The Glenwood post. (Glenwood Springs, Colo.) 1897-current, 1906-05-19
SATURDAY. MAY 10. 1906.
To REMOVE TAX FROM ALCOHOL


will act on the suggestion of Secretary
Wilson and remove the internal rev.
enue tax on denaturized alcohol. 1t
is commended by the secretary, and in
this contention he is upheld by Prof.
H. W. Wiley, chief of the govern
ment bureau of chemistry, that if the
unsaleable corn, apples. potatoes and
sugar beets were utilized in the manu-
light and furnish power for our whole
country.
The potato will be our chief source
of this undrinkable commercial alco-
hol. The average acre of potatoes
300 bushels produce 255 gallons
of such fuel for running automobiles,
farm motors and other engines for
heating, cooking and lighting. A
bushel of potatoes will produce 49,
1OOths gallon of alcohol. We raise
potatoes almost exclusively for human
food and we plant only those varieties
which have the finest flavor for the
table, independent of their yield per
acre. But there are potatoes yielding
many more bushels per acre than those
esteemed for food. They are such as
are grown for cattle food in parts of
the old world, where corn is scarce.
Secretary of Agriculture Wilson esti-
mates that there would be no difficulty
in obtaining 500 gallons of alcohol per
acre from such variety.
An acre of corn-fifty bushels-w will
furnish 1870 gallons of absolute alcohol
bushel of corn, two and four ffths
gallons. An acre of potatoes thus
produces much more alcohol than an
acre of corn, when only the grain OF
the latter is taken into consideration.
But corn stalks if harvested before
they dry out contain large quantities
Of sugar and starch enough to pro
duce 100 gallons of commercial alcohol
per acre, according to the estimate of
Secretary Wilson. In 100, 900, 900
acres of Indian corn the making of
10000, 600, 900 gallons of this alcohol,
therefore, goes to waste annually.
Secretary Wilson predicts that the
time is coming when we will utilize
this immense source of energy.
According to Dr. Wiley, the fer
mentable material in the stalks could
be removed by the presses now used
to extract the juices of sugar cane.
And speaking Of commercial alcohol
from corn, it might be of interest
to add a statement from DR..
Wiley, that twenty times as much
power can be obtained by burning the
alcohol in the corn than by burning
the corn itself-as has been done in
the west in times of coal famine 1t
is also estimated that the value of
the by products of corn after the in
dustr1al alcohol is extracted will pay
the cost of distillation.
An acre of sugar beets will produce
224 gallons of alcohol, DR.. Wiley saws.
Our vast irrigation projects in the
west and southwest are watering lands
which will soon produce sugar beets
more profitably, perhaps, than any
other crops, and the molasses from
these crops can readily be turned into
alcohol A waste product Of the cane
sugar mill, known as "base molas.
$685." would be another availa Bile
source OF our commercial alcohol sup
ply. Millions of gallons of this pro.
duced in all of the Central and South
American countries and the West In
dies are now largely burned, fed to
animals or destroyed, although por-
tion is dumped on our shores at almost
any price above freight.
1t Is claimed that power can be fur
nished SO much cheaper from this
source than from gasoline or coal oil
and that in case Of the removal of the
tariff the new power will be adapted
to automobiles, railway trains and