New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1864-05-30
THE WHISKY TAX.

THE WHISKY TAX.
The Senate on Saturday amended-we mean
altered-tho Internal Tax bill from the House,
by striking out the following section:
IAN spirits of domestic production and held for sale
the Isl day Of May, 1861 and upon which no tax
shall have been paid shall be subject 10 a duty of 30
cents per gaon and all such spirits on hand for sale,
upon which there is prior duty, shall be subject to
duty OF 80 cents per gallon; proydedSthn bona fde re.
tail dealers in spirits duly licensed shall not be taxed
on their stock on hand whose quantity on hand does
not exceed two barrels
The bill wherefrom this clause is stricken out
raises the tax on homemade Whisky from
twenty cents to 81 and $li per gallon. The
knowledge that much higher tax was to be
imposed on this staple has for months past kept
the price of Distilled Liquors very far above
the cost Of producing them and put enormous
sums into the pockets of distillers and holders of
Liquors. We understand that dstlery of
moderate dimensions in our State, which was
purchased, within year or So for $50, 600, has
been running for months past at clear profit of
~ 900 per day. And there is very little
Whisky now in the country which would not
sell to-day for forty to fifty cents per gallon
above the cost of producing and the tax hitherto
paid on it. The House bill proposed that thirty
cents of this profit should be paid into the
Trcasury-since il is certain that il was created
By the action OF the Goyernment-leayng ten
10 twenty cents per gallon net profit to the
producers.
Why is not this fair Who shouH have the
lions share Of the profit thus arising from the
action Of Congress, ifnot the needy Treasury of
orr suffering, struggling, imperiled country
What reason can be urged for giving ii all to
the Whisky-holders
The only answers to these questions to be
found in the report Of the Senate proceedings, is
as follows:
MIR. Powell Of Ky. opposed such tax as unjust
upon the principle that il was duplication Of tfLs on a.
article riioi had hsref9f0re btc arL lie thought dol
lar gallon whisky enough. and that ffy cents
per gallon the article would bring revenue than
an Increased rate
whisky on hand has once paid tax, says Mr.
Powell; therefore, it must not be taxed again.
But wLy therefore l. not the same farm, house.
horse, watch, or carriage, taxed not once only
but many times2 Suppose a capitalist had last
year stored away ten thousand barrels of Nhis-
ky, intending to keepit thirty or forty years to
rpen and mellow. so rs 10 be worth - TO 500.
per gallon, according to fancy, ought that prop
oriy to escape taxation throughout those year,
while almost every thing else is ASSESSED every
year We protest against the assumption that
any article once taxed is thcncciorth exempt
from taxation forever. And We insist that,
wherever the Government soimposes taxes as to
increase heavily the price of any great staple, it
isperectly legitimate and just 10 tax the stock on
hand accordingly. Who is wronged or oppressed
by this ,..... .. ., ....
The proposal to tax Whisky on hand orig-
nally emanated from Fernando Wood, and was
sustained by the votes Of most of the Opposition
members Of tie House. Yet the vote OF the
Senate on Saturday was follows:
YEAs-Messrs. Baets!er. CariRe. CLARK. Collirner
Conness, COwan Daris, Fcssendcn. Poster Hedr.sss.
Hicks. Howe. johnson Lane Gnd). Lane Kansas 81
D0HRai Morgan. Ncsmith. Pomcroy. Pgr,H Ai,taras0H
sudbury, Ten Eyck Van Wrinkle wMey-25.
NAYs-Ales.r- Anthouv Chandler Dixon Foot
Grimes. Hale. Harlan. Harris Howard. RAMSEY. Shcr
man. Sumner, TrunbuI, Wilkinson Wil,on-15.
Every single Democrat Gin ltalics) voting
to strike out, with nearly or quite all those who
are neither cold nor hot Every vote cast for
retaining the tax is that Of an ardent, unequivo-
cal supporter of the Government and the War
for the Union.
The vote to strike out this tax probably costs
the Treasury Five Millions Of Dollars-a sum
far more convenient to have than to do without
in these dag. But it is no use for the House to
resist. The Senate is fixed. The Whisky
holders have it, and will keep it. So let us
have the iii passed and in operation by