The record-union., 1897-04-26
In Answer to Complaints Made by the
French Government.
The Consul Admits That Part of His
Report Was on the Authority of
an English Paper, But Says 1t
Verifies Observations Made by
Much Wine is Made From Lees by
the Use of Sugar.

!
ised statement from the Department of
State touching the report on the French
wine trade by United States Consul
Chancellor at HaVre, has been completed
and will appear in the May number of
the United States Consular report. The
department briefly recalls the fact that
Mr.. Chancellor in his report of July n,
/ 1895, alleged that much of the French
wine was not the product of the vine
yard and that $4,000 casks of so-called
wine had been destroyed by the Paris
municipal laboratory, having no grape
juice in it at ALL He had also alleged
that the great deficit m the wine crop
caused by the phylloXera had been made
up from a fluid made of raisins, cur
rants, lees and such material.
1t is stated that NJ. HanOtaux last De-
cember called the attention of our En-
bassador to Paris to the fact that the
Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce had
protested against the statements of the
Consul and that the official estigation
had called forth a denial from the mu
nicipal laboratory that it had destroyed
any such quantity of wine. The state
ments were referred back to Mr.. Chan
cellor, who replied that he had obtained
his information as to the destruction of
the $4,000 casks of wine from a reliable
English journal, but the name of the
/ journal he was unable to recall.
! While in Paris in 1887 under commits
sion from the Government of Maryland,
he had investigated the wine sheds and
was there told that a large number of
casks would be destroyed and that this
action was not unusual. In support of a
statement that large quantities of sugar
were used in the preparation of wines
| from lees, Mr. Chancellor referred to de-
| bates in the chamber, in the course of
which NJ. Vilijean had protested against
| the prohibition of the manufacture of
this kind of wine on the grou9d that it
caused the consumption of no less than
| 100000 tons of sugar yearly.
| Having thus laid down the case and
Mr.. Chancellor's defense of his state
ments, the State Department prints the
! following statement made by the French
Embassy here under date of March Sth
! last:
'The attention of the French wine
merchants has been called to a report
entitled Wine Making in France, pub
/ l.
September 1895, by c. w. Chancellor
United States Consul at Havre, France
and containing some incorrect state
ments which might cause prejudice to
French commerce and which it seems
desirable to rectify.
Il. Mr.. Chancellor, having probably
in mind the decrease of wine produc-
tion from which France suffered dur
| ing a long period, says that large quan-
| titles of wine contain no grape Juice
Statistical information shows that over
4,000O00 acres of vineyards were par
TALLY infected by the plague during the
last twenty years, 100000 of which
were already replanted up to 1895. On
the other hand, the production of wine
has been in the last two years excep-
tiOnally abundant
2. Mr.. Chancellor. referring to in
formation published in an English jour
nal and reproduced in American papers,
added that the French Government re-
Gently destroyed $4,000 casks of adul-
| terated wines.
| From an official inquiry it appears
that there is no record at the Municipal
Laboratory of Paris of such destruc-
struction of small quantities of adulter-
ated wines are rather to the honor of
! the French Government, which thus
protects the health of it's citizens Meas
ures have besides been taken for the
purpose of prohibiting over-alcohoIiza-
| ton of wines and the addition thereto
| of water or of any element whatever of
aduteratiOn.
TT may be stated that according to
medical inquiries made by highly COM
petent authority, moderate consump-
| ton of French wine is beneficial to pub
! lie health. The official statistics in this
regard are worthy of attention: they
show that drunkenness is less frequent
! in wine consuming regions. Out of 100
cases of public drunkenness, punisha BILE
by the law of 1873, % cases were re-
corded in the northwest of France. and
"a in the north, where spirits are mostly
| consumed, While cases were recorded
! in the center, ; in the southwest and
| only 4 in the southeast where the use of
wine among laboring classes is general"