The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-06-03
GRAFT GALORE
HOW THE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN
ROBBED OF MILLIONS.
The Astounding Revelations Made
nv Senator Beveridge About the

Stealing OF the TOBACCO IFusG.
No revelation of the extra session
has been more startling than that
which Senator Beveridge made about
tho almost unbelievable graft Of the
| Tobacco trust for eight years, says
the Washington Times. That vas a
case of legislative partnership wita
q trust in a project to fleece the peo-
| ple. Somebody must have been
"fxed," Creased" "oiled." 1t is in
conceivable that congress will plead
guilty to such sublime innocence and
incompetence as would be testified
by the explanation that nobody in
| congress saw what was being given
to the Tobacco trust.
Here is what happened: When the
Spanish war,taxes were imposed, the
internal revenue duty on tobacco
went up. The law was SO arranged
that tobacco dealers were permitted
| to sell underweight packages, de-
ducting enough from the weight to
compensate them for the increase
in the internal revenue tax. Thus a
tobacco pound twas considerably
less than 16-ounce pound; but 1t
was legal because of this leSlsla-
ton. The tax was thus carried down
to the consumer, and nobody partic-
ularly felt it.
But when the war and the neeo
of war taxes passed, what happened?
The additional tobacco tax was re-
pealed, but the trusts privilege OF
selling underwaight packages was
not stopped. The trust was left col
lecting the war tax from the people,
but pocketing it instead of turning
| it into the Federal treasury.
BY this process, in eight years, the
trust has got away with S1S4,eGO,-
600 of the peoples money. That
money ought either to have been left
in the pockets of the tobacco users,
or else to have gone to the Federal
treasury. In fact, it went to the
Golfers of the Tobacco trust.
1t is manifest that to repeal the
war tax, but to forget to repeal the
shortweight privilege must have been
difficult and complicated. Some
skilled person or persons must have
steered that thing through congress
with Sconsummate cleverness. Whe
did it? Was he an inside worker"
or an outside MANI" If he was an
insider, his identity ought to be
known, so that he can be duly de-
feated next election by. a betrayed
constituency If he be merely a
smart lobbyist, nc should at least be
questioned about the methods by
which he induced committees and
leaders and organizations to permit
such a tremendous steal.
Senator Beveridge has gone about
this business in a fashion which indi-
Gates purpose to stick by it till the
whole inwardness of this strange
transaction is barred. The present
S25, 900, ,0O0-a-year largess of the To-
| bacco trust should firSt be taken
away, then the process by which COR
gress was either befooled or corrupt
ed should be Investigated.
1t is a wondrouS interesting cir
cumstance that the trusts which
seem most influential with congress
are those which most often appear
in the criminal courts as defendants.
The Sugar trust has seldom been out
of the criminal courts in the last
two decades, on one charge or anoth-
er or defrauding the government
It's reward is the privilege of taking
$3.50, 100000 in twelve years from
the people.
Why should such specai i.rivi-
lege be freely given TO criH,ina! Of
the most fixed and persistent Grim
inal habits?
The American Tobacco Company is
now defendant in a great case
brought bysthe government under the
antitrust laws, charging it with con-
spiracy in restrain Of trade. That
it is actually, if not techinally guilty,
is the common knowledge. Does it
not seem strange that it. too, should
be able to have conferred upon it
a special delegation Of the taxing
power?
Does congress have any particu-
lar preference for the great crimi-
nails? Its distribution of its fayors
seems to suggest something of the
! kind