Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-06-23
BURSTING OF THE WHISKY
RING. ..
Grand TIeId. day In lhe monse.

Grand Field day in the HOuse.
Correspondence Of the Chicago Times
Yesterday was a grand deld-day in the
House There was fighting all along the
line Hot shot, canister, sphcrical-case
and grape were discharged necessarily by
both parties, until finally the action ter
minated in tie total defeat Of the whisky
ring under the command Of Schenck and
Logan, with Judd, InRersoll, Cullom,
Farnswortb Maynard and others az lieu.
tenants Butler led the anti-ring column,
but, on going into action, transferred the
command 10 Shauks, Of Indiana; never
theless at the close, when Shanks was hard
pressed, the hero Of Big Bethel bore down
upon Schenck, Logan & Co. in most
whitening speech, in which he virtually
charged, az has your correspondent from
the commencement Of the session, that
the Committee Of Ways and Means was
acting in the interest Of the "ring."
Schenck frothed, fumed, and sweated under
the assaults Of Butler and Shanks; while
Logan turned deadly pale, when General
Harding, Of the fourth (or Quincy Hi
nois district, dashed him and The committee,
and accused them Of being in the pay Of
the "ring." Logan called Gen. Harding TO
order, and demanded that the charges he
had made against the committee be taken
down; but the clerk having stated that he
did not remember the exact expressions Of
the gentleman from the Quincy district,
they we're not recorded. Schenck and Io-
gan we're terribly cut up during the debate,
and were in the condition Of couple OF
leaders most severely, il not MORALLY,
wounded in a battle which they had totally
lost. This debate and its results are most
crushing blow 10 the WHISPERING and lis
champions and tools in the House. Il also
fully bears ont your correspondent in all
the charges be has made against the ring"
and the members Of the House in league
and collision with Il. Butler, Shanks and
Harding charged that the Committee of
Ways and Means acted az il they did not
intend the bill should pass, or that the
whisky-tax should be reduced; that there
was no time at this session to pass such a
bill; that the Senate could not act upon it
and that it looked as II il was not intended
or expected that it should. 1t was
in vain that Schenck by turns csioled,
begged, threatened and denounced. But
Ter had the dead-wood on him; be was de-
termined to burst the ring; he had seen
sufficient in the dispatches of the members
Of the "ring" which he had captured in
the Woolley inquisition 70 let him into the
programme Of Schenck, Logan & Co and
not having himself been let into their little
game, he was determine! 10 burst il up. I
give Butler no credit for honesty. He il
venal, avariCiOus AID gTasping; and he
rolls revenge az a sweet morsel I'M
der his tongue. The fight was simply
ike all such ights-that II, the contest Of
D set Of pirates and robbers quarreling over
the spoils they had plundered from honest
citizens or travellers. But the people have
been the gamers by the contest and have
no doubt il will DO more TO restore some
thing like honesty TO the revenue system
than anything that has happened during,
or indeed, than all the legislation Of the
present session Of Congress. Every honest
IMAM in Washington is delighted, as will be
every honest man in the country, al
the defeat Of this nefarious scheme Of
Schenck, Logan ~ Co. ! have here
tofore stated that the only hope for
a reduction Of the spirit-tax, and thus for
the collection Of the revenue from spirits,
was the reference Of this bill Of Schenck's
back 10 The committee, with orders 10 re-
port a new one, simply providing for the
taxation Of spirits and tobacco. Mr..
Shanks, Of Indiana, made such a motion
yesterday, and, after a most bitter contest,
il was carried 10y vote Of "a 10 63. The
members Of the House from Illinois and
neighborirg States who voted against Mr.
Shank's motion, and who thus may be pre-
sumcd TO be more or less in the whisky
ring, are Anderson, Of Missouri; Ashley,
Of Ohio; Cook, Of Illinois; Cullom, Of Hi
nois; Farnsworth, Of Illinois; Garfield, of
Ohio; lngersoll, Of Illinois; Judd, of lii
nois; Loan, of Missouri; Logan, of Illinois;
Paine, Of Wisconsin Phelps, Of Missouri;
Pile, Of Missouri Van Horn, OF Missouri
and Wilson, Of Ohio. How these men can
satisfy their constituents as TO their votes.
! am at a loss to know. They must have
known better than 10 imagine that this bin
could be carried through at this session
and they must have also known that If the
bill failed for want Of time, there would be
no time to get up a supplementary bin FOR
whisky and tobacco. The. strongest
point, in fact, made against Shanks
motion was, that il would take AZ
much time 20 prepare supple
mentary, or rather substitute, bill as topass
the old one. Aud upon this point, | thiRk
il will now be necessary for the anti-"ring"
members Of the House to watch the Com
mittee OF Ways and Means, and see that Il
does not cheat the public yet, by still plav.
ing into the hands Of the ring bv fail
ing 10 prepare a new bill in proper time
for its passage. This, 1 opiue. will be the
next little game Of the gentlemen in the
whisky-ring, both in and ont Of Congress
Let il be blocked. The action of Butler
aud Shanks has done one good thing for
the country beside bursting up the whisky.
ring. Il has exposed the treachery Of I o.
gan, Judd and others 70 the interests of
their constituents and the Northwest GEN
orally; for, II there is enc manufacture in
which the farmers of that section are la.
terestod, il Is the spirit manufacture;
and 20 spirits can be properly manuiac-
tured M the West with tax of 81 per
gallon. Such a tax inevitably causes Snug
Cling in the larger cities. And il is actu-
ally at present the case that whisky is man
uiactured IN New York city, and sold al
81 25 per gallon, duty paid" in Illinois;
while the honest Illinois distilier could not
possibly sell il for less than 50 40 per gal
Ion. But what care Schenck, Logan and
the whisky-ring, IA long as they themselves
are taken care OFF They care nothing.
They are looking out for themselves, aud
The people may 90 TO the ID for an Of
hem.