The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-29
MAY EMPLOY WEATHER sHARPs.
GreeIy's Expert SignaIers Would BE
of Service in the Crisis.
PHILADELPHIA Times

Philadelphia Times
There is a most skilled class of men in
the government employ, who may be called
to the assistance of the War Department at
any time. They are the veteran forecaSters
are now in the Agricultural Department and
are frequently spoken of by faceuously m
clined people as farmers" they were until
1892 under the eye of the secretary OF war
and bore the official designation of SER
geants or corporas.
These men were particularly schooled in
was military school which they were COM
PEELED to attend, and they received there
thorough instruction in communicating by
telegraph, Photograph, flag and loren. Be-
fore leaving the school every man was
obliged to become a clever telegraph OPP
orator The Morse code was used IN sig
mailing, but all important messages were IN
cipher. Gen. A. W. Greedy was the chlef OF
the Signal Corps, and he took particular
pride in the efficiency OF ms men ne e er1
couraged them in every possible way, ana
was careful to have them furnished with
the most improved instruments.
When the forecasterS were transferred
from the War to the Agricultural Depart
ment in 1892 the school at Fort Myer was
discontinued, and since then the men or the
had the training by which the older men
were benefited. Very few, If any, or the
new men are practical telegraph operators.
Altogether about fifty men, or almost the
entire old Signal Corps, were Incorporated
in the reorganized Weather Bureau. Sec
ton Director T. F. Townsend of the Penn
sylvania Climate and Corps Service, was a
member of the Weather Bureau staff when
it was first organized, in 1871 When seen
in the postoff1ce building yesterday he said:
ut may be possible that the War De-
partment will ask for the services of some
Of the old signal men to assist in the present
crisis, and so far as / know there are none
but would gladly give such assistance
as they could. When ! was down along the
Jersey coast, years ago, 1t frequently nap
pened that something would go wrong with
the telegraph wires. Then, If it was day
light flags were resorted to, or If at night,
we used torches on long poles. During falr
weather we frequently made use or che
heliograph. 1t is peculiar fact that al
though we used the Morse code it usually
took a new telegraph operator as long to
learn the signals by sight as 1t did one who
was not familiar with the code. The reason
we attributed that an operator was
educated to distinguish solely by sound, and
when he came to use his eyes he was totally
at sea. so to speak. .
Local Forecaster Luther M. Dey said:
Eyes you can say that the old men would
go willingly and would give good account
of themselves. The entire fifty are adopts
In the art of communicating by devious and
difficult methods, and it looks as though
there will be heavy demand for men skilled
in such practice. l believe Thursday will
ha a clear day, and although there is storm
in the Northwest it may hold off long
enough to allow the boys to get settled at
Mt Gretna. 1t is hard to predict accurately
at this season of the year"