Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-12-05
EVERY FARMER A POSSIBLE
MANUFACTURERS OF ALCOHOL.
INTERESTS NOT FAVORED
Commissioner Tells How Makers are
to Proceed-Letter to a Subordin-
ate Contains Information of Wide
General interest-No Red Tape
Restrictions.

]
featuring alcohol in his back yard
II he wishes to establish a distillery
there. Special interests not favored
under the internal revenue law"
These quotations are taken from a
ruling made by Commissioner OF In.
ternal revenue law"
These quotations are taken from a
ruling made by Commissioner of In
ternal Revenue Yerkes on questions
submitted to him by a collector.
whose mind was filled with doubts as
70 whether the farmer and the public
generally were to be given a square
deal In the enforcement of the de-
natured alcohol act Commissioner
ferkes incorporated in his ruling ex.
tracts from what is regarded as
very remarkable, not to say amusing,
| Official communication from a sub
ordinate to a superior.
Among other things, the collector
wrote:
| AT present regular distilleries only
can engage in the manufacture, en-
abling the whisky trust already to
secure practically a monopoly. Is 1t
proposed to ask congress to let the
farmer Gas in Germany and others
Ia On the manufacture of the prod
uct? regret to attack the law, but
must If the present law is to stand
raVoring special interests. Is it
proposed to further simplify the law.
reducing the manufacture to the easy
basis OF cheese making, and cut out
the ridiculous red tape of the 'regu.
lations and Instructions l regret
that l must attack this feature also,
and show how our people are to be
| prevented from making simple and
cheap fuel by red tape restrictions.
unless assured that change may be
hoped for" Commissioner Yerkes
replied:
You are advised that this depart
ment does not make the law, but
| endeavors to administer it as it is
passed by congress. AS to what con-
gress proposes to pass am not adj
Yised. This Office knows of no pro
| cesses by which alcohol can be man
ufactured except by distilIeries. and
as regular distilleries are the only
kind recognized by the law, alcohol
manufactured under the supervision
| OF this department must be manufac-
tured at regular distilleries. For
| your information, however, | will
state that there is nothing mysterious
or complicated about a regular dis
tillery, and that the manufacture of
distilled. spirits .. at a regular dis
tillery is probably simpler than the
manufacture of cheese.
The internal revenue laws under
which all government distilleries are
constructed and operated are necee
sarily full of detail. but at the same
time these laws are so elastic and
comprehensive that no honest man is
barred from engaging in the business
OF manufacturing distilled spirits.
There are absolutely no limitations
to the size of distillery that can be
operated under the law
This bureau wall endeavor to ad-
minister the denatured alcohol law
in the same manenr it has heretofore
administered the law relating to dis.
TILED spirits. If a farmer or other
person desire. to go into the business
OF manufacturing denatured alcohol.
at plant however small he will be
required to construct his plant in
the manner prescribed by the gen.
eral laws and regulations. He will
be equired to give a bond, the effect
of which is TO prevent him from de-
frauding the government of the tax
on any distilled spirits produced by
him. He will be required to estab-
fish a distillery warehouse, to de-
I post the spirits produced by him In
/ this warehouse to establish a de-
maturing bonded warehouse, and to
tax-pay or denature just as he may
wish the alcohol produced by him.
All of this viii be done under the
governmental supervision, but the
government pays for this supervision.
| The manufacturer of alcohol does
not bear one cent of it. There is no
objection to a farmer manufacturing
his alcohol in his back yard provided
he wants to establish a distillery
there"