The Washington times., 1913-02-05
SIGNAL CORPS HEAD
WILL RETIRE FROM
ARMY NEXT WEEK
Brigadier General James Allen
Will Go Back to Boyhood
Home in Indiana.

After a life full of adventure and
achievement, honored in the service Of
his Government Brig. Gen. James Al
len, ch eff signal officer of the United
States Army, viii on February Is re-
tire from active service, and go back
to live the remainder of his life at his
boyhood home in LaPorte, Ind.
General Allen has a military record
of forty-one years which reads like q
novel Himself of modest bearing, It
is In the official, perfunctory records
of the War Department, that the full
story OF his adventures may be CLEANED.
All the way from fighting on the old
Indian frontier down TO handling the
highly scientific questions of develop
menf Of m ii;ary aviation and the wire-
less. General Allen has been in the fore
front.
Allen graduated from West Point in
1872, and, in the cavalry branch, i'm
mediately saw service in the Indian
campaigns In the Middle West. In 1881,
he was transferred TO the S gnal Corps
because of his unusual ability in ar
ranging means for military communi-
cation
Spanish War Record.
II was, however, In the Spanish
American war that the army officer
established the reputation Of the G.
nal Corps. For locating CeverA's fleet
in Santiago harbor and supplying the
Information which resulted In its de-
struction. Rrigad.er General Allen re-
ceved a letter of commendation from
President Mckinley.
"Colonei Alien, says the official mil
itary report, furnished daily cesnmuni-
cation under the most difficult condi-
tons. He reported that the Spanish
squadron was short of coal and could
not renew its supply In port His eff
cient work enabled the navy to strike
fleet"
Brigadier General Allen is very
proud of the fact that the President
was notified of the destruction of the
Spanish fleet, by his cable dispatches.
fourteen hours in advance of any
other official information.
He was ordered by the Secretary of
War to destroy the Cuban cables. On
the cable ship, Arias, with foreign
crew and harassed by spanish 20 e.
do boats, he completed this perilous
task. While working on the last Of
the cables, a Spanish ship opened fire
on the Arias, and Aliens crew revolt
ed. AT the point of a pistol. he, as
the crew to work until the cable was
cut in two places At the close Of the
war, Colonel Allen restored the cables.
Head of Aviation Squad.
For the next three years he laid tele-
graph lines in the Philippines and
kept communication from the interior
parts of the islands open with Manila
Then he was ordered to Alaska to take
charge of laying the Seattle and Alas
ka cable.
Since becoming chief signal officer,
Brigadier General Allen has been in
charge Of military aviation. He was
instrumental in inducing Congress TO
make the first appropriation for an
army aviation school He purchased
two aeroplanes. designated five avia-
tors, and selected a site at College
Park. Nd.
Each year he has urged Congress to
greatly increase the appropriation
He has fostered the science and is Sc
cure in the knowledge that when he
retires he will leave behind an avia-
tion branch of the Signal Corps which,
although not as large as that of many
other nations, is considered by experts
to be probably the most perfect.