News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1885-08-20
A misunderstanding Business.

The Government is at issue again
with the whiskey distillers. But this
is nothing new. Says the N. 7. Oh
serUer: Their resistance to law and
authority began as long ago as 1894,
when the distillers of Western Penn
sylvania raised an army of nearly sew
en- thousand men and under the motto,
s'Liberty and no Excise" set up the
standard of rebellion on Braddock' s
Field. The whole course of the bust
ness from that day to this has been
marked by more or less of violence
and fraud. All who handle the stuff,
from the manufacturer down to the
consumer, seem to be contaminated by
it. The Government agents are con-
stantly engaged in efforts to suppress
illicit distilling, and often meet with
savage and murderous opposition from
the ''moonshiners," as illicit distillers
are called in the South. Hundreds OF
brave and worthy men have met their
death in endeavoring to break up the
illegal business.
The distillers who pretend to con-
form to the law in some particulars
are now and have been for years a
war with the Government over the
question of revenue. Their frauds
upon the revenue and their attempts
to evade the payment of the tax upon
spirits are notorious. They are con-
stantly demanding new legislation in
their favor and making loud complaints
of unjust and unfair treatment. Only
few days since some prominent dis
tillers in the West were charged with
trying to cheat the Government by
varying the size of the casks contain
ing their whiskey from those specified
by law. 1t is well-known fact that
large quantities of spirits have been
sent over the line into Canada and
then reshipped to the States in order
to evade the excise laws.
The same system of fraud and deceit
pervades the lower branches of the
traffic. 1t may be safely asserted that
no class of men claiming to carry on a
lawful business are such persistent
yiolators of the law as the retail deal
ers in ardent spirits. Thousands of
them in the cities do not even 90
through the formality Of taking out a
license, and thousands of others who
hold such documents make no pretence
of living up to their requirements.
Wherever they have sufficient wealth
and political influence, the law is ig-
nored or openly defed in other cases
it is evaded by trickery. Very few, if
any, dealers in strong drinks conform
to the law. They are constantly chat
ing under the restrictions placed upon
their business, no matter how light
those restrictions may be. Rarely, il
ever, doesa legislature meet, state or
national, that these men are not or
hand lobbying and intriguing to have
some measure passed that shall in
crease their profits, and give then
greater freedom. Although the profit:
on the business are enormous, distill
ers, brewers and retailers are neve
satisfied, but are always crying witt
the daughters of the horseleech, "Give
Give !" In short, the whole course o
whiskey through the business world
like its course through society, i
marked with crime. The traffic is a.
ever irritating thorn in the side of tn
body polite, stirrer up of strife ant
discord, curse to honest industry
And when the whiskey passes over til
bar to its consumers it begins a deep
err and darker course of evil than be
fore.