The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1906-09-13
ALCOHOLICS NEW FIELD.
Its Use as a Fuel When Tax
Is Removed.
EXPERIMENTS BY GOVERNMENT
Engines Using 1t Will Not Displace
Gasoline Engines, Says Professor
LuclSe of Columbia University-Their
Chief Value Will BE In Isolated Re-
Observation-Disclosures of Alcohol.

With the beginning of the new year
the way will be paved for the use of
alcohol as fuel for small engines, and,
while experts do not predict a startling
revolution which will sweep the gaso-
line and kerosene engines into mechan-
ical limbo, they do assert that the al
cohol engine will find large field all
its own for usefulness. The only "if'
lurking in the proposition is what re-
striction the internal revenue officials
will place on its manufacture, says the
New York Tribune. Congress has re-
moved the tax on the manufacture Of
denatured alcohol, which is grain al
cohol, such as is used for whisky, but
poisoned chemically to destroy the pos
sibilities for use in beverages or medi-
cinally. The restrictions as to its man.
ufacture have been left to the discre-
ton Of the revenue officials, and they
have men abroad now investigating it's
manufacture there. AS both France
and Germany have fostered the use Of
alcohol engines and the United States
government is inclined to do the same.
it is not thought likely that oppressive
restrictions will be made here. If they
are, would be users of the fuel will be
as badly off as they are now, while
there is tax on it, which is to be re-
moved on Jan. 1.
''Alcohol engines will not displace
gasoline engines" said Dr. Charles e.
Lucke of Columbia university, who is
experimenting with the fuel on behalf
of the United States government.
'They will occupy a field of their own,
and their chief value will be in isolat-
ed localities, where the high price of
gasoline. due to the expense of trans
portation, has made it's cost prohibit
tive.
''In the irrigated districts, for in
stance, the rancher can pump his wa
ter by an alcohol engine, making the
fuel from grain ON his own place, thus
making corn grow more corn.
ut would also have value in isolated
regions as a motive power for auto
mobiles, power boats and similar uses.
We are experimenting, first, to find the
etAAAOoAil VI silSoAlol lCluli GU AOl given
engine compared With the amount of
gasoline. This comparison of consump-
ton and the comparison of price will
give the man interested basis for de-
termining whether or not he should
buy an alcohol engine. The price Of
gasoline is different in different parts
of the country owing to the cost Of
transportation. Secondly, we are to de-
termine whether there is any more
trouble in handling alcohol as fuel
than in handling gasoline. have OBJ
talned as high as 10 per cent more
power with alcohol than with gaso-
line, but with much larger consump-
ton. In engines built properly for
the alcohol the consumption should be
the same, but in gasoline engines I
have had to use three times as much
alcohol as would gasoline. We are
also making abstracts of work already
done in regard to alcohol engines. At
the Paris exposition of 1900, for in
stance, prize competitions for these en-
Rines were held. The making of en-