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OS3 8 ' 8 *®SsP J i «r ' f ■ -.' • * • !'•■ i p$ ■> T| -Vj -I 1 e ~71 1 >zo ■ : ■ LI ZM ■ I ■ p ~i . 1 5 ,-4 - F- J p- - ! Page 16 POSTMASTER EDWARDS DOES BIG BUSINESS Special Arrangements Made to Handle Christmas Rush. Forty Men on the Jump. If your Christmas mail is delayed, do not blame Camp Postmaster J. J. Ed wards. Probably the busiest spot in all Camp Hancock—and there are many of them—is at the long building on Pennsylvania ave nue, near the old cavalry infirmary. Just across the street from the post of fice is a large tent and Saturday after noon a large force of men were singing and hammering at the same time, build ing a floor for the accommodation of surplus mail. This is but proof of Mr. Edwards' foresight and his desire tp get the Christmas mail into the hands of the soldiers as promptly as possible. It is an emergency tent and if the main building is overcrowded with* packages from home, the new tent will be used. Under normal conditions, there are twenty-nine civilian employees at the camp postoffice. Ten extra men will be added for the Christmas rush and as many more as may be neccessary. On Thank-giving Day, there were more, than 3,000 sacks of mail received at the camp postoffice and Mr. Edwards expects this record will be exceeded greatly when the bulk of the Christmas packages ar rive. Nineteen trucks of 160 sacks each nude their way from the Augusta post office to the camp postoffice on Thanks giving Dav. and this will give some con ception of' the enormous quantity of let ters, post cards, packages, special deliv ery letters to be sorted and placed in the proper regimental pouches. There will be no holiday at the camp postoffice. The windows will be open for all forms of business from 8 o'clock to !> in the evening. Six boys are. employed for the despatch of special deb very let ters, four with automobiles, one with a motorcycle and one on foot, the latter trklrg the nearer letters. One man does nothing but care for the poorly directed mail —a rd there is plenty of it,' although Mr. Edwards says cond’- tlmys have improved greatly since the first month of the camp. The loss of perlshab'e goods has been reduced more th in 75 ner cent because of better wrap ping ard more expeditious delivery. This lias been made possible by the Statistical Department of Division Headquarters, which has a special room in the postoffice building, in which eight to ten orderlies are employed constantly. The depart ment is in charge of Lieutenant Charles E Sohl and whenever the address or name of a soldier is in doubt, reference is made to the card index of the division, where every man’s name is kept for quick reference. , ... „ Each month, the camp re ceives ard forwards from $250,000 to $300,- 000 in money orders. This is in addition to the thousands of dollars sent home through the Y. M. C. A. and other agencies in the camp. At the present time, the postoffice is receiving money for the bovs in camp, the folks back home giving the r sons cash instead Os presents in many cases. . Recently; there have.been annoying de lays in receiving the mail, all the trains beirg from seven to ten hours late. Ihe Atlantic Coast Line is the principal car rier and the two trains daily are away behind time. An Augustan returned from New York a few days ago and his tram was eighteen hours late. This abnormal condition is due to the congestion on the roads and the influx of travel at this season of the year. Mails are despatched from the camp postoffice twice daily—at 1:30 a. m., for the 2:15 train, and at 1:30 p. m„ for the 2:45 -train. CHRISTMASEVE IN AUGUSTA Camp Hancock soldiers who go to Au gusta on Christmas Eve will be deeply interested in the program arranged, for the community Christmas tree celebra tion The band of the 107th Field Ar tillery. which lias made quite a hit in Augusta, will play several selections and Christmas carols will be sung from a screen erected against the Abion hotel. Mr. Tebbs, the Army Y. M. C. A. chorus director, will have charge of the singing. It is quite probable that Mrs. Riheldaffer, a noted soloist of Pittsburg, who is tour ing the camps for the Fosdick Commis sion and was at Camp Hancock last week, will be heard in a solo. The men of the camp are invited cordially to at tend the exercise-j*vhich will take place at the Monument Broad street, DON’T SWEAR Please don’t swear; there may be a gentleman present. This motto is to be found at several places in the camp,> and some men have cards bearing the same, which they pass to a fellow who uses improper language. A similar sentiment is attributed to Gen eral Grant, who was sitting in His tent with his staff present when an officer entered and. after glancing around, said: “There are no ladies present and 1 have a good story to tell." General Grant interrupted, saying “But there are some gentlemen present." The story was not told. A few davs ago a young soldier in re buking another for profanity, said to him: “There are a lot of fellows in this camp that cannot cuss without swearing." This seems to be a truism. There are many of us who thoughtless ly use blasphemous language and swear and cuss without meaning it, who would be much surprised if our language were reproduced on. a phonograph record and played for our benefit. “Clean Sport, Clean Speech and Clean Habits” is a good motto for any’ of us. MARRIED. Lieutenant Kirtland Adams of Bat tery C, 109th Field Artillery, of Nan ticoke, Pa., and Miss Jessie Arnold, one of Lebanon’s charming young 4vomen, were married last August. The ro mance began during the summer en campment of the regiment at Mt. Gret na during the summer of 1915. Favors, please, lieutenant. Thank you! TRENCH AND CAMP A CHRISTMAS HYMN ! I I hi llj Ji |ji I' ww- '• Si ' HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS ! SING. nffigraHi Hark! The Herald angels sing w R UmwßH "Glory to the new-born King”; |®j||| 1 Peace on earth and mercy mild; ||| & |||| I ’ffl||lis|| God and sinners reconciled. !i jllm Joyful all ye nations rise, P 111 Wffllfi Join the triurn in the skies; | I With angelic hosts proclaim: I I “Christ is born in Bethlehem.” • ji It!f1 Hark! the herald angels sing; II th IIIIHII’IM “Glory to the new-born King.” 11l i»jJ " lit® l||n|||fi Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace; ’HI MbIhIIII Hail the Son of Righteousness, I |i l| i ||!||| 1 J" Light and life to all He brings, L jl' ylgr Risen with healing in His wings, lh I ’ Mild He lays His glory by, . I Hili hl I* Born that men no more may die; ill l|(li ill! Bojti to raise the sons of earth, | | |ll| EXI | Born to give them second birth. j| JR Ujfjil I Hark! the herald angels sing; hWpk fi "Glory to the new-born King.” jl|y 111 ii ‘ IS SAMMIES WILL NOT EXCHANGE GREETINGS Christmas With the American Troops in France. Holiday if Germans Don’t Get Excited. There will be no holiday trench fra ternizing between Fritz and Sammy op the American front this Christmas. Fritz may try it, but he won’t get far. This came officiary from the war de partment. When Fritz pokes his seductive little Yuletide trees up over the trench to pin the American section they will get the same dose the Tommies and Poilus gaev them last year when they shot them to pieces as fast as they ap peared. There 'will be no American reply to Fritz’s bellowed greetings, either. Guns Wilt Answer. "When he roars his gutterals across No Man’s Land, the Sammies will let their guns answer him. With the pic ture of their first killed and wounded fresh in mind, it is considered unlikely by war department officials that the American boys will so much as counte nance a lull in the firing Christmas eve or Christmas day- With broad hints of a peace offer trickling through from Amsterdam, it is considered cei’tain the Boche will evince a desire to be friendly during the holidays. But the only present Sammy has for Fritz is a lot of nice. Christmas explosives, which will not only be delivered to the Teuton via gunpowder, but also opened up and scattered around among him lavishly. Sammy’s only Christmas greeting to him will be “fight” and all his Christ mas visits will be paid with the point of his bayonet preceding him. Then efor Business. “Primarily.” said the official decla ration at the war department today, “there is no spirit of fraternization among our troops. They are there for business, not pleasure. “Then, too, our command in France is in very close touch with the French. They understand that situation thor oughly and know precisely how to deal with it. “If it is found advisable to make it clear to the American troops that no tinge of comradeship is to be shown in the holiday week fighting. General Pershing might issue a general order, but it is not believed this will be ne cessary.” General Pershing has proclaimed Christmas and New’ Year’s Day holi days. The orders said that no work is to b eperformed on the two holidays that is not absolutely essential. DR. HESSBECOMES ' OFFICIAL LECTURER Rev. William Milton Hess, Ph. D., who for several months was building secretary at Hut No. 79, and who went to New York City a few days ago, has been assigned to the Eastern depart ment and will visit all the camps for the purpose of lecturing among the men on why we are at war. Dr. Hess contributed some articles to Trench and Camp recently, in which he set forth his views, and these will be the basis of his instructional talks <•£»- where. HANCOCK RED CROSS DOES NOT CHARGE Field Director Makes Emphatic Denial. Submits Division Me morandum As Proof. In reply to a statement that a rumor was being circulated in Augusta that the Red Crosfi society in the camps was charging the soldiers for sweaters and other woolen garments, Field Di rector William C. Denny of the Camp Hancock branch, most emphatically declared such statement to be untrue, and in proof of his assertion, submit ted the following memorandum, issued in October, when Brigadier General Price ‘was in command: Headquarters Twenty-eighth Division, Camp Hancock, Augusta, Georgia. October 15, 1917. MEMORANDUM. The following is published for the information and guidance of all Com manding Officers: It having been charged that Red Cross supplies, to-wit: sweaters and other woolen garments, have been il legally sold to soldiers of the 28th Di vision—all Company Commanders will make diligent inquiry and immediately report to Division Headquarters or William C. Denny, Field Director Camp Service, American Red Cross. Camp Hancock, the name of any soldier who has purchased a sweater or any other woolen garment or any Red Cross sup plies from any person representing himself or herself to be a representa tive or agent of the American Red Cross, together with the name of such person selling such article, the price paid therefor, and the time and place of such Scilc Red Cross supplies ARE NOT SOLD to soldiers, but will be GIVEN to them upon proper requisition, approved by Division Headquarters, and all soldiers are required to report to their Com pany Commanders any attempt to sell them such supplies. By command of Brigadier General Price: David J. Davis, Lieut. Col., Division Adjutant. New Director For Camp Theatre With the arrival of G. H. Thomas in camp last week, there is a new man ager at the tent of the Fosdick Com mission, known familiarly as the Red path tent. Heheafter the amusement tent on the Wrightsboro Road will be known as "Liberty Tent.” This is the official name to be used in all . the camps and cantonments for the thea ters, tents and auditoriums. Mr. Thomas is an experienced man ager in the theatrical profession and succeeds W. G. Holden, who returns to his duties with the Redpath Bureau as contract manager. It is the intention to have attractions in Liberty Tent three to four nights each week and Mr. Hhomas is planning to make the tent more comfortable by installing two ad ditional stoves. On Thursday night, the Navy Girls will be the attraction and "will remain for a few days. They were stars with Gilbert & Sullivan’s Mikado Company land present a mixed program. Dec. 24, 1917. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS : DISTRIBUTE PACKAGES Services Christmas Morning’. Building Being Painted. Fine Band Concert. BY R. J .McGREEVY, JR. The advent of the Christmas season has reflected it’s accompanying in crease of correspondence ct Knights of Columbus building at Camp Han cock in a realistic fashion. The de luge of packages containing every thing from souvenirs of the Southland to jewelry and precious stones has steadily increased with the approach ing festival. On Thursday of last week, over 3,000 pieces of mail were left at the building for mailing. Nor is the remembrance of the occasion restricted to the soldiers themselves. Over 200 packages have been mailed in care of the Knights of Columbus for distribution to various parts of the camp. Some apparently are filled with 6 .od things to eat; others contain some articles of comfort, and still others represent merely the inter change of presents which is custo mary under usual conditions. Volun teer help has assisted in the distri bution of the packages, and has great ly lessened the labor which the hand ling of this work would otherwise 1 entail. Extensive preparations are being made for the entertainment of the soldiers during the coming Christmas week, and no effort is being spared that would tend to produce this result. Elaborate programs have been arrang ed for each evening of-the week; the hall has been decorated to comfort with the spirit of the feast in as much as it is possible, and the atmosphere of “home” has been cultivated in every phase of the arrangements. Services will be held practically every half hour Christmas morning, and if present plans are passible a midnight mass will be celebrated on Christmas eve. The weekly program of ■ entertain ment was carried through without ex ception. On Monday evening, the 112th Infantry Band, rendered a much ap preciated concert to a large attendance. It seems that no matter how much of it he may hear, the average soldier never loses his liking for music, and the brand of music, which the 112th Band, under Leader Miller puts forth, only tends to accentuate his appre ciation of music in general. On Tuesday evening, entertainers from Augusta gave a concert which received continued applause from the men. Several soloists of merit; mu sicians of exceptional talent, and the spirit which marks such entertain ments, all made to the success of this evening production. In response to encores, the vocalists led the men in the singing of popular songs. On ’Thursday evening the weekly boxing contests were held, and some interesting bouts were staged. Jackie Clark made his first ring appearance in tbe building in an exhibition bout. Jackie has arranged a novelty bout for the near future, in which he is to box five men. one after the other. He has challenged any men in the camp to avail themselves of this offer. Matt Gorman officiated as referee. During the week painting on the building was begun and it will soon appear in its new imitation brick garb. Work on the building in the artillery section is also being pushed forward, and it is hoped will soon be completed. GIFTS FOR SOLDIERS We have received at the Y. M. C._A. a number of tokens for soldiers at Camp Hancock and these will be distributed from our various buildings, as the donors suggest. Most of the packages are marked, “For Friendless Soldiers,’ and so far as possible, they will be sent to this class of men. 4mong the gifts was an attractive scrap book compiled by the eighth grade school children of Donora, fa. The book contains a well arranged and very com prehensive array of poems and articles on the war. besides a number of clever draw- , ings. It reflects great credit on the teach er and her pupils. One of the appreciated gifts was a box containing twenty Christmas fruit cakes, done up in unusually neat packages.- The cakes were made by the girlsl do mestic science department of the hittn Avenue High School. Pittsburg, and were addressed to friendless soldiers. It is tne intention to have these cakes sent to the men in quarantine? NEW FRENCH INSTRUCTOR. Prof. W. T. Turk of Athens. Ga., has assumed supervision of French instruc tion for the Y. M. C. A. at Camp Han cock and is on the job making a sur vey of conditions and setting up seve ral new classes. Professor Turkis a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he later taught French and Spanish for several vears. and last year took a special course in those languages at Columbia University. He has lived in France, where he made a critical study of the language and is well qualified to super vise the work at Camp Hancock. At the present time his assistants are Mme. PtEhaud and Miss Hill, who have given a great deal of time to the work. Professor Turk would like the assistance o' additional instructors. The warm wave arrived just in time. ! Wood ard coal supplies, so far as the I fellows were ednesmed, were nearly ex- J hausted.