Evening star., 1923-04-25

for years. Only in rare cases is ii
FOUND that 1t has been sold recently
by bootlegger.
Practically 100 per of the 90 per
cent of manufactured whisky is poi
sonous and is likely to bring death
or physical and mental disability to
the drinker. The slogan of the corn
whisky manufacturer these days is
make It quick and get it quick. and
the devil take the consequences"
No Genuine whisky.
Not one sample OF genuine whisky
has been analyzed by DR.. Price, the
District chemist, within the past six
months from the liquor taken in
raids. All the whisky he has tested
within that period has been manu-
factured-probably in the District Of
Columbia.
Yet, in fairness to all concerned, it
must be said that the Washington
bootlegger is at least careful TO fore
go the use Of methylalcohol-the
wood alcohol of commerce-or the So
called "coroner's cocktail which
caused so many deaths in and around
does use ethylalcohol. or denatured
alcohol, which he sometimes mixes
with bichloride or carbolic acid to
remove its poisonous constituents.
IHeTe Is no real gin SOlQ IN w dSn-
ington. except on physicians pre-
scriptions, Lieut.. Davis and DR.. Price
say. The same is true of whisky. but
probably more gin is sold on account
or its cheapness than whisky. Some
of the corn whisky. the largest part
or which comes from nearby Mary
land. is run off" in zinc or tin yes
sells and in the process absorbs part
OF the zinc or tin of the container
This corn. so vile is it, has been
n naS
gallon tin can. The newest drink
among the persons who cannot afford
to pay high prices for booze is called
Jake and is made from Jamaica
ginger. 1t has practically the same
enect as Mills bomb in the stomach.
Lieut. Davis says, and sometimes one
drink is quite enough to leave the
drinker i'll for days.
C1ean-Up Begins.
The vice squad, Lieut.. Davis says. is
making every effort to clean up Wash
ington before the Shrine convention.
Undoubtedly. however, he adds, some
bad stuff will be sold and there may
be some deaths.
Bootleggers who have heretofore
been careful, may take the chance Of
a quick sale to unknown persons and
substitute Immediately poisonous
booze for the alcohol-caramel com
Dlnatlon that is only slightly less
dangerous. except to the case-hard-
ened drinker But Lieut. Davis and
the vice squad will be backed up by
every resource of the federal prohibit
ton unit, according to Prohibition
commissioner Roy a. Haynes. who is
determined that Washington will be
known after the Shrine convention as
the cleanest city. from a booze stand
point in the country.
Ask Citizens Aid.
Commissioner Haynes today urged
every citizen in Washington to do his
utmost to smash the poison whisky
evil in this city.
Records Of the Gallinger Hospital and
of Coroner Nevitt's office do not in
dicate to even fair degree the pre-
valence of bad liquor, according to the
coroner and DR.. E. w. Patterson, super
intendent of the Gallinger Municipal
Hospital Six hundred and sixty-two
cases of alcoholism came to the CALM
ger Hospital during the past year, of
tributable to alcoholic poisoning These
were practically all police cases. in
which men or women were picked UP
on the streets drunk and taken to the
hospital for treatment. The alcoholic
cases were greater last year than during
the preceding year, and this year are
again maintaining a high mark, DIR.
Patterson says.
Ten Deaths I'm 1921.
Records of the health department
for the past calendar year show ten
deaths in Washington during 1921
from alcoholic poisoning. Deaths
from gastritiS and other kindred
causes total many times that number,
for sometimes the coroner or the at
tending physician, out of Difference to
the family of the deceased, issues a
certificate of death from another
cause, when likely the real cause is
alcoholic poisoning. The records of
private hospitals. not obtainable.
probably would show a fairly large
percentage of deaths from acute alco-
holic poisoning, physicians say. Au-
topsies are not performed in every
case of death which appears to result
from natural causes, DIR. Nevitt says.
the coroner usually being able to tell
from surface indications the immedi-
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