WHISKY RING. In American history, a term popularly applied to an association of in ternal revenue officers and distillers formed dur ing the administration of President Grant for the purpose of defrauding the Government of the excise on distilled spirits. The ring originated in Saint Louis. Distillers who refused to pay the assessment were entrapped into technical vio lations of the law and were forced to con tribute or submit to proseention. Finally it was discovered that the revenue returns were far short of the average. but the criminals could not be reached. on account of the prompt infor mation which they received from members of the ring in the Treasury Department. In 1875, through the active efforts of Benjamin IT. Bris tow. the Secretary of the Treasury, the frauds were discovered. On May 10th sixteen distilleries in Saint Louis. Milwaukee. and Chicano were seized and indictments were promptly found against some 240 distillers and revenue officials, besides the chief clerk in the Treasury Depart ment. Avery. and 0. E. Babeock, the private
secretary of the President. The trials began at Jefferson City. Mo.. in October. 1S75, and re sulted in the convention of a Treasury agent and a supervisor. Babcock was tried at Chicago in February, 187G, but was acquitted. Most of the other offenders either pleaded guilty or were convicted. The leading defendants who were convicted were pardoned after a short interval. A select committee appointed by the House of Bepresent olives made an exhaustive investiga tion of the subject. The report with the testimony taken is published in the House Miscellaneous Document. No. 1SG, first session, Forty-fourth Congress. It was shown that during the ten months ending May 1. 1$75. the Government had been defrauded of $1,650.000 in taxes,