The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-07-27

J eseeeoeoesSseo0 -
either for offensive or defensive purposes.
And from the earliest times We know
signal fires and torches have been the
| principal means employed. The ancient
races IN the old world as well as the In
dams In our own country, used alarm fires
TO apprise their people and allies OF in
yasions by enemies.
AS the science Of war has advanced, so
this signaling has advanced from It's
| primeyal stage TO our modern methods OF
| communicating, without regard for dis
| lance Before our erss OF steam. cleo
tricity and searchlights, Aags vera used
principally in the navy and a certain kind
VI telegraphy called senaphores on the
! land. The most satisfactory and most
generally used primitive methods was
! that of the semaphO%s used most extsn-
siyely in France The apparatus consists
OF the semaphores-upright poles, similar
to our telegraph poles, set at certain in
teryals. with movable wooden arms at
tdched. The arms we're operated by ropes
manipulated by an operator who thus set
| the arms at different positions forming
the letters that were desired. The oper-
ators themselves did not know the mean
ing Of the signals and only mechanically
| set the arms
The signals were repeated along the
AAAF AAAiA Tue lfetludtlOU was THdCOtQl
Since electricity has been made sub
servient TO our needs telegraph lines have
a. spread all over our country and through
oceans 10 the different continents But
for military purposes this is not always
practicable, for such linas Of communica-
ton are always in danger OF being rem
dcred useless by the enemy and especially
5 when IN the euemy's country Then, too
time is required to put these systems in
. operation. So. In our time. signaling ~
other means has 1dvanced 10 a stage OF
proficiency not thought of even few
years ago,
Again What then, is a signal corps
and what purpose does IT servey
The signal CORPS is a body 81 rained
soldiers and organized for the puru - o.
transmitting with the utmost expectancy,
correctness and secrecy by any possible
and convenient means. orders and mes
sages from the commander in chief to
his forces, wherever they may be loeated
or Communications and information from
1 the commanders Of the different minor
corps in the front to the commander In
chief.
BY what means are these messages
, communicated In day time flags OF dit
= ferent colors and sizes. according &c
:, | Backgrounds Of stations and distance are
T. used. Telegraph and telegraph and tele
= phone systems are also employed. Fol
. night service besides telegraph and tele.
phone lanterns, torches and lately
acetylene lights and sesrchlights are used
The latter two are operated like hello
graph in day time Where neither o
- these are practicable or obtainable SCUM.
. from bugles in army and fog horns ant
Q fog whistles In the navy
D, SO useful and Indispensable did oul
government hnd the signal corps durn-
our latc war that il not only considerably
VI Increased the proper signal forces. hui
u has detailed 20 every military post sigma
e officers TO instruct specially adapted mer
y in the different modes of signalling IN
. t,ances of the efficiency OF this corps car
be found by their records in Cuba aud roe
=, Philippines, and more recently In Scut,
Africa. where the only commun cation
from Ladysmith and Mafedng, sur
rounded by the Boer forces to English re
lief forces had to be done by heliograph
/, Telegraph nnd telephone means Of com
IF municat,on every one knows and they ueec
$ no description. Next flags for shorter dis
Il tanccs are commonly used. The flag
usually used are made OF light fabrics an,
mostly used in two sizes. two feet square
- I~iii an eight-inch center, and four fee
square with a sixteen-inch center. Tn,
81 colors OF the flags used are chosen ac
Icording 10 the background OF stations an,
81 are generally white with red center, re
:. with white center and black with whit
center The heliograph. which can on,
he used in daytime and by bright sunlight
:, consists Of one or two mirrors placed on
tripod. The mirror receives the sun rays
which are reflected TO the distant station
p and letters are formed by manipulating
screen which IS placed before the mirror
'e obscuring or hiding the sun rays from tn
ct distant stations Nv opening the scree
the sun rays are shown to the receivIn
~ station which Is enabled 70 read the mes
y sage sent by the mnnner In which N
ID fash is exposed 10 their vision. Lantern
and torches are used NJ night In the sar
+ way as haEs In daytime. Acetvlene llght
~ and search lights are for might eervlc
and operatei In The same manner as IN
4 hellogr9ph IN DAYTIME
ie RuRles and whistles are used only whe
ID other methods fail, For operating al IN
different instruwents except TELEGRAPH an
- tclephone he United States government
~ has a1opted the Never code for signalllnr
which is similar alphabet to the on
adHnted for telegraphic use
The hellograph has been successful
operated nv United states corps for de
tances No to eighty miles where weathe
ind natural elevation are favorable. TIL
''' la-rer Tags are visible from three 20 fou
% miles"