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Show PARCELS FOR MEN IN TRENCHES RIFLED Pershing Asked to Make Report; Iowa Man Makes Complaint to War Department. "WASHINGTON, Jan. 27. Reporting on complaints that Christmas parcels for American soldiers in France were damaged dam-aged and rifled, Major General Shanks, commanding at the port of embarkation, has informed the war department that all of some 200,000 packages handled were sent forward in proper shape, although it was necessary to rebox 11,000 received from the postal service in damaged condition. con-dition. General Pershing now has been asked to report on the condition in which the parcels arrived on l he other side and were delivered. The complaints came lo the department from J. J. Hughes of Council Bluffs, Iowa, who said he had been advised that nine out of ten of the packages had been I broken opeip and rifled before they reached t.'.e men, and that the report was being used by pro -Germans and pacifists to make trouble. Genera! Shanks sent the department a report by Colonel G. J-f. McManus, who : directed the handling of the Christmas ! boxes at the port of embarkation, detail-I detail-I ing the unusual precautions taken to safe-; safe-; guard them. |