The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-01-22
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
BLEEDING OLD j. B. TO DEATH.
FREDERIC j. HASKIN, Director.
Washington, d. c.

| washington, II. C., Jan. 19--JOhn
lBarleycorn, as you may possibly have
noticed, is not yet entirely dead in this
country. but he is dwindling in bulk
day by day like a hunger striker.
And the tragic part of it is that the
very ones who love him best are doing
the most to make his shadow small.
Some little nourishment they manage
to bring him once in a while. but for
the most part it is with him a case
Of much going out and little COM
ing in.
This is confirmed by some facts and
f1gures we just got exclusively from
the internal revenue department. The
revenue department recognizes four
chief resources by which John Bar
leycorn is kept alive in this country.
The first of these is the liquor, mostly
whisky, held in bonded warehouses in
| this country; the second is the pure
ethyl alcohol which is manufactured
in large Quantities ostensibly for in
| dustrial purposes; the third is the i'm
| portation of liquor across the Cana
dian and Mexican borders and at sea-
ports; and the fourth is the making
of various kinds of alcoholic bever-
ages in the homes of citizens.
With this latter phase of the prob
lem most of those entrusted with the
enforcement of the law seem to think
they have nothing to do.
Homebrewing Not Attacked.
! 1.-THE law never intended us to enter
a mans home" said one lawyer con-
nected with the enforcement of pro-
| hibition. This was not an official
statement, nor one made for quota
ton, but it seems to represent the
view taken by most of the government
| lawyers. They consider that the law
is designed to prevent the commercial
\ traffic in alcoholic beverages, and its
| manufacture for use in that traffic.
II is to the enforcement of this that
they are bending their energies
| Take first the case of the whisky in
bonded warehouses. In 1915 there
:ere about 2S2.000,O00 gallons of dis
titled spirits other than fruit brandies
in our bonded warehouses. The end
Of 1920 sees but 100000 gallons left
1 in the warehouses. Furthermore,
during 1920, there were 100000 gal
Ions of tax-paid withdrawals-that is,
| that amount was Withdrawn for use in
this country. During the same year
100000 gallons were Withdrawn for
export. At that rate, another year
would see all of the whisky in bonded
warehouses either distributed in this
country or exported. It is evident
that this residue of whisky will not
| long be with us.
1t will be with US longer than the
|
cate, however. The striking thing
| about those figures is that 100000
gallons were drawn for consumption in
| this country. That is nearly 10000
gallons a month. 1t is about a fourth
as much whisky as we were consum-
ing before prohibition went into ef-
feet. OF course. it was all used on
doctors prescriptions. There certainly
was a lot of sickness last year.
But that easy flow of whisky from
the bonded warehouses has met with a
check. 1t has been checked by the
simple method of a ruling from the
internal revenue department that
| transfers of liquors from one whole
saler to another will no longer be ap-
proved. The wholesaler must now
druggist, or other authorized retailer
or user, and this person must be able
to show a permit.
Reducing Withdrawals.
This ruling went into effect in Au-
gust, 1920. In July, 1920, the with
drawals OF whisky alone from bonded
warehouses for use in this country
were almost two million gallons. In
| October, 1920, when the new ruling
had been in effect a few months, they
| had dropped to less than one million
gallons for the month. And there is
evidence of still further decrease for
the future.
|
! of liquor from one wholesaler to an
others, some of it went astray. The
! bureau could not possibly keep track
| of all of it.
Thus the flow of whisky from the
| bonded warehouses is dWin dling. But
| this warehouse liquor is a limited sup
ply, which will only be a substantial
factor in the situation for a few years
| anyway.
A far more difficult problem for the
| T.. ricso f- mt q n
by the manufacture of ethyl alcohol
| for industrial purposes. During 1920
about 100000 gallons of distilled
/ spirits were manufactured In the
United States. Distilled spirits in this
case means mostly ethyl alcohol or
high proof. 1t is not supposed to be a
[ beverage, but it is the basis of every
| alcoholic beverage. The bootlegger
! colors it and flavors 1t aid sells 1t as
whisky By the addition of certain es-
sential oils it may be made INTO gin
which is hardly distinguishable from
real gin. In fact there are formulas
| for the making of almost all liquors
with proof spirit as basis. Most OF
| the liquors sold over bars or the
cheaper sort before prohibition were
thus synthetically made, and there is
| in the library of congress large
| literature bearing such titles as The
Bar Keepers Friend and the secrets
i of the Liquor Business" telling now TO
| make everything from rye WHISKY 10
| the rarest imported liquors in the
room behind the bar.
Alcohol Will Go Astray.
AS long as good proof ethyl alcohol
| is manufactured in large quantities,
therefore, it is hard to prevent some
of it from being drunk. All Is pur-
| chased for some non-beverage pur-
pose but it is impossible for any
merely human organization to be sure
that it is all used for ron-beverage
purposes.
The only method which has been
Suggested for preventing the use of
this proof spirit for drinking is that
of enforcing a ruling or law that all
of it must be mixed with some other
ingredient which will make it non
potable, before it leaves the distillery.
It is understood that some of the pro-
hibitionists sought to have the Internal
Revenue Department. make a ruling to
/ this effect. But it seems that the
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