The Arizona copper camp. [volume] (Ray, Ariz.) 1910-1920, 1918-04-06
partment today:

partment today:
In March a government transport
reached France carrying to the SOL
diers at the front 1880 letters and
335,S40 pieces of parcel post and
newspapers The letters weighed
eight and one-quarter tons and the
parcels and papers in excess of 113
tons. By reason of the bulkiness of
the mail, this shipment took up in
excess of 10000 cubic feet of space
on the transport. This means a
slice of the ships cargo space 100
feet long, 10 feet high and IL feet
wide. The 715,9SO letters went
into 346 sacks but the pieces of par
eel post and papers required 1882
sacks. When this mail was I'M
loaded at French port, the letters
filled completely one of the French
cars, which are half the size of the
American mail cars, but the parcels
and papers required train of 10
cars.
The mail that is unloaded from
the ships most frequently wait days
at port before cars can be spared
from the heavily burdened railroads
in France to move the mails.
When the United States army pos
tai service was first inaugurated,
mail reached all the camps in the
country in one to two days, accord
ing to distance and train connections.
Today mail, by reason of it's vast vol
ume and the heavy demands on the
railroads, frequently takes six days
to reach General Pershing's head
quarters, which is located on a trunk
line.
Some Collection is Found
According to report from New
York and Chicago of some of the
contents of this parcel post matter
to the troops, a 12-hour inspection OF
the parcel post as it was being
searched for inflammables and ex
plosives disclosed, among. other
hings, 1,642 boxes of matches, 361
cans of solidified alcohol, 224 cigar
lighters Gall of these of the greatest
menace to the safety of the ship
1,248 cakes, 1878 packages of candles
| 1882 bars of chocolate, besides count
less scores of useful as well as use
less articles, including a bouquet oil
artificial flowers, a baby outfit AND
+ a bottle of whiskey.
| On February 7, a soldier fired by
devotion to the cause, wrote to his
mother in Ashville, North Carolina:
Don't take good space up with
sweets that should be used fol
needed ammunition. The candy
and the cakes taste fine, but they
won't do much good when the Hun
starts his offensive; so don't do any
thing to hinder the United States"
The question. this state of affairs
raises is: Why send apples AND
| oranges that become bruised in the
long transit and rot in the stuffy
holds of the ships, when the recrea
ton rooms of the Y. M. G. A. and
other welfare organizations serve
fresh fruit from Italy and Spain that
takes up no cargo space; why send
cakes and candies and chewing gum
when the post canteens sell II va
rieties of cakes and cookies, fresh
baked from France at American
prices or a bare shade higher; why
try to send across vast quantities of
matches which endanger the ship
and which are a penitentiary offense
to place even in the domestic mails
Could Be Bought at Canteen
Two-thirds of the articles found in
a II hour inspection tour when work
ing the soldiers parcel post, are on
General Pershing's canteen list and
sold in retail quantities to the soldiers
at practically wholesale prices.
The question will have to be an
swered by the relatives of the sol
diers or it will, of military necessity,
be answered drastically by the au-
thorities in France charged with the
responsibility for the success of
this war.