The Washington herald., 1918-09-01

ON the Outlook an interesting article on t
ibject of soldiers mail:
Letters addressed to our soldiers abroad
are despatched by the Postoffice Department,
so it asserts, without avoidable delay. There
is of course necessary delay nowadays. Be
fore the war mail boats went to Europe in
from five to ten days. but now many boats
carrying the mails go with convoy, and that
often delays the trip to fortnight, or even
longer. This, however, does not excuse the
nondelivery of letters which have already
arrived in Europe. The distribution and
handling of the soldiers mail abroad Is now
under the charge of the War Department
A friend of the Outlook who recently re-
turned from France reported that, so far as
he could see, there was about one postal
agent to every 1900 soldiers.
This might explain some of the delay in
receiving mail reported in the United States
Senate on April by. Mr.. johnson, of Cali
fornia. We infer that he spoke of his son in
saying; h2gi. 49,, o. .,.. .o,o IL. e.
home, finds day after day that there is no
mail for him, even though the mail comes in
and letters have been written to him, it is
the cruelest thing you can do to that lad.
Il speak from personal experience with at
least one soldier in France. l say to you that
he did not receive single letter in month
from his people, yet they wrote to him four
times week. He cabled in distress to know
what had happened to his people at home.
i say 10 you tnat the letters tnat passed
between us numbered. He received one
in six of mine. / received one in four of
his. That has been the situation since last
March"
This ELECTED number of confrmatory let
ters to Senator Johnson, which on August
he read to the Senate. letter from Penn
sylvania said that soldier had left Newl
port News on May 8, since which date FIVE
letters per week had been mailed to him,
and yet he had received but six letters. A
LEFT
sailing early in May, and yet on June IL
he was still waiting for letter, though his
family had written regularly. Another letter
stated that sixty letters had been forwarded
to soldier in a Massachusetts, regiment
since March. and yet by June IS but two of
them had been received. letter from West
Virginia reported answers at all to letters
written. and ask: Where does this undeliver-
it not come back to the writer, as it is al
ways sent in return envelopes" There were
other similar letters.
Mr.. Otto Kahn, who. though born in Ger
many, is true American patriot, upon his
recent return from France wrote to Senator
Johnson as follows:
"No one who has not been with our army
abroad can appreciate what it means to those
splendid fellows, uncomplaning as they are,
under any and all unavoidable hardships
and prvations, to receive letters from home,
and to feel that their own letters reach their
destination with reasonable promptness and
regularity.
"The ever-present feeling OF the long dis
tance separating them from home is per-
haps the one which is hardest for them to
get accustomed to and to overcome. 1t
has been made touchingly manifest to me in
many instances. No remedy is more eff
cacous against what the Germans call Helm
web (there is no equally descriptive word in
the English language-the literal translation
being ache for honey than frequent and
reasonable speedy intercourse by letter. Our
boys aching and behaving so magnificent
ly that the very least we can do is to spare
them avoidable hardships and heartburnings"
We trust that the War Department has al
ready speeded up the work of sparing these
additional and avoidable hardships and heart
burnings.