The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1882-06-23
MANKATo FREE Press
WINDOWS SPEECH
ON THE
Whiskey Extension Bill.
FRIDAY, JUNE, ~, 1882.

fenSible legislation. In support ot
this somewhat sweeping protest he
said he would specify and should on
deavor To maintain the following oh.
jections:
First-There is no necessity Of its
passage ut this time.
Second-lt will aggravate and large
ly augment the very evils it proposes
To cure.
Third-lt proposes partnership
between the government and the
owners of whisky now in bond or
hereafter to he bonded, whereby the
former is to put in two-thirds of the
capital, assume all risks ana bear I'LL
losses, while the latter is to receive
and enjoy all the benefits andSprOiitS
of the business.
Fourth-It wantonly surrenders
bonds already given for the full
amount of 500 ,0OO, 900 and substitutes
new graduated bonds which may not
amount to 81 900, 900 on the entire
$50, 200, 900 now in bonded ware
houses.
Fifth-lt invites and encourages
immense rings and combinations
dangerous to the revenues of the
government and wholly in the inter
est of speculation.
AS to the first he said that he was
aware that it was given precedence
over other measures and rushed
through the house of representatives
upon the remarkable statement by
many supposed TO be true that there
is ut this time an urgent necessity for
the extension of the time during
which spirits may remain in bond is
measure of relief to distillers and
dealers who have large stocks OH
hand. He said he would show from
official statistics and by the honorable
senator from Kentucky that the
statement was untrue, and that the
promotion of this measure endeavOred
to and did secure its passage through
the house upon an utterly grOundless
pretense. They averred the Large
quantities of spirits will be forced
out during the next two OF three
months, whereas the senator from
Kentucky had shown from official
statistics that during the three
months referred to, the tax matured
rs follows: May, 250.5S5 gallons !;
June. 1888 gallons July, 242, 534
gallons. Making Il total of only $751;
$50 gallons, which is less than one
fifth of the average quantity required
for consumption during that time,
and only about One-twentieth of the
surplus which went into bonded ware
house during the preceding three
months. In view of these facts,
what shall be said of this attempt OF
misleading congress or of the deliber
ate statement that there are reason.
able grounds To believe that in many
cases the eXactiOn of such large
amounts of money from the owners
of unsold whisky would result in
their financial ruin, while in all cases
it would he Il very great hardshipF
What are these large amounts of
money the Immediate eXactiOn of
which threatened financial ruiI
Ninety cents per gallon on S3l $50
gallons in three months, or an average
of only OF ,223 gallons per month, on
which the tax amounted to $249, 500
per month. 1t will be observed that
the plea of urgent necessity is based
upon the statement that this large
amount Of money is TO be eXacted
from the owners OF unSOld goods,
when the fact is 80 per cent. of said
goods have already been sold and is
now in the hands of spectators. The
senator from Kentucky told us that
very many of the best distillers i'm
Kentucky, whose warehouses are now
full of spirits in bond, do not own Il
gallon and have not for years paid a
cent of tax to the government" The
same thing is true of the distillers OF
that kind of whisky throughout the
country. They have all sold out and
the whisky is now in the hands of
spectators. What then becomes of
the plea that if this bill be not passed
ut once financial ruin is the result
from compelling spectators to pay
ID cents per gallon within the next
three months, on only S5l $50 gallons
when they have over S5,0OO.0OO gal
Ions in bond! There would have
been no injustice or hardship in re
quiring the tax to be paid ut the time
of sale upon every gallon that had
been sold. Had that been done, the
government would have to day at
least $50, 900, 900 more money in the
treasury than it has, or production
would not have Overrun the bounds
of safety, Us it has done. If such Il
statement us have read were honest
ly made by the promoters of this
measure, their ignorance OF the
whisky business must be even more
dense and deplorable than the senator
from Kentucky charges upon the
secretary of the treasury and the rest
of us who fail To discover the virtue
of this bill, l commend them to the
generous sympathy of that senator.
If they were not deplorably ignorant,
| suggest to the senator a mOdifica.
ton of his eulOg .stic remarks upon
their honesty. Let us look little
further into this pretense of urgent
necessity. The official statistics from
which have just quoted show that
the quantity of whisky in bond upon
which the tax will mature by the list
day of March, 1883, is only 3.3lO, 1915
gallons, being an average Of only
367 ,977 gallons per month, which is
less than one quarter of the quantity
that will be withdrawn for actual
consumption during that period of
ten months. Why then this suspic.
iOus pressure for immediate action !
If congress shall not act upon the
subject this session, there will he
still left an entire session before the
tax will mature, One-third of the
quantity that will be required for
consumption. Am / not, therefore,
fully Justified i'm the assertion that
the plea of urgent necessity is an
utterly groumdless pretext! There is
quite another reason why the friends
Of This measure clamOr for speedy
action which ] will state before ]
conclude my remarks. That there is
IN immense surplus of whiskey now
in bond which threatens serious EN-
harraSsments 10 its owners Il year or
two hence unless production shall he
reduced, is doubtless true, but there
will he ample time To provide for
this. The damage cannot be averted
by the kind OF legislation proposed.
AS to the second objection, he quotes
from Mr.. Shufcldt of Chicago, who
testified. when asked 10 what he ut.
tribnted the Over-pr0ductiOn, which
threatens embarrassment, to the
Carlisle bill" Mr.. Window said by
pursuing Gn an enlarged scale the
same policy which has produced the
mischief, our bonded warehouse sys-
TEN has grown to its present danger
Gus proportions from three acts of
congress. TO these acts we may dis.
tinctly trace the existing conditions
ana threatened troubles lie then
rave "A history of The various acts i'm |