Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1889-02-09
"HE's ALL RIGHT"
The Expression Started by battery II
the LOulsvillo Legion.


Tho Expression Started by Battery a u
the LOulsvllls Legion.
During the recent presidential cam
paign a great deal OF talent in the in
vention OF slang phrases was displayed
by the partisans OF the different cam
didates, and q number of those already
In use were adopted and accentuated
according to circumstances. As usual.
the newspaper writer's have been given
the history OF as many Of these express
sions as possible, and have in many
cases probably been correct; but there
Is one. used by the Democrats perhaps
more than the Republicans. which has
never yet been assigned its proper
origin. That prase is whats the
matter with Clevelandp" and its answer,
Hes all right" OF course the sub
stitution OF any name for Cleveland
can be made, thus rendering it avail
able for any occasion. This, the most
popular and universal Of all the slang,
did not have its origin during the
campaign, but owes its birth to Bat
terry A Of the Louisville Legion O.
this city.
In 1881 there was a big military af-
fair held in st. Louis. There were
competitive drills for infantry, cavalry
and artillery companies, and large
p. number Of each arm entered the lists.
!, The famous Chickasaw Guards, OF
I Memphis, were there, as we'll as crack
companies and artillery sections from
n all over the country. A section Of the
Louisville Battery was there, and it
may not be amiss to say that 1t ac-
quilted itself honorably. The boys
composing that particular section
which afterward became famous all
. over the United States-were pretty
lively set Among them was George
a Clark. George is living in this city
"a yet, though he is no longer a member
:. Of Battery A. The boys had q great
> deal Of fun among themselves and one
, OF their jokes was to lay every
thing that occurred on George.
One night, when they had been ac-
=. cusing him Of something. not now re-
!. membered, though It is thought it was
for capturing big dog while passing
. through Indiana, one Of the boys yelled
- out: whats the matter with George
Clarke" And the answer came in
=, stanter: .'Hcs all right" The ques-
tion and answer were Immediately
i, taken up by the Chickasaw Guards and
other companies in the immediate vi
~ cinity, and the night was not far gone
before the city had spread throughout
~ the entire camp. The thing seemed tc
strike every body's fancy. In using the
=. phrases they all stuck to George Clark,
in name. however, and it was severa
days before they began to substitute
other names. In the meantime thu
battery boys began to concertize, rs !
IN. were One man would ask the question
at the top of his voice, and a dozen 9th
nd ers would shout the answer in unison
he This idea. too, caught the other soldiers
rk and it could be heard in every com
,le pany's quarters. When the encamp
30. ment broke up. the troops carried tn
ng cry to their homes, but it was suffered
in to fall somewhat into disuse until tn
wo Louisville Legion went to Washingto
le- In May, 1887. At that encampmen
lot there were many men who had been a
eet st. Louis six years before, includin
tly some OF the Louisville boys, who los
no time in reviving their old war-cry
an The legion marched down Pennsy
tes vania avenue Sunday afternoon. an
is went into camp at the base OF tn
re- Washington monument and by tn
in. next afternoon the famous old shot
as was ringing all around that histor
md shaft. 1t spread all over Washington
md From the Washington encampment
ng, spread further than ever, until. by tt
the time the presidential campaign opened
lie. it had become universal.
|or. C0urier-JOurnal.