River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1919-10-23
SAVING OUR BACON
Origin of an Ancient coIIoqui-
aIiSm in Connecticut.
Expression Used When Debtor Gets
Best of Creditors by Question
able Methods in Busi-
ness Deals.

Distribution and sale of the govern
ment supply of bacon brought to the
minds of many who are acquainted
with old sayings the ancient colloqui-
alism, Saving ones bacon" The
thrifty housewife, laying in a store of
the smoked. meat, assures her near
neighbors that she is Saving her ba-
CON- The housewife, of course, is tell
ing the truth, but as she repeats the
ancient cofloquialism she fails to use
it in its proper sense.
The housewife who is so gay over
saving her bacon" would be horri-
fed and justly provoked if her neigh
Dor would reply: what! You cheating
your creditors?" And that is just what
she means if she employs the term
properly. The story of the origin of
the cOlloquialism is credited to Con-
necticut, according to the Hartford
Times.
In the days when the Charter Oak
was green and Sir Edmund Andross
was more green, New London boosted
of a citizen Of the name of Fitz John
Winthrop He was a sailor, and more
over of literary tastes. These tastes
were more distinctly commercial. That
is, while he was quite bibliophile on
his own account, and had goodly
store of books, he was in the business
of collecting books for others. Prob
ably because he was something Of
connoisSeur, the colOniSt who coveted
foreign published books engaged him
to obtain them when he was in port
on the other side; or knowing their
fads, he would, Of his own account,
make the purchases, and bring them
over, disposing of them at fair profit.
Among the customers was a lawyer
who was also. interested in shipping,
politics and several other things which
in our later day might go by the name
of speculatiOns. At the time when he
was flush with money he would invest
in books, and depute Capt. Fitz John
to obtain them abroad Among other
works for which he had something
of penchant were those of Lord
Bacon. He managed to have quite a.
stable importation at different times.
On one occasion, when the captain
came into port and brought him a
bale of books, he found the lawyer in
financial difficulties of a shady char
acter. On the following day the prop
erty was to be "diStrained." Under
the colonial law among other things
exempt from the claws Of the creditor
was meat Of various descriptions and
quantities. Bewailing the fact that his
books must go under the hammer, he
was disconsolate when the captain
came with the additional volumes. He
had decent supply of wits and he
and the lawyer, working industriously
by night, managed to stow away
good deal of the library in meat bar
rels in the cellar On top of each was
a layer Of bacon in coarse salt. The
following day, when the sheriff's clerk
came with his red chalk, he scrawled
his s'X'' on each of the barrels, and
the contents were exempted 1t must
have been some time later when Capt.
Fitz John related the story, and man.
aged to add, "Leave it to any one if
them barls didn't hold Bacon!" And
so when a debtor got the best Of his
creditors by questionable methods, the
proceedings got to be known as "say-
ing ones bacon"