The Washington herald., 1914-12-20
What Is Whiskey- Odd Pages From History

tlOn.
Whiskey remained free from the
Federal excise for half a century. Ii
was made, marketed and used all over
the country and the Federal govern
ment did not impose another tax until
It was in the throes of another rebel
lion, and its very life at stake. The
civil war quickly drained the Treas
ury, Consumed all that could be raised
by customs taxation and all that
could be borrowed, and Secretary
Chase turned to whiskcy and tobac-
co, just as to tea, coffee and every
other thing in sight. The whiskey tax
produced more revenue than any
other tax, and it was increased from
20 cents a gallon, to 90 cents, to 81,
to $3.50, and to 81, and at the higher
rates produced frauds and scandal, a
reduction to 70 cents in 1870, reducing
the frauds and restoring the revenue.
1t was such a good revenue producer
that the tax was retained after other
internal revenue taxes Of the civil waT
were repealed. For twenty years the
tax has been held at SI.Io per proof
gallon, the rate which experience has
shown to be the greatest revenue pro-
duccr. Above that rate illicit pro-
duction cuts the taxes collected, and
below that rate, while greater guam
titles might be made and tax paid, the
total revenue by experience is not so
large. The present Federal tax tends
to confirm James A. Garfled's state
ment that the government tax on
liquors is at once the most equitable
and salutary OF all methods OF ma
tional taxation. 1t now produces
nearly one-third the ordinary reve-
nues OF the government, and has
made whiskcy as intimately asso-
ciated with the upkeep of the govern
ment as it was with the early days
of the nations independence
What the Tax Has Yielded.
The tax on whiskcy has in the last
fifty years put more than $5,ooo,O ,Ooo,-
900 money into the Treasury OF the
United States, or enough to pay the
cost of the civil war, and il is annual
ly contributing enough TO pay the
pensions OF the defenders OF the
Union, and to support the army and
navy. The withdrawal OF this ma
tional revenue now would entail
revolution in national finance which
would extend to every nook and
Granny of the fiscal system.
The question of what is whiskcy
and what are the results OF drinking
it has been discussed for many years,
and on it there are libraries OF litera-
ture, much of it pure fiction, but
labeled scientific and statistical in
formation. Bobby" Burns created
the character of John Barlcycorn,"
and John has been serving as a hor-
rible example and an agent OF the
devil ever since. but the horrible cx-
ample has not discouraged the use of
whiskey. 1t has, however, discour-
aged drunkenness, and encouraged a
more temperate use OF all beverages,
whether alcoholic or nonalcohohc
Men have ceased>to drink whiskcy
straight and have no prejudice
against plenty OF water in their high
balls. The result is that the man
who takes a highball and the man
who takes a glass OF beer or wine
consume about the same amount of
alcohol.
The propaganda against liquor has
not apparently discouraged its gen
eral use. and more whiskcy is now
made and consumed than ever before
in the history OF the world The in
creased manufacture and consumption
in this country has been equal to
that OF Europe, and according to the
records of consumption John Bar
leycorn" would appear to be as much
OF a myth as "TanH O. Shanter.' an
other OF Burns creations. Certainly
prohibition in the Southern States
has had little effect on the use of al
coholic liquors, and it is charged by
the prohibitioniSts that the reason
for this is that their own prohibition
bills, in order to be passed at all,
must have provision for personal use
shipments of liquor Therefore,
while the saloon may cease as a Ii
censcd institution, the distribution
and use of liquor continue.
A Sociologist's View.
Speaking of prohibitionists and
their assault on alcoholic liquors, es-
pecially the Liquor traffic" a sociolo-
giSt recently said:
Weak human nature has always
favored the idea of casting out devils
on the plea that some outside agency
is responsible for the devilment in the
man. The Puritans of old held the
witches responsible for introducing
the evil spirits which made men go
wrong, and the Puritans of today hold
responsible. 1t is one OF the
oldest and most abused supcrstitions
employed by men to excuse them
selves for breaking the law, and it
has always had a greater or less ef-
feet on stern scntimentalists who
want to reform the world with club
or with fire.
physiology, psychology, sociology
and criminology have demonstrated
that alcohol is no more responsible
for the weaknesses, physical and
and the criminal tendencies of
men than were the witches at Salem
for the evil spirits which took pos
session of the weak, hystcrical and
men of that day. The
highest authorities in physiology, the
world over, have found that alcohol is
! food. The prohibitionists- with the
pervcrseness OF the Puritans, declared
hat alcohol is a poison.
"The psychologists have studied
The problem and find that alcohol is
10 more responsible for insanity than
s total abstinence, but the prohibi-
ionists continue to assert that alco-
lol is filling the insane asylums.
"The highest authorities in crimin-
,logy, after years of studying the rec
,rds of criminal courts, penitentiaries
md jails, deny that alcohol is rcspon-