Evening star., 1897-04-16
CIPHER MESSAGES
Government Communications Hedged
in With Mystery.
HOW FHE CODES ARE PREPARED
Efforts Used to Keep the Key a
Secret.
TIM E OF w A r

When by chance an official key to one of
the regular cipher codes used in the gov
ernment service is purposely or accident
ally divulged, it is, of course, necessary to
revise the code and issue new cipher books
to all those instrusted with them. Three of
the executive departments have regular
secret cipher systems-the State, War and
Navy departments. All the details con-
Cerning these codes are shrouded in the
deepest secrecy. Only trusted officials are
allowed to possess the keys. The Navy
Department has claimed that its code can
not possibly be solved by any one not hold
ing key. The State Department not long
ago adopted the Navy Departments cipher.
hence officers in the two services may I'M
derstand each other in this occult Ian
guage. The War Department employs its
own cipher.
Each official initiated into the mysteries
of the official cryptograph is custodian of
a sacred cipher book, which is key o. die
ticnary showing the letters of the alphabet,
and elementary mathematical characters
with their equivalents. Each cipher book
is printed under the surveillance of trust
ed government official. and care is taken
that no proof sheets nor loose pages shall
fail into the hands of those not entitled to
them. Each book is numbered and regis
tered. The official to whom it is intrusted
must lock it in his safe when ii is not in
use. 1t should be sealed with wax that
rot even an inferior in the custodian's of
flee may have access to it without the lat
ter's knowledge.
kilograms from representatives of the
State, War and Navy depa rtrnents in for
the great transoceanic cables and inland
commercial telegraph lines. Our govern
ment, OF course, maintains no official wire
across the ocean. Cipher kilograms and
cablegrams, just as would ordinary dis
patches come into the departments after
having gone through the mill. but are rot
intellisible to any of the operators who
handle them.
Need of Secrecy.
On the face 1t seems dscourteous for a
governments representatives,, while enjoy
ing the hospitality and protection of an
other nation. TO be given a secret alpha be.
IN which to gossip about their hosts with
the home government. 1t would however,
be disastrous TO our interests should the
instructions to our diplomatic representa-
uves and military attaches, and the CORE
spondence between them and Washington
become public property both here AMI
abroad before being executed or considered
In the War and Navy Departments the
official cipher codes prescribed for these
branches of the military service are not to
be generally used except in case of war
although our army and navy attaches
abroad may use them in reporting mill
tary intelligence. If they desire.
The army cipher code is in charge of
the chief signal officer, Gen. A. w. Grecly
AT the school of instruction in military
signaling at Fort Riley Kansas, recruits
who enter the signal service are instructed
In all of the cipher and signal codes likely
10 De used In an actual campaign. The
course includes crytoCraphy, or the SCIENCE
he
qulred to both devise and practice original
cipher codes Until they become skilled both
IN deciphering and enciphering them. They
must practice the Morse telegraph system
until able to transmit and receive thirty
hVe words Fer minute
According to the army's excellent signal
lHs system, cipher dispatches cannot only be
sent betW cen the field and HEADQUARTERS nv
the new field telegraph and telephone sys
TENS, but by flags and heliogra phs by day
OF by searchlights. fash lanterns. rockies
ard bombs at night.
Supposing that a cipher disDatch he CON,
by flag in the day time: the communicating
olhcers have cipher books. The men wis
40 the actual signaling need rot know the
sense sense OF the messages which they send
Ihe transmtter hears regulation whitc
signal nag, with a block in the center
hen ne talks with his flag he uses the
morse alphabet, just as he would do in rel-
eeraphing. When he waves his flag to the
Iisht he indicates a dot; to the left a dash
ara 10 the front a space. Each morton is
iEade within an arc of 10 degrees startint,
rom ana returning to the vertical The flag
Is swung about in front of the sienaler his
hand being the center of The Senici,.nia
mus described. Accurate communication IN
cur arm! mas oeen carried on by means of
Iass ior twenty-five miles, while detached d
words nave been read from distance of
Iorty miles, the receivers using small nocl,
Ct telescopes. Messages have been sent f,He
ihAes with pocket handkerchief tied to n
tNelVe-foot rod ~
In Time of War.
Our War Department has lately made
rapid steps toward equippine itself With
nying telegraph trains to transmit cinher
dispatches much further during war. The
day atter the great battle of Ping Yang
IN Corea, in 1894, the japanese signal and
Telegraph corps ran into that city a f1yfne
telegraph line, extending from Seoul, the
Instance Deins seventy miles. This, in the
opinion OF one Of our army officers, to
whom the writer is indebted, shows that
niooern warfare requires specially train
ed corps Tor this process of cipher trans
mission. 1'
The government military telegraph lines,
which 1t owns and controls connect our
with the commercial wires. In our next
war flying field telegraph lines will con-
meet temporary field headquarters with the
permanent comm arcial lines of the country
iooii"S ~ " isulHSton Inc held telegraph
train as SO far devised includes a battery
lance, truck and wire wagon
In the navy signal messages are not
sent in the telegraph code. Instead of dots
and dashes, the figures a. "2" and .3''
In different combinations are employed to
form letters. - is represented by one foot
of whistle or short flash Of a signal lamp
by two toots or two short flashes and
by long blast on a whistle or a long
flash of light.
With the naval signal flags, manipulated
similarly to those of the army q" is rep
resented by motion to the right, "2" by
a motion to the left, and "3' by a motion
to the front. These movements must be
translated by the receiver into the let
ters of the alphabet. Thus, A equals % b
equals 2l12, equals III, D equals II, etc,
and l equals I'LL, = equals 300 3 equals
l1l2. etc, the arrangement being some
what similar to the dot and dash system
This alphabet can be as readily adapted to
cipher as can the army signal language.
In the presence Of the enemy all of the
signal messages must. of course, be sent
In the secret cipher. What is known as a
cipher disk Is a convenient instrument 1t
consists of several metallic disks of diff
ferent sizes, dubbed to one center and re-
volving independently. Each is graduated
along the circumference with letters and
numbers which fall opposite to others on
the circumference of the larger or smaller
disk lying next. The appliance is some
what similar to the combination wheel on
Sofa hlIf fs