The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-11-09

in Bordeaux stands a long low build
ing called the Bordeaux United States
mail terminal. 1t was operated by
men, few of whom had less than 10
years in our great postoffice depart
ment service. Postoffice clerks and
railway mail clerks from all over the
United States sorted and made direct
pouches and sacks of first-class mail
and parcel post mail TO cities. routes
and custom houses. This was done
to cause no delay on arrival at port OF
New York. Not one hour was wasted
in New York with this monster batch
of mail.
Homeward bound mail, when writ.
ten and properly addressed in France
or other occupied territory was as
sure of delivery upon reaching the
Bordeaux terminal as is the letter
mailed in ST. Louis to some one in
San Francisco, and if from a soldier it
needed no stamp. During the month
of December, 1918, there were han
died in the Bordeaux terminal, a.,
534, $50 letters or first class mail, 81
percent of which was worked" Dur
ing the month of March, 1918, $4,000
sacks of parcel post mail was handled
and ~95 percent was worked" These
parcels consisted mostly of helmets
guns and souveniers of France, Italy
England, Germany, Switzerland, Spain
and Austria-all to be sent to custom
houses for inspection, then to your
local postoffices for delivery.
Follow a Letter to France.
To send a letter to Mrs. John B
Good, SIG Calumet Ave, Chicago, Ill.
is however quite different matter
from sending one from Mrs. John B
Good to her son in France. or John
B. Good Jr., Company D 81 Pioneer
Infantry, A. E. F., France. Let us
follow this mothers letter to her boy
From Chicago, ILL.,, it goes to the army
terminal Or Chelsea terminal, New
York city. Here it is sorted and put
in the mail for Company D 81 Pion
GERS. The first transport leaving car
ries it and thousands of other letters
After y days it arrives in Bordeaux
The army postmaster at Bordeaux
acting for P. O. No. 705 has received
cable advices and is already to re-
ceive Johns letter with thousands OF
others and to forward them to their
destination. The location of every
postoffice is letter of record in This
office At this the Bordeaux office
the mail pouch is again labeled to
the French town or Vile" where the
81 Pioneers are listed as stationed
Mail cars attached to the fastest trains
in France each conveyed by two sol
diers (called Couriers) carry the sacks
and pouches to their destination.
Transferred Many Times.
Upon receipt the mail again is sort
ed and called for by orderlies, who
take it to the individual to whom it
is addressed. Mrs. John Goods letter
is with the rest, but her son is not
present. A week before Private Good
got hit by a piece Of shrapnel which
broke his arm, and the surgeon has
sent him to Base Hospital No. 81 at
Toul There Pvte. Good has partially
recovered and due to the over-crowd-
ed condition at Toul has been remov-
ed to Base Hospital No. 6 at Bordeaux,
His letter in the meantime has fol
lowed him to Toul. then to Bordeaux;
but by this time Pvte. Good has been
transferred to Beau Dessert hospital
Center a few miles away.
Mrs Goods letter to her boy might
reach him here, but perhaps his
qualification card has showed him to
be an expert stenogra pher in civilian
life and since shortage in this class
has developed at general headquarte
at Chaumont, the boy has been sent
up there to do stenographic work up
on his recovery. His letter meanwhile
has been forwarded from Beau Desert
hospital center to ChaumOnt upon in
formation that he had been moved.