Daily inter mountain., 1900-04-20
Excellent Work Done By
the Signal Corps.
OPERATING 1851 MILES
All Important Points Are Connected
Head Quarters In Manila
Have Difficulty Securing Good
Men.

Manila, March 15.-The signal corps OF
our army in the Philippines, Colonel AL
len at present commanding, have in
operation today 1851 miles of wire in Lu-
zon and the Viscians. They have estab-
lished 100 telegraph offices and with a to-
tai plaaster{of 331 men and q officers this
department handles $4,000 messages a
month. the messages containing from
twenty to a thousand words each.
Every 'toficer on the system receives
daily at Ii a. M. the official time from
Mani1a.,sns
This 1861 miles of wife was first laid
in the wake of our advancing soldiers,
thus keeping our firing line in commu-
nication with the corps headquarters in
Manila. Then when time permitted the
light copper wire used for quick running
during marches and fighting was replaced
by an iron wire on temporary poles and
eventually this second wire was replaced
by heavy iron wire well strung on poles.
Thus the 1,551 miles of wire has actually
been laid threee times. Our army on
Jul 81, of last year had but 129 miles Of
wre in operation and during the months
of August, September, October and No
vember 800 more miles were added to this
original 129. During December, 1899, the
signal corps set up Ais miles Of wire. dur
ing January, 1900, 4O2 miles and during
February 2SF miles, these figures giving
the total distance in operation today. The
central office of this entire system is, Of
course. in Manila where eight trunk lines
converge and preparations are making to
receive four more trunk lines this month.
There is a commercial cable from Ma
Mia to Iloilo on Panay, from Iloilo to Ne
gro island and from Negros to the Island
of Cebu. Our wires in the Visayans is
lands amount to 120 miles. From Iloilo
we have a line to Copiz through the in
terror and then to Iloilo on Negros we
have lines north and south to Manalpa
and mammalian respectively. On Cebu
we have line from Cebu, the capital, to
the interior of the town of Karkat.
:. Not far from Cebu are the islands Of
Samar and Leyte, recently occupied by
the Fortythird under Colonel Murray:
these latter islands will be placed in com
nunication with Manila by runnig a
cable from Cebu to the island Of Rohul
then land wire across Bohul again a
cable to Leyte and land wires to the prin-
cipal. towns thereon. From Leyte the
line will get to Sanar by cable across
the narrow straits of San Jaunito i'm Sa-
mar it will run as far north as the town
of Calbayog. This new branch will be
$50 miles long.
With the idea of eventually placing the
Island of Mindanao in communication
with the corps headquarters in Manila
cable will be laid from the southern
end of Cebu island to the northern shore
of A1indanao. From the landing point
on Mindanao wires will be run to Gotta
batto, Illigan, Misano and Naka jalar
bay. This projection will require about
two hundred more miles of wire.
There are l.431 miles of wire on Luzon
and the island is thoroughly we'll cover
ed From the twelve trunk lines there
are many ramifications runnig into prac-
tically every town where we have garri-
sons.
In Manila itself the signal corps operate
local system of wires for the use of the
several governmental departments here
located, as we'll as an official telephone
system.
The signal corps has had and is still
having much difficulty in securing good
telegraph operators. A good operator
can do pretty well at home and this SER
vice In the Philippines is not attractive
enough to draw good men from good po-
sitions in the United States.