Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-07-27


PR0DENo rME WHISKY rRUyr.
An Invsssagasssn Degaa ~ the lls1ss
csaasssss % Manufactures.
At the meeting Of the House committee On manu-
fActures to-day Chairman Bacon announced that
the COMMITTEES would procsed to investigate the
so-called whisky trust ana called J. Il Athsfton.
OF Louisville. Ky, president Of the J. y. Atherton
Company, - the nrst witness The compsnyS
headQuarters the witness said, were located IN
Lerue County, Ky. II was not engaged In DIS
filling whisky, but In handling the whisky OF .
number OF nrms who DO disabling business In
their own nameA These frms were Mayneld q
Co, VIM. Miller Co, 4 O'Brien 4 CO., and J. 7.
Garter, all Of whose product is controlled BY the
:: \. Anerton Company under A agree-
70 preserve the Trademark "a q ,Dss r@ which
81 tSess nrms 10 1850 Was 5000 barrels, but sSs
yearly production was from ten 70 twenty thou
SAND oarreia There were, MI. Anterior said,
TWO GLASSES or WHISKY PRoDucExs
in Kentucky-those who made nne bourbon whis-
kies and number Of firms located along the Ohio
River who made cheap whiskies the difference
being that the value Of the bourbon" or "Ken-
lucky" whisky depended upon its navor and that
II had To be ''aged" before being sold, while the
S5nsr was placed on the MARKET
SSSAssSoD
producers OF the one kind OF whisky and the pro-
ducers OF the other grades nor was there any con-
who made substantially the same Kind Of WHISKY
in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
In reply to Mr.. Bacon witness said that most Of
tered INTO an agreement emit By WHICH they bound
themselves 10 produce no whisky In the nscal year
1858. some few large nrms refused TO sign the
nifty very small distillers who were not asked to
sign the agreement The combined production Of
these non-signers was estimated At $4,000 gal
Ions
grew out Of the fact that there had been q very
large overproduction Of whisky. In 1881 sc 600
gallons were produced, and in 1889 about the
same quantity: As the annual consumption is
million gallons this whisky s could not Be con.
g market but no buyers having been
coming 1853 .na fss4 theirs ssf "a. .Soa
1000. 600 gallons produced each year, in 1885
about sSg oo9 600 IN 1889 about ooo 600 and IN
the owners Of this whlskey from the effects Of this
over-production the agreement TO suspend
Sess WAS entered io n,o Tss sa
in the nature Of truss there Was NO c consodS
only other organization Which witness knew Of
having ever existed In the Kentucky whisky trade
formed about 1873. The object Of this assocta-
tion was the consideration Of proposed changes in
the internal revenue laws and technical trade af.
fairs. 1t had nothing whatever to do with pro-
duction, and the only time the associa
'Ss rSs a,sE ,osIs ssa oss in politics
accumulation Of whisky, It ATTEMPTED to get
tine a1. ,SSn S.1 3 s
resolution was passed at a meeting OF Kentucky
distiers to limit the production the scal year
appointed TO arrange for its distribution among
the parties to the agreement, but the matter had
never been consummated, and the probabilities
were that IL would not be.
WHISKY FOR THE MILLION.
Witness gave the following statistics of the
amount Of 1ne Kentucky whisky outstanding:
In bond Il 500 900 gallons of the product Of 1884,
Is, 900, 900 Of 1887 whisky and 3,5vO,OOO Of 1888
and 1852 about 5000 900 gallons; Of the product Of
1000, 900 gallons. In addition, there was also
at all times from 100000 to 5000, 900 gal
Ions Of tax-paid whisky In the hands Of the
ness said that the exported whisky
had been sent principally to Bermuda, Hamburg.
sive to carry the WHISKY in this Country owing to
the Government tax Of 90 cents a gallon, and
considerable part Of this whisky had come back
in the M-hoase Where 1T could remain for
three years without paying duty, though PEN
atty OF 10 per cent was added after the rirst
year. The witness stated that he did not
believe there would ever be any serious
competition Of European dsttllers with American
whisky manufacturers for the reason that the
United states was the greatest grain country in
the world, and also had the timber for barrels
right at hand. Though distillers OF fne whiskias
differed very much politically, they all, witness
said, as trade question. would be glad to have
the tax reduced 70 so cents per gallon.
TIE ALCOHOL AND SPIRITS TRUST.
The witness was then examined In regard to
the production OF alcohol and spirits, as distin-
guished from beverage whisky, by Representative
Breckenridge, OF Arkansas, and asked II there
was a trust In this trade. Witness re-
Piled that he believed nearly all the
disullereS north OF the Ohio River were
members Of trust, each dtst1er having a common
interest In the bushes OF all the others The head
quarters was at Peoria, H., and the president was
H. B. Greenhut, OF that place. The trust also In
Guided few distilers OF alcohol and cheap whisky
located In Kentucky, near Covington.