Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-09-03

series OF articles on conditions
resulting from lawlcSsncss in the
handling OF intOxicants Editors
motel
NJ Frederick William VILE.
Steel, coal and hooch arc today the
three big sisters OF industry IN Penn
sylvania- PENIS Woods has displaced
tho Sunny South as tho moonshiner's
paradise. Illicit stills. ranging IN vol
umc from tho shrinking nve-gallon
homebrew dairy TO plants with ca
pacity for 500 gallons OF mash. are
In operation Throughout; the state.
They are turning out scotch" gin"
and threestar brandy" in streams
and bootlcEsing them In Original
packages" to the gullihle and thirs-
~ multitude at prohibition prices.
IN great centers of population like
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, moon
sinners can be counted only in thou
sands IN Scranton. Altoona, WILKES
Barre. Reading. Erie and other
throbbing Industrial areas the
stills sit cheek by jowl In street
after street. In the black country.
where the coal used TO come from.
the miners output of hooch. per
capita, far outstrips their bitum!-
nous or anthracite produce.
In the bonded warehouses OF
Pennsylvania there are said to be.
roundly. 100000 gallons OF genuine
whisky. representing about one
sixth OF the country's entire stock.
The Federal prohibition authorities
claim to be sitting tight on the lid
that keeps that precious store from
gaining illegal circulation,
Meantime Pennsylvania mighty
thirst is being slaked by the moon
sinners and the smugglers. Much OF
the stuff whose convincing bottling
and labelling make II look like Snug
gled goods is. in fact, moonshine.
Every day in Philadelphia compla-
cent violators Of the Constitution
are paying s6 or 81 a quart for
gin" that never was nearer Lon
was made. White Horse" and
Johnny Walker" eagerly snapped
up ut $40 bottle. originate in
every Penn county. French bran
dy" Mt ssi a case Is distilled In the
Allegheny Mountains. Tho bootleg
cling era is proving that Barnum
was riEht-"thcre's n sucker born
every minute"
IIiGh-Povercd Bccr Sold.
Not only the stills. big and little,
are drenchinG Pennsylvania with
contraband liquor. It is pouring in
barrel lots and truck loads from
scores OF the 156 breweries In the
State. Production OF high power
beer IN excess Of the alcoholic con-
tent permitted by the Volstead act
is In notorious and widespread
progress. and the Woner law IL
censed saloons are passing II out
over their leEalized bars with gayest
abandon and vast profit. AS of
hand-in hand. the saloon. IN ac-
cord with ancient custom being tho
official distributor.
The prohibition authorities are con-
WINGED that saloon ownership by
brewing interests is virtually as uni-
vcrsal as IN prev olstead times. II
is a known fact that when saloons
are detected selling beer OF excess
sive voltage their defense is COM
monty undertaken at some brewerys
expense and their fines paid from
the same quarter. Almost any man
You meet in Pennsylvania--that. at
least. was the writer's experience
viii conduct you to n nearby saloon
where wink or a smile will e1tort
from n busy bartender a glass OF
real beer. often you neither have
10 wink nor smlo. hut just step
up, lean against the rail and give
your order.
Five per cent beer, and sometimes
hlSner- powered goods, Is not the only
liquor 10 he had in Pennsylvania sa-
looms. They are we'll stocked. as
rule, with Whistles, gins and bran
dies, or the deleterlous stun doing
duty as such. and serve Il freely by
the glass, pint bottle or quart II is
obviously absurd that Worner law
saloons would continue In business
under high licenses for tho sale Of
near-becr. ginger ale and grape Juice
Those harmless ncctars OF the dry
gods nowadays are carrl,d in Penn
sy!vania merely as decorative side
lines. The money comes from wares
with a kick.
Denntured Alcohol Big Problem.
According 10 the prohibition en-
forcement organization. the major
problem in Pennsylvania Is the con-
version o: dcnatured alcohol into
hard liquor" q gigantic industry
OF that KIND has grown UP and. thus
far, banled suppression. Under tho
law the manufacture OF denaturcd
alcohol is legal ana ii IS produced In
enormous quantities. There are forty
or hfty different formulate under which
industrial products may l"gitimately
be manufactured out of Industrial
alcohol. Some O! these products are:
Mouth washes and deutIiriCes
BARRIERS supplies
solid "oniections and lozcnres
Emuls!ons
Candy glaze.
Transparent, soap and shampoo jel-
lulminato 81 mercury