East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-07-01

Washington, June 30.-After today,
all brands Of nose paint sold within
the confines Of the UAited states must
be correctly labeled In accordance
with rules and specifications promul-
gated by the internal revenue depart
ment. These regulations, which be-
come effective tomorrow, have been
harmonlZed with the provisions OF tho
pure food and drug act, with the re-
suit that dlstlllers and blenders all
over the country are up in arms and
declare that they will appeal to the
courts Cor relief from the obnoxious
ruling.
So far as the trade Is concerned the
most important feature of the ruling
In this connection is the fact that
hereafter labels must appear with
out the addition of any adjective or
descriptive word" This eliminates
rye" and bourbon" which hereto
fore have been used to describe the
kind of whiskey.
"Whlskey' VIII Not Do.
Heretofore all whiskey, whether
blended, artlficially colored or aged or
mixed with other spirits has been
marked "whiskey" on the barrels as
they have been filled and shipped from
the dlstlllerles and places OF rectifica-
ton.
Hereafter what Is known as
straight whiskey," that ls an article
that has been aged by time and not
mixed with other spirits. will be mark
ed "whiskey," and only that. Blended
or compounded whlskey will be mark
ed on the barrel in letters at least one
inch long burned into the barrel,
blended whiskey"
A mixture OF whiskey with alcohol.
provided there is enough potable
spirits to make a real compound, and
not the sembance OF such spirits. with
the distilant with which 1t is mixed.
Alcohol, commercial alcohol or high
wines which have been manipulated by
the aid OF artificial flavors. colors or
extracts or otherwise, so as to resem-
BILE some particular kind of potable
spirits will be marked with the name
of such spirits preceded with the word
Imitation"
Means n Revolution.
What a revolution this will make in
the business Of rectifying or blending
whlskey may be imagined when It is
recalled that most of the whlskey now
sold Is compounded. blended or imi-
tated within the means OF the pure
food act, and that after today none
OF these products can leave the place
OF manufacture without carrying a
mark which will indicate TO the aver
age mind that the spirits are some In
ferlor article.
SO far as the consumer Is concerned
the most important section of the rule
demands the use of the word "imi-
tation" to describe the more or less
poisonous fluids that are passed off as
whiskey by the INSCRIPTIONS. Such
fire water" has a base of alcohol"
still laden with poisons OF distillation,
or even high Wines" the first pro-
ducts of dlstillatlon and unfit for hui
man consumption. Any or all of these
In combination is manipulated by the
aid of artificial flavors colors, extracts
or otherwise to have the appearance,
at least, of recognized beverage.
Every possible effort was made in the
drafting of the pure food and drug
act to suppress these concoctions, and
the effort had the hearty Endorsement
of the trade at large.
Feared Ruling VIII Fail.
As the law itself has utterly failed
to prevent INSCRIPTIONS concerns from
putting these poisons Oh the market
II Is feared that a further ruling by
the internal revenue department will
likewise fail. There is no explicit Ian
guage in the law to regulate the guam
titles of ingredients which shall dis
tnguish a compound" The most
poisonous "mlngling" of "high Wines"
red pepper, burnt sugar and any other
trash. which, in the spirit of the rul-
ing should be designated an ''imita-
tion," may be converted into com
pound" by adding a quart or a pint
even of actual whlskey. The dishon-
est maker may stamp it "whiskey,
compounded with graN distillate' and
put the stuff on the market in defi-
ance of the spirit of the law and to
the disgust of decent distillers and
blenders.
Few laws have ever been more OPEN
ly defied than the pure food and drug
act in its attempt to regulate the
manufacture OF spirits" of whatever
kind, whiskey being only one of them.
Makers of straight" or unblended
whskies have been for generations at
war with blenders, and when the agri-
cultural department began its cru
sade this ancient conflict was carried
to Washington. In the end the VIC
tory lay with the straight whiskey
interests, and was marked by the in
PRODUCTION of the words like sub
stances" as descriptive of blends"
state of ohlo City OF Toledo, Lucas Coun-
ty, So.