The Washington times., 1901-10-30
OUR WAR GoMMUNICATIoN.
The Operations of the Signal Corps
Service in the Field.

|
| Service in the Field.
| The relation OF scientific electricity to
modern warfare is the subject of the an
nual report of Brig. Gen. \. W. Greely
| Chief Signal officer Of the Army which
has been made public by the Secretary Of
| War. recapitulation of the work done
| by this branch Of the service in Cuba,
| China, Porto Rico. and the Philippines
| forms an interesting feature of the report.
as showing the relations of the signal
service with the progress of the American
army during not only the past year,
but. In fact. since the beginning Of hostili-
| ties in 1898.
General Greely states that the work Of
the corps has steadily increased. Great
demands for Signal Corps men in the
| Far East have resulted in a reduction of
the force in this country, and civilians
| have frequently been used by the army.
\ brief statement is made of the work
of the corps in China, and it is com
mented upon that the American army
which went into Peking carried with it
the first telegraph line of the allied forces.
The British army furnished many requi-
site supplies for the use of the corps in
establishing the line between Peking and
Taku The United States military tele-
graph line was operated from Taku forts
to Peking from August, 1900. to March Is.
1901, at which time the line was sold for
81 30 and the proceeds converted into the
treasury.
The telegraph line operated in Cuba
consists of 3.41S miles. an increase of 162
miles over the previous year. General
Greely says that the Cuban telegraph
SYSTEM compares favorably with that of
the United States.
The report gives to Major William A.
Glassford the credit for the reconstruc-
ton of the Porto Rican telegraph lines
after they were destroyed by the cyclone
Of August s. 1899. The military telegraph
system in the island says General Greeiy.
has been maintained, operated repaired
and reconstructed without entailing
dollar of expense to the treasury of Porto
Rico. Moneys received from commercial
messages from May /, 1900, to February
1. 1901, were turned into the United States
Treasury, as is required by law in the
case of commercial receipts of the mill
tary telegraph lines in the United States.
General Greeiy devctes considerable
space to a consideration of the proposed
trans Pacific cable, upon which question
he says:
In connection with the proposed Amer
ican-Paciic cable recommended by the
President for the favorable consideration
OF Congress, the Chief Signal officer in
vites attention to the fact that the sub
ject of the rights, privileges, and irnmu-
mites of submarine cable property in time
of war was brought to notice during the
Spanish-Americ war and should prop
erly be a matter of consideration for an
International cable conference. Such a
conference for the protection of subma-
rine cables was held al Paris in 1884, and
its proceedings, transmitted to Congress
by the President on January 9. 1883. were
subscribed to by the United States and
by twenty-five other principal nations of
the world.
Article XIV of this conference, how
ever. specially states that the stipula-
tions of this convention shall in nowisy
afiect the liberty of belligerents, which
leaves cables in time of war without ade-
quate regulations to meet the complicated
conditions.
In view of the present enormous ex-
tension of submarine cables, aggregating
in the British Empire alone the value of
so. .vyO, 600. such a conference could prop
erly consider other international cable
matters. a standard international cable
code could replace numberleSs codes now
in use. A single code constructed on sci
entific lines would materially increase the !
working capacity and efficiency of sub
marine cables. 1t should avoid words liza
ble to telegraphic errors. whether trans
mitted by the European or American al
phabet, and those which badly TRANSCRIPT
ed lead TO errors in reading. BY selecting
suitable code words the speed of code
messages could be increased from % to
30 per cent with equal or improved legi- /
bility
The United States and its remote colo
nies should he connected by a Pacific sub I
marine cable, as recommended by the I
President to Congress in his special mes /
sage Of February TO- 1899 1t is only a I
matter of time when LuZon shall be con- /
nected with Japan and Tonkin and the (
Chinese Empire. The Philippine Islands
are now only accessible geographically
over a short cable of about 600 miles of /
the Eastern Extension Company between
Manila and HOEgkOng. The experiences
OF the War Department in connection
with the relief of the legation at Pekin
Show clearly the tremendous disadvan-
tage under which the United States would
labor without its own cable facilities in
case OF an extended war in the East.
An American trans-Pacific cable is n
military and commercial necessity if
American interests are to be safeguarded /
IN Asiatic regions. Such a cable, while /
OF great value militarily. Will especially
foster Industrial interests and facilitate
commercial operations. As il is officially :
known that an American cable can only
enter Japan from the east and not from
Russia. China, nor the Philippines. the
only possible route is that already rec
commended to Congress by the President
via Hawaii and Guam. In connection
with cable operations in Cuba and the
Philippines the Signal Corps has had
practical experience in the construction.
and operation of cables such
as has never been enjoyed by any other
body of officers and men outside of the
few experts of the great cable corpora
tiOps OF the world