The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1868-06-20
= 100 No. w. s3s-l7 . :, -
The Whiskey and Tobacco Tax ,t.

Taking .be newspapers and every other
indication of popular opinion, there never
WAS greater unanimity amongst the people
than there is upon tho question Of reducing
the tax On whiskey and tobacco. Il is uni mi !,
yersally conceded that there is mother way
to stop fraud and collect the revenue sue
cessfully. GREELEY, indeed, always inn
practicable, adheres to two dollars per
gallon on whiskey, with General BUTLER as
commissioner! The tax is bad enough ;
but BUTLER added to it would be more than
it is possible for the country to endure.
In the face Of the unanimous sentiment
of the people, the Committee Of Ways and
Means Of the House Of Representatives,,
with Mr.. ScHENcK at its head, has success
fully maneuyred for three years to prevent
the reduction Of the tax on either tobacco
or whiskey. The House, rs we have before
reported, recently interrupted the scheme
of this committee by ordering a special bill
imposing the tax on those two articles. In
that movement the sswhiskey ring" was
defeated by only few votes, and the adj
vocates of reducing the tax will succeed
wonderfully, if even now they carry their
point. There never was in this country 30
powerful an organization as the whiskey
ring; never one which had snch mex
haustible resources for subornation and
corruption; never one which managed so
adroitly to control the legislation OF Con-
gress. When village rogues, operating
through the l;ttle village rings, WELD their
tens and hundreds Of thousands, may we
not infer that the rings of the great cities
employ their millions in defrauding the
Government and bribing Congress and Go
vernment oficialsl It is the most alarm
ing as we'll as the most huge and all-per-
yadipg monster that was ever born on this
continent: altogether worthy of its Radical
parentage. 1t is fearfully undermining the
public virtue and sapping the LIFE blood OF
the Government.
The tobacco rings are. not less active,
and only possibly little less. injurious,
because they have not quite 80 much money
to work with. But as their plan Of opera
tions is, from it's ma ture, kindred to that Of
the .whiskey ring, the two organizations
conspire together, and work for mutual ad-
vantage. This city is far more deeply in
terested in the tobacco question than IN that
of whiskey. Richmond was before the war
the great tobacco-manufacturing city OF the
JT,;.n Tbo onnrro one fax Low; oS On ma nh :.
featured tobacco since the war operated, as
with that on whiskey, as bribe to swim
oilers and rogues. The manufacturers In
this city we're men of reputation, who con-
Quoted their operations openly and fairly.
They soon found that their business was
most seriously injured by the throwing
upon the market of tobacco that had
paid no tax, and which could of
course be sold very much lower than
theirs that paid the tax. In order to de-
fraud the Government more successfully, o
number of persons established manufacto-
ries in the large cities, where, from the
greater expenses attending the business,
there were no such manufactures in other
days. But in those cities there were bet
ter chances for hiding or covering up
fraud, and detectives eyes could be more
easily closed with brides. In this way this
city has suffered most seriously. Burned
out by the war, and oppressed every way
by misfortune, o corrupt Government added
thus large weight to the heavy load Of
adversely that was already upon her, and
deprived many hundreds Of the liberated
Africans Of the means Of support. -.
We do not know whether there is virtue
and manhood enough in Congress to save
the people from these monster rings. Ii
there is enough Of these qualities, the pub
lie will be agreeably surprised-if there is
not, there will be no great Disappointment.
Ara n, EyTp " Tho HOu9p