Evening star., 1944-10-15
Drive Launched
10 Speed YuIe
Gifts Overseas
Two Postal Offices
Open Today to Take
Care Of Big Rush

midnight tomorrow, the Governments
and organized merchants in WASH
ington last night launched an in
tensive campaign to get all other
out-of-town Christmas gifts in tho
mail by December /.
Two postal stations will be open
today for receipt of overseas Christ
mas packages, Postmaster Vincent
G. Burke announced last night. They
are the main Office at North Capitol
street and Massachusetts avenue,
and the Benjamin Franklin Station
in the Post Office Department Build.
ing, Twelfth and Pennsylvania ave-
nue. NV.
Overseas mail will be received for
delivery before Christmas at these
two stations and at all branch post
offices throughout the city tomor-
row, during their regular office
hours. These hours vary with the
stations.
The campaign to buy early and
mail early for out-of town Christ
mas gifts will be carried out more
intensively than ever this year. the
Merchants and Manufacturers AS
sociation announced. In doing this
the association said it was respond
ing to appeals made by both the
Postmaster General and the Director
OF the once of Defense Transpor-
tation.
The slogan this year will be Uncle
Sam Says: Mail Christmas Gifts in
November. 1t is expected to ap-
pear prominently in advertising Of
all kinds, placards, posters, and
other messages appealing to the pub
lie.
The campaign is needed especially
this year. the Merchants and Man.
ufacturers Association says in its
bulletin, due to the fact that rail-
road facilities will be taxed to their
limit with war materials, and the
post offices will be handicapped by
shortage of workers.
The ODT, in a statement on
Christmas mail, predicte that
"Christmas-gift sending" this year
is expected to exceed that of 1943
by Is per cent.
Gifts will travel greater distances,
it was pointed out, due to wartime
population dislocation. Nationwide
transportation and local delivery of
Christmas packages, plus heavy
holiday furlough travel. when all
transportation facilities are already
overburdened by wartime demands"
said the ODT, create a major ma
tional problem"
The solution" to this problem,
said ODT, was reached by fixing
December l as the final date by
which Christmas gifts must be sent
if delivery by Christmas is expected.
Postmaster Burke last night pre-
dicted there would be another rec
ord-breaking food of overseas mail
reaching the post office today and
tomorrow before the deadline falls.
Yesterday was a heavy day, he ex-
planned, estimating that the volume
of mail so far this year was about
four times as great as last year
for servicemen out of the country.
The rain of last week postponed
both shopping and mailing by many
people, he pointed out. This prob
ably will result in a still heavier
day tomorrow.
Strict regulations govern the size,
weight and security of overseas
packages, Mr.. Burke emphasized.
Each package must not weigh more
than pounds. 1t must be no
longer than Is inches, not more
than 36 inches in both length and
girth combined. Furthermore, it
must be securely tied. The adhesive
paper which some people have tried
to use to seal cardboard boxes is
not sufficiently secure, he explained.
Each package must be tide with
string or rope. 1t need not be wrap
ped with paper if the box is strong
and well tied, he said. Some postal
clerks in certain armed-service sta
tions were reported last night to be
requiring that all packages be
wrapped with paper This is not
necessary under regulations of the
Post Office Department, Mr.. Burke
explained. The Government still
is trying to save paper.
Stores were beseiged by Gus
toners yesterday doing last-minute
buying of gifts, and cardboard con-
tainers. Most stores were entirely
out OF the corrugated box con-
tainers, but one firm received 1000
yesterday morning and was selling
them at 10 cents each. One store
still had on hand wooden boxes
which were selling at SIS cents each.
After midnight tomorrow, the
post office will require letter from
a soldier before package may be
mailed to him overseas. Such a
letter is not required today or to-
morrow for Christmas package.
No letter is required at any time
to send package to a man in the
Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard,
and such a package may be in
sured and registered. Only a
package of ounces or less may
be registered If going to a soldier
in the Army but it may not be in
sured.
The War Department estimates
that the volume of overseas Christ
mas mail now moving throughout
the world to American soldiers rep
resents the greatest number of pack
ages ever sent overseas in a SIM
liar period, either in peace or war.
Up to and including October Z,
said a statement, more than 803
carloads of Christmas packages for
soldiers outside the United States
had been received at the several
Army post offices. This represents
561, 1886 sacks OF parcel post, which
in turn amounts to 6,743,820 indi-
vidual packages. Extreme care'
should be exercised in addressing
overseas mail, the War Department
says. Always include the soldiers
full name, middle initial, Army Sc
rial number, service organization
and unit, Army post Office tAPO)
number and the postmaster at the
port of embarkation through which
the, mail Is routed.