Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 November 1875 — Report of Commissioner Pratt. [ARTICLE]

Report of Commissioner Pratt.

Washington, Nov. 11. The Commissioner ol Internal Revenue has completed his report fpr the fiscal year ended June 30, 1875. The document is very voluminous. • REVENUE FOR THIRTEEN YEARS. . The report shows that the actual amount of receipts into the Treasury from al! sources from and after June 80,1861, to June 30,1874, exclusive of loans and Treasury notes, was as follows: Cu5t0m551,978,710,367 Internal revenues 1,956,323,725 Direct tax... 14,810,189 Public lands. 22,151,958 Miscellaneous 236,083,985 Premiums on loans and sales of gold coin 192,557,117 T0ta154,395,638,341 THE TWO LAST FISCAL YEARS. The collections for the fiscal year ended June 30,1874, were $102,644,746; for the year ended June 30, 1875, $110,545,154. The increase during the last fiscal year is owing in part to the increase of the ( dutiee laid by the act of March 3, 1875, upon distilled spirits, manufactured tobacco, cigars, cigarettes and in part to taxes collected under the laws repealed, extraordinary efforts having been put forth to collect delinquent taxes due from banks and bankers, railroads and other corporations, and taxes due on incomes, legacies and successions. WHISKY AND TOBACCO. A statement is given showing the receipts under the act of March 8,1875, »up to and inclusive of June 30, 1875, from different articles subject to an increased tax. showing the total tax returned $3,203,818. The tax returned upon distilled spirits was $1,779,799. RECEIPTS BY STATES. The net amounts received from all sources of internal revenue during the last fiscal year in the several States is given as follows: Alabama $111,816 Missouri $4,591,876 Arizona 10,263 Montana 23,656 Arkansas 71,823 Nebraska 292,472 California 2,983,591|Kevada 53,147 Colorado 70,535 N. Hampshire 292,472 Connecticut.. 622,225 New Jersey.. 2,362,478 Dakota 10,040 New Mexico.. 21,965 Delaware 360,331 New York.... 15,299,898 D. Columbia.. 111,027 N. Carolina... 1,629,994 Florida 184,547 Ohio 14,656,295 Georgia 387,154 Oregon 47,939 Idaho 19,136 Pennsylvania* 6,149,954 Illinois 17,627,668 Rhode Island. 231,767 Indiana...... 4,650,883 8. Carolina... 120,818 lowa 1,040,064 Tennessee....«. 885,910 Kansas....... 188.585 Texas 257,448 Kentucky.... 9,022.636 Utah 31,545 Louisiana.... 588,151 Vermont...... 58,'.'51 Maine 107,261 Virginia 7,659,639 Maryland 2,755,845 Washington.. 21,146 Mas achusette 2.670,491 West Virginia 508,684 Michigan 1,9:30,506 Wisconsin.... 2,720,868 Minnesota ... 228,362 Wyoming 11,942 Mississippi... 96,085

DISTILLERIES. The number of distilleries registered during the year was 4,736, and the number operated, 4,608. Of the number operated 656 were grain distilleries, seven molasses distilleries and 3,945 fruit distilleries. The Commissioner says public attention "has been often called within the pipst-few months to the extensive frauds committed in certain localities upon the revenue by distillers and rectifiers of distilled spirits. He gives an account, first, of the checks, guards and protections against frauds established by litw; second, of the manner in which the whisky frauds, so-called, lately exposed were perpetrated upon the Government; third, the extent of these fourth, the checks recently established to prevent a recurrence of the same, and, fifth, suggests legislation which, in his opinion, is necessary to insure a fuller collection in future of the taxes upon distilled spirits.

The Commissioner gives it as his opinion that the only law necessary is one that shall make the requirements as stringent and the penalties for defrauding the Government as severe in the case of the rectifier as they now are in the case of the distiller. The rectifier should be required to give a bond in an amount equal to the tax represented by all the spirits he can possibly rectify each month. The house and tract of land upon which the establishment is located should be forfeited to the United States in case of fraud. He should not be allowed to handle any spirits at his rectifying-house except those he purchases for rectification and sells under rectifiers' stamps. Under the present system of detecting frauds at least thirty days must elapse before the discovery could be made and guilt fixed. As the apparatus in a recti-fying-house capable of refining the quantity of spirits upon which the tax would amount to SIOO,OOO a month may not be worth more than SIO,OOO, it will be readily seen that under the present law, which only forfeits the apparatus and spirits owned by him at the time of seizure, a rectifier may aid in defrauding the Government of SIOO,OOO and forfeit only SIO,OOO. By absconding to a foreign country he also escapee criminal punishment. The Commissioner is firmly of the opinion that the present large tax upon distilled spirits can be collected with but small loss, this opinion is based upon the fact that every Storekeeper, Gauger and employe who is connected with a distillery where fraud is perpetrated becomes a pensioner upon the distiller. If, therefore, distillers be kept under such strict surveillance that the amount of money gained by fraud is not sufficient to pay a large corps of officers and workmen in necessary collusion with them to consummate fraud, they will, as a matter of policy, be honest. As an indication of the extent of the frauds above described the Commissioner reports that documentary evidence is in possession of liis office which has warranted the seizure of 24 distilleries and 37 rectifying.houses, and implicated over 50 United States Gaugers and Storekeepers. This evidence also shows * the issue between July 1, 1874, and May 1, 1875, of fraudulent spirits, by duplication, of 20,000 packages, containing probably 1,200,000 proof gallons, and by aid of false gauging to the additional amount of 1,000,000 proof gallons. This,- he says, is but a portion of the fraud actually committed, but in itself indicates the loss of tax to Government in ten months of an amount not less than $1,650,000. FERMENTED LIQUORS. The receipts from all sources relating to fermented liquors for the fiscal year were $0,144,004, a decrease of $160,675 as compared with 1874. The number of brewers manufacturing fermented liquors is 2,784. The Commissioner expresses full confidence in the stamp system for the collection of revenue. The number of cases compromised during the year is 744, and the amount received by compromise $156,576. » t TOBACCO. » The total receipts from tobacco were $37,303,461, an increase over 1874 of $4,060,586, and an increase over any previous fiscal year of $2,917,158. The total amount of tax col-lecU-d on tobacco and-snuffs from Sent. 1, 1862, to June 30, 1875, is $225,356,219. . The total collections on cigars, cheroots and cigarettes the. same time is $68,233,206. It is expected that during the current year the assessments of tax on tobacco will be largely increased. The whole, amount of taxes assessed during the year was $8,230,003; ’ increase over the previous year, $344,435. OTHER STATISTICS. The quantity of distilled spirits in warehouse July I, 1874, was 17,755,969 gallons, distilled spirits produced during the year, 60,930,425 gallons; total, 78,686,394; total withdrawn, 65,319,141, leaving in bond June 30,1875, 13,367,253. Spirits removed from warehouse for export for the year ending June 30,1874, 4,060,106 gallons, while only 587,413 gallons were thus removed during the last fiscal year. The quantity of tobacco removed for exportation in bond without paying the taxes, 9,179,315 pounds, a decrease of 1,621,611 pounds. OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS. The Commissioner says the force of revenue agents is inadequate and recommends the passage of a law authorizing sis- • teen more. He thinks further consolidation of collection districts can be made without affecting the revenue, and that the svstem of gauging wholesale liquor-dealers’ packages by United States Gaugers can-be dispensed with and h. simple system of checks by stamps substituted, which will prevent overissue. ' He recommends making the violation of the law relating to friction matches a crimi-

nal offense, punishable by fine and imprisonment. He also desires that internal revenue agents be empowered to demand and obtain the inspection of books and papers of distillers, rectifiers, brewers, wholesale liquordealers and manufacturers of tdbacco, suuff and cigars. The Commissioner estimates the collections of the present fiscal year from all sources of Internal revenue at $122,000,000.