National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-06-23

at the last the price covers all the taxes,
costs, profits and expenses
In this view, we are all deeply interested
in having the taxes made as light as posi-
BILE first and then, secondly, in having every
cent legally due collected. The prices to
the consumers, as we have seen, are predi-
Gated upon the supposition that the taxes
and duties have been paid. As matter of
course, then, when the taxes are evaded by,
the importer and manufacturer, the amount
is clean and clear addition to his profits
"clean steaf' out of the pockets of the
consumers. 1t will not do for the smuggler
to acknowledge his guilt by Immediately
and largely underselling his competitors.
This would at once attract attention to his
delinquencies, (this Is the fashionable name
for stealing now, and others besides pro-
fessional Spies and informers would be
talking about it. 1t just comes to this, then,
that every man who evades legal tax
steals from you and me and every other
consumer. If we tell of it and under the
law claim moiety of the sum recovered as
our legal right we become Infamous. We
are ''spies" and 'informers," because we
tell of theft and cry ''Stop theft" in
order to recover our rightful property.
That is il. That is what the New York
members of Congress and the New York
press say about the moieties and the collec-
ton of the duties on imports.
This is all humbug and clap-trap, and
such editorials are dictated in the counting
rooms of importers. Cheating the revenue
is, and long has been, regular trade, both
in New York and Boston. Custom house
brokers and importers entry clerks are
bred to the trade as a general thing and are
not considered sharp unless they can slip
something in without paying duties. They
grow to think it no harm to cheat the rev.
enue. They do not reflect that it is them
selves, and others of their class in life, who
are the real sufferers. The rich importer,
who is benefited by this fraud, probably
does not know anything specifically about
it. He knows that generally his clerks and
brokers are experts at their trades and If
they were not he would not have them. He
knows that his yearly gains are immensely
increased through this system of evasion
of the revenue by undervaluations,
double invoices, slipping small pack
ages, bribery and other tricks of
the trade. But he asks no questions. Here
1t Is "thst ignorance is bliss" 1t was
this beatifc state in which Mr.. Dodge
found himself when he went before the
courts and the committees and the Score
tary and declared his innocence Of any and
all intention to defraud the revenue. And
he might have gotten through before q jury
on account of the very high responsibility
Of his firm, If reflection upon what tales
(tell-tales those books are) his books might
unfold in regard to the past They would
no doubt have been the worst spies and in
formers that could have been brought
against this firm, because they would have
disclosed the simple truth. That is the
whole of it. And Mr.. Dodge, poor, simple,
Christian man, was timid; he was afraid of
the truth In court; he did not know but it
might injure his old firm and his old part
ners, dear old souls, and so, what did he
dot And after consulting counsel too,
(buf probably telling him the same story
that he told the Secretary and the commit
tee, } what did these poor, simple. terrified
merchants, who had only been in business
half century or so, dot Why gave
their check for S271, 900 rather than trust
to New York jury to beliegetheir stories,
backed by their books, as against the evil
dence of some ofthese dreadfulS spies and
''informers." Awful, was It MOTT Why did
they think court and jury would believe
these vile wretches In preference to themf
Was it powerful conviction, a sort Of
premonition, that the alternative would
have been little missionary tour to Sing
Singf Possibly. e.. ..Ia, 0..,.--...
But we take issue with the New York
press as to the abolition of the moiety sys-
TEN and the branding of the informer with
infamy. 1t is time that this false freeua-
sonry, which arises, from the old saw,
'thonor among thieves should be ,sbol-
ished except in the society of thieves. In 4
our schools, IN factories, in workshops, in
trade, in churches even, we are taught to
believe that it is an act of infamy to inform
upon mate, no matter how fragrant or
even criminal the act, so long asst is short
of capital crime. The result Is the pro-
lection and immunity of criminals. Now, 4
when this comes to be applied to smuggling
and evading the revenue in any. manner,
the result is the robbery of the whole peo-
pie, ourselves included Refusing to in
form, we become accessories. We hold it
to be the duty, the heightened, honorable
and patriotic duty, which we owe alike to
our fellow citizens and our country, to in
form the proper officers whenever we see
the revenue defrauded. We owe it to our
selves, because we are sufferers we owei it
to our fellow-eitizens, because they are our
fellow-sufferers and we owe it to our coun-
try, because she can only maintain her
honor abroad by the exposure and punish
ment of her dishonest merchants.
General Butler has done his country a
service by the timely exposure of these
frauds. The press that is now bowling at
him without attempting to controvert his
argument simply acknowledges its own
venality and dependence upon a vitiated
commercial honor to the extent of suborna-
ton of testimony. The people see this
whole matter,as plainly as that two and two
make four. They will not much longer
submit quietly to these robberies because
they are galvanized with Christian lacquer.