Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-11-07
THE NATIONS SCAPlTAL.
Crying Needs in the Military
Signal Service.
Reof6lliunpa and Reduction Of The
Corps Demanded.
eec'y Blaine In His New aouss Relief
Proposed for Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, Nov. q.
| The report Of General Adolphus W.
Greedy, chief signal officer Of the army, to
Secretary Proctor of the operations Of the
signal service for the year ending June 80,
1859. says: In the performslce Of strictly
military duties, which by Law devote We upon
him. the chief signal officer found himself
seriously embarrassed by the utter lack of
facilities for uslng or caring for field tele-
graph trains or other signal equipments under
his charge for the practical training and
drilling of officers and enlisted men Of the
! signal corps BY the need Of liberal appropria-
tions. II goes without saying. under such
conditions, that the officers and men Of the
service are gradually but surely retrogradins
- regards military duties. The deteri0ra-
ton of the army in military signalling has
steadily increased and At the end Of this 6scal
year the condition of signal instruction in
the army is At the lowest ebb ever known.
He recommends that instruction in art
military signalling be abandoned. or that
ample material and moral support be given
the chief, so that he may raise it to . high
standard of efficiency.
Gen Greedy calls attention to the fact that
under the present conditions the forecast
officer can devote barely half minute to all
district. The demand for weather forecasts
is continually increasing and they are appre-
ciated in value in the estimate of the public.
The percentages of successful forecasts
made by Prof. Chas. +. Marvin. are: For
weather, 81 4; temperature. rs g; general
average, 81.
On the Pacific coast territory, in charge
of Lieutenant j. +. Maxfeld, 50 per cent.
were successful forecasts in 1883 In the
past year less than 6 per cent Of the cold
waves occurred east Of the Mississippi and
IL per cent. west without display signals
The system of the State weather services CO.
operating with the national bureau covers 81
States.
Gen. Greely says; Appropriations avail
able for carrying on river observations are
insufficient to maintain daily observations
throughout the year at important stations and
not even large enough to enable observations
to be made for q portion of the year for the
benefit Of various communities 10 the south
While this Office is enabled on general and
meteorological grounds, to fOrecast twelve to
twenty fours in advance, severe and destruc
tive floods occurred in May, 1889, /, Penn.
sylvsnia, Maryland, Western New York and
West Virginia and had complete riser and
flood service, supplemented by rainfall sta
tons. been in operation it wOuli have re.
suited in more de finite forecasts and = con-
sequent great benefit to the general public
There was in operation At the end of the year
1915 miles of military telegraph lines and
GA telegraph or telephone Offices; receipts
$7l76, and cost of maintenance over $780,
600. Gen. Greeley's estimates for 1891 ag-
gregate $s49. .272, only S4792 more than for
the current year, while the work Of the
bureau has increased 10 per cent
Gen. Greedy says: Reorganization and
reduction of the signal corps 10 urged on the
grounds of justice, efficiency and economy.
Instead of twenty officers now authorised by
law the duties could be performed by thir-
teen, provided they were competent"