The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-12-30
Times Readers Voice Their Views

Editor Times-After reading a re-
cent editorial in The Times 1 am
unable to decide whether you really
would like to see justice done to the
gasoline jobbers of the state or
would like to see a few of them
hanged. The truth of the whole
business is simply that there were a
few Chicago racketeerS who got into
the business through some of the
loopholes which they discovered in
the laws of Indiana and Illinois. and
before they could be stopped they
had cheated both states out of con-
siderable money.
Inasmuch as they had passed this
money on to others, and it could
not be uncovered in its entirety,
there certainly is no reason for
either state to refuse to take what
it could get. These people are still
under indictment in Illinois and will
soon come to trial.
At the time this happened there
was no law in this state by which
these people could be prosecuted
crininally and it was a we'll known
fact to every oil man in the state
that this was the case. AS in all
such situations there also we're a
few of the regular jobbers who took
advantage of the condition created
by this old law and withheld some
of the tax which was collected.
Just because this was done and
because there is some inevitable
bootlegging going on across the state
line is no reason why the great ma
jority of jobbers should be branded
as crooks by the state department
or The Times or any one else.
Under the new law, passed in 1929,
there has been very little of this
done except across the state line.
There are several things to be con-
Sidered in this matter. One. is the
fact which is well known to every
oil man in Indiana of any i1npor-
lance that one of the figures now
agitating this bootleg cry is the very
one who at one time was going
throughout the state telling his
friends in the oil business that they
could get away with a lot of this
tax because there was no criminal
penalty attached to so doing and
only civil suit could be brought to
collect any so withheld.
Another factor is that the major
companies are looking for any alibi
to their own stockholders for loss of
business to the smaller companies
and consequent loss of profits, and
that they are able to establish by
saying that they have to pay the
tax and some of the minors do not
because they are bootlegging.
How about one of the major COM
panies in this state which withheld
$4,000 in taxes from the state and
when caught was not even assessed
a penalty, but allowed six months
to pay in installments.
Another factor is simply the self
aggrandizement hoped for by the
present auditor if able to make a
big showing that he has collected a
lot of back taxes and penalties, and
that might help to make him the
next Governor, would it not?
AS to there being any excess col
lection in Indiana over 1896, that
could not be proved, because there
has been more business in this state,
exceeding 1880 by more than the
percentage of tax collected. There
has been approximately pei cent
increase in taxes collected in In
diana and a per cent increase in
gasoline shipped into the state.
Better be a little more sure of
your facts. If you want them, why
not ask some of the people who have
the figures and not take them from
the auditor who manufactures them
for the newspaper so they are ia
verable to him.
What right has the present audi
sor to force one set of oil men to
pay 100 per cent on their purchases
and another set 81 per cent on their
purchases. Why don't you ask him
to explain that fact. and you can
easily establish that it is a fact?
He has bulldozed any number Of
small oil jobhers throughout the