The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-21

Military signal system.
From the Washington Post
While Uncle sam is busy organizing his
boys in blue. as well as good supplies Of
stores. clothing. and ammunition, 10y every
tram, Gen. a. Greedy, whose fame as an
Arctic explorer is worldwide. is hard at
work equipping for the field the men who
are in future 70 be the eyes of the army
and on whose vigilance depends SO much
the usefulness of the movements Of the
troops. Napoleon realized the necessity
Of observing the acts Of the enSmy. and
remarked that "the secret Of war is the
secret OF communication" Cavalry has
largely in the past been used for this pur-
pose, but in the present conflict the signal
service viii be brought into requistion al
most entirely to secure information.
To the general who commands body OF
troops on a campaign the need of the sig
nal service men is necessity and in the
present instance they viii be invaluable.
Ever since the late war, at which time they
were first organized the corps has been
steadily growing in Importance, and innu-
an arm Of the fighting force without which
the body would be almost powerless. When
camped or on the move the signal men are
keeping the different points in constant
communication, and for miles about the
country there is a constant outlook on all
sides, every motion of the enemy being in
stantly wired 10 the headquarters Of the
general
In sending out to the army in the field
in the present war the servie will place
an officer OF the CORPS on the STAFF Of
each general and under this officer viii
De several hundred men whose duty it is
20 go on IN advance, to skirt the sides, and
by signais from stations in trees or on
mus 70 place the different commanders
sh comm unIcation with one another and
INFORM the leader OF all movements Of the
eueily. Inc uniform OF the signal men is
Olue' IKE the rest OF the army, but while
the cavalry mas yellow trimmings the ar
uiiery RED, those of the signar corps are
oiack IN hue. They are accompanies by all
OF their paTaphernalia, which consists of
lnnumerable instruments for telegraphing
nags and torches, photographs reel wag-
ons' on which telephone and telegraph
wires are stretched, and even balloons,
which viii be used extensively for the first
time since the recent experiments.
AS talking is conveying ideas by means
OF sound, so signaling is conveying the
same ideas by means of symbols For or
binary occasions the most used means are
the flag code and the telegraph wire. which
was first done IN the late war, considerable
ahtagohism was aroused against its applb-
cauoh by the clVllian companies empow-
cred TO convey messages by wire, but Gen
butter issued an order placing the tele-
graph line III command of a signal officer
Reels ana wires We're bought, skilled OPP
orators secured and the line was used by
the Army of the Potomac, proving of
great value, though the soldiers, at first
unused to the sight of the wire along the
lines, would sometimes cut it, thinking II
a device of the enemy BY the means
employed at present, which are an i'm
mcnse improvement on those of the past.
the wires for telegraph lines Is rolled on
a huge reel wagon, TO which horses are
attached, and that is paid out as fast as
1t is erected along the line of the army.
If in camp, the lines reach to The head
quarters of the different commanders. and
signal stations on adjoining hills: if the
troops are in motion. the line is Dlaced
along ahead. keeping constantly in al
vance of the soldiers. Telephones are now
also in use ia the army ana The ,nhona
wires are laid at the same time nc tba