The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-08

and gay decorations to an occasional state
entertainme mt He is always Y ung, any
way the right side middle age, and he is
usually a dancing man, or at least din
ing man. He is in great demand by ambi-
tious hostesses, and his name is on the
dinner lists of the socially great. Society
is, ind ed, a part Of his duty, and no man
not perfectly fitted to make a favorable
impression in Washington is ever sent
here as military or naval attache, for
he is expected to add to the social prestige
of the legation to whit h he is attached.
But attention to society is by no means
all his duty. There are great many
things in American army and navy affairs
which foreign governments like to know
about, and il is precisely these things that
it is the business of the attaches TO learn,
though he is in no sense OF the word
spy. Almost every foreign nation has Sc
cret means of Information concerning our
Notifications and our ornaments, but mil
itary and naval attaches do not deal in
secrets. An army officer recently stated
before the House Committee on Military
Affairs, while a bill for the reconstruc-
ton of Fort Hamilton, at New York. was
pending, that plans of the fort and the
surrounding works were in the possession
of foreign war Offices and il is known that
the Spanish authorities had many maps
of Southern coast fortifcations which
even the innocent amateur photogf apher
is forbidden to snap his camera at Such
information AZ this, however, is obtained
through channels less official than the
attache The attaches are here to Sc
only what the government officials permit
them to see. They visit shipyards and
army posts, and make Investigations of
methods of transporting troops, of victual-
ing armies. and of supplying fuel to the
navy. There is very little that a military
or naval attaChe wants to know that the
department at Washington do not furnish
him every facility for learning. His work
is open and above board and the position
is one that is almost always conferred
as a reward for some especially meritOr-
Gus service In consequence the military
and naval attaches are the very cream
of the diplomatic corps, and finer body
of men gould hardly be found the word
around
Most widely known Attache.
Lieut. Col. Arthur Lee Of the British
embassy is. no doubt, the most widely
known Of the military attaches and "a bet
ter liked man cannot be found in all
Washington. Although he is only a year
or two past his thrtieth birthday, Col
Lee has already had a career brilliant
enough to satisfy a soldier of twice his
years He was commissioned a second
lieutenant Of the Royal Artillery at 90 and
went out to Hong Kong as adjutant of
the Hong Kong volunteers. He was staff
officer of the Coast Defense School on the
Isle OF Wight from 1891 TO 1893 when he
came over to Canada as professor Of tao
ties at the Royal Military College at King
ston. lie came from Kingston AT the be-
ginning of The Spanish-American war to
Join our army in cuba as British military
attache. lie has written several maya
zine articles on the Cuban campaign
but the men who were with him down
there say he has LETT the best part Of
his experience untold. He showed him
self I'm innumerabic instances 10 DO
both brave and Kind Of heart All the iay
o. the f. can crgag ment he was with
Gen. ~ afeo. and under fire for great
part Of the lime. tie himself tells that ne
inflated the scrucnts method OF travel
IN making his way fr IN one part u the
line TO another once ia the course OF the
DAY he came upou an American soldier. a