New-York tribune., 1906-11-25
POPULAR ALCOHOL.
DENATURED SPIRITS.
Big DistiIleries WW Enjoy No
Special 4dUantage.
rFrom The Tribune Bureau. ]

Washington. Nov 24-Farmers who hoped to
make fortunes out If the manufacture OF de-
natured alcohol from the waste products of orchard
and corufed not the only ones to be dtsap-
pointed with the prospects Of the laws operation.
temperance advocates who have recently called
az the Office OF the internal revenue bureau are
even more bitterly chagrined to learn that In all
probability the percentage of drunkennss and OF
liquor consumption will not be in the least dimin-
ished. in spite of the that many millions Of
gallons of alcohol will be put out of business
a beverage.
A prominent member Of the woman's Christian
Temperance Union who called the Office of the
Internal Revenue Commissioner two or three days
ago. expressed her intense qualification the
fact that the denaured alcohol law was TO go into
effect on the first OF the year ut would have been
a blessing" she exclaimed TO Assistant Commits
sioner Williams. 'if the law could have been made
! operative as it was passed Think now
many drunkards might have been reclaimed Think
how mIny families would be enjoying the
comforts that they have lost account OF the
men folks squandering their wages rum"
/ What would the enactment Of the denatured
alcohol law have had to do with that2' asked Mr..
! Williams
| "Everythngr' exclaimed the enthusiastic woman.
Every gallon of that wretohed alcohol to be de-
natured would, OF course, mean just so much
taken away from the tipplers and topers OF the
country But I thankful that It has come
| to pass though it is little late
Il afraid that you sadly mistaken, said
Mr. Williams. 1.-The alcohol that is to be denatured
will have effect whatsver upon the traffic In
potable spirits. No matter how many million gal
Ions they make for commercial uses, It will have
no decreasing effect on the amount Of whiskey
that is sold the bars Of the United States
Mr.. Williams then explained to his visitor that the
denatured alcohol bill passed for the purpose Of
aiding manufacturers in securing cheaper alcohol
for use power or in the preparation of their
products for the market and assist the farmers
of the country to sell much produce which IS
now either thrown away or fetches little or
nothing the country store There was no In
teation whatever he said to curtail the present
supply of whskey and spirits. Even if all the
alcohol that is to be denatured under the new
law was TO be deducted from the present supply
on hand in the bonded warehouses Of the coun-
try the distilleries would replace. the quantity
drawn of inside OF a week and not single saloon
In the country would feel the loss Even IL all the
dlsteries IN the United States were burned to
the ground tomorrow, Mr. Williams added, the
supply of whiskey and all other Jag producers
would De forthcoming to meet the demand
This shatterng of her Ideals regarding the de-
natured alcohol bill was matter OF sore regret
to the representative Of the Womans Chfstlan
Temperance Union and she left the Treasury
building with a much poorer opinion OF the makers
of laws than she had held when she called at MT
W1Itams's office.
In spite of the fact that the Internal Revenue
Bureau is still being fairly swamped with corre-
spoudence regarding the new law and its various
angles" the officials of the department are sun
much in the dark as its probable effects. Ihey
cannot even venture guess as TO the nunloer OF
distuers that will make denatured a1coho! me
intending manufacturers have not as YET announced
10 the Commissioner whether they VIII engage 10
the husness on a large or q small scale. No one
at the bureau can estimate the number or concerns
that will go into the business, and until some time
after the first of the year. when returns from the
various internal districts begin to come In
any estimate upon the quantity of the product that
will be made or where that product will be pro-
duced would be the sheerest guessWork. Inc IN
ternal Revenue Bureau and the Agricultural De-
partrnent continue issue bulletins from time 20
time that explain IN greater detail the features or
| the denatured alcohol law and the possibilities
opening I'D before the maker and the user Two OF
the latest are from the pen of DR.. II. w Wiley
chief Of the bureau of chemistry OF the Agricut-
ural Department and are entitled Industrial Al
cohol: Sources and Manufacture, and Industrial
Alcohol: Uses and Statistics In the first DR.
Wiley discusses the making Of alcohol from the
products Of the American farm. In summing up
after going over the whole ground the author says
The manufacture OF alcohol on very small scale
is not likely prove profitable. Experience has
shown that attempts to Manufacture sugar and
other substances Of similar character on small
scale cannot compete with similar manufacturing
industries on a large scale. II VII not oe
practicable for the farmer TO operate sun on a
small scale under present co4dtitlons. It is
ducng the raw materials ana fnat ne cannot look
forward TO becoming practical dlst1!ler
Industrial alcohol free Of tax have probably been
viii accrue is not subject Of doubt. These bene
| fits will come not suddenly. but slowly agri-
| cultural products are abundant, technical
{ methods OF manufacture improve and the methods
Of utilizing the Industrial alcohol better under
stood. our people should not. however, be dis
| appointed should many years eapse before the
magnitude of the product used for industrial pur-
poses reaches the figure already attained by Ger
| many and of the other European nations
OF the materials which can be utilized for
the manufacture of alcohol, Indian corn Is by far
the most abundant and the most promising source
at the present time The average price Of potatoes
must be very much decreased before material
of this kind come into competition with Judian
| corn as a Of alcohol. Promising sources
| which are not utilized for the nanufaC CtIre of
| alcohol IN this country the potato. the sweet
| potato the yam, sorghum, mOlasses from the
! sugar and beet sugar factories and the Indian
| corn stalk Waste materials of other manufactur-
ing industries. such those related to fruits aud
| Vegetables may incidentally be utilized for manu-
featuring purposes but could not of themselves be
| come independent of profitable industrial
| alcohol.
Internal Revenue Commissioner Yerkes has just
| received a letter from in New York who
| is greatly interested in the subject OF denatured
| alcohol. who frankly states that, in his opinion
| the law will operate mainly for the benefit of
| the Whiskey Trust or the big distillers, who al
/ ready have their plants established and VINO will
! thus be able TO crush out all competition from the