St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-02-07

by legislation.
The distiller's combination, accord
| ing to their theory, are labOring in q
holy cause. If the law of supply and
demand was suffered to take its course
unobstructed by artificial obstacles the
alcoholic producers of the United
States would have been ruined. The
business was so profitable that a great
deal of capital was embarked i'll the
trade. Distiileries were multiplied,
| aud there was au enormous over-prO-
dnctiOn, especially of the fine grades
| of Bourbon and rye whiskies. Some
thing must be done to check prOduc-
tion and regulate the supply. And,
moreover, the temperance agitation
WAS sweeping over the western states,
and the sumptuary laws, enacted, or
proposed by various state legislatures,
threatened dire results to the whisky
interest. Combination by the distillers
followed. The temperance advocates
iskile, eyes of the whisky producers
were crazy fanatics. To defeat their
mad legislation the employment of any
means would be .justifiable. The Ma
tiOnal Distillers' and Spirit-dealers'
association was formed. 1t had two
fold object in view-the defeat of leg
islation hostile to the interests of the
producers and dealers by state legisla-
ton and the promotion of legislation
at Washington favorable to the dis
tillers. There are about 10000 regis
tered distillers and licensed wholesale
liquor dealers in the United States.
About One-half of these are united in
the association above mentioned. The
annual dues are $40 each, with liability
to assessments in proportion to busl-
ness done for particular and extraor-
binary purposes. The president of the
association, in his annual address in
1881, boldly declared 81 believe it to
be the mission of our association to
guard our business from oppressive
and destructive state legislation, no
less than it is its mission to promote
the enactment of friendly Y national laws,
and defeat. so far as possible, the
passage of those inimical to our inter
ests and our prosperity" For the
purpose of controlling production and
preventing vast quantities of whisky
from coming on the market through
the failure of weak holders, as well as
''tO promote the enactment of friendly
national laws and to guard against
Oppressive and destructive state leg
islation,n more than S700,0OO was
raised 10y assessments on distillers and
wholesale dealers from November, 1881 ,
to April, 1882. This vast sum of money
was not wholly II corruption fund.
Large amounts had to be paid out of it
to distillers for closing and keeping
idle their establishments. But allowing
literally for these disbursements and
there must have remained very large
balance available for political and
legislative purposes. ! have no accu-
rate data for the contributions made
since April, 1882, but it is quite safe
to say that they have been on CORE
spending scale. The necessities of the
situation have been more imperative
since than they We're at that period.
Two great efforts were made to obtain
tine enactment of friendly national
| laws without success. All this time
the whisky in bond had been piling
up, notwithstanding the diminutiOn OF
production, which has cost the pro-
ducers many thousand of dollars. To
avoid the payment of the tax of ninety
cents IA gallon on whisky whereOu
| the limit of warehOusing had expired
vast quantities had to be exported at a
! loss. The amount of money involved
is astounding. The report of the sec
retarv of the treasury for 1888 shows
| that during the ensuing seven months
! S27, 800. 900 of tax on bonded spirits
will fall due. Within two years from
| the first day of January, 1884, more
! than S72 ,0O0.O00 of tax on spirits now
| in bond will fall due. The secretary
also shows that during the past yeaI
| the diminution in the production OF
spirits exceeded 81 900, 900 gallons
| This was of course nearly altogether
artificial result of the National
| Distiller and Spirit dealers association
paying producers to become non-pro-
ducers. The government lost thereby
in tax S27 900, 900, which would have
been payable in two years. The Willis
bill. which passed the house once, pro
vided that the time of paying the ta2
on whisky in bond should be extended
two years. The bill reported las
winter from the Ways and Means com
mittee gave the government five PEE
cent interest on these deferred pay
ments. 1t failed to pass. This time
the combination does not propose tt
be so liberal to the government. Mr.
Willis's bill already introduced omit'
to mention the five per cent. interes
on the unpaid tax.
A committee of the senate investiga
ted in 1882 some wild and idiOtit
charges which had been made by ;
disappointed striker concerning the
use of money in Washington by tn,
whisky men. The committee unani
mously reported that they "were con
vinced that the proceeds of said as
sessmentS we're not used to infiueHc,
legislatiOn.n They reported, however
that the president of the association
testified that he had used large sum
OF money to defeat hostile Legislation
in the northwest states!
Money to ''intiuence legislation i
not always used directly, and an in
vestigation would seek in vain to trac,
its indirect employment. 1t goes int
congressional districts to ''intiuence
nominations and elections. An organ
izatiOn spread all over the country witt
vast sums at its disposal becomes tn
most potent of political engines. |
ght easily control the election o
enough congressman to accomplish it
purposes. And, moreover, the infiu
ences which will be exerted in favor O
the proposed legislation are not con
fined to the distillerS and wholesal
dealers. Banks and capitalists hav
lent vast amounts of money on spirit
in bond. If the bonded period is no
) extended by congress, the market vii
inevitably be broken by the immens
quantities that will be forced on il
and the bankruptcy and ruin that vii
. follow will involve the money lender
also. The financial and business stu
r alton of the country is already alarm
! ing. The gigantic schemes of stock
! iObbing like the Denver and Ri