The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-09-06
Extracts from Circular.

Your firm is understood to prepare,
according to a formula the nature of
which you will not disclose, the arti-
very large quantities, and to sell it to
dealers in all parts of the United
States.
Clifford Richardson, Esq, assistant
chemist of the agricultural depart
careful analysis of bottle of the
"Bitters," and find it to contain:
Absolute alcohol, 81 per cent; wa
ter, 81 per cent; extracts, only per
cent.
coholic liquor favored with various
ETC., and contains some vegetable Bit
will be seen that the bitters contain
at least IS per cent. o. proof spirits,
which will be equal to about 80 per
cent. of ordinary whisky at 80 per
cent, proof, obviously much more
spirits than is absolutely necessary to
hold the other ingredients in solutions
Containing as it does no deleterious
drugs, and only four per cent. of any
thing like a drug, | should probably
be entirely justified in deciding out
right that one who sells it for any
purpose is retail liquor dealer within
the meaning of clause 4, section 3244,
.revises statutes. ! have been at pains
to state quite at length the position of
this, office, and you will observe that /
do not ded Rwhether, in the abstract,
your prepa tion is a medicine or not.
II al TO hn 1n6i zlT I
should probably do violence to
an almost irresistible tendency
of tho mind to conclude, that
no genuine medicine needs so
much whisky and so few drugs in
it, unless under very unusual circum-
stances. On the other hand, should l
decide that it is not medicine at all /
would be confronted by q ten years
quasi recognition by this office to the
contrary, as well as by the practice of
many people who use it as such.
Since circular No. 268 was issued have
been careful not to- decide directly
whether preparation was medicine
or not unless l had before me report
from the collector stating all the
facts. Such a report l have not in
this case. My efforts will be directed
to the ascertailment of the facts as to
the use to which your preparation is
put. for upon the character of its use
in a given case will depend the queS-
ton of the liability of the dealer to
pay special tax. The courts have de-
cided one case since circular 268 was
issued, viz: that of the United States
VS.. Fred, Coto, which was tried before
Judge Whitney, of Michigan, whose
views were identical with those enter
tained by this Office as to the law in
the premises
The court charged the jury in sub
stance that if the article sold was a
medicine and contained spirits simply
to preserve it's medicinal qualities,
and was sold and taken as medicine
in good faith that the defendant
should be acquitted. But if the jury
found from the evidence that. the ar
ticle was a compound containing such
a quantity OF spirits as to be intoXi-
eating, and was sold by the defendant
as beverage, he knowing its intoxi-
eating quality, and was drank
by persons not as medicine, but as
beverage. because of it's Intoxicating
and stimulating qualities, then, no
matter by what name 1t was known
or called, the defendant was guilty as
charged. The jury returned a verdict
of guilty. and the defendant was fined
$500 and sentenced to Imprisonment
in the custody of the marshal for thir-
ty days. The law is my only
guide in such matters. and in such
cases regard it as requiring the pay
ment of the tax, and have no option
but to collect it.
Parties interested in this matter had
better inform themselves explicitly
through the revenue officers.
The collector of customs at Corpus
Christi has recently made an impor-
tant seizure under the United States
revenue laws, in seizing barge and
railroad iron and fixtures, amounting
in value, to $5259.1e, for vio-
lation Of the import laws. This
property will be at once Hbelled.
| The facts of the seizure are these:
The ship Ravensdale, from Wales,
brought her cargo to a port at Ar
ansas Pass, twenty-five miles from
| Corpus Christi, the regular govern
ment. port of entry, where the iron,
etc, was transferred to barge relief
to tighten the ship to the proper
wharf at Corpus Christi; but instead
of this being done the barge was run
| to a private wharf of the MeYlcan
National Construction Company, and
was unloading when captured to-
gether with her cargo, consisting of
lj75 steel rails and other railway ma
terial us stated. The owners gave
bond before district attorney Evans
filed a libel against the property. but
the owners win be proceeded against
under their boad as in eases of viola
tion of the revenue laws.