South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-02-18
FRENCH LETTERS
co THROUGH POST
Of SWITZERLAND
Mail From Home to Prisoners
of War in Striving Countries
Pass Through Hands OF Meu-
trail Nation.

BERNIE, switzerland, Feb. 1s.-It
was with a feeling OF personal in
terest that / watched the sorting OF
a portion Of the 5000 communica-
tiOns which on an average pass
through the Swiss transit post" in
a single day for the prisoners OF war
in rance and Germany At one
time | was cut OF also by war from
the outside world for four long
months, and / recollect well the ar
rival of the first bach of mail bags,
the Impotence with which We await
ed the sorting of their contents, and
the handing over of our little bun
dies OF letters.
/ recOllect, too, the shock when
1 noticed a black-bOrdered letter
peeping out from my bundle. Oh.
the number of black-bordered en-
velopes now passing through this
well-intentiOned Swiss go-between
Office Of the prisoners of war and
their relatives, Oh, the number of
letters which, instead of bringing
JOY to the recipients, will be received
in the encampments in France and
Germany with tears and sadness.
The Swiss government has gener-
ously made itself the gratuitOus in
termediary for enabling prisoners to
keep in touch with their relatives;
ii, amongst the thousands of money
orders, small parcels of comforts,
and welcome letters it forwards daily
into both countries there is an all
too terrible proportion of black-bOr-
dered envelopes, it does not detract
from the humanitarian character of
the enterprise
Transfer Money.
The first department | visited was
that which deals with the transfer of
money to the prisoners. In both
France and Germany money orders
on large-sized distinctive cOlored
cards are issued for the payment of
money 10 prisoners of war. These
are not enclosed in envelopes, but
are addressed to the .transit-post"
at Berne. Here they are replaced
by a Swiss order for payment on
yellow card, which is hOnOred by the
postal authorities in France and Ger
many respectively. No fewer than
4 o girl clerks are employed in the
work OF transferring the details OF
the original order, French or Ger
man, which ever it may be, to the
neutral Swiss order, and although
there is frequently a delay of 12 or
% days in the arrival of the order
from the town of origin into the
Berne Office there is never a delay
exceeding three days in the Berne
transit post.
Finds Variety of Sums.
Out of curiosity l turned over a
pile of French and German orders.
/ found some for such small amounts
as 80 centimes and one mark, 10
and 20 cents, but the average seemed
10 be about S1.00. From Sept. 1
TO the end of the year the transit
post" at Berne had been the medium
through which 221,6S7 money ord
ers, representing 100000, were
transmitted TO French prisoners in
Germany. and 81 ,045 money orders,
representing $4,000 to German
prisoners IN France Since Dec. q.
the same organization is undertake
ing the transfer of money to Russian
prisoners in AustrO-Hungary and to
AustrO-Hungarian prisoners in Rus
STA. As the neutral Swiss order has
to be returned TO Berne for the pur-
poses of settlement of the sums paid
out to prisoners of the respective
governments, it has become a val
liable document indicating the fate
Of prisoners. often it has been the
means of knowing whether miss
ing" is alive or dead.
Is Conducted Gratis.
The postal department for the re-
expedition OF letters. postcards and
small parcels TO prisoners of war is
not less interesting 1t is run. also
gratuitOusly, by the Swiss military