The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-30
ON A NEW TACK.
County Attorney and Sheriff
Open War on Malt Sellers.
Prosecuted if Contain Over Two
Per Cent Alcohol.
ARREST DRUGGISTS.
DRUGGISTS.
Officers Already Have Collected
Considerable Evidence.
Samples Now in Hands of
Chemists for Analysis.

In their determination to prevent,
if possible, the sale of spirituous Ii
quors and matted beverages in Tope-
ka and Shawnee county except within
the express provisions of the prohibf-
tory law, J. M. Wilkerson, the sheriff
and J. J. Schenck. the county attor-
ney, have started off on a new tack.
They intend to bring prosecutions
against the druggists in the city who
have been in the habit of selling, in a
promfscuous manner, matted bever-
ages, other than beer, in which there
is more than two per cent of alcohol.
Already, they have secured evidence
to the effect that some druggists have
sold matted beverages that not only
contain more than two per cent of al
cohol, but even greater percentage
| of alcohol than is actually found in
the usual run of beer and it is likely
that prosecutions on this evidence will
be started within a short time.
This latest move on the part of the
county officials will certainly throw
CONSERVATION into the camps of the
druggists, not only those who have
been in the habit of doing a large
business in whisky and beer under the
terms of the prohibitory law by maxi
ing applicants for the stuff swear to
affidavits that they need it for medi-
ctnal purposes but also among those
druggists in the city whose stores are
clasSed as reputable" and who have
never sold a bottle of beer and whose
sales of spirituous liquors have always
been at minimum.
There is hardly a drug store in the
city that does not keep one or more
varieties of malt, malt extracts and
matted beverages on ice for their Gus
toners and they have been in the
habit of selling them to whoever ask
ed for them over their soda water
counters.
Some time ago DR.. S. j. Crumbine,
secretary of the state board of health.
caused analyses to be made of the
component parts Of many of the malts.
malt extracts and other matted bever-
ages which have been sold in this way
by the druggists of the city. The re-
suits of these analyses were made pub
lie at the time and in hardly an in
stance was a malt beverage found
which did not contain more than per
cent of alcohol. In fact the percent
ages of alcohol We're generally above
those that are prevalent in beer. The
percentage of alcohol in beer runs
from about to per cent. Some of
the matted beverages were found to
contain considerably more than per
cent Of alcohol and in a couple of in
stances the percentage was as high as
" and Z.
Now it is against the tenor of the
proh1bitory law to sell matted liquors
having more than 2 per cent of alcohol
unless the same is sold under the pro-
visions of the law which permit drug
gists to sell liquors by making the ap-
plicants sign up for them.
When these analyses were made pub
lie, it is understood, that many of the
druggists, who were wise, took tum-
BILE, and stopped the sale of the matted
beverages which contained these un
usual amounts of alcohol Some of
them did not. Those who did, however,
got other brands of matted beverages
that had not been analysed and placed
them on sale in place of the ones they
had been selling.
And for this reason and none other,
Mr.. Wilkerson and Mr.. Schenck got
busy. They procured some of these new
matted beverages from the druggists
and had them analysed by the state
board Of health's chemists with the re-
suit that they were found to contain a
prohibitory law allows in drinks of this
sort. They also kept tab on the drug
gists who continued to sell the kinds
of malt which had been previously
analysed and the result is that the
prosecutions will follow.
But another and more potent reason
for the activity of the county officials
on this new tack lies in the fact that
after the famous inQuisition by Mr.
Schenck into the methods employed by
the druggists in the purchase and sale
of liquor and beer, Mr.. Schenck made
it known that he intended to break up
if possible the large trade in beer by
many of the druggists.
Some of them, who had been retail
ing beer, one might say by the carload,
banished beer from their stock of goods
and have not sold any of it for a long
time. OF course these druggists had
their clientele of the thirsty and since
they have stopped the sale of beer they
have been doing a rushing business in
the matted beverages which are under
the ban, and most of this stuff has been
drunk on the premises, although a good
deal of it has been carried away as
the beer used to be.
Inasmuch as these matted beverages
contain as much and even more alco-
hol than beer the county officials ar
rived at the conclusion that the drug
gists who had stopped the sale of beer
but really substituted in it's place the
matted beverages, had really not acted
in what might be termed good faith.
So the county officials, as stated, have
had the matted beverages, not already
looked into, analyzed and have in their
possession evidence against druggists
on which they propose to proceed
1t is likely that prosecutions of this
have been instituted in the entire state
since the prohibitory law has been in
force.
General Rain in Western Kansas
Tribune. Kan, Oct. 30.-The long dry
spell in western Kansas has been
broken by a general rain. 1t has been
raining for twelve hours in Groolav