National Republican., 1882-04-26
Secretary Folger and the Whisky Bill

LINCOLN HALls-LeCture.
WILLARD HALL-Professor Carpenter
ODp-FELLows' HALI-The Worlds Museum.
Secretary Folger and the Whisky Bill.
Whisky costs thirty cents a gallon.
The United States tax upon 1t is ninety
cents gallon. The tax is not required
by law to be paid under three years if
the owners store it in warehouses under
Government control and give good
bonds in an amount equal to the whole
amount of the tax. Then the tax is paid
upon the whisky withdrawn from the
warehouse during the three years, and
upon all that remains stored for longer
period. Thus the Government is secured |
In the tax upon all whisky manufactured, |
instead of upon all that is sold only This
is safe for the Government, and yet lib
eral TO the manufacturer.
There has been considerable yielding
to the distillers in legislation on this SUBJ
ject. By the act of July 20, 1865, dis
titled spirits were allowed 10 remain in
warehouses one year without payment of
tax, on giving bond in double the
amount thereof, conditioned to secure
its payment on the withdrawal of the
spirits, and within one year from the
date of their entry in the warehouse.
This law when passed was q boon to the
distillers relieving them as it did from
the immediate payment Of the tax on
manufacture, and giving them year
within which to sell and pay the tax out
of the proceeds of the sale. For ten
years this liberal enactment seemed to
be most satisfactory. But on the 28th of
March, 1873, Congress passed a joint reso-
luton extending the time for paying the
tax from one year to three years, but re-
quiring interest to be paid thereon during
the two additional years of grace. Find
ing themselves thus fortunate with Con-
gress the distillers decided not TO tire of
asking iavors before that body tired of
granting them. Accordingly they sought
and obtained the passage of the act of
May IS, 1880, known as the Carlisle bill.
This bill abolished the interest on the
tax during the time it remained unpaid,
and reduced the bond required to secure
payment. Under the previous law the
bond had to be in a sum equal to tirice
the amount of the tax. The new law
required bond only equal to the amount
Of the tax. This last is the present law.
The distllers and operators in whisky
have now succeeded in persuading the
House Committee on Ways and Means to
report, aud he House to pass under asus-
pension of tie rules, and without discus-
sion, "a bill 70 amend the law which in 1900
secured ~ them all they then desired.
The two Houses we're then Democratic.
NJ. C.riise, Of Kentucky, always alive
TO the interests Of the great industry Of
his Site, had engineered the passage Of
the law which it is fair to suppose COW
cred all Of the distillers' demands and de-
sires which he deemed it proper that
Congress should grant
The bill, which a Republican Con-
gress is now asked to pass to super
sede tie most favorable law the Demo-
Gratis had seen proper to enact, uldetiHtely
pOStponeS The payment Of The tar on uHSOld
tohisky, and seriousty impairs tie security Jor
such payment in The meantime. 1t abolishes
the three years limit for non-payment Of
the tax, and only requires thetaX to be paid
on whisky that is withdrawn from the
warehouse. OF course it is only with
drawn as fast as sold. There is now
stored in the warehouses throughout the
country 75,OOO,0O0 gallons of unsold
whisky. Under the existing law the tax
on this, which is $67 100000, will fall
due within three years from the date of
it's storage. Bonds have been given for
the payment of this tax. The bill which
has passed the House and is now in the
Senate Finance Committee provides that
hlis tdC need not be paid unless the HhiSky is
sold, and only so fast rs it is sold, 1t also
provides that the bond shall no longer
be for the amount Of the tax except for
the smallest sums, but shall be SO gradu-
ated that the larger the amount of
whisky stored the less the amount of the
security required shall be per gallon.
Thus For fifty barrels Of whisky bond
of $l,800 is required. This is $36 a
barrel, or 80 cents gallon-the full
amount Of the tax. Then there is a grad
uated scale lessening the security per
gallon, until for 10000 barrels a bond for
only 100000 is required. This is $5.335
per barrel, or l33 cents per gallon, leav-
ing 765 cents on each gallon unsecured
For any amount over 10000 barrels the
bond required is only 100000 These
bonds are to run for one year only, and
are not conditioned on payment of the
tax on whisky in the warehouses, but
only on the whisky taken out of the
warehouses When il is stated that over
53,OOO,OOO of the 75,0OO,OOO of unsold
whisky in the United States is in Ken
tuclSy warehouses, and owned by few
men, the danger of the proposed measure
will be easier comprehended, The tax OF
this whole amount may be made to fall due
at any time by a refusal of the owners tC
renew the bonds. Then the collector il