Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1918-03-18
rSstofIice Department Calls Attention
to Manner in Which Mails are
Oyerburdened to France.


Oyerburdened to France.
Washington. March 1S.-That the
parcel post mails tc soldiers IN France
are greatly burdened by reason OF 50
many unnecessary articles being mail
ed.and that there may arise neees-
sity for curtailing the parcel post
privilege to soldiers is shown in the
following statement given out by the
Poston:ce Department today:
During the present month a govern
nenG transport reached France car
rying to the soldiers at the front 'l2,-
$50 letters and 335 $50 pieces of par
eel post ard newspapers. The letters
weighed s ii tons and the parcels and
papers in excess Of 1i3 tons. by
reason of the bulkiness OF the mail,
this shipment took up in excess OF
1900 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 Tlo,-
99O letters went into 346 sacks but
the pieces of parcel post and papers
required 1852 sacks. When this mail
was unloaded at q French port, the
letters filled completely one OF the
small French cars, which are half the
size of the American mail cars, but
the parcels and papers required a train
of nineteen cars.
The maid that is unloaded from the
ships must frequently wait days az
the por: before cars can be spared
from the heavily burdened railroads
in France to move the mail.
When the United States Army Pos
tai Service was first inaugurated, mail
reached all Of The camps in the coun-
try in one or two days, according TO
distance and train connections. Today
mail, by reason Of its vast volume
end .hc heavy demands On the rail-
roaSs, frequently takes six days to
reach General Pershing's Headquar-
ters, which is located on a trunk line.
According TO a report from New
York ard Chicago CT some of the
contents Of this parcel post matter
10 the troops, a twcive-hour inspec-.
tion cf the parcel post as il was be-
ing, searched for infanables and ex-
plosives disclosed, among other things
/ ,Gl2 boxes OF matches, 361 cans Of
solidifc1 a}cohoi, 224 cigar lighters
fai! Ct these G.. the greatest menace
10 the safety OF the ship,) l,24S cakes,
2,SiS packages Of candies, 1892 bars
CT chocolate, besides countless scores
cf useful as wei as useless articles,
including a bouquet of flowers, a baby
outfit and bottle of whisiiey.
On February 7th. soldier, fired
by devotion to the cause. wrote to
his mother in .ishvillc, North Carroll
M:
Don't take good space Up with
sweets that shoul6 be used yor need
ed ammunition. The candy ana the
cakes taste ine, but they won't Go
much good when the Hun starts his
offensive: 20 dent do anything tc hin-
der the United States"
The question this state Of affairs
raises IS: Why send apples and or
anges that become bruised in the long
transit and rot in the stu!Fy holds OF
the ships, when the recreation rooms
Of The Y. NJ. c. A. and other welfare
organizations serve fruit fresh from
italy and Spain, that takes up no car
go space; why send cakes ana candies
and chewing gum, when The post can
teens sell seventeen varieties Of cakes
and cookies, fresh baked in France
at American prices or a bare shade
higher; why try to send across vast
quantities o. matches which endanger
the ship and which are a penitent:ary
offense to place even in the domestic
mails?
Two-thirls Of the articles, found IN
twelve-hour inspection tour when
working the soldiers parcel post, are
on General pcrshing's canteen LIST and
sold in retail quantities to the soldiers
as 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 author
tiles in France charged with the re-
sponsibi!ity for the success of the war
Is is not clear what will happen at
this rate of growth Of the parcel post
to soldiers abroad when we have a
million. Or a million and half men