The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1878-08-15
The Internal Revenue Laws and Their
Enforcement. ...o.

|
who has been recently appointed
special revenue agent for the division
composed of South Carolina and the
Western District of North Carolina,
to succeed Maj. Wagner, of Green's
boro. Colonel Chapman has just
entered upon the discharge of bis du.
ties, with headquarters at Statesville,
and arrived in this city yesterday on
business pertaining to his Office. ae
is but recently from Washington,
where be had lengthy interviews
with both President Hayes and Com.
missioner Raum relative to the exc
cution of the internal revenue laws
in this section, and the tenor Of their
instructions to him may be gathered
from the letter from the Commission
er, received by Colonel Chapman
since his arrival in North Carolina,
and printed below. Anything that
might be said byCommissioner Raum
upon the subjects discussed in his
letter would be Of interest and valu-
able to the people of this region, but
the letter is Of especial value as
showing the wishes of the admins
tration as to the manner of the en-
forcement of the revenue law and as
indicating its animus towards the
distllers and others with whom the
government officers are necessarily
thrown in contact. The letter is as
follows:
WASHINGTON, July 20, 1878.
w. II. Chapman, Esq, Revenue
Agent, Greensboro, N. G.:
Now that you are about to assume
charge Of your division, deem it
proper to place in writing the verb
statements l made to you before you
left this city.
earnestly desire that the in'ernal
revenue laws shall be enfol ced peace
ably and quietly and without neces-
sity of using an armed torce. This
can only be done where the officers
are supported by pnblic sentiment
favorable to the obscrvancc and ell
forcement Of the laws.
| wish you to visit the counties of
Pickens, Greenville, York, Spartan
burg, Anderson and Oconee in South
Carolina, and such counties in North
Carolina as C,llector Mott may think
proper to suggest, and there confer
with leading citizens and endeavor
to interest their sympathies in behalf
of the observance Of the laws, and O
peaceful and orderly enforcement OF
them.
l desire you to put yourself in com.
muncation with such persons as wish
to pursue the business of operating
distilleI les, and to impress upon
them the fact that there is fixed de-
termination on the part of tie gov
ernment to suppress frauds against its
revenues; and it is important that
you should fully explain to them that
in the end it is more profitable for
them to operate legal disliIIeries and
pay the taxes imposed by law upon
their products than to engage in il
licit distilling.
The law for the collection of O tax
upon detilled spirits is uniform
throughout the country, and the gov
ernment realizes from the tax near ly
S60,000,000 per annum. While this
law remains upon the statute book it
is the duty Of every good citizen to
observe it, and of every officer OF the
United States assigned to that duty
to enforce it. The pains and penal
ties for it's violation aresevere. No
man can with safety violate it's pro-.
visi ons, and any community where
the violations OF law are numerous is
soon given over to anarchy and dis
order, and many persons are con-
stantly skulking from their homes to
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