The Daily Alaska empire., 1944-10-03
RULES GIVEN FOR
 MAILING GIFTS 10 THOSE IN SERVICE

terial and start to plan shopping Postmaster General Frank c Walker advises Americans in. an lnouncing the rules for mailing o1 Christmas gifts for Army and Navy personnel overseas.
 This year the Christmas mailing period for. both Army and Navy overseas forces is the same-Sep- ltember 15 to October Is. After October IS no gift parcel may be mailed to a soldier without the presentation of written request from him. The October deadline is for the States, so Alaska mail must be sent in time to arrive in Seattle by that date.
 The great demands upon ship ping and the need for giving pref erence to arms, munitions, medi- cine and food is the prime reason for the early mailing date. More over, gift parcels must travel great distances to reach Army and Navy personnel who are located at re- mote points, and frequently the transfer of large numbers to new stations necessitates forwarding o1 the packages and additional time is required.
 The response that our people made last year during the overseas mailing period demonstrated that they will cooperate in any measure designed for the welfare of oui armed forces" MT. Walker said "It is not easy to concentrate on Christmas gifts in the midst o1 warm weather here at home but our people recognized the need, and because they want the men and women who are absent from their homes. to know that they are not forgotten at Christmas they took pains to assure prompt delivery o1 Christmas gifts. sdf
 Wrapping And Addressing
 T know that our people will ob- serve the overseas mailing schedule once more this year but I do wish | to stress this fact: More care should be taken in wrapping anc packing parcels securely and ad- dressing them clearly and correctly
 Tt is not pleasant thing to visit a postal concentration center ano see the numbers of Christmas par. cells which will never reach service men and servicewomen. Post office personnel have orders to do every thing they can to effect delivery of such gifts, because we know how important they are for the happiness of the armed forces. Toe frequently, nothing can be done
 T am sorry that anyone evel mentioned that the size of a shos Hbox is the approximate limit fol packages intended for gift mailing overseas. Unhappily, many people became convinced that shoe bo, is the best possible container. Vt must be mindful that these gift. must travel far, with shipping space crowded: If the gifts are tt be protected in transit they mus be packed in boxes made of metal wood, solid fiberboard, or strong double-faced corrugated fiberboard reinforced with strong gummee paper tape or tied with strong twine. If both tape and strong twine are used, so much the better If the outer wrapper is crushed and this is likely to happen--tht loss of contents may be prevented if fiberboard boxes are wrapped il heavy paper.
 We were unable to deliver many parcels which families and friend. sent to men and women oversea. last year because they were crushed in transit and the gift and thu outside wrapper became separated We would have been able to make delivery if the address had beer shown on. the inside wrapper. Wt advise that everyone write the ad- dress of the sender and addresset inside the package as well as out side.
 Christmas gifts mean much te our people overseas Because strong twine, heavy paper boxes and fiber board will prove of real help ir making delivery of gifts possible, urge those at home to begin saving