The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-05-10
NUMBER 16
WAGES AND wHIsKEY.
Shall the Former be Sacrificed TO Pro
tect ihe Latter-A Letter.

To the Editor of the PreSS:-There II
nothing in the history of politics sc
shameful as the proposed sacrifice of thu
industries of the entire United States tC
the preservation of the whiskey dis
tlllers' monopoly, The accumulation OF
revenue in the public Treasury above
the needs OF the government was so
great as to hamper and restrict the busi-
ness OF the country. This locking up OF
the nations money, the instrument OF
Its buying and selling, threatened to
make political issue fatal to the party
IN power To stop this impOuring of a
sarplus into the treasury became the ne
cessity of Mr. Cleveland's admnistra-
tion. The quickest Lnd best way of
doing this, obviously, was to abolish the
the internal revenue taxes. These
amounted last year to $l1S, ,S23. 39l. This
sum, left in the hands of the people,
would have sufficed for their business
and ended the surplus. Why was not
this simple remedy adopted? Because
1t would have destroyed the monopoly
in the production of whiskey. which is
based on the internal revenue tax of 81
per gallon.
The strongest political power in tnls
country is the whiskey trust. In is
combination Of the rich distillers of all
the States. 1t controls more Congress
men than any other interest represented
in Federal legislation. 1t can raise
larger fund for political use than any
other organization. 1t has a perpetually
open political headquarters in every
liquor store and drinking saloon in the
United States. The solid vote of the ma
tiOn's drunkards and liquor sellers, mil.
lions in number, is in the hollow OF its
hand. This power growled roughly to
Mr.. Cleveland when framing his issue
for the next election
In getting rid of the surplus in the
treasury, don't you touch whiskey? Tear
down the tariff if you want to. The dol.
lar gallon tax on whiskey is neces-
sary to our monopoly. If that is abolish.
ed, teakettle distilleries will be started
by poor men everywhere; farmers will
turn portion of their corn crops into
alcohol; our business will be cut TO
pieces by widespread competition
which we cannot control, either as to
the price at which whiskey shall be sold,
or the quantity which shall be produced.
Now we control both the quantity and
the price, and we have got a copartner
in the business of supreme power, and
that is the United States Government.
This copartner ware houses our whiskey
watches 1t till we are ready to sell it,
suspends for three years the tax on it
till it commands good price, keeps a
small army of men to 81 DOT the poor
devils who attempt to distill outside of
our combination, allows US to export cur
nrnHnpt IN of tho in
a depressed market, and in all ways pro-
tects our monopoly and maintains our
large profits. The arrangement between
us and the government, as we have got
II fixed, suits us to dot. Don't you
disturb it If you want to be reelected. |
Smash the tariff if you want tc-but
don't you touch the internal revenue
systemn
And the President, reverently taking
off his hat, placed his hand on barrel
of whiskey. which is the altar of De-
mocracy and swore fealty to the whis-
key ring, and then finished his message
to Congress, in which he denounces the |
peoples protective tariff as inequltable,
Illogical and mischeevous,
and praised the internal revenue system
as a model OF taxation not to be disturb
ed.
Will the mechanics of the United |
States permit the shops and factories In
which they now earn good wages to be
sdnIef tI6ne6es' 'io-ue tlf'lleu IuiG mud
the streets that liquor saloons may be
thronged, and the whiskey ring main
tain its enormous monopoly?
SAM WILKESON,
New York, April 27.-New York Press.