The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1919-09-12
BLINDNESS Turks
N JUST one DRINK
Of BOOTLEG WH|SKEY



You mower know what Turks behind
i1st ene 1s'tsh q neoties whisky "a
q uafnIn4 sent aol ~ 4he national
commHise FOR me prevention Of blind
me h.4.s intr.ass IN the csnes Of
hiln1nesa hat resulted IN an intettF
HntIqh "a the eonpcq1enres of the nAe
" 4ooe alcohol dannsured alcohol
occ4sional cases Of this nature have
been attnrrinn l4tlm time 70 time b
many yeara ~ sInce national pfohi-
billion went into oaecf. there has been
Al alarming Inc care IN AL arctiong
tioHa Of drinks Ia which wood alcohol
has hl1n rfcd nr M some eases where
IA has been taken straight
The harmful ariion Of this poison
COMES not cHiF from taking u IN
~lernaiky. 1nay likewise be imiuc-
sorpfion through The mucous mem
hranea OF the bcdy. It, enect y
usually noticeable very shortly after
exposure. Within a few hours after
dfInklna. cut headnche Is noted.
uraans acrompanied by violent at
tenalns over the serlon OF The kid
ncyna and ezcnssive dizrlntsE. Vision
==y kcenme Impaired. total blindness
0rruE ard death iIaeif result.
The wood alcohol used in the Unit
- States Il obtained chiefly from the
~1estrqrtipe dishllasion Of wood-hnrd
wool. Ilrch. beech, maple, oak. elm
ana alier being those most ffuqaent-
U4<A=i The chief uses TO which Il h
gut are for The denafurlnR OF grain
a1cohoi for various purposes IN lines
Of common MANUFACTURES especially
sheiiAc. rafnish. dyes. esc.l A. an M
Rradiant IN meeiical and ~phurmaceu-
teal Preparations. IN the chemical in
uu.ifisa . a. a fuel and iiinmi-
nant
only within recent years has wood
alcohol hecomc 80 dangerous to NE
and sight. Formerly u was a DARK.
had smelllng. bud-tastinE nuid which
no onn WINS tempted to drink. Later.
n process Waa developed by which
this color. smell and taste are remov-
ed. Mood alcohol. When purified tn
this way. iookA smells and tastes like
Krain alcohol and may thus be cas-
persons.
In 1895. congress. following the
lead OF European countries enacted
q law permitting the general use Of
n tnx-free Industrial tdenatured) do
nltefic alcohol In order to stimulate
Industrial purposes for Nfica the
hirh cost OF grain alcohol was pro-
hlbltINe. Denatured alcohol usually
consists Of 20 per cent grain alcohol
n 10 per cent wood alcohol. thus
rendering Il unit for drinking. II ~
being increasingly substituted for
wood alcohol In many Industrial uses.
10 eli innate the great dangers at
fendant upon the use Of the latter.
Pharmacists who mold permit end
have given bond are nilowed 20 nod
icate alcohol and sell II for %nonhever-
cGe purposea In quantities not ex-
ccodlnE one pint, provided they first
medlcate u IN accordance with any
one % nine formulas specified by the
commissioner Of Internal revenue. u.
8. treasury department. Carbolic
acid. f~ormaldehyde and bichloride OF
mercury are the chief denaturing
agents. The c%ontalner Of such mcdi-
Gated alcohol must bear q Poison"
label. The sale by pharmacists %
medicafed alcohol Tor Industrial Par
poses Is prohibited. II IL sold chiefly,
for rubbing purposes.
In spite OF these regulations and
precautions some persons are using
these poiHons for drinking purposes,
even At times completely dlsregarding
the Poison label which may have
appeared on the bottle. In other In
stances. the victims have been ignor-
ant o. the dangers Of that which
they were ualnR.-the beverage having
been prepared by others ana soid un-
der false p~retenses or under some
miaieodinE name. When the original
manufacturer Of mixtures Of this ma
ture can be apprehended he "a been.
In many Instances subjected TO severe
pumIanmenfa by the courts.