The Tomahawk., 1918-06-20

!, tmagaZine section. They
Chamber out of dugouts into the slush and the
freezing wind of a winter night to feel their way
along Il broken wire, sometimes over the shel-pit-
/ ted open ground behind the trenches until they
ind the break then sitting in ice water under nie
they repair it carefully and skillfully as II tney
were at work In the shop at home. 1t often taxes
three or four men to repair one of these breaks;
the first men sent out may never come back.
II Repaired at all costs the wire must be. and dan
ger does not excuse a slipshOd bit Of work. for
the signal system Of the army is what the her''
GUS system is to the human body.
y without it the modern army covering 1OO miles
of front ca mot see, feel or move The army com
man(er wishing to move portion OF his line ~
nnilcs away or to change the rapdity Of his artil
Nerylfire or to receive information of enemy move
,ents is as helpless without the slender threads OF
r.opper as he would be If he wished to move his
right arm and found the nerves paralyzed.
."There are still people of intelligence who think
that the transmission of military thought is summeo
ND in the use of the notebook, the orderly ana his
ahorSe" writes Brig Gen. George p Scrven. but
these are passing and the trained soldier and the
educated volunteer understand the vital fmpor-
etance Of information.
"IIence the necessity for signal corps or It's
y souuvalent for without It's aid modern armies can
f6o more be controlled than can great railway sys-
TENS; the commander in the field remains blind
and deaf to the events occurring around MIN, IN
capable of maintaining touch with conditions and
out reach of his superiors or those under his au
Ahority upon whom he depends for the execution or
his plans The brain lacks the power to control
because the nerves Are lacking.
4 ATime is the main factor in war; to arrive first
sg1th the greatest number Of men and with the
elenrest understanding of the situation Is to sllc-
ceed The last and often the first OF these condi-.
lions depends upon the lines of information of the
army"
And these lines in turn depend upon the obscure
- <1o rim nf Tho
enucky hard-fsted mechanic who crawls on his
belly through shell fire calculated to appall the
sto,ltest heart and connects the break between the
commander and the point he wishes to reach.
Somehow the lines are kept open all the time or
are broken for only short intervals, and the con-
slant tending of them has made possible in France
a system of wire communication that is a marvel
Of efficiency. Indeed so perfect is 1t that London
and Paris in direct connection with general
Headquarters the British front, which in turn Is
In touch with every division and brigade staff on
the line wire could be put straight through SO
nat Lloyd George If he wished could hear the
bursting of high explosives and shrapnel on the
Amiens front. s~ q. u-.-
This tremendous use of the telephone and tele-
graph in warfare is partly the result Of the i'm
Vetus arising from the American application of
electrical communication on a large scale In the
spanish war. The signal corps as it now exists is
q comparatively recent evolution .
In the American army the idea first arose In
the mind of young army surgeon, Albert James
1fyer. The Office of signal ofacer Of the army was
created in June, 1860. the first of its kind, and
Ayer was appointed He was at once sent with
an expedition against Navajo Indians in New Mex
eco. and his crude apparatus at once demon
aerated its worth ~ - ....-.- :
When the Civil war began he was ordered East
and opened school for signalers, and in that was
the definite beginning of the present signal corps
Wires were carried on horse or muleback then, the
instruments were imperfect and teegraphic COM
munication rare and precious thing. The
service took CD tremendous importance in the
spanish war and followed the troops through Cuba
and the Philippines, and in China was the only