The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-10-30
WORK OF SIGNAL CORPS
ANNUAL REPORP- GEN. GREEDY
SUBMITTED
Chief Signal Officer lsays Trans-pa-
cific Cable Is = Necessity
to the hited
StalesS
WAsHINGTONss~~Q -29.-Gen. Greedy,
hief signal Office lrEahis annual report


WASHINGTONss~ Qct.-2 9.-Gen. Greedy,
chief signal Office irl=5ais annual report
says:
"The operations Of he signal corps
have been co-eXistent with the operations
of the army of the United States, not
theoretically, but on broad lines and
activities, which haveII comprised prac-
tically the entire area, not only of the
United States proper. but also of Alaska
Cuba, Porto Rico.ethe Philippines and a
portion of Chinaasa I'D
In this electrical age the demands of
progressive generals have developed in
the American army the application Of
electricity to war on scale unprecedent-
ed in military history Incessant de-
mands were made by military COM
manders for ntercommunication with
their detached organizations by telegraph
and by telephone, in addition to the
former methods of visual signaling"
Gen. Greedy says the corps should be
increased to meet present demands
There have been constructed SIG miles
of telegraph lines in Alaska and arrange
ments have been made with the Canadian
government to use its lines to Alaska
The signal corps operates 3,34S miles of
telegraph in Cuba, an increase of l6z
miles during the year.
The operations of the corps in the Phil
ippines have been very extensive there
having been 4S51 miles of telegraph line
an increase of 2,054 during the year. The
military cable lines in the Philippines
connect Manila with Mindoro, Marin
duque, Masbate, Samar, Leyte, Cebu,
Negros, Mindanao, Jolo and Siasi
Concerning the work Of the corps in the
Philippines Gen. Greedy says:
eff the officers and men of the signal
corps had struggled only against the
natural disadvantages, their work in the
Philippines would have commanded conf
mendation, but to these must be added
the difficulties of the constant efforts of
the insurgents to destroy all means of
intercommunication. In the region south
of Laguna de Bay, Santa Cruz, Ton
tamoian and thence to the head of the
Gulf of Ragui, the insurgents had caused
no end of trouble and annoyance not only
by the cutting of. the wire, but by the
removal or destruction of considerable
stretches of line. The commanding Of
ficer at Santa Cruz informed me that ex-
perience had caused him to furnish every
repair party with at least mile of wire,
as nearly that amount was taken away
at each break. Destruction of sections
of two, three or even five miles Of line
was not unusual but the climax was
reached in the total destruction of thirty
eight miles of line, every insulator be-
ing broken every bracket destroyed or
removed, every pole cut down and the
entire wire carried away
Gen. Greedy recommends an interna-
tional cable conference tost bare regula-
lions for cables. .
Concerning experimental work he says:
In wireless telegraphy the signal corps
has perfected its own system, which was
the first one ever successfully operated
in the United States, on Sept. 80, 1889, be-
tween Fire island and Fire island light
ship, distance of ten miles. There are
now in successful operation two stations
in San Francisco harboT, one at Fort Ma
con and another at Alcatraz island. The
arrangements have been made for the eS-
tablishment of stations in the Philippines
at cable points. The chief signal officer
adheres to the opinion that this system
has it's limitations which are not en-
tirely dependent upon distance"
Gen. Greedy, in recommending Pacific
cable says:
1T is only matter of time when Luz
zon shall be connected with Japan and
Tonquin and the Chinese empire. The
Philippine islands are now aonly aecess1-
Bile Geographically over short cable of
about eighty miles of the Eastern Exten-
sion Cable company between Manila and
Hongkong.
The experiences Of the war department
in connection with the relief of the lega-
ton at Pekin show clearly the tremendous
disadvantage under which the United
States would labor without it's own cable
facilities in case of an extended war in
the East.
AN Eastern trans-Pacific cable is a
military and commercial necessity if
American interests are to. be safe
guarded in Asiatfc regions. A Pacific ca
BILE, while of great value, military, would
especially further industrial interests and
facilitate commercial operations AS it
is officially known that an American cable
can only enter Japan from the east, and
not from Russia, China nor the Philip
pines, the only possible sroute is that al
ready recommended to congress by the
president, via Hawaii and Guam