The Project Gutenberg eBook of The statistomat pitch

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: The statistomat pitch

Author: Chandler Davis

Illustrator: John Schoenherr

Release date: October 6, 2023 [eBook #71819]

Language: English

Original publication: New York, NY: Royal Publications, Inc

Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STATISTOMAT PITCH ***

The Statistomat Pitch

By CHAN DAVIS

Illustrated by JOHN SCHOENHERR

The product looked okay, and the salesman

was sharp ... dangerously sharp!

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from

Infinity January 1958.

Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that

the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]

The little salesman buzzed into my hotel room exactly at 10. He must have been waiting in the corridor, ambushing the second-hand.

I watched from my deep chair in the corner while he slid open his raincoat, lifted it neatly off his back (the casual shrug wasn't his style), and stood with it hanging from his forefinger. With a bright, apologetic smile he hung it up in the alcove behind the door. I decided not to object to his using the hook without asking; it'd just slow things up.

The salesman smiled again, ducked out into the corridor and back in with a flat 24x20 brief case and a large, oddly shaped suitcase. His presentation charts and a mockup of the computer, obviously. More apologetic faces, and he sat down.

He said, "It was very good of you, Mr. Borch, to give me this chance to tell you about our new, personalized Statistomat. I know you're a busy man—"

I raised my drooping eyelids just enough to see him properly.

"—with all your responsibilities, and I hope I'll be able to answer all your questions on modern estate planning. That's what I'm here for!" He smiled as if he were pausing for questions, but he didn't pause.

He intoned, "The man of wealth has a special responsibility in our society. He is the trustee of invested capital, on which our economy rests. His proud charge is to direct and build his holdings wisely; and natural economic laws have justly placed the nation's considerable estates in the hands of men equal to the charge.

"At the same time, such men owe themselves freedom from deprivation. And they owe themselves a financial plan adapted to their own—er—preferences and tastes in freedom from deprivation. This is why we speak of personalized estate planning. Maybe this will be still clearer, Mr. Borch, if we look at an example."

Here we go again, I thought, as he hauled a packet out of his brief case, opened it out into a little stand on the table, and flipped up the first chart.

"Take the case of Robert Jones, who inherits $25,000,000 from his father. The inheritance taxes are all taken care of by investment-incentive deductions, so Mr. Jones has $25,000,000 in liquid assets to invest."

Right on the ball, I thought. The hypothetical 25 million was just about twice the publicly known size of the Borch estate, therefore right in the league he could figure I'd like to be playing in. And the hypothetical Jones on the chart, confidently facing the future, was handsome and dignified, but not much more so than I was.

"Mr. Jones has a wife and one young son." They appeared beside him on the second chart, and they looked very pleasant. The salesman knew Jed Borch was unmarried. "He has planned to his satisfaction a way of life appropriate to his standing." On the next chart the Jones family was backed up by a half-acre bungalow, a lake, and wooded hills.

"His desire is for security, to ensure this pattern of living to himself and his wife, and to his son. His personalized Statistomat plans his finances accordingly." On succeeding charts, Jones changed only in subtle lengthening of the firm lines in his face, his wife didn't change at all, but his son sprouted to a six-footer and the bungalow grew some too. A bar graph superimposed on the picture kept track of the investment. By the time the boy was full-grown it had risen to a modest $100,000,000.

"On the other hand, consider Michael Thompson. Starting with the same sum of $25,000,000, he may just as legitimately view different goals. Mr. Thompson is unmarried, and has not yet chosen to what station he will aspire." Chapter Two of the charts had just as admirable-looking a man (different color hair). I was curious how much Statistomat would finagle for him, but not curious enough to sit through another dozen charts. When the salesman said, "Naturally he's willing to risk—" I interrupted:

"I don't want any risk. Can't afford to." I smiled slyly. "Responsibility to society."

"Of course, of course, but you might be willing, like Mr. Thompson, to—er—look beyond the more accepted channels of finance for the sake of the larger returns that can be realized by breaking new ground, as it were—participating in pioneering enterprises."

"Oh, sure. Don't want to miss any bets."

So far you couldn't see anything to complain about in his pitch, considering it alongside the pitch for General Computers' Incomac. In fact it essentially was a General Computers pitch, with the brand name changed. Let's get to the point, I thought. I pointed to the odd suitcase. "Uh ... what's that?"

He was adaptable enough to give up the Michael Thompson story and open up the suitcase, promptly and proudly.

"Oh, the computer," I said, almost encouragingly.

But he didn't let that stand. "No," he admitted, "this is just a life-size facsimile of the new Statistomat. I'm afraid the real thing is too valuable and too heavy for me to carry around, even to such an important interview as this."

"How heavy?"

"I'd say about ten times as heavy as this one," he evaded neatly. "Now on this facsimile I can illustrate the ideas we've been developing. Here, you see this screen and these knobs. I'll turn this switch on and we can watch this part of it just as if this was the real computer."

My surprise was genuine. His demonstration mockup was a live one. I wished my brother could see it.

"On this screen we record your time-dependent utility function. For your convenience, the input is mechanical, but from this point on all the Statistomat's computing is performed digitally."

I said, "Huh?"

"Time-dependent utility function," he repeated brightly.

"Oh, I can't be bothered—all that technical stuff—leave it to specialists," I muttered, making the trap nice and inviting.

But he knew he had to explain. "Naturally only the essentials need your personal attention," he said smoothly. "You express in the time-dependent utility function your financial policy—the broad, overall outlines of the course you want to steer. This must come from you. This makes the difference between a Robert Jones and a Michael Thompson. You have a possibility of doubling your investment in a year, let's say. How certain do you have to be of it before you prefer it to a more conservative investment? Even odds? Six to four? Or we might ask a similar question about a ten-year period. You see the point."

"Uh ... but it depends on how much I've got." I kicked myself. My brother would not approve my helping the salesman along like that.

"Ah, yes! Certainly! When you have a hundred million, an extra million won't seem nearly as important to you as when you have twenty-five. We understand! Our technical expression for this is that the value of money to the investor is not a linear function of dollars. Logarithmic, some say—but that depends on the investor. Whatever relationship you select as a matter of fiscal policy. That is a part, a critical part, of the information which you give the Statistomat when you work out your time-dependent utility function, or risk function, as we call it for short."

"No risk! Can't afford risk!"

"Mr. Borch, I speak with confidence when I assure you that your estate can be subject to as little risk when its direction is assigned to the Statistomat as in any other way." I almost called him on that, until I reflected that he had really made only one specific claim: that you could feed just as excessively conservative a risk function into the Statistomat, if you were compulsively conservative, as you could into the G.C. Incomac. That might be true.

He went on, "Two of the soundest business research agencies in the country have been invited to inspect all our operations and have okayed us, not once but repeatedly: the S.E.C. and the F.T.C."

Darn right they've checked you, I thought—by law. And don't think they'll stop.

But it didn't do any good to spot a steep slant in his formulations. He was a salesman, after all. Just so he stayed clear of demonstrable falsehoods and "fraudulent tendencies" (as defined by the 1978 Commerce Act), he was within his rights.

He was staying clear. Some of his claims a stickler might want to check up on; but I wasn't going to bother any more to watch for things like that. I thought the stickler would find in each case that he'd been wasting his time. This little salesman seemed awfully good at skating just at the edge. He really knew his profession.

I didn't let my bafflement show. I just looked at him dully and made noises as if I was about to say something. I was, but I didn't know what.

There just had to be something bad about this Statistomat venture. Without (apparently) any new gimmick, a small new company was producing just as good a product as one of General Computers' best-managed divisions. How could Statistomat hope to deliver a normal profit? It wasn't reasonable. There must be badly cut corners, if not in the product then in the sales program or the servicing of customers; or else the investors weren't hoping for a normal return. In that case there was something funny in their motives—a long-range scheme to undermine G.C., or something. That might show up in this salesman's pitch.

So I switched to, "How do I know what stocks this thing'll tell me to buy?"

"Not tell you to buy," he corrected charmingly, "buy you. The machine can be connected by direct wire to the Exchange's computer."

"Yeah-yeah, but how do I know what stocks I'll be getting? I want General Computers preferred!"

He smiled. "Quite possibly you'll find yourself the owner of a considerable block of G.C. preferred—provided of course your time-dependent utility function dictates a policy which—"

"You mean," I said, with the very suspicious expression my brother always objected to, "you'd let your machine bid for G.C. stock for me?"

"Naturally. The Statistomat has often recommended purchase of G.C. stock. Let me explain to you an aspect of modern firm management which may be so specialized as to have escaped your attention.

"Each firm draws up what is called a preference function. It is somewhat analogous to the investor's time-dependent utility function. It gives exact expression to the objectives of the firm. For any conceivable economic position the firm might be in, it determines, let us say, the weight the board places on a dividend this year as against a larger dividend a year from now, or ten. And so on. It is the criterion for all the optimization computations which pattern the firm's activities.

"Under a 1978 law, every corporation offering stock on the Exchange must publish its preference function. All these preference functions are known to your Statistomat; in effect, it is as if they were all in Statistomat's memory, continuously updated, automatically. Naturally, for a particular kind of investor only certain kinds of stock are suitable.

"But Statistomat does more—and this is the point I think you'll find intensely interesting. After all, more than the firm's policy is important. Two firms may have identical financial policies but very different dividend rates, either due to different degrees of success or to different kinds of partial success. Statistomat also has available to it a sound estimate of the firm's expectations—"

"Who does the—uh—estimating?"

"Based entirely on Commerce Department reports. That's as impartial as you can get, Mr. Borch, and it's also one of the best-informed sources in the country. This information is processed at our home office on one of the largest automatic computers in the world. You see, Statistomat Incorporated is deeply conscious of its responsibility to give flawless service to the men who control and direct America's fortunes."

The little salesman sounded overconfident again so I thought I'd shake him up. "What does General Computers use for their whatchamacallit?"

"The General Computers' Incomac uses exactly the same sources of information."

I said in a bored voice, "What do you do different?"

"The principles of investment planning are scientific principles, Mr. Borch, and anybody working in this field must follow them."

Let's hear you desperate, I thought, but my voice just got drier. "Guess I might as well get an—"

"Of course there are differences!"

"Uh—yeah?"

"Oh, yes, yes! You see, even though the principles are the same, still if only one company was offering this service to investors—"

"Then what? It'd jack up the prices?"

But that was over-eager. He backed away immediately: "Certainly not, Mr. Borch. Who could suggest such a thing? We all know General Computers' spotless reputation as one of the most heavily capitalized corporations in the country. Besides, by now we should be free of wild brain-truster theories about the evils of monopoly." He smiled sanctimoniously.

I drawled, "So what if only one company was selling these machines?" My brother would be grinding his teeth at this follow-up. But I thought I just about had this salesman boxed. I'd better! He was catching on.

He answered, "Even though the same principles are applied, there are bound to be individual differences in their application. If all users of estate planning computers had relations with the same firm, all these minor fluctuations would be in the same direction for all of them. Although the investment mixes would be far from identical, they would be more alike than economic principles require. On the other hand, the investor who has the courage to associate himself with an alternate set of analyses may be comparatively alone in the course he chooses. Thus he may benefit, when this course chances to be better than expectations, by having to share the reward with relatively few others."

I had him! I said, "You mean this thing might buy me different stocks from what the G.C. whatchamacallit would?"

"Why, yes, it would be surprising if there was not at some point a difference in the two solutions. That was the point you raised so well—"

"And you mean your answer might make me more money?"

"Why, yes, in the case—that is, in the way that I was discussing. Mmm-hmm."

"But then you think G.C. gives out wrong solutions."

"Not wrong—"

"Solutions that aren't the best—that means wrong, huh?"

"Why, yes, I mean, I suppose that—" He stopped.

I smiled. I dropped my Jed Borch personality (which the little salesman probably much preferred). "You know who you've been talking to?"

"F.T.C.?"

"An F.T.C. Investigator," I said, professionally. Without waiting for him to ask, I showed him my card, with the impressive embossed words across the center: "Fair Trade Corps." Then I pressed a button and instantly two cops were in the door and at the salesman's shoulders.

The salesman said, "What's the charge?"

"You know what it is."

"The charge, please."

I shrugged. "Fraudulent tendencies; to wit, unfair, untrue, and scurrilous maligning of a competitive corporate body, individual, and/or product. Okay, boys."

They handcuffed him and hustled him out without even picking up his luggage and his raincoat. He tried to look confident, but I thought the law-abiding public wouldn't suffer much longer from the connivings of Statistomat, Inc. I settled back into the deep chair and turned with a triumphant grin toward the door of the room's closet.

It opened. My brother, dressed in the distinctive charcoal-green suit of a General Computers junior executive, stepped out, turning off the tape recorder as he came.

He was grinning too. "You had me biting my lip," he admitted, "but you came through all right. It's a good thing, too. It always gives me a specially grateful feeling when I see society saved from a deviant like that.... It's not that there was any danger they would have challenged Incomac's market leadership, but even if they had continued in existence as small as they are now they would have taken away some customers. Our responsibility to our stockholders is not just to make profit. It is to make the maximum possible profit—to optimize!"

Of course!

My brother's gaze was distant as his keen mind searched for the deeper lessons of the day's work. He said, "Maybe we should get the public release of those Commerce Department reports discontinued."

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STATISTOMAT PITCH ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:

- • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

- • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

- • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

Table of Contents

The Statistomat Pitch

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE