The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-07-08
THE BOUNCING OF BACON.

Galveston News.
In another column will be found the cor
respondence between Colonel Swain and
Mr.. Bacon. clerk discharged from the
comptroller's office. The discharged party
is naturally indignant that the public SER
vice should be deprived of faithful EN-
ploye simply because the said employe
was taking sides against his chief in po-
litical mud-slinging contest. There was
Mr.. W. NJ. Brown raking the comptroller's
books and records to obtain evidence
against Mr.. Bacon's chief and there was
Mr.. Bacon doubtless sympathizing II not
assisting in Mr.. Browns investigations.
There was Mr.. Brown hunting down Mr..
Swain in the press and at the primaries,
and there was Mr.. SWANS trusted clerk
aiding Mr.. Brown in his efforts. Certainly
Mr.. Swain ought to have left Mr.. Browns
| lieutenant in the soft place he so long
filed Mr.. Swain exhibits very little
consideration for Messrs. Brown and Bacon
by so unceremoniously bouncing Mr.. Ba-
con. He does not seem to appreciate their
disinterested efforts toward accomplish
ing his defeat 1t is true, much of Mr.. Ba-
cons time was given to his duties as a
clerk in Mr.. SWANS Office, but this seems
to weigh little with the comptroller. Mr..
Swain could not tolerate offensive partl-
sanship which, according to Mr.. Bacon's
conclusions, had i'll some way been kept
from the knowledge of the comptroller
until the day before the cruel bounce.
But it is not on this ground that Mr.. Ba-
can was bounced. He had been absent,
as stated by the comptroller without
leave, or, at any rate, as he himself ad-
mits, he had often been tardy and lost
time in the morning. This lost time he
endeavored to make up after office hours.
If true. the practice was not permissible.
If Mr.. Bacon's practice of working out of
office hours was proper, other clerks might
properly work out of Office hours, too.
The department would exhibit beautiful
go-as-you- please haphazard business of
flee under such rule. But Mr.. Bacon
seems to think that Mr. Swain ought to
have demonstrated with him and not cut
him off at the knees without warning. AS
} to that, Mr.. Bacon had doubtless long
known better than Mr. Swain did whether
the rules of the office were being
infringed or violated by ali
sence and tardy appearance. 1t is evident
that Mr.. Bacon knew also better than Mr..
Swain did, and long before Mr.. Swain did,
| that there was Il clear CuI-Oh SdSo VI VI
fensive partsanship vegetating in the
comptro.lers office. The general verdict
from Mr.. Bacon's hasty letters must be
that he has given himself away; that the
comptroller ought to have discharged
him, and that he himself ought to have
resis ned if he could not punctually per-
form his duties, and more especially that
he ought to have resigned when he joined
in the Brown crusade against the chief
who gave him employment Under the
state of facts disclosed by the correspond
ence, had Mr.. Swain retained Mr.. Bacon
logger in his Office he would have exhib-
tied an unmanly timidity or prodigious
forbearance under the excessive provo
cations to which, as an officer and can
didate, he was subjected. When such
cases of partisanship are coupled with
repeated failure of duty in public Of
flee, neither the spirit of civil rervice re-
form nor the rights of citizenship can be
reasonably urged as sufficient to Justify
the retention in Office of the offending
|