The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-10-26

Washington, Oct. 25.-Brigadier Cen
eral Greely. chief signal officer, today
presented to Secretary Alger his report /
of the operations of the signal corps
during the recent war with Spain. In
the first section of his report General
Greedy intimates that the corps officers
in Cuba were handicapped because they
were not allowed to take with them the
signal corps telegraph train, which had
been sent to Tampa for the Santiago
expedition. He then adds the follow
ing:
.The lack of thoroughly trained men
was 4 ne only serious factor that
threatened the efficiency of the signal
work Seeing that visual signaling.
which the commanding general of the
Fifth army corps relied upon, contrary
to professional advice, was practically
impossible for land operations, and only
useful between the coast stations and
the fleet, and it is impossible to sur
mise what would have been the result
had it not been for the supply of insu-
lated wire, telegraphic and telephone
instruments, etc, which Lieutenant
Colonel Allen furnished to Lieutenant
Colonel Green"
COMMUNICATION DIFFICULT.
General Greely discusses at length
the physical difficulties of maintain
ing communications by wire in Cuba
during the Santiago campaign, but
points out that at all critical periods
of the campaign, General Shafter was
kept in direct communication by tele-
phone with his subordinate command
erS, the lines being uninterruptedly
maintained under an almost constant
fire of the enemy. Special stress is
laid upon the value Of the signal corps
Il.
naval vessels The arrangements We're
so complete and excellent that the ma
jor general commanding was able to
communicate directly with the admiral
commanding the fleet, and in addition
communicate with the war department
within 20 minutes. General Greely is
confident that during the single month
of July the lines of communication
maintained by his corps in Cuba were
worth more to the nation than has
been the cost of the signal corps Of the
army from its inception to the present
day.
GIVES SHAFTER A SHOT
General Greely says that the signal
corps failed to receive from Major Cen
eral Shafter, in his original report, even
a notice that it participated in the San
tiago campaign.
An interesting part of General Gree
ly's report is that which relates to the
telegraph censorship. Upon this fea-
ture he says:
There has been a misapprehensiOn
on the part of many that the signal
corps exercised press censorship dur
ing the war, an opinion that is entirely
unfounded, as the chief signal officer
ignored all suggestions looking to in
reference with the free and untram-
meled publication of press matter,
even by the most sensational and un-
patriotic journals. 1t may be added
that the Associated Press and many
of the leading journals, in most pat
riotic spirit, expressed frequently and
freely not only their Willingness but
also their desire to refrain from the
publication of any information that
would embarrass the administration or
be detrimental to the success of mill
tary operations
LOCATED CERVERA'S FLEET.
General Greely's report indicates that
the. credit for the location of Admiral
Cervera's feet in Santiago harbor be-
longs to the signal corps, and says that
lin the interest OF history. let alone
Justice to the signal corps of the army,
the truth should be told The location
of Cervera's squadron at Santiago was
first made by Colonel James Allen, and
later verified Independently by Lieuten-
ant Colonel Joseph L. Maxtield, both
officers of the signal corps The block
aiding of Cervera'S squadron was due
to the conservative action of the presi-
dent and secretary of the navy, based
on reports and representations made
personally to them by the chief signal
officer of the army"
General Greely. being informed that
the whole campaign was conducted
upon his representations, was asked to
verify the information from other
sources, If possible. Prompt action was
taken by the chief signal officer who
adopted such lines of operation that
there was scarcely a day he was not
in possession of information of some
kind or other coming over one or more
of the six circuits leading out of San
tia