Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1912-07-28
WONDERFUL HAVE BEEN TIE CHANGES Signal System in Army Cir cles Has Reached 8 High Point of Perfection. WHAT CAN BE DONE ? ihe Indians Used Tlie Cloud By Day
 And The Pillar Of Fire
 By Night.
WHAT CAN BE. DONE
(By Roderick Clifford.)

Washington, July 21.-All warfare mas latterly suffered change until The elder Warriors would scarcely feel at home i'll the midst of our mod elh Helds of carnage. And not the least important of these changes is that which the signal system has un- defgohe. Signalling has always been oI the first importance in warfare. There has never lived a people who were at all Warlike that had no means of flashing messages across ] eSpanses, particularly when the stress of eontending forces made such communication imperative.
 The early Indians it is known used devices similar those employed by the bibical character told of in the Jewish folklore. Their chief means of signalling were the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by nlght These devices are still in use ill some parts. Even in modern warfare We use signal lights, more modernized substitutes for the ''pil- lar of fire.''
 Perhaps the most picturesque 1 means of communication in time of war were those employed during the year that Frederick the Great and Napoleon and Wellington and Gus tayus Adolphus fought over Europe. Then were used what were known as ''semaphores. These were huge arms which waved signals according to code, similar to the modern wig Wagglng in our own army and navy.
 In times Of peace the semaphores were used for rapid communication and Whot telegraph was in operation, chiefly in France This telegraph was con- stituted by a series of semaphore towers, just barely in sight of each other. The message would start at one end of the line and would be signalled according to the code to the first tower, thence to the second thence to the third and so forth.
 This means of communication was so unreliable, however, that the most important messa ges were always transferred by couriers.
 During the American Civil War the first scientific signalling was done by means of code flags. The system was more highly perfected in the Spanisl-American war when the tel egraph was put into use to a very limited extent.
 Wire telegraphy has reached it's height for Warlike purposes and the reel carts which are now being turn ed out for the War Department rep resent the last word in this sort of communication.
 Recent military gagements have demonstrated that instant communi- cation upon a field of battle between widely separated forces is impera- tive and to the attention of many military experts has been focused on the matter. These latest reel carts represent careful study of the situa- ton.
 They are so constructed that cart drawn by team of horses can advance immediately behind 3 caval- " or infantry charge, and while pro- ceeding at a gallop lay line of field wire and establish immediate commu- nication with a given base at any point at which the cart stops. One of these carts, it is planned, will go with each commanding officer and will thus enable him to keep in con- stant touch with both his superior officers and the men under his con- mand.
 A large measure of catastrophe brought about thr3usn misunder- standing orders, the Killing of cour- iers and various other contingencies, will thus be obviated- Of course there will be drawbacks to the wire telegraphy, but the real carts are surely the best obtainable. When the cart returned along it's silken- web strands. the reel cart will auto matically take up the slack and wind it around it's spool no matter how fast the cart goes
 Experimentation is an element which is never asleep in the War Department nowadays and when the Signal Corps of which Gen. James Allen, is chief, comes out of the lab oratories next time, it is expected that there will be a wireless signal outfit which will be we'll worth see-e ing. Wireless telegraphy is to be the chief dependency in future sig mailing. One of the chief difficult ties to be contended with is the con- fusion resultant from a criss-cross- ing of messages in time of battle. This will have to be worked out with great skill and patience but the War l}epaftnent Will uoublieeS uo IL III the end.
 One of the first of the Signal Corps reel carts has been delivered to the District of Columbia National Guard. This organization is now engaged in practice and the mastery of the inn plement. Later in the summer when the guard goes to Harper's Ferry for it's regular encampment and target practice, the reel cart will be put in- to active use. It will be tried out in the sham battles there and it's efficiency will be thoroughly demon-