Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-03-25
SOLDIERS OUTING
Adjutant General Frank Dick
son Investigating Sites in
Different Cities.
VISITS IN BLOOMINGTON
Has Already Been Over the Ground
at Streator, Elgin and DanviIle-
Encampment Arrangements.

Bloomington, March 25.-(Special.)
General Frank Dickson, adjutant
general of the state, was in Blooming
ton today for the purpose of consult
! ing with a committee of the Business
Mems association looking to the hold
ing of the encampment of part OF the
militia of the state in this city during
the coming summer.
| General Dickson with the commit
tee of the business men will visit the
available sites for the encampment
during the day and the state official
will later make his report on the sit
uation here, along with that from sew
eral other cities which he has visited.
If the report is favorable, one regi-
ment or a brigade consisting of sew
eral regiments will be sent to
Bloomington for their annual tour of
duty during the summer.
Camped There I'm 1903.
Sites at Houghton's lake, Miller
park, the ball grounds and perhaps
other places will be visited. 1t will
be remembered that quite large body
of soldiers, regulars and militia, en-
camped at Houghton's lake during the
Spanish-American state convention
here in 1903, the occasion when Presi-
dent Roosevelt visited Bloomington.
Miller park also offers an ideal camp
ing place, provided it can be secured
for such purpose. There are not
many sites that offer just the desired
combination of woods for shade and
large open plain for a drill ground.
However. 1t is thought that Blooming
ton has as many such as has Streator,
visited by General Dickson recently.
First Time at One Point.
The proposed encampment of the
militia in the coming summer will be
one of the largest military tourna-
ments ever seen in Illinois, and Bloom
ington will be fortunate if it can
land It. This will be the first time in
the history of the state that the entire
membership of the national guard will
be modified at one point, and some
idea of the magnitude of the under
taking may be gathered when it is
stated that fully 5000 soldiers will
be encamped together at one time. |
Twenty-Five hundred acres of land will
be required, and 300 acres are neces-
sary for the parade ground alone. !
The state has appropriated the sum of
$3.50, 900 to pay the expenses of the |
encampment, and it Is said that the /
provisions and supplies are usually |
bought in the city where the encamp- |
ment is held. The amount of food |
stuffs alone that is necessary to feed |
q a
and ice is used by the thousands of /
tons. 1t is safe to say that such an |
encampment will bring in the neigh |
borhood OF 100000 to the city secur-
ing 1t from the soldiers alone, not to
mention the large amount that would /
be spent by visitors to the city who |
would be drawn by such an attrac-
ton.
EIgfn f. Anxious.
An encampment of Smaller proper
tions was held at Elgin last year,
when 1000 soldiers went into camp.
AS Elgin is in the northern part of
the state, 1t is more favorably located
for the Chicago regiments from the
of transportation mileage.
which cuts a large figure, as the sol
diers are literally brought to the place
OF encampment in train loads. Bloom
ington, however, is a central point for
the mobilizing Of all the soldiers TAX
en- together and stands far ahead of
Elgin on the point of railroad facili-
ties. That Elgin must have profited
greatly by the encampment last year
is demonstrated by the fact that the