The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-07-13
TELEPHONES IN WARFARE

The telephones is so commonplace
to all Americans, for Americans use
more telephones than people of any
other nationality, that we are inclin
ed to think of it as only a side issue
for communication in times of war
especially when wireless work has
occupied an important place as a
means for sending long distance mes
sages. That this view is entirely un-
warranted, and the telephone still
holds its own on the battle front in
modern warfare, and has even been
greatly improved, and its usefulness
extended is shown by the uses to
which it is put along the lines of first
defence in France, and also by the
Signal Corps of our own army.
Whenever a camp is established
by our army, you will find the Sig
nal Corps to be among the first
workers to arrive. They rapidly put
up wire connecting commissary,
quartermaster, field, division, and
other headquarters and have a point
to which all wires converge in the
central telephone tent. Here you will
find instead of long line of "Hello
gilrs," several Signal Corps men sit
ting in front Of telephone field
switchboards busily making connec-
tons. These field switchboards are
compact and comparatively light.
They may be disconnected and made
ready for shipment in short order
and look like ordinary shipping
boxes when ready to be moved.
When line is to be erected quick
ly, the reel Of telephone wire is car
ried by one man on horseback, pre-
coded by another man similarly
mounted and carrying a supply of
telephone poles which he thrusts into
the grount without pausing as the
two advance. If the extension is a |
long one, additional supplies are
brought up by other horsemen rid
ing the rear. A well trained squad of
signal corps men can easily
run new line of wire forty or fifty
miles long inside of half a day.
The field telephones used by the
U. S. Army are probably as good as
those used by any army in the world.
They have no hook which must be
moved up and down to attract the
central sation, for the transmitter
md receiver are one When not in
use they remain in the telephone box
md when they are used for talking,
he connection with the line is made
~ pushing a button in the handle.
The ringing is all done by turning
rank, as in the old type of magnetic
first used in country and
ven on city lines. When it is neces-
airy to move the camp the tele-
homes may be quickly disconnected
no shut in their boxes, and when so
isconnected they have the appear
nee of an ordinary polished oak
OK. The connecting wires for the
telephone system are iron-shod poles
hitch require but sharp pull to re-
love them as quickly as they were
ut in.
Since the grounded return is u.s.
ally used in modern field telephone
obstruction, each line requires the
eturn circuit being completed
trough the earth. In a we'll estab-
shed camp every commissioned Off
er in his tent is instantly available
} call by telephone either day or
lght and even the outposts have
lephone stations which permit
lem to keep in touch with what is
Ding on inside the lines.
In addition to this regular camp
lephone system which corresponds
the telephone system of our
rgest domestic cities, there is a
'ecial type of instrument used by
outing parties for purposes Of ex-
grafton. This instrument is light
ID easily portable. In army par
nee it is called . Service buzzar,"
wing to the fact that the noisy tele-
zone bells are replaced by buzzer
hitting calling signal just loud
ough to be heard a short distance
ray. yet not audible at any consi-
rable distance. Even this signal
~ be silenced, however, and the +
lephone used strapped to the body =
d with the head receiver continu- !,
y clamped over the ears. Il
The service buzzer may be used 4
ywhere by driving a metal stake o
the ground and connecting the o
aer terminal to a wire fence or q
en- to a barbed wire ENHANCEMENT.
is most often used in connection
tn a portable reel of barbed wire
small paupe which il ,,nraolod -