The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-26
LETTERS FOR THE SOLDIERS.
POSTOFFICE CLERKS HANDLE
OVER 10000 EXTRA PIECES DAILY.

tailed to Assist the POstOfhce
FOrce-HONv the Mail for the Sew
enth Army Corps Is Received and
DeIivered-sent to the Camps by
COuriers-Busy Days Ahead for the
Registering and Money Order De-
partment Clerks.
Postmaster Doyle and his force are hav-
ing considerable extra work to do in hand
ling the mail OF the Seventh Army Corps.
Most Of this has fallen upon Assistant
Postmaster Waring.
The postmaster and his assistant are
getting on very well with their work, hav-
ing had only one complaint yet They
are rapidly catching on, and it is not like
ly there will be any more kicks. They
do not brag about their work. They say it
has not been good enough for that 1t has
been done, however, even If it might be
said, after a fashion, and they consider
themselves lucky in not having had more
complaints to listen to-
One of the hospital stewards came down
to the postofFice yesterday and said the
men at his place had not gotten any mall
for three days, and he wanted to find out
something about what was being done with
it. He was told that it had been sent to
the De Soto, and off he went to look it
up. As nothing further was heard from
him, 1t is supposed he was successful in
finding what had come for the sick in his
hospital and for those connected with it.
All of this soldiers mail business is new
to the managers and clerks of the postof-
fee, and handling it is rather awkward at
the start. All this will wear off In a short
time, though, and as good a service will
be given the men by the Savannah office
as they have had anywhere. Two men
will be added to the Office force to help
out with the soldiers mail. They win be
soldiers detailed by their commanders to
look after this matter. 1t has not been
conclusively settled, but no doubt is felt
that such will be the case, as they were
detailed at jacksonville to the postoff1ce,
and Ii Is supposed the commanders will
not object to lending them to the Savan-
nah office for the same purpose. Their
aid will facilitate the work and make it
much more certain. The men themselves
would far prefer it to being kept at camp.
1t is not known just how many extra
pieces of mail matter are handled on ac-
count of the troops being camped here.
Postmaster Doyle says however, that it
must be more than 10000 though, for 1t
requires as large a number of incoming
or outgoing pieces as that to have any APP
preciabie effect upon the Office force. Mr..
Doyle says that more than 10000 pieces
must have been received and sent away
every day.
The business has not reached its great
est volume by any manner of means, MIR.
Doyle says. He thinks a few days from
now will see it greatly increased, as more
troops win then be here and more letters
and papers will both be sent and received
after the men are well settled in camp
than is the case now, just after and during
the movement from Jacksonville.
Most of the mail that Is being received
here is not addressed to Savannah, but to
Jacksonville This does not make any
difference with soldiers mail. AS long as
the regiment is indicated it Is all right,
and they will be pretty sure of getting
their mail An excellent system has been
devised by Supt. L. NJ. Terrell of the rail-
way mail service. 1t provides for the de-
| livery of mails for soldiers wherever they
may be, the address being ignored IL in
correct. The system comes in to advan-
| tage in enabling the route agent to judge
of the correctness of the address, as 1t
shows where every command in the Unit
| ed States army is located. A list Is got
ten out every week of the locations of all
the commands, changes being carefully
kept up with and this list Is Incorporated
with the orders that are issued by Supt.
Terrell to his route agents.
The plan has worked admirably, and has
often enabled mail to be turned back from
destination shown by the address Ia
| the point to which a command has been
moved Such is being done right now In
the case of a great deal of matter address
ed to Jacksonville. The route agents know
very we'll from their lists that most OF
the regiments have been ordered from
Jacksonville and are now in Savannah
They accordingly work up their packages
for Savannah instead of Jacksonville. II
! is this system that has enabled the office
here to dispose of mail that has come for
the Sixth Missouri Regiment. which has
been ordered to remain at Jacksonville for
a time as guard for government stores
The Office was advised of the order and
mail for the regiment has been sent on to
jacksonville instead of being kept here
| for the men.
| About sixty separatio have TO be made
| in the distribution of the malls that ar
rive for the corps. These separations are
of mails for the several regiments, corps,
divisions, brigades, and other headquar-
| ters the commissary supply depot, the
| uuartermaster 8 department, the several
hospitals, the signal corps and others.
Most of the mail comes already worked
out for the various regiments This means
that the route agents have handled 1t prop
erly on their cars, tying it up separately
for The regiments to which 1t is addressed.
The agents are stumped when it comes to
the address of officers of different stats
and headquarters, however, and the correct
disposition Of mail addressed according TO
the organization of the corps before it
was made to consist of two divisions of
two brigades each. Right here is where
| they stand i'm the greatest need of the aid
of men who are familiar with the army
| situation and the personnel of the officers
of the corps, especially those attached to
the various stats and departments. The
| men IL is proposed to have detailed for
postoffice work will have their knowl-
edge of these things come in to good e.
| feet.
| Two cases have been improvised at the
postofice for the reception of the soldier s
| mail. Putting it up is about as much as
Mr.. Waring, who does the greater part
of che work. cares to attend to. He has
- Ia, IL .f L IA