Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-09-08
Prohibitive Clause to Con- serve Grains Becomes Elf
 fective At II P. M.
LARGE STOCKS ARE
 IN WAREHOUSES;
Few Men Will Be Thrown Out Of Employment As DistillerieS Will Continue to Prnduce Alcohol
 For Commercial Purposes.

Washington, Sept. 7.-Manufacture whiskey will cease throughout the na- tion at Il o'clock tonight when the prohibitive clause of the food con trol act becomes effective.
 Millions of bushels of grain which would otherwise be ground up for whiskey will thus be released for food. How many millions, no one knows, for the manufacture of alcO- hol for beverage purposes is so close hol for industrial anl medicinal pur- poses that there is no way of deter mining the exact amount.
 Of the 100,000,00O bushels of grain, or thereabouts, which goes into the 'distilleries each year, about forty per cent, experts estimate, comes out ill the form of whiskey and other dis titled beverage drinks. The remain der, made into alcohol of exactly the same characteristics as that used for whiskey, eventually finds it's way into perfumes, toilet waters bay dunn, medicines and into industries where
 
 increasing quantities.
 Approximately 116,000,0a0 gallons of whiskey is produced each year by American distilleries. Production of alcohol by the same distilleries for commercial and medicinal uses other than beverages 146,000,000 gallons. The manufacture of alcohol for the latter purposes will continue as us ual, probably in greater volume, and few of the larger distilleries, if any, will have to shut down.
 The class of distilleries which will be put out of business is composed almost wholly of small plants operat- ed by from one man to half a dozen men located in California. Ohio, and New Jersey and producing brandy from grapes, apples and peaches. These produce approximately 2,000,000 gallons year. Those California plants, it is thought. will continue to operate, in part, for the manufacture of spirits for fortifying sweet wine.
 Few Producing Whiskey.
 So far as officials can learn, there are few distilleries in the United States with the exception of the fruit brandy plants, producing whiskey at the present time. Summer is the off season for whiskey production, which is confined almost wholly to the win ter months, the early spring and the late fall. The cessation of active .whiskey production, therefore, at this season of the year, is largely theoret- ical, but the operation of the law will prevent the manufacture ot whiskey at the time it usually starts on a large scale, the latter part of Sep tember.
 Stopping whiskey manufacture, in stead of curtailing the governments $ revenues. will increase them for the next two years, officials believe. Coup led with the operation of the pending revenue bill, the withdrawal of whis key from the stock already accumulat ed will probably treble the revenues within the next twelve months, as the present law imposes g tax of $3,20 a gallon. A stock of approximately 230. 000,000 gallons has accumulated in the bonded warehouses and on the shelves of wholesale and retail liquor dealers. Approximately 190,00O,00 gal Ions are in warehouses and upon that quantity the government Will collect taxes as it is withdrawn.
 Few men will be thrown out o1 work by the operation of the law Distilleries now running will con tinue to produce alcohol for com mercial purposes with little change in their forces. Upon this class of alec hol with the exception of alcohol for denaturization, the revenue bill would impose tax of $2.20, doub ling the present income from this source.
 There are approximately 700 distil leries in the country, of which more than half are small fruit brandy plants. The amount of capital invest ed ir the latter class is not great in the aggregate. The capital invested in the big producing plants mounts high into the millions. Officials here be wiped out by the greatly higher prices distillers will obtain. for their pro duct already manufactured. In the opinion of some officials whiskey will } be selling for $15 a gallon within twelve months, affording distillers enormous profits which will more than compensate for the loss of capi tai invested in plants.
 At the same time the plants will continue to operate on an approx innate sixty per cent production ba sis, making commercial alcohol. A tremendous growth in the use of com mercial alcohol is anticipated which in time may. result in the demand for a quantity of alcohol at least as large as the present output for all pur poses.
 RAILROADS KILL 1O,O01.
 Washington. Sept. 6.-Ten thou