The evening times., 1898-11-17
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''Wigwag" Men Prominent i'm the
Advance Trenches.
Their Active Operations Prove a
Necessity for an Enlargement of
the Rank and File.

/ War Department
At the beginning OF his report Gen.
| Greedy states that TO a greater extent
than any other corps Of the army the
Signal Corps has had its field of opera
tions and sphere of usefulness expanded
| by the Spansh-American war. while
| the army has been increased ten-fold.
this corps has been enlarged more than
twenty -fold-from 60 officers and men to
1900
Despite this astounding increase, rem
dered absolutely necessary by The insist
ant demands of the age for instant COM
munication by telegraph or telephone
there has been no hour of leisure for any
company of the Signal Corps"
The report tells of the many difficulties
encountered and surmounted in providing
and constructing cables, electrical install
lation for the nre-control system of dis
appearing guns, telegraph and telephone
! lines, and even the repair and care of the
! electrical searchlights at Fort Monroe.
The work accomplished by the Signal
detachment in the Philippines includes the
laying OF a war cable between CaVite and
/ the city of Manila. and The establishment
I graphic communication between the head
/ quarters of the commanding general and
/ his detached commands and depotS As
! the American army moved forward the
signal men carried into the advanced
trenches their telegraph lines and repair
| ed them under fire. When the final as
sault came one company OF the Signal
! Corps ran the field telegraph line up To
the open beach. and established an ad-
l.s
/ second line.
Another party, led by Capt McKenna,
marched up the beach with the American
/ firing line their signal flags displayed
/ that the fire OF the navy should fall
| in advance of the army and displaying
| these flags as the first emblems of the
| United States in the enemys fort, estab-
/ lished an advanced telegraph station ua-
Ger fire and maintained communication
with both wings Of the army until the
/ Spanish position was carried. Lieut.. Col.
/ K. +. Thompson and five other signal
\ officers were breYetted for gallant and
distinguished service and eleven enlisted
men recommended for rewards for gal
lantry and disting guished conduct.
After the occupancy of Manila the sig
nal men repaired the Manila Hongkons
cable and reopened il for use four days
! III advance of the expected time, which
was supposed TO depend upon the arrival
of the English cable ship then en- route
from Singapore.
The report gives a history of the or
ganizatiou of the Volunteer Signal Corps
and states that there was never irp the
service at any one time more than ll5
: officers and eco men The recruiting and
! equipment of the Volunteer Signal Corns
! was int-Lsted TO Col II. H. G Dun
J woody and a.. u-fS.
/ corps being equipped for field service b.
/ fore ANY company should leave its origi-
I nal camp.
Under the provisions Of the act OF Con-
! gress for the organization of the Volun-
/ teer Signal Corps, two-thirds of the Off
/ GERS and enlisted men were skilled cleo
/ tricians or teegraphers.
The work OF the Signal Corps in the
! Santiago campaign divided itself into
/ three independent lines:
/ First-The Encouragement and instaIla-
/ tion Of an electrical communication
| whereby the War Department was
brought as near to the army and able to
! exercise as potent an influence Herewith.
as though the operations were conducted
/ at distances of 100 miles instead of l.5Ol
Second-The signal work proper, in
! yolving communication. electrically and
! otherwise, between the commanding gem
/ eral of the Fifth Army Corps. his division
and brigade commanders the transports
the supply depots, and the cooperating
fleet Of the navy.
Third-War ballooning
Gen. Greely gives interesting details of
the Santiago campaign and the fortitude
with which the signal men endured hard
! ships and performed the arduous work of
! the service.
Referring TO the necessity and use of
war balloons for accommodating purposes,
/ he says: The beginning of the war
+ found the Signal Corps provided with only
one balloon, manufactured by members of
/ the corps by hand, for which the cheap
est possible accessories had with diff
/ Guilty been obtained.
Three ascensiOns were made on the af-
| tenoon of June 80. and the fact that
the Spanish fleet of Admiral Cervera was
! in the harbor of Santiago was at last def
nitely settled.
The report gives thrilling account of
the experience Of the balloon attachment
while under fire during the ascension on
/ July at FL Paso.
Referring 10 press censorship. the re-
port says:
There has been a misapprehension on
! the part of many that the Signal Corps
exercised a press censorship during the
war an opinion that is entirely unfound
/ ded, as the chief signal officer ignored all
suggestions looking 10 interference with
| The free and untrammeled publica ton Of
| press matter, even by the most sensation
! al and unpatriotic of journals. 1t may be
| added that many of the leading journals
! in most patriotic spirit expressed free
| ly and frequently not only their willing
! ness. but also their desire. TO refrain
I from the publication Of any information
! that wgIJld eFOharraSS he dY,i, ri,
or be detrimental 10 the success of mill
! tary operations. These offers were not
| Pickwickian, for IN more than one in
stance information of the highest interest
! to the public has never been published
4 to this day being held secret by press
| associations, newspaper correspondents
and editors. as calculated, if given pub
licity, to injure the national cause"
The reorganization and enlargement of
! the Signal Corps of the army is matter
| of great Importance, and the within rec
concentrations are based on the suppo-
| sition that the regular army will here
| after consist of force of 70, 600 men, and
| that the outlying portions of the United
| States-Porto Rico, Hawaii and at least
the city of Manila-will be garrisoned.
The regular corps now consists of 10
officers, 10 first-class sergeants and 40
sergeants. 1t is recommended that there
! be added to the Signal Corps / colonel.
j lieutenant colonel, majors Zone to be
| disbursing officer out of the line of pro-
motion), captains 9 first lieutenants.
40 first-class sergeants. 60 sergeants. so
corporals, $50 first-class privates and so
second-class privates.
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