Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-09-02
p~VosMINe raE paINKs.

what Is the part OF practical statesman
ship and wise philanthropy 10 treating
the subject?
Inasmuch as prohibition fails to pro-
hibit, or moral suasion to persuade, We
have maintained and continue to urge
that the only possible practical reform
is to improve the average quality OF what
Is consumed by the irrepres-ible mass
OF drinkers.
We are interested in 9 reform OF the
drinks. So is every man, either for him.
SELF or neighbor. We believe it to be
the most practical step in the line Of any
temperance reformation. II Is Q plat
form upon which all can unite, teet0-
taller, the temperate, the tippler, and
even the incorporate. Every nan is
interested in what he puts in his month.
What is called good. liquor will DO
harm enough, but it g the added poison
that puts new mischief into the ''invisi.
BILE spirit" that Shakespeare named
"devil."
As q step to this end a great many
professional reformers, and especially
the advocates of moderation in drinking,
have labored and argued for the substi.
tuition OF beer for alcoholic liquors as q
means Of decreasing drunkenness among
the people. They believe that beer is a
practical temperance agent
1t is largely due to this idea that beer
making and beer drinking have in
creased enormously in this country. And
it is no more than right and proper that
the advocates OF this theory should de-
mand that this beverage be kept abso-
lutely free from deleterious adulters-
tons. Ii beer is to become a kind OF
temperance drink, the man who takes a
glass or two daily in a social way or on
the advice OF his physician wants 10
know that his drink contains nothing
that is poisonous or inherently nasty.
And to the full fedged beer-drinkers,
who consume from one to four gallons
every day, the presence or absence oil
certain well-known adulterations is SIM
ply a matter OF life or death.
We make no indictment against the
quality OF the beverage in general use.
| We know nothing OF the merits OF the
| discussion going on as to its purity or
impurity. But We are glad to see the
agitation, nevertheless, because il beer
is being adulterated with poisons TO the
damage Of the public health, consumers
ought to know it, fnl il no, the advo.
Gates OF beer have nothing TO fear fro m
the discussion. The New York brewers
seem to be very frank in their state.
ments as to the ingredients used 10 its
manufacture, and they have tended 10
allsy public suspicion somewhat; but
on the other hand some reputi b e jouln.
ais, protesting to know something about
it, continue TO make the charge OF adult
teralions We append the following
comments upon the subject from the
Philadelphia Times:
Lager beer in the strict sense is pra,-
tically unknown in this country. Our
beer has more alcohol and less Of the
nutritive principles of malt han true
lager. 1t is NOR rapidly fermented and
has mere life in the shape of csrbOnic
acid gas, but 1t lacks the age which mel
lows the best German beers, and though
temporarily refreshing to the palate its
hereafter is weary, stale, fiat and n
profitable. True beer is simply an infu-
sian of three bushels OF barley malt in
thirty gallons OF water, to which three
pounds Of hops ars added and thor.
oughly boiled, slowly ferment-
ed by the addition of a
small quantity OF Yeast. No other ingred-
tents have any business in beer and
none are added ave to put money in
the brewers purse or to crafty the igno-
rant or initiated taste of the consumer
Vast quantities of Stops are sold under
the name OF beer which are mere fer
mented iniusiOns of corn-meal, aloes
and, occasionally, strychnine. Thu
COculus indicus-the arrow poison OF
the Indians-is sometimes used to
give a strong, bitter taste, but
when barley and hops are plenty
there is probably nothing which can
be called adulte ration in making beer by
any OF the more reputable brewers. The
American public demands a sweet beer,
relatively strong in alcohol, and what is
here called lager contains more alcohol
ehan - HpAuun ,na1f inFtnr a-na~k pF,r
toms ale and Guinness stout. To pro.
duce these qualities all our brewers re
inforct their malt with corn, either in
the shape of meal, corn starch or
glucose, or with rice meal, raw grape
sugar or molasses. These are
not authorizations, for their products
under fermentation are all proper ele-
ments of beer, but for explained rea-
sons they seem to be far more injurious
than barley malt and their continuous
or excessive use brings death in the
form of kidney disease, the organs he.
ing simply unable to assimilate or throw
off the mass Of injurious starch and su.
gar. The mar who has been nauseated
by the frequent wetting OF postage
stamps with his tongue should remem-
Der that aside from the hops, beer g
merely postage stamp paste with a little
alcohol in il.
Beer may be Innocuous when used in
mo leratiOn, but is only under special
conditions that it can be healthful. 1t
is very sensitive to contaminations, and
by far the most serious danger lies IN |
the method OF dispensing it. The purest
beer contains acetic acid, and when
drawn through lead or copper pipes, as
is almost always the case, forms poison
Gus compounds like sugar OF lead, which
are positively deadly. When glucose
has been added to the malt q little sui
phufic acid is generally present in the
beer, and that forms in the pipes still
more poisonous compounds - blue
yitrIol being always noticeable
when the fluid touches COP
per. When beer has not been drawn |
Tor ten or fifteen minutes the first two
Dr. three glasses from a lead or copper
r,Na - ahN,,k - -.- -N..o- i