Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-07-06
Denatured Alcohol.

OuCIo Cdm II uO" DlCpS1AA0S w
engage in the free and unlimited
coinage of alcohol. In plain prose
the United States will IN the not too
distant future pass upon alcohol
manufactured by any citizen and
admit it to the market free OF tax
alton. The only requirement Will
he that the output must be doctored
with some ingredient which renders
# utterly and irretrievably unfit for
medical or beverage use. This doc
toring process is called denaturlng.
Thus we nave denatured alcChol
which chemists call commercial or
industrial alcohol. The other kind
Is inst plair alcohol used In the
manufacture OF intoxicants. We
have not heard Of any Grant county
farmers putting in an alcohol still
though rumOrs have been a float OF
the proiect being under discussion
over about Boscobel and in Fennl-
more vicinity. The last congress
Dassed a free alcohol bill and later
amended it and now it Is practically
undergoing q period OF seasoning.
Sometime next year the internal
revenue department figures on hav-
mo ALI the details worked out SO any
body so desiring can erect still and
-urn all sorts Of garbage into COM
merc,al alcohol. That that day
would be the birthday OF new and
glorious era for American industries
was the expressed opinion OF many
persons who supported the measure
when It was before congress and
who nave looked forward with high
authorization TO its going into effect
Some men grew so enthusiastic over
the prospect OF untaxed alcohol that
they dreamed of a national utoplo.
They foretoId all sorts OF marvellous
ameliorations to result from the
abolition of the tax The poor man
was to become independent. Inc
Standard Oil trust was to be smash
ed 70 smithereens. The octopus
was to be severed of several OF its
most wriggIing legs and rendered a
eripDIe for life. Particularly was
the small farmer to benefit-even to
the attainment of opulence and a
town house on Easy avenue.
az
IT appears now that a large degree
of extravaganza entered into these
predictions. Conservative opinions
Of experts ike DR.. Wiley-chlet or
the national bureau Of chemistry
do not justify any such serene and
snowy attitudes of hope. Yet the
outlook is very promising, even rosy.
The taxIess alcohol age IN this
country has just begun. In what
ways and to what degrees 1t will
benefit the people must IN a large
measure be left to the slow results
Of time. Rome required more than
one day in building. The benign
effects of the free coinage of alcohol
may require several years before
making very great showing All
the authorities seem to agree that
The removal of the tax will have a
highly beneficial effect upon the
development of many American in
dustr1es. 1t would appear that this
benefit is to be distributed pretty
generally throughout the nation.
Farmers will come in for large
share. AS they produce all of the
raw material from which alcohol is
made they deserve considerable
slice of the cake.
SSS
Heretofore the government has
collected an internal revenue tax OF
two dollars and seven cents gallon
on alcohol. This made its use for
purposes of light and heat and pow
or practically prohibitive and very
greatly limited its employment In
the arts and industries to which al.
cohol is naturally adapted. Engines
and stoves and lamps by the million
have had to burn Standard oil prod
ucts-either gasoline or kerosene
thus helping to fatten the octopus
which almost everybody hates and
fears. Alcohol minus the tax could
be used to much greater advantage
and with much greater advantage
and with very much less danger
As q consequence of this high tax
comparatively little alcohol was
manufactured in the United States
Immense quantities of material tOl
IFS manufacture went to waste
Four years ago Kansas elected q
young newspaper man to congress
from the old district of Jerry Simp
son. Being red headed he ran Oh
the platform that redheaded mer
are needed in congress. This young
man-Victor Murdoch was born and