davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

complications and are particu.
larly dangerous buzz saws for the
amateur to monkey with.
First. because It IL not feasible.
without great waste Of material,
to boil the malt wort before add.
ing the yeast, and hence the
mash, at the high temperature
required IL much more likely to
be spoiled by wild yeasts or bac.
terra. thus making . very impure
spirit.
Second, that the different po-
tent spirits In the mash rise into
the still at different rates and
times, the first and last passings
being usually more impure ana
poisonous with furfurol. aide
hydes and fusel oil than the mid.
die passings. The expert distil-
Ter carefully separates these DIFF
ferent vapors and often redistilIs
one or more Of them to get rid of
the bad spirits.
Great skill and deliberately con-.
structed stills are needed for this
work, neither Of which the
''hootch maker" can possibly
possess.
Sir Lander Brunton, the famous
London physician, commenting
some years ago upon the semi
scientific belief that wine and
brandy made an intoxicated per-
; son fall upon his side, whiskey to
fall forward and cider and perry
(peor juiee) on his back, said that
this, IL true, suggested special ac-
ton Of the different higher alco-
holic poisons upon different parts
OF the cerebeIIum. or balancing
portion Of the brain.
However this may be, they are
certainly bad medicine" to have
in any amateurs ''still juice"
Copyright. 1923. by Woods Hutchinsos.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

the British financial mission was
the first to come to Washington
to talk about paying it's debt.
The visit had been postponed
time and again. It was scheduled
to reach Washington when Mr..
Houston became Secretary of the
Treasury and again toward the
close Of the Wilson administra-
ton. But it got here on a late
train, 50 to speak.
It was in daily conference with
the authorities at Washington
for weeks. Then it sailed away.
The people of both countries had
little inkling Of what was talked
about in the meeting.
They had expected that at least
in this matter understandable to
the average citizen, there would
be open covenants openly arrived
at" But neither Congress nor
the people knows any more than
before they came. Like the king
sof France, they marched up the
hill and then marched down
again."
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
LONDON, Feb. 8.

THE clearance Of slums in dis
tricts south of the Thames
will shortly affect an area that
is well known to lovers of
Dickens.
Dockhead, or Jacobs Island, to
use the Dickensian name, is
that neighborhood in the Bor-
ough Of Southwark, which is
graphically described in chapter
so of "Oliver Twist"
In Dickens time the island
was surrounded by Folly Ditch,
and a stranger, he said, looking
from one of the wooden bridges
thrown across it at Mill Lane,
would see the inhabitants of the
houses on either side lowering
from their back windows buckets
and pals in which to haul up
the water.
Then he would see crazy wood
en- galleries common to the backs
of half dozen houses, with
holes from which to look upon
the slime beneath; windows,
broken and patched, and every
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
Drink of Centuries

We next see tea in slow moving,
camel-drawn caravans cross Tur-
kestan and the Steppes Of Siberia
and invade Russia. The Tartar
princes at Moscow must have their
tea though weary beast and man
must traverse half the world to
bring It to them.
And for many centuries cara
vans laden with fragrant teas
came to satisfy their desires. Soon,
however, tea was not for the
princes alone.
Every peasant, no matter how
humble, had his samovar bubbling
and boiling all day, and his little
pot always filled with fresh in
cense.
Tea was soon drunk at any hour
of the day in Russia, as we in
America drink-well-ice water.
The tow-headed, blue-eyed Rus
sian kiddie is more fond of his tea
than our own youngsters are fond
of lolypops or strawberry jam.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
By HELEN FOX.

"EA! No doubt an insipid
enough beverage to those
- initiated into the strange
flavor Of synthetic gin! Yet, tea"
has meant and still does mean all
sorts Of wonderful things to peo-
pies Of different lands.
Born In the Far East, amid
charming. multi-colored silks and
gorgeous exotic flowers, akin to
the lotus and the drowsy-eyed
poppy; born beneath the peace
ful. dangerous blue Of Oriental
skies. tea from it's very inception
was always considered the rarest
Of potions.
Our first image Of tea IL that Of
lovely slant-eyed ladies, draped
in gay kimonos. spending q social
afternoon at tea.
Sitting demurely on their poppy
drenched cushions, they sip their
tea from tiny tumblers without
handles. with an enigmatic, ORR
entail smile in their almond eyes.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

history upon q smaller scale. One
of the most striking features of
the liquor trade all over the
world for the past twenty years
has been the tendency to raise
the alcoholic horsepower of the
various beers, almost like that of
our darling automobiles, only not
by such vaulting leaps and
bounds.
The old-fashioned German lager
beer carried only about three per
cent alcohol, not enough. in fact,
to make it keep, and its famous
name means literally "lair" or
''den," from the cool caverns or
caves dug in the hillsides in which
it had to be stored before the days
Of ice.
When 1t first came to America
it was welcomed as a temper
ance" drink, mild and harmless
substitute for the rampant national
whiskey. But it quickly caught
the Western spirit OF hustle and
climbed up to five, six, and even
seven per cent, more than double
its original voltage, and treble that
of the old weiss beer" which had
only two.
Now, even in it's native home,
the German medical profession are
vigorously protesting against a
similar increase since the war In
some of the most noted brands and
demanding a sharp reduction for
the protection of the public health.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
Teacup Cocktail

Then, too, tea is served neither
in the Russian, the English nor
the Oriental fashion, but rather In
a manner exclusively American,
known as the tea.cup cocktail.
The Village tea shop Is too well
known to- describe at great length.
Dim lights, far more trying on
the eyes than the whitcst and most
glaring Of incandescent lights;
small painted tables and benches.
smoke and heat-and smoke and
heat again; q two by four dancing
floor and a victrola run on cleo
tricity, a few pocket TASKS. and a
mob of high school children from
Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Wash
ington Heights; shrieks of laugh
ter and Observation-Disclosures
you have a tea-ing in Greenwich
Village-miles and miles away
from the old English fireside, and
Lloyd George-and tea!
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
TEA MEANS MANY THINGS TO PEOPLES DIFFERENT LANDS

And always the tea! The chatter
Of teacups is drowned in the bois-
ferrous buffoonery Of the saxa-
phone.
Discussion Of weighty world
problems becomes impossible in
this atmosphere Of jazz, dance and
perfumed finery. Instead it 10 the
coiffure Of this lady and the cravat
of that gentleman that becomes
the subject Of the moment.
Dancing at tea time Is quite a
fad in Paris, and has to some ex-
tent supplanted the famous French
institution Of the apperitif, which
is nothing more nor less than sit.
ting on the sidewalk terrace Of
some cafe, notably the Cafe de Ia
Paix, slipping an appetizer Of Bit
tiers and watching the world go by.
Many people. however, no doubt
prefer dancing to the contcInpla-
ton of faces on the street. These
go to dance every day from 5
o'clock to Z, not infrequently to
some pet resort where their friends
can always find them.
1t is a far cry from tea-ing in
London to tea-ing in Paris. 1t is
a still farther cry to tea-ing in
New York, in the Greenwich Vii
lage "tea shops" First Of all, the
time for tea-ing is shifted and one
teas in the evening instead of the
afternoon.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

block sugar to crunch between his
teeth while drinking.
Tea in Russia is quite different
from tea as the Anglo-Saxon knows
it. First Of all, 1t Is served in a
glass-an excellent hand-warmer
in a country that IL cold.
1t consists mainly Of hot water,
with q dash of China tea and q
slice of lemon.
It is safe to say that the aver
age Russian drinks twelve or fif-
teen glasses Of the beverage a day
and since it is served very hot, it
no doubt warns a good deal Of the
sluggish Russian cold out Of his
blood.
And now we find tea in the
Western world, and find that 1t il
a function that varies with the
temperament of the people who
have adopted it.
Tea-ing is one Of England's ira
ditions, no less important and
deeply rooted than the much.fam-
ed Magma Charta. The English
man would rather do without his
dinner than miss his tea. And
miss it he very rarely does.
All business offices in London
stop work for half an hour at
about 4 o'clock in the after
noon to tea. All afternoon social
functions end with tea. Milady.
when at home, teas at home, or on
an afternoon out visits one of
many tea shops which are dedi-
Gated to the one function of tea
ing.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
III is a Far Cry From Tearing i'm London to Tea
Ing fin Paris; Id is Still Farther Cry TO Tea
Ing i'm the Greenwich Village Tea-ShopS.

accompaniment Of gently gurgled
tea? It is said that Lloyd George
is an inveterate tea-drinker.
Every afternoon at Chequers, so
the story goes In London, he
drinks gallons Of the beverage.
Who knows what tremendous
crises have been averted at the
diplomats tea table,. and what
fortune he has read in the tea
leaves at the bottom Of the cup?
When the Englishman Travelled
over the earth, laying the founda-
tons of the Bri~lsh Empire, he
took his tea tradition with him
and left it to corrupt in soils and
climates and amid temperaments
foreign to the Anglo-Saxon that
had given it birth
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

And where he 30 carefully sow.
ed. we OF this generation reap in
Paris the gorgeous afternoon 1.-THE
Dansant," and on this side Of the
ocean the Greenwich Village ''Tea
Shop"
The tea tradition in Paris took
root not 50 very long ago. Many
a Frenchman has told me that no
longer than two decades ago,
when a man was found drinking
tea. the audible comment from
the French people round about
was VOLTA un Anglaisr' There
is an Englishman!' With the
dancing craze. just preceding the
war, tea was given an. acknowl-
edged position In the life Of
Paris.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
Pitfalls Lurk Even in Home Brew

spiral compactness became the
famous worm" The most pesti--
lent insect ever invented by
the wit of man.
So delighted was our first
moonshiner with his precious
spirit and the gorgeous visions 1t
coniured up within him, that
with bitter irony he called It
"Agna vitae.'' or Water Of
Life" which resounding title
when carried with the fierce
liquor to the thirsty Celtic tribes
OF North Britain and Ireland,
was turned In their Gaelic tongue
into "usquebaugh," WHISKY"
"whiskey," and met with such
huge approval thai they prompt.
ly became the most famous pro-
ducers.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
Former Secretary of the Navy Declares That America
Grew Impatient at Long Delay i'm Sending Mission
to Arrange Settlement of Debt

getting par when no other nation
could float it's securities without
some reduction or commissions.
1t was done to aid Britain and
the other allies to every cent
possible.
FIRM AND POLITE NO.
We agreed to charge Britain no
interest except what we actually
paid to those who bought the
bonds. After the war, when it
was clear that the United States
had withdrawn from European
settlements, there came a near
panic, saved only by the Federal
Reserve Board, and bonds went
below par because the interest
rate rose from to 8 per cent at
the lowest.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
By WOODS HUTCHINSON:

from a few days to eighteen
months, according to the brew and
the type of beer desired.
A single slip at any one of these
numerous steps and the brew
comes out sour, or bitter, or thin,
or fails to keep properly and turns
musty. And II the trained expert
with q lifelong experience can
barely escape shipwreck, what
chance has the innocent amateur
home-brewer?
The chances are that after one
or two mishaps, trying to play
the game patiently for a mild,
well-behaved, civilized beer, he
loses heart, proceeds to play
trumps in the form of fast
working high-voltage inbred
yeast which halves his time of
waiting, doubles his alcohol per-
centage, and goes over into the
bottles alive and kicking, with
the same distressing effects upon
digestion, liver and nerves as in
the wine type of hootch. Worse
yet, after a few explosions have
shown him that his homebrew
is evanescent as the flowers Of
the field, he hastens to consume
it to save his life, and hence en-
CULTS far more Of it, double
strength and sizzling as it it,
than he would Of a mild and
stable brew. Thus completing a
vicious circle.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

With the new slx-cylinder yeasts
and a potato mash, raw alcohol
can be produced very cheaply for
these terrifying" purposes, but
while .potato-spirit is an excellent
motor fuel, the less of it that goes
into our human motors the better.
Temperance reformers and mod
crate drinkers alike declare that
this raising of the voltage of the
lighter beers, is the fault of the
brewers, who deliberately plan
thereby to increase appetite and
diminish control, thus creating
larger demand. So that a man is
no longer content to sip his lager
quietly and get a whole evenings
enjoyment out Of a couple Of stems.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
London Tea Parties

can well understand why an
English man or an English woman
does not mind particularly missing
dinner after having had tea.
When / was in London 1 follow.
ed the principle that when in Lon
don do as Londoners do-and 1
tead every afternoon with my Eng
lish friends.
After having eaten a multitude
of buttered scenes, slices of but
tered toast heaped with golden
marmalade, and cakes, accompa-
MED with three or more cups Of
.Ceylon tea, the strength and bitter
ness OF which was counteracted
with cream or milk, never had
the slightest inclination to eat din
ner, particularly since the flat, un-
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

In view Of the fact that Britain
obtained this loan at such a low
rate Of interest, the people were
astounded when 1t was reported
that the British mission had asked
reduction to 8 per cent. OF
course the Washington Govern
ment could do nothing but give a
polite and firm no to the prepos-
ferrous request.
We are ready to give every
reasonable consideration to Brit
ain with reference to the debt
1t owes, but its course has served
to chill the feeling entertained
for it.
refer to its whole course with
reference to debts. It's delay in
coming preceded by Mr.. Balfour's
tactless statement that Britain
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

pense Of q war three thousand
miles from home.
In order to obtain the billions
we loaned Britain and the other
allied nations, 1t was necessary to
issue our own bonds and for Mr..
McAdoo to carry on the most re-
markable campaign in history
to sell them to the American peo-
pie.
In order to obtain the largest
amount for these bonds, they
were made <ax exempt. That
was q mistake IL our own coun-
try was to be considered.
We entered upon this policy
not permissible on sound prin.
ciples except in war largely to
give our allies the benefit Of
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
Another PitfaH

On the other. hand. the brewers
themselves declare that they are
only meeting a popular demand
for a beer that gives quicker ac-
ton and more exhilaration. They
profess to regret the tendency on
the ground that it means larger
amounts of expensive malt and
sugar to produce the extra alcohol
and thus diminishes their profits!
Whatever the explanation, the
deplorable fact remains that the
men who prefer mild, cool nu-
tritive beer finds 1t harder and
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

harder to get. whether under pro-
hibition, in home-brewing, or un-
der unrestricted wetness.
Another pitfall for. the feet Of
the amateur brewer is the fact
that the yeast should not be
allowed to turn all the malt and
starch in the brew into alcohol.
On the contrary a certain amount
of it should be left in the form
of so-called ''half-sugars" to give
body and sweetness and nutritive
value.
To determine just when the
proper stage has been reached to
check further fermentation and
transfer to bottles or cask, calls
for great skill and judgment, but
il it be allowed to slip by the beer
the stronger and heavier, will
taste thin and unsatisfying.
Also the best and mildest lager
types Of beer are brewed with
what are known as bottom"
yeasts, because they sink to the
bottom Of the watts and work
there instead Of floating free and
in plain sight upon the surface,
thus calling for greater skill in
handling.
All the temperature at which
they work best-forty to fifty de-
grees Els far below that of
average house temperatures, and
would have to be artificially con-
trolled.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

~ LOWING bubbles is one of
the lightest and most harm
~ less of amusements so long
as we do it ourselves. But when
we grow lazy aud press yeast
germs into the service to do our
blowing for us and set afloat our
rosy DIR, ..ms-then trouble begins.
Probably the least turbid and
troubled waters, in which the
tubs of homemade beer If a
sound malt and "non-runaway"
yeast can be obtained and discre.
ton exercised as to the sugar, and
q reasos able time allowed for the
brewing. there should be fair pros
pect of palatable and non.poison-
Gus hootch.
But even here pitfalls lurk at
every turn. The commercial or
professional process of brewing is
q most elaborate affair of from
seven to twelve different. steps and
covering from one to eighteen
months and every move and every
day of it necessary to avoid some
unpleasant result.
After the malt has been thor
oughly leached and extracted with
water, which makes the wort" it
must be boiled to prevent sour fer
mentation. Then the yeast is add
ed to give. the bitter flavor and act
~ an antiseptic, and as the wort
froths and foams the vat is tilted
and the frotly head" SKINNED
off over it's edge every two or three
hours. Which requires great skill
and judgment, besides constant
tasting.
When just the right stage has
been reached the beer is casked
or ''racked'' and stored for ripen-
ing, which may take anywhere
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04

The gossip around Washington
10 that they asked for a very
long time to pay the debt, which
request Congress would no doubt
have granted upon the giving Of
bonds Of their government, but in
addition to that they also re-
quested that the rate Of interest
be fixed at per cent.
call that request, IL the gossip
is correct, unadulterated gall. The
British know the United States
did not have q dollar to lend
them except what was obtainable
from loans from the people or
taxes imposed on them. Our
taxes did not bring in near
enough for our enormous ex-
penditures to arm our own SOL
diers and sailors and pay the ex-
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
Brandy Or cognac

The advantages Of distilled
spirit to both the hootch maker
and the manufacturer are that it
is compact in bulk, keeps well
and can be made out Of cheaper
materials than either wine or
beer.
The skins, pulp and stalks OF
the wine grapes after the third
pressing can be fermented and
distilled into brandy or cognac.
The molasses and lees OF the
sugar cane mills yield to the still
the famous and fiery rum. Malt
sugar and juniper berries are
subliminated into the savage
schnapps or Holland gin "a con-
traction of ''juniper'), the
hardest" and most concentrated
liquor drunk.
But on the other hand distilled
liquors have special dangers and
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
Houses For ''Folly Ditch"

indication of filth, rot and gar
bage.
Folly Ditch was filled long
ago, but many of the squalid
buildings still remain. 1t was
to one of these wretched houses
that Bill Skies escaped after
numbering Nancy, and where he
met his doom.
The appearance of the district
has altered very little since
those times. The whole area is
a mass of ugly bridges, factories,
and houses, and these are to
make way for a housing scheme
on up-to-date lines.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-02-04
"One of the Most Striking Features of the Liquor
Trade, All Over the World for the Past Twenty
Years, Has Been the Tendency to Raise
the Alcoholic Horsepower of
he VaraoN

Although the type of beer
which is mildest and least harm
full is precisely the one which the
amateur brewer is the least allie
to produce.
Finally, perchance, a few par
ticularly hardy spirits among the
hootch-makers are ambitious to
concentrate the "cussedness" OF
their seething brew still further
and produce some form of really
hard liquor, thus making confu-
sion worse COMPOUNDED, which is
simply asking for trouble.
To do this he reverts to the
ancient discovery OF his remote
ancestor that IL the biting brew,
must, or mash be heated. the
spirit or soul" OF the mess boils
off or evaporates first, leaving
the water and dregs behind it.
And il this invisible and dis
embodied spirit in the form of
vapor can be caught in a funnel
and passed through a tube long
enough to keep its walls cool, as
1t strikes the cold walls Of the
tube 1t condenses again in drops
and trickles out at the other end
as q clear liquid.
AS the Latin word for drops"
happened to be 'Stilla,," the ma
chine was called q "still," the
process 'distillation, and the
long tube coiled down into .