Evening star., 1920-01-18

Ions of distilled spirits
housed in 375 warehouses in widely
scattered districts and no practical
| way to get rid of it. even by pouring
! 1t in the gutter. for it cannot be taken
| out of bond until the government tax
| of $40 gallon is paid
Disposition of this enormous stock
, offers problem that is keeping in
! ternal revenue officials awake at
! night, making harassed distillers
! grow old before their time and cor
rugatng the brows of bankers who
i have loaned money on the liquor now
| held in bond.
Official estimates indicate that the
demand of whisky for medicinal pur-
poses, in hospitals and drug stores
| allowed to fill prescriptions for
whisky, will require not more than
100000 gallons annually At that
rate the present supply will be ade-
quate for about 125 years.
Must Guard Warehouses.
| Commissioner Daniel C. Roper of
| the bureau of internal revenue has
! taken the position that it is his duty
| to enforce the law as it is written,
| and his immediate problem is to guard
| the bonded warehouses where the
liquor is stored. More than 10000, 900
gallons or approximately one-half of
the total, is stored in Kentucky; the
| Pennsylvania stocks are second in
size; Maryland, by virtue of the large
| bonded warehouses in Baltimore, is
| third, while most of the remainder is
held in Ohio Indiana and Illinois.
Every few days there are reports
of thefts of liquor from these ware
houses, and, though most Of them are
| too small to attract more than pass
| ing notice, they emphasize the need
for continued vigilance. The ware
houses in which most of the liquor
! stocks are stored are substantial
structures. but in many instances
they are in isolated districts. where
! internal revenue agents cannot have
! the help of municipal police in guard
| ing them.
There are now approximately 1000
men engaged in watching these ware
houses, of which there are 375, and
| Commissioner Roper has asked Con-
| gress for an appropriation of ST.
| 100000. large part of which is to
be used in maintaining these watch
ers and increasing their number, il
it. is found necessary.
Fake sTAeftse Worry.
To further distnfs the minds of goe-
ernment officials two reports have
been made Of cases where owners Of
liquor in bond are accused of conniv-
| ing in fake "thefts" and profiting
leased, but in neither instance has the
l evidence obtained warranted prose-
cution.
, In most instances the owners are
even more anxious than the govern
ment to protect the stocks from theft,
for on every gallon stolen the owner
! must pay the internal revenue tax.
Practically all of the liquor in bond is
in barrels, there being some 6O.000,-
900 gallons of whisky and 10000 600
gallons of gin. rum and brandies.
The only legitimate use for this
enormous supply. now that constitu
tional prohibition has become effec-
{, tive, is for medicinal purposes, either
in hospitals or by physicians pre-
scriptions, the issue of which will be
very closely watched. Distilled liquors
Withdraw from bond for medicinal
purposes require a tax of only $2.20
per gallon.
May Become Total Loss.
The bonded liquor supplY promises
to be almost a total loss, even with
the most favorable action that Con-
gress can take, for the constitutional
amendment forbids it's use for any
but non-beverage purposes either in
this country or abroad. So far mo-
feasible plan has been proposed that
would make this stock an asset for
the industrial world
In the meantime the government is
put to great expense in guarding the
whisky. and the owners are paying
storage charges. insurance and bond
premiums. Furthermore the agents of
the bureau of internal revenue realize
that If unscrupulqus persons should
get pipe line" literal or igurative,
into a large whisky warehouse it'll
would give them lot of work to run
down the "bootleggers" and find the
source of their supply.
Not Government Property.
Reports that with the advent of con-
stitutional prohibition the federal gov
ernment took over" the bonded liq-
uor supply of the country have been
characterized by government officials
as entirely erroneous. Title to the
liquors still rests with the original
owners and until the law is violated
the government cannot confiscate al
gallon of 1t.
While the government is playing /
watchdog at the bonded warehouses |
and the distiller is wondering how he
is going to get rid of the stuff with
out paying $40 a gallon revenue tax
thereon, there is third character in |
the plot, one cast for a thinking |
part, and he is thinking very deeply. |
This character Isl sthe banker who has
loaned money on the whisky now in
bond. and who may find the stock |
wished on him. most any morning.
The bankers are playing a silent
mart. because just now whisky is very
unstable security for loan, and when
a bank Admits it has poorly secured
paper the depositors become alarmed. |
Repeated efforts to learn how much |
money has been loaned by banks on
whisky now in bond have failed, and |
Commissioner Roper says he would