Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1879-07-10
The Vslmcc-VVimdoma Deb;ltc.

The telegraph mentioned Senate
Vance's participation in a debate i,
, the Senate, Thursday, with Mr.
Window, of Minnesota. From TIN
Record it appears that they ha,
two little tilts, though the associ-
ated press report mentioned bu
one. The first was upon the sub
Ject of money due the government
from its officers of internal revenue
this controversy growing out of the
reiterated charge of Mr.. Davis, OF
West Virginia, that there was :
difference of nearly hundred mill,
ions between the published state
ment OF the national debt in 1865
and its actual condition. With this
explanation we copy as follows
from the Record Of Friday:
Mr.. Window. The only discre>
pancy in these accounts is that since
1870 the treasury officers find and
report that AL of these unadiusted
balances had been settled and paid,
except three million seven hundred
odd thousand dollars. That is all
there is oft, and | will not take
the time of the Senate longer on
that subject. If the Senator from
West Virginia does not see it,
everybody else docs, l think.
Mr.. Vance. Will the Senator
kindly yield tor question
Mr.. Window. Certainly.
Mr.. Vance. l find by the Record
this morning that the Senator from
Minnesota said yesterday that the
officers reported as detaultcrs by
the Secretary of the Treasury were
not defanltcrs at al! that there
were simply accounts charged MP
by the assessors against the coIlec-
tors, and that when the collectors
could not collect them the amount
was charged and then they were OH
settlement stricken off.
MIR. Window. I said largo
portion of them were, or meant to
cay.
Mr.. Vance. The Senator also went
on to say in the same paragraph of
his remarks:
All the millions that were uncollectcd
from the Democratic moonshine distillers
down i'll Kentucky where my friend over
yonder lives. down in Georgia, and all
through that mountain region, were in
cluded.
Mr.. Window. III did the Scn~
ator any injustice 10y not mention
ing North Carolina, | will insert il.
Mr.. Vance. You did the Sena-
tor from North Carolina no in
lnstlce whatsoever but | would be
TO the Senator if he would
wait till | propound my question.
Mr.. Window. l beg pardon | |
thought 1 understood it.
Mr.. Vance. / read further:
| presume there were more than S2O,-
OCO,OO of uncollected taxes from those |
whisky distillers. who have been robbing
the government ever since and killing |
our officers when they go down to collect
those taxes. Ali those were charge up |
as part of this $2,0O0,O0O.
Nov, my question, which ] ask
the Senator To be kind enough to
answer, is if these moonshinc dis
tillels were distiliing spirits without
tho knowledge and consent of the
government, how did the assessors
know what amount to charge up to
the collectors on their accounts
Mr.. Window. | think | was
III that ard whenever |
find that | was mistaken | will
admit it most frankly. l think
there has been vast amount Of
that kind of thing in North Caro-
liam, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky,
and elsewhere, never charged up to
collectors and in the haste of de-
bate [ think | made mistake on
that point, and acknowledge it to
the Senator.
Mr.. Vance. Yes, sir.
Mr.. Window. But if we could
get at the entire amount OF govern.
ment loss from those moonslliners
and others that [ referred to, YOU
would find it vastly greater than
the unsettled balances | have re-
ferred to.
Mr.. Vance. If the Senator will
be kind enough tn correct one other
he made in the same state
ment, | will agree to subsidc; and
that is that they are Democratic
moonshiners. l presume he has
some knowledge on that subject
which L have not, but | take pleas
ure in informing the Senator that
the large majority of moonshlners
brought before the United States
courts in North Carolina vote the
Republican ticket straight ont.
Mr.. Window. / am surprised at
that, Mr.. President, because / sup
posed from the character OF tho
business i'll which they were en-
gagged that they are Democrats. [
only assumed it on that ground.--
They were doubtless engaged in
furnishino Dptpfnp.iti,, eunnl,oc f,>r