Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-01-24

Philippines with headquarters at Ma
Mia. The change will take effect
April l. at which time Maj. Townsend
will be succeeded here by Maj. James
l.. Lusk. now assistant to the chief
engineer at Washington.
Mai. Townsend will report at Wash
ington after leaving here to take
-charge of two companies of troops
of the engineering department now
stationed M Washington barracks
and conduct them to the Philippines.
The two companies will relieve two
other companies and with two com
panies left on duty there will form
the battalion that he will command.
Duties VIII he Military
The duty he is called TO is military
in nature and includes. with the COM
mand of the battalion, the supervis-
ion of the government work at Manila
bay and the Pasig river. Maj. Town
send will relieve Maj. Clinton r. Sears
and will he under Col. Davis. who has
charge of the engineering department
in the islands, lie will probably be
there three years. that being the us
ual length of service to duty of that
nature.
Maj. Lusk. who comes here, was a
cIassmatc of Maj. Townsend ut West
Point. Although never on duty in
this vicinity, he has served in the west
and was at one time secretary of the
Mississippi river commission.
Has Been Here Five Years.
Maj. Townsend came here i'm May,
1895. and so will have been in charge
of the upper Mississippi river work
at the time he is relieved nearly five
years. His term of service in one
place has been the longest of that of
any officer of his rank in the northern
division, and the orders received to-
day did not come altogether as 4 sur
prise to him. as he had expected to
be transferred soon.
Mai. Townsend has been in the gov
eminent service and i'm the engineer
ing department since 1879, when he
graduated from West Point. lie scrv-
ed first ut Willett's Point. y. ". going
from there to Washington as assist
ant to the engineer i'm charge of the
district of Maryland. Virginia and
North Carolina. Later he assisted the
engineer employed in supervising
some of the important improvements
about the city Of Washington. He
came west in 1890, when he had charge
of the Mississippi from the mouth of
White river to Nicksburg. After six.
years spent there he took charge of
the Improvements of the harbors on
the east side of Lake Michigan. From
that post he came here.
To an Argus reporter this morning
he said: Il shall greatly regret to
leave Rock Island. | like the city and
it's people and | am greatly interested
in the work of which / have been in
charge for the past five years. Yet.
since change cannot be avoided, /
am pleased to say that there is no
duty ] would prefer than that which
has been assigned me.
Mai. Townsend. in speaking of his
prospective duties, said he was not
surprised he was given another de-
tail. as it has become.a policy of late
of the engineer department To shift
the officers more than in the past.
He said that while he would. of
course. have liked to continue on duty
in this country. yet the detail assign
ed to him would be preferable to
some of the other stations that he
might have been given i'm the United
States. He expressed much regret at
being obliged to leave Rock Island
and to give up his work on the Mis-
sissippi. to which he had become pc
culiariv attached. He said. further.
that the new duty would mean an en-
tire change of his plans and methods.
Il
tween handling a civilian corps and
commanding soldiers. The major is
one of the most popular officers that
has ever come to Rock Island. and is
wen known and well liked by all
classes of people. and is prominent in
social and club life.