The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-11-14
wants OF our climate and tastes, will undoubt-
eddy tend 70 m Ike q modisse popular and well
patronixed In this city.
The ka@pss In Revcnue Observation-Disclosures
Bailey 90 the Rampage.

patronized In this city.
The Ra@pss in Rsvcnue Observation-Disclosures
Bailey On the Rampage.
The confusion in The whiskcy business in
the Metropolitan district, instead of abating
with time, seems only to grow worse con-
founded. The arrest of collectors accused Of
dishonesty in Office, and the removal of COM
missoners, the seizure Of distillery after distil
iery, the shifting and changing Of officials
from Washington to Now Yo.k and vice uersa,
only serve 10 increase the middle and TO leave
the government In more deplorable condition
than before. Mysterious wealth still flows in
upon revenue officers with lamentably small
salaries, and the Treasury receipts diminish
month after month. Secretary McCnlloch
looks on in bewild erment and finds in what
ever direction he may turn MAJ, of forgery,
fraud and financial ruin before him.
In the meantime Collector Bailey goes about
like roaring lion, seeking what illicit whiskey
he may devour, and spreading dismay among
all who have spirits, legal or Illegal, rectiaed
or unrectifed, IN their possession 1t appears
that Collector Bailey, finding chat experience
has rendered the distillers sharp enough to
hide their stills in all manner of whatsoever
able holes AMI corners, has resortcd to the
expcdient Of seisiug the raw material in the
several recifying houses, ami conascating 1t
as fraudulent whiskey," unless the clearest
proof can b produced that it has paid the
government tax. II the whiskey has been
pu. chased in the open mark OF price less
tnan tn, real value Of the material, plus the
govornm mt tax, that is prima facie
evidence, says the infsxible Bailey, that
no tax has been paid upon it. the
recifer has bought one thousand barrels
of spirits from dis!iller WHO has pro-
duced the collectors receipt for the tax on
tae same, that is nothing to the unbeieving
Bailey, who declares that his brother officials
have "laid in" with the distiller and given
MIN duplicate receipts of one tn ousand dol
lars each five times over, covering five thou
sand barrels, while they have only collected
the tax upon one thousand. No m alter if
the barrels are branded AMI marked with all
the hjeroglyphics known to that most incom-
prehensible of all mysteries. the Revenue De-
par .ment, the incredulous Bailey h.eds them
not; like the money lender Of the Rialto, he
must have his bond. Certain special powers
have been assigned to him by the government
which enable him to extend his sweeping
operations beyond the limits Of his own dis
tric. and his energy seems as I'm iccep able to
some of his fellow revenue officers as to the
direct whiskey dealing fraternity. He IN anages
TO put them all out OF spirits in more ways
than one The rectifers are especially indig-
nant at bis sum nary course Of procedure. If
We purchase our whiskey in good faith, they
say, and find the barrels properly branded or
see the collectors receipt for tn, tax upon the
lot we buy, ii is our own business what price
ws Day t.er it II We get it cheap that is our
good FORTUNE, a6l many an article In market Is
sold for less than 1t costs. SO they insist that
they are very harsdly dealt with BY the obdu-
rate Bailey, aud some Of them decide to shut
up shop until his reign Of power shall end-a
consummation they devouty wish-while all
of them agree to make raid upon Washington
to claim protection from the terrible Bliley at
the hands of the bewildered McCullooh or the
radical Congress.
II is very evident that no permanent stop
can be put 10 the enormous frauds in the dis
tillation Of spirits until complete change is
made In 0pr whole revenue system, which 10
now nothing but mass Of corruption from top
70 bottom. The disease has got so thoroughly
into the bone that IL will never come out Of the
flesh. Collector Bailey, like skilful and bold
surgeon, may cut and slash, removing tumor
here and looping OF rotten limb there, but
nothing can save the patient He must die and
be buried, and new being must be born in
his place. At present the honest trader cannot
hope to be protected. A good law can be sd-
ministsred by faithful officers firmly but mod
erately, and is . protection to the upright man.
But our present revenue laws are so loose and
20 unpolitc, and our whole revenue force has
become SO thoroughly democrat zed, that an
Official, II he deslrss to protect the government
at all, must do many harsh and probably un-
Just acts, which, under other circumstances, he
would DO the most anxious to avoid. In this
view Collector Bailey's famous raid may be
productive OF good, in bringing the matter to
q crisis. II seems peculiarly hard, under .
government Of equal rights and protection to
all men, that an honest merchant should DO in
jured in his business by the hand of the law
but on the other hand II is disgrace to the
country that the grossest frauds upon the rev.
enue should be practised in the broad light Of
day, and the guilty parties be permitted to
laugh at the law and defy justice. Better abol-
ish taxation upon distilled spirits altogether,
and let whiskey 20 free, than break
down honest dealers and demoralize the whole
people by system concc ived in fraud and
born in corruption. We see no better way out
OF all those difficulties than to repeal the
present laws, make new ones, send McCulloch
20 Indiana, and all his subordinates, big and
little, to another place, and make Collector
Railev grand constahla Ocncral- in chief and