The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-06-08
ALCOHOL IS USED
 IN MAKING SILK French Company Combines it
 With Cotton CHEAP LIGHT AND FUEL Corn VIII Probably Prove to Be the Most Satisfactory Material In the United States for the Manu-
 facture of Alcohol.
CHEAP LIGHT AND FUEL
BY PATTERSON srEALEY.

Washington, June 7-(Special. )-Few measures which have been pending in Congress during recent years have at tracted more attention or received more unanimous support from the farmers throughout the country than the proposi- tion for tax-free denaturzed alcohol. The measure has passed the House and Sen ate and has received the signature of the President. It is confidently expected that it will be of the greatest benefit to all classes as its cheap price will be able to supplant gasoline and kerosene In the production of power and light. and great good would correspondingly result, es- pecially to the farmers of the United States.
 denaturized alcohol bill has been pending before Congress for many years, but until the present Congress its pass age seemed securely blocked. The Stand ard oil company opposed it, and so the s. o. c. Is a power in Senate legisla- ton the alcohol bill was as regularly pigeon-holed in committee as 1t was in- troduced This year the demand for it's passage could not be resisted. and. &C., COr0ln2 to tIh leTllS ol tHt Dlll tdA-Iltt alcohol so constituted under government supervision as to make it wholly unfit for drinking purposes will be allowed on next January 1.
 Used to Make Silk.
 The decided cheapening in price of all cohol will rebound to the benefit of cot ton manufacturers in no small degree. Senator Overman of North Carolina said today that he had received a letter con tainlng a bundle of artificial silk manu- factured In France out of our raw cot ton by a treatment of alcohol An exam nation of the samples shows that they cannot be told from real silk unless in- deed the examiner is an expert. The sen- ator added that a perusal of the letter would be interesting. and an extract from it Is as follows:
 This company with capital of $950,0 has been formed for the purpose of estab- fishing a plant in the United States for manufacturing artificial silk like the sam- ples I send you. provided Legislation Is enacted by Congress under which grain or ethyl alcohol may be used free Of tax. Our factory will give employment to at least 1000 or i5GO hands, and will turn out about 4OOo pounds of silk a day. Artificial silk is made of raw cotton treated in a certain way by alcohol. therefore large quantities of both cotton and alcohol would be used By us. As an indication of our requirements. may say that about one and one-half gallons of alcohol go to A pound of silk; thus our consumption of alcohol would be 5000 gallons day. With free alcohol in our industry we would he abIe to produce the silk at price that would bring 1t within the purchasing pow CT of thousands of people who cannot at present afford It's use. In time there would be an annual production ana consumption in this country of several million pounds. Resides such markets as Japan and China could be supplied from here instead of their having to get the finished product from Europe. as Is now the case
 Senator Overman says that he is in- formed that billiard balls and celluloid goods of all kinds are made in Europe out of raw cotton by means of similar treatment.
 Alcohol for Light.
 The bulk of free denatured alcohol in Germany is used for the purpose of light, fuel and heat. A lamp is now made with a welsbach mantle which produces a very strong, steady and high grade light by the use of alcohol. Tests show that 8 gallon of alcohol will keep the alcohol lamp burning twice as many hours as would a gallon of kerosene. In other words one gallon of alcohol Is equal to two gallons of kerosene for lighting pur- poses. As the price of tax free alcohol is less than double the price of kerosene. its use. especially on the farms and In