Year: 1868

The whiskey Fraud Report Of Mr.. van


Wyck.


or all the disgraceful whitewashing reports
ever made by an investigating committee Of
key frauds beats all. His well known that the
government has been defrauded of something
like hundred millions of dollars year in the
internal revenue, and chiefly from whiskey.
This committee has been more than year in
vestigating these frauds, and latterly pretended
to be inspired by extraordinary zeal in the
work, and yet the public and government know
nothing more than they did before. Mr.. Van
Wyck tells us there have been great frauds by
distillers, storekeepers, gaugers, by compro-
misses, compounding houses and dishonest OH
cials all Of which we knew. But he fails to
point out the rascals, their mode of operation,
or the remedy for this stupendous evil. He
has given us plenty Of glittering generalities,
but no specific facts. All the labor of the
committee appears to have been to cover up
the facts and to throw dust in the
eyes of the people by making merely
general statements and by attempting to
throw all the blame on the President and his
friends There is but one thought or object
moving through the whole report, and that is
to screen Congress and the radical officials
and to abuse Mr.. Johnson. 1t is trining with
great public interests and the most infamous
piece Of political claptrap ever witnessed


The report opens with an assault upon the
Presidentand upon Mr.. Buckley, whom he sent
to New York to probe the internal revenue
frauds. Now, admitting that Buckley was
stupid and fussy fellow and unfit for the
service it was still the duty of this committee
to aid the Executive as far as possible in the
investigation. The public service should have
been above personal dislike or consideration
But the instant the President showed dispo-
sition to search and expose the frauds the
committee threw itself in the way and hunted
down his agents as a pack of ferocious hounds
hunt down their prey. Even the District At
torney was enlisted on the side of the COM
mittee and against the President. Judge Full
lerton, an able and universally esteemed, up
right man, was assailed in like manner. The
consequence has been that the committee has
neither probed the frauds itself nor allowed
others to do so. Was there ever such a bare
faced piece Of whitewashing and effort to
screen government plunderers?


The committee or rather Mr.. Van Wyck,
speaking in the name of the committee,
says the greatest want is undoubtedly
honest officials to collect the revenue, but
that no Improvement can be hoped for
under the present Executive. But the Presf
dent says these public officials are placed by
Congress beyond the control of the Execu-
tive. The President is right no doubt, in
great measure, though he is not blame
less, for he had the power Of suspending from
Office. Had he been bold and prompt in
action and paid less regard to some of his own
friends who were suspected of connivance
with the whiskey frauds, he might have
checked the evil Still the greater part of the
delinquent internal revenue officials were radi-
Gals, and we all know how the Presidents
hands were tied by a radical Congress. The
disgraceful conflict between the Executive
and Congress and between him and the radical





pathized with Congress, has been to great
! extent the cause of the stupendous frauds
upon the government. There can be no eff
cheney in the administration of the departments
| where the responsibility is not well defined,
! asn.c;:s.m,,y asn.:.,,y where there is so much room for
| connlct OF aas"vii,y. congress "a chiefly to
blame, then, for stripping the Executive of his
proper power and responsibility. Nor can we
expect better state of things under the ad-
ministration of General Grant or any future
President unless Congress repeals the Tenure
Of Office act and restores the Executive au-
thority to what it was all through the history
of the government up. to Mr. Johnson's Pres.
dency.


We took up this whiskey fraud report to
analyze it, but in fact, there is scarcely any
thing in it to analyze beyond the points we
have noticed. The committee seems to approve
the reduction of the tax on spirits from two
dollars to fifty cents gallon, and anticipates
larger revenue in consequence Still it con-
fesses that fraud has been continued both at
distilleries and bonded warehouses. The truth
is there is no reason why, under a faithful
execution of the laws, the higher rate should
not be collected Whiskey, other spirits and
tobacco ought to be taxed high, and could be
made to yield nearly half the revenue required
by an economical government A few remarks
are made about testing the production of whis-
key by the capacity Of the stills, about the
location Of compounding houses to distilleries,
and about the terrors Of the whskey ring over
internal revenue officers, with some trining
suggestions Of remedies for existing evils in
these matters; but the report, on the whole,
contains nothing we want to know about the
frauds, and is disgraceful exhibition of weak
ness and party feeling leaving the impression