River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1917-07-12
Washington Letter
(By James A. Frear, NJ. Co.

It's eftoctS IMAM any Dill ever D01OIo
presented to Congress. [ h bill
covers many pages on ari o u
branches of the subject and its ne
cessity as a war measure has been
justified already in the marked fall
ing off of food and fuel prices. One
phase of the bill caused considerable
debate in the Senate where the
measure has been pending during
the past two weeks. When passed
by the House the bill prohibited the
use of grains and other food pro-
ducts in the manufacture of lntOxl-
cants and the President was en-
powered under the law to take over
all distilled liquors now in bond, to
be used for Government purposes.
Many other food and fuel provisions
are contained in the bill which final
ly passed the House with only five
negative votes.
Several amendments have been
added to the bill in the Senate and
in view Of the Presidents urgent
message for speed, some changes
will probably be agreed to when the
bill reaches conference between the
two Houses. The Senate will prob
ably accept the prohibition of manu-
facture Of distilled liquors including
whiskey and strong alcoholic liquors
and also the House provision where
by bonded whiskey reaching several
million barrels, may be taken over
by the Government and rectifed for
alcohol which will be used for mu-
nitions, fuel, and other government
al purposes. This provision Of the
law will reach all distilled liquors
now on hand and also prevent their
future manufacture. A S e n t e
amendment is expected to leave to
the President the right to prohibit
the manufacture of beer and wines.
One argument urged was to the eff
feet that distilled spirits consume
large amount of food products
whereas wine and beer result in
comparatively small waste.
In a speech Representative Meek
er of Missouri, appearing in the
Congressional Record of July End,
official statements are cited from the
international Revenue Department
appearing on pages 5046-5052, where
in whiskey, rum and absinthe are
shown to contain about fifty per
cent alcohol with other liquors ana
lied to lesser amount down to
beer which is rated at 5 per cent al
cohol. In the same tables over 700
patent medicines are listed by name
and the Government analysis of al
cohol shows that f o u different
makes of Jamaica Ginger contain
over 80 per cent alcohol, or nearly
double that found in whiskey and
rum. According to official tables
cited by Meeker and shown in the
Record, Peruna averages Is p e r
cent alcohol, the old family remedy
Of Hostetter's b t t e r S reaches rs
per cent alcohol, celery bitters So
per cent alcohol, while liquor that
usually bears a heavy responsibility
in the public mind-champaigne-is
rated at 134 per cent alcohol or
about one-seventh the quantity that
is found in several popular brands
of patent medicines labelled ia
maica Ginger"
Meeker contended that the law
should be so framed as to reach all
patent medicines containing alcohol
and efforts to include such remedies
have been undertaken. Inc growth
of temperance sentiment n t h
country has been evidenced in Cong
ress in many ways, including the
passage of ''bone dry legislation
for the District of Columbia after
November, l, 1917, and in laws pre-
venting advertising or shipment of
liquor into dry states.
Total internal revenue collections
of the Government in 1912 in round
numbers reached 1921, 100000. The
returns for the fiscal year 1917 just
published by. the Treasury Depart
ment show an increase of nearly
S500,000,O00 and are $O9,000,000 in
round numbers. This increase has