The evening times., 1899-03-07
ADVANCE In THE
PRICE OF WHISKY
The Evans Outage Bill a Joy
to the Distillers.
Slipped Through Congress at the
Last Hour.
Complaint of Discriminating Fea-
lures on the Article Yet to

News from Kentucky states that whisky
has gone up from to Z cents in conse-
quence of the passage of the Evans outage
bill, which slipped through Congress in
its closing hours, unobserved by anyone
in Washington. The bill had been pend
ing for nearly two years and had been
amended and favorably reported in both
branches of Congress. Senator Pettigrew
had objected to its consideration in the
Senate when unanimous consent was ask
ed and it was supposed that the bill had
been killed, but at almost the last moment
Senator Lindsay managed to get it con-
sidered and passed.
The bill was regarded as a simple mat
ter of justice. 1t allows outage for seven
years on all whisky made prior to jan
uary l, 1899, and provides for regauge
on the whisky at the end OF the seven
years with tax only on the amount of
whisky in the barrel at the time. 1t is
calculated that gallon and one-half is
lost from each barrel of whisky every
year, which made the distillers under the
old law pay $3.50 on six gallons of whisky
which had evaporated into space. Under
this new law this money is saved on each
barrel and the distillers figure that they
will save SS,000,000 on the whisky already
made.
Inc history Oh the IsElsIdllOn WHICH mas
resulted in the present temporizing bill is
interesting. The law prior TO August %,
1894, provided for a three-year bonded
period and a 90-cent tax. The distillers
were carrying such loads of '92s and 93s
in 1894 that they wanted some relief so
they asked Congress for an extended
bonded period and in answer to their ap
peals they were given an eightyear
bonded period and a s1.10 tax, By this
rr,r-
allowed for, but the eight-years' conces-
sion was such a satisfactory one that the
distillers accepted the four-year outage
period. The result of this law was that
while whisky could be held for eight
years, the tax had to be paid on the basis
of four years. The crops of '92 and '93
were extraordinarily large, The crop of
1898 was $4,000, 900 gallons, much of which
was carried beyond the four-year regauge
1t did not take the trade long to find out
that the crops of 1892 and 1898 were COM
PEELED to pay more than $1.1O on the gal
Ion, hence the two crops were a drug on
the market at any price. and in sympathy
with this all the whisky made suffered
diSastrously In price.
The first effort made to give relief to the
distiliers was the bill drafted by Congress
man Bromwell, of Cincinnati. This sim
ply provided that outage be allowed for the
..
was referred to the Ways and Means Com
mittee and by that committee to a sub
committee of which the Hon. Walter Evans
was Chairman. Mr.. Evans drafted an
other bill providing for an unlimited bond
ed period and 70-cent tax, but find
ing that Dingley would oppose the meas
ure because he thought it would interfere
with his revenue bill, he altered the Brom-
well bill and resubmitted it. The new bill,
known as the Evans bill, fixed the bonded
period at seven years and the outage for a
similar period. The Commissioner of In
ternal Revenue also added feature pro-
viding for stamps on all packages sold by
wholesalers of one to five gallons. In the
House Dingley amended the bill providing
that all whisky exported and reimported
must pay tax on the export gauge. This
bill passed the House by large majority
and was sent to the Senate. and later to
the Finance Committee of the Senate just
before the last adjournment. The dealers
of ST. Louis and San Francisco organized
to fight the bill on account of the stamp
feature and the bill was carried over. Sen
ator Aldrch opposed the bill, and the re-
suit was the bill which passed, which sim
plyprovides that tax shall be paid on the
actual amount of whisky in the barrel al
the end of period of seven years, meas
ured from the date Of inspection, and affects
all whisky made prior to January 1, 1899
| but none after that date.
| The law as it stands discriminates
against all whiskies to be made Under
this new law only those whiskies already
| made can have the regauge at the end OF
| seven years. On all whiskies to be made
the eight-year bonded period and the four
| year gauge period still stand. The dis
elimination is SO great that it is said bank