counties which had previously been most notorious for "moonshine" outrages and violations of law, became subsequently the scene of temperance movements and religious revivals.

At the same time that these active coercive measures were being carried out to secure compliance with the laws, Gen. Raum was inaugurating other and more peaceful methods of breaking down the practice of illicit distilling. One of the most cogent arguments used by those who defended the practice was this, that it was the only way that the small farmers of those comparatively inaccessible mountain districts had of putting their surplus corn to profitable use. To meet this point, and to enable small distilleries, of the capacity suited to the requirements of the people, to be established, and carried on successfully, (if carried on they must be), and within the requirements of the law, the Commissioner recommended to Congress, and Congress adopted, a relaxation of the rules which were complained of as being impossible to be carried out in distilleries of such limited capacity.

There was no detail of his office with which Gen. Raum did not familiarize himself; and even the methods of gauging spirits were rendered more certainly accurate by a change in the plan of measurement and an improvement in the standard gauging rod devised by him.

The morale of the service throughout the country was still further improved by the promulgation by the Commissioner of a civil service order prohibiting a practice which had grown up in a number of districts, of collectors distributing their subordinate offices among their own and their wives' relations. Very strong pressure was brought to bear to break down this rule, but it was consistently maintained, with beneficial results which constantly became more apparent.

Whilst these improvements were being effected in the service at large, important changes and modifications were introduced in the department at Washington. The exercise of the immense powers conferred by law upon the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in regard to the abatement and refunding of taxes, was wisely restricted by a regulation drawn by Gen. Raum, and approved by Acting Secretary McCormack, providing that ex parte affidavits should no longer be regarded as proof, but that evidence in regard to these claims must be taken on notice, with the opportunity given to the counsel for the United States to appear and cross-examine. Important recommendations were made as to the terms of official tenure, and the conditions which should govern appointments, promotions and removals; and, as far as the law allowed, these principles were put into practical operation in the Internal Revenue Bureau.

In 1882, the excess of revenue over the actual needs of the government, and the constant temptation thus presented to extravagance in appropriations, was forcibly brought to the attention of the Forty-seventh Congress by Commissioner Raum, and a plan of reduction of about forty million dollars upon certain objects of taxation was suggested, and was adopted by Congress with scarcely any modification.

Abuses in the administration of justice, in connection with internal revenue cases, resulting from the practice of compensating United States Marshals and District Attorneys by fees, early attracted the attention of Gen. Raum, and in his annual report, dated November, 1879, he exposed the evils inflicted by this system, and recommended that marshals and district attorneys should be paid fixed salaries. This recommendation was renewed in still more vigorous terms in subsequent reports, and has now been adopted by the Department of Justice, and

favorably reported upon by the appropriate committees of Congress. The passage of this measure by Congress would be a fitting cap-sheaf to the six and a half years administration of Gen. Raum, as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and his efforts to correct abuses, to elevate the character of the service, and to bring it into harmonious relations with the tax-payers.

April 30, 1883, General Raum voluntarily resigned the office of Commissioner, to resume the practice of law.

General Raum was born at Golconda, Pope county, December 3, 1829; he was admitted to the bar in 1853, and practiced his profession throughout Southern Illinois.

CHAPTER LI.

WHISKY FRAUDS.

During the time the tax on whisky was $2.00 per gallon, the rules and regulations governing its collection were not so rigid as now, and great frauds were practiced all over the country. Many of the employees of the Government, in high and low places, were corrupted, and for a long time it was difficult to ferret out the frauds. Indeed the Government never fathomed the enormity of the conspiracy until after some of the leading conspirators turned State's evidence, which resulted in a complete overthrow of the whisky ring. In Illinois, the frauds were mainly committed in the first, Chicago, and the eighth, Springfield, districts. When the great exposure was made in the first district, it was apparent that many of the officers had been corrupted, and comparatively few were continued in

the service, not that all who were dismissed were corrupt, but it was believed that the good of the service demanded a change. Only nine of the old corps remained on duty, among whom we mention the names of M. C. Springer, A. St. John Campbell, division deputies; C. Cox, gauger; F. H. Battershall, cashier; Mrs. F. A. O. Hicks, clerk. The blandishments of the whisky ring had no influence upon these persons, and when J. D. Harvey became Collector, he continued them in the service, promoting Mr. Springer to the position of chief deputy, and Mr. Cox, chief of division deputies. Under Collector Harvey the service has been brought to a state of great perfection, and the cry of "whisky frauds" has ceased to be associated with the name of Chicago.

Very many suits grew out of the investigation of the frauds in this district, which were vigorously prosecuted under the respective administrations of U. S. District Attorneys Mark Bangs and Joseph B. Leake. The total amount of fines and penalties collected was $96,137.45.

In the eighth district, the collector, John T. Harper, defaulted in the sum of $104,000. It is alleged that his chief clerk, Albert Smith, was the prime cause of the defalcation. Both were arrested and prosecuted, and after several years the cases were compromised.

None of Harper's subordinates, except Smith, were implicated in the crime. A. H. Purdie, who was chief deputy collector at the time of the defalcation, was made acting collector until the appointment of Col. Jonathan Merriam, who subsequently made him his chief deputy. Merriam, being a man of high character, soon established perfect confidence in the administration of the affairs of the office, and through all the changes which have since taken place in the officials of the office through its consolidation with the seventh district, and the death of Collector John W. Hill, of the new eighth, and the

appointment of Jacob Wheeler as his successor, it has maintained the highest character at Washington.

As was the case in the first district, many prosecutions followed the investigation of the frauds, which were ably prosecuted by United States District Attorneys, Bluford Wilson, J. P. VanDorstan and James A. Connolly. The total amount of fines and penalties recovered under the several prosecutions were $82,000.

In the other collection districts there was comparatively nothing in the way of frauds, and it is a satisfaction to know that the Government officials never gave up the investigation until all the guilty parties were arrested and made to pay penalty for the crimes committed, since which time the State has been wholly relieved from the odium of whisky frauds.

As an indication of the fidelity with which the internal revenue tax is collected, we note the fact that during the last fiscal year, ending June 30, 1883, Collector Howard Knowles, of the fifth district, collected $13,963,625.50; and from March 3, 1875, to June 30, 1883, his collections were $78,116,712.64; and during all that time there were no frauds known in that district.

For the seven fiscal years commencing July 1, 1876, and ending June 30, 1883, the official reports of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue show that Illinois paid into the United States treasury $187,790,569.15, which is not only a fine record for the officers of the service, but it is creditable alike to the tax-payers themselves.