Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-08-10
BUTTER MILK
DRINKS ARE
POSSIBILITY
SAYS EXPERT.
Eating Flour Will Also Pro-
duCe Desired Result in
Most Arid Region of
Prohibition.

Westheld, Mass, Aug, 9-Most
foods contain alcohol, and if man
could distend his interior worker so
that he could eat several barrels of
-four, he could get fine satisfying
jag in the most arid area in this
prohibition republic, according to
Prof Lewis B. Allyn, a resident Of
this place. ~~
Ofcourse, Professor Allyn touches
his expressions in professorish
phraseology-but that is his exact
meaning Hear him:
Alcohol in Foods.
Wherever there is sugar or
starch. and there are few articles of
food in which one or the other is
not present, alcohol is almost GER
tainty," said Professor Allyn.
"The slightest fermentation pro-
duces alcohol. There is trace of it
in bfead-not enough to intoxicate
unless one were capable of eating
the equivalent of several barrels of
-four at single meal, but still dis
tinct trace" The blue eyes of the
noted food expert twinkled as he
added: GAS for total abstinence,
there amt no such animal 1t is
practically physical impossibility.'
Professor Allyn holds no brief for
the brewers. nor does he imbibe in
ordinary intoxicants. He has as
lively repugnance as any man for
the evils existing from alcoholism,
and has even gone so far as to ex
pose the sale of liquors manufac
tured without grain and containing
poisonous matter.
Prohibition Won't Prohibit.
But, viewing the subject as
scientist and with the knowledge
that the production of alcohol from
fermentation is so easy, he asserts
that any one craving alcoholic
drinks is not likely to be prohibited
by prohibition from INDUCING his
tastes. Hard liquors may be rath-
err difficult to make. but the drinker
of BEER and light wines is by no
means necessarily placed in the
camel class through prohibition,
Roughly speaking, some one in
vents a new substitute every hour"
said Professor Allyn. He laughed
outright as he continued: The most
promising substitutes for alcoholic
drinks seem to be those which con
tain liberal percentage of alcohol
due of course to the unfamiliarity
of the inventors with the law of fer
mentation.
The presence of alcohol in so
many foods leaves no reasonable
doubt that it is food. The point
to determine is this: At what point
does it cease to be a food and be-
come injurious. This point may be
1.-The smallest fraction of | per cent,
or it may be larger figure. 1t is
something | would not attempt to
determine myself
Fresh Vegetables Clear.
Concerning the percentage of al
cohol in everyday articles of food
and drink, Professor Allyn said
there is none in fresh vegetables.
There is none in fruit as canned in
the average household and hermet-
ically sealed, but once a can of fruit
is opened fermentation sets in, and
if allowed to stand "a hours small
quantity of alcohol is present. In
most instances buttermilk contains
more than the one-half of one per
cent of alcohol permissible under
THE law.
. Che public has little idea of the
number of products which are being
groomed for popular favor, Profess
sor Allyn says. Some of the most
remarkable connections are offered
for sale in states ID which state pro-
hibition has been in effect. In some
cases the base is dry. powdery sub
stance which is labeled "non-alco-
.hoiic" in conspicuous letters. In
more modest type it is explained
that the preparation can be made to
produce a drink with a real kick in
it. At present such preparations are
within the law in most states.