Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-09-25
THE WHfSKEY RING.


THE WHfSKEY RING.
Its Running of the Internal Reve.
nue. Bureau to Crush the Wine
lndustry-A Strong Protest from
the Chamber 0i Commerce
The Board OF Directors of the Chamber
Of Commerce met yesterday to act upon
the report of the committee appointed to
consider the letter of General Vandever
relating to the treatment of the wine in
terest of California by the Internal Rsve.
nue. Bureau. The following proceedings
were had:
On the 10th day of September, A. d.
1889, Hon. J. De Barth Shorb presented
to the Board of Directors of the Chamber
of Commerce the following letter FROM
General Vandever, written in answer to
one from Mr.. Shorb:
REPRESENTATIVE vANDEvER's LETTER.
J. De Barth Shorb, Esq, Ramona, Cal.:
DEAR SIR-Your Communication of
the 10Th inst. is before me.
/ appreciate all that you say, and will
gladly lend what aid can for the correc.
ton of the wrongs of which you complain.
The Whiskey Ring seem to have things
their own way. can see OF no more
efectual method of suppressing them
than by repeal of the internal revenue
laws, and the suppression of the Internal
Revenue Bureau.
The persons recently appointed guag-
ers, ETC., in this district, are the selec-
tions of the Bureau, made without advice
of, or consultation with the Representa-
tive. do not know that 1 should com,
plain, however, for it is hard telling who
to trust in that line of business, and do
not care to share in the responsibility oy
that kind of appointments. The Whiskey
Ring send their grain distilled spirits
abroad free from the internal revenue
tax of ninety cents per gallon, to be re-
turned in spurious wine for American
consumption in competition with the
genuine product of the American grown
grape.
The Whiskey Ring, running the Internal
Revenue Bureau in its own interest,
takes precious good care to have only
such agents appointed as protect their
monopoly of furnishing free spirit for
foreign concoctions, while the American
producer of genuine grape wine is obliged
to pay ninety cents per gallon for grape
spirit with which be fortifes his product.
The iniquities of the internal revenue
system can only be prevented by ex-
tinguishing it entirely.
AS the law now stands, the Govern
ment encourages the production of vii.
lainous compounds by the imposition Of
tax OF ninety cents a gallon on an hon
est article. Yours truly,
WIN. VANDEvER.
Ventura, CAL, September 18th, 1889.
The board referred the subjects touched
on, to the following committee: W. H.
Workman, Hon. j. De Barth Shorb,
Colonel J. ) Ayers, Judge John Haynes,
Major E. w. Jones and j. B. Lanker-
SHIN, who after mature consideration
presented the following preamble and
resolutions to the board at their meeting
yesterday:
WHEREAS, The grape interest has,
under wise and fostering laws, grown to
be of great national Importance to all
countries whose climatic conditions per-
NIT the culture of the vine and manu-
facture of wines;
AND WHEREAS, 1t has produced more
than other agricultural pursuits, happy
and conservative people, whose cheerful
looking homes are evidence of content
ment and peace within;
AND WHEREAS, The labor of the Wig
neron results in the building up OF proper
ties and establishment OF homes that are
not of today but grow in value by time,
thereby adding the element of psrma-
nency to nations prosperity;
AND WHEREAS, The conditions distin-
gushing this industry render the
burdens of life labor less onerous
and competency easier OF at
tainment, thereby making the country
life more attractive, and tending
to arrest the dangerous crowding OF cities
and the necessary increase of the hood
lum or pauper element;
AND WHEREAS, The equality before
the law which attaches to persons under
our free republican institutions, should
have its counterpart in the equality of
The burden of taxation upon the material
interests of the country;
AND WHEREAS, The internal revenue
laws do now discriminate, as they always
have, against the grape interest, mas
much as the same tax is levied on grape
and other fruit brandies as upon corn or
wheat spirits, or whiskey;
AND WHEREAS, Inc relative produc-
ion in spirits from corn and wheat, and
grapes and other fruits, is as three
g to one, that is one hundred
weight of corn and wheat will yield from
six to six and q half gallons of spirits |
'eady for the market as soon as produced, |
while one hundred weight of grapes will |
Yield but two gallons, which must be |
carried for years before it can be
sold;
AND WHEREAS. The products of the
,rain farmers are practically imperisha- |
DE, and their legitimate use is to give
,read to the toiling millions;
AND WHEREAS, The system of grain
aiming each year impoverishes the soil, |
md each year the acreage grows |
ess, the permanency of values being
hereby destroyed;
AND WHEREAS, California can and is |