New Britain herald., 1923-01-12
BOOZE KILLED l,OD0,
 BLINDED 500 IN 2
Poisonous Bootleg Liquor Also Injured Health,Ol Hundreds

Washington, IaR, ls,-At leas
 i.Aaa persons in the United State
 died in 1899 from dFinking poisoRen
 liauaF At least h00 more were maai
 permaRently blind by weed aleehei
 Hundreds, perhaps th0usah has, m ad
 ditian were seriously ihlafed lh thsll
 health from imhihing eeheeehani
 filled with fusel oil and other harm
 fu ingredients, -.=.
 This is the estimate of the ollielail
 of the prohibition enforcement seFs'
 ice, based on reports from agents iF
 all sections Of the country and on
 newspaper clippings reporting isolatr
 cd eases, If anything, the authorities
 believe, the statement is an under
 estimate, since maay deaths auFihai'
 ed ta other causes have been due 10
 nothing but poisonous ilqhafr
 All sections of the nation, rural
 districts as well as cities, had deaths
 from bad liagoT, To Q large extent
 the fatalities were due 10 poor dis
 tilling by bootleggers or impure
 stocks used in illicit iistillins' stills
 seized in raids in all sections showed that the vast bulk of those who mads whisky had little or no conception or
 how it should he done or tho sani- tary facilities required. The very see erecy of the business 10 a large eks tent prevented those who conducted stills from learning the proper meth ods,
 Toll Compiled From Clippings.
 That l,006 persons died during the year from poisonous liquor iS only m estimate. No government agency Is engaged in keeping an accurate tabulation. The government lacks machinery for such thing. The Tinted States public health service deals only with contagious aliseases and their prevention. The~ United States census bureau complies nor tality statistics gathered from state officials. but these as a rule are in- complete and many months behind. | The prohibition enforcement service Is in better position 10 give an idea of the situation than any other government agency.
 The data for the most part are contained in newspaper clippings sent to the prohibition office by agents in various sections of the country. These are intended to amplify the re- ports of the agents as to conditions in their districts. They fill one large book in the information office of the prohibition service.
 These clippings show there were more than 200 deaths from poison ous liquor during the year in New York state alone, a decided increase over the previous year. In Cleveland, Ohio, where the coroner kept accu- rate records, there were 62 deaths during the first seven months of the year. In Denver there were 26 deaths during the year. .
 The great increase in the number of deaths has resulted in agitation for the prosecution on murder charges of bootleggers who sell liquor that kills. Tn Nashville, Tenn, recently man and a woman were arrested following the death of nineteen year old student who was poisoned by moonshine liquor Two men were arrested in Shelby. Ohio, on the same charge after moonshine liquor had killed one |. man and made fourteen others des- perately ill during Christmas party.
 Drink or Two Has Killed
 The information gathered by thel prohibition service shows that the poi son in the liquor varies greatly. Some of the victims have died after taking only a drink or two, while others have been affected only after consum- Ing large quantities. This has been iue to the uncertainty of the distilla- ion. Tn some instances the beverage ras been very deadly. while in others poison has been present only in small quantities.
 movement is on foot to have the United States Public Health service conduct study of the public health IS 1t has been affected by prohibition. Officials of the service are not sure, the law has been in effect ong enough to establish any reliable . igures Such investigations require |, mass of data and this is not yet avail sl ble. II Heads of insane asylums in various a ,arts of the country have reported an increase in the number of patients re- eived whose condition could be raced directly to the use of alcohol. VI he expectation is that before another u ear concrete data will be available es Q show the extent to which illicit V quor is responsible for insanity a' Wood alcohol produces intoxica- ! lon rapidly and in addition seriously IL fleets the optic nerve, resulting in !. aralysis and atrophy, with conse- uent total blindness, which, so far as , known, is incurable." J. M. Doran, cad of the Industrial Alcohol and hemical Division of the Prohibition srvice. said in explaining the great P umber of deaths and permanent dis ss bilities of the last year. Ia "Opinions differ as to whether ab- ii ,lutely pure wood alcohol will pro- NJ uce blindness, but the opinion is B