Omaha daily bee., 1893-09-18
BRYAN CALLED DOWN.
a Minnesota Congressman Enlightens gim
on History.

a Minnesota Congressman Enlightens Him
on History.
A Minnesota congressman indicated
the truth of history and delivered the
model ~peroration of the great silver de-
bate, says the be-Democrat. His
name is Osee Nj. Hall and he represents
the Red Wing district. 1t took only five
lines in the congressional directory to
print Mr.. Halls modest autobiography.
Il listened" said Mr.. Hall as he con
cluded his speech, ''to the eloquent
gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bryan
as he told us the enchanting story of the
drummer boy OF Marcngo. Pardon me
II lnclose his charming picture in the
rude frame of my remarks.
MIR. Bryan said:
Muehlbach relates an incident in the life
of the great military hero of France. AT
Marengo the Man of Destiny, sad and dis
henrtened, thought the battle lost. He
called to Il drummer boy and ordered him to
beat a retreat. The lad replied: ''Sire, |
do not know how. Dcssaix has never
taught me retreat, but | can beat II charge.
L beat that charge at the bridge of Lodi: L
beat it at Mount Tabor; l beat it at the
Pyramids. Oh. may [ beat it here !" The
charge was ordered, the battle won ana
Marcngo was added to the victories of
Napoleon. Oh, let our gallant leader draw
inspiration from the street gamin OF Paris.
Il do not know, sir. that historical
accuracy is at all essential 10 q free
coinage speech, but as a student of
correct history | deeply regret that my
friend should have torn from the gallant
DessalX h laurels he won at Marengo
and plastered them over the cropped
head of a Partisan gamin. Laughter
II am sure my friend is mistaken Doth
as to the time and place of the incident
To ,vhi1h hn r,nfn.o ~
not, it was upon another field and on
that dread, eventful day in June. 1915,
that the historic drummer boy was sum
moned into the wal councils of the great
emperor.
"All day long Napoleon had hurled
his veteran forces against the British
guards upon Mount ST. Jean: the grena-
diers, hardened by Moscow's terrors,
had been driven back in irreparable dis
order; the steel-clad cuirassiers who de.
clded the day at Austerlitz had been
shattered crushed in the storm of
battle; even the iuvincible Old Guard.
with Ney at its head, had reeled, hest
tated and fled under the fire of the I'M
broken squares; far to the east, through
the shimmering dust-clouds, came the
gray mrstdches of old Butcher and his
sturdy Prussians. The field of Waterloo
was irretrievably lost. The time to re-
treat had come. The battle was lost: it
was time to save the army.
Then it vas hat Napoleon drew in
SEPARATION from the street ganin of Paris.
Laughter. Confident still in his des-
tiny and bewitched by the r~ub-a-dub-dub
of the little drummer boy, he ordered
the remnant Of the guard to charge.
Side by side with Cambronne and sur
rounded by the heroes of a hundred vic
tories, he wen in himself, and he came
out. so Hugo says, the mighty somnam-
bulist of "a shattered dream Laugh
ter.
Years afterward. on ST. Helena's
stormy isle, chained like Prometheus to
the ocean rock, unwritten history saws
the great Corsican fought his battles
over again, and in tremulous accents left
to his faithful Bertrand the dying in
junction, Put not your trust in drum
mer boys Laughter and applause.
This country has gone far enough
it has gone too far-upon the road to
Mexico. Threatened 20 with financial
disaster. it is time to retreat. Let not
our great commander heed the rub-a-
dub-dub of the drummer boys of Missouri
and Nebraska; let him rather listen to
the throbbing heartbeat of a distressed
and indignant people, and lead us back
to the security of honest finance.
1.-The battle for the free coinage of I'M
limited quantities of silver is irretriev-
ably lost. There is yet time to save the
armies of honest bimetallism." Zap
plause.1