Chicago Tribune
DON'T WRITE BAD NEWS TO
TROOPS, U. S. PLEA TO KIN
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Washington, D.C., April 22. — Families of soldiers training in the United States were asked today by the war department not to write alarming or discouraging letters to men. Division commanders have reported that in many cases such letters have so worried the soldiers that they have hurried home without leave, thus violating the rules and making themselves liable to punishment. In some instances the men, reluctant to face the penalty, have deserted.
"Every soldier wants to receive letters from home," said the war department's statement.
"They should be cheerful, hopeful, and appreciative of the sacrifice that he is making for his country. They should be full of family incidents and cheerful home gossip. They should protect him from the trifling alarms and the small annoyances of every day life. They should encourage him by giving full confidence that his family and his friends stand behind him in the great enterprise he has undertaken.
