The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-17


The report of .Brigadier General Greedy
Chief Signal Officer. U. S. A.. to the Sec
rotary of War for the fiscal year ending
June 80 was made public yesterday after
noon. The report covers the operations
of the Signal Service Corps in Cuba. Porto
Rico. China. Alaska and the Philippines.
The report has the following statements
on the value OF the service rendered:
Signal corps work in the United States
falls naturally under four heads, viz: Sig
nal corps instruction, military telegraph
lines, supply depots, and electrical install
iation for control of artillery fire.
Only such permanent military telegraph
lines are maintained in the United States
as are essential to an efficient military ad-
ministrat;on in localities where CONNER
cial telegraph lines are lacking, or as are
deemed necessary for safeguarding the
frontier settlements in case OF Indian out
breaks. Such lines aggregate about 900
miles in length. and are situated either
along the Mexican front.c- G: around and
in the great Indian reservations Of the
trans Mississippi region. The report upon
this subject made by Maj. Richard E.
Thompson, Signal Corps, forms Appen-
dix 1.
THE volume OF business. both Govern
ment and commercial, transacted over
these lines has been very large during the
past year. nearly %. 600 messages having
been handled in the departments of Colo
RADIO and Texas alone. The tolls for the
transmission of commercial messages have
been collected and deposited in the Treas
ury without the loss of n single cent.
These deposits aggregate the sum OF s3,-
1880. In addition there has been col
lected on account of commercial telegraph
companies and turned over to these COM
panies the sum of s5,111.2S, due for tariffs
on commercial lines. there being no loss,
either by mail or otherwise.
while the signal officer of each mill
tary department is in charge OF the tele-
graph lines of his department under peace
conditions yet such action has not been
practicable during the past year, owing TO
the lack of officers of the Signal Corps.
1t need only be stated, as showing the
strenuous demands upon the corps. that
there is now no Signal Corps officer, either
regular or volunteer. on duty in the united
States west of Washington.
Fort Myer Signal COrI,s Post.
"On December %. 1898. The Secretary of
War approved the setting aside for
signal corps post of portion OF the FORT
Myer Reservation. The ground was care
fully surveyed and formally assigned TO
the Signal Corps by direction Of the Sec
rotary of War; with the proyiso that TINS
corps was to have no power rs tn the wa
ter sewers roads or other matters af-
fecting the integrity of the reservation as
a whole. JOE n
far
mally set aside has been constructed
separate post known as the Signal Corps
Post. Fort Myer, Va, whereat have been
erected barracks for a force Of 400 men,
quarters for three officers. anjadfniIistra-
t;on building. a balloon house and
storehouse for Signal Corps ,purroses- In
these buildings has been - Installed a
school of instruction, wherein the recruits
are training not only as soldiers, but are
qualified for service as electricians. te'e-
graph operators. and signal men. This
action concentrates at one point the
methods of Signal Corps instruction, and
avoids the wastefuIness. ununifOrniity.
and deficiencies which necessarily marked
the operations at three Signal Corps
schools of departmental instruction, which
were instituted prior to the Spanish
American war at Fort Logan. Col, the
Preside. Cal. and at San Antonio. Tex,
uuueT the control anu ulTectiOn q the
signal officers of the various departn '.ts.
THE action of Congress, which by he
act approved May &c. 1900. provided for an
extensive system of military telegraph
and cable lines in Alaska. made it neces
sary to extend the operations of the Sig
nal Corps to that department, to which
Major Frank Greene United States Vol
unteer Signal Corps has been assigned as
signal officer.
Major Greene's report is incorporated
in the report of the commanding general
of the Department of Alaska. but extracts
therefrom form Appendix No. is. While
it could not be expected that any consid
cradle part Of the Signal Corps lines in
Alaska are working yet it is gratifying
to report that two sections are already in
operation. In southeastern Alaska one
of about forty-One miles extends from
Port Valdez north to military station No
j; the other in the Nome region. twenty
five miles in length connects Nome with
Safety Harbor, at which latter point the
cable from st. Michael will land In ad-
dition there have been constructed twen-
ty-eight miles of line in detached portions
IN the Yukon Valley. making an aggregate
construction of nnetyfour miles.
Service in China.
While the campaign in China occurred
subsequent TO the last fiscal year. yet from
its Importance and interest il seems ad-
visabie to treat the subject in this annual
report. The Chief Signal, Officer of the
Army has not. however received the Of
fetal report OF Major George p. Scriven,
signal officer OF volunteers. which doubt
less forms part of the report of Gen. hdna
X. Chaffee. commanding general of the ex-
petition. The Chief Signal officer is con
sequently obliged to base his treatment of
these operations upon the action taken in
this Office, or in accordance with insiruc-
lions thereirom. supplemented by nforma-
ton contained in cablegrams which have
passed TO and from this Office regarding
military affairs
Major George 2. Scriven signal officer. !
Department of the Visayas. was relieved
by orders from Washington and sent TO
Chefoo 10 report to General Chaffee as
signal officer Of the division. In the United |
States the Chief Signal Officer OF the Army |
diverted two officers. Second Lieuts. Peter |
Bartsch and Charles q. Hastings, signal |
officers OF volunteers, together with seven !
Signal Corps men, who were en- route TO |
the Philippines. and they were directed by |
the Secretary of War to report to General |
Chatfee for duty. The greatest difficulty |
was experienced in collecting at San Fran !
cisco. within a period of four days ma
terial and instruments for the construc-
tion. operation. and maintenance of leo adj |
ditiona miles of flying telegraph line. il
beng considered practically impossible that
the lanc9s and other material that had to
be specially manufactured could be deliv-
cred in time. BY free use OF the express
and by additional prices for lances and
such other Signal Corps material as re-
quired night labor. and largely through the