Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-07-27
ANoTHEK sALooN.KEFPER HELD.
Revenue onioers on the Alert All over
the Country Making Arrests for All
Kinds of ReVenuc Violations.

Revenue Onicers on the Alert All Over
the Country Making Arrests for All
Kinds of Revenue Violations.
Charles &. Rex saloon keeper, No. 8
East Second street, was brought before
Commissioner $. Redmond Smith FRI
day afternoon on the charge Of emitting
TO cancel the revenue stamps on emptied
liquor packages. He was held in $500 bail
for the September term Of court.
There is no doubt that numbers of liquor
men in the city have been customarily lax
in following the requirements of the reve-
me law on this mater. The letter of the
law requires that Immediately whisky
barrel. for instance is emptied, the reve-
nue. stamp must be effaced or cancelled be-
violation of United States law. This is
the technical point that has caused all the
recent arrests in this city.
Revenue officers are making this gem
eral movement, however, OH other grounds
altogether. What they are specially after
Is to catch those who are in the habit of
using the revenue stamps over again. 1t is
common thing for men engaged in the
saloon business to sell or to make over
that barrels of spirits bearing the reve-
nue. stamp pass through two or
three hands this way, without being
touched, the new owners in succession just
counting over the stock in the ice cellar
and taking no further notice of it. In a
damp ice cellar as may be readily under
stood, the revenue stamps might easily in
the course of three years fall off from the
barrels. In time large collection of them,
ench one worth 80 cents, may be gathered
by helper of the proprietor of the saloon
and sold 10 anyone interested in getting his
liquor stamps at half price. IL is known
that this has been done in numerous in
stances elsewhere and the department in
Washington is instituting prosecutions all
over the country on this score. These
violators of the revenue law sell tine stamps
to the brewer or distiller or others who
thereby get their LIQUOR stamps at greatly
reduced price, defraudipg the government
to that extent. Revenue officers have been
ordered to make prosecutions according to
the strict letter of the law, so that all pos
sibility of the violators escaping prosecu-
ton will be prevented.
When the cases come up for trial the
facts will of course largely influence the
nature of the sentence. In regard to the
recent arrests here 1t is stated that there
are none other than technical violations.
There are none where intention TO defraud
Uncle Sam are even pretended. Yet all
of those arrested must be brought up be-
fore the United States commissioner. The
movement of the revenue officers will at
least teach the liquor men of the city to be
much more exact than they have been
hitherto.
The revenue law is equally strict in re-
gard to the sale Of cigars, In some respects
1t is probably more rigid. For instance,
supposing cigar dealer had two boxes of
Henry Clays open, he cannot change the
cigars by moving them from one box into
another. He must continue selling from
the opened box or boxes until they are
empty and then Immediately cancel the
| stamps. Should he allow an empty box
to lie with the stamp not effaced he is
| liable to arrest at any moment. He can,
not refill half emptied or an empty box.