Daily national Democrat., 1860-05-04
AduIterated Liquors.

the last legislature against the importers and
vendors of adulterated liquors, will be rigid
" enforced The liquor dealers of this state
have, for the most part, been numbering their
fellow citizens with compounds which they
knew were poisonous aud deadly. They
have sent many a victim to the grave, and
knew that they were sending him there They
will continue their wholesale elaughter un-
les5 checked in their course. There is Mt
this moment. many saloon in this city, and
in every other city in this state, in which
the bar keeper, passing for a respectable man,
and good fellow" hands out, daily and
hourly, to his customers drinks" which he
himself would no more swallow than he
would thrust his finger into the mouth Of a
rattlesnake
Can we hope for the enforcement Of this
law2 Certainly, the sternest necessity OF
the times calls for it. Men are being mur-
dered, day after day, by these vllaiuous sell
ers Of spirituous liquors Are they to he al
lowed to 90 on in this diabolical course
they abuse the confidence reposed in them
10y their fellow citizens, and place upon their
counters what no man, not desirous Of com
hitting suicide, would drink, if he knew
what it was Are such men fit for anything
but the peniten,iary7 We think not
That our readers may realize how fearful
is this evil and this crime of odulterating
spirits, we refer them to the following eX-
tract from report of a distinguished chemist
of Ohio, Dr. Hiram Cox, appointed in 1880,
| 10y the legislature Of that State, to make a
thorough examination of such liquors as were
in the market lie says (speaking of the Ii
quors in Cincinnati:)
although the liquors are villainous in the
extreme there are ether large cities equally
as cupable. For example,: a gentleman
of our city, druggist, That he might have
pure liquors as Il medical article, and that
kind for purity, &c, that he could recum-
mend to his customers, went to New York
and purchased two half pipes of splendid
"oeignette Brandy" one pale, the otuer dark
When passing one day, he called me i'll to
see his "beaatJH pure brandy just from
New York! | stopped, looked al it, smclt
it; lui fore TT g T., hal p nj 9 to have
some blue htnus paper III my pocket, intro
dueed small ptce--it came out red as scar
leti | then called for poi he'd spatula, put
1t into tumbler containing, perhaps, half
gill, and waited on ii / > minutes-at the eX>
Iiration of " hich the liquor was black as ink.
he spatula corroded, and when dried, left
thick coatiug OF rust, which when wiped of
left copper coat almost as thick as il it had
hpp t,lu f..l aha /, 4I.
der the penalty of the law, not to sell drop
of it; took samples of it to my office, and the
following is the result of the analysis, viz:
lst sample (dark) 90 per cent. alehoholc
spirits 10y volume, and Al per cent. by weight
specific gravity O045 The tests indicate
Sulphuric Acid, Nitric Acid, Nitric Ether
Prussic Acid, Guinea Pepper, and an abund-
ance of Fusil Oil. Base-common whiskey.
not one drop of wine.
I'd sample (pale) 81 per cent alcoholic
spirits by volume, 40 per cent. bv weight;
specific gravity O955. This article has the
same aduIteratons as the first, but in greater
abundance, with the addition of Catehuc,
Remark-Most villainous connections.
called at a grocery store one day. where
liquor also is kept A couple of lrishmen
came in while was there and called for
some Whiskey; and the first drank, and the
moment he drank the tears flowed freely,
while he at the same time caught his breath
like one sulfocaung or strangling When he
could, speak, he suid TO his companion:
"Och, Michael, but this is warming to the
shtomach I"
Michael went through like eontortions,
with the remark, "Wouldnt it be foine in "A
cowld frosthy morning?.'
After they had drank, l asked the landlord
10 pour me out little in tumbler in which
dipped piece Of litimus paper, which was
no sooner wet than it put on scarlet hue
went to my oiice, got my instruments and
examined it, found it had Z per cent. al
eoholic spirits 10y weight, when il should have
had 40 per cent to be proof and the differ
ence in per centage made up by Sulphurc
Acid. Red Pepper Pellitory, Costic Pottasa
and Bruelne, one of The salts of Nucs Vom-
le1 commonly called Nux Vomica. One
pint OF such liquor ~ ould kill the strongest
man. had the manufactures indicted
The law of this State, against the vending
of adulterated liquors may be enforced if
men, who suspect any dealer Of selling such
stuff (and there are plenty of them who do
~ will take the trouble to complain of them
before Justice of the Peace The process
Is very easy. Go to a Justice and complain,
and have the matter investigated The de-
cent portion of the press will sustain every
effort Of this kind, Cor the evil is enormous
and fearful, and needs strong correcting
hand.