Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1914-04-24

White-haired and venerable, came to
Minneapolis from his Morrison county
home as a delegate to the antimachine
conference which selected his old pu-
pill, William E. Lee, as the guberna-
torial candidate for the primaries.
Opens General Store.
| From camp cook to Woodsman, driv-
ing logs down the Sandy river and to
clerking in a Long Prairie store, he
progressed until he began merchandiz-
| ing on his own account by opening
small general store in Vurnhamville,
Todd county Shortly after the youth
full merchant was elected to his first
public off1ce-that of justice Of the
peace.
And then one day Squire Lee took
trip in the direction of the old log
schoolhouse with the hollyhocks and
the morning glories, and when he re-
turned there came with him the rosy
checked little school-ma'am as Mrs.
William E. Lee. The couple lived in
the struggling hamlet of Vurnhamville
for two years and then moved to Long
Prairie, where a new and larger store
was opened.
The steady, quiet, methodical and
genial manner Of the young merchant
must have impressed the Todd county
citizens, for when the fall votes were
counted that year, it was discovered
William E. Lee was the new register
of deeds.
Elected to Legislature.
In 1885, after hotly contested cleo
ton, Mr.. Lee was elected to the Min
nesota legislature, serving also
through the sessions of 1887 and 1898.
At the latter term, Mr.. Lee was select
ed as the speaker of the house. Dur
ing his earlier term of legislative work,
the young lawmaker was chairman of
the committee on banks and banking,
and had much to do with the enact
ment of laws for official inspection Of
grain and grain warehouses, and later
, a railway commission.
The year following Mr. Lee got his
first insight into educational work
!, through an appointment from Cover
nor William r. Merriam as a member
of the state normal school board,
which was probably more or less re-
sponsible for the interest he has taken
in school matters ever since. In 1894
Mr.. Lee was appointed superintendent
of the state reformatory in st. Cloud,
resigning in 1895. This work gave
the new incumbent new idea of boys,
. and he made a careful study of penal
institutions and reformatories through
out the country that he might better
his own methods. This interest in
: boys welfare he still retains, and in
all of his many journeys, both
throughout the United States and
Europe, Mr.. Lee has never failed to
visit and study the reformatories of
other states and countries.
At this juncture, Governor Samuel
t r. Van SAINT, having the appointment
0 of a board of control to supervise the
states public institutions, asked Mr..
L Lee to serve as it's chairman. He &C.
r cepted, remained on the board for two
1 years and then after it had been thor
r oughly organized, resigned to look
S after his growing commercial interests.
S In 1881, Mr.. Lee organized the first
+ bank of Todd county, the Bank Of
; Long Prairie, a state institution
J. which he still controls The candidate
y organized and controls majority Of
J. the stock in the First National Bank
of BrowerVille; the First National
o Bank of Eagle Bend, and the State
e Bank of Bertram, all in Todd county.
It In addition to his banks, Mr.. Lee
, has large lumber yard interests in his
, section of the state, and is at the head
n of manufacturing plant in Long
l. Prairie, with branch in Winnipeg.
g 1t manufactures what is known as the
r Hahnman device, a series of patented
# appliances for extending the useful
e ness of traction engines in farming.
s Orders have been shipped from the
Long Prairie plant to Russia Rou-
mania, Argentina, Ecuador, Australia,
g Austria, Germany, and Hungary The
r device is shipped throughout Canada
a from the Winnipeg branch.
It An Inventor Unrewarded.
Is 1t is not generally known, but the
" candidate is the inventor of the ma
n chine now used throughout the coun-
IS try for cleaning grain. Not having
at the capital to properly secure his pat
ID ents, the device was seized by others
and placed in general use. Later Mr..
u Lee brought actions against the in
Id fringers and in each recovered dam
s. ages, but the amounts, he declares,
IN were just about sufficient to pay for
le the litigation.
is Mr.. Lee has Travelled extensively
v throughout the United States and
lg Europe, and everywhere has made a
lie study and comparison of civic condi-
Id tons. A banker, he has naturally made
re a close study Of the currency and the
tariff, and has followed both state and
federal legislation with more than a
passing interest. Mr.. Lee has been
It, closely identified with the develop
of ment of Todd county from the cree
Id ton of the first log school house to
Id the building of the new $4,000 high
n school hlildine recentlv cnrnnlotna