The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-10-29
THE SIGNAL CORPS SERVICE
General Greedy Discusses Its Fiji
cheney in His Report.
Extension of the system In thc Phil
ippincS. Cuba. Porto Rice. and
ChiuH-its Advantages to the
Army in Time Of p,ur,.

iPPi1'N' 'uhhs toFNo htCo. ana
ChiuH-Its Advantages to the
Army in Time Of Peace.
Brig Cen. A. ~. Greedy. Chief Sleraf
Cac,r ot the Army. ia his annual report
% Oh. Secretary of War. made public to-
dTe. gives recspitulati0u OF The work ~
thar branch ur the service Iu China. ia,
philippines. Cuba and Porto Rico. and
make "a statement OF the condition # the
cox Tho report is interesting MS show
ing On relation Of electricity 10 modern
wa'tafv. General Greedy says
The operations of the Signal Corps
nv been CugNisI, NJ with the operations
'l INC Army OF the United States. not
theoretically, hU1 on broad lines ana ar-
itLsil.S which have comprised practically
I've entire area. not only of The T-nitar
States proper. but also II Alaska cuba
F0f1o Rico, the Philippines and "a portion
otShiu7.
Sfhe muster out Of the last volunteer
sgiGicr would seem 10 mean a reduction
OF work. but in an electrical age the de
Hldnu OF our active and progressive gen
erals has developed I'm the American Ar
il%r the application Of electricity To war
on "A scale unprecedented I'm military his
t"IN- InC,ssaut demands were made by
military commanders for iuter-Communi-
cation with their detached organizations
by telegraph and by telephone iu addition
L. Inc former methods Of visual signal
ing.
"While the military work Of the other
arms Of the service speedily decreased
with tine reduction Of the army, the de-
creased.
For convenience Of reference the field
operations vf the Signal Corps are treated
IN this report geographically under the
various headings or Alaska China Cuba.
the Philippines. Porto Rico. and the
United States
The Philippines and China.
'The extraordinary demands for trained
operators of the Signal Corps I'm the Phil
ippiues and China have necessitated the
transfer from the permanent telegraph
lines in the Z f4,ed States Of every Signal
Corps man whose health was such IS 70
permit Of foreign service. In consequence
many stations have been operated by civ
ilians. thus considerably enhancing the
cost Of the maintenance Of these lines
These lines have remained in a servicea-
BILE condition throughout the year inter
rUptiOus being very rare and OF short du-
ration.
The permanent military telegraph lines
have been. as occasion required. supple
mcnted by temporary telegraph and Jeie-
phone lines. which have been constructed
and dismantied as necessity demanded
NOta bic among these lines was that con-
structed al the Preside in connection
with the return Of the volunteer army
from the Philippines, at the muSter-out
camp. hospital. and post Headquarters.
through which Geographic ana ttIeuhOn-
&c facilities OF modern character were az
foTdsd both the army and the interested
he systems Of short cables. which
have been laid On connection with sea-
coast Publications IN the more import
ant harbors of the United States have as
a rule. been maintained in successful OPP
Grafton without INJURY or interruption
throughout the year Serious Interrupt
tons occurred. however. in connection
with the cable system Of New York IIar-
I..H W ha f.H n wi
points by ships anchors The cable has
been thoroughly repaired. While OCcaS-
ional Interruptions may bc looked for I'm
this cable, YET special efforts have been
made. through the courtesy Of Brig Cen
John N. Wilson. late Chief Of Engineers,
20 remove IL TO q route where injuries will
be reduced 20 a minimum
While the campaign in China occurred
subsequent TO the end OF the hScaI
year lNgg-1s10. yet from its Importance and
interest II was treated IN that annual re-
port The Chief Signal OuCer Of the
Army had not, however, received the
official report Of Major George =.
Scriveu. Signal Corps. which is appended
herewith. appendix No. -
'~The Chief Signal Ofhcer thinks fl IN
necessary 70 DO more than to call special
attention 10 Major Servers report. rs
pecial credit is due 10 Major Scriven and
his officers IN their diplomatic. profess
siOnal. and practical efforts which carried
into Picking the first telegraph line Of
the allied armies. Such was the despatch
or the work that the line practically went
there served FOR the week as the only
means Of Geographic communication with
the outside world.
that this prompt establishment Of tele-
graphic communication between Taku
and Picking could not have been made but
for the generosity OF the British army in
supplying certain deficiencies in the Sig
nal Corps material which could not be
carried on at one time owing TO the lack
OF sufficient transportation FOR the tele-
graph line. about ll5 miles I'm length.
Great credit IS due First Lieut. Henry
W. Stamford. Signal Corps. not only for
ability as acting signal officer Of the
command prior to Major Scrivens ar
rival, but also for the skill and energy
with which he personally supervised con-
structiOn, maintenance, and operation Of
this line through a hostile country Lieu
tenants Bartsch, Hastings. and Capron
also contributed materially 10 the eff
Client 0reratf0u and construction of the
line. The United States military tele-
graph line was operated from Taku forts
20 Picking from August, 1890, 20 March j..
1901. when the American forces withdrew
from China. at which time the line was
sold for &l,5l5 and the proceeds covered
Into the Treasury Of the United States
The Department of Cuba.
'The telegraph lines and Signal Corps
work connected with the Military De
partment Of Cuba have remained in
charge OF Col. Il II. G. DunWOOdy. Sig
nal Corps. who was assigned 10 this i'm
portant duty in December. 1888. until May
20Igu when he was relieved by CaDr. OTTO
a. Nesmith, Signal Corps, and assigned 70
duty al Washington. -. g.. ia chlIg, OI
the Signal Corps during the absence Of
the Chief Signal officer in the Philippines.
Under Colonel DunwoOdy the telegraph
system OF Cuba was developed 10 q high
degree Of efficiency.
he telegraph system now operated by
the Signal Corps IN Cuba consists Of 3,lIS
miles showing an increase Of l6Z miles
year. During the American occupation
the old Spanish telegraph lines in the
western provinces Of the island were
practically rebuilt and the telegraph sys-
TEN extended 20 include the eastern
provinces. placing all the military posts
ana principal towns In teleZraphIc com
munlcatiOn with the outside world. The
was the construction Of the telephone line
from BaTacOa 70 Cape Aaysi IN the In
terest OF commerce. the station al Cape
Maysi reporting passing vessels by teie-
phone TO interested parties.
w h1ie the work OF construction OF new
Hines during the current year was limit
ed, general repairs were continued. which
improved the efficiency Of the system al
the close Of the year. il is no cxagRera-
ticn 20 STATE that The telegraph facilities
In the Island Of Cuba compare fav0rably
with those in the United States. notwIth-
standing the extraordinary efforts re-
Quired to keep the lines IN operation
Communication has been maintained
over the trunk line between Havana ana
Santiago during the year. except for oc-
casiOual brief interruptions
In the management Of this Cuban tel
Sgraph system il has been the aim Of the