The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-28
SOLDIERS DON'T NEED STAMPS
THEIR LETTERS DELIVERED COL
LECT BY THE POST OFFICES.


Hundreds Of Missivcs Go Through
the savannah POstOfhce Every
Day That Way-PacIxages Mailed
to Soldiers VIII Follow Them, Too,
Until Delivered, without Extra
POstRge-PIeaty of Applications
for Army PostmasterShips, But
Chaplains Are for the Most Part
Doing That Service.
Every day brings to the Savannah post
office large mass Of mail matter bearing
no stamps. Hundreds of letters come in
on the trains from the South, and the
trains from the West with no prepayment
of postage. Yet they are delivered as
promptly as though on each was the little
red square that the government ordinarily
exacts for the carriage of a letter.
These letters are from the soldiers. from
the Savannahians who are encamped at
Griffin or at Tampa. While they are not
stamped yet the postoffice department
derives the same revenue from them that
it does from letters from other classes of
citizens. On the soldier, the sailor and the
marine the government by statute confers
the privilege Of forwarding letters postage
due, to be collected on delivery. Instead
of receiving postage from the writer the
government collects 1t from the person to
whom the letter is addressed.
On such letters, when they leave the
postoffice, is stamped the amount of post
age due, generally cents, although ire.
quently the story of the volunteers life in
camp, with its peculiar novel conditions
and hardships makes a mass of manu-
script requiring extra postage. AS they
make their rounds the carriers collect
from the parties receiving such letters the
amounts due upon them. Each carrier is
responsible for these collections, and must
turn in to the office the exact amount he
is charged with. The governments courte-
sy and generosity ends with the man VINO
Is IN its military and naval service 1t
stops at the front door of the residence 10
which the letter goes. There it is "nIuney
or no mail"
The Savannah volunteers are not slow to
avail themselves of the consideration the
government shows them in this respect
They know that the folks at home. the
relatives and friends, even the chance ac-
quaintances of business life, Will be glad
to hear from them, that the postage will
be cheerfully paid at this end of the line
for news from the camp, for budget Of
personal gossip No limit appears 10 be
put on the number of letters a soldier may
write. All his spare moments may be spent
IN correspondence. one cord only Is drawn
about the privilege, there must be no let
ters TO newspapers for publication.
The regulation in regard to mail from
the forces in the field is authorized by an
act of Congress, passed in 1879. Its fun
text is as follows:
Letters written by officers, commission
eQ or nom commissioned and privates IN
the military, naval or marine service of
the United States to be transmitted I'M
paid must be plainly marked soldiers
letter" Sailors letter" or marines let
ter" as the case may be, and signed there
under with his name and official designa-
ton by field or staff officer, post or de.
tachment commander to whose command
the soldier belongs, or by a surgeon or
chaplain at hospital where he may be;
and in the navy and marine service, by
the officer in command of the vessel. or
surgeon on board, or officer commanding
naval hospital or detachment on shore
Letters SO certified will be forwarded
charged with postage due at single rates
only, TO be collected on delivery"
There is another feature of the
be of much interest to sa-
vannahlans at this especial time when
packages innumerabie, large and small
are going forward to the volunteers from
this city Assistant Postmaster Waring
directed attention to it yesterday.
I'VE have been notified" said he, Chat
during the continuance of hostilities be-
tween the United States and Spain the>
actual location for the time being of the
force TO which the addressee of an article
of mail matter Is attached shall be consid-
cred as the original destination of the ar.
tlcle, and the article, no matter what its
class may be, shall be transmitted as ran
idly as possible from place to place until
it reaches the addressee. No additional
charge for postage shall be made for for
warding any class of mail matter to the
soldiers.
This order. you will see, covers mer-
Chandise or any other class of mail mat
ter. package, for instance, which might
have been sent to Griffin for member of
the Guards and reached there too late for
delivery, would have been forwarded to
him at Tampa as quickly as possible with
out extra postage. If he had gone from
Tampa to Cuba 1t would have been for
wapded TO him there without extra post
age, and so on indefinitely. In other words
the postofiice department evidently intends
to do all in its power 10 have all classes Of
mail matter reach the volunteers and reg
ulars as rapidly as its facilities allow with
no cost save that for transmission to the
original destination. People who are send
ing packages by mail viii appreciate the
knowledge of the fact that when they put
the siemps required on it in Savannah
they will carry it until it reaches the sol
der no matter how many changes he may
have made in location"
1t is useless to write TO Washington or
elsewhere, soliciting appointment with the
military postal service. The existing force
of the postal department and the officers
ana enlisted men of the army are to do All
the work. Regimental chapains, 1t is stat
ed, Will generally combine the duties of
postmasters with those of looking after
the spiritual needs of the soldiers.