The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-06-05
Ul1OF TEN
HISRf SAMPLES
IDECLAREDPO!SON
Chemical Analysis of Thirty
Eight Samples Shows
Startling Facts.
copyriaht, The West Virainian)

oGlLC44.tL 14A4C SuN "
you are drinking rank poison.
The West Virginian has estab-
lished this by chemical analysis OF
samples of bootleg
bought in fifteen cities scattered
the nation
THE samples has been analysed
BIZ government experts.
Il Only two OF the thirty-eight sam
Hes proved to be whisky OF pre-
3brohibition quality. One of these
aasSpurchased in Boston; the 9TH
r In Washington.
1.-Two more were synthetic gin
sld passable- One of these sam
aswas from Cleveland, the other
Etgm Los Angeles
5Rut bootleg consumers in Boston
Washington, Cleveland and Los
ANGELES need not jump to the con
3Iusion that because these samples
Fere passable, all bootleg vended
Ia these cities is safe. For other
}amples bought in these places
proved dangerous.
4 Of the remaining thirty-four sam
1bles, fifteen were dOctored and
kfluted WHISTLES or Whistles pro-
tificialIy colored and Favored; sew
}nteen were raw moonshine of vary
ing degrees or rankness; one was
Door beer, containing wild yeasts;
Ind one was d distilled wine, OF
Soor quality.
lsssWhere Samples Were Collected
ia Samples were collected from
]these widely scattered cities, Dial
Mas. Tex; Memphis, Tenn; Den
}gerICol. /; Norfolk, Va; Oklahoma
City, Okla; Cleveland; Chicago;
Seattle; Birmingham, Ala.
Mash; San Francisco; Los Ange-
les: New York; Providence, r. l.,
}Roston and Washington.
They were bought from wide
range Of bootleg channels and an
alyzed without selection. They
came from drug stores, bell boys
.bootblacks, BARRIERS, porters, milk
,ssien near-beer saloons and similar
Channels of the trade, with few
seized in official raids.
- The samples were assembled in
Washington, and analyzed for The
West Virginian by government
chemists in government labor2-
tories
The analyses showed that when
syoufbuy bootleg you get nearly al
ways a dangerous connection OF
eSSlored and disguished alcohol, or 4
SSasw distillate full of aldehydes and
Volatile poisons that will leave you
with an awful head the day after
drinking, and a wrecked constitute
sfJS after repeated doses.
Gal d ehyd es' Are PeriIou5 to
Health
The '.aldehydes" found in the
and doctored whis-
skies are elements intermediate be
tween alcohols and acids. They are
derived from the higher alcohols
by the oxidation and removal OF Il
certain hydrogen content and the
addition of a very small amount OF
oxygen converts them into active
adds
The effect of these aldehydes."
says William Y. Under, govern
ment chemist, is to knock one
out much more quickly than would
shigh-grade whisky.
Their consumption over any
gconsid cradle period under mines
the general constitution to a point
where. it seems much more suscep-
Stible to many diseases.
not imm ediately poison
sous. causing sudden blindness or
Meath as does methyl or wood al
ecchoI, their effect is definitely and
Eci8platively harmful"
sS;saanuerous Eleme nts in Moonshine
fhe. dangerous elements in moon
shine and roctored whistles, for
mostspart, Under explains, are due
to the unscientific distilllng and
Blending, and to the unsanitary sur
&Toundings in which most OF the op'
8eratfons are carried on.
5sMoonshne," says Linder, is pre-
sduced for most part under the most
and unsanitary condl
lions. The mash is fermented IN
barrels or tubs, usually in the op
en- backwoods or in muStY cellars
Under such conditions, the develop
mert of wild yeasts and unwhole
some lamentations are common
Many moonshines show evidences
\ ofVbctive putrefaction.
sfsSafn distilling, too, all the volatile
elements come over. In commercial
distiller carefully eliminated, there
high grade Whistles, it was the
custom to discard what was known
81 "a the heads or first run, contain
sing the high alcohols and the more
11yelatiles oils, and the tails or the
Slastrun. Only the middle run was
retained.
ssMoonshfners Uses All Elements
.eThe moonshiner, however. runs
lit all in-heads, tails and middles
The elements that the commercial
5dsftiller carefully eliminated, there
fore. remain in moonshine.
oonshine, moreover, normally
sTeceiyes no aging. Hence it retains
4 1.-THE injurious qualities inherine
3tozasraw. d1stillate containing high
aIcohoIs, aldehydes and fusel oil
nd also whatever additional .pois
n or Injurious chemical elements
~ have accumulated through in
i3perJ and unsanitary fermentation
81 .unscientific distflling.
:tsAl1 these elements, even in
{lding in one case signs of putre
taction. were present in the sam
bles in this test"
- $50 EfFan4. IN Do1y