Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-11-09

WHISKY is taxed $3.50 gallon in Great
Britain. With dense population and an
unequalled revenue system, perfected by
years of experience, the collection of this
amount of tax is not difficult in Great Brit
ain. Illicit stills are sometimes kept rum
ming for q time in the wild Highlands OF
Scotland, or in equally unfrequented parts
of Ireland, but the difficulty of transpor-
tation prevents whisky manufactured in
this way from competing in market with
that upon which Government tax has been
paid.-Jowndl. ~ +..-s = =.
1t is mooted question whether the large
constabulary and military force England
is forced to keep, in order to ferret out il
licit stills and to prevent the making o
whisky, which pays no duty, does no
amount to more than the tax collected.
In the United States the high tax on
whisky amounts to a premium on fraud
1t can be boughtin the New York marke
for less price, per gallon, than the ta1
imposed by Government. OF course, sucl
whisky pays no tax, or if it does, it is St,
diluted with water aud then doctored will
drugs to give it strength, as to amount no
only to fraud, but to manslaughter. for tb
poisonous ingredients, which the whisk.
doctors use in giving their watered liquo
the desired strength, kills more men, eacl
and every year, than did the cholera
Turing either of its visits to the Unitet
| States. -.. %
No tax should be so high as to compt
men to commit frauds upon the revenue,
In such cases crime ceases to be regarde
as wrong, and those suspected ofcommit
ting it, so far from being regarded as Grim
inal, when detected, have much of tn
public sympathy.
| Scarcely day passes but the telegraph
brings US accounts of whisky frauds
IN which Government sworn officers ac
leading part-the frauds being connive'
at by these officials. ...,-i
A reduction of the tax on whisky to
moderate and a fair amount,-one so hig
as to ensure sufficient revenue and at tn
same time to not excite the cupidity of me
'r to pay them well for perjuring them
selves, would not only add to the revenu
but to the morals of the country. m
Less than one year ago, the Commission
er of Internal Revenue reported that, fron
L IL lis POooCSSiOut lOlGy I'LL
lion gallons of spirits had been consume
in the United States. On this, the tax a
50 per gallon would amount to eighty mil
lion dollars. The entire tax received b
Government amounted to but twenty-nin
million dollars-a clear loss in one year, b.
fraud, of fifty-one million dollars-a
amount sufficient to have paid the expense
of the Government for two years under th
Democratic rule of ANDREW JACKSON.
| When the tax on spirits was but 20 to 8
cents per gallon, the amount receive
nearly approximated to that collected ate
the tax was raised to from eight hundre
to one thousand per cent.
In England, it is said, that the safe ru
of single cargo of spirits by the SNUG
| glers, pays well fol the loss of two seize
by the authorities-one cargo in three pay
ing not only the cost, but large profit o
those taken by the custom house officers.
No business in the United States pays S
well as the Illicit making of whisky, whic
paysno taxes, and as long as this is the cas-
crime and fraud is a necessary conse
quence.