Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-29

telegraph and telephone construc-
ton work.
The necessary reorganization was
effected, the chief signal officer at
Tours promptly furnishing the need
ed motor transport and working
tools, and at the end of six weeks
the work assigned to the battalion
was completed.
The battalion was then ordered to
La Souterraine, (Creuse) where a
forty -five-mile section of the Bor-
deaux-Bourges line was built from
GroSsieux, near Limoges, to a point
just north of st. Benoit du Sault.
Thence the battalion was ordered
to PerigueX (Dordogne), where a
twenty five mile section of the Bor-
deauX ?Bourges line was built from
Periguex to a point just south of
Mussidan (Dordogne). Also Com
pany d installed a complete tele-
phone exchange of twelve lines in
the office of Lieutenant Colonel Neff,
general superintendent of railways
at PerigueX. running necessary lines
for phones to the various offices un-
der his command in the building,
and running lines to Camp Chemier,
n point five miles south of PerigueX
and there locating telephones and
switchboard in the offices of the To-
cal commanding officers of the en-
gineer of the railway operating
troops.
From Perigdeux the battalion was
ordered to Chateau Renault Undre
ct Loire) there building a twenty
five mile section of the Paris-Tours
line from st. Pierre de Corps. near
Tours, to st. Almond. Company f,
in addition. constructed and rebuilt
net lines for local telephone and
telegraph service in and around st.
Pierre de Corps calvage plant.
After completion of the above
projects, Company D, of the bat
talon, was located at Orleans
LoireD where that company con-
structed fifteen miles of the Paris
Tours line between Coulmier and
Artenay. Company E Joined the
battalion at Orleans after their work
at st. Pierre de Corps was finished.
After completion of the project at
Orleans Loiret) the battalion was
ordered to railroad service in the
advance section, and headquarters
established at Liffol-le-G Grand,
Vosges. for duty with the Trans
portation Corps on the Est Railway
of France. ...
From this point train dispatching
telephone outfits were installed over
the line of the above named rail-
way. Train dispatchers from the
battalion personnel were located at
Verdun, Liffol-le-Grand. Iszsur-Tille
and st. Florentin, and operators,
linemen and telephone installers
| from the battalion personnel To-
Df rin ct q h g
| territory. From the period extend
| ing December until June /, the
above personnel maintained railroad
| telegraph service for the Transpor-
| tation Corps over this territory. 1t
must be understood, however, that
no train dispatchinr was actually
done because of the prevailing
French Railroad system of train
operation, which the French Rail
way authorities refused to abandon
| for the American system. The tele-
graph and telephone communication
thus established enabled the bat
| TALON to expedite the movement of
American munition and supply
trains through this advance section
over the East Railway to the Ameri-
can Army of Occupation in Belgium
and Germany.
| leased from its duties and departed
| for the United States via Le-Mans
and Sa. Nazaire. arriving in the
United States June 2S, final demob-
! iliZation taking place July 3 at
| Camps Dix and Mills and various
other camps to which the soldiers
were sent.
Any narrative of the movement
| of and the work done by this bat
| talon would be very incomplete
! without calling attention to the com
mendable spirit with which the Of
| ficers and men, rapidly learned and
accustomed themselves to the work
| of heavy construction of telephone
| and telegraph lines. a work with
which they We're totally unfamiliar
Company officers whose civil oc-
/ cupation was that of chief train
! dispatchers, rapidly acquainted
! themselves with the necessary quail
| fications to direct the men under
| them in the line of work to which
| they were assigned. Enlisted men
who were telegraph operators and
| only accustomed to indoor work be-
| came quickly proficient in digging
| post holes and setting poles. AS the
work progressed, the enlisted men
| learned to climb poles. string wires
and do skillfully all the work of q
| telegraph lineman. AS a result, the
| orga n 'zation, when released, repre-
sented an efficient heavy telegraph
and telephone construction battalion
as we'll as railroad operating bat
| talon as IT was when it arrived in
| France.
From among the enlisted men
| there also developed an efficient mo-
| tor repair gang. The battalion had
! at one time twenty three trucks,
i three automobiles. together with
| twelve motorcycles, all of which
were kept in running order and re-
pair during the entire period of our
work in France.
Tt is worth while to remark that
| the discipline and conduct of the
men composing the battalion was
| above the average, there being but
! one case of general courts matr'al;
/ the offender in this case being an
! enlisted man who was transferred
| to the battalion as q cook by the
army authorities and was not enlist
| ed by those who were instrumental
| in the recruiting of the Four Hun
dred and Fourteenth Telegraph Bat
| talon.
Philadelphia and Reading Rail-
way boys from Harrisburg. Ruther-
| ford, Hummelstown and Steelton
members of the Four Hundred and
Fourteenth Telegraph Battalion and
| other units in the World War:
Emmit NJ Kline, John r. Parker
| A. B. Russell. Jacob Strine, Walter
L. vanaman. John w. Shook. John