THE "MISSING WORD" COMPETITIONS. THE STORY OF THE CRAZE. [UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

Evening Post, Volume XLV, Issue 1, 3 January 1893, Page 2

THE "MISSING WORD" COMPETITIONS. THE STORY OF THE CRAZE. [UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

London, Ist January. An official receiver has been appointed in connection with the "missing word "competition, tho money for which has been impounded. [Our San Francisco mail summary supplies the following: — The '' missing word " competition of Pearson's Penny Weekly is now tho rage is England. The Editor prisia a paragraph with the last word, usually an adjective, missing. He invites his readers to guess the word, at a. shilling a try, and then divides tho pot among the winners. In one competition olosed for the week of 26th November, the pool contained .£2400, and each of tho 40 odd winners received almost 4380. Many of the English post offices were Bold out of shilling postal orders on tho wook ending 3rd December. This is tho latest effect of tho "missing word "craze that has seized the country. The pool received during this week amounted to nioso than 217,000 shillings, each accompanied by a guess as to tho missing' word in the phrase printed tho week before. The sentence occurred at the end of a paragraph desoribing the praotice of the Romans who, when thoy invaded Britain were said to have beaten their bare legs with nettles in order to neutralise the effects of the cold. The closing sentence was, "To our minds suoh vigorous treatmont hardly seems ." Tho pool of .£10,400 was divided among 370 individuals, who Bent in the word " enjoyable," each receiving tho snug sum of .£29 for a shilling risk. The Secretary of the Treasury has ordered proceedings to bo taken against this game, and one of the pool managers was summoned to answer before, the Police Court. The defonco is that the competitions are contests of eMH, not of chance. Mr. Aequith wi\l ask Parliament for a spooial enactment against tho praotice if necessary.}