The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-10-13
DENATURED ALCOHOL.
Medical Statement of What 1t Is and
What It's Uses Are.


What It's Uses Are.
What is denatured alcohol? Frequent
references to it are seen in the daily
papers and magazines, but few know
very much about it. Everyone knows
what ordinary alcohol is. 1t is also
called grain or ethyl alcohol
Most governments derive a large rev.
enue from the sale of ordinary alcohol,
and its retail price is very high; yet the
cost of manufacture is small. In the
United States it sells for about $40 a
gallon. 1t can be made from corn for
less than 20 cents gallon. The differ.
ence between cost and selling price rep
resents the internal revenue tax and the
profit of the wholesale dealer and mid
dlemen.
Apart from its use in making whisky
and other beverages, grain alcohol is a
most useful liquid, and in most coun-
tries is widely employed for industrial
purposes las a fuel, in hat and whip fac
tories, in making varnishes, for clean
ing metals, paint, woodwork, in color,
chemical and dye works, etc. That grain
alcohol may be sold as chesply as pos
sible for domestic and other purposes,
most countries have an untaxed grain
alcohol, mixed with wood spirit, benzine
or other agents that render it unfit for
drinking purposes, and yet permit OF its
use in the various industries. This is
denatured alcohol, a specially prepared
grain alcohol selling for about soc a
gallon; cheap because untaxed. Before
the introduction of denatured alcohol,
people had to choose between paying
$40 a gallon for domestic alcohol, or
using the poisonous, vile-smelling wood
tmethyll alcohol; or they could use the
equally poisonous "deodorized" form,
which sells at about the same price as
denatured alcohol
About 1890 a comparatively cheap
method of "deodorizing'' the ill-smelling
and vile-tasting wood alcohol was dis
covered, and under various names. such
as Columbian Spirits" Purified Wood
Alcohol" Colonial Spirits" STANDARD
Wood Spirits" Cologne Spirits" "Union
Spirits" Eagle Spirits Green Wood
Spirits" etc, this violent poison was put
on sale. 1t was widely and shewdly adj
claimed for it, the chief being
that it was cheap and COM
paratively harmless substitute for
ordinary ethyl or grain alcohol. 1t could
be used instead of grain alcohol in max
ing varnishes, liniments, tinetures, hair
dyes, etc, and as fuel in lamps and
stoves. At first its poisonous character
was denied in toto. This led to its use
in the manufacture of Jamaica ginger,
essence of lemon, liniments, alcohol ex-
tracts. cheap whisky and proprietary
remedies"
Soon stories OF sudden death as well
as of total and incurable blindness fol-
lowing the use OF this horrible poison
began to appear. 1t was not until a
wholesale drug firm in Baltimore had
been mulcted in heavy damages for us
ing "deodorized" wood spirits as sub
stitute for the four times as-expensiye
grain alcohol in the manufacture Of
Jamaica ginger that the trade began to
sit up and take notice"
Later, examples of wholesale poison
ing began to be reported. Parties of all
classes of workmen, picnickers,
bar-room habitues, Indians, etc.--in-
dulging in cheap whisky and its sub
stitutes died or became blind. Still later,
it was found that unfortunate painters,
especially shellackers of beer-vats, work
ing in confined and unyentilated places,
were stricken with blindness, and on in
vestigation it was proved that the be-
fouled, rebreathed and methylated at
mosphere was responsible for the re-
suit. About the time twenty persons
We're poisoned in Kentucky, an equal
number of wood alcohol victims were,
within twenty-four hours, killed and
blinded in Dorpat, Russia. As result
of these accidents" agitation against
the unrestrained sale of this poison was
begun.
Denatured alcohol is as cheap or
cheaper than Columbian spirits or any
other kind of "deodorized' wood ALEC.
hol and can be bought at drug stores
wherever the "deodorized" poisons are
on sale. There is no longer any excuse
for the sale of "deodorized" wood spirits.
Its purpose that "denatured" alcohol
Its manufacture should be prohibited by
law. II serves no purpose that "denat-
nradr aI,nbnt will not rar,., 4, IA, -,