The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-05-03
A NEW RESOURCE
FOR OUR FARMERS.
Another Market for Waste
Products.
From Minneapolis Times.


Paris, April 12-Alcohol is about to
supercede petroleum, not only in France,
but all Europe. 1t is not only to super
cede petroleum., but it promises to take
the place Of coal itself
Houses are to be heated by alcohol,
and engines are to be driven by alcohol.
AS for alcohol lighting it is already an
accomplished fact. The emperor OF Ger
many has had the palace at Potsdam and
the Thiergarten at Berlin supplied with
incandescent alcohol lamps, w hile the
new French president, Loubet, is lighting
up the courtyard of the Elysee with these
same extraordinary novelties of the hour.
Both the agricultural and industrial
worlds are excited over this matter.
Chambers of commerce and farmers
clubs are hearing lectures on the new dis
coveries. Never, perhaps, has such i'm
portant fiscal legislation been accom-
plshed in both France and Germany in
so short time as that-almost secured
which is to take off the last tax and
obstruction from the free manufacture
and sale of industrial alcohols. The dis
tiller is at last to work for the good of
humanity. His friend, the farmer, is at
last to get share of the good things of
progress.
The significance of this new movement
to the world at large is concealed, SO to
speak, in the peculiar legislation which
is everywhere applied to alcohol. All the
discoveries and inventions imaginable
must lie helpless until the iron heel OF
the internal revenue tax is removed from
this peculiar product. Alcohol is not
dear in itself. NJ. G. Arachequesne, sec
rotary general OF the new Association
rEmploi Industriel de rAlcohol-the
great league of distillers which in France
is engineering the affair-has just been
telling me that few years ago in Cuba
he made alcohol out of refuse molasses
at an expense of less than 9 francs the
100 litres AS a itre is more than
quart, this would amount to 6H cents
gallon. 1t was only done as an expert
ment, partly to find out what to do with
the waste molasses. The alcohol could
not be exported in sufficient quantities to
other countries because of the taxes.
1T is the same in louisiana said M.
Arachequesne, where the refuse mo-
lasses is dumped into the sea; and you
can imagine something Of the condition
of France and Germany-two countries
which have no petroleum Of their own
by casting a glance at the dilemma OF
the beet sugar agriculturists of Califor-
nia Nebraska and Utah, forced to burn
their waste molasses at an actual expense.
There is no other way to get rid of a
superhuity, which cannot be simply
thrown away for fear of creating nui
sance. In all these states,' continued NJ.
Arachequesne, where they have tried
beet sugar raising successfully or unsuc-
cessfully, Kansas, Minnesota, California.
Nebraska, Utah, Colorado and Virginia,it
is a hardship to the farmer that he is not
allowed to distill industrial alcohol from
his waste material But if this is hard
ship, how much greater-in view OF these
new inventions and discoveries-must be
the lot of the American farmer, with mil
lions of bushels of Indian corn that he
often finds impossible to SELF"
The conclusion of this expert is that
sooner or later the United States must
fall in line with the new European legis
lation.
France, country utterly without pc
troleum and importing coal enormously,
sees nothing less than her agricultural
salvation in the new use of alcohol. For
years they have been seeking in vain
for the national light and the national
fuel" For years, on the other hand, the
farmers have been struggling sullenly
against the internal revenue laws. From