New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-06-17

gence and efficiency as do or can exist
among any body OF soldiers the world
over"
It is this point that Colonel Hart
mann desires 10 drive home 10 the
telographers of the United States
along with the fact that the enormous
and sudden expansion of the United
States army demands an unusual num-
Der of men az good salaries, immediate
~. Congress has recently doubled the
pay Of the private and increased the
remuneration of each noD-c0mmis-
stoned officer. The Signal Corps has
greater percentage of n-commis-
stoned officers than any other branch
The pay Of a corporal Is now 500 per
month, in addition 90 food and cloth
ing and medical attendance when need
ed. The rating of a sergeant is now
Sii, with the same subsistence: that Of
sergeant, iirst-class, SOL, and the master
signal electrician and many tele-
graphers have most Of the require
ments in this direction ssh The
Signal Corps is a mounted service A
knowledge Of horses, if not already
possessed, must be acquired. and a
hea.thful life in the open is one Of the
most attractive offerings of this branch
Of the service.
Methods Changing
Brigadier General Scriycn says: I'm
war, as IN peace. changed methods of
intelligence communications with all
that this implies have been due TO
many agencies; chemistry and the me-
chanlcal arts have. of themselves,
done their share and given us aircraft
IN its varying forms, the searchlight
ka val
pyrotechnics nd many other useful de-
vices
But other agencies have played their
part, and the fighting world no longer
moves only on the surface of land and
water. Indeed. advances In the arts Of
peace have vastly increased lighting
power in war. and the application Of
science 70 the usual business of life,
while II has multiplied the comforts of
man and perhaps increased his well
fare. has also augmented his killing
powers. At no period OF the worlds
history has this truth been better H.
lustrated than in the tremendous APP
pllcation Of science % war, made By the
fighting nations OF Europe.
III we consider for a moment the
value Of this application 10 the trans
mission Of military information. shown
IN the use Of the telegraph and tele-
phone to-day IN Europe and long ago
by our own army IN Cuba, the Philip
pines. and in China, and note the i'm
portance Of the radio. 20 say nothing Of
the surprising influence of the aero
plane and the many applications Of
science 10 the service Of war. il should
seem unnecessary 70 dwell upon the
military value Of these aids 70 war.
However. there are still people Of in
telligence who in practice think that
the transmission o. military thought IL
summed up in the use OF notebook, the
orderly. and his horse
Vital Branch in War
But these are passing, and the
trained soldier and educated volunteer
understand the vital importance of
time in military operations and the
need for the immediate transmission of
Information. Hence, the necessity for
a Signal Corps or It's equivalent; for
without its aid modern armies can no
more be controlled than can great rail.
way systems; the commander in the
field remains blind and deaf 70 the
events occurring around him. incapable
OF maintaining touch with conditions,
and out Of reach of his superiors or
those under his authority. upon whom
he depends for the execution of his
plans. The brain lacks the power Of
control because the nerves are wanting.
Time is the main factor in war; to ar
rive first with the greatest number of
men. and with the c.earest understand
ing Of the situation, is 10 succeed. The
last. and often the first. Of these con.
dltlons depends upon the lines of in
formation Of the army"
The Signal Corps is charged with the
building up Of an efficient aeronautical
service. This branch has been proving
the most attractive for the young re
cruit in recent months.
General Scriven says that the duties
Of the Signal Corps for intelligence
communication are not confined to the
transmission of information alone.
though that is its principal function
In addition 10 this service, its troops
will have plenty OF fighting, il not plain
soldering. 20 do. not only with the in
fan.ry outposts and az detached sta.
tons, but with the cavalry in recon-
Nuisance work, and with both when
serving with contact troops and with
patrols. Indeed. this corps. whose
soldiers are classed as staff troops. is
while in service kept by its duties IN
tho forefront of military operations.
and in the war with Spain. as IN more
recent border troubles with Mexico,
has suffered greater proportions1
losses in killed and wounded than snA