Evening star., 1934-08-12

during the period from December 6,
1898, TO June 30, 1894, was about 3s,000,-
600 gallons. The custom Of drinking
liquor may have spread or it may have
contracted during the national prohibi-
ton era, but this gap between estimates
and tax receipts Is too large TO be ex-
planned by anything except thriving
bootlegging business.
THERE are many other signs of large
consumption of Illegal liquors. In
recent weeks Federal officers have been
seizing stills at the rate of from $50 to
500 a week. These stills have had an
average daily capacity of about l60
gallons each-a total capacity of about
10000 gallons a day, or around Ia, SOC, 900
gallons annually. If this rate of seizures
were maintained over year, as it has
been over a period of several weeks. it
would result in the removal of capacity
to produce about 75O,OOO,00O gallons an
nually. Most of these stills produce
alcohol, which is sometimes cut as much
as four times before it reaches the con-
sumner.
Even fairly large stills can be replaced
fnexpensively, and it is difficult to say
whether the Federal Government has
made as yet any serious inroads on the
Illicit distilling Of alcohol. However, in
dications are that since the middle OF
May it has made substantial progress In
States where liquor can be sold legally.
The fact that nearly all the seized
stills produced straight alcohol is a clew
to what was wrong with tale which
has received wide publicity. It was re-
ported that there are In the country be-
tween 10000, 900 and 100000 gallons
OF good, aged liquor which was Illegally
manufactured. diverted or imported be-
fore repeal. Stories have been published
Of proposal to the Federal Govern
ment by firm of respectable lawyers.
on behalf Of their clients, to permit a
substantial amount of this good liquor
to- be sold legally by payment of the
proper taxes. Such proposal was pre-
sented to Henry Morgenthau; jr.. Sec
retary OF the Treasury, and datly turned
down.
The truth Is that the Treasury is con-
vA4hOE0 kAAat tklCIC u uO SUCH uQuoI. InG
Federal Government has in its hands
what purport 10 be warehouse receipts
for 100000 cases of aged whisky legally
manufactured for medicinal purposes
during repeal, but Illegally diverted.
These receipts were deposited with
New Jersey bank. Through New York
lawyer the bank took the matter up
with the Bureau Of Internal Revenue.
The alcohol tax unit made an inveSti-
CATION and discovered that these re-
ceipts were forgeries. Thus an attempt
at bold Swindle was frustrated.
The alcohol tax unit has completed
an intensive investigation of warehouses
throughout the East, and it is satisfied
that the amount of pre-repeal liquor
In the country is negligible.
The Government also is satisfied that
no large amounts of liquor are being
smuggled across the Canadian and Mexi-
can borders, although there is a desul-
tory traffic across the latter. But it
readily acknowledges that rum running
by sea has continued, especially to the
Florida and Gulf coasts from the Ba-
hamas. British Honduras and Cuba.
During the fiscal year which ended June
%, the customs and Coast Guard seized
las, TAO gallons of liquor and 42,246 gall
aons OF alcohol.
VERY recently rum row has reappeared