The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1918-03-25
MUST REDUCE
THE MAIL SENT
TO SOLDIERS
DEPARTMENT WARNS
PATRONS AGAINST CLOGGING
THE MAILS
STOP USELESS MATTER
THOUSANDS OF TONS OF STUFF
SENT THAT CAN BE SECURED
AT THE FRONT

That the parcel post mails to SOL
diers in France are greatly burdened
by reason of so many unnecessary ar
ticles being mailed, and that there
may arise necessity for curtailing
the parcel post privilege to soldiers
are shown in the following statement
given out by the postoffice depart
; ment:
Recently a government transport
reached France carrying to the SOL
diers at the front 715,9S0 letters and
335,840 pieces of parcel post and news
papers. The letters weighed 8 IA
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 slice of the ships cargo space
100 feet long, 10 feet high, and IL feet
wide The 715,98O letters went. into
346 sacks but the pieces of parcel post
and mail was unloaded at 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 re-
quired a. train of 19 cars.
Waits for Days on Cars
The mail that is unloaded from the
ships must frequently wait days at the
port before cars can be spared from
the heavily burdened railroads in
France to move the mail.
When the United States army postal
service was first inaugurated mail
reached all of the camps in the country
in one to two days, according to dis
tance and train connections Today
mail, by reason of its vast volume and
the heavy demands on the railroads,
frequently takes six days to reach
General Pershing's headquarters.
Some of Articles Found In Mails
According to report from New
York and Chicago of some of the con-
tents of this parcel post matter to the
troops, a 12-hour inspection of the
parcel post as it was being searched |
for inflammables and explosives dis
closed, among other things, 1912 boxes
of matches, 361 cans of solidified al
cohol, 224 cigar lighters (all of these |
of the greatest menace to the safety
of the ship, 1248 cakes, 1918 packages /
of candies, 1882 bars of chocolate, be- +,
sides countless scores of useful, as |
we'll as useless, articles, including a
bouquet of artificial flowers, a baby |
outfit, and bottle of whisky.
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 stuffy holds of
The ships, when the recreation rooms
If the Young Mems Christian associa
ion and other welfare organizations
serve fruit fresh from Italy and Spain,
hat takes up no cargo space; why
send cakes and candies and chewing
gum, when the post canteens sell II
rarieties of cakes and cookies, fresh
baked in France, at American prices,
" a bare shade higher; why try to
end across vast quantities of
matches, which endanger the ship
nd which is a penitentiary offense to
lace even in the domestic mails?
Can Buy Same Articles in France
Two-thirds of the articles found in a
2-hour inspection tour when working
be soldiers parcel post are on Gen
raj Pershing's canteen list and sold
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