In the production of its supplies, the Signal Corps was confronted with the same obstacles of inadequate industrial capacity, dearth of raw materials, and congestion of railroad transportation, that embarrassed almost every line of military production. To meet these difficulties the Signal Corps organized an elaborate inspection force which not only checked the work at the various factories for quality and rate of production, but was also constantly on hand to help the harassed manufacturer out of his difficulties as they arose. The Signal Corps never slept. At night and on holidays there was at least one officer on the job in Washington to receive telegrams or long-distance telephone messages and to be ready to act quickly in any emergency.
From the production standpoint, signal equipment was divided into several general classifications: (1) telephone and telegraph apparatus; (2) radio apparatus; (3) line-construction materials; (4) batteries; (5) wire and cables; (6) field glasses; (7) wire carts; (8) photographic supplies, pigeons, and pigeon supplies; and (9) chests, kits, and tools, mechanical signals, electric signals, meteorological apparatus, and wrist watches.
TELEPHONES AND TELEGRAPHS.
In the early days of the conflict the construction of signal materials in the United States was devoted to such basic supplies as wire, cable, tools, and the standard types of telephone equipment, such as telephone sets and switchboards. The first great task in France was to install the lines of communication for the service of supply, a system that required American equipment because it was planned to operate it with American-trained telegraph and telephone operators.
Now, there were numerous styles of commercial telephone equipment manufactured in the United States. The plan, therefore, was adopted of allowing the various manufacturing concerns to bid on a tentative production schedule, giving an exclusive contract to the lowest bidder in each type of apparatus. This exceptional policy was adopted in order to avoid multiplicity of types of equipment to be used abroad. If many makes were adopted in each type they would necessitate the procurement of many types of spare parts and replacement materials.
The concerns which produced the telephone equipment for the American Expeditionary Forces were the Western Electric Co., of Kansas City; the Kellogg Switchboard & Supply Co., of Chicago; the Stromberg-Carlson Telephone Manufacturing Co., of Rochester; the Frank Black Co., of Chicago; and the Reliable Electric Co., of Chicago.
At the signing of the armistice there were 282 American telephone exchanges in France, with 14,956 telephone lines reaching 8,959 stations. The 282 exchanges ranged from the small four-line monocord unit, such as may be seen in any business office, to the standard American multiple board of the city telephone exchange. Of these latter there were over 30 in use by the American Expeditionary Forces when the armistice was signed.
MULTIPLEX PRINTING TELEGRAPH. SCHOOL OF RADIO AND MULTIPLEX TELEGRAPHY.
