The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-12-05
SIX BILLIONS
|. INTERNAL REVENUE /
Commissioner Roper Re-
| ports Great Business for
the Year
TOBACCO LARGEST
REVENUE SOURCE
Tremendous Increase In Manufacture
of Cigarettes About 100000
Gallons Decrease In Production of
Distilled Liquor.

WASHINGTON, Dee. ESTIMATES OF |
$4,000. 900 as the yield Of the present
revenue law for the first Il months of its i
operation will be closely approached i'll
not fully realized, Internal Revenue Com
missioner Roper said today in his annual
report.
Payments of the first two installments,
March 10 and June Is, brought into the
treasury a total of $500, 7S3, 900, Mr..
Roper said. which reports already in hand
of the third installment payable Sept. 10,
fully support the bureaus estimate.
+ Commissioner Roper said the tobacco
industry had developed into one of the
greatest sources of federal revenue, the
total receipts from this source alone for
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1919, being
| S206, DOB 600, an increase of SiS, 100000 over
those of the preceding year.
! An enormous increase III the number OF
| cigarettes manufactured was shown by the
reports, the total for the last fiscal year
| being approximately eight times larger
/ than in 1910 In that year, $500, 100000
cigarettes and 5000, GOO ,0G0 cigars were man
/ ufactured, while in the last fiscal year the
1 manufacture OF cigarettes had inereasedvto
! IS 800 100000 while the number of cigars
remained practically stationary
! Discussing constitutional prohibition,
/ Mr.. Roper said that probably $4,000, 600
gallons OF spurious liquors would remain
i in bonded warehouses when the eonstitu-
tional amendment becomes effective Jan.
/ l6
i During the year ended June 80. approx
I mately 100000 gallons of distilled IL
4 quors were produced from materials other
than fruits, this figure representing a de
crease of nearly 75,Ooo0oo gallons from
the previous years production.
The effect of wartime prohibition has
presented problem which is causing
revenue officials serious embarrassment,
Mr.. Roper said Holders OF heavy stocks
of liquor in bond were forced, under pro
visions of the last revenue act. to pay AZ
/ additional tax Sept. 10 The Law CLOSING
the saloons for the period of the wal
has left those interests with their pro
| ducts and without means OF obtainins
money 10 make the tax payments, he SAID
'.Under the law the discretion of The
bureau is limited to extending the tim'
for payment OF these taxes seven months,
Mr. Roper explained Serious embar
rassment has resulted as to the course q
. action which should be taken IN thes
cases to protect the interests Of the gov
orument without imposing undue finan
cial hardships on the taxpayers whel
presumably were not intended by con
gress'
The report revealed menace IN illegiti
mate traffic in drugs between this eoun
try and Canada and Mexico. Mr.. Rope
urged that some temporary arrangement
he established which would put a stop t
this SMUGGLING.
/ Expenditures o. the bureau during th
last fiscal year. Mr.. Roner said were $40
573.771. an increase of sl2, 003 2l4 over tn
previous fiscal year. On this basis. b
aaid. it had cost the government 0 543 pc
cent to administer the revenue laws an
collect the second greatest tax bill TIA
nation ever has laid.