The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-06-11
RESULT MAY Be
Of GREAT IMPORT
Free Alcohol Bill Will Likely
ReyOlutiOniZe Production
Of Light and Power.
OIL TRUST PROBABLY
WILL BE AFFECTED
Railroad Men and Manufactur,
ers Are Taking Keen In
terest in Problem.
Special to Tho Tribune


Special to Tho Tribune.
WASHINGTON, June 1o.-It having be-
come generally known that the so-callcd
free alcohol law Is assured members OF
Congress are besieged by their constitu-
ents with inquiries as to its workings.
The farmers, who are alike interested
as producers OF the raw material and
consumers OF the finished product, want
to know in just what form the benefit
will como TO them, and many Others who
are looking at the matter from the View
point Of business men, contemplating the
manufacture Of denaturized alcohol, also
want 10 be shown"
VIII Be Great Benefit.
With the tax removed from alcohol, the
question OF supplying manufacturers is
very simple one. as there is wide range
OF prices at which they can use alcohol
TO great advantage. They have been
paying around $40 per gallon for grain
! alcohol. and from 70 cents to S1.oO per
| gallon for wood alcoholic greatly inferior
substitute-hcnce. 30 or even 50-cent alco-
hol means a tremendous benefit to them.
| In view OF this. 1t is altogether likely
| that the regulations will provide for the
| use OF larger percentage OF wood alco
| moi aS a OcDdtOTent IN all aICODOl intend
| ed for manufacturing purposes. az the
question OF increased cost would not DC
| In any wise prohibitve.
For Light, Power and Fuel.
| The question of supplying farmers and
| other consumers OF alcohol'for light. pow
| er and fuel. In competition with gasoline
anS Kerosene, Is very close one, and
| the great work In bringing about this leg
| islation has been to protect the interests
| OF such people
There is nothing in the new law which
| In the slightest degree adds to the cost
| of manufa cturing alcohol. The tax is alb
| made 10 enable the Government to pay
| the entire expense OF administration and
supervision. 1t win cost nothing TO license
a distilery, and 1t viii cost nothing TO
| license denaturiZing warehouse.
Protecting Farmers Interests.
The importance OF protecting the inter-
| estS of the farmers was brought TO the
| attention of the President by Congress
man Marshall Of North Dakota and Con-
| gresham Murdock of Kansas, who fled
| memoranda with him, setting forth what
! would be necessary TO meet the situation.
| The President fell I'm with their Idea most
| heartily, and Commissioner Yerkes is In
complete sympathy with the plan TO pro-
tect the interests of the farmers.
Possibilities Are Great,
The placing OF this new Industrial ma
terial on the market in competition with
gasoline and kerosene is an entirely new
| undertaking. and everything said In rela-
| tlon to 1t Is largely conjecture, although
| IT Is agreed by oil that the possibilities
| sre great. So far as can be ascertainec
| at this time the regulations OF the Com
| missioner Will provide for the licensing
| OF distilleries with daily capacity of lop
| bushels OF grain, or about 2jO gallons OF
| commercial alconol. Under the law and
| the regulations, the small distillery will
be on eli fours with the large one.
Denaturizing Is Easy.
1t is quite possible that the small coun-
| try distilleries could send their grain al
| cohol to q central point TO be denaturizcd
| provided transit rate could be procured
| although II is believed that the denat-
urizing can be done cheaper at the dis
process OF denaturi5ing is very simple,
requiring no complicated machinery, and
consisting merely In the mixing OF wood
gether. with the possible addition of
some other denaturizing material which
wouIu mix readily.
Utah May Receive Benefit.
II would seem that under the working
of the law. that distilleries could be es-
tablshed al numerous points In Utah.
which would easily compete with the big
distilleries OF Illinois and Indiana, as well
as tho molasses dIstllleries of the far
East and the gulf coast as the country
distillery would be In the midst OF the
raw material and the consumers The
cheap food and forage to complete the
rations for the cattle and hogs.
Presents Great Problem.
This much is established very clearly
the law Ia framed in the interest OF the
farmer and 1t is left TO the ingenuity
of furnishing an incxhaustible supply or
materials to light our homes. do our
cooking, run our STATIONARY engines
tor wagons. trucks and automobiles and
eventually warm our houses.
Can Be Made Locally.
Whether alcohol can be made in small
quantities locally Is moro or less profile
matical and remains to be demonstrated
There over GOO farm dlstilleries In
Germany making denaturized alcohol for
fuel, light and power 1t seems certain.
IL tho price is high, alcohol can be made
locally and great benefit will accrue; II
low, the benefit Will come TO our people
as consumers. while possibly 1t may work
benefit to farmers both going and COM
ing 1t seems to be assured fact
that they are bound to catch the benefit
one way or the other
A great deal Will depend upon the reg
ulations governing the amount OF de-
naturizing material. as thie directly af-
fects the cost.
Study Question in Europe.
In order that Congress might have tho
full benefit OF The experiences Of other
the President to send Mr., Yerkes TO Eu-
rope to investigate the workings of tho
law there and the President has con-
sented to do So Accordingly, Commits
sioner YerlSes Will leave about the first
OF July. Commissioner Yerkes' visit
ought to enable us to begin where the
other countries now are, and his report
Will be awaited with much interest
Interesting Statistics.
1t might be interesting to know that
this country last year consumed over
500 GOO OIn gallons of kerosene and over
20o oGOnO0 gallons of gasoline. a total OF
500 900 COO. The demand Is increasing be
yond the supply. During the last Ave
years tho supply OF kerosene increased
3 6-10 per cent. while the price increased
23L, per cent; the supply OF gasoline In
creased 31a per cent and the price In