The times., 1897-11-06

Gen. A. W Greely, chief signal officer,
has presented particularly interesting
report TO the Secretary of War. He
treats of bicycles, balloons, and teIe-
graphs, seientiricany and practically.
The report contains some very very III
teresting things, as, for instance, the
following relating to the bicycle:
interruption to telegrapmc communica-
ton has been most infrequent during the
year. The most frequent cause Of inter
ruptiOn has been through la wlessne Of in
diviuuals in pulling down poles, shooting
off insuIators, etc. The speedy sumption
Of communication has been due to a great
extent TO he adoption Of tile bicycle as A
means Of transportation for reIairnen, the
more fdplu as We'll as more economical
method OF travel. Frequently breaks on
Inc Lave been IeCaIreu by IBe list Uf Tie
bicycle IN less time tran would have been
consumed ia obtaining horse ana vehicle
AT some stations IA year tie cr.giiiai
value OI the bicycle mas been haY ed TO ING
Government. Different types of bicycles
nave been selected for experimental
test with d view to tile TACT that tney must
carry neayy loads over rough ground At
moderate speed. IT Is evident tLat no sIu-
gle type VIII IulIill all tne reqmFem ents
ol u military wheel everywhere, owing
10 different ,IiHIaJIc COhGltfUIis auu varying
road conditions.
The suggestion of the following para
graph VIII probably be decided as soon as
possible:
To insure speedy communication in case
oI emergency all important posts should
% connected with the Commercial system
either JelepuUnIcally or teleeraphCally.
NntTe such means OF communication 10
not exist tney should be Speeun V CDHSi rucU-
ed Tor emergencies, especially between
Fort Washington, Md, and Washington,
j. e.; Fort warren ana boston, Mass. Al
CatraZ Island and san Francisco, Cal;
Fort SIocum and New York city.
he most Notable advance Is in the
Development OF the combined telegraph
and telephone apparatus devised by Capt.
james Allen signal Corps, which is uIs-
Jnct!y superior To any previously con
stfuctedr and admiralty answers all Te-
qulrementS- An operator can ca silly carry
a combination telegraph ana telephone oil
ice, and while one soldier telegraphs "A
message, another may, over the same
wire, talk JeiephoniCalIy with another sta
ton The distant receiving operators hear
iug only their own message The outfit
weighs bat sixteen pounds, including bat
ttTyi ana has been rigidly tested up 10 q
distance OF more than sou miles, and Is a
pronounced success In its various capacities
a. ,buzz Morse, telephonic, nj phonO-
pleX instrument.
me addition or d balloon section TO field
telegraph trains for the purpose of collect
lhg ana Transmitting military Information
brings INTO special Importance the quest Ion
Of aerial navigation.
a satisfactory war balloon must carry
three or Tour Passengers, explosive shells,
lHdCHiIie gun or two, he able 10 travel
tbnty miles an hour in calm weather. and
nave lifting capacity of about $500
pounds OF which t,IUU should be in pas
SeugeFs instruments, explosives ana ballast.
Many methods, most OF them QuiNOtic
have been presented to this office for
AERIAL navigation. 1t is believed that The
success OF such navigation awaits q motor
CONSIDERABLY lighter than tnose now used
Efof. Langley In flights with his aeropIane
indicates that The solution OF this interest
Ing and Important problem is not far
distant.
special estimate of $4,000 is sub
Eutted for construction and experiments
Mith halioons- ana II Is hoped it may meet
the approval Of the Secretary Of War and
Of Congress
Exclusive OF the public documents and
Government publications there were added
10 the library during the year / ,2T4 books
ana pamphl cts aufl 4 bout 900 periodicals
u tile books $50 Were acquired by pur-
chase 20 by exchange. and 354 bV gift
Never before has nearly 50 great an in
terest been taken in signaling by tht. Ma
uenal Guard S a. present. During the year
Jf9Fe mas been very large iucrea Sc in the
NUMBER OF communications Requesting in
formation, asking for code cards. and re-
quesjing general infOrma tiOn on Signaling
matters In many instances the writer's a SIX
that they be permitted to pnrchas So instrri-
ments from their allotment of the funds
Appropriated by Congress for their support
1 In TINS connection il is urgently recon-
/ nlendefl that the law be amended to permit
OF tIia issue by sale. OF signaling apTia nee
/ 10 the National Guard under conditions
ordnance stores.