San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-20

| gallons were withdrawn. Unquestion-
| ably many permits were forged. In
1921 with new permit system and
with only those employees retained who
| believe in the enforcement of the law,
| the total in the first six months was
| reduced to 3,50O,000 gallons and now
in the year 1922 just ended the az
gregate Withdrawals were 100000
gallons.
This is by no means the minimum
that officials think can be reached but
il it is, then America has in storage
warehouses enough for about % years
more. These figures some day will
be the basis for new legislation limit
ing the manufacture to a specified
amount annually.
OF the 10000 physicians in the
United States, only 10000 to 10000
have applied for permits to prescribe
liquor. Some who believe in it for
medicinal purposes do not like to be
pestered with prescriptions. They let
their patients get il through the boot
leg" route. Others do not think wbis-
key necessary to the practice of meii-
cine. a group of 800 doctors is fight
ing in the courts against the right of
the federal government to interfere
with the practice of medicine in any
way. But prohibition officials are
counting on the aid of the medical
profession itself ultimately in cutting
down the wrongful use of permits.
-Four Sources Of Supply.
The campaign of the government
against the "bootlegger' has been two
fold-to reduce the amount of liquor
a: tie source of supply and to pre-
vent distribution.
leaky permit system. That has been
almost entirely closed up. Good
liquor with bonded warehouse labels
is scarcer than it used TO be. Three
hundred bonded warehouses are being
coverted into 40 or 80. This con-
centration Of the governments supply
is expected to prevent thefts and
make 1t easier TO check up and guard
the liquor on hand.
The second source is in the manu-
facture and use of industrial alcohol.
Manufacturers are being required to
use denatured alcohol and by using
benzol it is said TO be impossible TO ex-
tract good alcohol except by an appar-
atus costing about $4,000 which will
be within the reach of only few ring
leaders who cannot easily escape de-
lection as the government espionage
system on this phase of prohibition
VIII tend to grow more expert because
OF the relatively few persons who
know anything about the processes.
The third source is the struggled
liquor from Cuba and the Bahamas.
The -"bootleggers" themselves are kill
ing their own game by diluting goCn
liquor with bad. Also much of the
stuff manufactured in Cuba and else
where has been found to be made of
cheap grades of molasses alcohol. Good
whiskey is expensive, and bootleg
gers" in the future will have to be
satisfied with a smaller margin of
profit or else see their trade fall off.
Many people have been scared by the
stories of poisons in liquor and others
have been disillpsioned by purchasing
the poor quality beverages.
The fourth source is ''mOonshine."
1t has been made for generations. Of
ficials think it will always continue
just as horse stealing or petty thiey-
cry. Not many people, relatively
speaking. look on moonshine as a good
substitute. In fact, officials believe If
all other sources except moonshine
were reduced to the vanishing point.
they could handle the manufacture of
moonshine in short time.
How Many Make Their Own?
There is no way of telling how many
people are making gin and whiskey.
The laws against the sale of recipes
are stringest but popular knowledge is
extensive. Officials content them
slves with the belief that not many
pople. broadly viewed. will go to the
trouble of making whiskey and that
the "bOOtleggers' who sell the artific
ial product have not succeeded in add
inl many new appetites in the genera
ton which knows what good whiskey
was like.
Drunkenness on the streets is one
of the manifestations of the liquor
traffic which leads to all sorts of in
dividual opinions. Statistics on ar
rests are frequently misleading. The
government here maintains that the
decrease in arrests for intoxication in