The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1910-06-22
BACON RATTLEs DRY BONES.
Georgia Senator Assaults Pretense at Econ
Omy Which Permits Officials to
| Splurge at Peoples Expense,

|
| Splurge at Peoples Expense.
From the Macon Evening News.
Senator Bacon is rafting the dry
bones at Washington in his assaults
on the hypocritical pretense of econ
omy that takes from the wage due
to the laborers and sQuanders it on
the pampered pets of the government
or of some of its departments.
The use of government vehicles by
officials and their families for their
private pleasure has received especial
attention at Senator Bacon's hands.
why, Mr.. President" the senator
said in addressing the body, "a sem
atOr told me the other day that he
was at post in a city quite remote
from Westinghouse it does not re-
late to anybody here-that he ac-
cepted courtesy at the hands of an
official, and that ne was taken out
| in very handsome and expensive
Iautomobile. He congratulated the
official upon his good fortune in be-
| ing able to possess such a vehicle
Why, said he, this does not belong
to me; it belongs to the government,
and is run at the governments ex-
lpense."
This whole town is full of such
vehicles, Mr.. President. There is
hardly a subordinate officer today in
the city of Washington but has a car
r1age and horse at his command, to
say nothing of the higher officials.
never walk these streets but | see
them, and when I see a pair of extra
fine thousand dollar horses [ feel
sure that | would be correct in the
suspicion that if l looked under the
drivers seat | would see in small
letters about half an inch long the
mark of government ownership. Not
only the officials are riding in them.
but their families are doing so. while
the chief justice of the United States
and other officials much higher in
rank than those officials are walking.
say that we are not doing our
duty to the public when, year after
year and session after session, we
pass appropriation bills here and do
not stop to inquire into these mat
ters, or, if we do inquire, if we do
know, we do not endeavor to correct
the evil of men riding around in car
around in carriages at the public ex-
pense. am not opposed to their
having carriages, but if they have
carriages they ought to have them
at their own expense. If their Off
claI station is one which REQUIRES
that they should have them then thew
ought to have salaries enough to en-
able them to have them; but l am
| opposed to giving them the trappings
and the insignia and the emoIuments
OF o1hclals of very different kind of
a government from ours"
Inc Washington Herald says that
1t ought not to be a very difficult
matter to get at the facts" in these
cases, and it continues:
"A government automobile which
appears on the streets with the mem
Ders of the families of officials is a
INVERSION of the government property
IN direction which is manifestly
improper, and it is equally Improper
When the government carriage is
LABELED in the undeciphera fash
ION described by Senator Bacon.
IhoSe guardians of the public veal
VINO are giving their attention iust
now to measures of official economy
may take a very profitable first steb
toward the correction of abuses and
the betterment of conditions by the
simple process of investigating this
local official transportation. We have
heard enough about the situation to
Justify such an inquiry, and Senator
Bacon has now made charges in a
public way requiring action"