Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-03-15
''H00TCH'' HAS
MANY VARIETIES
CHEMIST FINDS
Federal Employe Says Any
Old Thing is Used to
Produce Kick"

Bismarck, N. D., March 15.-Inge-
nuity Of man is reflected in the ume
Jus methods used in constructing
"hootch" stills and the reckless
abandon of n in search Of the
kick is shown in the ~ingredieun
used and carelessness with which r
Is made. says G. j.. West of Minne-
apollss, government chemist, who has
examined about every variety Of
m~oonshine ~concocted in the northwest.
Mr., West is in Bismarck attending
sessions of federal court and will be
a witness before the. grand jury.
There are just three kinds Of stills,
Mr.. West says-the pot still, the
chamber charge still and the ~so-called
continual still and Of the three the
m%oonshiner chooses the cheapest,
which is the first named. The pot
still is not only cheaper but it can be
quickly dismantled and n milk can
Whtch\ may serve as an integral part
of the still may become just q milk
container in q minute or two as a
federal agent approaches. Milk cans,
metal parts of harness, wash boilers
and other, similar articles Of the
household unemployed by the home
brew" artist in constructing a still.
Most anything is used by the moon
SINFUL tHdL WILL pTOf1uc
for the kick" Mr.. West says. Raisins
are used most extensively, he says,
but prunes, pears, apples-most any
kin dof fruit-small grain of most
any kind, potatoes. and even clover.
Mr.. West says his experience has
shown. Orientals use rice, and many
samples of "saka," the rice "hootch,'
have come to the government labora-
tory at Minneapolis. "Saka" is re-
INITIAL to ko xo u forriRc tVro11rN. lrf
n which may even be a complete
knockout.
Not a great many moonshincrs
bother to color the liquor, but many
engaged ION a commercial scale" find
carameland burnt sugar are satisfac-
tory coloring agents.
Fakes Reported.
The biggest drawback to~the moon.
shine business, if one nay draw from
MI. Vests experience, is that be
cause of carelessness in allowing RUS
or dirt to get in Stills Or use of de-
natured Or wood alcohol, ,tthe moon
shine may lead to a tripttot the hos
&pital. The second biggest ,drawhac l
to some might be the lack of assur
ance that a Bottle. p~erfectlyr labeled
! bonded whiskey contains! only moon
shine. !.
The government chemist admit!
he S q many q chuckle over the II
luck of some person who purchased
perfectly labeled bonded whiskey onl!
poor whiskey. Counterfeiting o
to find that it was not whiskey >Dl
labels has grown to be an art will
some ~bootleggers. Mr.. West has an
alyzed some samples only to find thu
main ingredients are ghoulash sauce
coffee or tea.
Some 500 to 500 samples a month
are received at the government lab
o%ratories in Minneapolis from severa
states. indicating the diligence Of tn,
moonshiner and the federal officers
Denatured alcohol is being used
great deal now in making liquor, Mr.
West finds, and while use OF Woo
alcohol is somewhat more rare, 1t still
is found in some samples.
And although the home brewer ha!
developed some terrific "kiclSs," Yer!
! little Of the stuff approaches rea
whiskey in the volume percentage O.
alcohol, Mr.. West finds.