New-York tribune., 1868-12-30
GIN GRANTS NEXT Battle.

thousand OiuCe-HOl0tIS III CoilttJiuEJ "''""''
inc, and paying the revenue and expenditures
OF some twenty-five thousand other officers,
and the interest on the Public Debt Inc
foundations and opportunities for dishonesty IN
tIi, branch of the service exceed those IN all
the others combined. The majority of the
people believe, with good reason, that rottenness
and corruption rcck in the Departments OF Gus
toms and internal Revenue, and that III these
fields will lie President Grants earliest ana
most urgent opportunities for reform. Inc
causes Of this corruption are manifold At first
we were willing to assign as a leading one, the
novelty of the Internal Revenue system. But
tho Internal Revenue taxes have now
been in operation long enough for the
modes of prevention, as well as Of stealing
under it. TO be reduced TO n system. ii this
has not been done it is due not to the novelty
of the system, bat the negligence OF those VINO
administer it. The Internal Revenue system
was organized by the Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell,
rs Chief of the Bureau, and most Of the OBJ
staclcs arising from its novelty were overcome
undcr lis vigorous and efficient administration.
The administration OF Andrew johnson has
been one long effort to use the appointments
in the Revenue and Customs service rs brbes
TO buy up supporters for his political policies.
Tbi, has been the main cause of dishonesty iii
the collection of revenues. For the moment
if was understood. rs it has now for three years
been, that no official, however honest, would
be retained who opposed the Presidents Re
construction policies, nor, however corrupt, be
removed if he supported them, it was public
notice TO all to steal all they could,
"aud stand by the President" Be-
hind Commissioner Rollins and Secretary
McCulloch there has been for three years the
marriott hand Of Andrew Johnson, interfering
with and overruing every effort TO secure
honesty; for il has been a common coincidence
that those who were most ready TO agree with
the President, in order II keep Office, were most
ready to sell the revenues for their private
profit 1t is impossible TO know, therefore,
whether McCuoch and Rollins are deficient IN
executive ability or not, since they have had
no opportunity to execute their own policies.
But the majority Of the Customs officers and
Internal Revenue Assessors. from Maine to
California, being selected from those who have
sold their convictions 20 get office, have, with
tie same ease prostitutcd their official powers
to Get money. The difficulty is not rs the
President untruly charges in his Message, that
these officers collect the revenue and do not
nav IL over. An ordinary mode of swndling the
Government is for the Collector to accept, on
his own account, third OF fourth Of the tax 10
which the Government is entitled, and allow the
distller or other taxpayer TO escape the re-
maindcr of the tax by false return. Another
mode is 10 make seizures. and then effect com
promises in which thousand dollars paid to
Il 80. At ! ftrfF Ia
influence to settle the case than $4,000 paid a.
tax to the Government. The whole system OF
scizurcs by informers Is of very doubtful cx-
pcdicncy and economy. For the inforncrs, hav-
ing rs large pecuniary interest IN the transac-
tion as the distillers, and consisting often OF
men of at least no better character, 20 INTO
the business as q speculation. They work every
seizure ~ placer for plundcr, not rs officers
IN the interest of the Government They SO
often use corrupt means To secure prohtable
COMPROMISE or the conviction of some obst-
nate marty who refuses to compromise that Il
prctoudcd effort TO collect tax becomes
criminal conspiracy to dcfraud the taxpayer.
When the Government begins by bribing
and buying inlormcrs and witnesses, 1t ought
10 remember that il will only secure the services
of its agents in case the criminals whom they
are prosecuting shall not bid higher. The mo-
ment their bIibc covers the infOTmers fees the
case will be settled to suit them The whole
system of giving informcrs Il distrbutiye share
a third or half Of the property scizcd-tcndS to
endless corruption. Take the Collector of the
Port. for instance. He receives a salary of
q. 400 TO pay for his services toward collecting
so much of the revenues rs are paid without
-.;,,,ro ,rbilo his distrihutiVo shares fees IL
an informer in the seizure cases amount to
over $4,000 a year. His perquisites in these
plunder cases arc five times his salary,
and considerably more than the salary
of the President of the United States. But
what he receives from these cases Is but
a small share of the whole plunder divided.
The Naval OlliccrcOmes in for an annual income
of forty thousand dollars from the same sOnrce.
The Surveyor of the Port and the hundreds of
subordinate Inspectors and other officers 10y
whom these seizures are worked up all have their
shares As these officers make five times rs
much ont of violations of the law as they do
ont of its obedience five times rs much of their
attention is given to seeing the law violated as
to seeing it obeyed. Here opens another system
of corruption. Importers, knowing that Customs
officers can by a seizure put them TO about as
much loss in an unjust case rs i'll just one,
prefer TO retain and pay certain officers of the
Custom House, and so avoid all seizures whether
guilty or innocent.
The discovery, the other day, that certain firms
had imported over half million dollars worth
of silks, under pretense that they were window
shades, shows one of the modes of swindling
rendered possible by corruption in the Custom
House. OF course, only few of the packages