The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-03-15
Expectation that at Least Twenty Millions
of Dollars VIII Be Required to Pay
the Rebate Taxes,
And that from Three to Four Mil
lions Will Be Stolen.
Interest on Called Bonds Will Not Be An
ticipated-A Huge Land Lawsuit
General Notes.
THE TOBACCO TAX.
Devising Plans for Putting the New Reve.
nue. Law Into Operation.

WASHINGTON, March 14.-Messrs Raum,
Commissioner of Internal Revenue; Law
renee, First Comptroller of the Treasury
and w. S. Alexander Fifth Auditor of the
Treasury, have held several meetings lately
to devise plans for the proper execution Of
| those provisions of the lately enacted reye-
nue. law relating to the rebate of taxes on
tobacco and cigars. The outlines of tho
plan to be pursued has been agreed upon in
its substantial details, and only remains to
be filled out and polished. The work en-
tailed upon the Treasury Department by
this rebate section will be complicated and
| burdensome.
There are over 100000 dealers in tobacco
and cigars, and great majority of these
dealers will, it is believed, have stock on
hand upon which they can rghtfully claim
a rebate. 1t is estimated that not less than
100000 claims against the government will
be filed under the act which provides for re-
payment to dealers OF 8 cents per pound on
unbroken packages Of tobacco in stock May
l, and So per thousand on cigars
of the value of $40 or upward.
All claims must be filed by the
1st of July sixty days after the date fixed
for the taking account of stock. Blanks will
sent out by Commissioner Raum to the col
lectors throughout the country, and by them
put into the hands of every dealer in the dis
trict with ample instruction, so that there
will be no necessity of employing lawyers to
make out the claims properly. All the dealer
will have to do will be to fill in the blanks
with the stock on hand represented by the
stamps on his packages, swear to the correct
ness This accountin the presence of two repu-
table witnesses, who are also required to make
! oath to the accuracy of the dealers statement
Wherever it is practicable the oath must be
administered b. a revenue officer, or in the
absence of such officer, by a postmaster or
other government official armed with nota-
rial power.
These blanks will be distributed among
dealers on or before the 1st of May, and they
will be urged to file their claims with the
collectors of internal revenue as speedily as
possible thereafter. The oath dealers and
witnesses will be required to take will be
iron-bound, and every conceivable safeguard
against fraud will be erected. The only
chance for swndIing will be in the filing OF
broken packages with new cigars and tobacco
and getting the rebate on goods that have
never been taxed and in small dealers con-
solidatng their stocks to come within
the provisions of the act. The let
ter is sharp practice rather than
swindling and so long as dealers do rot
palm off new untaxed goods on the govern
ment, it cannot come under the head of out
right robbery although the business cannot
be termed strictly honest.
The swindling must necessarily be petty,
as the commissioner has check against
wholesale robbery in the registration record
of all coupon stamps of the larger denom-
ination which arc issued from mis- office 1t
is only on small packages that the govern
ment can be cheated, and as three men will
have to commit perjury to get claim
through it is not likely the perpetration
OF rascality will be as general as many
have supposed. Men do not associate
themselves together as perjurers for the theft
of few dollars with any great frequency.
Perjury is not such a prevailing vice as the
CRIME shriekers would have us believe Ii
has been estimated that So 900, 600 or 81, 600.
900 would be stolen from the government by
dishonest dealers, but this is doubtless an
exaggeration.
1t is expected that at least so per cent OF
the claims for rebate of taxes will be on file
by the first of June, and that the commits
soners will be enabled to throw force of
clerks upon the work of proving them up
properly Immediately thereafter. All claims
pass through the Commissioners hands
Immediately after leaving the collectors
offices. They then go to the Fifth Auditor
and from him to the First Comptroller Ii
will take special detail of $50 men, fifty in
each of the three divisions named, from June
to the 1st of December to enter up the
claims, the clerks working under pressure at
that.
Mr.. Raum has roughly estimated that it
will take between $15, 900, 900 and 500, 600, 900
to pay the rebate claims. The point has been
raised that the bill, which became an act in
the last days of Congress, does not provide
for the payment Of these claims, and that
Congress will have to appropriate money
for that specific purpose. The question
has been presented to Comptroller Lawrence
in formal shape, and he will pass upon il
soon. If he should decide that Congress
will have to appropriate money to pay the
claim, it will not occasion serious delay as
payment will not be made in any event before
| December. Dealers whose claims are APP
! proved can, however, take the amount due