Giveaways: Anybody Seen Wayne Walker?

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In Boston, Barney Myerson, manager of Crown Cab Co., had his drivers pool their contest cards. "It didn't pay me to open the envelopes," Myerson found. "I ripped open 1,200, and we won exactly $1." In Charlotte, N.C., Observer Columnist Kays Gary tried even harder. As a fund-raising scheme for Holy Angels Nursery, he invited readers to send in their cards and coupons. Last week, having totted up 6,323 cards from four states, he found that the winnings were just $21, most of it in 25¢ driblets. Said Gary in disgust: "A man would have as much luck going up Tryon Street with a shovel trying to find a thousand bucks in a gutter."

Sensitive to criticism that too few people win, Shell Oil Co. recently announced that 670,386 players won $1,400,531 in its "Americana" contest in five Western states, listed the names of the 54 who won the top $2,500 prizes. Humble Oil, which is testing its new game, "Heads or Tails," in Houston, makes clear in its TV advertising that $50,000 will be distributed in the area "no matter how long it takes." But this may not be enough to satisfy the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Deceptive Practices; it is now investigating the oil-company giveaways, including number of tickets printed and the methods of distributing them.