The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-12
COMMUNION WINE.
CLARA BELLE.

The Rev. j. Ii. Hamilton and Miss Coleman
Make Some Startling Disclosures.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.
New YORK. Dec. 1L--Miss Julia Coleman sent
to England for samples of unfermented grape
juice to be used in the communion service at the
Rev. DR.. VIM. NJ. Taylor's Presbyterian Church
in Broadway. When the dozen bottles came to
the custom house duty was demanded as though
the fluid were wine Miss Coleman demurred,
and wrote complaint to Secretary Manning, of
the Treasury Department. Mr.. Manning replied
that unfermented juice of the grape was wine.
This controversy has led to a singular examina-
ton at DR.. Taylor's church, to find out the quail
ity of the wines commonly used at communion.
The Rev. ]. Benson Hamilton, in the presence
of score of ministers, interested churchmen,
and a few women, denounced ordinary com
munion wines as concocted stuff unfit for holy
purposes From argument the preacher turned
to facts and ocular demonstration. He
had lot of interesting-looking black
and red bottles on the pulpit. Some
of them were very small, and contained he
said, essences and 'surrups" Others had cider.
claret, port and the like. AS a last grand
argument why commercial wine should
uOb 10 pun upon bu0 LOru UaDle, IOeV. D. benson
Hamilton averred that no one could be sure in
these degenerate days that he was getting wine
at all. very large percentage, he claimed, of
the wine used in the churches never knew the
influence OF grape juice, being manufactured
wholly from cheaper and poisonous substances.
he then told how he had assured himself of
this fact. He heard of few concerns that made
a business of selling receipts for making all
kinds OF wine, and accordingly approached them
for the purpose of learning the tricks of the
trade But he was too worldly-wise to appear
before the wine-makers a minister of the Cos
pei He was not over explicit in relating his ex-
perlences, but as the documents he received
from the wine makers were addressed Conf
Dental to liquor dealers" the guise of the rev.
erend detective may be imagined with a fair de-
gree of accuracy. AT any rate he got his nfor-
| nation, and he declared that he now knew all
| about making port, sherry, malay, catawby"
and lots of other vines
Then Miss Coleman came forward to assist the
| preacher in exposing the wckedness of com
munlon wines in vogue in the leading churches
In this city She is active little lady, rather
past the middle age Her chemical apparatus
consisted of an upright rod like the standard of
a student lamp. To this were fastened by screws
| some rings that stood out horizontally from the
rod. flask set into the upper ring held few
| spoonfuls of wine taken from the communion
decanter of great uptown church. Below this
| she set an alcohol lamp in the lower ring and
lgnlted It, The action of the heat, she
planned, was sufficient to separate the alcohol of
liquor from its accom- panying ingredients.
She was particular to assert that the little bot
| tie from the great church had not been opened
or otherwise tempered with since it had been
received by the committee having charge of the
| experiments Talking this way she kept the spec
tators interested until the wine had come to boil
Then she struck match and applied it to the
nozzle of the flask SWISH Up shot blue
fame foot high. 1t spluttered and sparkled
from the influence of so much steam from the
boiling wine and occasionally went out from an
over pressure of moisture but a reapDlcation
OF the match never failed TO bring the blue fame
to light again. Then specimen of California
port. taken from the decantur of another high
toned communion table was produced and the
experiment repeated. This time after the wine
had been brought to the boiling point the match
was applied and flame at least twenty inches
in height flared forth. The ladies were much
pleased and greeted the demonstration of the
wines wickedness with discreet applause.
Other experiments of a similar nature
followed. the only unsatisfactory feat
ure being the refusal of the amateur chemists
to give away the names of the churches that use
such highly intoxicating liquors in commence
rating the Lords supper. The experiments
were concluded by testing an unfermented wine
that had been put up by careful housewife ten
years ago. The most vigorous boiling and the
most persistent application of the match failed
to reveal any traces of blue fame One of the
ladies interested said she hoped that the infer
mented wine might come into general use, as
the real stuff always made her throat burn and
caused her to cough. The same effect was to be
observed all over the church whenever the sacra-
ment was observed, and it made a sacrilegious
interruption OF the service, due wholly to the
unfamiliarity of the observers with alcoholic
wine. The Rev. j. Benson Hamilton recon-
mended grape jelly, liquefed by the application
of hot water, for use at the communion table
OMAR JAMES.