Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-10
THE PURE FOOD BILL
Determined Efforts Will Be
Made to Pass the Measure.
PENDING FOR MANY YEARS
Millions Of Dollars Spent for Adult
Grated Groceries.
RECTIFICATION OF WHISKY
Amount Of Spurious limitations Many
Times That Of Amount Bottled
in Bond in This Country.

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
| Written for The Star and the Chicago Record
Herald
A determined attempt will be made dur
| ing the present session Of Congress to pass
| the pure food bill prepared at the Agricul-
tural Department and introduced into the
Senate by Mr.. Hepburn and in the House
by Mr.. Hepburn. 1t is not a. new mea sure
IT has been pending for many years, and
there have been several Investigations by
Inherent committees to determine the need
| for such legislation. Some of them have
been proposed as a diversion by the oppo-
nents Of the bill who have managed their
| interests with great skill and persistence
1t Is fought by nearly all manufa cturers of
patent foods, patent medicines and par
tfcularly by the associations of rectifiers
and wholesale liquor dealers. If 1t is true
as DIR. Wiley of the Agricultural Depart
ment has so frequently asserted, that SIS
per cent of all the WHISTLES and other dis
| titled liquors offered for sale in the United
states are impure or adulterated, they have
reason to do so,
Inc Dill provides for the organization of
! bureau of chemistry and foods. which
shall be charged with the inspection Of ali
FOODS, drugs and liquors offered for sale in
| the District of Columbia or used in inter
state or foreign trade and If they are
found adn!terated, mixed, misbranded i'm
pure or limitations, contrary to the law the
manufacturer or seller shall be punished
with fine not exceeding SEQ for the first
0mense. and for each subsequent offense
*5co, or be imprisoned not exceeding one
year, or both. All mixtures or con,nounds
| must be branded or labeled so as To
PLAINLY indicate that fact and show the
character and constituents thereof The
| MANUFACTURERS of proprietary foods and
| medicines are not required to disclose their.
| trade formulas to the public but must
i Tile them with the Secretary of AsrIcul-
lure, accompanied by a bond or guarantee
| Many manufacturers of patented fooSs
and household preparations are In favor of
the passage OF the bill. They saw that thew
| are not afraid to have their goods inspected
and that every honest man in the trade
ought to be willing to place. himself undar
| such supervision as is proposed The most
determined opposition comes from the man
| u,acturers OF patent medicines. of which
| alcohol is the chief constituent and the
aqUor trade, yet many dstillers and Ii
| quor sellers are in favor of 1t, especially
| those who deal in 'bottled-n-b bond whisky.
Genuine and Imitation Whisky.
| 1t ls asserted that fourteen states in the
Union produce genuine Bourbon whisky,
| hfteen genuine rye whisky. twelve genuine
| gin and three genuine rum while in eleven
states more than 100000 gallons of
| cologne. spirits or alcohol is ..rectified,'
Compounded blended by permission
| sold n mi
| tation of whisky and thus deceive the pub
hc In the state Of Kentucky there are
about 700 distiilers and about 100 rectify-
ing plants for the purpose OF ''rectifying'
whisky and preparing it for market by the
use of drugs and other ingredients And
| 1t Is asserted that rectifer in a small Gel
| lar, with the necessary materials can turn
| out a greater quantity in a day than an
| honest distiller in a month. In deciding
| recent lawsuit IN Kentucky, the court
| said:
The proof shows that the rectiiers and
| blenders take n barrel of whisky and draw
| off large part Of it, filing it up with wa
| ter, and then adding spirits and other chem
| icals to make 1t proof, and to give it age
| bead. etc. The proof also shows that from
! fifty to seventy-five per cent of the whisky
| sold in the United States is blended
| whisky. 1t Is a cheaper article and there is
| the temptation to simulate the more ex-
pensive WHISTLES
| Alcohol is produced by the fermentation
| of corn. rye. sugar, mola sses or other sub
| stances. Pure, neutral cologne spirits
| are high-grade alcohol of the purest dis
| tillation and are taxed S110 PEI proof gal
lon-the same whisky-which is equiva-
lent to 81 per wine gallon.
Rum Is produced by the dtst1Ilation of
| molasses and sugar. Gin is alcohol mixed
| with the juice of juniper berries. Bourbon
| whisky is produced by the fermenta ton OF
corn-meal with a little malt Rye whisky
| is produced by the fermentation OF rye with
a little barley and malt Standard whisky,
either rye or bourbon, is one-half alcohol,
one-haif water, 100 proof.
Curing and Aging Whisky.
| To cure whisky. to give it color and
| flavor, it is stored in barrels made of white
| oak. The slaves of the barrel are charred
by fire the inside that the barrel is
| lined with about one-eighth quarter
| OF an inch of charcoal, which is supposed
! to purify the whisky. When it runs
| through from the still into the barrel Ii is
| perfectly colorless like ordinary alcohol.
| The charcoal is supposed to purify It, and
| ii is supposed to draw tannin from the oak
| slaves of the barrel BY these two causes
| the taste and the color of the liquor gradu-
| ally changes, and the longer IL remains IN
| the barrel the darker and the richer 1t Will
| be- This is called aging
There is. however. quick way OF aging
| whisky. Newly made alcohol can be given
| the color of three-year-oid whisky in twen-
| ty-four or forty-eight hours by forcing
| steam into the barrel and heating 1t; but
| this process will not improve the taste. 1t
| will still retain the sloppy odor that all
| young whisky has when 1t leaves the dis
tillery. Nothing but time and the softenlng
| influence of the oak barrel can get rid or
| the fusel-oil flavor and can give 1t the mel
| low ripeness Of age.
Under an act OF Congress passed March
| g. 1897 whisky In bond can be bottled
under the eye of the government II II is not
| less than four nor more than eight years
| old. the theory being that 1t does not reach
| maturity in less than four years. When it
| is to be bottled the liquor can be reduced to
| one hundred proof by adding water In the
presence of the internal revenue officer.
| Whisky intended for export can be reduced
| to eighty proof. The bottles are filled and
| corked in the presence of government Off
| GERS. who themselves paste over the corks
| like seals, engraved labels which bear the
| name Of the distiller, the date produced, the
| date bottled and the proof when bottled.
| This Is Official evidence that the whisky Is
| genuine and has not been adulterated or
| diluted or tempered with In any way. The