Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1867-07-12

The WHISKY FRAUDs.-Judge Benedict Of
the {. S. District Court for the Eastern
District Of New York, sentenced two dis
tillers. named Friel i MulyaneY, to two years
in the Albany penitentiary, for deirauding
the revenue. This Is the first instance, if
We are rightly Informed, Of criminal clnylc-
ton and sentence for violation of the Re'c-
nue. laws relating to distllling Heretofore
the disullers have had their own way, ami
that it was high time that something was
done for the protection Of the revenue, is
evident IRON the following facts, given by
the y. Y. Times
Whisky was selected as an article which
ought to yield q very large sAsre Of the ag-re-
gate taxation Of the country. Being an article
not Of necessity but Of voluntary consumption,
| Congress imposed upon 1t tax Of - gallon,
| and from this source alone, az this rate, the
Government ought to receive Sloosn1o,Vl9 FER
! snnum.
Previous to the war it was estimated that l,-
600 900 gallons Of spirits were produced in the
country. Allowing nothing fc- the growth Of
the country since $50, and assuming that there
has been q decrease Of 100000 gallons
year consequent upon the increase Il price, We
still have an annual production Of .O,e01oyO
gallons If only Directorate OF the whisky
manufactured pald the tax, the Government
would receive SlO0,OOO,OUU annually. This
would relieve the Treasury ct once and place cur
! finances upon a sound basis.
Last year the Government received from
! rhiolsey 80 600 n0n This year il will re-
ceive less than $50 900, 900, and for the last
two months, It has not been receiving al the rate
OF over Sl0,000,0 200.
To make whisky at the present prices OF grain
/ costs from 80 TO 30 cents per gallon with the
tax added il should therefore sell IN the market
/ at about - 30 per gallon. For the last four
/ months Il has not brought over = ] 60 per gal
| lon, aud al the time the Metropolitan Revenue
Board was constituted Il could be purchased a;
/ 81 % per gallon, all properly brsudci as 'taT
paid"
TIE same Iap.r gives, m this connection,
some instance Of guilty connisncs q the
[. s. Collectors and Assessors With whisky
frauds. two of which arc as f5iloWs.
One Collector delivered TO tie same parties.
within four weeks, spirits. tue tax on which was
$4,000 on bonds given Tor the return Of the
spirits 10 the same warehouse, that pr0-ed TO be
utterly spurious. Not single man Of these
whose names are IN the bond can be found, and
the Collector cannot tell the person even 70 whom
the spirits we're delivered Al ca5Its to ds-
cover the party that made this large sum have
A. vet bcen Ia vain. OF course, neither the
bonlsmln nor Tie spirits have Eiuce been seen.
Another Collector, within five weeks, accepted
upward Of ~S0,011 in fraudulent bends.
Last January jistiller stopped business,
having about ] 600 barrels Of spirits In bonded
warehouse This warehouse was ia the custody
Of the Collector Of the district, under the i'm
mediate charge Of a keeper app intel by him.
OF these thousand barrels not one now remains,
all haying been removed and sold in the market
and upon only IRE ont Of the thousand barrels
thus removed did that Collector compel the
payment Of the tax Out Of 10000 gallons oi
whisky on which the Government was entitled
to tax Of - each gallon. it received the tax
on only go Where the Treasury should have
got 100000, it actuslly got 500! Who got
the rest
Il strikes US that term in ID, ponitcn-
tlary Tor some Of the L. 5. officials, as well
as the Illicit distilcrs, would have hcuc-
fetal effect.