Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 254, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1918 — GET WRITING CRAZE [ARTICLE]

GET WRITING CRAZE

Yankee Fighters Heap Troubles on the Censor. When Out of the Trenches He “Telia ’Em About It” in Reams and Reams. . Paris.—The letter-writing craze has struck the American army. Just as soon as he gets out of the trenches the doughboy washes up, scurries around for pen and paper and sits down to tell ’em all about it. And he tells ’em in Teams and reams. “Well, let’s see,” he says, ,as he meditatively kicks his steel helmet

under his cot “I’ve got to write to ma and pa, Kittle and Johnny Boggs over at Canton, O. Then, I owe Nell Johnson a letter. And I’ve got to scribble a few lines to Uncle Abe and Aunt Minnie. After that I’ll answer those letters of Bill and Tom.” Writing materials —paper and envelopes—are not always plentiful where the doughboy is stationed, and for a while It was doubtful whether the last of his correspondence list would receive their letters, for the supply in the small town stores yvas soon exhausted. But the Y. M. C. A., learning of this scarcity, soon arranged to supply all contingents. It sent' out seven million sheets of writing paper and some 3,500,000 envelopes a month. With the tremendous growth of the expeditionary force, orders have been increased and the estimate for next year is 120,000,000 sheets of paper and 60,000,000 envelopes. This means that the Yanks will use about 720 tons of writing materials—--720 tops of news and comfort for the folks at home. And when the censor officers stop to consider it they grow weak, for it is their duty, along with everything else, to censor the letters and see to it that the soldier usA discretion and doesn’t mention things of military importance.