Show WHO IS THIS MAJOR LEE I see lathe newspaper reports that one Major Lee has attempted to drag mr name into tile case by question which conveyed the impression that 1 wrut present at some conference where beef contracts were discussed I desIre to say that I never had anything to do with any meat contract nOr even ex changed a word with anofficial of the ear department on this subject I make this statement in order that It may have the same PublicitY as was given to the onemptlble insinuations oJ this man Lee In the foregoing outburst of feeling Senator lark Hanna relieved his mind to an ASSOciatCl Press reporter according ac-cording to dispatches printed ct r S day Apparently Mark ii i not acquainted V ith this mal Lee who has made a reputation as a crosscxaminer on the beef h1eslgalon board Taking the Irate Senators denial pf complicity in the McKinleyAlger mismanagement mismanage-ment of the wir department for what i Is worth let us see who this man Lll iH and how his record as a patriot pa-triot and fiend of the soldier compares with that of ll Hanna The Amercan army never contained n better or a braver soldier than is Major Jesse L Lee He began his military caretl RO a prhnte in the Fitninth Indiana volunteer infantry in 1G and was promoted in the held through the several grades to a cap 3 tRnc fro which he was honorably I mustered out In July SG5 only to tales service the next month as captain in another regiment Meanwhile the t president had nOIllnated him for a lieutenanCY tenanCY In the Thirtyninth regular infantry from which he wan trans I terred to the Twentffl regular 1n p Lantry and later to the Ninth where S lIe tt ine his captaincy in 18i9 Jeese 1 Lee neer knew what it was tu have easy assignments soft naps or Ittia pre rment DurIng the twenty years of his captaincy he went ahead attending to ills duties with untiring un-tiring faithfulnes and modest self cfarlen1 and 1 mot of that time at hard service and exile among the dreary pests of the Indian country He has been a conscientious worker for the practcl solution of national quetons pertaining to the army all his life while Mark Hanna who alTO 4 ganty refers to him as one Major Lee wa studying up just as may sclemt to skin thc government While on detail a acting agent for the heyenflC and Arapahoe Indians In Oklahoma he irought to light 0 scandaloUS scan-daloUS pIece of business in 1hlch the IndialS were robbed of mpre thth 1 60 0 When Wis remembered tat the I gOteTflYUOXt lit Wahlngon if v9ri I eaousof any criticism by eikns in its s1te and 1Mt Jf is r or lotennlS br an amy officer he Hale to cOSt him his CQmmlssionvlh all tt thCsu i alos CW deloo tat Captain Lee undertook t I > u 1 E ti an extra hrdous task when he X Psed the ndl 1 stel aiidhat 1t is only n question o time wlen lark Hanna our imperial dictator jut noW will have the official scalp ot thls mal tee But Lee never shirked a duty or a reapasibility in his me I S At the time hd mae public the frEUd upon the Indians he framed a b1 for 1 I their reimbursement and had it Intr duced1n congress but Captain Lee a kpt in the field and the contractors who had been bobbIng the Indians sue cdeed 1n defeating it in that LeeS character was revealed traton There was no glory tp be gained but on the contrary the risk of o and epaulettes and an be caue his sense of justice waS stirred up b thewrong inflicted upon a pOOr and 1elple group of Indians His reputation as a man Is beyond criticism and his record as a fighter is one tat any soldier might well be proud of He recruIted 3 regiment of colored Immunes for the war with Spain and Qe did I a a fri nd of the negroes hoping tp Improve their opportunities op-portunities and their ideals And when it beae apparent that the negro volunteers vol-unteers would not be engaged in active service 11 resigned his place as colonel to fl a vacancy r major In his old rjgiment Major Lee undertook the role of the prosecutor in the beef contrct InveS tgaton as he had championed the use of the helpless against ofcia power and corruption before It was another example of hIs chivalry and courage Rb ca have no motive for entering into a fight for the rank and file of the army as against a group of rich contractors and powerful staff of firers except his native hatred of I wrong I win be observed however I by everyone who reads the testimony i I that Major Lee has never found it nec I that I esar to forget that he is a gentleman gentle-man when he Is examining the witnesses I wit-nesses brought before the cotirt and all of Hannas strrning or Algers unfriendliness un-friendliness or IcKlnleys efforts to have reVenge upon the hones old soldier I sol-dier will redound to his credit and to theIr ultimate shame I |