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 an 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)]
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.]
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.]
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