Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-04-26
BOUND IN RED TAPE
Is the Law Favoring the Manu-
facture and Sale of the De-
natured Product.
AfFLAT FAILURE UP TO DATE
Senator Hansbrough Working Hard -
Relieve Pressure But Rules and
Regulations Interfere.

Senator Hansbrough of North Dako-
Ia, author of the denatured alcohol law.
is taking advantage of every opportu-
nifty to impress on the president the
Importance of having the treasury de-
partment exercise good judgment in the
of rules and regulations
for the manufacture and sale of the new
fuel under the law as amended AT the
recent session of congress. The act
does not go into effect before next Sep
TENDER. 1t is designed to encourage
the manufacture of the fuel by farmers.
who, il is expected. will club together
and engage i'll making denatured alco
hol in much the same way they now CO.
operate in many sections TO conduct
creameries.
The original law for the manufacture
Of denatured alcohol. passed nearly a
year ago, is Il fat failure. writes a
Washington correspondent of the Chi
Cago Evening Post 1t developed be
fore it was put into effect that the leg
islatiOn was so wOrded as to make it
impossible for anybody outside the
whisky trust to engage i'll the making
of the fuel The treasury department
added to the useleSSneSS of the legisla
ton by adopting rules and regulations
which make it next to impossible for
dealers to handle the commodity after
the whisky trust has made ii.
The internal revenue officer seems to
fear that some one may convert gal
lon of the denatured article back into
the state in which il existed before it
was denatured and use it for drinking.
This. of course, would be a violation of
the laws. and the internal revenue bu-
re2u has taken pains TO throw restric-
tons about the sale of the fuel.
Up to this time only small quantities
of the denatured product have been
on the market. and If there has been
any demand for il ii is because il is
Il novelty. The price demanded by
dealers in different parts of the couu
try is eXtortionate.
Il saw the sign penatured Alcohol
For Sale over drug store front here
in Washington the other day said
Senator HansbrOugh, and | asked
how much it was Il pint. The proprie-
tor answered 20 cents. or Sl.6O 4 gal
Ion. That is outrageous. Twenty or %
cents gallon would be n fair price.
| am told that dealers all over the
country have been asking from 10 TO
% cents pint for the fuel, and there
has been some demand for 1t at this
rate simply because it is n novelty"
Remove All Restrictions.
The North Dakota senator wishes
the president to see to 1t that when
the amended law goes into effect all
unnecessary restrictions are removed.
If denatured alcohol is ever to come
into general use" said he. lit must be
as free from surveillance after it
passes into the hands of the dealers
as is gasoline. There is no more rea-
son why its sale should be hedged
about by red tape than there is for
putting gasoline under guard. do not
know that the internal revenue depart
ment is preparing to continue the sur
VIGILANCE, but | wish to make sure If
l can that the fuel has fair show
with gasoline. If every. man who
| makes ii and every man who sells It
IS to be under suspicion all the time it
will never come into general use"
rs it easy to convert denatured al
cOhol back into the natural state and
use it for drinking
1T is not easy, but it can be done.
do not believe anybody will try &c con,