, 1875-11-21
TIE WHISKY SITUATION IN CHICAGO

The extraordinary Developments made IL
the trials of the revenue officers at st. Loui.
have naturally excited interests as to whether
like Developments are likely to be madt
when the legal prosecutions take place il
Chicago. The evidence is, that in St. Louis
the manufacture of whisky and its sale with.
out payment Of tar was continued during the
greater part of four years with the full
knowledge, and much Of it through the di.
rect procurement, Of the Government officers,
who exempted the spirits from the Govern.
ment ta1 OF SO cents per gallon in considera-
ton Of a regular payment to them Of 30 cents
per gallon, which 80 cents was divided be-
tween the officers and such outsiders as were
admitted to share in the robbery.
We have made every possibly inquiry as to
the operations in Chicago, and we understand
that the Grand Jury exhausted all the evi-
dence within their reach, and failed to dis
cover any such general completely between
the offending distl1ers and rectifere and the
Government officers ns prevailed in St. Louis.
# there ever were such criminal relations,
the evidence thereof has never come to light,
and if any person knows of anything to
establish such state Of things, he can do a
public service by making it known.
So far as the case now stands disclosed the
whisky men of Chicago Of all degrees have
been operating each On his own account
Each establishment has Of course had to pur-
chase Gauger and Storekeeper but there
seems to have been no necessity for purchas-
ing the silence Or the participation of the
other and higher revenue officers. The latter
do not seem to have had the least suspicion
that any person in Chicago would defraud
the revenue +; and the fraudulent use of
stamps, and the false and perured reports
Of subordinates, seem never to have attracted
any persons attention. In st. Louis the
revenue officers kept with religious fidelity
two reports,-one Of every gallon Of straight
whisky produced and sold, on which they
collected the tax for the Government and,
second, as faithful an account of every gal
lon Of crooked OF grapevine whisky, on
which they collected for themselves the 80
cents per gallon assessment. The st. Louis
revenue officers permitted no whisky to be
turned out in that city without their knowl-
edge. Their vigilance was s1eepless. They
simply divided the business with the Gov
ernment, and let whisky be made for them at
80 cents tax, when the Government was
charging so or 70 cents.
In Chicago our revenue business was run
on the principle Of suspecting no man OF evil.
It is true the distillers turned out whisky at
their pleasure; the rectifers received and
shipped at their convenience, and they re-
ported to the Government just SO much as
they thought proper, and our revenue officers
were not the il-mannered persons to inquire
into what was clearly other peoples business.
In St. Louis the revenue officers demanded,
for the privilege Of making and selling un-
taxed whisky, cash fee Of 80 cents gallon.
1r Chicago the same privilege was enjoyed
without the payment Of cent. We call
especial attention to this fact, as illustrative
Of the different kind Of officers the whisky
manufacturers had to deal with in the two
cities.
In St. Loris every million of gallons Of
:rooked Whisky turned out paid in cash
$500, 600 to the revenue officers for their non
In Chicago the same non-in-
reference prevailed, and it cost not q cent.
In St. Louis the mountaineering officers who