The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-10-26

the publication of any information that
would embarrass the administrator or pe
detrimental to the success Oh liiii''ry
operations. -
General Greeley refers in the highest
terms of praise to the officers and agents
of the Western Union Telegraph COM
pany, the Postal Telegraph and Canie
company, the Mexican company, the
United States and Hayti Cable company,
the French Gable company, the UlIecl
Gable company and the West Indies oup-
Marine Telegraph com pany. for SO gener-
ously meeting the requirements OF the
censorship which was deemed essential by
the officers of this government. :,
General Greeley's report indicates tna9
the credit for the location of Admiral
Cervera's fleet in Santiago harbor belongs
to the signal corps and says that '1n tne
interest of history. let alone justice to the
signal corps of the army, the truth should
be told. The location of Cervera's squad :
ron at Santiago, was first made by Col
onel James Allen and later verified in
dependently by Lieutenant Colonel Jose
Maxtield, both officers of the signal
corps"
Secretary Long, alive to the situation, !,
in an official despatch says: "All mill
tary and naval movements depend upon
that point (the presence of Cervera in
Santiago harbor.) On May 10Th Admiral
Cervera entered the harbor of Santiago
with his squadron. That very day Colonel
Allen telegraphed in cipher to the chief
signal officer Five Spanish vessels ar
rived at Santiago de Cuba. Have notified
admiral commanding (Sampson.)'
'The Spanish flagship arrived at San.
tiago de Cuba. The admiral (Ceryera)
hastily wired Madrid. On the following
morning he added the following informa-
tion: Pelayo and four cruisers in Santl-
ago. No destroyer or torpedo boats ar
rived there.
"This information was communicated
Immediately to the President and by his
orders to the secretary of the navy. who
being impressed by the assurances OF the
chief signal officer of the army as to the
entire reliability of this report, proved
himself equal to the emergency and on
that very day gave such prompt and effec-
tive orders as resulted in the blockade of
Santiago and the ultimate destruction of
Cervera's fleet"
The report says that Colonel Allen frr-
nished cipher dispatches of the most val
liable sort from Santiago, almost daily.
He first reported that the Spanish squad
ron was short of coal and could not renew
it's supply at Santiago and also that the
unarmored American cruisers off the
Cuban coast swere mistaken By the
Spanish for the main American fleet,
proving" says General Greeley, 'Ghe
wisdom and efficacy of Admiral Sanp-
sons orders by cable that the fast un-
armored cruisers of the navy should per-
form scouting duty off Santiago"
Che report then adds:
"a cipher message of the 23rd stated
correctly that Admiral Schley was that
day at Cienfuegos and Cervera was at
Santiago. Meanwhile, the navy had been
unable to verify the fact of Cervera's
presence at Santiago and as a result the
correctness of the Information furnished
by the signal corps was sharply ques-
toned. The chief signal officer, being in
formed that the whole. campaign was con-
duc,ed upon his representations, was
asked to verify this information from
other sources if possible. Prompt action
was taken by the chief signal officer, who
adopted such lines of operations that
there after there was scarcely day he
was not Gin possession of information
ooming over ones orss mores of the
six cables leading out of Santiago.
sit is an interesting anti-clilnax that
when Cervera's S squadron was destroyed
on July 3, Colonel Allen, the sam officer
who originally reported the arrival of
the feet on the very day it reached San
tiago, likewise reported by telegraph to
the chief signal officer the fact that the
entire fleet had been destroyed, which
information was conveyed to the Presi-
dent and the country four hours in ad-
vance of any other official advice"
General Greeley gives an account OF the
operations of the signal corps in Porto
Rico. adds some suggestions as to tbe
telegraph lines in Cuba and Porto Rice
and strongly advocates an increase in the
signal CORPS.