The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-24

ruin in Congress were arranging their
tariff, which has surrendered a part of
the home market, Senator Voorhees, de-
voted himself to the care of the whisky
interests. The Journal will not make
the frantic insnuations which the Senti-
mel made while the senior Senator was
working to promote the interests of the
whisky ring, but assume that his
thoughtless desire to help his friends led
him TO be the champion of the ring and
to make a speech for it. No man was SO
insistent upon increasing the tax on
whisky from 80 cents to $1.1O a gallon as
was Mr.. Voorhees,. but with this increase
he advocated the extension of the period
in which WHISKY can be taken out Of
bond, when the tax must be paid.
And now the country has the result Of
The revenues from the tax on whisky
have fallen off in so marked a degree
that the treasury officials, who have been
declaring that the present tariff and rev.
enue laws would afford sufficient rev.
enue, are alarmed. The withdrawal of
whisky from bond during 1895 was only
65.757.155 gallons. against an average of
over 100000 gallons a year from Jan.
!, 1892 to Jan. /, 1895. And now 1t seems
that the Withdrawals from bond and the
payment Of the tax for this month are
likely to be less than the Withdrawals
for any January in years. In the Senate
tariff bill Senator Voorhees, had his whis-
ky-tax sections passed upon early in the
fight. Then 1t was ascertained that the
Democrats in the Senate would stand by
the whole BILL Between the certainty of
the passage of the bill, with the Voor-
hees whisky sections included, and it's
actual passage, three months interviewed.
On all the whisky taken out of bond dur
ing that period and to "the first day Of
the second calendar month" after the
passage Of the act making the tax $1.1O a
fifty days after the bill had been passed
when the whisky ring could save 20 cents
gallon by paying the tax. Before the
law went into eff ,ct q, 1000 900 gallons in
excess of the usual withdrawal were
taken out of bond. BY this transaction
the ring or owners made s., OO0, 900. That
25.000,000 gallons came out of the natural
withdrawal of 1895.
Other causes have contributed to re.
duce the revenues from the whisky tax
One Of these is the increase of illicit dis
filling, not only by moonshiners, but in
cities where there are sugar refineries,
and by frauds practiced by a large num-
Der of small distilleries registered and
licensed under the provisions of the
voorhees, whisky law. Ordinary whisky
is produced for less than the 20 cents
increase OF tax, so that the increased
profits are so large that greater risks
are taken in violating the law. By re-
cent chemical discoveries, alcohol can be
produced at less than 10 cents a gallon,
SO that the tax on such spirits is many
hundred per centum above the cost.
1t was demonstrated under previous
laws that the largest collection of rev.
enues from the whisky tax could be real
lied at a tax not above 80 cents a gallon,
and that any considerable advance of
the tax without a much larger expendi-
ture for collection would not bring a
larger revenue than that figure. The
extension of the bonded period to eight
years and the rapidly increasing allow
ance for shrinkage, with the increased
period in bond, amounting to nine gal
Ions in forty gallon casks, If in bond four
years, had much more than nullified the
increased tax for the whisky ring. to the
detriment Of those who make or consume
alcohol for industrial purposes.
This is the only piece Of revenue legis-
1ation of which Senator Voorhees, can
claim the paternity. 1t seems to have
resulted in depicting the treasury from
$l2,OOO,OO0 to s15,00O,00O a year, at least.