The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-03
Revenue Frauds and Their Remedy.


Revenue Frauds and Their Remedy.
IT is announced from Washington that
Attorney General Evarts has at last come to a
conclusion on the practice of compromising
revenue frauds in which all honest men can
concur. 1t is said that the Attorney -Geners
regards this practice as entirely without Legal
warrant, in consequence of which Commits
sioner Rollins is to be notified that in future
all such cases must be submitted to the Score
tary of the Treasury and the Attorney-Gene-
raj. Why they should bs submitted to these
officials we are not informed, nor can we
imagine anything to be gained by such q
course, except knowledge by those officers
of the extent of the frauds upon the revenue
which are being attempted. If Mr.. Evarts
means that Commissioner Rollins has no legal
right to compromise such cases. but that the
Secretary and the Attorney General have, no
good will be accomplished, the present repre-
hensible practice will be continued, and the
only change in 1t will consist in transferring
the temptation to collusion from one Govern
ment official to another. The true remedy for
the whole enormous evil is summary termi-
nation TO the system of compromise. man
who dsfrauds the revenue of the nation ID no
better than any other defrauder. In truth,
the crime in connection with the Govern
ment is of much more henous
character than when it affects
o private individual only. The Government
is the representative of the whole people, and
when it is cheated every taxpayer in the land Is
cheated. By the long standing and unchecked
system of public plunder which prevails in
this country, the national treasury has come
to be regarded as the legitimate spoil Of every
man who can lay his thievish hands upon it..
Public officers and private citizens will rob
the nation, without the slightest compunction
of conscience, in an open and defiant way that
they would never dream of in their transac-
tions with their fellow citizens. These reve-
nue. frauds, and their repeated compromise,
are Of this class of proceedings. Bat little
attempt is made to screen such frauds from
the public gaze, although they are branded,
in the eyes of all honest men, with the
mark Of felony, and their compromise by the
| officers Of the Government is nothing more mol
less than the eompOunding of felony-a srime
| which is, or should be, punished az severely
as the original otfense.
The summary prosecution of all persons
who are guilty Of withholding from the Gov
eminent its just dues should follow so natu
rally, that we are at loss to conceive Of any
justification of the system of compromise
which has SO generally prevailed. In tn,
transactions of the great world OF commerce
such thing is never heard of, partly beeaus
IL would be entirely destructive of confidence
and partly because the loose code of moral
which has come TO prevail in official circle
has as yet obtained no footing among buanes
men in their dealings with each other
Although q great reform can doubtless be In
auguratsd by the diseontinuance OF the com
promise system, the true remedy for tn
enormous frauds perpetrated upon the peopl
| through the Government lies deeper. 0u
entire system OF official appointment ia rad
cally wrong. The qualifications requisite 70
the discharge Of the duties incumbent upO