Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1899-12-28
THURSDAY. DEC. 90. 1899.
Carrier Pigeons for the Army.

Carrier Pigeons for the Army.
Washington. Dec 22.-Inspsctor Gen.
eral Breckenridge in his report to
General Miles urges the establishment
Of a carrier pigeon service for the
Army. He says:
The necessity of rapid and reliable
transmission of information is recog-
nlzed everywhere, and no argument is
needed to demonstrate that those mill
tary forces which possess the most
complete system of intercommunica-
ticn are best able to operate in con-
cert and therefore possess a distinct
advantage over their adversaries.
Among the various means and make
shifts used from time immemorial,
whether birds, beasts, human or me-
chanical devices, 1t seems that at pres
emit the foremost military powers have
adopted and practice five distinct sys-
TENS of intercommunication, none of
which would give complete satisfac-
ton in the field under all conditions if
operated singly, namely: Couriers,
visual and acoustic signals, the electric
telegraph and telephone, balloons and
carrier pigeons. OF these the first two
trace their origin to antiquity; the 9th
ers are comparatively modern institu
tions. And in recent years experiments
have been made by one or two Euro
pean Powers with trained dogs as dis
patch bearers or as guards against
surprises from the enemy.
Our Army has neither trained dogs
nor pigeon service, though about II
years ago the Signal Corps established
pigeon station at Key West with the
intention of training birds to fly from
The West Indies Islands, but the enter
prise failed; and some years before
that prominent general of the Army
had scme carrier pigeons sent to one
of our remote Northwestern military
posts for service during Indian war;
fare, but the birds degenerabed for
want of proper supervision and train
ing, and nothing came of it, Evident
ly it requires concert of action at sew
eral points simultaneously, rather than
individual attempts. The Custer mas
sacre suggests the idea of what might
be needed or possible under such eX-
igenciss. Apparently no one of the
staff corps with representative at ev-
cry post has been ready yet to adopt
the task. The Navy has perhaps been
more successful with its pigeons, and
excellent practical results were report
ed during the naval review in the
spring; of = -. . .L2d. s,6f one can tell
how soon the army may need them and
when we do we will need them badly.
The Spanish war has taught us that
we should be prepared beforehand at
all times. During the Franco-Prussian
war it was the pigeons alone that kept
Paris in touch with the outside world,
while all other sources of communica-
ticn had been cut off by the Germans
The splendid performance of the pig
cons there evoked the admiration of
the world and caused other Powers to
establish similar services. We have
excellent material for the organization
Of carrier pigeon service. There are
numerous societies Of pigeon fanciers
in all parts of the United States who
new fly their birds for the sport and
amusement it gives them and who will
doubtless be willing to cooperate in
creating a net work of intercommuni-
cation between important strategic
points. The expense would be small
compared with the possibilities and an
acceptable plan could readily be for
mulated and soon perfected. The en-
durance and reliability of these birds
are we'll known. They are capable of
rendering effective service at a mini
mum outlay especially when other
means of communication fail or can
not be established, and We should at
least give them a fair and properly
organized test if we desire to keep up
with military progress in providing for