Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-12-22
CARRIER PIGEON SERVICE.
Recommendations of Gen. Breckin-
ridge in His Annual Report.


Inspector General Breckenridge in his last
annual report to Maj. Gen. Miles makes the
following argument in favor of the Or
ganization of a carrier pigeon service in
the army:
THE necessity of rapid and reliable trans
mission of information is recognized every
where, and no arguments needed to DEM
onstrate that those military forces which
possess the most complete system of inter-
communication are best able to operate in
concert, and therefore possess a distinct
advantage over their adversaries. Among
the various means and makeshifts used
from time immemorial, whether birds,
beasts, human or mechanical devices, it
seems that at present the foremost military
Powers have adopted and practice five dis
inct systems of INSTRUMENTATION, none
Of which would give complete satisfaction
in the field under all conditions if operated
sngly, namely: Couriers. visual and acous-
tic signals, the electric telegraph and tele-
phone, balloons and carrier pigeons. OF
these, the first two trace their origin to
antiquity; the others are comparatively
modern institutions. And in recent years
experiments have been made by one or two
European powers with trained dogs as dis
patch bearers or as guards against sur
prises from the enemy.
Our army has neither trained dogs nor
a pigeon service, though about twelve years
ago the Signal Corps established pigeon
station at Key West with the intention of
training birds to fly from the West India
Islands, but the enterprise failed: and some
years before that a prominent general of
the army had some carrier pigeons sent to
one of our remote northwestern military
posts for service during Indian warfare
but the birds degenerated for want of
proper supervision and training and nothing
came of it. Evidently it requires concert of
a into -f1,a,, 1tpr, IL,
rather than individual attempts. The Gus
ter massacre suggests ideas of what might
be needed or possible under such exigencies
Apparently no one of the staff corps with
a representative at every post has been
ready yet to adopt the task. The navy has
perhaps been more successful with its pig
cons, and excellent practical results were
reported during the naval review in the
spring of 1888. and no one can tell how
soon the army may need them, and when
We do we will need them badly. The Span
1sh war has taught US that We should be
prepared beforehand at all times. During
the F'ranco-Prussian war ii was the pigeons
alone that kept Paris in touch with the
outside world, while all other sources of
communication had been cut off by the
Germans, The splendid performances of the
pigeons there evoked the admiration of the
world and caused other powers to establish
similar services.
I'VE have excellent material for the Or
ganization of a carrier pigeon service. There
are numerous societies of pigeon fanciers
in all parts of the United States, who now
fly their birds for the sport and amuse-
ment 1t gives them, and who would doubt
less be willing to cooperate in creating
network of INSTRUMENTATION between i'm
portant strategic points. The expense would
be small compared with the possibilities
and an acceptable plan could readily be
formulated and soon perfected. The en-
durance and reliability of these birds are
well known. They are capable of render
ing effective service at a minimum outlay
especially when other means of communi-
cation fail or cannot be established, and we
should at least give them a fair and prop
erly organized test if We desire to keep up
with military progress in providing for all
sorts of emergency