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Show I XMAS MAILING INFORMATION FOR OVERSEAS MAIL I Save strong string and box material and start to plan shop-i shop-i puiL', Postmaster General Frank ! C. Walke r advises Americans in j announcing the rules for mailing ' of Christmas gifts for Army and ! Navy personnel overseas. I This year the Christmas mailing mail-ing period for both Army and i Navy overseas forces is the same, Si ptember 15 to October 15. After Af-ter October 15 no rift oarcel may be mailed to a soldier without the presentation of a written re quest from him. The great demands upon shipping ship-ping and the need for giving preference to arms, munitions, medicine and food is the prime reason for the early mailing date. Moreover, gift parcels must tra-i tra-i vel great distances to reach Army I and Navy personnel who are located lo-cated at remote points, and frequently fre-quently tne transfer of large numbers to new stations necessitates necessi-tates forwarding of the packages and additional time is required. The response that our people made last year during the over- I seas mailing period demonstrated demonstrat-ed that they will cooperate in t any measure designed for the welfare of our armed forces personnel, per-sonnel, Mr. Walker said. 'It is not easy to concentrate on Christmas Christ-mas gifts in the midst of 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 of Christmas gifts. 'I know that our people will observe the overseas mailing schedule once more this year but I do wish to stress this fact: More care must be taken in wrapping and packing parcels securely and addressing them clearly and correctly. cor-rectly. 'I am sorry that anyone ever mentioned that the size of a shoe box is the approximate limit for packages intended for gift mailings mail-ings overseas. Unhappily many people became convinced that a shoe box is the best possible container. con-tainer. We must be mindful that these gifts must travel far. with shipping space crowded. If the Rifts are to be protected in transit tran-sit they must be packed in boxes made of metal, wood, solid fiber-board, fiber-board, or strong double-faced corrugated fiberboard, reinforced with strong summed 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 the loss of contents may be prevented prevent-ed if fiberboard boxes are wrapped wrap-ped in heavy paper. 'We are unable to deliver many parcels which families and friends sent to men and women overseas last year because they were crushed in transit and the gift and the outside wrapper became be-came separated. We would have been able to make delivery if the address had been shown on the inside wrapper. We advise that everyone write the address of the sender andaddressee inside in-side the package as well as outside. Gifts enclosed in glass should be substantially packed to avoid breakage. Sharp instruments, such as razors and knives must have their edges and points protected pro-tected so that they cannot cut through the coverings and injure postal personnel or damage other packages. Relatives and friends who know that the personnel in the armed services to whom they plan to send gifts are at far distant dis-tant points should begin to mail their packages on the opening day September 15 of the mailing period. Last year late mailings, causing concentration of great numbers of packages in the final days of the mailing period, threatened to defeat the program. It is stressed that success suc-cess can be assured, with unlimited un-limited personnel and facilities available, only if the public gives giv-es full cooperation through prompt mailings of the overseas gift parcels from the opening of the mailing period. o Christmas gifts mean much to our people overseas. Because strong twine, heavy paper and boxes and fiberboard will prove of real help in making delivery of gifts pissible I urge those at home to begin saving these materials ma-terials now. As time goes on they are going to become even more scarce than they are now.' Among the more important rules for Christmas mailings to the armed forces overseas are the following: The parcel must not exceed five pounds, and must not be more than 15 inches in' length or 36 inches in length and girth combined. It should be marked Christmas parcel' so that it may be given special attention to assure as-sure its arrival before December Decem-ber 25. Not more than one parcel may be mailed in any one week to the same member of the armed forces by or in behalf of the same mailer. When combination packages are made up of such items as miscellaneous toilet articles, hard candjes, soaps, etc., the contents should, be tightly packed so that they will not become loosened in transit and damage the contents con-tents or the cover. Hard candies, nuts, carmels (including those covered with chocolate), cookies, fruit cake, and chocolate bars individually in-dividually wrapped in waxed paper. should be enclosed in inner in-ner boxes of wood, metal, or cardboard. Perishable goods, such as fruits and vegetables that may spoil, are prohibited. Intoxicants, inflammable in-flammable materials such as matches or lighter fluids, poisons, and anything that may damage other mail also are prohibited. |