New-York tribune., 1875-05-12
UOR.SE THIN WHISk y.

HORSE THAN WHIShT.
Some three months ago, when the bill i'm
posino additional taxation was under discus
sion in the House Of Representatives, we had
occasion to say that no addition to the taxes
was necessary, nothing further being required
than n faithful and efficient collection of the
revenues under the tax laws as they were.
The astounding developments which appeared
in The TRIBUNE yesterday morning have
again directed the attention Of the public to
this subject by disclosing degree of rotten
ness in that department of the Government
which is charged with tho duty of collecting
the internal revenue which is nothing less
than appalling. BY the side of it the frauds of
the Canal Ring dwindlc to insigniiicance. We
have thought il our duty TO consult the an
nual reports Of the Commissioners of Internal
Revenue, and have coupled from them few
statistics of a very simple nature. Simple as
they are, however, they cOnclusively prove the
inciiciency and dishonesty of large proper
ton of the officers of the Internal Revenue,
lust us IN increase of one hundred per cent in
the annual mortality of this city would demon
strate either the existence OF fatal epidemic
or the most shameful neglect of the laws OF
health.
Previously to July I, 1868, the tax on dis
titled spirits had been two dollars per gallon,
and on chat date it was reduced TO fifty cents.
At this rate it remained until August /, 1872,
when it was raised TO seventy cents. In Feb
ruary, 1875, it was again raised and is now
fixed at one dollar. 1t is very well known that
when the tax was two dollars gallon it pro-
duced less than it did after the reduction was
4 i ,x-.l1 l-fpx
that since the present Administration has been
elevatng or civil service to its present sub
lime altitude, the quantity of distilled spirits
escaping the payment of taxes into tho Ma
tional Treasury, which was never excessively
small, has been constantly increasing. This is
the fact we propose to establish, leaving it for
our readers to interpret lis significance.
The Hon. Columbus Delano on page 10 of
his annual report as Commissioner Of ,thc In
tc,nal Revenue for the fiscal year 1860, csti-
mates the annual consumption Of distilled soilits
i'm the United States at that time ut not less
than cighty millions of gallons. After the best
consideration he had been able to gvo the
subject he estimated that tho Tax law, as it
then stood, il faithfully enforced, would yield
an annual revenue of sixty millions of dollars
[ lfP report, loDc, u. Ivy. ~ vi
the country since then has increased at least
one sixth, and the taxes spirits have been
very considerably increased. but the total
amount collected in the fiscal y"ar ended June
80, 1874. from this source WAS only %i0,-
1900, including licenses. In tle fiscal year
ended June 80, 1870 Uhc change from the
two-dollar rate to fifty cents having been made
in 1868, the returns to the Commissioner Of
Internal Revenue showed total tax
able production of liquors distilled from
other material than fruits, of 71,337,Oo3
gallons. The same report showed that
the distilleries of tho country, if operated
to the full extent OF their capacity for ten
months out of the twelve, were capable of
producing 2O3,012,S30 gallons q year. Mr..
DelanO again estimated the consumption, and
this time put it at from sevcntyiivc to eighty
million gallons. Having been one year longer
in office as Commissioner of Internal Revenue
he may have seen reasons for reducing his cs-
innate from "nOt less than eighty millions
10 "from scventy-fve to eighty millions"
Let us now sec how the annual production. as
far as discovered and taxed by the Internal
Revenue officers, compares for the last five