeoisie." "The letter was a goofy exhortation
to play golf, combined with vague references to luck." Full text (reduced
so barely readable), includes leading office humor golf item. Circulating
"during the last year." Over 5 pages of linked transmissions, 143
senders, hundreds of recipients & their jobs. "... a sweeping
diagram of the American media elite."]
THE STAR.. 1991. Janet Charlton feature
Star People: "Why Jane Fonda & Goldie Hawn are in Kennedy rape case
file." Sept. 17, p. 12.
[Media CL. Celebrity recipients, including Sally Field, "Pee-Wee" Herman,
Charles Keating, Melanie Griffith, Whoopi Goldberg and Kennedy relatives.
A copy is filed in court records in West Palm Beach, Fla.]
THE SUN (Rouses Point, NY). 1987. "Broken
chain letter plagues woman with 100 accidents." Feb. 24, V. 5, no.
8,
p. 27.
[Subtitle: "...all in just a year's time." Tabloid article.
"A BROKEN chain letter tossed into the garbage by a 46-year old housewife
has turned her life upside-down with some 100 near fatal accidents."
Brenda Huggard (Toronto) discarded a LCL "telling her to send it to
10 other people," the next day her car "spun off the road." "I don't
know how many times things have fallen off buildings missing me by near inches."
Hopes her bad luck will stop this year, duration not specified by letter.
Probably total fiction.]
TENNESSEE FOLKLORE SOCIETY
BULLETIN. 1976. Michael J. Preston, "Chain letters." V.
42, p. 1-14.
[Essential documentation and analysis of mid 1970's CLs. Recipe chain
text, specs s2n2q6 max 30 (deduces
that prior quota was 5). MCL attributed to William Neham of Nashville:
full text, specs s$1q4n20.
MCL full text, "As you give...",
specs s$5n5q25. Observes that circulating luck chain letters are a combination
of two previously independent letters (Death20
and Lottery24). Gives full unedited
text of eight luck chain letters, the following transcriptions taken from
original letters by DWV: a,
a1, a2, b1, b2, b3, b4.]
THOMAS, JOHN L. 1900.
Lotteries, Frauds and Obscenity in the Mails. E. W. Stephens,
Columbia, Mo. p. 121.
["CHAIN LETTER SCHEMES, AS LOTTERIES. Sec. 105. In the last
few years a scheme known as the 'Chain Letter Scheme' has become quite
popular and has been resorted to by the gamblers and by those who did not
scruple to perpetrate a fraud upon a confiding and unsuspecting public.
The scheme is this: The promoter writes a letter to some one and
states that he desires to raise money for a certain purpose and requests
the addressee to send him ten cents or some small amount and to write a
similar letter to a certain number of his friends, the number varying in
the different schemes, being three in some, ten in others, etc. all
the addressees being requested to forward the required sum to the promoter.
Each correspondent, it states, would become the starter or originator of
a series and a prize is offered to each of these upon condition that the
series, he originates or starts, would continue, without a break, till 10,000
or some other number named, is reached. For instance, A starts a
series by writing letter to ten of his friends and thus starts a series
and if all of his ten friend, all of the hundred, that his friends write
to and all of the ten thousand this thousand write letters to write similar
letters to their friends and send the required sum each to the promoter
the starter or originator is to receive a prize but if anyone of the ten,
hundred, thousand or ten thousand fails to do this the prize is lost.
It is very readily seen that the chances of winning such a prize is remote
indeed. / In such schemes we have a forcible illustration of the proposition
that a prize, dependent on what others may do or not do, is dependent on
chance. / The chance feature in such schemes is too apparent to require
further comment or elucidation." Also gives history of postal regulations
regarding lotteries.]
TIME. 1955. "Any Bonds Today."
V.65, Jan. 31, p. 80.
["A new person-to-person chain letter" exchanging US saving bonds. MCL
specs s$18.75, q2x18.75, n11, with seller guaranteeing bond is mailed
to top name. Started in South last fall. Some text. Used-car
dealer Cliff Pettitt of Knoxville got 252 bonds.]
THE SUNDAY TIMES (LONDON).
1974. "Alan Brien's Diary," July 29, p. 28: 8.
[Receipt of two LCLs: Lottery24 type ( or LD?), name variation, q24
appears. <numbers> "sudden resurgence." Concludes, to a sender:
"Drop dead."]
THE SUNDAY TIMES (LONDON). 1975. "The
chain gang's icy finger" - Patrick Campbell. Jan. 5, p. 12: 1.
[Campbell receives LD type LCL mailed 16 Oct. 1974 from Spain.
Some text. Had name list,
recognized sender. Humorous (?) association with bad luck.]
THE SUNDAY TIMES (LONDON). 1977. Richard
Milner, Inside Business, "Free gift?" July 24, p. 64g.
["Financial Gift Service Club" MCL debunked. Testimonial by "Ryan
Mann of San Francisco." Specs. q50+, n3. "Chain letters are lotteries
(q.v. Atkinson v. Murrell, 1972)."]
THE TIMES (LONDON). 1978a. Richard
Milner, Inside Business, "Chain letters for charity." Jan. 8, p. 60g.
[MCL headed "THE INAUGURATION OF FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE - WOULD YOU
TRADE £3 FOR £125,000?" Signed by "Nelson Robbards of Boston."
Some text. Says legal because participants asked to pledge 20% of profits
(after £1,000) to charity. Possible s£1, n3. Milner recommends
discarding, or contacting A-4 Dept. of Scotland Yard.]
THE TIMES (LONDON). 1978b. "The
case of the frightened lady." The Times Diary - PHS. Jan. 24,
p. 14d.
[Brief mention of receipt by a secretary of "one of those nasty letters."
LCL: q20w9, one "lost his wife," another died "for no reason." Fears of
recipient, and PHS.]
THE SUNDAY TIMES (LONDON). 1978b.
Lorana Sullivan, Inside Business, "Still in chains." Aug. 27, p. 51g.
[MCL allegedly started by "Nelson Robbards of Boston." <numbers>
One reader received 12 this year; received by nearly every advertiser in
Business to Business classifieds. Promises £125,000 for £1 investment.
See The Times 1978a.]
THE TIMES (LONDON). 1982. "Circle
of Gold turns to ring of shame," Margaret Drummond. Nov. 27, p. 15a.
["Every second person in the Covent Garden wine bar . . . was offering
me the Circle of Gold . . ." MCL specs s£20, q2x£20, n12,
max £164,000. Some text: "Please do not decide to invest in this
paper until you are totally and completely sure and understand the concept."
Cheating by selling more than two copies: ". . . tales of underwriters
deserting their desks and stockbrokers forsaking the floor in order to
copy as many as possible."]
TRUE MEN. 1965. "Good Luck 'Chain' Letters
- Your Secret Invitation to a Mail-Order Sex Orgy!" Robert LaGuardia. September,
1965, p. 16 &.
[Subtitle: "Read them fast, and they're innocent. But read between the
lines, answer them, and chances are good you'll be invited to the wildest
- or the most frightening - party of your natural life!" Dubious exposé
of swing clubs. Names fictional. Claims a couple new to San Francisco received
"what seemed a conventional 'good luck' letter through the mails. The letter
promised that if they added their names to the list of its signers and
sent copies of the letter to three of their own friends, plus a postcard
to the sender, 'good luck would happen to them within 30 days.'"
Claims the couple complied with this and a second such letter, with a different
name to respond to. After this they were contacted by a couple "who specialized
in wife-swapping cults."]
UNITED STATES CODE SERVICE.
1979. Title 18. Lawyers Edition, Rochester: The Lawyers
Co-Operative Publishing Co.
[Title 18, Section 1302. Mailing lottery tickets or related
matter (¶1) Whoever knowingly deposits in the mail,
or sends or delivers by mail: ( ¶2) Any letter, package, postal
card, or circular concerning any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme
offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance; (¶3)
Any Lottery ticket or part thereof, or paper, certificate, or instrument
purporting to be or to represent a ticket, chance, share or interest in
or dependent upon the event of a lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme
offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance; (¶4)
Any check, draft, bill, money, postal note, or money order, for the purchase
of any ticket or part thereof, or of any share or chance in any such lottery,
gift enterprise, or scheme; (¶5) Any newspaper, circular, pamphlet,
or publication of any kind containing any advertisement of any lottery,
gift enterprise, or scheme of any kind offering prizes dependent in whole
or in part upon lot or chance, or containing any list of the prizes drawn
or awarded by means of any such lottery, gift enterprise, or scheme, whether
said list contains any part or all of such prizes; (¶6)
Any article described in section 1953 of this title [18 USCS § 1953]--
(¶7) Shall be fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than
two years, or both; and for any subsequent offense shall be imprisoned not
more than five years.
Title 18, Section 1718. Libelous matter on wrappers or envelopes
"(¶1) All matter otherwise mailable by law, upon the envelope
or outside cover or wrapper of which, or any postal card upon which is written
or ;printed or otherwise impressed or apparent any delineation, epithet,
term, or language of libelous, scurrilous, defamatory, or threatening character,
or calculated by the terms or manner or style of display and obviously
intended to reflect injuriously upon the character or conduct of another,
is nonmailable matter, and shall not be conveyed in the mails nor delivered
from any post office nor by any letter carrier, and shall be withdrawn
from the mails under such regulations as the Postal Service shall prescribe.
(¶2) Whoever knowingly deposits from mailing or delivery, anything
declared by this section to be nonmailable matter, or knowingly takes the
same from the mails for the purpose of circulating or disposing of or aiding
in the circulation or disposition of the same, shall be fined not more than
$1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."
Under Interpretive Notes
and Decisions: "18 USCS § 1718 is unconstitutional in that it
is overly broad and violative of the First Amendment which guarantees freedom
of expression. Tollett v United States (1973, CA8 Ark) 485 F2d 1087.
¶Prohibitions of 18 USCS § 1718 must be construed in light of
First Amendment rather than in light of any regulatory power granted to
Postal Service; if purpose is to deter potential libelers, who would not
be frightened of civil judgment, while 18 USCS § 1718 might meet "rational
basis" test, it does not rise to level necessary to meet "compelling interest"
test applicable in cases involving restrictions on First Amendment protected
speech; additionally, 18 USCS §1718 is unconstitutional because language
is substantially overbroad and no indictment based on it can stand.
United States v Handler (1974, DC Md) 383 F Supp 1267." LCLs on postcards
are often said to be illegal based on this section! - DWV. ]
USA TODAY. 1990. Pat Guy, "Big-Name
Links for Chain Letter." Aug. 31, p. 7B.
[Media LCL. "Big-league journalists are supposed to be so skeptical
they need a second source to verify that their mother loves them. That hasn't
kept a chain letter from making the rounds." Comments of four senders.]
USA TODAY. 1991. "Team-by-team Notes."
June 19, p. 5C.
[Media LCL. "Phillies utility IF Rod Booker received a chain letter
from Toronto IF Rene Gonzales." "Booker said he would do his part
keep the chain letter in circulation."]
U.S. NEWS AND
WORLD REPORT. 1975. "More States Turn to Gambling to Raise Money in Hard
Times." June 30, p. 22-23.
[State lotteries spreading. New Hampshire first in 1964. Now in 12 states:
Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois,
Ohio, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine. Sales
total 1 billion, up 47% in one year. More frequent drawings (many daily).]
VANITY FAIR. 1935,
Corey Ford, "The Chain-Letter Priest." July, p. 13-15,
[Purports to be an interview with "Father Riddell," the "Chain-Letter
Priest." Difficult to distinguish facts from satire here, but apparently
there was a Father Riddell who cashed in on the chain letter fad in some
manner.]
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. 1979. Frederick
C. Klein, "The Nice Lady Who Peddles a Chain Letter." Nov. 1, p.28:6
[Pyramid party in Chicago, max $32,000 with $1,000 ante.
Recruiters pitch: "rewards salesmanship and persistence." Rockford,
Ill. hearing on charges had spectators in green T-shirts promoting the "money
pyramid."]
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. 1987.
Paul B. Carrol, "Yuletide Chain Mail by Prankster Slows Networks at IBM."
Dec. 17, p. 34:6.
["The message consisted of an innocuous Christmas greeting plus a drawing
of a Christmas tree... But the message also contained a program that
searched the computer files of the recipient's personal computer to find
the automatic distribution list that would be used to forward notes to co-workers,
bosses or customers. Once the program found those names, it forwarded
the message to them." Circulated through IBM internal communication
network "last Friday" - "slowed message traffic to a crawl" - spread worldwide.
No files lost. IBM posted warnings on its BBS.]
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. 1990. Thomas
R. King, "Read This Story and Pass It On To Five of Your Friends--or Else."
May 9, p. B1:1.
[Media LCL. Says traveled from Hollywood to New York where it
is "making its way through media circles." Celebrities and their comments.
CEO of Fox Inc.'s TV production unit: "I would've chucked it, but the letter
came just as we were getting our pilots ready for the fall." No idea
who started; now 50 pages long. CBS casting director received
three packets, sent the first two on.]
WARING, PHILIPPA. 1978. The Dictionary of Omens
& Superstitions. Treasure Press, p. 52.
[Brief entry on CLs. <origin> "The very earliest chain
letters date from the Middle Ages and carried details of simple cures and
prayers to be recited with them. They were sold by travelers or fortune
tellers and widely believed to be most effective. In the last hundred
years, however, they have degenerated into what are little more than begging
letters . . ." ]
THE WASHINGTON POST.
1991. Charlie Clark, "The Great Chain (Letter) of Being." , V. 114,
Sat. Nov. 16, A27: 1.
[Receives Media LCL (calls it the "VIP" CL) which "came clipped to notes
on letterhead stationery from a pantheon of big shots in government policy
circles, corporate suites and the news media elite." Complete text (same). "Once somebody
got the ball rolling, a peer pressure set in among the elite, and these
illustrious citizens indulged in thinly disguised efforts to laugh off their
obvious fear that an anonymous, fuzzily photocopied, threatening chain letter
could actually be a tool of the gods of fate." Names of prior senders
and many of their comments.]
THE WASHINGTON POST. 1995. Michael D.
Shear, "A High-Tech Chain Letter Hits Town." March 13, Washington Business,
p. 17&20.
[Subtitle: "Get-Rich-Quick Scheme Involves Copying Disks." Spec
q5 (disks), s$5, n?, max $19,500. You receive disk with program named Network!,
send $5 to top name for secret code that allows you to copy disk.
Copy and send to five others. Circulating in Washington area, has a
California address. Leading text: "Do you own, or have access to an
IBM PC compatible computer and printer? Would you like to earn $19,550
in just 12 weeks? Can you afford to invest $25 (only $5 to start!!)."
Quotes Paul Griffo on illegality.]
THE WENATCHEE WORLD. 1996. Elizabeth
Weise (AP Cyberspace Writer), "AIDS outbreak on Internet." January
28, p. 11.
[Subtitle:" Boy's e-mail virus is fake but spreads faster than real
thing." Partial text: "Could you all pretend that I have HIV, and
I gave it to you. Then could you pass it on to your friends?
Let's see if the entire e-mail population could get infected by me alone."
Attributed to "young Bradley" as part of a health class project. Has
circulated "for the last two months." Sent out Wednesday as part of the
daily Internet AIDS news summary by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention in Atlanta.]
WESTERN FOLKLORE. 1948. D. H. Hall,
"The Spanish Prisoner Letter." V. 8, p. 265.
[Complete text of 1898 Spanish Prisoner Letter confidence racket.]
WESTERN FOLKLORE.
1950. "Folklore in the News" - "Chain Letter." V. 9, n.
1, p. 273.
[Cites Berkeley Daily Gazette. (1) Feb. 2, 1950: A variant
of the Mexican prison treasure epistle. (2) Oct. 27, 1949: A LCL said
to have originated with a French army officer (text of collected letter
likely of same type -DWV). <number> Non-monetary CL said to
be "novel"!]
WESTERN FOLKLORE. 1956.
Herbert Halpert, "Chain Letters." V. 15, October, p. 287-289.
[Full text of
LCL specs q4+1, d1w4. Full text
of wife exchange parody.]
WEST'S
ANNOTATED CALIFORNIA CODE. 1989. Penal code,
St. Paul: West Publ. Co.
[Title 9, Section 327. Endless chain schemes. "Every person
who contrives, prepares, sets up, proposes, or operates any endless chain
is guilty of a public offense, and is punishable by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding one year or in state prison for 16 months, two, or three
years. As used in this section, an "endless chain" means any scheme
for the disposal or distribution of property whereby a participant pays
a valuable consideration for the chance to receive compensation for introducing
one or more additional persons into participation in the scheme or for the
chance to receive compensation when a person introduced by the participant
introduces a new participant. Compensation, as used in this section,
does not mean or include payment based upon sales made to persons who are
not participants in the scheme and who are not purchasing in order to participate
in the scheme.]
THE WORLD AND I.
1988. Roger L. Welsch, "The Endless Chain." Sept.,
p. 500-511.
[LCL type Death20 testimonial variations. CLs: "long life, anonymity,
variation of detail within a fairly constant larger framework." "St.
Antoine's" (same as "Venezuelan" or "Dutch" letter): in India, Germany,
Japan. Send-a-dime basic history. Pyramid sales described in revealing
1900 letter: Parisian skirt
fad, coupons 20 cents, books of 5, value of skirt $5. Author's CL classification:
exchange, money, merchandise (commercial), St. Antoine's (prayer), social
action. LCL variant: sequences of two or three initials to be placed
on corner of letter, or envelope containing it (?). Full text of DL type LCL (no date)
with TRUST leader (Proverbs) and REMEMBER trailer plus "May you continue
to be encircled in gold." St. Antoine name variations (18), Joe Dilliot
variations (7). Social action CLs: Shell Boycott (UPI, June 6, 1979);
Feminists poems; protest of movie image of Jesus Christ (1985 - Ann Landers).
Parodies: Return of chain (full text, no date); excuses for not writing
paper; wife exchange (full text, no date, signed by King Farouk & two
others); fertilizer club; Academic co-author parody (full text).]
WRIGHT, A. R. 1929 (?). English
Folklore. New York: ? p. 103. (Also
[<gender> Good Luck LCL: "...the 'chains of luck' which for a
number of years, right up to 1928, have worried nervous women." Some
text.]
THE WRITER. 1993. Roving Editor: "Chain
letter with a twist." April, p. 5.
[Used paperback XCL: all as reported in NYT,
Jan. 6, 1993.]
/end/ bibliography