Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1908-10-16
WASHINGTON LETTER.
[From Our Regular Correspondent

From Our Regular Correspondence
Washington, ID. c., Oct 10.-A
political campaign is raging mildly
throughout the country, but we hes
only the echoes here in Washington.
1t is said the campaign headquarters
are really in the White House. Surely
the President is there and has been for
three weeks. 1t is his cam paign in a
very special sense for he might have
been the nominee if he has not turned
| his back on the nomination and said
"No!" Nominate my representative
the man who has helped me shape
and launch and direct the policies with
which | have been credited but which
are as much his us mine. Surely
there has been an unprecedented pop
! ular approval Of these policies-Such
approval as has not been known be
fore in the political history of the coun-
try. The approval was popular, pure
and simple, for prominent politicians
in and out of Congress have opposed
the RoOseVeltians policies in many in
stances to the ruin of their political
prospects. But this is an old story.
The election is now but three weeks
off, when Washington and the coun-
try will know who will occupy the
White House until 1872 If it shall be
| Mr.. Taft, the changes will not be great
for it is understood that some mem bers
of the present cabinet will be invited
| TO remain and many chiefs Of bureaus
in the various governmental depart
ments will doubtless hold over. But
| if it shall be Mr.. Bryan, the changes
| will be great and far reaching both in
official and in social matter. The
| Roosevelt regime has been from a soci-
al standpoint splendid beyond preced-
| dent. The President, beyond almost
all his predecessors, Is a man of educa-
! ton, travel and SAVIOR faire What
other president could have talked to a
German or a Frenchman in his Ian
guage? Jefferson, | believe, under
stood French, but not German. Mr..
Taft and Mr. Bryan confine themselves
strictly to English and for the best Of
reasons.
In the dearth Of startling political or
social doings, il may be interesting to
know that Il decision has just been rem
dered by the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue that it is expected will stop
altogether the practice prevailing for
years among certain liquor dealers of
putting on the market the same prod
uct under different names. This deci-
sion reverses the ruling Of the former
Commissioner Yerkes, who held that
rectifiers and wholesale liquor mer-
chants could place on the market the
same product under half a dozen diff
ferent names without being taxed spe-
cially for each.
Commissioner Capers, in an elabOr-
ate opinion, decides that any person,
firm, or corporation carrying on bust
ness as a wholesale liquor dealer at one
place or time under different names,
must pay separate special tax for each
name or style under which he transacts
business. If the practice of carrying
on business by the rectifiers or whole
sale dealers is continued, it will doubt
less add largely to the public revenues,
but Treasury officials believe that there
will be discontinuance of the practice.
The question of names and styles, 1t is
understood, was brought to the atten-
ton of the department by active pro-
hibitiOnists who are sleepless in their
contention against the liquor dealers.
In many states careful watch is kept
of whiskey shipped and the name of
the brand or the wholesale dealer often
leads to the prevention of further i'm
pOrtationS of the same kind. When
such prevention becomes effective, the
same liquor dealer will ship into the
prohibition state another lot of whis-
key, only changing the name. 1t was
the discovery of this practice of substi-
tuting names that brought the matter
to the attention of the Internal Reve-
nue. Bureau and caused the decision,
which will be effective throughout the
country.
The district jail in Washington is
full to overlooking and the inmates are
mostly of the African race. 1t is now
pretty generally known that Washing
ton has the largest negro population of
any city in the world One hundred
of these prisoners are to be transferred
to the United States prison at Font
Smith, Ark. Some such step was ir-
dispensable and should have been TAX
en- years ago pending the enlargement
OF the Washington jail so that five per-
sons need not be confined i'll single
cells and 664 prisoners-the enrolment
yesterday-need not be billeted in cells
large enough to accommodate only
about half that number. The Nation
al Capital and the District in which it
is situated are but poorly furnished
with penal institutions.
C51Scidac in