The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-20
SECRETS or A BATTLEsHIP.
Means of Communication of the
Fighters in Time of Action.

Means of Communication of the
Fighters in Time of Action.
From the Pittsburg Dispatch.
OF all the things that went down in the
Maine nothing is more vital to the navy
than the safe recovery of the signal books
from the captains cabin. Should they
fall into the hands Of the Spaniards, our
secret codes would be common property,
and a whole corps of Spanish spies light
in our service could scarcely embarrass
us more. New books would have to lie
issued, and before every ship could be no
titled and supplied anew with other keys"
months of priceless time would be lost and
our service severely crippled
Signalling between ships is as old as
the hills, almost; but only within recent
sity it is to-day.
ship without some means of distant
signaling is even worse off than a dumb
man without arms, for she Is not only pit
iably mute, but dangerously so as we'll
1t is seldom possible. even in times of
peace, a sea to hail a passing vessel by
speech, and in times of war to Go so
would be practically denied by the condl-
tons of service. Some sure and accurate
means of visual communication must
serve instead; and with US we have re-
course to colors, form and sound.
Whatever may be the questionable fight
ing value of the modern military mast, its
Importance as means of bearing high in
the air symbols of direction and of res
ponse cannot be overestimated.
In this regard we have learned another
lesson from that ever suggestive battle of
the Yalu, where the Japanese suddenly
found themselves without a leader because
of the loss of the single mast carried by
the flagship, and the inability of the adj
miral to direct his fleet Our battleships
building are to have two masts, and each
one is TO be fitted with separate signaling
outfit; and, as the signal staff of a man
of-war constitutes, In effect, it's tongue and
ears, an armored station will be built for
their safety in action. To-day it is other
Wse-the men are exposed.
Important at all times, the question of
signaling becomes doubly 50 before an en-
envy and in the certain mana cement of the
| rushing sweep of a ponderous squadron,
the integral safety of which depends upon
the instant unity of acton.
At present we have no less than eight
means of signaling, and paradoxical as it
may seem, we are most in the dark by
daylight, for then we must depend for the
| greater part upon the doubtful fiuttering
of our flags, and the questionable inter-
probation of color and from which distance
| and refraction tend easily to confuse. At
| night, backed by the deep setting of gloom,
| it is an easy matter to flash for miles our
messages with accuracy and quickness, and
be sure of their proper reading.
| For day use-setting aside that poly
| glot international flag code common to all
maritime nations-we have the service flag
code, the wg-wag or single flag code, ia
miliar to nearly every modern schoolboy;
the semaphore CODE an elaboration of the
| railway signals, and the whistle code, to be
/ used either day or night in foggy wealth
er. The use of the speed code, hoisted on
the yard arm to give the graduation of
| concerted speed, can hardly be called a
code.
| Aside from the flag code, consisting es-
| sentially of IL elements, or flags, repre-
| senting the numerals from to and three
| repeaters-substituted In place of duplica-
| tons, and the semaphore covering the same
numerals and all the letters of the alpha
| bet, the two remaining-the wig-wag and
the whistle-are based upon the familiar
! telegraph codes of dots and dashes.
! The semaphore in our service can hardly
be counted upon in time of war, for the
| New York is the only vessel so fitted, and
| the rest of the ships are unpracticed in
| reading it.