The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-11-30
Farmers and the Denatured
Alcohol Law.
REPLY TO THE COMPLAINTS.
There Are No Restrictions as to Size
of the Plants, Says the Revenue
Department.
From Tuesdays daily.

From Tuesdays Daily.
Many farmers, after the passage or
the law permitting the manufacture OF
denatured alcohol, entertained great eX-
pectations of being able, under it, to
utilize much of the waste products OF
the farm. and indeed raise crops at
profit for its manufacture, ana others
have been discouraged by an erroneous
conception of the regulations which, so
far as formulated, will be enforced re
garding it.
The department has been deluged with
inquiries upon the subject ana to one
of these the commissioner of internal
revenue, in a bulletin just received by
Surveyor of Customs r. Calvert, replied
substantially as follows:
The inquirer in his letter remarked:
"At present regular distrilleries only
can engage in the manufacture, enabling
the whisky trust already to secure prac-
tically~,a monopoly. Is it proposed to
ask congress to let the farmer las in
Germany and others in on the manu-
facture of the product? l regret to
attack the law, but must if the preset
law is to stand, favoring special inter
ests. Is it proposed to further simplify
the law, reducing the manufacture to
IL, md
cut out the ridiculous red tape of the
regulations and instructions | regret
that | must attack this feature also
and show how our people are to be pre-
vented from making simple and cheap
7 fuel by red-tape restrictions, unless as
sured that change may be hoped for?"
The commissioner in reply said:
s'You are advised that this department
r does not make the law, but endeavors,
to administer it as it is passed'by con-
gress. As to what congress proposes to
pass ]. am not advised.
This office knows of no process by
which alcohol can be manufactured eX
cept by distillation, and as regular dis
tilleries are the only kind recognized
by the law, alcohol manufactured under
the supervision of this department must
be manufactured at regular distille:ies.
For your information, however, l will
state that there is nothing mysterious
or complicated about regular distil-
lery, and that the manufacture of dis
titled spirits at regular distillery is
probably simpler than the manufacture
of cheese
''The internal revenue laws under
which all government distilleries are
constructed and operated are necessar-
lily full of detail, but at the same time
these laws are so elastic ana comprehen-
sive that no honest man is barred from
engaging in the business of manufaatur-
ing distilled spirits. There are abso-
lutely no limitations as to the size of
a distillery that can be operated under
the law. There are over a thousand dis
tilleries in operation now at each of
which the daily producing capacity is
less than thirty gallons. Many of these
were set up on an outlay of less than
5000. So far as the internal revenue
laws are concerned, either in theory or
practice, the smallest and crudest dis
tillery can produce alcohol if, as bust
ness proposition, it is deemed advisable
so to do.
eff farmer or other person desires
to 90 into &c business of manfacur
ing denatured alcohol, at plant how
ever small, he will be required to con-
struct mis- plant in the manner prescrib-
P: ed by the general laws, and regulations
All of this will be done under govern
9 mental supervision, but the government
: pays for this supervision. The manu-
it,faeturer of alcohol does not bear one
1cent of it. There is no objection to a
farmer manufacturing his alcohol in
his back yard provided he wants to es-
I tablish distillery there.
~ t''If you will take the trouble to in
'nNestigate you will find, in my. opinion,
that the laws and Notwithstanding
t. the manufacture of alcohol in Ger
many do not differ to any great extent
from the laws and regulations in this
country, and that so far as the manu-
facture of denatured alcohol by the
American farmer is concerned, it is sim
ply business proposition, and he will
not be greatly deferred from entering
into the business by what you are
pleased to term ridiculous red tape of
the regulations and Instructions. The
very fact that there are small independ-
ent distilleries established and operat-
ing all over the country in the manu-
facture sof distilled spirits for beverage
purposes Ought to- be sufficient answer
to any claim that the present internal
revenue laws and regulations favor spe-
cial interests"