Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-01-02
WORK Of SIGNAL
CORPS IN FRANCE
TOLD FIRST TIME
American Cross Bar Poles of
Telegraph Lines Now Fa-
miIiar Sight All Over France
and Part of Belgium,
ASSOCIATED Press Correspondencr1

Headquarters American Expedi-
! tonary Force. France Nov 2S,-In
an army the size of this. scattered
throughout the length and breadth of
france from the seacoast to the
SWISS border. the problem of com
munication is second only if not Of
equal importance to that of supplies
When the American forces came to
france u was one of the first efforts
10 which American ingenuity and in
Vehtlon was directed and the signal
corps under which communications
iahs' met It as have the other organ
lHatlonS of the American expedition
airy force, Existing French Telegram h
ana telephone systems We're overbur-
dened. There was little left for us
and Brig, Gen. f. Russell. chief sig
nal officer and his staff of experts
tackled the job.
what they have done in construc-
ton is shown IN some statistics fur
nlSheu to the Associated Press The
signal corps has built approximately
LOO miles of poles on which it has
strung 4,175 miles of wire. In addi-
ton about 1000 miles of American
Wire has been strung on existing svs-
TENS for our use and II has leased
ana operates more than 8 600 miles of
french wire Exchange lines to the
extent of 1850 miles have been built
ana TO operate these lines it has 244I
telephone offices. 1895 telephone sta
TONS and l02 telegraph offices,
All through France. from the base
ports to the front lines occupied bv
the American forces. throughout our
training areas, IN fact nearly every
where, the shining copper wires on
American cross bar poles, so different
from the European system, are new
feature or the landscape and freouent- |
~ one heard newly arrived American |
soldiers exclaim that Americana on |
main line systems with many wires |
the French customarily use two poles !
side by side and the wires are strung
on cross bars between. and others OF, /
single insulators fastened direct to the I
pole.
The long distance telegraph and
telephone system constructed by the
sisnal corps is entirely maintained by
us own personnel and in addition
some 5000 miles of leased wires are
maintained by it.
All this construction has been made
~ signal corps battalions with imple-
nents and material from the United
states with the single exception of
POLES, most of which were obtained in
rance. In construction. maintenance
md operation the standard practices
# the United States have been fol-
owed and the American expedition
Try force has been given service equal
o the best obtainable in the CONNER
ial world and admittedly unrivaued !
n any army. Its men have followed /
roops wherever troops went. down
ront line trenches, over shell-swept {
nd machine gun-raked areas to Law
nd keep their wires so that COM :
lunications might be maintained | !
he signal corps has a long list of /
rave dead and brave wounded, more {
onored perhaps, because they could G
OF fight back s
The telephone service of the corps | S
'as opened on June "a. 1917, and
nee then there have been handled O
early 100000 local calls and more /