The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-08-10
,,he revenue Law and Distilled Spirits.

unSer the present system the taxes
that ara imposed are to great ex-
tort .vaded. The Government must raise
sufficient amount of money to defray It's ex-
penses including interest on the national
debt. and the redemption of the same as 1t
falls due. Every dollar that distilled spirits
Ouoh to pay, but OF which. the Government
;s defrauded, has to be raised from something
else. There are many onerous taxes that
might be entirely RENTED, were the taxes
upon distilled spirits honestly paid. Where
is the faultY Primarily with the manufac-
turers of distilled spirits, who, as a class, do
not hesitate to defraud the Government, and
to commit the grossest perjury in doing so.
The Government must legislate upon this
subject with this fact before its eyes.
But secondly, the fault lies with the officers
of the Government who are themselves cor
rupted, bribed, bought up by the distillers,
and become partners in the commission OF
frauds upon the very Government in whose
employ they are, and which they have sworn
faithfully to serve. We are not disposed to
indulge in any wholesale denunciation of the
revenue officers of the United States There
are some men among them who are as honest
and high-minded as it is possible for men to
be-whose integrity CLEANS jewel-like amid
the baser materials with which they are sur
rounded. There are others-and the oommu-
nifty generally understand who they are-who
are as base and mercenary and purchasable-
as lost to all honor and true self-respect-as
the Veriest thieves of the street.
Thirdly. The fault lies to great extent
with the Revenue law itself, which affords
such opportunities for fraud. 1t is too cum
brous, too complex, and opens too many doors
for the successful perpetration of dishonest
acts and practices. A distiller may defraud
the Government daily of half the taxes he
ought to pay, and may defy detection unless
the officer watching him is practical distiller
himself which, in nineteen cases out of
twenty, he is not likely to be. The with
drawal of spirits for rectifcation and for ex-
port are each the gateways for immense
frauds. The law attempts to do too much, and
fails in properly doing anything.
Now, one simple principle should lie at the
bottom of the Revenue law in regard to the
distillation of spirits; and that is, to determine
the amount of spirits manufactured by the amount
of material used. The problem is simple
one, and is capable of an exact solution.
During the process of making distilled spirits
from grain, the material used is exposed for
three days in large fermenting vats, and is
technically called "beer." During this time
It cannot be concealed from the view of the
Inspector. 1t is there exposed in the vats.
Every gallon of this beer will yield GER
tain percentage of distilled spirits, varying
somewhat with the skill used in manufac-
ture. All that the Government has to do
therefore, is to fix upon some fair average as
the percentage of distilled spirits to the gal
lon of beer, and then to assess its tax accord
ingly upon the actual contents of the ferment-
ing vats from time to time. The contents of
vat in gallons, for every inch of its depth,
are easily determined. All the elements of
the problem are, therefore, before the eye of
the Revenue officer. All that he has to do is
to visit distillery, see how many gallons of
beer are in the vats, and from that actual in
spection determine the number of gallons of
distilled spirits upon which the Government
will collect its tax.
Of course, there is still chance for fraud.
The Government officer may report to the AS
SCISSOR a smaller amount of "beer'' from time
to time than there really is in the vats. But
it is great gain to have reduced the liability
to frauds connected with the manufacture to
one single point, for that can now be tho
roughly watched and guarded. 1t is a great
advantage to have eliminated the manufao-
turer from the problem, and to have brought
the whole weight of the responsibility to rest
upon the Government official alone. Besides.
the point itself is easily guarded. A
glance will suffice to show if a fraudulent
return has been made. For instance. If the
present system of Assistant Assessors and of
Revenue Inspectors should be continued, the
ope could be made to operate as a check upon
the other. Moreover, the actual capacity o.
the watts in each distillery being known, shor
returns would at once attract the attention o
the Assessor or Collector, and would lead Il
immediate investigation. Further checks ant
counter-checks might be devised, whereby i
wonld be almost impossible for the Govern
ment to be defrauded as to the amount of dis
titled spirits manufactured,
modification of the Revenue law, in accord
ance with the foregoing suggestions, nigh
take something of the following outline:-