The Washington herald., 1913-05-11
Mammoth Game Against Public.

The census OF 1900 declared that most Of
the distilled spirits consumed by the Amer
leah people passed through the hands Of these
"rectifiers and consisted mainly Of neutral
spirits and drugs sold under the name Of
whisky.
Nor do the foodgates for this bogus whisky
open into the brothel the den. and the cheap
saloon. 1t Is . mammoth game that the
blenders" or rectifers," are playing
against the public.
The exclusive clubs the fine hotels the
household Of the bon vivant and the invalid.
are invaded under disguise. The promoters
of these bogus WHISTLES have made their
brands familiar names to you and TO me.
With their boundless margin Of profit they
spend liberal fortunes in f1ambeaux that
ilumine the night
Colossal electric signs emblazon their
brands In the public thoroughfare. They
send us the cleverest statesmen Their evil
dence Of enterprise appeals to the magma
ton An air of opulence and prosperity COW
ersup the putridness Of the fraud and d.sarms
suspicion in high places
Prior to the revenue raising period Of the
civil war. before the urgent need Of federal
finance conferred upon the rectif1er the anon
alous prerogative to counterfeit whisky, all
brands OF whisky came from an actual whis-
ky d!stillery. Goods were sold according TO
their true age and maturity This genuine
whisky has always had a distinctive charac-
ter both when II leaves the still. new and
white in color. and again after It has aged in
q charred oak barrel and acquired an indica-
tive color varying from a light straw shade
In the early states Of maturation until. later
along, 1t deepens to a reddish brown. Now
this color became an index OF age.
Pretends to Have Distil1ery.
II you go to a real distillery you are i'm
pressed by the character and color Of this
bona fide whisky as II rests in its pure state
behind the locks and bars OF government
bonded warehouse
The making Of this real whisky-intended
TO go on the market on it's own MERITS
expensive to begin with: but to this cost must
be added those which accrue as the years
go by in which the whisky is acquiring age.
Evaporation. leakage. insurance and ware
house attendance make the profits Of the dis
tiller OF this genuine article still more con-
stricted and thus when II Is ready for the
'consumer 1t is a commodity rendered rigid In
price by the costs which cannot be evaded
Now. that's Just the point that struck the
" rectif1er." With one finger on section 3.244
OF the federal statutes. which licensed him
to initiate ," this whisky he began to figure
he could save all these costs by the trick Of
making whisky" without any distilIery
at all and making II ten years old " while you
wait" But above all-and here's point Of
particular fnterest-he decided to pretend
that he did have a distillery and that the
imitation whisky was the real article or
mixture Of two real WHISTLES and that 1t. too,
was rendered rigid in cost and therefore
rigid in price, and he actually charged and
today often charges, more for his bogus whis-
ky than the real distiiler charges for the
genuine.
The wide margin Of profit in this golden
game OF imitation. therefore goes to the
rectiher " himself, and had not congress
passed the bottling in bond law in 1897 genu-
Inc whisky proper would have been practical
ly exterminated as plain economic propo-
siti6n. There are close to $50 700 900 gallons
Of genuine whisky maturing in the govern
ment bonded warehouses on the premises Of
a round thousand Of real bona fde distilleries
scattered abort the United States.
4
High Quality Grain Needed.
This real whisky. Of course ranges largely
from the ordinary brands to the ultra high
grade article. Even In genuine WHISTLES the
perfect types will always remain distinct
from those carelessly made whistles whose
aim IL quantity and whose objective u mere
chaffering for cheapness The growth Of the
inner bourbons OF Kentucky represents long
MI1IIRl ~.