Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-01-22


@ / further state that Mr.. Cornell, assist
ant assessor of my division, was to have $500
per month in addition to the amount paid by
me monthly to the 'whiskey ring Mr..
/ Cornell further stated to me that $500 was
the least amount that any distiller in his d.
vision paid him, and he told me that Mr..
Lusse. distiller at No. SO Commerce street,
paid him $50 per month when he was not
running. He told me that Mr. Crooks paid
him $500 a month. I refused to pay the
amount, to wit. $500 claimed by Mr.. Cor
nell, whereupon he afterwards informed me
that could not run the still without paying
the tax on every gallon manufactured by me,
stating that if | could not pay him l should
pay the government; that my distillery
the only one that had ever beat him. | fur
Their state that | had to pay Mr.. Rowland,
United States Inspector, one dollar for every
barrel branded by him, which amount was
paid by my clerk, Mr. Cotton to Mr. Bow
land
And | further state that this is the plan
Of working all the distilleries in this district
that pay their : 900 into the Whiskev
Ring that converscd with great many
ofthem, and they all state that this is the plan
upon which they work, never paying any tax
% the government on whiskey manufactured
by them. Most all of the distillers have rec
tifying establishments near by so as to get
ing establishments, which is done by means
OF false pipes put down into the receiving
cIsterns with pump attached thereto. In
this way they can run whiskey into these
rectifying establishments without trouble
| further state that a 3O0-gallon still will
make from eight to ten barrels Of spirits in
twentyfour hours, and | don't think that
any Srnollor thon oight barrel still can nav
the ( 600 required to be paid by this ring
(whiskey), and make any money and pay no
tax In fact, don't know any small stills
that have license. | further state that this
ring whiskey can be identified by the rec
tlhers brand, which is in all cases placed on
the head of each barrel by the rectifer. There
Is no tax paid on whiskey manufactured and
rectfied in this city. j. w ELDER.
= Sworn to before me James Ready, Assessor,
December IA. 1867
This Elders case is certainly one deserving
consideration, if not commiseration. To be
obliged to pay $1,000 per month to one
party, and the tax on one-ffteenth of the
whiskey manufactured, and in addition to be
compelled to pay $500 per month to another
official, 'cds rather hard on poor fellow who
was trying to cheat the government out of
the tax on whiskey.
This case reminds an exchange of a story
told of collector sent to New Orleans a few
years ago, which is this
This person, it seems harbored the inten-
ton to be an honest officeholder After he
had been at his post few weeks, lie wrote
70 the Treasury Department that on the stea-
mer he had been offered fifty thousand dollars
to be conveniently blind when he landed on
the levee, the sum was increased to one hum
drcd thousand ; ten days later one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars were offered. so
far, he wrote, - have stuck To my duty
and princi pies but most men are mortal
and | feel conscious that if they should offer
me two hundred thousand they would get
me. BE kind enough therefore to recall me
at once.
The secret of the enormous frauds in whis-
key is no doubt shown by this testimony Of
Mr.. Elder. With honest government officials
be would probably have paid his tax ; or if
he attempted to defraud would have been ex-
posed and paid the penalty of his offense
But corrupt officials joined hands with the
distillers, and taking the lions share of the
gain made cheating safe
Is there no remedy for such gigantic
swindling? Can not honest men be found
TO take the offices The temptation is mani
testify great, and men who seek Office for the
money that can be made out of it may not
be proof against the temptation which the
whiskey ring can afford to offer. The prn-
ciple introduced by jackson in the appoint
ment Of officials that g to the victors belong
the spoils > is at best corrupting. and it Is
made much more SO when members Of Con
gross and others distribute Offices as the re-
ward OF service TO the politicians who have
held tie stirrups by which they have
mounted into place. Politicians who work
for such pay are, as often otherwise, men
who are less faithful to the government than
to themselves. IF office is given to them for
their benefit, and not because the government
needs faithful servants. why should mt they
use their places to put money into their
pockets?
Whether there is any adequate remedy for
these evils we do not know, but it is certain /
that there ought to be some way Of prevent |
ing such monstrous abuses. Stewart of |
New York. does an immense business -
nearly large yearly, as the business of col
lecting the revenues on dis titled spirits and
yet he gets his business done honestly and
suffers little or nothing from the misconduct |
of dishonest servants. Why is it that he
can organize a corps of agents and workmen /
whose field of operations covers two CONT /
nents, and not be every day and hour the |
victim of frauds and thefts, and yet Secrc-
tary McCulloch cannot be honestly served in |
= SINGLE CITY in the 7nited STATES Can not !
a little more Of the morality and vigilance
and energetic superintendent which men !
successfully use in their private affairs, be !
put into the departments at Washington, |
and the financial affairs of the government
be administered more with reference to a !
with reference to rewarding partisan service
The treatment of offenders when discovered |
has also much to do with this common
swindling. 1t very rarely happens that a |
guilty officer or dstiller, when brought |
up for his Ufitnse, cannot get off by disgorg- |
ing u part,-and sometimes a small part-of |
his plumber. 1t ought to be manifest that |
nothing but the most vigorous execution OF
the law in every case, and against every /
offender, can make the penalty dreaded by |
those who steal. The thief who can escape
the law by restoring the larger part Of his
'' swag," makes stealing profitable, and will |
soon learn to reduce that kind of crime to a /
system. 1t would be reireshing-but when
shall we see it ?-if the executive officers of
the government would. when administering
Lee Lot iii oil md bop l,,t