East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-06-15
DENATURED ALCOHOL.
Report of Committee Shows Its Vast
Uses.

Seldom has there been before con-
gress a bill OF the importance of that
which calls for tax-free denatured al
cohol, which phrase means in palmer
English, alcohol which has been so
treated as TO convert it into liquid,
useful, but poisonous, and not to be
taken into the human system.
AS the grain and fruit alcohol, or,
as it is called, ethyl alcohol, can be
produced very cheaply, IL 1t could be
so treated as to allow 1t to escape the
spirit tax, ii could become a most val
liable article of commerce, to be used
in hundreds OF kinds of manufactures,
besides being a cheap commodity
which will be of infinite service in
| generating power, light and heat.
Reporting TO congress from the
ways and means committee, Mr..
| Payne, chairman of the committee,
says:
THE bulk of free denatured alco-
hol in Germany is used for the pur-
pose of light, fuel and heat. lamp
| is now made with Welsbach mantle
which produces a very strong, steady
and high grade light by the use Of al
cohol.
Experiments have been made test
ing this lamp with the most improved
| pattern kerosene lamps with roun
| wicks and OF equal candlepower; il
was found that a gallon of alcohol
would keep the alcohol lamp burning
| twice as many hours as would gal
| Ion OF kerosene burning in the most
! approved pattern OF kerosene lamr
! which is in general use. In other
words, one gallon of alcohol is equa
to two gallons OF kerosene for lighting
| purposes. Hence, it follows If the
| price of alcohol methylated is less
| than double the price of kerosene /.
use. especially on the farms and in the
villages of :h~ country, would become
| enormous
During the past few months eX-
| perimcnts have been made in adapt
| ing gasoline power engines TO the use
of alcohol This has been success
fully done in Germany for several
years, though there they generally
mix % per cent OF gasoline with the
alcohol to obtain a more ready igni-
! JlOn bI llt Ilulu, WHICH Is IbICtu lllb'
the cylinder of the engine in the form
of vapor. Experiments in this coun-
try have developed the fact that alco-
hol can be used just as readily as this
mixture with gasoline or the gasoline
itself, and the operation of the engine
with its use is perfect. The use OF
small motor engines running with
gasoline has become very large. Ir
| the estimate before the committee II
would appear that 100000 of these
engines were now in use and that the
annual output is more than 100000.
millions of gallons of molasses
from which one-half as many gallons
OF alcohol could be made, are pro.
duced in the manufacture of beet
sugar. Should the beet sugar develop
as its friends anticipate, a large sup
ply OF this material would be found II
the northwestern states, where the
price of kerosene and gasoline is ex'
ceptionally high.
"Unquestionably this would suppl!
market for the by-product in tn,
manufacture OF beet sugar which gen
orally goes to waste and would prov,
potent factor in the development o
that industry. This belief is shared
by the great mass OF our fellow citi
zens from all parts of the United
States, and the demand for tax-fre,
denatured alcohol is well nigh uni
versal"