Imperial Valley press., 1927-01-11
()P PH()L[)S
ALCOHOL
[)|[UIN)N
Mellon Submits Lengthy
Report Oh Much MOoted
Question.
PROHIBITION
Says Treasury Duty to
Make Industrial Liquid
Unfit for Beverage.
By JOSEPH H. WASNEY
United Press Staff CorresDondent

WASHINGTON, Jan. IL Secrc-
tary of the Treasury Mellon today
Informed congress that wood alcohol,
as dcnaturant for industrial alco-
hol constitutes the most effective
means of accomplishing the require
ments of the national prohibition
act -
His letter in answer to a senate
interpolation declared wood alcohol
is Gscd as n dcnaturant by author
Ity of congress under a statute pass
ed in 1896
Mellon said the treasury does not
wish TO use dangerous substances as
denaturants, but "congress has I'M
posed upon the treasury the duty of
specifying an effective denaturant
readily available to industry. An
effective denaturant. not harmful if
used for beverage purposes, has not
yet been found, although research
is continued. y
The treasury feels that it has
not the discretion, under existing
law,+t abandon an effective dena-
turant in favor of one not harmful
bat ineffective,' Mellon said.
"Thc treasury is charged with
the duty of making industrial al
chol unfit for use as ali Intoxicating
beverage and making such alcohol
available to the freest extent to in
dustry." Melons letter said.
the duties require a denatJrant
having these characteristics:
"l-That in is original mixturc
the dcnatured alcohol shah be un-
tit for beverages.
THAT the denaturant shah bc
such that il cannot be easily rcmov-
cd from the mixture and the treat
Cd product made unfit for bcvcr2 &c
purposes.
''3-That the dcnaturant shall not
interfere with. the use of alcohol for
industrial purposes.
''Th" simplest denaturant is wood
alcohol, rs specified in the original
law.
Deaths Due To Alcoholism
Many industries feel that to re-
move wood alcohol as a denaturant
in the present state Of scientific
knowledge would destroy them ami
would render impossible the duty
imposed on the treasury to promote
such inustry,' Mellon continued.
Mellon said the Industrial alcono.
output for 1926 was more than l0j,
000.0 gallons and he included cX-
hibits tending to show that many
deaths attributed to poison rum were
really from alcoholism.
\ letter from DR.. Louis |. Harris,
health commissioner of New York
City. reported there were $50 deaths
from alcoholism in New York last
wear. while seven deaths were di-
rcctlv attributed to wood alcohol.
con the basis of clinical and of
ficial experience it is my belief
that some of these 80 deaths were
possibly due to wood alcohol or
other substance to denature or med
icate alcohol - Harris wrote. He
dav season New York hospitals
treated 337 eases of alcoholism but
only one was definitely attributed
to wood alcohol poisoning.
The senate especially requested
correspondence between the treasury
and the Anti-Saloon league on com
mercial alcohol, but Mellon said he
found only n telegram from Atticus
Webb, Anti-Saloon league superin-
tendent of Texas, saying:
'Your order removing poison
from denatured alcohol can mean
nothing less than to furnish alcohol
tax free +" bootleggcrs. 1t is not
the function of the treasury depart
mcnt to supply bootleggers with Ii
quors for trampling the constitution
under foot.
Kinn Gillntf has hOnpht the 400