Washington sentinel., 1901-01-26

1 gyms oAN DN~A HoAN' -
cent, and all other manufacture
and productions fortY-one per cent
In 1900 malt liquors alone Paic
about one-iourth OF all interna
revenue taxes, while nine -tenths o
the manufactures, taxed in 1866
remain untaxed. The injustice o
doubling the old war tax upor
malt liquors, at a time when tht
price ofloeer had dw,ndled to S., ,oc
per barrel, becomes still more
manifest in the light OF the follow.
ing official statement submitted to
Congress in 1867, by the Special
Revenue Commission who thor
oughly ubiect oI
internal taxation, viz:
As the present rate OF tax upon fer
mented liquors, VIZ, one dollar per
| barrel OF 81 gallons, is in excess Of the
rate imposed by any States Of Europe
| (Austria excepted), and as the present
rate, moreover, in the opinion OF the
| Commission after full consideration, is
believed TO be fully up to the revenue
standard, and as such is all but unani-
mously acquiesced IN by the brewing
interest of the country, they would,
therefore, recommend that the existing
rate be neither increased nor diminished.
At that time the price Of beer
was. as we have stated, SIa. 90 per
barrel; hence the present tax OF
81. 90 upon a barrel Of beer, costing
$500, exceeds by over two hum
dred per cent. that revenue stand
ard which a competent Federal
Revenue Commission declared to
be fair, lust. and equitable.
A few years after the Civil War,
the memorial to Congress explains,
all internal revenue taxes, except
those upon malt liquors, distilled
liquors and tobacco, were repealed.
The two latter taxes were reduced;
that upon spirits was at first re-
duced from So to 50 cents; then
frequently increased or decreased,
the rate huctuating between 50
cents a gallon, the lowest, to the
present rate OF SI.ro, the highest
since 1865 The war tax upon
malt liquors alone remained un-
changed from 1868 to 1898. In
the latter year very few OF the
old Civil War taxes were revived;
the tax on tobacco, an article Of
luxury, was increased; the tax on
distilled liquors remained un-
changed; native wines, in bulk,
and cider remained wholly un-
taxed; but the tax upon beer, an
article Of diet to the great mass of
the people, was doubled.
The statement OF the Special
Revenue Commission as to the
relative tax rate in our country and
the European States applies, Of
course, with much greater force to
present conditions. In its light, a
comparison between the American
and the British taxes upon malt
liquors and upon distilled liquors
must be doubly interesting and in
structive. The British distiller
pays taxes at a rate more than
twice as high as that paid by the
American distiller. while the Brit
ish brewer pays but about SI.35
upon the same quantity OF beer for
which the American brewer pays
81. In this connection, the recent
history OF British beer taxation
presents two very interesting and
highly significant facts.
The one is that when Gladstone
endeavored to saddle the expense
of the Egyptian war upon the
brewers, or, as the British papers
had il, upon the poor man, he was
not only defeated in mis- object, but
had to vacate his seat to make
room for Salisbury. To defray the
expenses OF the present Boer war,
the Government, among other
taxes, imposed an additional tax
OF 1 shilling upon malt liquors, the
tax then amounting to shillings
pence upon a barrel OF beer OF s6
imperial gallons, quail to 43 Amer
ican gallons; hence the present
British beer tax, with the added
war tax, is Sr.3s upon the equiva-
lent Of an American barrel.
1t is to be considered, however,
that the American brewer, al
though he gets less Tor his product
than his British colleague, pays
wages doublV as high as are being
paid in Great Britain, and is at a
further disadvantage, as compared
With the British brewer, in so far
as all the raw materials he uses are
protected by high tariff, which
naturally increases the cost; while
the British brewer has all the ben.
efts OF free trade. Furthermore,
his economic condition is far more
favorable, because the dispensers
Of his product are not harassed by
excessive municipal and State