Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-10-31
KUTz TAKES OATH
AS COMMISSIONER
Army Officer Becomes Engi-
neer Member of Districts
Governing Board.

1 Maj. Charles w Kutz today became
Engineer Commissioner of the Dtstric
of Columbia. He is the fifteenth office,
Of the Engineer Corps OF the United
| States Army to f7ll this position since
the establishment Of the Districts
| commission form of government ir
1875
| His induction into Office, which tool
place in the presence OF District Off
cials and employees in the boardroom ol
| the municipal building, was Immediate
IL followed by his being sworn IN as
member Of the public utilities commits
| sion. Later the commission met ant
| elected him chairman to fill out the
| unexpired term of former EnS'ucel
| Commissioner Chester Harding. whom
he succeeds on the board.
Ceremonies Are Brief.
The ceremonies marking the beginning
Of a new administration in the engineer
department of the local government
were exceedingly brief. Promptly at 10
o'clock the old board assembled. Maj.
kutz occupying d seat to the left OF Col
Harding. Commissioner Newman eS-
planned briefly the purpose or the occa-
sion, and called on DIR. William Tlndall,
secretary to the Commissioners. to ad-
minister the oath of office to Maj. kutz-
Following this formality the new 9TH
cial was sworn in as a member of the
public utilities commission by John r
Young. clerk Of the District Of Columbia
Supreme Court
In accordance with time-honored Gus
tom officials and employees OF the Dis
trict were then presented to the new
member of the board. The entire pro-
ceedings consumed less than ten min
uteS.
Well Known in Capital.
Although never having held a District
government position. Mai. kut% is wc'l
known to the people of Washington. and
thoroughly familiar with local condi-
tions, his last assignment having been
engineer in charge Of local river and
harbor improvements.
He is native of Reading. Pa, and
was graduated No > in the class of
1898 at West Point He reached the
grade of major in 1908.
Prominent among Ma j. kutzS dist1n-
guished services is the special study
he made of conditions at Niagara Falls
in connection with plans for the pro-
lection of the scenic beauty of the To-
ca1ity and the diversion of water for
commercial purposes
His investigation of local river and
harbor improvements will be of partic-
question of providing an increased wa
ter supply for Washington is given
consideration, which probably will be
in the near future.
Work in the Far East.
From 1906 to 1908 Maj Kutz was sta
toned at West Point as professor of
practical military engineering. In 1911
he went to Manila and served for three
years as chief engineer of the Philip
pines division He was highly com
mended by Mai. Gen. Bell. commanding
the division, for his efficient work In
the installing of the defenses of Ma
Mia bay and Subig bays
Both the designation of Mai kutz to
be District Engineer Commissioner
and of Col Harding to be engineer OF
maintenance at Panama are regarded
as having been made partly in recogn1-
ton of the good work they have done
in their former assignments.
Col. Harding was kept busy today
saying good-b bye to District officials and
employees, as well as many citizens of
the District who called at his office
He will leave Washington tonight, and
expects to sail from New York No
vember for Panama.