The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1869-03-25
Fusel-Oil Whiskey.

In purusng his investigation into the frauds
and authorizations which aff1ict the community,
The World Commissioner has been enabled
to throw light upon one of the most potent
causes of the existence of so much poisonouS
liquor in the country. Our exposure ofye-
terday spread before the public cherished
and carefully concealed secret of the distillers
In order to evade the payment of the govern
meut tax on the entire amount Of whiskc!v
they produce, they have introduced from Ger
many process of quick fermentation Of thee
raw material This enables them to turn o. 9
twice or thrice the amount of liquor the GOV
eminent, in its clumsy old notions of disti,
ing, gives them credit for. They are suppo:
ell to put their 'smash" through slow ar.t
even fermentation of three or four days, aud
| upon the supposed yield at that rate the tax
is calculated. But, by examining in their vat1
an enormous amount Of yeast, they produce !
fermentation of twenty four hours, and thu,
get away with three or four times the amount
of whiskey the government expects them I,
make By this means they can keep theja
books straight, hoodwink the officials, ard
pocket the proceeds Of their surplus manufau,
ture without detection.
But something more than the revenue ii
affected by this trick. The rapid ferments
ton produces such an imperfect liquor thse
no subsequent refining can remove the poi
sonous oils, and the consequence is that Ito
country is flooded with stuff that no huma,,
being can swallow with safety to the coats ,.'
his stomach. For this, rascay distlllers are
not alone to blame Revenue officials, if tl::y
are not willingly blind to any enormity IT,
prisoners may commit, are so Ignorant of the
duties that not one in hundred can t.
when he looks in distiler's tub, if the r..
material is undergoing four days ferment.
ton or twenty four hours fermentation
For this reason, if no other, civil service a"i
is needed. Public officers educated to knos
their business would soon put check to t'.o
stream Of fusel-oil whisky issuing out of the
distieries.
After all, there is cause behind this cause
for the evil Of which we write. We see here.
as in everything else the government touches,
the blighting effect Of taxation. A preposts.r
Gus tariff excludes pure wines and brandles
from abroad, and gives encouragement to adu
terations at home; and the meddcsome inter
ference of Congress in the natural laws~,i'
trade courses the country with kind of liz
uor that it is physical destruction to drink
.Neac York World.
CLEVER WoMEN.-With most people clep,
eruess is applied to women as a term Of vei.z
ed reproach, and not without show or reason,
because it is testimony Of intellect at tie
expense of something distinctly feminine.--
The ideal women does not reason hsr pro-
cesses Of thought are intuitlye so far that s..'
can give no account how she arrives at them
if she attempts to do SO, her protested reasons
are palpable attcrthought proving that los'n
is at least no ohtrusiye faculty. She is Wis
not to pretend to it. We bow to concusio-.i
formed on no conscious data, and with no.l.-
ing like argument to back them, because III
her own province, though she cannot reason,
she is very apt to be right. Clever womcn,
on the contrary throw intuition over and a...
at logic. They possess the alytical faculty,
and encourage it IN themselves. They search
into the why and the wherefore, thou pursue
subject in all its bearings, they trace it to
its cause, they study themselves, and above
all, they study character in others-not tor
present purpose, not by the intuitve method,
but as habitual Intellectual occupation
As reasoning begins they dispense with ia-
stinot, Or subdue it to a subordiate capacity.
which reveEges itself in return by ceasing tu
serve their personal needs, leaving them t,s
work out the details of conduct by the ligit
of their boosted reason revenge indeed
We all perceive, who have any experience OF
self consciousness. what a poor exchange mus
be constant appeal to the will or the judy
ment in the minor actions of life, for TIL,
prompsings of habit and intuition in natures
finely tuned, where the mind does not spec,;
late but acts, comprehending just as much i
the persons and things encountered as is nee
essary for success, and no more. Knowing
too much and thinking too much are alike ts'
tai to charm.