t| f 
 
 
 l:m 
 
 '^^^ 
 
 
 
 
 i_S? 
 
 
 ^F 
 
 
 
 
 C-xS:.e;j,r(a; 
 
 
 
 : c( 
 
 < %K^i- 
 
 
 
 
 S- ^ :i ; < C^ ■■•■ 
 
 *^« CCCcjr 
 
 « 
 
 
 CC < 
 
 
 ■■ ,■■ CC 
 
 ' ,<■,*-■«. 
 
 
 't<R - 
 
 c «<«.' 
 
 1 
 
 i *c 
 
 ■ '.-tC 
 
 
 «<c: 
 
 ' tfjr. 
 
 
 <e 
 
 ' cw 
 
 c 
 
 CC 
 
 eta 
 
 c 
 
 CiT 
 
 . CCc. 
 
 r 
 
 <r 
 
 CCC, 
 
 t 
 
 <£ 
 
 ■ rce 
 
 t 
 
 •C*S' r 
 
 
 c«*^<f 
 
((nrnpll ICaui i>rl|nnl IGibraty 
 
C0H^4ELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 3 1924 094 115 254 
 
\\<\ 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924094115254 
 
JPITEE ^^.LCOHOL. 
 
 HEAKIKGS 
 
 BEFOEE THE 
 
 COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 
 
 59TH CONGRESS, 1ST SESSION. 
 
 FEBRUARY-MARCH, 1906. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 WASHINGTON: 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
 1906. 
 
 1^338 
 
Committee on Ways and Means. 
 
 HOUSE OF KEPKESENTATIVES. 
 
 Seeeno E. Payne, Chairman. 
 John Dalzbll. 
 Ohables H. Geosvenor. 
 James T. McCleary. 
 Samuel W. McCall. 
 Joseph W. Babcock. 
 Ebenezbe J. Hill. 
 Henry S. Boutell. 
 James E. AVatson. 
 
 Charles Curtis. 
 James 0. Needham. 
 William Alden Smith. 
 John S. Williams. 
 Samuel M. Robertson. 
 Champ Clark. 
 
 Wm. BoUEKE CoCKE.iN. 
 
 Oscar W. Underwood. 
 Daniel L. D. Granger. 
 William K. Payne, Clerk. 
 
OOITTEXTS 
 
 Page. 
 
 Hearings before committee 5-307 
 
 Appendix 309^27 
 
 Liat of witnesses, in order of their appearance 429 
 
 List of witnesses, in alphabetical order 430 
 
 List of documents in appendix 431 
 
 Subject index of hearings 433 
 
 3 
 
FUEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Committee on Ways and Means, 
 
 Wednesday, February 7, 1906. 
 
 The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., the chairman, Hon. Sereno 
 E. Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present: The chairman and Messrs. Dalzell, Grosvenor, McCleary, 
 McCall, Hill, Boutell, Curtis, Needham, Smith, Clark, Underwood, 
 and Granger. 
 
 The Chairman. This is a hearing on the bills before the committee 
 relating to free alcohol in the arts and manufactures. Secretary Wil- 
 son was to have been here this morning, but he has telephoned that 
 he is very sorry he is unable to come on account of a severe cold, 
 but he has submitted the following statement: 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES WILSON, SECRETAEY OF AGRI- 
 
 CTJLTURE. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Secretary Wn.soN. Mr. Chairman, I appear before your committee 
 by invitation to say something with regard to alcohol in the arts and 
 industries, particularly in the -industries. 1 may say that I do not come 
 either to help or to hinder legislation, but to contribute my mite to the 
 discussion of a subject which your committee will have to consider 
 verj^ seriously sooner or later. 
 
 The question of heating and lighting on the farm is becoming quite 
 insistent. In the prairie countries there is some coal, but the readily 
 obtained supply will become exhausted before a very remote date. 
 Hard coal taken out to the prairies is expensive at all times, and very 
 expensive quite often; besides which, it is becoming more and more 
 expensive as time goes on, so that we must begin looking about for 
 other sources of heating and lighting. The starch and sugar plants are 
 the present source of alcohol and will continue to be. In Europe the 
 chief sources of alcohol have been the potato and the sugar beet by 
 distillation, either directly or from their by-products. Other sources 
 of alcohol which may be advantageously utilized in the United States 
 are the white potato of the North, the sweet potato, the yam, the 
 cassava plant, waste molasses from the sugar cane, waste molasses 
 from the sugar beet, and the waste product from the stalk of the 
 Indian corn at the time of the hardening of the grain. In this list may 
 be included all plants that yield heavily of starch or sugar. 
 
 The term alcohol as I am using^ it does not apply to any alcoholic 
 beverage, but to pure or denatured alcohol in a form suitable for 
 technical uses and so mixed with other ingredients that it can not be 
 used as a beverage. Sugar and starch, on fermentation, yield about 
 
 5 
 
b PEEK ALCOHOL. 
 
 half their weight as absolute alcohol. In practice a smaller quantity 
 is obtained because of certain by-products, such as acids, which are 
 produced during the fermentation of sugar and starch. Practically it 
 may be said that 45 per cent of the raw material— that is, the sugar or 
 starch — is obtained as alcohol. 
 
 It is becoming an interesting question in what direction the people 
 will turn for heating and lighting, considering the increasing price of 
 coal and the diminishing supplies of wood. An acre of land which 
 produces 50 bushels of corn, nearly 2,800 pounds, will furnish 1,960 
 pounds of fermentable matter; that is, starch and sugar together. 
 Forty -five per cent of this will be obtained as absolute alcohol, namely, 
 882 pounds. A gallon of absolute alcohol weighs 6.8 pounds; there- 
 fore an acre of corn would produce about 130 gallons of absolute alco- 
 hol. Commercial alcohol is about 95 per cent pure, so that approxi- 
 mately an acre of Indian corn producing 50 bushels would make about 
 140 gallons of commercial alcohol. 
 
 If we assume the average crop of potatoes to be 300 bushels, or 18,000 
 pounds, it would produce 3,600 pounds of fermentable matter, since 
 the potato contains an average of 20 per cent of this material. This 
 would produce 1,620 pounds of absolute alcohol, or about 255 gallons 
 of commercial alcohol, showing that an acre of potatoes produces much 
 more alcohol than an acre of corn. 
 
 But there is another consideration with regard to the potato as a 
 source of alcohol. We raise potatoes for human food and for scarcely 
 any other purpose. We plant the potato that has the finest flavor for 
 the table, independent of its yield per acre. Were we raising potatoes 
 for the purpose of making alcohol, these considerations would not be 
 regarded. The variety of potato that would give the largest yield per 
 acre would be planted. Where potatoes are used as cattle food, as 
 they are in many foreign countries, varieties of this kind are resorted 
 to, and there would be no difiiculty whatever in doubling the 255 gallons 
 per acre receivable from the present average yield of potatoes. So 
 that it would be within bounds to say that 500 gallons of alcohol can 
 be had from an acre of potatoes. 
 
 Potatoes, moreover, are a commercial crop only when within a cer- 
 tain distance of market. At the average price at which the potato 
 sells it can be hauled only a short distance, but when looking to it as 
 a source of heating and lighting, factories would be erected in country 
 neighborhoods and the potato would then be grown for its largest pos- 
 sible yield of alcohol. The sweet potato and the yam contain about 
 the same quantity of fermentable matter and would yield equivalent 
 quantities of alcohol. 
 
 So, looking at this subject from the agricultural standpoint, we find 
 that the Northern States could readily depend upon the white potato 
 as a source of heat and light, the Southern States upon the 5''am and 
 the sweet potato, and the Western States upon the sugar beet. The 
 extensive irrigation projects now being carried on by the United States 
 Government will result in watering lands that will produce sugar beets 
 more profitably, perhaps, than any other crop. The molasses can be 
 readily turned into alcohol. 
 
 The stalks of Indian corn, at the .time when the grain is sufliciently 
 hardened to be perfectly sound, when harvested contain a large quan- 
 tity of starch. If the stalks of Indian corn could be utilized at that 
 time for the manufacture of alcohol, they would produce a quantity 
 
PEEE ALCOHOL. 7 
 
 which would be almost incredibly large. There would be approxi- 
 mately 10 tons of stalks to the acre of Indian corn yielding 50 bushels 
 the acre, or 20,000 pounds, and of this at least 12 per cent, or nearly 
 2,400 pounds, is fermentable matter, 45 per cent of which can be recov- 
 ei-ed as alcohol, equivalent to 1,080 pounds of absolute alcohol, or 
 approximately 170 gallons of commercial alcohol. The average yield 
 of Indian corn is only about one-half the above, but the heavier corn 
 lands of the country that would be used for growing corn for alcohol 
 average easily 50 bushels to the acre. It is safe to say that the aver- 
 age amount of sugar and starch which goes to waste in the stalks of 
 Indian corn annually would make 100 gallons of commercial alcohol 
 per acre. When we consider the vast number of acres cultivated in 
 Indian corn, approximately 100,000,000, it is seen that the quantity of 
 alcohol that is lost in the stalks is so large as to be almost beyond the 
 grasp of our conception. 
 
 Of course, it must be remembered that there would be very great 
 difficulties attending the saving of these stalks and the manufacture of 
 alcohol from them, and as long as there are cheaper sources it is 
 evident that they will not be utilized for this purpose. But the time 
 is doubtless coming when technical and commercial skill will be able 
 to utilize this immense source of energy. Our coal mines are definite 
 quantities and are being rapidly used up. Our forests are disappear- 
 ing and many of them have disappeared. The same is true of the 
 sources of mineral oil and natural gas. In the future — it may be some 
 time in the future — the time will certainly come when the world will 
 have to look to agriculture for the production of its fuel, its light, and 
 its motive power. It seems to me that through the medium of alcohol 
 agriculture can furnish in the most convenient form for the use of 
 man this absolutely necessary source of supply. I believe, therefore, 
 that the utilization of alcohol in the arts and industries, under such 
 restrictions as would safeguard the fiscal rights of the United States 
 Government, would prove not only a great stimulus to manufactures, 
 but a great benefit to agriculture. 
 
 The Chairman. We will now hear Mr. Yerkes. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN W. YERKES, COMMISSIONER OF 
 INTERNAL REVENUE. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Mr. Chairman, I do not bj^ any means propose to use 
 all of these documents, but I have brought them with me to substan- 
 tiate a few statements that may be made. 
 
 I suppose it will be appropriate to take up, in the first place, the 
 bills that have been introduced in regard to this subject and consider 
 them for a few moments. 
 
 The Chairman. I will say to you, Mr. Yerkes, that the committee 
 will first determine upon the policy as to whether they will encourage 
 any legislation of this kind, and will afterwards decide upon the nature 
 of the bill. You would, of course, be consulted by the committee in 
 reference to the form of the bill, for the purpose of guarding against 
 fraud. You need not spend much time upon that subject unless you 
 desire to do so. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. It was not so much for the purpose of considering that 
 
8 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 question as it was the various phases of these bills which have been 
 introduced. For instance, take H. R. 430.'' It provides: 
 
 That from and after the passage of this act either grain alcohol or methylated 
 spirits, or both, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, may be withdrawn 
 from bond and used without payment of the internal-revenue tax thereon. 
 
 I do not understand that we ever have methylated spirits in bond. 
 It then provides that either grain alcohol or methylated spirits may 
 be used without the payment of the internal-revenue tax thereon in 
 any manufacturing process wherein said grain alcohol or methylated 
 spirits are consumed or destroyed upon the premises of the manufac- 
 turer, so that they become no part of the salable product, or can they 
 be recovered therefrom. The limitation "in any manufacturing 
 
 Erocess " prevents the use of free alcohol for heat, lighting, or power, 
 uch a provision would limit the use of free alcohol very much in 
 industries and manufactures, because in by no means all of the proc- 
 esses is the alcohol absolutely destroyed. 
 
 The second bill before you is H. R. 7079,* which proceeds very much 
 upon the same theory as H. R. 430, although it is a little more explicit 
 in details. The next is H. R. 8430," which provides for the payment of 
 a tax and then for a rebate. I should object to that bill because I 
 think it is very much simpler to let alcohol be withdrawn originally, 
 free of tax, than to have it withdrawn and then let a claim for a rebate 
 be made by the manufacturer. 
 
 The next bill before you for consideration is H. R. 10071,'* which is 
 a little fuller than any other of the bills, and which contains one pro- 
 vision which I think it is only right to call to the attention of the 
 committee, and that is with regard to the payment by the distiller of 
 10 cents for each stamp that shall be placed upon these packages of 
 alcohol after they have been denatured and before they leave the 
 premises of the distiller. It costs the Government just about 10 cents 
 to prepare these small stamps that are used now in bonded goods. 
 
 If this committee and Congress should determine to pass some 
 measure by which alcohol shall be withdrawn free of tax, it will be a 
 very expensive process, and certainly some provision should be made 
 for the collection of money enough to reimburse the Government for 
 the necessary expenses entailed by such an act. This is the rule in 
 Germany and in Great Britain. I certainly would be in favor of a 
 small tax upon each gallon withdrawn of 5 cents or 10 cents a gallon 
 to meet these expenses. 
 
 If a bill is adopted by the committee it would certainly be necessary 
 that an additional appropriation should be made to the Bureau to 
 prevent, as far as possible, frauds being perpetrated against the reve- 
 nue, and also to put the bill into anything like successful operation. 
 
 The Chairman. How large a tax, in your judgment, would be suffi- 
 cient to pay the expenses? 
 
 Mr. XEEKES. It would depend very lai'gely upon the amount of 
 alcohol withdrawn. I understand, and it is a matter of common rumor, 
 that there is a wide difference of opinion to-day as to the quantity of 
 tax-paid grain alcohol that is now being used in the arts and manufac- 
 tures for pharmaceutical purposes, heating, lighting, and so forth, in 
 
 a For copy of H. E. 430 see page 310. 
 6 For copy of H. R. 7079 see page 310. 
 « For copy of H. R. 8430 see page 311. 
 ^ For copy of H. R. 10071 see page 311. 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 9 
 
 this countr3\ Some claim that the quantity used is exceedingly small 
 and that therefore the loss of revenue would be very light should leg- 
 islation of this type be enacted. I presume that is one of the ques- 
 tions the committee would like to be informed upon. On that ques- 
 tion I can simply say that the authentic records and data of the Treas- 
 ury Department in my bureau show absolutely nothing. We do not 
 trace a gallon of tax-paid alcohol into the hands of the manufacturers. 
 This tax is paid hy the distiller, and then it passes out from under our 
 control or observation, unless it comes back through rectifying or 
 wholesale houses in some way. 
 
 1 found, in examining this question, when the matter was before 
 Congress ten years ago, that the Census Bureau in 1891 prepared a 
 document. No. 206, in which they stated their conclusion as to the 
 amount of grain alcohol being used at that time in the arts and manu- 
 factures. That report places it at that time at about 9,000,000 gal- 
 lons. The report was made in 1891. The report of the joint com- 
 mittee of the Senate and House was made in 1896. 
 Mr. "Watson. What period does that cover? * 
 
 jNIr. Yekkes. It covers the preceding 3rear. Now, we all know two 
 things — first, that there has been a marvelous advance in manufac- 
 turing in this country since 1890, and therefore it would perhaps be 
 fair to assume that the amount of grain alcohol used in arts and in 
 manufacturing industries would be much greater to-day than it was 
 at that time; and, secondly, I believe it is an admitted fact that during 
 that period there has been a great advance in the processes of refining 
 and purifying wood alcohol, and wood alcohol has to a great extent 
 displaced the use of grain alcohol in manufacturing industries where 
 it was formerh' used. 
 
 I find also from reading this report, as an evidence of how much 
 grain alcohol we used in 1894, an instance cited with reference to the 
 James S. Kirk & Co. Manufacturing Compan}^, great soap makers. 
 You will recall that in 1894, under the Wilson bill, there was a pro- 
 vision authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury, then Mr. Carlisle, to 
 provide proper regulations under which alcohol might be withdrawn 
 free of tax for industrial purposes. Mr. Carlisle never put that law 
 into operation. The written position of the Internal Revenue Bureau 
 and of Mr. Carlisle was that it was impossible to make a series of 
 regulations which would effectually prevent fraud upon the Govern- 
 ment, and that they could not carry into efiect this general authoriza- 
 tion by Congress. It may not be improper for me to say there is a 
 tradition hanging around the Department that the condition of the 
 revenues at that time was such that it was not desired to lessen them, 
 and perhaps that may be one reason why the hill was never made 
 efiective. But as a result of the passage of the ^^'ilson bill, and as a 
 result of the failure of the Secretary of the Treasury to enforce it, 
 there were a great many claims filed before the Internal Revenue 
 Department by these different manufacturers for the amounts that 
 they had paid for tax upon alcohol during the period between the 
 passage of the act and the presentation of the claim. This one firm of 
 soap makers presented a claim for two years, in which they proved 
 by affidavit that they had paid, as tax upon alcohol withdrawn for use 
 in making soap alone, the sum of §18,000. 
 
 I find also a written statement made by the then Commissioner of 
 Internal Revenue, Mr. Miller, in which he shows that the sum total of 
 
10 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 these claims presented from one district in the State of New York 
 alone amounted to 11,000,000. So it is perfectly apparent to my 
 mind, without being able to give anything like authentic or satisfac- 
 tory figures, that there is still a considerable quantity of grain alcohol 
 used in the industrial arts and in manufactures. 
 
 Mr. McCall. Have you been able to separate, in any way, the 
 drinkable use from the nondrinkable? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. McCall. Then the statement you have made covers the use of 
 alcohol for patent medicine ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes; for pharmaceutical preparations and everything 
 of that kind. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What is the number of that document? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. It is Senate Document, Report No. 411, in the Fifty- 
 fifth Congress. 
 
 The Chairman. Is that the report of the Commission ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir; you will remember that the Commission 
 consisted of Sefiator Jones, Senator Piatt, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Evans of 
 Kentucky, Mr. Russell of Connecticut, and Mr. McMillan of Tennes- 
 see. Thej' made a very full and exhaustive report, and they differed 
 entirely in some respects ; but yet the two sections of the report 
 agreed that there should be no legislation adopted at that time, because 
 of the nondesirability of a reduction in revenue. Mr. Evans, in a 
 very lengthy report, bases his conclusion upon various grounds, one 
 being that it would be absolutely impossible to have legislation of 
 this kind without there being necessarily very great frauds against the 
 revenue. Senator Piatt, in his report, takes the reverse view, and 
 insists that it would be possible to minimize these frauds, just as we 
 try to minimize frauds at the present time, by preventing the illegal 
 manufacture and sale of distilled spirits, beer, oleomargarine, and 
 what not. 
 
 As to the number of articles now produced in this country which 
 use alcohol more or less, I find a very interesting statement in the 
 report of Senator Piatt and Mr. Russell. He enumerates them as 
 follows: 
 
 Acids, bicycles, blacking, brass work, bronze work, burial caskets, cabinetmaking, 
 carriages, cars, wagons, etc., cartridges, celluloid and zylonite, chairs, chemicals, 
 chemical preparations, cigars, colors, dental goods, desks, dyes, dyes used in textiles, 
 enameled ware, flavoring extracts, folding beds, fulminating powder, furniture, gas 
 and electric fixtures, gilding, granite ware, guns and pistols, hats, japanned ware, 
 machinery, moldings, organs, paints, paper, pharmaceuticals, photographic materials, 
 pianos, picture frames, rattan goods, shellac, silk, silver plating, smokeless powder, 
 tobacco, toys, varnishes, whips. 
 
 This list shows the very wide scope of manufacturing industries in 
 this country which do use, to a greater or less extent, alcohol. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, the amount used in foreign countries, where 
 the tax is removed from alcohol and it is withdrawn free of tax, varies 
 and that variance, of course, depends somewhat upon the price of the 
 alcohol without the addition of the tax. For instance, in Germanv as 
 we know, alcohol is produced cheaper than in Great Britain, and there- 
 fore you will find, perhaps, more free alcohol used in the industrial 
 arts and for heating and lighting in Germany than in any other coun- 
 try. The quantity used depends somewhat upon the price of those 
 articles with which free alcohol would come into competition. For 
 instance, in Germany you will find alcohol used for heating and light- 
 
FKEB ALCOHOL. 11 
 
 ing- purposes out in the country districts, and for running engines, etc., 
 in the agricultural districts. You do not find that in Great Britain, 
 because the price of petroleum is less in the one country than in the 
 other. JSo you have got to consider all of these various component 
 factors, in determining as to what was the cause, the necessity, or the 
 incentive to use this article in one country as against another country. 
 
 The British Parliament, in 1904, created a commission to investigate 
 and report as to the industrial use of alcohol. I have that report before 
 me. I will say that 1 have tried to secure from the British embassy 
 an exact copy of the rales and laws under which free alcohol is used. 
 
 Professor Wiley. Here is the copy to which you refer. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. It is of no use to me now. I tried to get it, and finally 
 the Secretary of State cabled to London, to our minister, to send it 
 over, but it has not )'et reached me. The report of this committee is 
 exceedingly interesting and instructive. I will not take time to call 
 the attention of the committee to this report, for, to be candid, I did 
 not know upon what subject you gentlemen would like me to speak. 
 If I knew I could segregate and select out from these various papers 
 and documents I have looked at the data relating to the subject in 
 which you are interested. 
 
 The Chairman. The committee is here for the purpose of hearing 
 any suggestions that will throw light upon this subject. Thejr are 
 seeking information. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. For instance, take the question of these bills to which 
 I have referred. I want to first saj-, frankly, on that subject, that I 
 would very much prefer a bill full, complete, definite, and long, if you 
 please, stating distinctly how this alcohol should be denatured, giving 
 some li berty as to the various agents to be used, so as to meet the 
 necessities of the various kinds of industrial pursuits. I do not want 
 a general bill, leaving everything to be determined as to methods, 
 modes, processes, rules, and regulations by the Department. 
 
 The Chairman. The laws of the various countries seem to have been 
 
 f)ublished in the report of this commission. I think they were pub- 
 ished in full, and those laws go into the minutest detail, so far as I 
 have examined them. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. We do not want that minute detail, but 1 would like 
 a great deal more definite and specific provision by Congressional 
 action than appears in any of the bills introduced at the present time. 
 I think that is very much wiser than it is to leave it to departmental 
 decision. 
 
 Mr. Ci-ARK. The theory of this is that something should be done to 
 the alcohol which would take awaj' the drinking quality ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir; to make it absolutely nonpotable. 
 
 Mr. Clark. When are they going to do that, before it gets into bond 
 or after it is in bond, or when they get it out? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Just as it is withdrawn in the bonded warehouse. 
 Before it leaves there this denaturing agency is put in. 
 
 Mr. Clark. It is going to be done under the supervision of a Gov- 
 ernment agent? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is there anything they can do to it, as soon as they get 
 it out, to put back the intoxicating qualities? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. The intoxicating quality always remains; but there is 
 
12 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 another quality added to it which would prevent you and me, as Ken- 
 tuckians, from enjoying it. 
 
 Mr. Claek. What is that thing* 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. On that point you will have before you some very 
 distinguished chemists, and I have no doubt they will stand before 
 this committee and insist that these denaturing agents I am going to 
 speak of will render this alcohol absolutely nonpotable and will be 
 destructive entirely of its beverage qualities, and they will say that it 
 can not be removed by any process of repuriflcation or refining. I 
 will take issue, to some extent, with those gentlemen in advance. In 
 other words, take a safe maker: Just as he succeeds in securing a dif- 
 ferent kind of steel out of which to make his safe, the safe breaker 
 goes ahead and makes a little harder chisel by which he cuts into it. 
 If you open, in this country, a promise or hope of reward by fraud, 
 you will find some chemical ability will be directed to this end, and 
 probably the original denaturing agents may be to some extent 
 removed. But I do not consider that an argument, especially against 
 the law if you gentlemen desire to enact it, because you are going to 
 find fraud wherever there is a profit in committing fraud against the 
 revenue. 
 
 Mr. Hill. May I ask you whether it would not be cheaper to make 
 it under the original process than to purify it? 
 
 Mr. Yekkes. I doubt that very much, Mr. Hill. 
 
 Mr. Clark. What I want to find out is this, if it is sufficiently prof- 
 itably for them to put this stuff back into its intoxicating condition? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Why, certainly, if the cost of doing it would be less 
 than the cost of making the original alcohol and withdrawing it with- 
 out paying the tax. 
 
 The Chairman. That would have to be put in the same class as ordi- 
 nary moonshining. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes. 
 
 The Chairman. There is one other question I want to ask. I under- 
 stood you to say it cost 10 cents apiece to make these stamps ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. To make the stamp ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir; to make the stamp. That seems to me to 
 be a very high charge. The question came up only a few weeks ago, 
 and we asked the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to furnish us 
 with an estimate of what it would cost the Govei-nment to make the 
 plates and paper, prepare, and deliver to us, bound in books as they 
 have to be, these long stamps that are used on Bottled goods, etc., for 
 which the distiller pays the Government 10 cents; and their report is 
 that it costs the Government just about that much to do the work. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Are we to understand that you can not give us any 
 definite idea as to what effect such legislation would have on the 
 revenue? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Mr. Dalzell, I have tried, and the Secretary of the 
 Treasury has assisted me in every way possible, to see if 1 could get, 
 from any governmental source, data upon which we could rely in 
 regard to this matter, but it is absolutely impossible. This report of 
 the Census Bureau, made in Bulletin No. 22, in 1891, is the last report 
 the Census has made on this question, and my information is that this 
 report was not made directly upon returns secured by the census 
 enumerators during their ordinary work in connection with the census 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 13 
 
 but that the data upon which the estimate is based was secured by the 
 Census Department, through a series of letters sent out through the 
 countrj-, largely to persons engaged in these industries. 
 
 The Chairman. And this commission, in 1896 and 1897, took that 
 as the basis of their report? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Largely, undoubtedl}'. 
 
 The Chairman. They concluded that there were about 9,000,000 
 g-allons used in the arts at that time and that it would make a differ- 
 ence in the revenue of about $10,000,000 or $11,000,000. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes; that was the estimate. 
 
 The Chairman. "Was not the report of Senator Piatt and Mr. Rus- 
 sell based upon the ground that it would decrease the revenue? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. While the four other members of the commission 
 reported against it on the ground of its opening the door to frauds as 
 well as on the ground of loss of revenue? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir; the report of three members, Messrs. 
 Jones, Evans, and McMillan, is based upon four reasons: 
 
 First. That the condition of the public revenue will not admit of it. 
 In that Senator Piatt and Mr. Russell concurred in their report. 
 Then these same three gentlemen state further: 
 
 Second. It will not, in the judgment of the committee, be practica- 
 ble to frame any law or set of resolutions which will make it possible 
 to prevent great frauds upon the revenue otherwise than by an expend- 
 iture by the United States of sums of money which would be greatly 
 disproportionate to any good to the public that could be expected from 
 free alcohol, to say nothing of the great expense to these small opera- 
 tors who would have to prepare for surveillance over themselves. 
 
 Third. No general public good would result which would compen- 
 sate the Grovernment for the loss of revenue that would follow, nor 
 the large expenditures that would be required to prevent fraud. 
 
 Fourth. The benefit of free alcohol in the manufactures and arts 
 would, in the judgment of the committee, be almost entirely enjoyed 
 by a comparatively few large manufacturers and would not be shared 
 by the people generally, nor by those who manufacture on a small 
 scale. To this extent the exemption would be a bounty to a few and 
 a species of class legislation in no wise to be commended or entered 
 upon. 
 
 The report of Senator Piatt is too long to be read before the com- 
 mittee, but it presents very strong argument in favor of allowing the 
 use of free alcohol in the arts, sciences, and manufacturing industries 
 whenever the condition of the revenues of the Government will per- 
 mit it. 
 
 I now want to answer Mr. Clark's questions about these denaturing- 
 materials. The denaturing material generally used is wood alcohol, 
 and to that is added either a bone oil, which is not fragrant, or some 
 one of the coal-tar preparations, with pyridine bases, say four parts 
 of wood alcohol and one part of pyridine base. I understand that it 
 is the crude wood alcohol that is used and not the refined and highly 
 purified wood alcohol, such as Columbian spirits and other types. 
 They use a fixed quantity of these denaturing materials, which are 
 supposed to destroy the beverage qualities in two ways: First, by pro- 
 ducing toxical poisoning qualities with the wood alcohol, and, second, 
 by the disgusting flavor and perfume that you get from the thorough 
 
14 FEBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 admixture of these elements. It is undoubtedly true that if you take 
 alcohol in that condition, made nonpotable, it is absolutely beyond the 
 pale of ordinary use for beverage purposes. 
 
 Then the simple question is: Can it, by chemical processes, be 
 restored to its original condition, and can these poisonous and distaste- 
 ful elements be taken out so that it would again come into competi- 
 tion with tax-paid grain alcohol in the markets of the world for 
 potable uses? 
 
 In Great Britain, for instance, they did not use this nontax-paid 
 article until about 1855. They then provided, under their laws and 
 regulations, certain fixed agents that should be used for denaturing 
 purposes. Nearly all of them used wood alcohol, and then added 
 these petroleum mixtures. They have since that time, in Germany, 
 Great Britain, France, and, I think, in Belgium, Switzerland, and Rus- 
 sia, tried to adopt a denaturing material to the specific object that the 
 denatured alcohol would be used for. For instance, take alcohol dena- 
 tured that would be used in the manufacture of hats. They could use, 
 for instance, wood alcohol and the petroleum bases. But when they 
 come to use denatured free alcohol in the manufacture of varnish for 
 lacquer work, etc. , they want another agency used, and it can be used 
 and the denaturing be very thoroughly done. 
 
 Mr. Granger. Do you know whether thej^ could denature alcohol 
 for the purpose of making gunpowder ? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. I presume that could be done, but it has not been 
 done up to the present time. 
 
 The Chairman. I was told by a manufacturer of blasting caps that 
 they used nothing but the pure alcohol, because it was not profitable 
 to do so. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. 1 have found that wood alcohol is used to some extent 
 in the manufacture of smokeless powder at the present time. The 
 Government withdraws free of tax about 1,500,000 gallons of alcohol 
 for the use of the Navy Department and some 200,000 gallons for the 
 use of the War Department. That is free of tax under our law. 
 
 I have been somewhat surprised to find the amount of methylated 
 spirits, which I understand is wood alcohol, that is used in m"aking 
 smokeless powder in Great Britain, which would indicate that it could 
 be used in this country, if our grain alcohol were denatured by the 
 addition of wood alcohol. For instance, in 1901, in Great Britain, for 
 fulminates, smokeless powder, and other explosives, including the war 
 office and Admiralty, 48,000 gallons of these methylated spirits were 
 used. How much of straight grain alcohol was used does not, of 
 course, appear. 
 
 In Great Britain the laws have certainly been reasonable and liberal 
 with regard to the use of this untaxed alcohol. We find in the report 
 of this parliamentary commission that the total, including the untaxed 
 denatured alcohol, used was 5,500,000 imperial proof gallons, of 
 which 1,800,000 gallons were used as a solvent for shellac in producing 
 varnish. 
 
 In Germany there were used 73,635,249 gallons. That would be, 
 say, 37,000,000 ordinary wine gallons used in Germany. I have here 
 a statement as to what this was largely used for, and I want to call 
 your attention especially to one thing. That is that in Germany 
 where the very greatest liberality has been shown in the use of this 
 alcohol, and where the highest perfection has been attained in the use 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 15 
 
 of denaturing agents, and where they use complete denaturing and 
 partial denaturing, their laws do not allow it to be withdrawn free of 
 tax for certain purposes, such as for the manufacture of medicines 
 and things of that kind. I do not think that could be allowed in this 
 country. I do not think it should be allowed in any case where the 
 finished product will be used internally. 
 
 With reg-ard to the cost of administration, it will be large, because 
 of the necessity of having new agencies to protect the Government. 
 With regard to the propriety of following this alcohol from the ware- 
 house, where it is denatured and where the proper stamp is placed 
 upon it, to the manufacturing industries where it is used, 1 think that 
 is absolutely necessary. That all of these manufacturers and users of 
 denatured alcohol in large quantities should be compelled to keep 
 a full set of books, open to the inspection of the internal-revenue 
 department, there is no doubt in my mind. That they should be 
 required to give proper bonds, and that all handling it as wholesale 
 dealers should keep proper books, I think is clear. 
 
 That the Government should require some tax to be paid upon it, 
 3 cents or 5 cents a gallon, so as to make expenses, is also clear to my 
 mind. 
 
 As to the loss of revenue, it is impossible for me to indicate what 
 that amount will be, for we have no reliable data upon which to go. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Have you any data as to the cost of handling it? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. No, sir; we can not have any data in that regard, 
 because we have never attempted to handle it before. 
 
 The Chaiemax. You mentioned the figure of 5 cents a gallon. Is 
 that your judgment as to the amount that would be necessary to meet 
 the expense? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. I should think 6 cents a gallon would certainly be 
 sufficient; that would amount to $2 a barrel on the average barrel 
 withdrawn. 
 
 The Chairman. You speak of the objection to using it for medici- 
 nal preparations. I suppose one objection to that would be that it 
 would be used for beverage purposes ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir. That argument is also made by the gentle- 
 men of the committee to which I have referred. That is one reason 
 why they objected to its use for these purposes. 
 
 I think the bill should provide that the distiller withdrawing this 
 alcohol to be denatured must pay the cost of the denaturing agency, 
 whatever it may be. In France and in Germany the fees of the chem- 
 ists who examine these denaturing agents and who certify as to their 
 efficiency and quality are paid by the distillers. They have in those 
 countries methylated establishments where grain alcohol is shipped and 
 they there denature it in large quantities. They pay a certain tax for 
 that privilege. Then every step in the process is absolutely under 
 governmental inspection and governmental restriction. 
 
 In Germany and in Great Britain they have the advantage of us in 
 the enforcement of the laws, because of the congested condition of 
 their population, and because they have not these great open sweeps 
 that we have, where no internal-revenue officer rides perhaps for 
 months. They have adopted this system of allowing alcohol to be 
 withdrawn free of tax without serious frauds against the revenue. 
 
 I am not ready to say that we can not enforce the law in this country. 
 I believe the opportunities for fraud would be greater than in Ger- 
 
16 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 many or in Great Britain ; but I believe that we can enforce it, if Congress 
 desires to enact this legislation, provided they will give us the money 
 to employ the necessary men to enforce the law. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What is the experience abroad with respect to frauds 
 on the treasury? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. I do not find very much reference to it. I have found 
 in this report one statement made which indicated that the frauds were 
 limited in number and amount. As one basis for that proposition, 
 you will see that the user of this denatured alcohol is vastly interested 
 in getting it in that condition, in order to enable him to compete with 
 the foreign manufacturer, who gets it free of tax. In my judgment, 
 after reading these reports, and reading of the special excellence and 
 proficiency of certain articles produced by the Germans, I presume 
 one would be bound to admit that the position of the German manu 
 facturing plants is somewhat due to the fact that they do have this 
 alcohol free. 
 
 Mr. Needham. I notice, in these hearings before the commission of 
 Parliament, that the question of administration was regarded as a very 
 serious one, and that they have established points where large quanti- 
 ties might be handled under immediate Government inspection. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes; as I stated, they have large establishments where 
 it is denatured in large quantities, and the denaturing agencies are 
 certified to by the chemists and then added to the alcohol, under the 
 very eye of the Government officer. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Would not that tend to minimize the difficulties ? 
 
 Mr. Yekkes. Yes, sir; and it would also tend to increase the cost. 
 
 Mr. Needham. It would also tend to a more certain revenue, would 
 it not? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. We do not get any revenue from it. 
 
 Mr. Needham. If j^ou put a tax on it j'ou could keep ti-ack of it. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. There would be no trouble about that. Every time 
 you would withdraw a barrel that tax would have to be paid. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Free alcohol, to be used by druggists, of course 
 would not be denatured alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. That ought not to be allowed, in my judgment. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Do you think it would be possible to follow that 
 alcohol out into the various manufactures? 
 
 _Mr. Yerkes. No, sir. I would oppose the actual alcohol being 
 withdrawn free of tax under all circumstances and conditions at the 
 present time and only allow it to be withdrawn free of tax after it was 
 denatured. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Is it not now withdrawn free to a very large extent? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Under our law alcohol can be withdrawn free of tax 
 by the Government for its Navy and War Department and for hospi- 
 tal service. It can be withdrawn for uses in scientific and educational 
 institutions and for use in the purification of sweet wine. Some three 
 and a half or four million gallons have been withdrawn for that pur- 
 pose in the last three or four years. There is a use for which it can 
 be withdrawn free, to make sugar out of sorghum sirup, but none has 
 ever been withdrawn under that law. 
 
 Mr. Geosvenor. I would like to ask whether the withdrawals now 
 authorized by law have resulted in anj' fraud. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. I think not to any appreciable extent; but of course 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 17 
 
 this would be a very much broader field, and there would be thousands 
 of applicants as compared to one applicant now. 
 
 Mr. Grosa^enor. This pi'ocess would be inflicted upon it before it 
 left the Government's hands and observation ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes, sir. 
 
 jNlr. Keedham. Is there any considerable amount of the denatured 
 alcohol imported into this country i 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. I can hardly saj- about that, because, you know, under 
 our law they can import straight alcohol and use it in their warehouses 
 and when they export that article they get a drawback for the amount 
 of customs it has paid. But as the customs duty on alcohol would be 
 greater than our internal-revenue tax, I do not suppose there would be 
 very much. 
 
 Mr. McCall. You would not recommend a tax on this alcohol beyond 
 the point necessary to produce a revenue sufBtient to pay the expenses 
 for maintaining' these diiierent establishments^ 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. No, sir; if you did, you would do away with the theory 
 of free alcohol. 
 
 Mr. McCall. So that if 2 cents would be sufficient, you would rec- 
 ommend that rather than 5 cents? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Yes; I would simply recommend that if it be made 
 free to the consumer it also be made free to the Government, and I 
 would not let the Government carry any of the expense. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. It is very evident that the question of the effect upon 
 the revenue is going to be a controlling question in this legislation. 
 I have seen a statement in print several times that, admitting the truth 
 of the figures given by the census, that 9,000,000 gallons were with- 
 drawn in 1S90 for use in the arts, sciences, etc., owing to the large 
 increase in the manufacture and use of wood alcohol the present with- 
 drawal of pure alcohol for use in the arts is probably less than a mil- 
 lion gallons. Have you any idea whether that guess is correct '? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. I have not, Mr. Boutell. If I were going to guess, I 
 would guess that that guess was incorrect. 
 
 Mr. Needham. What is the tax placed upon it in the countries 
 abroad ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. In some countries the tax is about equal to ours. 
 
 Mr. Needham. I mean on the denatured product. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. They do not tax the denatured alcohol at all. They 
 have a system under which they collect these expenses^ but I have not 
 been able to get the foreign records into my possession, in order to see 
 exactly what system has been adopted. I think the best system is 
 always to fix the tax primarily upon the gallon withdrawn. 
 
 Mr. Granger. What would be the cost of generating denatured 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. That would depend entirely upon the skill of the 
 chemist. I do not doubt but that the very highest skill of the fra- 
 ternity would be fixed on that point as soon as a law of this kind is 
 adopted. I do not mean that any of these gentlemen here will do it; 
 but you will find a chemist occasionally who will be willing to sell his 
 skill for that purpose. 
 
 Mr. Granger. You could not give any estimate? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. I do not think there would be any more danger of 
 fraud than we have now by reason of illicit practices in distilled 
 
 11058—06 2 ^S 
 
18 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 spirits. I suppose the purifying of this denatured alcohol would 
 require the very finest type of still, and everything of that kind. It 
 would be difficult to find a place where they could operate it. They 
 could not operate it in the mountains. They would have to go up into 
 the tenth story of some of these buildings, where they could have a 
 modern equipment. 
 
 Mr. Clark. There is no dispute among intelligent people about the 
 fact that if this act could be passed and reasonable safeguards placed 
 about it, it would be a benefit to the American manufacturing inter- 
 ests, is there? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. Mr. Clark, do you think that is a question that a 
 departmental man ought to answer? 
 
 Mr. Clark. It is a question which it is fair to ask any intelligent 
 man. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. I think-it is perfectly clear that it would assist the 
 manufacturers in this country. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Then the only thing to determine is how to safeguard 
 the revenue? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. Yes; the frauds against the revenue. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenoe. I want to ask whether we can afford a loss of 
 revenue. 
 
 Mr. Claek. If it is going to benefit the manufacturing interests and 
 the people generally to the extent of hundreds of millions of dollars, 
 as some of them seem to think, we surely could stand the loss of two 
 or three millions of revenue. 
 
 Mr. Geosvenoe. That depends on the size of the loss and the 
 amount of the revenue. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You have discovered no frauds against the revenue under 
 the present withdrawal of alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. There will always be some. 
 
 Mr. Hill. But none to amount to anything? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. None. 
 
 Mr. Hill. All of the grain alcohol that is now used free is neces- 
 sarily included in the general amount which you state is withdrawn 
 from bond for industrial purposes, so that, in all justice, in ascertain- 
 ing the loss of revenue you ought to deduct the amount that is already 
 withdrawn free under the present law? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. I think not. 
 
 Mr. Hill. How would you determine it ? Is it not a fair proposi- 
 tion that you should not, in making an estimate of loss of revenue, 
 include the amount that is now already withdrawn without the tax 
 being paid ? 
 
 Mr. MgCall. The result of cheaper alcohol would result in the use 
 of more alcohol in manufacturing. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. I think that is true. 
 
 Mr. McCall. And there would not be a loss of that excess in con- 
 sumption of alcohol in the manufactures. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. No; because it would not be consumed unless it was 
 free, and therefore there would be no loss. 
 
 The Chaieman. That would depend upon whether you made it free 
 for medicine and drinks. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. I have never found any gentleman yet who would 
 advocate that seriously, and I do not really suppose the committee 
 would consider it. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 19 
 
 The Chairman. If you did that it would make less revenue. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. It would make a very great loss of revenue. 
 
 Mr. McCall. I have heard it suggested that there was a different 
 formula for the manufacture of medicine to be sent into States 
 where there were prohibitory laws and those manufactured to send 
 into States where there were no prohibitory laws. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. Up to this time we have had no charge over these 
 proprietarj' patent medicines. Recently the Internal Revenue Bureau 
 has attempted to get control of them by reason of the excess of alco- 
 holic strength. While I can not say that I know they use a different 
 formula for preparations which the}' ship into prohibition territory as 
 against those they ship into other territory, I should think there would 
 not be, because I think the human palate is about the same in prohi- 
 bition countries as it is in others where they do not have prohibition. 
 I do know, however, that a large percentage of the output is consid- 
 ered necessar}' to the good health of those who live in prohibition 
 territory. 
 
 Mr. Curtis. Do you not know that a large number of these articles 
 have been prepared for sale in prohibition States ? Has not that come 
 to 3'our knowledge? 
 
 ]Mr. Yerkes. I can not say as to what was in the mind of the man- 
 ufacturer, but in some way the product was transported into those 
 territories, and I suppose it is sent where there is a demand for it. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Your contention is that all of this alcohol, in the first 
 instance, should go into the hands of the Government, through bonded 
 warehouses \ 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. It is the law at the present time that every gallon 
 must go into the bonded warehouses. 
 
 Mr. Clark. And you think that provision should be continued? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Undoubtedly. I would also earnestly suggest that in 
 any bill you pass you limit the capacity of the distilleries from which 
 this free alcohol can be withdrawn and denatured — that is, that you 
 limit it to a distillery which would mash not less than 100 bushels of grain 
 per day. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How much would the Government lose on a gallon of 
 alcohol under this law? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Alcohol at the present time goes into the bonded 
 warehouse in the morning, as a rule, and is withdrawn before sun- 
 down, because it is volatile and evaporates very rapidly. That alcohol 
 pays a tax of $1.10 per proof gallon; that is 100 proof, which means 
 that each gallon of alcohol pays a tax of say 11.98, or $2.08, or |2.11. 
 according to the proof. If you could get absolutely pure alcohol thai 
 would pay f2.20 a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Has anyone ever undertaken to estimate on any reason- 
 able basis the increased amount of alcohol that would be used if some 
 of these bills were passed? 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. Of course they say that it would increase the con- 
 sumption immensely. 
 
 The Chairman. I think we will have estimates before the committee 
 before we get through. 
 
 Mr. Yerkes. But that increased withdrawal would not decrease the 
 revenues at all, because we are not getting any tax on it now, for the 
 reason that they do not withdraw it for that purpose. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. I understand that you have no statistics as to the 
 amount of wood alcohol used? 
 
20 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. "We have no Government statistics as to wood alcohol. 
 It is not under governmental supervision and does not pay a tax. The 
 only thing I have looked into is as to the cost of production. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Can wood alcohol be used for purposes for which 
 denatured grain alcohol can not be used? 
 
 Mr. Yeekes. My distinct understanding is that it could not be used 
 for all purposes for which denatured grain alcohol could be used. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. NAHUM BACHELDER, MASTER OF NATIONAL 
 GRANGE OF THE PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Bachelder. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, on behalf of the 
 legislative committee of the National Grrange of the Patrons of Hus- 
 bandry, of which I have the honor to be the master, I desire to sub- 
 mit some reasons why this organization, with membership of nearly 
 800,000, representing the organized farmers of the entire country, is 
 activelj' urging upon Congress the enactment of legislation providing 
 for the use, free of tax, of domestic alcohol which has been rendered 
 unfit for internal use by the mixture of some poisonous or noxious 
 substance. The great importance to the agricultural interests of the 
 proposed legislation arises from two comparativeh' recent discoveries. 
 These are, first, the invention of a method of using alcohol in connec- 
 tion with the incandescent mantle for lighting purposes, and, second, 
 the perfection of the internal-combustion engine and its general 
 adoption as a motive power for motor vehicles, power boats, and farm 
 and other stationary engines. 
 
 While this subject has always been of direct interest to the farmers, 
 since it was evident that with the tax removed from denatured alcohol — 
 that is, alcohol the nature of which has been so charged by the addi- 
 tion of some other substance that it can not be used as a beverage — the 
 consumption of that material for industrial purposes would be vastly 
 increased, thus creating additional markets for the farm products from 
 which alcohol is distilled, it is only within the past few years that the 
 great importance of the enactment of legislation for this purpose has 
 come to be realized. 
 
 Confining myself to the question of the use of alcohol as an illumi- 
 nant and as a motor fuel for internal-combustion engines, I would 
 state that the fact that when burning in a properly constructed lamp 
 with an incandescent mantle alcohol gives a far better light than 
 kerosene, at (as shown by careful and extended experiments by emi- 
 nent scientists) a lower cost per candlepower, and is of very great impor- 
 tance to every farmer. With the price of alcohol at twice that of 
 kerosene the alcohol light is the cheaper, and at the same time it is 
 free from all disagreeable odors, requires no cleaning of lamp chim- 
 neys, trimming or renewing of wicks, gives out much less heat than 
 the kerosene lamp, and is absolutely safe, as there is no way by which 
 the flame which produces the light can communicate with the alcohol 
 in the lamp. The light given by the alcohol lamp is brilliant, white, 
 and steady, and is much better for the eyes than the yellow kerosene 
 light. 
 
 From the nature of the conditions under which the great majority 
 of our farmers live, they have, up to the present time, been forced to 
 rely upon the kerosene lamp for lighting purposes. The use of gas 
 and electricity has been impossible, except in a few instances, and the 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 21 
 
 light furnished by the alcohol-burning lamp i.s so evidentlj- superior 
 to that of kerosene that it will be welcomed b}^ the farmers every- 
 where. 
 
 1 have said that careful experiments show that it would be advan- 
 tageous to use alcohol for lighting purposes at a cost per gallon twice 
 that of kerosene; but there is no reason to believe that untaxed dena- 
 tured alcohol wovdd cost twice as much as kerosene. On the contrary 
 it is quite certain that with the tax removed alcohol could be sold every- 
 where at a price much less than twice the average retail cost of kero- 
 sene to the farmers. 
 
 I am advised by reliable authorities that a little more than 2^ gallons 
 of 9<_) per cent alcohol, the strength which has been found most suitable 
 for lighting and motor fuel purposes, can be produced from each bushel 
 of corn. This estimate is confirmed by the report of the Commissioner 
 of Internal Revenue showing the qualit}^ of distilled spirits produced 
 from corn, barley, r^-e, and other grains. With corn costing the dis- 
 tiller 30 cents per bushel the cost of alcohol would be 11 or 12 cents. 
 At a price of 35 cents per bushel for corn the cost of alcohol would 
 be li cents per gallon, and at 40 cents per bushel the alcohol would 
 cost about 16 cents. It is estimated that the value of the by-products 
 of the corn after the alcohol is extracted is about sufficient to paj' the 
 cost of distillation. 
 
 With an average cost of corn to the distiller of 35 to 40 cents per 
 bushel, alcohol should be sold for 20 cents-per gallon, and in many sec- 
 tions of the countrj' it could be profitably sold for less. The retail 
 price of kerosene, as you know, varies greatly in difl'erent sections of 
 the country. In some States where there is competition the cost is 
 comparatively low, but in many States, particularly in the West and 
 Northwest, the cost to the farmer is from 20 to 25 cents per gallon, or 
 as much as untaxed alcohol would be sold for. 1 am advised by mem- 
 bers of the grange that in some States the best quality of kerosene 
 costs at retail 30 and 32 cents per gallon. 
 
 The question of the exact cost of alcohol and kerosene is, however, 
 not important, since it is plain that with a lighting value twice that of 
 kerosene alcohol could profitably be substituted by the farmers in 
 nearly every section of the country. 
 
 There is no reason why in all the corn-growing sections of the coun 
 try the farmers should not establish cooperative distilleries for the 
 sole purpose of producing denatured industrial alcohol. These distil- 
 leries would be under close Government supervision, and the alcohol 
 would be rendered unfit for bev^erage purposes before it left the dis- 
 tiller}' warehouse. In this way the cost to the farmei's of this material 
 for lighting, heating, cooking, and motor-fuel purposes could be kept 
 at the lowest possible point. 
 
 The second industrial use of alcohol in which the farmers are espe- 
 cially interested is that of a motor fuel for the internal-combustion 
 engines which are coming into such general use on the farms in all 
 parts of the country. During the past few years these engines have 
 become very popular with the farmers, by whom they are used for 
 running all kinds of farm machinery, for baling hay, shelling corn, 
 sawing wood, thrashing, churning, spraying fruit trees, pumping 
 water, and various other purposes. 1 learn that one of the largest 
 agricultural implement manufacturing companies of the country is 
 arranging to place on the market farm traction engines operated with 
 
22 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 the internal-combustion motor, for use in mowing, reaping, and other 
 kinds of farm woi'k now done by horse power. 
 
 The advantages of this form of motive power have been appreciated 
 by the farmers, and with an abundant supply of motor fuel assured it 
 would seem that every one of the 6,000,000 farmers iri this country 
 would soon have at least one of these engines, thus lightening the 
 farmer's labors and increasing the productivity of his farm. 
 
 With the increasing use of these engines has arisen, however, the 
 question of the future supply of motor fuel. Owing to the increased 
 demand for gasoline for farm engines, and for motor vehicles and power 
 boats, the cost of this material has steadily increased during the past 
 few years, until it is now selling at more than double its price of ten 
 years ago. The number of automobiles, power boats, and internal- 
 combustion farm engines in use is constantly increasing, while the 
 supply of gasoline is decreasing in proportion to the demand. 
 
 As practically no gasoline is found in the petroleum obtained in 
 California, Texas, and other States from which the largest proportion 
 of our oil supply is secured, and as the production of eastern petroleum 
 is falling off each year, it is evident that in a short time the demand 
 for gasoline will so far exceed the supply that its cost to the farmer 
 for motor fuel purposes will be prohibitive. It is therefore absolutely 
 necessary that some alternative source of fuel supply should be secured, 
 and the only satisfactory substitute which has been suggested is alcohol. 
 
 As will be shown by the testimony of representatives of other indus- 
 tries at these hearings, alcohol has been found by practical experience 
 in Germany, France, Cuba, Mexico, and other foreign countries, to 
 be an excellent motor fuel. It has also been shown in this country by 
 experiments carefully conducted by Prof. Elihu Thomson, the eminent 
 scientist and inventor, that when used in an engine of proper design 
 alcohol will produce as much power, pound for pound, as gasoline. 
 The result of Professor Thomson's experiments will be submitted to 
 you, and as this is a matter for experts I need only say that if alcohol 
 will run a farm engine in Germany or Cuba it will certainly run one 
 in New Hampshire or Indiana, and that if the tax is removed from 
 denatured industrial alcohol there would seem to be no reason why 
 this material should not be used to run all kinds of farm machinery. 
 
 In this connection I may refer to the unquestioned fact that alcohol 
 is much safer than gasoline to store or use around farm buildings. The 
 danger from the accidental explosion of gasoline vapor is so great that 
 much higher insurance rates are charged on buildings in which it is 
 stored or used, and the large number of fires in all parts of the country 
 resulting from this cause is notorious. 
 
 Alcohol vaporizes so much more than gasoline that it does not form 
 a dangerous explosive mixture in the open air, and it is recognized as 
 being much safer for general purposes. Another point in favor of 
 alcohol is that if it catches fire it can readily be extinguished by water, 
 while with gasoline water only spreads the fire. 
 
 The farmers of the country are also interested in the removal of the 
 tax from industrial alcohol because of the possibilities of using that 
 material for heating, cooking, and other domestic purposes. It is stated 
 by the National Board of Trade Underwriters that there are about 
 800,000 gasoline stoves and heaters in use in this country. In many 
 of the W estern States, where wood is very scarce and coal dear, these 
 gasoline stoves are largely used by the farmers in the summer time. 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 23 
 
 As alcohol is cleaner, much safer, and equally valuable for this purpose, 
 it would be substituted for gasoline in practically every instance; and 
 in addition, many hundreds of thousands who are now afraid to use 
 gasoline, or who find it too expensive, would adopt the alcohol cook- 
 ing stove, and the alcohol heater for warming their rooms. These 
 stoves and heaters cost much less than coal stoves, there is no dust or 
 ashes, the heat can be easilj' regulated as desired, and untaxed alcohol 
 would open up to the farmers an unfailing source of fuel supply. 
 
 From what I have stated it is plainly manifest that the removal of 
 the tax from denatured alcohol would at once create an enormous 
 demand for that material. For lighting, motor fuel, and household 
 purposes alone there should be a demand for at least 100,000,000 gal- 
 lons of alcohol in the near future, and with the steady increase in the 
 use of the farm engine and the alcohol lamp the quantity used for 
 these purposes would soon greatly exceed this great amount. This 
 would mean a very large additional domestic market for corn, potatoes, 
 sorghnm, beet sugar, molasses, and other farm products from which 
 alcohol can be distilled, with consequent direct benefits to the agricul- 
 tui-al interests of the country. As alcohol will keep for an indefinite 
 time, large stocks of it could be distilled in years of abundant crops and 
 thus serve as a sort of balance wheel to maintain an equilibrium in the 
 price of the materials used. You are familiar with the present severe 
 fluctuations in those prices. Anything that will help absorb the sur- 
 plus, which is what always depresses prices, will be of great financial 
 benefit to the farmers. 
 
 These are not the only ways in which the farmers will be benefited. 
 The manufacturers in the alcohol-using industries, who now find their 
 sales limited because of the high prices of their products, due to the 
 excessive cost of alcohol, would be able to greatly increase their sales 
 consequent on the reduction which they could make in prices. Many 
 new industries which can not now be profitably carried on because of the 
 high price of alcohol would be established in this country, thus bene- 
 fiting the workers by creating additional opportunities for employment. 
 It has been estimated that in a very short time after the enactment of 
 an untaxed denatured-alcohol law new industries employing 20,000 
 workers would be put into operation. These workers would all buy 
 American farm products of various kinds, and in this wa}- also the farmers 
 would profit. 
 
 As to whether legislation for this purpose is practicable, I need 
 only say that if all the prominent commercial and manufacturing 
 countries in the world can exempt from internal-revenue tax alcohol 
 made unfit for beverage purposes, it should be possible for the United 
 States to make a similar distinction between beverage spirits and 
 industrial alcohol. I find that in Great Britain alcohol made undrink- 
 able by the addition of 5 per cent of wood alcohol and three-eighths 
 of 1 per cent of mineral naphtha is sold freely without payment of 
 tax, and that the inland revenue officials of that country report that 
 there are practically no cases of fraud on the revenue, although the 
 tax on beverage spirits is twice as high in that country as in the United 
 States. As to the effects of the policy of cheap industrial alcohol in 
 Germany, I find the following statement in a consular report by Hon. 
 Frank H. Mason, United States consul-general at Berlin: 
 
 The law governing the technical uses of alcohol was enacted in 1887, and by rea- 
 son of both its underlying causes and practical results is worthy of study as an 
 
24 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 example of intelligent, far-seeing fiscal legislation. It was at that period— about 
 fifteen years ago— that German agriculture began to feel severely the effects of com- 
 petition from the cheaply grown cereals and meats of the United States, Argentina, 
 and Australia. The landowning class urgently demanded legislation which would 
 save the waning profits of husbandry. It was accordingly decided to make alcohol 
 for technical uses as cheap as possible and to promote by all practical means its pro- 
 duction and consumption in this country. 
 
 The exposition of this year confirms and reenforces the impression made by the 
 display of 1902— that the law of 1887 governing the manufacture and use of untaxed 
 alcohol for technical purposes was one of the wisest and most far-seeing enactments 
 in the legislative record of the Empire. 
 
 In addition to these two countries France, Switzerland, Holland, 
 Belgium, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Austria-Hungary, Portugal, 
 Cuba, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentine Republic, and Chile collect 
 no revenue from denatured alcohol, this material being regarded as a 
 necessity for manufacturing and general industrial purposes, which 
 should therefore be exempt from the internal-revenue taxes of those 
 countries. No one of these nations is as wealthy and prosperous as 
 the United States, and their need for special sources of revenue is 
 much greater; but nevertheless they do not resort to a tax on indus- 
 trial alcohol. 
 
 And here I may state in regard to the effect of the removal of the 
 internal-revenue tax from denatured alcohol on the public revenues, that 
 I am advised that the repeal of this tax would cause but a very trifling 
 reduction in revenue, amounting certainly to less than half a million 
 dollars, and probably less than $300,000, annuall3^ In view of the 
 undoubted great benefits which would result to the farmers, manufac- 
 turers, workers, and business interests in general, this slight loss in 
 revenue is not worthy of consideration. 
 
 I am advised that statements showing the entire practicability of 
 the proposed legislation and of its effect on the public revenue will be 
 submitted to your honorable committee by representatives of the 
 manufacturing interests. 1 need not therefore refer further to this 
 phase of the subject, but will conclude with the assurance that the 
 farming interests of the countiy are heartily and earnestly in f avoi' of 
 legislation which will give them a material for lighting, heating, 
 cooking, and for motor fuel, distilled from the products of their farms, 
 which will give them large additional domestic markets for surplus 
 farm crops, and which will promote oar maufacturing industries and 
 increase our domestic and export trade. 
 
 STATEMENT OF H. PAUL MEHLIN , PRESIDENT NATIONAL PIANO 
 MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I assure you that I 
 shall not take up much of your time, as there are a great many gentle- 
 men here who probably have prepared lengthy arguments which they 
 desire to present. You have just heard a very good one, and you will 
 doubtless hear others. 
 
 I appear before you as the representative of the piano manufactur- 
 ing industry of this country, an industry of which, perhaps, you do 
 not realize the extent. The manufacture of pianos in this country 
 to-day is a great industry, and we lead the world in our product. I 
 come to. present personally a resolution which I believe our secretary 
 has previously sent to you, but which I will repeat. Our executive 
 
PEEE ALCOHOL. 25 
 
 committee met in New York Citj- on the 16th of January, and the fol- 
 lowing resolution was adopted: 
 
 JResolred, That the executive committee of the National Piano Manufacturers' Asso- 
 ciation of America, in session in New York City January 16, 1906, urgently requests 
 the removal of the internal-revenue tax from alcohol rendered unfit for use as a bev- 
 erage, and urges upon Congress the necessity for the immediate enactment of legisla- 
 tion for this purpose. 
 
 We onh' asls, gentlemen, that any reasonable bill which will give us 
 relief and which may be drawn by your committee may be enacted. 
 The details of such a bill could easily be arranged by the cooperation 
 of the Internal Revenue Department, and could be on the lines which 
 Mr. Yerkes has suggested this morning. It seems to us that there is 
 no reason why this country could not enact a law which would benefit 
 the manufacturers with reference to this one article, the same as other 
 countries have done in probably a dozen different cases, as j'ou have 
 learned from the arguments just heard by you. 
 
 I speak to you, gentlemen, only in behalf of our own industry. 
 
 The Chairman. In what part of your process of manufacture do j'ou 
 use alcohol '. 
 
 Mr. !Mehlix. In the varnish. We do not use alcohol proper, and 
 if it was denatured we would not take it from the distillery in that 
 form to any extent. We use it in a mixed form. We use it in var- 
 nish and in stains, and we buy it from varnish makei-s and men who 
 sell stains, so that the use in our industry of the denatured alcohol 
 could be very easily traced by your Internal Revenue Department. We 
 would not use it in such form that it could ever be renatured again 
 and be used in the form of alcohol. It would be our privilege to use 
 it in that form and get the benefit of the reduction of the tax the same 
 as other industries, as the manfacturers of sweet wine, for instance, 
 receive that benefit. I have heard here to-day that those manufactur- 
 ers and others are allowed to take alcohol out of bond free of revenue 
 tax simply because there is no possibility whatever of their using the 
 denatured alcohol again for any other purpose. In our case it is 
 mixed in with the stain or varnish, which will absolutely preclude it 
 from being taken out again. 
 
 It is unfortunate that there is no proper basis for you to go upon 
 with reference to the question of revenue. For our industry I wish 
 to say that if the basis of the census of 1891 is taken, we do not to-day 
 use 10 per cent of the grain alcohol we did in 1891. Wood alcohol 
 has taken the place of grain alcohol in our business, simply because of 
 the price. We would rather have the grain alcohol, but the cost of 
 it, being now about $2.50 a gallon, of which $2.08 is tax, leaving 42 
 cents for the cost of the alcohol itself, makes it prohibitive, and we 
 are using the substitute, which is wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. UxDERWooD. Do you contend that wood alcohol does not make 
 as good a varnish as grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. No; it does not make as good varnish as grain alcohol. 
 We would rather have the grain alcohol, because it mixes up better 
 and dissolves the gum and shellac of the varnish better than wood 
 alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. What does wood alcohol cost you now? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. It costs now in the neighborhood of 70 cents a gallon. 
 A few years ago it cost as low as 50 cents for 95 per cent alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. How many gallons of alcohol would it take to make 
 the varnish for an ordinary piano ? 
 
26 FEEE AliCOHOIi. 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. Weusedifferentkindsof varnish, Mr. Chairman. We 
 use a varnish that is mixed with turpentine. We also use different 
 varnish for different parts of the piano, such as the sounding boards. 
 We use on that a varnish that is thinner, which soaks into the fiber of 
 the wood and does not remain so much on the surface. Where we want 
 to harden the grain of the wood internally we use a thinner varnish. 
 
 The Chairman. You can give us some idea of the average amount 
 of varnish used on an average piano by manufacturers? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. Yes. We use probably in our own concern on an 
 average of about 5 gallons to a piano. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How much do you use in the course of a year? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. In the whole industry? 
 
 Mr. Smith. In your shops. 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. I think it would be somewhere in the neighborhood 
 of 5,000 barrels. 
 
 Mr. Hill. In your own industry ? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. In our own industry. 
 
 The Chairman. How many pianos do you make in a year ? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. We make about 200,000. 
 
 Mr. Clark. This would not make pianos any cheaper to the con- 
 sumer, would it? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. I do not believe it would, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I wish it would. I would like to cut it down about one- 
 balf. 
 
 The Chairman. You use some varnish made of ethyl alcohol or grain 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. Yes; but we use very little of it now. We do not 
 use 10 per cent of what we did in 1891, because we are substituting 
 wood alcohol, although it does not produce the same results. 
 
 The Chairman. You do not use, on an average, more than half a 
 gallon to a piano ? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. Probably a quart would cover it, at the most. But 
 if the tax was taken off from grain alcohol we would probably use 
 four or five times the amount we now do. 
 
 Mr. BouTBLL. Are there any deleterious effects from the use of 
 wood alcohol in your industry to the workmen? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. The odor of wood alcohol throughout the factory is 
 very pronounced when we use it to any extent, and for that reason 
 we always use the highest grade of wood alcohol in our business. We 
 use what is called Columbian spirits, which costs about $1.35 a gallon. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you know about how many pianos were manu- 
 factured in the United States in 1890 ? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. About half as many as we are manufacturing now. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is there not a widespread demand among labor unions 
 to get rid of the use of wood alcohol in painting, on the ground that it 
 is injurious to the men who do the painting? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. Yes, sir; they do not like to use it. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is it poisonous? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. They sa^^ it hurts them and injures their health. 
 They claim it does. The odor, certainly, is very strong, and they do 
 not like to use it. I believe it is, without question, injurious to their 
 health. 
 
 The Chairman. What price per gallon do you pay for varnish made 
 from the highest grade of wood alcohol ? 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 27 
 
 iNIr. Mehlin. About $1.75 a gallon. 
 
 The Chaieman. And what for varnish made from grain alcohol? 
 
 iNlr. Mehlin. You can add a difference of about $1.25 a gallon — just 
 the difference in the cost of the alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. Then you pay |3 a gallon for varnish made from 
 grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Mehlin. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Do you know what j^our competitors pay for it? 
 
 Mr. ^SIehlin. They get it denatured. 
 
 Mr. Smith. At what cost? 
 
 JNlr. ^Mehlin. It costs in the neighborhood of 2 marks in Germany, 
 which is about 60 cents. 
 
 The Chairman. We will hear from Mr. Rufus L. Herrick, repre- 
 senting the American Chemical Society and the Society of Chemical 
 Industry, New England section. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Mr. Chairman, before I proceed I would like to file 
 my credentials from the two societies just mentioned. 
 
 [For these credentials, see p. 333.] 
 
 STATEMENT OF RUFUS F. HERRICK, ESQ., REPRESENTING THE 
 AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, NORTHEASTERN SECTION, 
 AND THE SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL INDUSTRY, NEW ENGLAND 
 SECTION. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 j\Ir. Herrick. Mr. Chairman, I want to show to you gentlemen an 
 alcohol lamp and 1 want to call your attention to the fact that it is not 
 a wick lamp. The wick is merely for the purpose of drawing the alco- 
 hol up by capillary attraction to a point where it comes to a tube which 
 has a hair-like orifice, which, being warmed, converts the alcohol into 
 vapor and which then rises through a perforated plate and burning 
 makes the mantle incandescent. 
 
 The control of the lamp is absolute, by means of a little screw valve 
 which you notice. The light can be reduced in brilliancy so as to burn 
 in a sick room with just enough light, or it can be used at its utmost 
 brilliancy as you see it on the table before you. 
 
 In lighting the lamp this valve is unscrewed and the spring is pressed 
 down once or twice, which brings up a few drops of alcohol and that 
 is lighted with a match. In thirty seconds the mantel becomes white 
 hot and the light burns as you see it before you. By catalytic action, 
 so to speak, the lamp relights itself. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Is this a patent lamp? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I could not sa}'- It is made in France; it is not 
 made in this country. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How much will a lamp of that kind cost? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I understand that they cost from |2 to 12.50. The 
 burner, which is the really vital part of the lamp, costs about $1, and 
 it is interchangeable with any ordinary kerosene burner. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Is there a Welsbach mantel on that lamp ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Do I understand that the same effect can be pro- 
 duced by a kerosene lamp? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I can only state that I bought one a number of years 
 ago, and after a number of attempts to use it failure resulted, and I 
 
28 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 had to return the lamp. I bought it from the Jordan-Marsh Company, 
 in Boston. 
 
 I want to refer, in connection with this lamp, to the report made 
 by the Electrical Testing Laboratories, whose general office and lab- 
 oratories are situated in New York City, and to state, in a general 
 way, that 1 gallon of alcohol burned fifty-eight hours and fifty-two 
 minutes, the candlepower of the lamp being 25, and the candlepower 
 hours being- 1,471. In a lamp burning kerosene 1 gallon lasted 
 eighty-seven hours, the candlepower of the lamp being 9 and the 
 candlepower hours being 783. The report is signed by the Electrical 
 Testing Laboratories by Preston D. Miller. 
 
 1 want to file this report as an exhibit. 
 
 [For this report, see page 334.] 
 
 I submit that this report shows that if we had two lamps of equal 
 candlepower and equal capacity, one burning alcohol and the other 
 kerosene, the alcohol lamp would burn nearly twice as long as the 
 kerosene lamp. 
 
 I have read a report of experiments conducted for an extended period 
 by Professor Rosseau, of the University' of Brussels, Belgium, in 
 which careful photometic tests were made of both alcohol and kero- 
 sene burning lights. This report showed that for lighting purposes 
 alcohol costing 31 cents per gallon is slightly cheaper than kerosene 
 costing 15 cents per gallon. 
 
 I would like to read some extracts from the report of the parlia- 
 mentary commission appointed by the English Government in 1904, to 
 inquire into the existing facilities in that countrj' for the use, without 
 payment of tax, of alcohol in the arts and manufactures. 
 
 The Chairman. Before you go into that will you state what your 
 opinion is as to whether these lamps are in use generally in France or 
 any other country? 
 
 Mr. Hekrick. I will state that we have seen, as chemists, a French 
 catalogue in which not only this lamp was catalogued but lamps for 
 arc lights, for street use, for physicians, for student lamps, and lamps 
 for other purposes, and for heating and cooking purposes, in which 
 alcohol could be burned, and the catalogue distinctly stated that only 
 denatured alcohol of about 90 per cent was to be used. 
 
 The Chairman. How general is the use of such lamps? 
 
 Mr. Herriok. Chemists who have lived abroad as far back as ten 
 years have told me that it is a matter of common knowledge that their 
 rooms were lighted by denatured alcohol, and that they ate Welsh 
 rarebits and other dishes cooked with denatured alcohol, and that it 
 was in common use in England and German}'. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. Can wood alcohol be used as well as denatured 
 grain alcohol in these lamps for these purposes? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I would say that wood alcohol will burn, but my 
 opinion is that it could not be used as advantageously as grain alcohol. 
 There are about 8,000 heat units in wood alcohol per pound and about 
 12,000 heat units in grain alcohol, so you see you have an advantage 
 in raising the teniperature of the mantel by having the additional 
 4,000 heat units with grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. I supposed that they denatured grain alcohol with wood 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. The small proportion necessary for that purpose 
 would not be noticeable. This lamp which you have seen burns 
 denatured alcohol. 
 
FKEE ALCOHOL. 29 
 
 ]\Ir. Smith. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue said that it was 
 one-quarter wood alcohol. 
 
 ]Mr. Herrick. Onl\- about 5 per cent. I will answer that question 
 from the parliamentary report of Great Britain. 
 
 The Chaieman. If the answer is in that report perhaps you had 
 better read the report. 
 
 ]\Ir. Hereick. I submit for j^our consideration the following memo- 
 randa respecting the report of a special departmental committee 
 appointed by the English Government in 1904 to inquire into the 
 existing facilities in that country for the use, without payment of tax, 
 of alcohol used in the arts and manufactures. The use of methylated 
 spirits (denatured), duty free (in Great Britain), was first authorized 
 in 1855. The present law of the subject is contained in the spirits 
 act of 188U as amended by the customs and inland revenue act of 
 1890 and section 8 of the finance act, 1902. The practice resulting 
 from these laws is thus briefly summarized: 
 
 Up to the year 1855 spirit could not be used free by the pubhc under any circum- 
 stances. From 1855 to 1861 it could be used duty free for manufacturing purposes 
 only if methylated according to the prescribed process. 
 
 From 1861 to 189] spirit could be used duty free for any purpose other than con- 
 sumption, directly or indirectly, as a beverage, or internally as a medicine, provided 
 it was mixed with wood naphtha to the extent of one-ninth of its volume. But if 
 used in large quantities as for manufacturing purposes it could not be purchased from 
 a retail dealer of methylated spirits, but only from a methylator, and the user was 
 subject to excise supervision. 
 
 From 1891 to 1902 the use of this kind of methylated spirit (which came to be 
 described as "ordinary" methylated spirit) was confined to manufacturing purposes, 
 subject to the same conditions as before; while for general purposes a spirit consist- 
 ing of the above spirit with an addition of 0.375 per cent of mineral naphtha (petro- 
 leum), and known as "mineralized" methylated spirits, was brought into u.se. It is 
 only in this spirit that retailers are permitted to deal. 
 
 Since 1902 the two kinds of methylated spirits have continued to be used as before, 
 but an alternative to their use has been opened to manufacturers, under which spirit 
 may be employed after being subjected to some special process of denaturing appro- 
 priate to the particular industry, or possibly even in a pure state, should circumstances 
 be held by the board of inland revenue so to require. 
 
 After, a most careful and exhaustive investigation this committee 
 agreed on the following general conclusions: 
 
 (i) That where spirit is used for general and universal purposes, such as heating 
 or lighting, the present "mineralized" methylated spirit is perfectly satisfactory, 
 both to the revenue and to the public, in respect of character, and that at present 
 no better method of denaturing is available. In respect of price, the cost of miner- 
 alized methylated spirit is enhanced by some 40 per cent by reason of measures nec- 
 esisary for the protection of the revenue. But to countervail such enhancement 
 would be merely to relieve the whole community of a burden in one direction by 
 putting upon it an equivalent burden in another, seeing that the cost of relief would 
 necessarily have to be made up to the exchequer from some other source of taxation. 
 Thus there would be no real balance of gain to the community as a whole from 
 arrangements that would of necessity be somewhat complex and would entail a cer- 
 tain co.st in their application. We think, however, that having regard to the practi- 
 cal security that is provided for the revenue by the process of denaturing adopted in 
 the case of this spirit, the regulations in regard to distribution might be appreciably 
 relaxed in respect of the quantities that retailers may keep in stock or may sell at 
 any one time to a customer. We recommend that the regulations should be left to 
 be prescribed from time to time by the board of inland revenue instead of being 
 stereotyped in the statutes. 
 
 (ii) That where spirit is used for industrial purposes, the finance act of 1902 pro- 
 vides adequate and entirely satisfactory machinery for securing that the spirit may 
 be used in a condition that is suitable and appropriate to each particular purpose of 
 manufacture. The machinery la elastic — much more so than is the corresponding 
 machinery in Germany — and it permits of every reasonable process of denaturing or 
 
30 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 even, in the last resort, of the use of spirit in a pure state. For more than this it 
 would be impossible to ask. . . , . , 
 
 (ni) But something more is required in order to place spirit used as an instrumen 
 or a material of manufacture on a footing satisfactory in the matter of cost. Any- 
 thing in the nature of a bounty is undesirable. But seeing that on the pnceof spint 
 the very existence of certain industries may depend, and that for all industries using 
 alcohol the price of spirit is an important factor for that portion of trade that lies 
 outside the home market, we are strongly of opinion that it is desirable to make such 
 arrangements as will free the price of industrial spirit from the eniiancement due to 
 the indirect influence of spirit duties. It would surely be disastrous if, to the mis- 
 chief that the drinking of alcohol causes by diminution m the efficiency of labor, the 
 taxation of alcohol should be allowed to add the further mischief of narrowing the 
 openings for the employment of labor. 
 
 The committee, for convenience of reference, summarized their sev- 
 eral recommendations as follows: 
 
 (i) That an allowance be granted to all industrial spirit, whether of Britisher 
 foreign origin, at the rate from time to time prevailing for the allowance to British 
 plain spirits on export. , , ,. . , 
 
 (ii) That imported methylic alcohol be relieved from the obligation to pay the 
 surtax imposed by the proviso to section 8 of the finance act, 1902; and that methylic 
 alcohol be accorded favorable treatment in the matter of denaturing. 
 
 {Hi) That "ordinary " methylated spirit should contain only 5 per cent of wood 
 naphtha instead of 10 per cent. 
 
 (iv) That no charge should be made on manufacturers for the regular attendance 
 of excise officers to supervise denaturing operations or the use of denatured spirit in 
 factories taking the benefit of section 8 of the finance act, 1902. 
 
 {v) That where spirit is allowed to be denatured with special agents, such agents 
 should be subject to official test and approval, and that accounts should be kept by 
 the user, showing receipts of spirit into store, the issues thereof from store in detail, 
 and the quantities of goods produced. 
 
 (vi) That in the manufacture of fine chemicals and pharmaceutical products spir- 
 its specially denatured should be allowed only where the manufacture is kept entirely 
 separate from the manufacture of tinctures and other preparations in which spirit 
 remains as spirit in the finished product. 
 
 (to) That the regulations governing the sale by retail of mineralized methylated 
 spirit should be made leas stringent and more elastic. 
 
 Any special cases, such as that of smokeless powder, not touched by the above rec- 
 ommendations can always be met under the powers conferred by section 8 of the act 
 of 1902. 
 
 A subcommittee from this departmental committee was appointed 
 to visit Germany with the view of collecting data respecting the opera- 
 tion of the laws in that country governing the use of untaxed alcohol 
 in industrial processes. 
 
 The following extracts from the report of this subcommittee relating 
 to the authorized process of denaturing alcohol in Germany is respect- 
 fully submitted for your consideration: 
 
 {4) The processes authorized for "complete denaturing" are two, viz: 
 (a) An admixture with every 100 liters of spirit of 2^ liters of a mixture contain- 
 ing four parts of wood naphtha and one part of pyridine bases. (To this mixture 50 
 grams of lavender or rosemary oil may be added optionally to counteract the smell 
 of the pyridine bases. But the addition is seldom made. ) Spirit thus denatured 
 is what is used for domestic purposes — heating, lighting, and cooking. It is seldom 
 used for industrial purposes. The only purpose of that kind for which its employ- 
 ment is considerable is the manufacture of cheap varnish. 
 
 (6) An admixture with the spirit of half the quantity (viz, IJ liters per 100 liters 
 of spirit) of the above denaturing mixture, together with an addition of one-fourth 
 liter of a solution of methyl violet dye and of benzol in quantities that may range 
 from 2 to 20 liters to every 100 liters of spirit. 
 
 Although spirit thus treated is classed as completely denatured, its 
 use is limited to agricultural and motor engines, and the process would 
 seem to fall more properlj^ into Class B. 
 
 The spirit thus denatured is used in practice almost entirely for 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 31 
 
 agricultural eno-ines, as no satisfactory solution has yet been found of 
 certain difficulties which beset the use of spirit for motor cars. 
 
 (5) The processes authorized for "Incomplete denaturing" are numerous. They 
 consist — 
 
 (a) Of two alternative processes of general application, viz: 
 
 The addition to every 100 liters of spirit of either 5 liters of wood naphtha or one- 
 half liter of pyridine bases. 
 
 (b) Of numerous processes of special application. 
 
 These are fully set forth in Appendix No. 111. But the processes applicable to 
 the most numerous and most important industries, including coal-tar colors and 
 chemical preparations, are the four alternatives of an addition to every 100 liters of 
 spirit of 10 liters of sulphuric ether, or 1 liter of benzol, or one-half liter of tur- 
 pentine, or 0.025 liter of animal oil. 
 
 The method of denaturing alcohol in Germany intended for use as 
 a motor fuel for farm engines and for heating, lighting, and cooking 
 is thus described by this subcommittee: 
 
 The denaturing mixture, consisting of four parts of wood naphtha to one part of 
 pyridine bases, is received in iron drums, ready mixed, from the factory where it is 
 prepared, which we subsequently visited. The drums are kept under revenue seal, 
 and may only be opened in the presence of a revenue officer. The quantity of 
 denaturant required for each cask is drawn off in a graduated can and emptied into 
 the cask through the bunghole. The revenue officers keep a running account of the 
 quantity drawn off from the store drum, from time to time, on a label attached to 
 the drum. 
 
 After the addition of the denaturant, the revenue officers must satisfy themselves 
 that a thorough mixture of the spirit and denaturant is effected, by stirring with a 
 wooden rod or by rolling the cask about; and the denatured spirit is then free from 
 further revenue control. 
 
 Right here I will state that it was denatured alcohol which you gen- 
 lemen have seen burning in the lamp. A liter is a little more than 
 one of our quarts, and 100 liters would contain 2i liters of this dena- 
 tured mixture. 
 
 1 would also like to show the committee, if they will examine it, a 
 sample of denatured alcohol and a sample of crade wood alcohol with 
 which this sample was denatured. The crude wood alcohol is so objec- 
 tionable that while I would be very glad to have the committee inspect 
 the stopper I would caution them about smelling strongly of the bottle. 
 This which I have in my hand is denatured alcohol, and when we pour 
 it into a glass of water it will not separate. You can not pour it into 
 water and skim off the denaturing material and drink the balance. 
 You will have to proceed in some chemical manner to get rid of the 
 denaturing agents, because they are so thoroughly in solution. I 
 will mix a little of this with water, so that the committee can see that 
 what I have told them is correct. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What is the percentage of denaturing material in 
 that alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Heerick. Two and one-half parts to 100 parts. 
 
 Mr. Smith. It is four parts of crude wood alcohol and one part of 
 pyridine. 
 
 Mr. Heerick. Yes; this is made up on the formula I have read, and 
 is recommended by the British Parliament. You will see, gentlemen, 
 that there is no separation here. I would like to have the committee 
 inspect that carefully and smell of it slightly to determine whether it 
 is really palatable or not. I make the statement that no ordinary human 
 stomach, except some degenerate or person of that character, could 
 consume that as a beverage. 
 ' Mr. Smith. Is it poisonous? 
 
32 FEBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Heekick. It is poisonous to some extent. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do the drinkers smell it before they drink it? 
 
 Mr. Hebeick. No, sir; I was told in Boston that people have drunk 
 spirits from anatomical specimens. I will state that I have personally 
 prepared the samples here and the alcohol in the lamp which you have 
 seen burning. 
 
 I have on the table a number of other samples, all of which 1 wish 
 to include and submit here as exhibits, together with these papers. 
 
 If you will pardon me just a few moments' digression, I will state 
 that 1 also submit a bottle marked No. 1, which is made up on the 
 formula of the application of a patent filed by Emile PoUacsek, cov- 
 ering a special formula for rendering alcohol undrinkable, and 1 will 
 read the formula: 
 
 In alcohol of at least 90° Tralles: 
 
 (a) Ten per cent of terpin (ClOHig) is dissolved, and this solution is then stirred 
 in a proper manner with air. 
 
 (6) This solution is then mixed with 3 per cent of naphthol (U10H,0H) and again 
 stirred under admission of air. 
 
 (c) To the solution 1 per cent of methyldicotoin (OH2CI4H11O42) is then added 
 and the same again stirred with air. 
 
 (d) Lastly 10 per cent phenolphthalein (C6H4OH2COO6H4CO) is mixed with the 
 solution and the whole solution is again stirred with air. 
 
 All of these constituents give a colorless alcohol solution in which the constituent 
 (a) imparts a strong odor and objectionable taste and gives by the absorption of oxy- 
 gen to the alcohol a higher burning capacity of at least 4 per cent. This constituent 
 IS distilled off with the alcohol in a quantity that is easily determinable. 
 
 The constituent (6) has a penetrating odor and disagreeable taste, causing stomach 
 troubles and nausea, and distills partly off with the alcohol. 
 
 The constituents (c) has a penetrating odor and acrid taste and goes over into the 
 alcohol distillate, as can be readily proven. 
 
 The constituent (d) imparts to the solution an intense red color on the addition 
 of a few drops of sodium hydrate. During distillation sufficient of this constituent 
 passes over with the entrained water particles, as can be easily proven by means of 
 sodium hydrate. The sodium hydrate is the controlling liquid in the hands of the 
 Government officials. 
 
 The so-dosed alcoholic mixture with all the constituents, as above mentioned, form 
 a concentrated denaturing means for alcohol. It may be used in a concentrated 
 form, but it may also be used, as required, diluted with pure alcohol. 
 
 Neither the concentrated solution nor its products of evaporation or combustion 
 exert an injurious effect on human beings, animals, or plants. Parts of machines 
 are not corroded nor wicks incrusted by the same. 
 
 Having thus described my invention as far as completed, I desire to claim as new: 
 
 1. A preparation for denaturing alcohol, consisting of a mixture of alcohol with 
 terpin, napthol, methyldicotoin, and phenolphthalein. 
 
 2. The process herein described of making a preparation to be used for denaturing 
 alcohol which consists in mixing with a certain quantity of alcohol while stirring 
 with air, successively, terpin, napthol, methyldicotoin, and phenolphthalein. 
 
 I have actually burned the alcohol spoken of in this application for 
 a patent, and it burns as successfully as any of the others. I will state 
 that all the bottles which I submit as exhibits of denatured alcohol 
 have been burned by me personally in this lamp. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Is this denatured with wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Heerick. The formula is in the application for letters patent, 
 which will explain to you what the character of the denaturization is. 
 
 I want to call the attention of the committee carefully to the fact 
 that this denatured alcohol can be colored. Violet is the color which 
 the parliamentary commission recommended as one kind of complete 
 denaturation, so that even if one did not smell the alcohol before 
 drinking it, he would know it by its violet tint. If this Government 
 chose to make it a pale green color, they could not help seeing that it 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 33 
 
 was colored, and that would act as a security against poisoning persons 
 drinking it by mistake. You see there are a great man^^ safeguards 
 that have been thrown about this matter. 
 
 I have explained the formula of the denatured alcohol burned in the 
 lamp, and have alluded to other samples of denatured alcohol which 
 I have submitted; and I have exhibited a sample of denatured alcohol 
 poured into water. 
 
 The solution which I exhibited to you here, mixed with water, was 
 so clear that you could only remove the denaturing agent with the most 
 . extreme difficulty, and at great cost. 
 
 In fact such cost of purification of these denatured alcohol samples 
 would be more than the present tax because of the necessity of 
 repeated distillations through very expensive and finest types of frac- 
 tionating stills, the use of great quantities of water for condensing, 
 and from the great waste of the alcohol in such attempts. 
 
 Such attempted frauds on the revenue would have to be carried out 
 on a large scale, and would be sure to be found out by the Govern- 
 ment as thejf could not be carried out in the mountains or other iso- 
 lated parts of the countr}\ It is therefore far easier and cheaper to 
 make whisk}' illicitly in the first place. 
 
 I now wish to ask your attention to the formulae which go with the 
 bottles properly numbered, for the consideration and attention of this 
 committee, and which are on the side table. 
 
 The exhibits filed fullj- explain how thej- are made up. 
 
 [For exhibit, see page 336.] 
 
 i submit now a clipping from The Breeders Gazette, an influential 
 agricultural paper of large circulation published in Chicago, 111., which 
 contains a letter on the subject of rendering ethyl alcohol unfit for use 
 as a beverage. This letter was prepared by Mr. A. Van Schelle, of 
 Brussels, Belgium, a prominent member of the American-Belgian 
 Chamber of Commerce, who was the Belgian commissioner to the 
 International Exposition at St. Louis. 
 
 ^Ir. Van Schelle specifies a number of formulas in this letter for 
 denaturing alcohol, which have been successfully adopted in Ger- 
 many, France, Switzerland, Greece, Roumania, and the Argentine 
 Republic. 
 
 [For letter of Mr. Van Schelle see p. 336.] 
 
 I now ask your attention for a moment to an exhibition of some 
 other samples. I have had the pleasure of showing you a sample of 
 crude wood alcohol, and you have seen how objectionable and how 
 very disagreeable it is, in "its characteristics and its odor. I now show 
 you a sample of wood alcohol used in thehatfactoriesatDanbury, Conn., 
 and I would like to have you gentlemen smell cautiously of the stopper. 
 This is alcohol which is one step purified from the crude, and it is the 
 commercial alcohol which the representative of the piano manufactur- 
 ers said they paid 70 cents a gallon for. We come up then,_step by 
 step, from that to some of these other samples in a progressive state 
 of purity. We have here Columbian spirits, which is a refined wood 
 alcohol of 95 or 97 per cent. We then adVance up the scale and we have 
 Eagle spirits, which is practically white. I now want to call your 
 attention to two samples. Here is grain alcohol of 95 per cent, and here 
 is Lion D'Or, a wood-alcohol preparation of great purity. Only an 
 expert can tell the difference between grain alcohol and the highly 
 purified Lion D'Or. 
 
 ^ 1 riKQ n« 9. 
 
34 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Is not this highly purified wood alcohol poison? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. It is so regarded by worthy authorities. I wish to 
 be impartial, and I will state honestly that, in my own opinion, it is 
 poison. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is this made in this country ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. This is practically odorless, is it not? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. It seems so to me. I make the statement that only 
 an expert could detect the difference between the two if the bottles 
 were not labeled. 
 
 1 want to call your attention to the fact that the Lion d'Or spirits 
 as well as the rest of these wood alcohols are not taxed, while grain 
 alcohol is taxed. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Is the manufacture of this highlj^ purified wood 
 alcohol much more expensive than the manufacture of the ordinary 
 wood alcohol of commerce? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. From the standpoint of a chemist I should say it was. 
 In fact, I know it is. You can imagine that the more you purify any 
 product the nlore expense you add to it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Will this last sample burn and make a light for light- 
 ing purposes ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes; I use colonial spirits at home in a chafing dish 
 because I can not afiord to use grain alcohol for burning purposes. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Would it give as bright a light as the one we saw here? 
 
 •Mr. Herrick. I do not think it would. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is this highly purified wood alcohol very much more 
 poisonous than grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I should say it most certainly was. 
 
 Mr. Clark. That fact has been ascertained? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes, sir; it has. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is it not also charged that wood alcohol is used in the 
 manufacture of patent medicines? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. It is used in essences and in Jamaica ginger, where 
 they are taken internally, and that is where the poisoning is done. 
 That fact is beyond refutation. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you know of this wood alcohol ever having been 
 Used in the manufacture of vinegar? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Do you know anything about the relative cost of a gal- 
 lon of grain alcohol and a gallon of wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What is the chemical difference between these two 
 samples ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. One is CH3OH and the other is C^H^OH. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What are the differences in the chemical properties 
 of the two alcohols? 
 
 Mr. Hee;rick. The boiling points are different. The boiling point 
 of highly purified wood alcohol is about 64° C, and of grain alcohol 
 about 78'-^ C- The distillation is the same. There is a chemical differ- 
 ence which can be discovered by a test made by any chemist by the 
 .most approved methods. If you take highly purified wood alcohol 
 and oxidize it to formaldehyde, by dipping it "about six times into a 
 coil of copper heated each time to redness, you can then obtain a reac- 
 tion very nearly equal to the action of strong sulphuric acid 
 
FREE ALCOHOL.. 35 
 
 The Chairman. Can you tell us what is the practical difference in 
 the two alcohols which you present here, so that the ordinary mem- 
 bers of the committee will understand you, and not address yourself 
 to the experts on the committee? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. 1 will merely state that I had four years' experience 
 in Boston managing a chemical works, and one of our lines was the 
 making up of wood alcohol into shellac varnish for straw hats and 
 other purposes. All of these people wanted to have their shellac cut 
 with grain alcohol. They preferred it to wood alcohol. The two are 
 interchangeable for a great man}' things — for cooking purposes and all 
 that sort of thing, except that we have the addition of the extra heat 
 units in grain alcohol. Without the tax the commercial denatured 
 alcohol would be far cheaper than the wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. \\'hat would be the effect upon the health of a person 
 using wood alcohol? Would it be regarded as unhealthful? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. You mean wood alcohol straight? 
 
 ^Ir. Smith. 1 mean to ask what would be the effect upon the health 
 of a tinisher who was using this wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I have been told that it is quite deleterious to health. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Are the fumes of wood alcohol unhealthy in a lamp? 
 
 !Mr. Herrick. I should think, to some extent, that wood alcohol 
 would be objectionable in a lamp. It might be oxidized in a somewhat 
 different manner and give off' unhealthful fumes. 
 
 Mr. Clark. By the time you got through with this oxidization and 
 got it into this condition it would cost nearly as much as grain alcohol, 
 would it not? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. 1 should say it would; yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Suppose thej' should use this wood alcohol for cooking, 
 is it dangerous to health ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I do not think it would be dangerous. No one ever 
 uses crude wood alcohol as we have exhibited it here. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. Wood alcohol is now free from revenue tax? 
 
 ^Ir. Herrick. Ye.'^. sir. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. AVhy does not that answer the purpose desired by 
 the removal of the tax from grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. There is a handicap on us, and we have merely used 
 wood alcohol because we have been forced into it as a substitute for 
 grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Let us take them up specifically. Take the use of 
 wood alcohol for heating purposes. Is grain alcohol materially better? 
 
 ilr. Herrick. Yes, sir; I should say so. 
 
 Mr. :\IcCleary. Is it materially better for lighting purposes? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. You have already stated that for making varnish 
 it is materially better than the wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Then the wood alcohol does not fill the bill ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. It would be very much cheaper if the tax were taken off? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes; denatured alcohol would be very much cheaper. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Do you know whether it costs more to niake a gallon 
 of wood alcohol than it would to make a gallon of grain alcohol, if 
 there were no revenue tax on it at all ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I believe the price of this crude wood alcohol that 
 you see before you is somewhere around 40 cents a gallon. 
 
36 FBEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Grain alcohol can be made cheaper than that; can it 
 not? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I understand it can. I have been told by experts in 
 American farm products that it could be made for 25 cents a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is there any smell from this lamp that we saw there? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I did not notice any myself. There might be a slight 
 odor from the heated metal or something of that character. We all 
 know that kerosene has an odor, and we are all familiar with the odor 
 of gasoline under certain conditions. 1 think this will be much 
 more bearable than either of the others. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Is there any limitation upon the supply of wood 
 alcohol in this country ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. 1 could not state that. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is it a by-product, or is it the original thing they go 
 after in the distillation ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. The purified product is the highest priced product. 
 
 Mr. Clark. That is not what I am asking. Is it a by-product of 
 some other branch of industry, or is the wood alcohol the principal 
 thing they start for originally '. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I should say that it was the most important by- 
 product. 
 
 The Chairman. It is distilled from wood, is it not; 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes. 
 
 The Chairman. Is there anything left when they get through dis- 
 tilling it? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. They make acetate of lime and acetone and alcohol 
 and charcoal is left when they get through distilling the wood. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I have read that somebody has invented a process of 
 making wood alcohol out of sawdust, and that when they got through 
 with it it has not diminished the amount of fuel qualities in the saw- 
 dust. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Can this wood alcohol be made out of any kind of 
 wood ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. It is usually made out of the hard woods, like beech, 
 birch, and maple. 
 
 Mr. Clark. That simply grows out of the fact that these hard woods 
 are the ones that are used for commercial purposes. Any vegetable 
 matter has alcohol in it. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes. Anything that has cellulose in it will make 
 wood alcohol by destructive distillation. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Potatoes will make it? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Would you call alcohol made from potatoes wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You would call it alcohol, though? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Then there is really a limitation upon the amount of 
 wood alcohol that we could make? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. The limitation would be the amount of wood that you 
 would have to make it with. 
 
 Mr. Clark. What I was getting at was whether they had to take a 
 valuable tree to make alcohol out of or whether they could make it 
 out of remnants. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 37 
 
 The Chairman. I think we had better defer the discussion between 
 members. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I am trying- to get this information out of this 
 gentleman. 
 
 The Chairman. You can not do that by addressing Mr. Smith. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Well, I am not so sure about that. 
 
 ]\Ir. Clark. Perhaps he knows more about it than this gentleman 
 does. 
 
 The Chairman. Is this denatured alcohol used in manufactures 
 detrimental to the health? 
 
 ]Mr. Herrick. I should not say that it was; no, sir. It has not been 
 so considered by chemists. 
 
 The Chairman. Would you say that it is not? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. It is not. 
 
 The Chairman. I did not know but that the smell which goes with 
 it would indicate something that was not healthy. 
 
 iNlr. McCleary. Referring again to the question asked by the gen- 
 tleman from ^Missouri, I\Ir. Clark, please state again the cost of this 
 grain alcohol per gallon, as nearly as you can estimate it. 
 
 jNIr. Herrick. I should saj- it can be made for about 25 cents a 
 gallon, using the American farm products that can be utilized, 
 
 Mr. ^IcCleary. A statement was made to-day that a bushel of grain 
 would make 2|- gallons of this grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. That was corn. Any material that contains starch 
 or sugar will make grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Do 3'ou agree with the statement that a bushel of 
 corn will make 2^ gallons of alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. Yes, I do; I think it is a little low, however. 
 
 ^Ir. McCleary. And what remains of the corn is still available for 
 a useful purpose? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I understand that it is. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Sufficient to cover the cost of distillation? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. That is the understanding I have of it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Has the New England Chemical Society made any esti- 
 mate at all of the amount of grain alcohol used for industrial purposes, 
 separate from drinking purposes, and its use in patent medicines, and 
 things of that kind? 
 
 ]Mr. Herrick. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Is there anybody here who has made such an estimate? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I think the point may be covered later. 
 
 Mr. Hill. They will be prepared to submit estimates upon that 
 point i 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I think that point will be covered. 
 
 Mr. Hill. 1 think it is very desirable for this committee to know 
 something about the loss of revenue. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Can you tell us where the most wood alcohol is now 
 made ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. A great deal of it is made in New York State, and 
 considersiljle of it is made in Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I called upon the Census Bureau for the statistics in 
 regard to this matter, and I have just received a letter from them, 
 which I will file with the committee, containing the data in regard to 
 this matter. 
 
 [For letter see p. 4i2.J 
 
38 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 I will state further, Mr. Chairman, that these statistics are made 
 from the industrial census of last year, which covers the calendar year 
 ending December 31, 1904, and are not made from the census of 1900. 
 
 Mr. BooTELL. Do you know anything about this new process of 
 making ethyl alcohol from wood waste? It is a matter to which Mr. 
 Clark referred, and this might be a proper time to bring it in. 
 
 Mr. Herri CK. That point was touched on in our society about two 
 months ago, but it was distinctly stated that it had not yet reached 
 commercial possibilities. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. They make ethyl alcohol from wood which is not 
 to be confused at all with wood alcohol, properly so called. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. You are right. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. They claim to be able to make from wood waste a 
 sirup, or so-called molasses alcohol, which is just the same as pure 
 ethyl alcohol or grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. So I understand. 
 
 The Chairman. The statement I read was that they made molasses 
 out of wood and then distilled alcohol from that. 
 
 Mr. Herrick. The final result that is attained is ethyl alcohol. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. If that process is demonstrated to be of commercial 
 value they would largely profit by the removal of the tax on ethyl 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Herrick. I would most certainly say so. I wish also to file as 
 exhibits letter from Theo. Metcalf & Co., Boston, on retail price of 
 Lion d'Or spii-its (methyl alcohol) as $3 per gallon, and also letter of 
 Henry J. Williams, Chemical Engineer, Boston, Mass., containing 
 analysis certifying that Lion d'Or spirits is methyl alcohol, being 
 made by purifying wood alcohol. [For copv of these letters see 
 p. 338.]" 
 
 Mr. Hill. I requested Mr. North to furnish me with certain data 
 in regard to this matter, and Prof. Charles E. Munroe is here in con- 
 nection with them. I would like to have the committee hear him. 
 
 STATEMENT OF PROF. CHARLES E. MUNROE, PROFESSOR OF 
 CHEMISTRY IN GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 The Chairman. You are connected with the Census Bureau? 
 
 Mr. Munroe. I am professor of chemistry at the George Washing- 
 ton University, and am employed as expert special agent in con- 
 nection with the chemical industry in the Census Bureau. In this 
 way I have come in contact with the wood-alcohol industry, and have 
 been asked bj^ Mr. North, at the request of Mr. Hill, to come here 
 and bring the statistics so far as I have been able to obtain them. 
 
 We are now engaged in the inspection of the returns of the census 
 for 1905 — that is, the year ending December 31, 1904. Of course there 
 are many thousands of schedules to be investigated, and the data has to 
 be compiled. I have made a special feature, at Mr. Hill's request, of 
 the statistics with reference to the wood-alcohol industry, and the 
 results are given in this paper. 
 
 The number of gallons of wood alcohol produced in the United States 
 in 1904 was 12,493,212, having a value of $5,624,486. The number of 
 pounds of acetate of lime made in the year 1904 was 120,490,667, having 
 a value of $l,521,'r33. The number of bushels of charcoal reported in 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 89 
 
 1904 was 27,183,635, having a value of 11,455,511. That is a summary 
 of the report for the year 1901. 
 
 jNIr. North in his letter of transmittal speaks of it in the following 
 terms: 
 
 The statement is- confiiied to establishments reported as engaged in the production 
 of wood alcohol. While it therefore may be accepted as showing the total produc- 
 tion of wood alcohol, it does not necessarily show the production of acetate of lime 
 and charcoal, as other establishments may have been engaged upon the manufacture 
 of these products. The figures are preliminary and subject to such correction as may 
 be found necessary upon a further examination of the schedules 
 
 At the same time these figures check up well with the returns for 
 the census year of 1900, which 1 compiled and wrote the report upon, 
 and which appear in Bulletin No. '210 on chemical and allied products. 
 
 I have no idea just what information you gentlemen may desire 
 from me. 
 
 The Chairmax. Does the census of 1900 show the amount of ethyl 
 alcohol used in the industrial arts? 
 
 ]\Ir. MuNROE. It does not. There have been no statistics compiled 
 on the grain alcohol used in the industrial arts, except those that have 
 been read here this morning for the 3'ear 1891. I have had no con- 
 nection with the census except the census of 1900 and this one of 1905. 
 There have been no statistics of that sort, and I see no wa,j in which 
 they can be taken, unless the manufacturers will report the alcohol 
 which they use. I can only speak about this wood alcohol business. 
 
 I have thought that there might be certain features of the industry 
 which j'ou might like to have a little information about, and I have 
 compiled them for the year 190.0. We have here the total production, 
 and you can compare it with the total production and total value of 
 1904 and see what the growth of the industry has been. 
 
 I will say that I onl}'^ got these figures this morning, and have not 
 been able to go over them carefully as yet, but I have here a state- 
 ment showing the growth of the wood distillation industry in the 
 years 1880, 1890, and 1900. 
 
 I f5nd that for the crude alcohol in 1900 the average value per gallon 
 was 39.98 cents. For 1890 it was 61.7 cents per gallon. I have 
 assumed a value of 62 cents per gallon in 1880. 
 
 The Chairman. The value where ? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. The value at the works. Of course these values do 
 not indicate the real cost. There are a great many other expenses 
 that are not returned. For instance, they do not take into account the 
 losses in storage and sale. Thej^ do not take into account a great 
 many of the expenses that are incurred in the disposition of the goods, 
 which can not be collected. 
 
 The Chairman. This is actual cost, only it does not include the whole 
 cost. 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. It is the cost at the factory, and not the price at which 
 it is selling on the market. 
 
 Taking this one estimated quantity, we find that the number of gal- 
 lons of wood alcohol produced in 1880 was 189,151, having a value of 
 $86,274. 
 
 In 1890 the number of gallons produced was 1,116,075, having a 
 value of 1688,764. 
 
 In 1900 the number of gallons produced was 4,945,963, having a 
 value of $1,976,986. 
 
40 FREE AliCOHOL. 
 
 In the case of acetate of lime, the quantities and total values were 
 returned in 1880, 1890, and 1900. We have it that in 1880 there were 
 3,297 tons of acetate of lime produced, having a total value of $156,892. 
 
 In 1890 there were 13,389 tons produced, having a total value of 
 $316,430. 
 
 In 1900 there were 43,413 tons produced, having a total value of 
 1981,286. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. Right there will you tell what connection acetate 
 of lime has with wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. The products of the industry are wood alcohol, acetate 
 of lime, and charcoal. Would you care to hear the manner in which 
 the operation is carried out? 
 
 Mr. Robertson. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. It is the process of distillation of wood in closed 
 vessels. If we heat the wood on the outside of course the air comes 
 in contact with it, and when it becomes ignited it will burn up. In 
 making charcoal by the ordinary methods we cover up most of the 
 wood with sod, etc., and after having set the wood on fire, supply 
 only a partial amount of air, and thei'efore instead of having complete 
 combustion we have imperfect combustion, and there is charcoal left. 
 
 Under these circumstances, as charcoal was burned in the old days, 
 we obtained the charcoal only; but wood alcohol was produced, and a 
 multitude of other things. These were produced, but were poured out 
 into the air and lost. 
 
 This industry represents now the modern by-product process, and 
 everything, so far as possible, is saved. They put the wood into a 
 closed vessel. There are several devices. One is a kiln, which is 
 shaped like a beehive. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Is this wood refuse wood? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. They may use refuse wood, which is unfit for other 
 purposes, but I am not so certain that they do, because when I have 
 been out and looked at the wood piles I think I have seen some that 
 was available for other purposes. Of course, as is likely to be the 
 case, they have to get their supply of wood as cheaply as possible, 
 and they get as near to the forest as they can and cut down the wood 
 and bring it in and dry it and then put it into the kiln. 
 
 The kiln process is one that is particularly used in Michigan, where 
 they are burning this wood for the production of charcoal, to be used 
 in the manufacture of charcoal iron. They carried on this production 
 of charcoal in kilns for a long time before they saved any of these by- 
 products. That was the first industry and they carried it on in kilns, 
 so as to get cleaner charcoal and to prevent the great waste of chai'coal. 
 It was more economical. 
 
 But along came a man whom they thought was a crank, because he 
 wanted to buy their smoke. They thought that the man was simply 
 trying to play a joke on them; but eventually they did sell him the 
 smoke, and then were surprised to find that he was getting more value 
 out of the smoke than they were getting out of the charcoal. These fac- 
 tories became known as acid factories. Later on they discovered that 
 they could get alcohol and have the acetate of lime and'the charcoal left. 
 
 Another process is to char it in cylindrical steel retorts laid on their 
 side, these retorts being long enough to hold a stick of cord wood, and 
 they are usually filled with cord wood. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 41 
 
 The third device, and the most recent of all, is a large oven into 
 which cars loaded with 5 cords of wood may be run and the doors 
 closed and the oven heated from the outside. The wood is thereby 
 decomposed, as we chemists sa^', by destructive distillation, by the 
 liberation of these vapors which are afterwards condensed, leaving 
 behind the charcoal. These ovens are principally used in the natural- 
 gas region, where they are heated externally' by natural gas. The 
 retorts are heated bj' fuel in a grate. 
 
 The amount of charcoal that is produced will vary according to 
 whether they use charcoal for fuel altogether, or whether they use 
 charcoal partly and partly bituminous or hard coal, or whether they 
 use bituminous and hard coal altogether. 
 
 ^Ye may say that a cord of wood will yield 10 gallons of wood 
 alcohol, 200 pounds of acetate of lime, and between 10 and 50 bushels 
 of charcoal. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. A cord of wood would cost how much, on an 
 average ( 
 
 Mr. MiTNROE. I found it to be about $2.50 or $3 a cord, varying in 
 diflPerent regions. All wood, by destructive distillation, can be made 
 to give off these products; but where there are resins in the wood, 
 there a complication arises. In the South, where they have attempted 
 to introduce these processes with the object of securing turpentine 
 from the long-leafed pine, they have found the destructive-distillation 
 process to be difficult of use, because they obtain pyroligneous acids. 
 
 Mr. U^DERWooD. What is the value of the charcoal, the acetate of 
 lime, and the wood charcoal that comes out of a cord of wood? 
 
 Mr. MuxKOE. 1 have not reduced it to that yet. I have tried to 
 imagine what information you might ask and 1 have prepared a state- 
 ment which I could afterwards reduce. This is a statement of the 
 percentage value of the product for 1900. We find that in 1900 the 
 wood alcohol produced had a value of $1,976,986, the acetate of lime 
 $981,286, and the charcoal a value of $796,672, or a total value of 
 $3,751,914. The percentage by value of wood alcohol was 52.65, the 
 percentage by value of acetate of lime, 26.13, and the percentage by 
 value of charcoal, 21.22. So we see that what was originally the sole 
 product of the industr}^ is now the least valuable product of the 
 industry. 
 
 I do not think the industiy has arrived at as perfect a condition as 
 it will, because there are a multitude of other products which I think 
 can be obtained from further treatment of the residue. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. If I caught your figures correctlv this industry has 
 doubled between 1900 and 1901. 
 
 Mr. Monroe. Yes; practicalh'' doubled. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is wood alcohol made solely as a bj'-product of some 
 other industry or do they go at that business with wood alcohol as the 
 original and main product? 
 
 Mr. Munroe. I should say that it was the principal business. We 
 see that it is the product which has the largest value in the whole 
 industry, and I presume that when a man goes into the business 
 to-day that is the thing which most attracts him. 
 
 Mr. Clark. They can make wood alcohol out of a great deal of 
 wood which they can not make charcoal and acetate of lime out of at a 
 profit. Is not that true ? 
 
42 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Mu\EOE. I think not. In every case when we obtain wood 
 alcohol we would always have pyroligneous acid, from which we could 
 make acetate of lime, if we chose, and the charcoal would be left 
 behind. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understood you to say, in response to Mr. Uaizells 
 question, that this industry "had doubled in the last four years. It has 
 a great deal more than doubled. 
 
 Mr. MuNKOE. Yes; it has more than doubled. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You said there were about 4,000,000 gallons made in 1900 
 and in 1904 there were about 12,000,000? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. I looked at the total value. . 
 
 Mr. Hill. I want to ask you whether that does not account very 
 largely for the discontinuance of the use of grain alcohol and for the 
 loss of revenue to the Government whicTi it otherwise would have had 
 on grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. It is my belief that wood alcohol is largely used as a 
 substitute for grain alcohol in the arts. 
 
 Mr. Hill. As an expert, do you know of any industry where wood 
 alcohol has not been substituted for grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. 1 do know that an industry has been driven from the 
 United States, because wood alcohol could not be substituted for grain 
 alcohol, and that is the manufacture of fulminate of mercury for mak- 
 ing blasting caps, etc. 
 
 The Chairman. You say that industry has been driven from the 
 United States. 
 
 Mr. MuNKOB. Yes, sir; over into Canada. 
 
 The Chairman. That is a very heavy industry in the United States. 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. I have not so found it. 
 
 The Chairman. I have, by consulting the Government report and 
 also by consulting the gentlemen who are engaged in the manufacture 
 of it, within the past week. 
 
 Mr. MiJNROE. I understand that it has been manufactured in Canada 
 and has been for a number of years past. I have been called upon as 
 an expert to advise the railroads of the countiy in regard to the trans- 
 portation of explosive substances, and the transportation of fulminate 
 of mercury was one of the problems of transportation It was a mat- 
 ter I was particularly interested in, and I tried to get as much infor- 
 mation about it as possible in 1900, and I was obliged to state it as 
 follows: 
 
 Although charges of dynamite and other high explosives are invariably fired by 
 detonators or blasting caps charged with mercuric fulminate, and, although percus- 
 sion caps, friction primers, and fixed ammunition are also charged with this explosive, 
 yet the amount of this most important and essential explosive which is returned as 
 manufactured in the United States was quite insignificant. On the other hand, as 
 shown by the following table, compiled from the records of the Bureau of Statistics 
 of the United States Treasury Department, the importation of fulminate is assuming 
 greater and greater importance as our home industry in other explosives grows, and 
 this is shown even more markedly if to the values for the fulminates there be added 
 those for the blasting caps, percussion caps, and cartridges that are also imported. 
 
 I give here a table of imports for consumption of fulminates, ful- 
 minating powders, and like articles from 1884 to 1900, inclusive, which 
 shows that the gross annual value of these importations for consump- 
 tion have risen steadily from $487 in value in 1884 to $105,999 in 1900. 
 There was an especial jump about 1898 from $46,Y03 in 1898 to 
 fl08,741 in 1899. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 43 
 
 I have no recent information to the contrary in regard to this industy ; 
 but I knew this as a fact, and knew the party, who was an American, 
 who went over the line to conduct this enterprise. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Was the avoiding the tux on alcohol the only inducement ? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. That was the only inducement. We are equally 
 favored with any nation, except in this one particular. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How large an institution was this? 
 
 Mr. MuNKOE. The man lived in great comfort on two months' work, 
 and he supplied practically the industry in the United States. I can 
 not tell you the amount. There was no way in which we could collect 
 the statistics. 
 
 Mr. Smith. "Where was it located in Canada? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. I can not tell you the exact place. It has slipped my 
 memory. I was quite specificall)^ informed as to the man's name, etc. 
 
 Mr. Dndebwood. Do they have free alcohol in Canada? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. I understand that it is tax free for use in the arts. 
 That was the inducement for going there. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. What is the difference between wood alcohol and 
 grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Mctseoe. The gentleman who preceded me has given you the 
 formulas for these two alcohols, and we can not speak of them in any 
 other terms or define them in any other way. The difference between 
 CH3OH and C2H5OH is almost as great as the diiference between gold 
 and silver. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. Are there not certain classes of dyes, such as are 
 used in the manufacture of cotton goods, that can not be made out of 
 wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. There are. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Is it not necessary for us to import great quanti- 
 ties of these dyes from Germany, at great cost, for that reason? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. I believe that is the case. I am trying to find out 
 just what the facts are. Undoubted!}' Germany commands the dyeing 
 industry^ of the world. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. And the reason we can not make them is because 
 we do not have f I'ee alcohol '. 
 
 Mr. Mdnroe. That is a large element, but it is not the only element. 
 The patent situation is the other. 
 
 Mr. Hill. As an agent of the Census Bureau, in your study of the 
 statistics as you hav^e presented them, you notice the transfer from the 
 revenue-paying article to a nonrevenue-paying article, or from a supe- 
 rior raw material to an inferior raw material because of this tax. Do 
 you see'any reason why both should not be taxed if one is taxed, or 
 wh}' both should not be free if one is ''. 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. I should be very sorry, gentlemen, to see the wood- 
 alcohol industry taxed, because it is an industrj^ that utilizes by-prod- 
 ucts, and it is a valuable industry. I do not believe that the making 
 of grain alcohol free will hurt the wood-alcohol industry in the least. 
 
 The Chairman. It is never used as a beverage? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Not by anyone who has intelligence. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. I consider it a very important statement that it will 
 not interfere with the wood-alcohol industry. Will you give your 
 reasons for that? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. In the first place, the wood-alcohol industry has 
 to go on in order to produce charcoal. They are going to produce 
 
44 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 charcoal just the same, and they will get the other as a by-product. 
 They will get acetate of lime, which is used largely in the making of 
 acetic acid and in the manufacture of acetone. There is a constant 
 and increasing demand for these things. I believe that by allowing 
 grain alcohol to be used in the arts free, if it be introduced as an 
 agent for heating and lighting, etc., the consumption is going to be 
 enormous. It must be protected, and we will protect it hy denatur- 
 ing it. There are certain industries in which wood alcohol alone will 
 be used. 
 
 Mr. Smith. That is, the use of wood alcohol will be increased by 
 its use in denaturing grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. 1 believe it will. 
 
 Mr. Smith. And that, you think, will compensate for any competi- 
 tion or damage they may suffer in the other direction? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Yes; eventually. I can not tell what the immediate 
 effect might be upon the industry. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you agree that 2 or 2i per cent of wood alcohol 
 is sufficient to denature grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. That mixture, as I understand it, was a mixture made 
 up of wood alcohol and a pyridine base, and of course it was a very 
 effective mixture. A very little of it would go a great waj's. 
 
 The Chairman. That would be sufficient? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. I understood you to say that 12,000,000 gallons of 
 wood alcohol was manufactured in 1904. 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Yes. 
 
 The Chairman. It would require 600,000,000 gallons of grain alco- 
 hol to consume that? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Yes; at that rate. 
 
 The Chairman. It would take some time for the alcohol industr3' to 
 develop to such an extent as to consume that amount? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. But I did not stop at that point. There are other 
 industries which will continue to use wood alcohol. For instance, for- 
 maldehyde is a material which is becoming extensively used as a disin- 
 fectant, and formaldehjrde is made from wood alcohol. There are also 
 other industries in which it will be used. I have visited the celluloid 
 works, and I have heard them say that for certain of their work they 
 preferred wood alcohol to grain alcohol. There will be many indus- 
 tries in which wood alcohol will be consumed. It is not always used 
 as a substitute for grain alcohol; it has uses of its own. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I notice in your article on the census that you report a 
 material export of wood alcohol to other countries sold for denaturizing 
 purposes. 
 
 Mr. McNROE. Yes; and that is continually on the increase, I believe. 
 
 Mr. Hill. So it is not necessary to account for all of it in the indus- 
 tries of this country ? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Certainly not. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Have you given any figures showing.thecost of a gallon 
 of wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. I said that for the crude alcohol it was 39.19 cents in 
 1900. 
 . Mr. Smith. That is the cost of producing it? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. That is the cost at the factory. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. About'40 cents a sfallon? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 45 
 
 Mr. MuNKOE. Tes, sir. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Do you know anjthing about the present condition 
 of this process of making ethyl alcohol out of wood waste '{ 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. I understand that it is not yet commercially success- 
 ful. I have seen a sample of the product. I saw it in the Internal 
 Revenue Commissioner's office a few weeks ago. It is practicable to 
 do it, but it is a question whether it can be done in competition with 
 the product of alcohol from grain, potatoes, and other starchy mate- 
 rials, which are more readilj- fermented. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How does it liappen that the price of this wood alcohol 
 has gone up; while the quantity has been increased the prices also 
 increase ? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. No; it is just the reverse. The price in 1880 was 62 
 cents a gallon; in 1890, 61.7 a gallon, and in 1900, 39.98 cents a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Clark. That is the cost of production. 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Do you know what the selling price was? 
 
 Mr. MuxEOE. No; but I have found it to vary from 60 to 70 cents 
 a gallon, with Columbian spirits at $1.20. That is refined, while the 
 other is crude. Of course that varies with the particulai' character of 
 the alcohol. If a man wants an alcohol that contains 15 per cent of 
 acetone they make that gi'ade up for him. 
 
 ^tr. Hill. I have invited the representatives of the hat industry to 
 be ready to go on to-morrow morning. Will it be convenient for them 
 to be heard. 
 
 The Chairman. I think the committee can hear those gentlemen 
 who are here from abroad, and we will excuse Doctor Wilej' and notify 
 him by telephone when he is wanted. 
 
 (The committee thereupon, at 1 o'clock p. m., adjourned until 
 to-morrow, Thursday, February 8, 1906, at 10 o'clock a. m.). 
 
FREE A.LCOHOL. 
 
 SECONn DAY— MOE]Sri:N^G SE8SIOX. 
 
 Committee on Ways and Means, 
 Thursday, Fchruary 8, 1906 — 10 o'clocli. a. m. 
 The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., the chairman, Hon. Sereno E. 
 Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present: The chairman, and Messrs. Dalzell, McCleary, McCall, 
 Hill, Boutell, Curtis, Needham, Smith, Robertson, Clark, Cockran, 
 Underwood, and Granger. 
 
 The Chairman. INIr. Kline, the president of the Philadelphia Trades 
 League, is here this morning and we will now hear him. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. MAHLON N. KLINE, REPRESENTING THE 
 PHILADELPHIA TRADES LEAGUE. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Kline. Mr. Chairman, I am president of the Philadelphia 
 Trades League, an organization composed of about 2,600 business 
 men. 1 am also chairman of the committee on legislation for the 
 National Wholesale Druggists' Association. I maj' sa\', however, that 
 the members of that organization, who are to some extent interested 
 in this particular bill, are not so directly interested as they are in two 
 other alcohol bUls, in behalf of which I have had the honor of appear- 
 ing before you previously. 
 
 With your permission I want to make a brief statement in favor of 
 this legislation for untaxed denatured alcohol. 
 
 Two objections have been urged against the enactment of legislation 
 by Congress providing for untaxed denatured alcohol (that is, alcohol 
 which has been rendered unfit for use as a beverage), viz: 
 
 First. That the revenue of the Government from distilled spirits 
 would be diminished to the extent of eight or ten millions of dollars 
 b}' relieving from tax alcohol which is now used for industrial purposes. 
 
 Second.' That it would be impossible to prevent fraud on the revenue 
 through the illicit purification or recovery of such untaxed denatured 
 alcohol and its surreptitious sale in competition with taxed whisky. 
 
 Each of these objections will be considered as stated. 
 
 Grain or ethyl alcohol rendered unfit for use as a beverage by the 
 admixture of some substance or substances which would malie it 
 obnoxious to taste or smell could not be used in the manufacture of 
 
 47 
 
48 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 perfumery or flavoring extracts or in any liquid preparation, medical 
 or otherwise, intended for internal use, or in any other article of com- 
 merce in which potable grain alcohol is necessarily a constituent part. 
 The manufacturers or compounders of such articles are not asking for 
 untaxed alcohol. On the contrary, the great majority of them oppose 
 legislation which would permit potable grain alcohol to be used free of 
 tax for such purposes, and thej' thoroug-nly understand that such legis- 
 lation would be contrary to public policy. It is therefore manifest 
 that the loss in revenue anticipated by the Treasury Department in the 
 event of legislation by Congress would be wholly due to the substitu- 
 tion of untaxed denatured alcohol for that quantity' of taxed alcohol 
 now used in the manufacture of such articles as hats, furniture, pianos, 
 gas fixtures, picture moldings, electrical apparatus, etc. The ques- 
 tion arises as to what extent taxed grain alcohol is now used in these 
 and similar industries where a solvent is absolutely necessary. 
 
 The public is now well informed as to the general use of wood alcohol 
 (which is not taxed) and the enterprise of the manufacturers of that Sol- 
 vent during the past ten years in persuading manufacturers to use it 
 instead of taxed grain alcohol. The complete success which has attended 
 the efforts of the refiners of wood alcohol to have their product substi- 
 tuted for grain alcohol in all those industries which could use untaxed 
 denatured alcohol has encouraged them to still further invade the market 
 of the grain alcohol distiller, with the result that deodorized or highly 
 refined wood alcohol, which only an expert can distinguish from potable 
 grain alcohol, and which is sold under such misleading trade names as 
 "Eagle spirits," "Columbian spirits," and "Colonial spirits," is now 
 largely used by irresponsible compounders for making cheap per- 
 fumery, flavoring extracts, hair washes, and bay rum, and for fortify- 
 ing witch hazel. 
 
 One well-known manufacturer of witch hazel has found it advan- 
 tageous to advertise in the large dailj' newspapers throughout the 
 country that they guarantee their product is fortified with ethyl 
 alcohol. It is therefore evident that not onlji^ would there be no loss 
 in revenue worthy of consideration from untaxed denatured alcohol, 
 but that the comparatively recent substitution of large quantities of 
 highly refined wood alcohol for potable grain alcohol in the produc- 
 tion of the articles mentioned is depriving the Government of a large 
 amount of revenue to which it is clearly entitled on grounds of public 
 policy. 
 
 The following list is believed to cover practically all the industries 
 in the United States now using wood alcohol as a solvent which 
 would use untaxed denatured alcohol in the event of such legislation 
 by Congress: 
 
 Aniline colors and dyes. 
 
 Hats (stiff, silk, and straw) 
 
 Electrical apparatus. 
 
 Transparent soap. 
 
 Furniture. 
 
 Picture moldings. 
 
 Burial caskets. 
 
 Cabinet work. 
 
 Passenger cars. 
 
 Pianos. 
 
 Organs. 
 
 Wnips. 
 
 Toys. 
 
 Rattan goods. 
 
 Lead pencils. 
 
 Brushes. 
 
 Wagons. 
 
 Boots and shoes. 
 
 Smokeless powder. 
 
 Fulminate of mercury. 
 
 Brass beds. 
 
 Gas and electric-light fixtures. 
 
 Various kinds of metal hardware. 
 
 Incandescent mantles. 
 
 Photographic materials. 
 
 Celluloid and other like compounds. 
 
 Sulphuric ether. 
 
 Organic chemicals. 
 
TKEE ALCOHOL. 49 
 
 The loss in revenue from legislation providing for untaxed denatured 
 alcohol can therefore be accurately estimated by ascertaining the 
 quantity of taxed grain alcohol which such industries are now using. 
 
 The information which has been gathered for me from various reli- 
 able sources, and such personal investigations as I have made, with 
 respect to the annual consumption of grain or ethyl alcohol in the 
 manufacture of the articles mentioned may be summarized as follows: 
 
 Aniline colors and dyes, — We now import practically all the colors 
 and dyes in the manufacture of which ethyl alcohol is absolutely essen- 
 tial. I am informed that 200 barrels would be a very liberal estimate 
 for the present consumption for such purposes. 
 
 Hats {stiff, silk, and stmir). — I am assured that wood alcohol is now 
 used exclusivel}' in this industrj- as a solvent for shellac. 
 
 Electrical apparatus. — Wood alcohol, and especially the highly 
 refined product, is now almost wholly used in this industry. An 
 annual consumption of 500 barrels of grain alcohol W'Ould unquestion- 
 ablj' be an excessive estimate to allow for this industry. ' 
 
 Transparent soap. — The consumption of transparent soap in the 
 United States is quite inconsiderable when compared with the consump- 
 tion of laundry soap and the various kinds of toilet soaps, in the manufac- 
 ture of which neither grain nor wood alcohol is a necessary material. 
 1 believe that it can be saf elj- asserted that by far the larger quantity of 
 transparent soap consumed in the United States is imported, chiefly 
 from Great Biitain. There are, however, several manufacturers of 
 soap in this country producing transparent soap on a small scale. I 
 am informed that some of these use small quantities of grain alcohol, 
 and others use highly refined wood alcohol. I think it is safe to assert 
 that not over 500 barrels of grain alcohol are now annuallj^ consumed 
 in this industry. 
 
 Furniture, ^j/f^Swrtf moldings, huricd caskets, cabinetioork, passenger 
 cars, pianos, organs, whl]>s, tops, rattan goods, lead pencils, hriishes, 
 wagons, hoots, and shoes. — Alcohol of some kind is a necessary raw 
 material in these industries as a solvent for shellac gum from whicih 
 shellac varnish is produced. The ordinary refined and highly refined 
 wood alcohol have been almost completelj' substituted for grain alcohol 
 in manufacturing such articles. 
 
 In nearly all the larger furniture, piano, and organ factories wood 
 alcohol is wholly used. Some of the manufacturers of picture mold- 
 ing use a small quantity of grain alcohol, but it represents only a 
 small percentage of their consumption of wood alcohol. It is said 
 that 750 barrels of grain alcohol would be a very libei'al annual con- 
 sumption to allow for this industry. 
 
 Wood alcohol, I am informed, is now almost entirely used in manu- 
 facturing whips, toys, lead pencils, boots and shoes, brushes, wagons, 
 and passenger cars. If any considerable quantity of grain alcohol is 
 now used by the manufacturers of these articles, it is certainlj^ not due 
 to any lack of enterprise on the part of the refiners of wood alcohol 
 or to their belief that highly refined wood alcohol can not be success- 
 fully employed as a solvent. I am therefore of the opinion that not 
 more than 1,000 barrels of grain alcohol is at present used in all these 
 industries. 
 
 Smokeless powder. — There are many formulas for manufacturing 
 this article, a number of which specify ethyl alcohol as the solvent to 
 be used. The formula adopted by the United States Government calls 
 
 11058—06 i 
 
50 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 for ethyl alcohol, and verj' large quantities are now annuallj^ with- 
 drawn free of tax from distillery bonded warehouses for that purpose 
 on application of the Navj" Department. According to the report of 
 the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the fiscal year ending 
 June 30, 1905 (see p. 6), 1,676,000 proof gallons of alcohol were 
 delivered free of tax to the Navy Department.' 
 
 I am informed that grain alcohol, owing to its excessive cost, is not 
 used in the United States for pi'oducing the various brands of smoke- 
 less powder sold for sporting purposes. Since, however, it is stated 
 on high authority that the best grades of smokeless powder for sport- 
 ing purposes can only be manufactured bj^ using grain alcohol as a 
 solvent, very large quantities would be used in that way if it could 
 be obtained free of tax. At the present time the Government is not 
 deriving any revenue from grain alcohol used in' the manufacture of 
 smokeless powder. 
 
 Fulminate of mercury. — It is a matter of official record that sub- 
 stantially all the fulminate of mercury at present consumed in the 
 United States is imported from Canada. The alcohol used for this 
 purpose is withdrawn from distillery bonded warehouses in the United 
 States, free of tax, and exported to Canada. On arrival there it is 
 transferred to a bonded manufacturing warehouse without payment 
 of duty. When the fulminate of mercury is ready for shipment it is 
 withdrawn and exported to the United States, where a customs duty 
 of 35 per cent ad valorem is assessed on its arrival. It is therefore 
 clear that if our manufacturers of ammunition are allowed to use 
 untaxed alcohol in making fulminate of mercury in the United States 
 (thus giving employment to American labor where Canadian labor is 
 now emplo3^ed) there would be no loss in the revenue from distilled 
 spirits. 
 
 Brass heds, gas and electric-light fixtures; various kinds of metal 
 hardware, etc. — These industries now use fusel oil in manufacturing 
 the lacquers which they use to cover exposed metal surfaces. There 
 is no internal-revenue tax on fusel oil. It is a by-product in the dis- 
 tillation of high-proof grain alcohol, and at present is sold in this 
 country for $1.25 to $1.50 per gallon. Very large quantities are now 
 imported from Europe, the domestic supply being wholly inadequate 
 to cover the present consumption. Legislation providing for untaxed 
 denatured alcohol would at once give relief to the fusel-oil-using indus- 
 tries and in time reduce the price to one-fifth of what it is at present. 
 
 Incandescent mantles. — I am informed that the various chemicals 
 and solvents used in manufacturing incandescent mantles are not sub- 
 ject to internal-revenue tax. If denatured alcohol could be obtained 
 free of tax it would be substituted for the solvents now in use. 
 
 Photographic materials. — Grain alcohol, converted into ether, is 
 used in this industry to some extent as a solvent. The total quantity 
 used is said not to exceed 1,000 barrels per year. 
 
 Celluloid and other like compounds. — Wood alcohol has almost en- 
 tirely displaced grain alcohol in the manufacture of celluloid and other 
 like compounds. The quantity of grain alcohol used may be safely 
 stated as not exceeding ,500 barrels. 
 
 SuljAvric ether.— A firm in Richmond, Va., is said to have invented 
 or now controls a patented process for manufacturing ether from 
 petroleum. This ether, it is reported, is sold for a price slightly less 
 than the actual cost of making ether from taxed grain alcohol. If 
 untaxed denatured alcohol could be secured, ether would be produced 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 51 
 
 therefrom far more cheaply than from petroleum and all manufactur- 
 ers of this article would be placed on an equal footing. If 1,000 bar- 
 rels of alcohol are allowed for this industry, I am quite sure it would 
 be an excessive estimate. 
 
 Organic cheinlcids. — The United States makes few so-called organic 
 chemicals requiring grain alcohol as a solvent. I ani sure that if I 
 estimate an annual consumption of 500 barrels for this purpose it 
 would be found to be in excess of the actual quantitjr used at present. 
 
 Summary. — If the quantities of taxed grain alcohol which I have 
 estimated as being annually used in these industries are added up, the 
 following would be the total sum: 
 
 Barrels. 
 
 Aniline colors and dyes 200 
 
 Electrical apparatus 500 
 
 Transparent soap 500 
 
 Furniture, picture moldings, burial caskets, pianos, organs, whips, toys, etc... 1,000 
 
 Photographic materials 1, 000 
 
 Celluloid and other like compounds 500 
 
 Sulphuric ether 1, 000 
 
 Organic chemicals 500 
 
 Total - 5,200 
 
 Grain alcohol averages 45 wine gallons testing 94 per cent to each 
 barrel. Converting this quantity into proof or taxable gallons, we 
 find the total estimate of taxed grain alcohol now used in manufactur- 
 ing processes, for which untaxed denatui'ed alcohol would be substi- 
 tuted, to be 439,920, which multiplied by f 1. 10, the tax per proof gallon 
 under existing law, would show a loss in revenue of $483,912, should 
 this proposed legislation be enacted by Congress. 
 
 If this estimate is disputed b}' the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
 I would suggest that he be asked to specify in detail the quantities of 
 taxed grain alcohol used in the various industries for which untaxed 
 denatured grain alcohol would be substituted. 
 
 When this subject was being investigated in 1897 by the joint select 
 committee appointed by Congress," the Acting Commissioner of Inter- 
 nal Revenue at that time, Mr. G. W. Wilson, appeared before that 
 committee and submitted facts and figures to prove that refined wood 
 alcohol would in a few years entirelv supersede the use of grain alco- 
 hol for industrial processes. 
 
 In order to avoid the loss in I'evenue which this substitution would 
 entail, he recommended a tax of 55 cents per proof gallon on refined 
 wood alcohol. I quote from an official letter which he presented and 
 read at that hearing (p. 561, vol. 2): 
 
 Although the manufacturers do not admit that it is or can be used in beverages, 
 they do urge its capability of replacing ethyl alcohol for many other purposea. And 
 they claim that, if present conditions continue, in a very few years it will have 
 superseded the taxed article entirely for all medicinal purposes where it is used 
 externally. Should these expectations be realized, and from present indications 
 there is no reason whatever to doubt their realization, a very serious deduction in 
 the amount of tax collected from distilled spirits by this office must be anticipated. 
 
 Nearlv nine A'ears have elapsed since then, during which the refiners 
 of wood alcohol have had every opportunity to improve their product 
 and to induce the various industries employing a solvent to discontinue 
 the use of taxed grain alcohol. 
 
 "Published as Senate Eeport No. 411, 55th Cong., 2d sess. 
 
52 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 As we have present representatives of the American Chemical Society 
 and the Society of Chemical Industry, who are far better qualified than 
 I am to answer the objection that denatured alcohol could be profitably 
 purified and sold in competition with taxed whisky,! will only endeavor 
 to state my views on that side" of the question in a general waj'. I 
 submit the following for 3'our careful consideration : 
 
 First. All civilized nations now exempt from taxation ethyl alcohol 
 when rendered unfit for use as a beverage. 
 
 Second. Two laws have been enacted by the United States and are 
 now in existence under which large quantities of alcohol are now used 
 free of tax for special industrial purposes, viz: 
 
 Under section 3282 of the Revised Statutes, acts of March 1, 1879, 
 and June 14, 1879, the manufacturers of vinegar are allowed to distil 
 alcohol from grain free of tax and to convert such alcohol into vinegar 
 under a nominal supervision by internal revenue ofiicials. In Euro- 
 pean countries the distillers produce the alcohol and deliver it to the 
 manufacturers of vinegar, who are then allowed to use it free of tax 
 in making vinegar, provided it is denatured with acetic acid. 
 
 Alcohol is granted free of tax to producers of sweet wines under 
 sections 42 to 49, inclusive, of the tarifi' act of October 1, 1890, as 
 amended by the tarifi' act of August 28, 1894. Under this law 3,430,829 
 proof gallons of alcohol in the form of grape brandj^ were used free 
 of tax in fortifying sweet wines during the fiscal year ending June 30, 
 1905. (See p. 5 of the last annual report of the Commissioner of 
 Internal Revenue.) 
 
 On page 131 of this report the quantities of grape brandy (alcohol) 
 delivered free of tax are stated as follows, for the various collection 
 districts: 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 
 First California 2,661,912.5 
 
 Fourth California 598,509.5 
 
 First Missouri 272. 4 
 
 First New Jersey 714. 
 
 Twenty-eighth New York 131, 438. 7 
 
 Fourth North Carolina 2, 308. 7 
 
 Tenth Ohio 11, 374. 5 
 
 Second Virginia 24, 289. 3 
 
 Total 3,430,819.6 
 
 It will be noted that the total quantity of alcohol delivered free of 
 tax to the sweet wine producers is nearlj' seven times as great as my 
 estimate of the quantity of taxed grain alcohol now used in various 
 industries, for which untaxed denatured alcohol would be substituted. 
 
 I have learned upon careful inquiry that not once since the enact- 
 ment of this law has the Commissioner of Internal Revenue reported 
 to Congress that the revenue from distilled spirits is endangered by 
 the illicit recovery of such alcohol, and its sale in competition with 
 taxed whisky. Sweet wine of domestic production may be freely pur- 
 chased in large quantities at a comparatively low price per gallon, and 
 the alcohol recovered therefrom by a simple process of distillation. 
 The fact that the law is not so violated, or perhaps I should sa}^ vio- 
 lated to an extent demanding official notice, is probably the best proof 
 which can be offered that untaxed denatured alcohol requiring a com- 
 plicated process of fractional distillation to render it potable would 
 not endanger the present revenue derived from distilled spirits. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 53 
 
 Third. I am informed that it is susceptible of practical demonstra- 
 tion that the illicit recovery of alcohol from untaxed denatured alcohol 
 would cost as much as the illicit distillation of a like quantity of alco- 
 hol from corn, potatoes, sugar, or molasses. If this is conceded, it is 
 quite important to note that the materials from which whisky may be 
 illicitly distilled are always at hand in every household in the country, 
 while denatured alcohol would have to be purchased in considerable 
 quantities and removed to the place where the illicit recovery of the 
 alcohol is intended to be carried on. Since no such danger to the revenue 
 may be anticipated from reputable manufacturers, and since the regu- 
 lations to carry the proposed law into effect would necessarily require 
 the distiller or dealers in denatured alcohol to report all sales exceed- 
 ing 5 or 10 gallons at stated intervals, the revenue authorities would be 
 in possession of the necessary information to enable them to investi- 
 gate in the event of the purchase of a large quantity by some party 
 identified with that class which habitually incur the penalties of the 
 law relating to the illicit distillation of alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Would it not cost as much to get this back into potable 
 condition as it would to make new alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Klixe. Yes; as it would to make new alcohol from the articles 
 here stated. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you state that on information ? 
 
 Mr. Kline. I state that on information. All of the points to which 
 I refer are largely on information, and I am informed they will be, or 
 perhaps they have already been, gone into by some witnesses who will 
 appear before this committee, perhaps at this hearing, to speak from 
 actual knowledge and experience. 
 
 [See statement of Doctor Wiley, p. 113.] 
 
 Mr. Clark. Do you know, or does anybody else know, whether you 
 can get this denatured alcohol back into its original state by any proc- 
 ess of distillation ? 
 
 Mr. Kline. 1 do not know; but it would seem to me that the num- 
 ber of years' experience they have had in (Germany and in other coun- 
 tries would be the strongest evidence that could be submitted on that 
 point, and we do not hear that any considerable quantity has ever been 
 converted in those countries. These other countries have had this 
 experience. It is not a new thing. 
 
 1 have just been handed a statement made by Professor Remsen, 
 Professor Chandler, and Professor Parker, all well known chemists, 
 which says: 
 
 It is plain from the foregoing that considering our experiments as final — that is, 
 experiments on this very point — it is impossible to purify the mixture containing 
 wood naphtha to a sufficient extent to make it palatable, without distillation, and 
 hence apparently it would be as difficult to carry on the process of purification on a 
 large scale as to carry on the illegitimate manufacture of alcohol. 
 
 That is the evidence of these three chemists who have made an 
 investigation of this question. 
 
 The Chairman. I noticed in the papers this morning that nine sol- 
 diers were in a dying condition and one already dead from drinking 
 wood alcohol. What safeguards would you suggest in the case of 
 denatured alcohol, to put these people on their guard and to keep those 
 who had an appetite that was uncontrollable from drinking this stuff 
 after it was denatured? 
 
54 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Kline. I do not see how any greater safeguard could be neces- 
 sary than now exists. If they drink wood alcohol pure and simple, I 
 suppose they would drink denatured alcohol, if such a thing were 
 
 Eossible. You saw here yesterday' the samples of wood alcohol and 
 ow highly it has been refined, and how far it has been deprived 
 of its exceedingly disagreeable odor; and the danger of their using 
 that is very much greater than would be the danger of their using 
 denatured alcohol to which has been added wood alcohol in its crude 
 state. It is very much more objectionable in smell and color. 
 
 The Chairman. Then in denaturing ethyl alcohol they would use 
 wood alcohol before it was refined and the smell removed? 
 
 Mr. Kline. They would use the crude material. The very object 
 in asking for untaxed grain alcohol is to get some material at a very 
 low cost; and there would be no object in adding to the ethyl alcohol 
 refined wood alcohol. The crude wood alcohol would be better and it 
 would be cheaper and would be as good so far as its burning proper- 
 ties are concerned. As I said before, it would also give an intimation 
 to those who want a warning not to use it. 
 
 The Chairman. In the evidence before the Commission in 1897 it 
 was testified that wood alcohol vaporized at a much lower temperature 
 than grain alcohol. I do not know but I have got that reversed; but 
 at any rate one was at a lower temperature than the other. It was 
 claimed that they could separate the wood alcohol from the grain 
 alcohol in that way very easily. I think that was one of the consider- 
 ations that led a majority of that Commission to report adversely on 
 this legislation. Do you know anything about that? 
 
 Mr. Kline. No; I do not know anything about that excepting that 
 since 1897 eight years have passed, during which time this matter has 
 been further tested, especially abroad ; and we have before us the fact, 
 which can not be controverted that in Germany, for example, with a 
 population very much smaller than ours, they are using 76,000,000 
 proof gallons, or about 55,000,000 wine gallons, of alcohol untaxed, 
 which is used in the manufacture of various articles which go all over 
 the world in competition with our manufactures here, and there is no 
 considerable complaint of fraud in regard to the matter. 
 
 The Chairman. It was also alleged before that Commission in 1897 
 that the population in Germany, in France, and jn these other coun- 
 tries where they were using denatured alcohol was so much more 
 dense than it is in our country that they could cover the territory 
 more easily with revenue agents, and hence there was much less dan- 
 ger of fraud than there would be in this country, with its long distances 
 and impossibility of covering the territory with revenue agents. What 
 do you say to that? 
 
 Mr. Kline. I call your attention, in response to that question, to 
 the facts and figures which I have submitted. That has not been the 
 experience in Germany or in these other countries, and that fact would 
 seem to indicate that there is not so very much danger in that regard. 
 
 The Chairman. I suppose that when this fortified wine, which has 
 been spoken of, leaves the factories it is generally put up in bottles and 
 that it would be a pretty expensive business to separate the alcohol 
 from the wine and get free alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Kline. There is a great deal of it sold in bulk. 
 
 The Chairman. I think Mr. Wilson argued to the committee that 
 there had always been a great deal of trouble with moonshine distilled 
 
FEES ALCOHOL. 55 
 
 whisky, and that it was difficult to prevent frauds in that industry, and 
 he urged that as a reason for not adopting such legislation. 
 
 Mr. Kline. With reference to the subject of temptation to moon- 
 shining, of course that question is not before us to be discussed, 
 although I am very much interested in it, and in the suggestion that a 
 reduction of the internal-revenue tax on alcohol would, to some extent, 
 do away with that. It must be remembered that the whisky which 
 the moonshiners are making, and it is a very insignificant amount 
 that is made and illicitlj' sold, so far as discovered, is made under a 
 great temptation, because of the ll.lO tax upon it. But when j'ou 
 speak about denatured alcohol, which would probably be produced 
 on a large scale in this country immediatelj^ you must remember that 
 the cost would be only 15 cents to 18 cents a gallon, and the tempta- 
 tion would be verj' small. 
 
 The Chairman. What is alcohol sold for by the gallon ? 
 
 Mr. Kline. The wholesale price of grain alcohol, as we sell it in 
 the wholesale drug trade to-day, is, I think, about $2.30 a gallon. I, 
 unfortunately, do not now do any buying; but that is about the price. 
 
 The Chairman. What is the tax on it? 
 
 Mr. Kline. The tax is between §2.07 and $2.08 a gallon. In other 
 words, the net price of alcohol without the tax is in the neighbor- 
 hood of 22 or 23 cents a gallon. 
 
 The Chairman. What is the price of wood alcohol? 
 
 ]Mr. Kline. I believe the price at present is 70 cents a gallon. 
 
 The Chairman. Ketail? 
 
 Mr. Kline. No; the wholesale price, the quantity price; and I am 
 not sure that there is not a larger quantity price. 
 
 The Chairman. Three or four j^ears ago the drug people and the 
 manufacturers of patent medicines were demanding free alcohol to be 
 used in the manufacture of medicines. I understand 3'ou to saj' now 
 there is no demand for it, or at least you do not favor it. 
 
 Mr. Kline. You are perfectly familiar with the manner in which 
 that originated. In the Wilson tariff bill the dutj^ on alcohol entering 
 into the manufacture of medicine was advanced from 90 cents to $1.10, 
 with a promise to these people of free alcohol to be used in medicines. 
 Naturally that stirred up a desire on their part to enjoy the benefits 
 which were held out to them. 
 
 The Chairman. That tax still exists; but how do you account for 
 the fact that they are not now asking for it i 
 
 Mr. Kline. I can explain that in a moment. I said what I have 
 said to explain why there was this great demand. You come to us 
 and say that under certain conditions we will give j'ou this aid. 
 
 The Chairman. It was given to them absolutely, upon such rules 
 and regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury might prescribe, and 
 he never prescribed any. The court held that the act was null because 
 he had not prescribed rules and regulations. 
 
 Mr. Kline. That is right. The demand sprung very largely from 
 that. Pure grain alcohol could be used by these people in the manu- 
 facture of their medicines, but denatured alcohol could not, and my 
 argument now is for free denatured alcohol. Our people who manu- 
 facture medicines are not particularly interested in this bill, except as 
 they are interested in promoting the general industries of the country. 
 
 The Chairman. Is it not your opinion that it would be absolutely 
 
56 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 impossible to protect the revenue if we had free alcohol not dena 
 tured to be used in the manufacture of medicines? 
 
 Mr. Kline. I think there would be no more danger of that than 
 there is that they may use wood alcohol now. 
 
 The Chairman. Suppose we tried to give them free ethyl alcohol in 
 the manufacture of medicines; in your opinion could we guard the 
 reven ue ? 
 
 Mr. Kline. No. I was a member of a committee which appeared 
 before Secretary Carlisle at that time, and he said to us: 
 
 Now, go back to your Hotel and draw up such regulations as you think I ought to 
 prescribe and then come back here and tell me whether I can prescribe those regula- 
 tions and successfully protect the interests of the country. 
 
 Our committee, after struggling with it for a couple of days, came 
 back and admitted that we could not see how it could be done. 
 
 The Chairman. I wanted to draw this out, because I suppose before 
 these hearings close we shall hear from gentlemen who are manufac- 
 turing medicines. 
 
 Mr. Kline. No; not in favor of denatured alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. But in favor of free ethyl alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Kline. That may be; but I am chairman of the committee on 
 legislation of the National Wholesale Drug Association, and I have 
 heard of no movement of that kind. We are very much interested in 
 the passage of some bill like the Lovering bill,'* which would give to 
 the manufacturers a rebate for the internal revenue paid on alcohol for 
 export. We are interested in obtaining a reduction of the tax on alco- 
 hol when in the wisdom of your committee this country can afford it. 
 
 The Chairman. You think |1.10 a gallon is too high? 
 
 Mr. Kline. I do. We have been here before now in favor of a 70- 
 cent tax. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If the change which the chairman suggests in the price 
 of alcohol for the purpose of manufacturing patent medicines were 
 given or you got a drawback, as Brother Lovering suggests, would that 
 make any difference in the price of patent medicines to the consumer? 
 It would not be enough to make a change of a cent in a bottle, would it? 
 
 Mr. Kline. I think not. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I want to ask you a question about this bill. 
 
 Mr. Kline. May I first fully answer your first question, because it 
 requires some further explanation. You are confining your question 
 to patent medicines. It ought to be understood that the use of ethyl 
 alcohol in the manufacture of medicines is not confined, by any means, 
 to the manufacture of patent medicine. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I will include all medicines. 
 
 Mr. Kline. Then I want to say that there would be no difference, 
 because a great deal of ethyl alcohol is used in the manufacture of 
 fluid extracts and tinctures, and in the ordinary medicines that pass 
 through the hands of the retail druggists on prescriptions by 
 phj'sicians. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The chief objection to this bill seems to be that it will 
 entail a loss of revenue to the Government, and that the Government 
 will have J;o stand by and let this denatured alcohol be changed back 
 into its original state. The process of making alcohol originally, as 
 
 aH. R. 111. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 57 
 
 coriapared with the process of getting tliis stuflf back into its original 
 state, would be a simple process. 
 
 Mr. Kline. The original process is simple as compared with this. 
 
 Mr. Claek. It is ; 
 
 Mr. Kline. I so understand it. 
 
 Mr. Clakk. It is simpler and cheaper^ 
 
 Mr. Kline. That is what I assert; but the chemists who follow me 
 will go into that question in a waj' which I could not possibly do. I 
 simply make the general statement upon information which I have 
 received. 
 
 jNlr. Claek. I will tell you how simple the making of alcohol orig 
 inally is. A convict in the Missouri Penitentiary took an old musket 
 barrel that was used as a poker and made a worm out of it, and saved 
 up the pieces of corn bread he had in the jail and made a mash out of 
 that, and he made alcohol and made his own tipple, and he got so 
 drunk that he attracted the attention of the officers in the jail. 
 
 Mr. KuNE. That onlj^ proves that the most expert men in Missouri 
 are evidently in the penitentiarJ^ 
 
 Mr. Claek. Ko; but it shows how simple the act of making alcohol 
 is if it was not for the revenue officers going around after them. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Have your investigations led you to any conclusion 
 as to what extent wood alcohol is now used in the manufacture of 
 medicines, extracts, and other substances ? 
 
 Mr. Kline. No; personally I know nothing, except what I see in 
 the prints. It seems to me the strongest evidence in that regard is the 
 evidence which I heard submitted here yesterday as to the very rapid 
 growth of the wood-alcohol industry, especially in the highly refined 
 grade, which does indicate that wood alcohol enters into some things 
 where ethyl alcohol was previously used. Whether it is used in medi- 
 cines or not I do not know. It has been charged, and I believe proven 
 in isolated cases, that wood alcohol has entered into the manufacture 
 of essences, Jamaica ginger, and articles like that, and the results of 
 it have been made a matter of investigation bj^ physicians, and articles 
 have been published on that line. 
 
 Mr. McCleaet. I would like to ask whether denaturing this grain 
 alcohol would vitiate it in any way for the uses it is designed for'^ 
 
 Mr. Kline. Not at all. As I said before, this is not an experimental 
 matter. If the people of the United States were proposing an experi- 
 ment which had never been tried elsewhere, we might speculate upon 
 the subject; but this is not an experiment. All civilized countries have 
 now, and ha.ve for many years had, this same thing in operation. The 
 chief thing, it seems to me, and the one I want to urge upon you gen- 
 tlemen, is this: That it does seem to provide a material which this coun- 
 try, in its various industries, actually needs, and in addition to that it 
 provides a market and outlet for agricultural products to an extent, it 
 seems to me, which we can no longer ignore. I can not imagine any 
 reason why the opening up of this tremendouslj' important mdustrj^ 
 should be held back by Congress, unless it can be made plain, and I 
 doubt whether it can, that the wood-alcohol industry is more important 
 than these considerations and that these considerations are overbal- 
 anced by it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I judge, from the summing up of your statement, that 
 your conclusion is that by the passage of these bills providing for the 
 
58 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 use of denatured alcohol in all industries a loss of revenue could not 
 occur in excess of $500,000. 
 
 Mr. Kline. That is my estimate. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Is it not a fact that the loss would be confined to two or 
 three of the large industries, and that no loss whatever would accrue 
 to most of them, because none of them are using grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Kline. That is unquestionably the fact. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Speaking with reference to your suggestion in regard to 
 the wood-alcohol interests being of paramount importance, do you 
 think that if we pass this proposed bill it would be a death blow to the 
 wood-alcohol industry ? 
 
 Mr. Kline. Certainly not. The consumption of ethyl alcohol, 
 denatured with wood alcohol, would, in a few years, become so tremend- 
 ouslj' large that, as was stated here yesterday, the wood alcohol used 
 for this denaturing purpose would be an equivalent in value. 
 
 Mr. Smith. If it is not a menace to the wood-alcohol industry, that 
 is one thing; but if it is, it would be worthy of our consideration. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. You do not think we ought to tax one industry out 
 of existence in-order that another might survive? 
 
 Mr. Kline. Certainly not. I think you should legislate for the 
 whole people of the United States, and 1 have no doubt you have that 
 duty in mind. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. AUGUSTUS P. GARDNER, A REPRESENTA- 
 TIVE FROM MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Gardner. Mr. Chairman, without wishing to cover ground 
 already gone over showing the idiosyncrasies of this most unnecessary 
 tax on alcohol used in the arts, I desire to take up a few minutes of 
 your time in enumerating the different industries in my district which 
 would be benefited by its abolition. 
 
 Mine is largely a seashore district, where many of the so-called boat 
 fishermen use power dories and small launches in their vocation. 
 Moreover, many of these boats are built in the neighborhood. Now, 
 if Prof. Elihu Thomson's figures are anywhere near correct the fuel 
 bill of such craft could be immensely reduced if grain alcohol at 25 
 cents per gallon could be used for generating power. I am informed 
 that the existing tax adds over |2 per gallon to the cost of grain alco- 
 hol, therebj' necessitating the use of gasoline. 
 
 Not only would the boat fishermen's fuel bill be substantially reduced, 
 but undoubtedly the boat builders would reap the advantages of 
 increased orders. 
 
 1 believe that the effect would also be felt by the automobile 
 industry, and here again an advantage would accrue to the makers of 
 automobile bodies and fittings on th« Merrimac River. 
 
 At present the hat manufacturers in my district are obliged to 
 import their dyes, a very costly item, from Germany. They could 
 be produced more cheaply here were it not for the fact the German 
 manufacturer uses untaxed alcohol, while a would-be manufacturer in 
 this country must use alcohol taxed to the amount of ten times its 
 value. 
 
 The box toes of fine i^hoes are stiffened by the use of alcohol as a 
 solvent, and here, again, there would be a small advantage to my 
 neighborhood. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 59 
 
 I have been given to understand by house painters that the use of 
 wood alcohol is dangerous to their health, and 1 have no doubt that 
 such is the case. 
 
 The only reason that wood alcohol is used is because it is untaxed, 
 and therefore cheap. Abolish this tax on grain alcohol, and the price 
 will drop below that of wood alcohol. It is preferable already in 
 every way except in price. 
 
 STATEMENT OF JAMES S. CAPEN, ESQ., REPRESENTING THE 
 DETROIT BOARD OF COMMERCE 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 The Chairman. ^Ir. Capen, 3'ou may state your full name, and 
 whom 3'ou represent. 
 
 Mr. Capex. I come here representing the Board of Commerce of 
 Detroit, which is a body of about 1,000 of the business men of Detroit. 
 In that bodj' are included representatives of the heavy interests in all 
 of these lines that have been talked for and talked against in this 
 committee. 
 
 Before going on, I wish to thank the chairman for allowing me to 
 come in out of turn, because, under very sad circumstances, I am 
 obliged to go away. 
 
 Kepresentingwith Mr. Ingram" the Detroit Board of Commerce — a 
 body of business men of whom any city could be proud — proud of the 
 citj' we represent, we deem it a great honor to have the pri^'ilege of 
 presenting to your honorable committee some reasons why our board 
 of commerce, our cit}', and our whole State are interested in the sub- 
 ject of untaxed denatured alcohol. 
 
 The phase which I wish to present is the tremendous and tremen- 
 dously increasing use of fluids for explosive or gas engines. There 
 are, of course, no figures to use in comparing alcohol with gasoline or 
 naphtha, as the products of petroleum in one form or another have so 
 far been used exclusively for this purpose, owing solely to the fact 
 that the tax on alcohol prohibited its use, so that it is useless to talk 
 about a loss of revenue on a material that has, practically, never been 
 used, has produced no revenue, and never will, as its cheapness will 
 be the prime factor in its introduction for power and other purposes. 
 
 In engines of this nature, Detroit and vicinity produces 50 per cent 
 of the entire output of the United States, and Detroit alone will pi'oduce 
 in 1906 enough gas engines for automobile, marine, pumping, and 
 other uses to consume 200,000 gallons of fuel a day. 
 
 Now, what are the reasons that it is not just as well to go on using 
 gasoline, and where would we gain by cheapening alcohol in this wa}' 
 so that we could use it? Petroleum in its refining produces only 2 per 
 cent of gasoline, and with the demand increasing by leaps and bounds, 
 as it is, the very scarcity of it has forced the price to consumers up 
 from 6 cents to 10 and 12 cents (it was as high as 16 cents for a short 
 time in Detroit). 
 
 Alcohol can be produced from any old thing that has sugar or starch 
 in it, and once give our American inventor a chance at a market as 
 
 freat as this, and in a very short time he will have processes that will 
 o away with any fear of scarcity of fuel. 
 
 "For statement of Mr. Ingram see p. 61. 
 
60 FBEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 As a power producer alcohol is about equal to gasoline. It is true 
 that at present there is a little more difficulty in starting an engine 
 with alcohol than with gasoline, but this will be soon overcome once 
 you give to engine builders an incentive to overcome it; in fact, even 
 now, I think I can take you to a place where you can see a carbureter 
 that will work with alcohol as well as those now in use work with 
 gasoline. 
 
 There is far more safety in the use of alcohol than m the use ot gas- 
 oline, and the fact that a fire produced by alcohol is readily put out 
 by water makes it especially attractive as a marine proposition, as 
 water only spreads and increases the danger from a gasoline fire. 
 Then, too, with alcohol there is no use for a law that it can not be 
 drawn after dark by candle or lamp light. 
 
 Cleanliness is another attractive feature in the use of alcohol. Cyl- 
 inders and valves do not get clogged by the left-over products of com- 
 bustion. Odors arising from it are scarcely perceptible and not 
 unpleasant. There will be no need to have one boy play he was the 
 gasoline smell, when our children are playing they are automobiles. 
 In fact, the disagreeable features of gasoline are almost entirely absent 
 from alcohol. 
 
 To sum up, the reasons that alcohol is preferable to gasoline for 
 power use are: 
 
 First. It can be produced as cheaply, perhaps for less, within a 
 short time. 
 
 Second. There never will be any chance to advance its price on 
 account of scarcity. 
 
 Third. It is so much safer that one can almost say it is absolutely 
 safe. 
 
 Fourth. It is absolutely clean and sanitary. 
 
 Fifth. If there is a leaky pipe in the bottom of your boat it can be 
 so arranged that the alcohol can be made to mingle with the water, so 
 that danger from fire or explosion is absolutely prevented. 
 
 I have made no statements that can not be fully substantiated from 
 reports from reliable sources — I can give you extracts and cite you to 
 authorities for each one of them — but I have probably exceeded the 
 limit of time which rightly belongs to me, and all I can say in closing, 
 after thanking you for your courtesj', is, give to the builders of gas 
 engines this cheap, plentiful, and eflective fuel, and the progress they 
 will make in automobiles, in marine work, in factory power, in farm- 
 use motors, and in the whole field of motive power, will astonish and 
 delight j'ou, and will many, many times repay you for the time spent 
 in your thoughtful deliberations, and for any possible concessions you 
 will be called on to make to revenue, or any other interest. 
 
 The Chaibman. Mr. Capen, do I understand that these alcohol 
 engines are really practical, or is it merely an experiment? 
 
 Mr. Capen. There is not an engine in this country j-et that is thor- 
 oughly practical, although there are some engines made in this coun- 
 try and they do the work pretty well. There has been no incentive 
 for anybody to improve such engines. 
 
 The Chairman. How is it abroad, where they have free alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Capen. They claim that they have, engines that are practical 
 and all right in Germany and England. 
 
 The Chairman. You never saw one of them? 
 
 Mr. Capen. I have never seen one of them. 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 61 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understand you to state that there are now under con- 
 tract, in and about Detroit, engines that would require a consumption, 
 if alcohol was used, of 200,000 gallons a day. 
 
 Mr. Capen. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That would be 60,000,000 gallons a year, which would 
 be nearly the consumption of Germany. 
 
 Mr. Capen. Yes, sir; it would require 200,000 gallons, whether we 
 use gasoline or alcohol. The question of the manufacturers of the 
 country to-day is not so much one of cost as it is a question of abso- 
 lute supply. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is alcohol the most desirable fuel, in your judgment? 
 
 ]Mr. Capen. It is just about the same as gasoline in practice. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. It would be more desirable, because it would be 
 safer. 
 
 Mr. Capen. It would be safer and cleaner. The products of com- 
 bustion of gasoline very soon clog up the valves and cylinders and 
 make it necessary to take a machine all to pieces to get this carbon 
 out. There is no such residuum from alcohol. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. Do you mean that the new engines now in progress 
 of construction would use 200,000 gallons a day? 
 
 Mr. Capen. Yes, sir; it represents an increase in this year of a 
 demand for fuel for gas engines of 200,000 gallons a day, provided, of 
 course, that these engines are used all the time. Of course you can 
 not say how much an engine will be used. 
 
 STATEMENT OF FREDERICK F. INGRAM, REPRESENTING THE 
 DETROIT BOARD OF COMMERCE. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. Ingram, you may state your full name and 
 whom you represent. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. My full name is Frederick F. Ingram. I represent, 
 in conjunction with Mr. Capen,'* the Detroit Board of Commerce, and 
 I, personally, represent the Michigan State Grange. 
 
 After presenting the resolutions of the Detroit Board of Commerce, * 
 and expressing their views in regard to this proposed legislation, with 
 the indulgence of the committee I would like to carry out the instruc- 
 tions of the Michigan State Grange and also express their desire in 
 reference to this measure. 
 
 The Detroit Board of Commerce, as my colleague has stated, is a 
 commercial organization of about 1,000 members. Amongst its mem- 
 bers are represented all the industries of Detroit. All of the large 
 manufacturers are members and supporters thereof, and have their 
 share in shaping its policy. 
 
 The industries of Detroit are peculiarly affected by this bill. This 
 matter has been the subject of a great deal of consideration in Detroit, 
 perhaps more than in any other city of the United States, on account 
 of her industries being so much involved in it. 
 
 We are the largest gasoline-motor manufacturers in the United States, 
 We also manufacture to a great extent pianos, furniture, mirrors, 
 and goods of that kind, all requiring alcohol. 
 
 For statement of Mr. Capen, see p. 59. 
 ''For copy of resolutions, see p. 340. 
 
62 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 At our quarterlj' meeting two or three weeks agOj at which there 
 was a full attendance of members, a report was submitted favoring 
 this bill, and it was unanimously adopted. 
 
 Later the project of sending us to present its views to your board 
 was also unanimously adopted, although amongst our membership are 
 prominent manufacturing concerns whose interests may, they think, 
 be jeopardized. 
 
 1 want to say that Michigan is the second State in the Union iu the 
 manufacture of wood alcohol, and much of the capital invested in that 
 industry is in Detroit; but our board took the broad view that the bill 
 was of great advantage to the State. 
 
 I will state that my entire business life has been spent as a manu- 
 facturing pharmacist, and in that industry we use ethyl alcohol, methyl 
 alcohol or wood alcohol, amyl alcohol, and a variety of alcohols. 
 The manufacturing interests in the drug line in Michigan have been 
 said to be, and I believe it is true, the largest of any city in the United 
 States, and perhaps the largest in the world. Parke, Davis & Co. , as 
 you all know, is located there, among others. The subject of whether 
 this would be a direct benefit to our industry has been considerably 
 discussed by my competitors and mvself , and I think the general con- 
 sensus of opinion was that it might be an injury; but in any event the 
 question was so uncertain that there is no opposition from that source 
 to this bill, and we would like to see it become a law. 
 
 Ethyl alcohol is now and has always been the best known of that 
 large family- of solvents and fuels, the alcohols. Outside the ranks of 
 chemists, the word alcohol means simply and only this product of 
 starch and sugar. This fact has caused much loss of life since the 
 revenue tax on ethj'l alcohol, beginning in 1862, has forced into market 
 other varieties of the alcohol group that are rank poisons. These sub- 
 stitutes, being free of the revenue tax, can be marketed at lower prices 
 than taxed alcohol and as a consequence have replaced it to a large 
 extent in the arts and manufactures. 
 
 The common use of these other alcohols, of which wood alcohol is a 
 conspicuous example, not alone endangers human life — they are at best 
 but mere makeshifts — inferior in quality, greatly increasing the cosi 
 of prime necessities. The result being the consumer is forced to pay 
 an increased price for an inferior product, because the use of the better 
 and much cheaper ethyl alcohol is prohibited bj' the revenue tax. 
 
 A generation of men have come and gone since by the operation of this 
 tax the use of grain spirits, except for drinking purposes, has been 
 practically prohibited to American citizens. As a consequence, the 
 great advantage and economj' that results from the free use of this 
 cheapest and most abundant of American products has been over- 
 looked. Not so, however, with the other great commercial competi- 
 tive nations. In Germany the possibilities of alcohol for light, heat, 
 and power were first developed as a war measure. Germany has no 
 native petroleum products. The supply of such products may, in case 
 of war, be wholly cut off, thus interrupting seriously her industrial 
 life. It would also render useless the Government motor carriages, 
 their adoption then being considered by army officials. 
 
 Removing the tax from alcohol when its use is restricted to indus- 
 trial purposes by making it undrinkable has been a great boon to the 
 German manufacturer, enabling him to successfully compete in other- 
 wise inaccessible markets. It has also brought vast tracts of abandoned 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 63 
 
 and barren farm lands to unprecedented prosperity because these 
 depleted, light, sandy soils, untit for cereals, now produce great crops 
 of potatoes that find a ready market as alcohol producers, the distillers 
 fattening cattle on the marc or refuse left after distillation, thus greatly 
 increasing- the wealth and prosperity of the country and furnishing 
 their industries and the war department at the same time a cheaper 
 and inexhaustible source of suppl}' for heat, light, and power. Their 
 chemical manufacturers are also able to undersell ours in our own 
 markets, in spite of tariff restrictions, because they use untaxed alcohol, 
 the universal solvent, on which the American must paj' a tax of 2,000 
 per cent. 
 
 The other commercial nations, excepting the United States, have 
 followed Germany's example in freeing from tax alcohol used for 
 industrial purposes. 
 
 Fears once entertained that freeing industrial alcohol from tax would 
 result in defrauding the revenue have proven groundless where tried, 
 neither has there been cause for dissatisfaction from loss of revenue. 
 
 Our Government gets no revenue from the inferior substitutes now 
 used in place of industrial alcohol. 
 
 Alcohol was largely used for lighting, cooking, fuel, and industrial 
 purposes in the United States previous to the imposition of the pro- 
 hibitive revenue tax. In 1864 Cincinnati alone utilized 13,000 busliels 
 of corn per day for distillation. The production was enormous; with 
 less than half the present population the annual production was 
 90,000,000 gallons, indicating that with the increased uses to which it 
 is now put where untaxed, the agricultural interests would profit vastly 
 from the greatly increased market for cereals, mainly corn. 
 
 In no country can alcohol be produced at less cost than in the United 
 States. 
 
 It is sold in South American countries and in Cuba at about 10 cents 
 per gallon. 
 
 I want to state to the committee that I have noticed, in one of the 
 consular reports — and I am sorry I could not get a copy of it, because 
 I would like to refer this committee to it" — that an American manu- 
 facturer bid for the waterworks in one of the cities of Cuba and lost 
 the contract, which went to a German manufacturer, who sold alcohol 
 engines in place of the only engines the Americans, at that time, were 
 prepared to furnish. That information can be found by inquiry at the 
 proper department. 
 
 Mr. Smith. At a greater cost? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. At a less cost to operate. The contract Avas let by 
 competitive bid, and the cheapness of alcohol for fuel in Cuba is what 
 influenced the municipality to give the contract to the German manu- 
 facturer. 
 
 At 10 cents per gallon it successfully competes with gasoline selling 
 at 12 cents per gallon, as stated b}' C. J. Zintheo, of the Department 
 of Agriculture. 
 
 While the heat units of alcohol are only about half those of gasoline, 
 there are differing properties, that I will not at this time attempt to 
 explain, that give ft an efficiency superior to gasoline. 
 
 a For this report see p. 341. 
 
64 PEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The Paris Journal Revue Technique recently published a series of 
 reports from chemists showing the comparative efficiencies to be as 
 follows: 
 
 * .Per cent. 
 
 Gasoline 20 
 
 Alcohol 33 
 
 Alcohol with 10 per cent water 38 
 
 Note the remarkable fact that alcohol diluted 10 per cent with water 
 is increased thereby in efficiency over 10 per cent. 
 
 England, Germany, and other civilized nations permit the use of 
 alcohol for industrial as well as for drinking purposes. 
 
 In the United States its use is practically prohibited except for 
 drinking purposes. 
 
 Prior to the imposition of any taxes on distilled spirits, or before the war, I am of 
 the opinion that 33 per cent of the whole product of the country was consumed in 
 the art sand industries. (53d Cong., 3d seas., S. Rept. No. 760, Pt. 1, p. 102. David 
 A. Wells, special commissioner. ) 
 
 As our Government has practicallj^ suppressed the use of alcohol, 
 except for drinking purposes, we must turn to other countries to learn 
 of the marvelous extension of its use in industry' since the date of Mr. 
 Wells's report (October 11, 1887.) 
 
 The actual tax, under our laws, on the alcohol used in manufacturing 
 a pound of smokeless powder is 37 cents. A similar handicap prevails 
 in other industries, compelling the American to use inferior substitutes 
 at increased cost, driving him out of competitive markets. 
 
 Its economical use for heat, light, and power is as unlimited as is the 
 suppl}^ Its free use would benefit the farmer by creating an output 
 for starchy materials otherwise unmarketable, at the same time reduc- 
 ing the cost of motor power for farm work. 
 
 That the average percentage of gasoline in petroleum from all the 
 oil fields of the world is less than 2 per cent may account for the 
 steadilj' advancing price of this fuel for gasoline engines, that are now 
 manufactured at the rate of over 100,000 per year, an output that will 
 be much increased if the cost of operating them is reduced, as it 
 would be with the cheaper alcohol. 
 
 Quoting again Hon. C. J. Zintheo, of the Department of Agriculture, 
 for lighting purposes, with proper appliances, its cost is but 1 cent 
 per burner per hour for 71 candlepower, while for heating purposes 
 "it is simply perfection. Nothing has been found its equal." 
 
 The Board of Commerce of Detroit, representing its industrial inter- 
 ests and the leading commercial organization of the State, convinced 
 that the material prosperity of all classes will be greatly enhanced 
 thereby, earnestly request the Congress to enact such legislation as 
 will restore alcohol to use for industrial purposes free of tax, when 
 rendered undrinkable by denaturization. 
 
 It is my honor and pleasure to be also a member of the Michigan 
 ■State Grange. Besides being a manufacturer, I am a farmer. As a 
 member of the Michigan State Grange, our President, Mr. Horton, 
 has delegated me to present th^ views of that organization, and I have 
 here my credentials, which I will read. 
 
 [For these credentials, see p. 341.] 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 65 
 
 In a letter accompanying my credentials, he says: 
 
 You are in full possession of all necessary data to fully represent the State Grange 
 of iJichigan at the Congress. Our organization stands for a hroader use of farm 
 products, and, when this can be done — to furnish a cheap and economical product 
 for so many domestic and industrial purposes — it is but natural that the farmers of 
 the country are for it. 
 
 I want to say, on behalf of the ^lichigan State Grange, that it is an 
 organization composed of 750 subordinate granges, and of 50 county 
 granges. Its membership i.s composed of 50,000 farmers. It is 
 always the high type of a class who organize, and there i.s no excep- 
 tion to that rule in the case of the farmers. 
 
 One-sixteenth of the total membership of the National Grange is in 
 jNIichigan. Thej' are among the most substantial and the most intelli- 
 gent of the farmers of Michigan, and the}^ ai'e natural leaders in their 
 communities. In a majoAty of cases the}^ own their own halls, and 
 these halls are as much a part of the rural life of the community as is 
 the church and the schoolhouse. We have alreadj' sent to this com- 
 mittee, or to the Congress which you represent, petitions numbering 
 over 5,000, asking you to give them denatured alcohol, and we expect 
 to increase those petitions to at least 50,000. They are the leaders of 
 public opinion in their communities, and they are regarded and believed 
 to be conservative business men and citizens. They would scorn to 
 advance their own personal interests at the expense of any other inter- 
 ests. 
 
 The wood-alcohol industr}- is one of the largest in our State. In 
 fact, our State is second in the whole United States in the annual pro- 
 duction of wood alcohol, and this subject has been given careful con- 
 sideration by the farmers and their leaders. They have taken a 
 positive and earnest attitude in regard to this matter, and, although 
 they are in a wood-alcohol country, they are firmly convinced that no 
 harm, except a mere temporary one incident to a change in the law, can 
 result to the wood-alcohol interest. 
 
 Before the imposition of this tax, one-third of the grain alcohol 
 produced in the early sixties was used for industrial purposes. A very 
 conservative estimate, after the provisions of this denaturing bill are 
 generally made known, would be at least 200,000,000 gallons. 
 
 The best denaturing ingredient known here and abroad is wood 
 alcohol. The production of wood alcohol has been variousl}' estimated 
 at from 8,000,000 to 12,000,000 gallons per annum. It takes 5 per cent 
 of wood alcohol to denature grain alcohol. Five per cent of 200,000,000 
 gallons would be 10,000,000, and that amount of wood alcohol would 
 be needed as a denaturing agent. 
 
 "Wood alcohol is used in the industries to-day in processes where it 
 will always be used, because it is the proper thing to use. It could 
 not be put aside for denatured alcohol, because it has got to be used 
 for its legitimate purposes. Therefore the total product of wood alco- 
 hol is at once accounted for by its use in denaturing grain alcohol, to 
 say nothing of its other uses. 
 
 The farmer is thoroughly convinced that his interests are very much 
 at stake in this matter. He does not expect to start a distillery in his 
 barnyard, or anything of that kind; but the farmers in our State, and, 
 I think, elsewhere have learned the benefit of cooperative methods. 
 His milk, his cheese, and his butter is almost entirely disposed of in 
 that manner. 
 
 11058—06 5 
 
66 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 By a process of cooperative distilleries his unmarketable stuff can at 
 once be turned into alcohol. Alcohol will be made from the surplus 
 products of the farm which, in Michigan at least, to a large extent go 
 to waste on the farm. 
 
 Mr. Ut^deewgod. Suppose we pass a bill and allow denatured 
 alcohol to be sold, what limitation could we safely place upon the 
 number of gallons required to be made in a distillery ? Yesterday 
 Mr. Yerkes testified that we ought not to allow it to be made at a 
 distillery of less than 100 gallons daily consumption. If we put it at 
 that size, would it benefit the farmers? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. I do not think you mean 100 gallons. Do you not 
 mean 100 barrels? 
 
 Mr. Underwood. That is what he said. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. I do not think it is necessary to limit it to such a limit 
 as that as a minimum. The farming interests of this country are very 
 earnest in their desire that the capacity of the stills employed, where 
 the denaturing of alcohol is done, shall be as small as possible, because 
 the farmers here, as in other countries, hope to utilize this industry 
 in order to afford an output for their unmarketable product, and for 
 that purpose they must be within reasonable hauling distance. There- 
 fore we hope the minimum capacity of the bill will be made as low as 
 may, in the wisdom of this committee and the head of the revenue 
 department, be considered safe. 
 
 Mr. Underwood.' For a local distillery for the use of the farmers in 
 consuming their products, what would be a reasonable limitation of 
 production ? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. Of course that is a question that is quite remote, the 
 bill not yet being a law. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. It is a question we have got to determine in order 
 to make the law. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. It is a question you have got to determine and one 
 which I hope you are right up against, because I hope you will enact 
 such a law ; but I would prefer to think about it a little before giving 
 a definite answer to that question. I want to say, however, that for 
 the benefit of the farmer the capacity of the distillery should be fixed 
 at as low a minimum as possible. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Is not that a question which must be largely deter- 
 mined by the Department, as a matter of administration? 
 
 Mr. Underwood. I think there are two sides to it. We have got 
 to look at it from the standpoint of the consumer and the standpoint 
 of the farmer, as well as a matter of revenue. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. I hope you will not put the minimum so high as to 
 exclude the farmer. The farmer would be grievously disappointed if 
 you should do that. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you think it is necessary to have a man at the 
 distillery all the time? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. No; it is not. The storehouse is always locked up. 
 
 The Chairman. Of course the storehouse is different from the dis- 
 tillery. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. I want to give you an illustration of the advantage 
 which the farmer would receive from a cooperative distillery. In the 
 northern part of our State there is a sandy soil. It is very much like 
 the abandoned farm lands of Saxony before denatured alcohol was 
 adopted there. There are no cereals raised. The main crop of the 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 67 
 
 settler in this region is potatoes, and they raise magnificent potatoes. 
 The year before last was a very favorable year for potatoes, and as a 
 consequence the farmers in southern Michigan, where the potato crop 
 is usually only a small affair, raised large crops, so that there was abso- 
 lutely no market for them in the northern part of the State. The only 
 recourse that was left, although the manure value of potatoes is very 
 small, was to haul them out and leave them on his fields to rot, and that 
 is what he did. 
 
 If this law had been in effect they would have been turned into alco- 
 hol, which is easil}' stored and could have been utilized in many ways, 
 and which alwaj^s has a market. The farmer would then be absolutely 
 provided against a loss of his labor and money, as well as of his home, 
 owing to a glut in some particular crop. In most States there are 
 places where his crops are verv much restricted, as they are in north- 
 ern Michigan. 
 
 It is wonderful the waste that takes place on a farm. There is from 
 40 to 65 per cent of starch in potatoes and in cornstalks after they have 
 served as fodder. 
 
 The Chairman. Notwithstanding that is it a fact that the distilleries 
 now use only grain in the manufacture of alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. Grain is the main source of the product. Michigan, 
 however, is a great beet-sugar State, and in connection with one of 
 our factories they have started a distiller}' for the purpose of extract- 
 ing alcohol from the beet pulp. 
 
 The Chairman. The Michigan factories ship their materials to that 
 distillery and it distills all the materials from the Michigan factories, 
 
 Mr. Ingram. Yes; and they are considering now the getting of stock 
 feed from the refuse in the production of sugar from beets. They 
 have one factory which has been established as an experiment. 
 
 The Chairman. It is a pretty successful experiment. They pay 6 
 per cent on the cost of their machinery and have $15,000 or $20,000 
 left. The}' save about $10,000 in the expense of carrying it away, 
 and they make $10,000 more, and they sell the pulp. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. There is no dissatisfaction among the owners of that 
 factory. 
 
 The Chairman. The gentlemen who run the business testified before 
 us, and they say the}'^ can make more out of it by using the pulp for 
 alcohol, and I hope they will do it. 
 
 Mr. Jngram. What I wish to state is that it is still in an experi- 
 mental state. 
 
 The Chairman. They have had it for two or three years, and it has 
 been a successful experiment so far. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is the question of fuel for the farmers of Michigan a 
 serious problem? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. In the southern part of the State it is a very serious 
 problem, because the farmers there were in the habit of burning fuel 
 from the farm in the shape of wood, and now they are dependent upon 
 the varying prices of bituminous and anthracite coal, mostly anthra- 
 cite coal. If this bill is adopted they would have all the fuel necessary. 
 Mr. Smith. It would give him an advantage over gasoline in safety 
 and expense? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. Yes, sir; gasoline is not used as a fuel to any great 
 3xtent except for cooking purposes. The trouble with gasoline in 
 Michigan is that our grange insurance is opposed to the use of gaso- 
 
68 FBEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 line for cooking purposes. While they do permit it in gasoline engines, 
 yet it is under restrictions to scare the farmer, and he is still using the 
 steam engine instead of the better and more economical gasoline engine 
 on account of the fire risk. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Does it tend to void his fire insurance? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. Yes; unless he complies with restrictions which it is 
 very hai'd to comply with. The " old line" companies have practically 
 abandoned the field of insurance in the country, and the insurance is 
 now nearly all done on the cooperative plan, and they also restrict it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. I would like to know something about these petitions. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. I am getting a great quantity of petitions from Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Ingram. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is that the result of interest in the grange itself, or 
 is it due to outside influence ? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. So far as I know it has emanated entirely from the 
 grange. I do not understand that there has been any outside influence 
 in touch with the grange. 
 
 Mr. Smith. The interest is as real as the petitions are numerous ? 
 
 Mr. Ingram. I think it is just as real as the interest of the Detroit 
 Board of Commerce, and no one would accuse the Detroit Board of 
 Commerce of being worked. Th« Michigan Grange is just as much 
 in earnest as our commercial bodies. It represents the farmers as the 
 board of commerce represents the manufacturers. 
 
 STATEMENT OF E. A. MAGNIN, REPRESENTING THE CHARDON- 
 NET ARTIFICIAL SILK COMPANY. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Mr. Chairman, I am the American representative of 
 the Chardonnet Artificial Silk Company, of Lyons, France, the French 
 style of which is "Societe Lyonnaise de la Sole Artificielle d'Apres 
 le Proc6de de Chardonnet pour les Etats-Unis et I'Amerique du Nord." 
 
 This company, with a capital of $950,000, has been formed for the 
 purpose of establishing a plant in the United States for manufacturing 
 artificial silk like the samples I am going to show you, provided legis - 
 lation is enacted by Congress under which grain or ethyl alcohol may 
 be used free of tax. 
 
 Our factory will give employment to at least 1,200 to 1,500 hands, 
 and will turn out about 4,000 pounds of silk a day. Artificid silk is 
 made of raw cotton treated in a certain way by alcohol, therefore 
 large quantities of both cotton and alcohol would be used by us. As 
 an indication of our requirements, I may say that about one and one- 
 half gallons of alcohol go to a pound of silk, thus our consumption of 
 alcohol would be 6,000 gallons a day. 
 
 In the event of favorable legislation by Congress, that is, with free 
 alcohol for our industry, we would be able to produce the silk at a 
 price that would bring it within the purchasing power of thousands of 
 people who can not afford its use at the present. 
 
 I feel confident that in time there will be an annual production and 
 consumption in this country of several million pounds. Besides, such 
 markets as Japan and China could be supplied from here instead of 
 their having to get the finished product from Europe, as is now the case. 
 
 The chief merit of artificial silk is its luster, its brilliancy, which 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 69 
 
 does not disappear after dyeing. It can be used in textiles, either 
 alone or mixed with cotton yarn or with genuine silk, as the few sam- 
 ples I have here to show you will prove. 
 
 Artificial silk is now used extensively in Europe for interior decora- 
 tion, such as tapestries, also for upholstery, dress and millinery trim- 
 mings, braids, embroideries, and no doubt as a result of its low price 
 consequent upon a passing of a bill exempting alcohol for industrial 
 purposes from any tax, the silk would gi'adually be put to many other 
 uses. 
 
 (The witness then exhibited to the committee samples of the artificial 
 silk referred to bj' him.) 
 
 The Chaiejiax. Is that manufactured b}^ patented process? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairjian. On patents taken out in both France and in the 
 U nited States, 1 suppose ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; we have taken out a patent for the United 
 States. 
 
 The Chaikjl\n. How much alcohol do you use in the manufacture 
 of that product? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. About a gallon and a half per pound of silk. 
 
 The Chairman. I did not quite catch the amount of capital that you 
 said you had. 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
 
 The Chairman. And with that you think you would be able to 
 employ 1,500 hands? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; that is the size of our plant now in France. The 
 alcohol in our works comes to the works in steel railway cars or in 
 steel tanks, and we denature it by mixing it with ether. There is a 
 revenue officer who resides permanently at the works and looks after 
 it to see that the alcohol does not get out from the works again unless 
 it is denatured. If that can be done in France, I do not see why it 
 should not be done in America. 
 
 The Chairman. What is the price of that article as compared with 
 real silk? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. It is about $2.50 a pound, and real silk is from 13.25 
 to $4 a pound. If we could make it in this country, with free alcohol, 
 I suppose the cost would come to about $1.25 or perhaps a dollar a 
 pound. 
 
 The Chairman. What duty do you pay upon it? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. We come into this country and we have to pay a duty 
 of 30 per cent ad valorem ; but we pay it under protest. 
 
 The Chairman. Of course. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Is this imported as silk or cotton ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. The customs appraisers have considered it as spun 
 silk, and we have paid 30 per cent ad valorem duty upon it, but we 
 have always maintained that this is more similar to cotton; and just 
 two weeks ago the United States circuit court of appeals rendered a 
 decision whereby in the future it will be taxed as cotton yarn and it 
 will only pay from 3 to 6 cents a pound, so that the loss of revenue 
 will be verv small on that article, because there is only from 100,000 
 to 200,000 pounds imported. It will be a loss of revenue of about 
 $10,000 a year and not more. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you import much of it into this country? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; quite a quantity. 
 
70 PBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The Chairman. How much was the total importation of this article 
 during the last year into this country 1 
 
 Mr. Magnin. 1 have not got the exact figures, but I should say it 
 was about 200,U00 pounds. 
 
 The Chairman. Was some of it imported as piece goods? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes, sir; some of it was imported as piece goods, but 
 most of it was like this. 
 
 The Chairman. You mean it was 200,000 pounds for the calendar 
 year of 1905? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; I would say that on an average for four or five 
 years, because last year there was very little imported on account of 
 the big imports in 1904. 
 
 The Chairman. In our United States reports of importations is it 
 given as artificial silk? Do you know what name it goes by in the 
 report ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. It is classified in the tariff as artificial silk. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. Do you mean to say that the only substance in that 
 piece of goods is cotton ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. It is cotton and artificial silk. It is mixture of ordinary 
 cotton yarn and artificial silk. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. There is no real silk in it? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. No. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How does this compare in durability with silk? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. The colors stay very well. 
 
 Mr. Smith. The texture is firm? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; the texture is firm. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the difference in cost between a yard of it and 
 a j^ard of silk? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. That I could not say, because I am not a manufac- 
 turer of textiles. We onl}- sell artificial silk. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What is this used for in this country? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. As I stated before, it is used for millinery trimmings, 
 embroideries, upholstery materials, braids, etc. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Where is this used in manufacturing, in this country? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. It is used in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do they not use considerable of it in the silk mills 
 throughout the country? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Are these goods made in France or the United States? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. This is made in France. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Is this piece which I have cotton ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. No; the piece you have in your hand is real silk. 
 The length of the piece is real silk, but the filling is artificial silk. 
 The part which makes the design is artificial silk. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is it made with denatured alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; denatured with ether. 
 
 Mr. Smith. So that you would easily come within the provisions of 
 this proposed law. 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; certainly. We can not use wood alcohol at all. 
 We have tried it and can not use it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You have either got to use pure alcohol or denatured 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 71 
 
 jVIr. Robertson. Can you take cotton and denatured alcohol and 
 make these goods cheaper in this country than you have been making 
 them in France, if we take the tax off? 
 
 Mr. Magnix. We are just considering the question as to what the 
 difference will be. Of course labor will be higher here than it is in 
 France and probably coal will be cheaper and alcohol will be cheaper, 
 I suppose, if this law is passed. We pay 40 to 46 cents a gallon for 
 alcohol, and I hear it can be produced here for 25 cents. 
 
 The Chairman. Can you use this in manufacturing piece goods? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. The red piece which the gentleman has in his hand is 
 entirely artiiicial silk, and the small piece is entirely artificial silk. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. You say this costs about $1.50 a pound now in 
 this country ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. No; $2.50 a pound. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. If you were given denatured alcohol and produced 
 it in this country, where you had the cotton, and you did not have to 
 pay the freight and the dutj'^, at what price could you put it on the 
 market to the consumer ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. I think at $1.25 to 11.50 a pound. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. In other words, $1 a pound would be saved to the 
 consumer { 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do I understand that this fiber is made by jellifying cot- 
 ton with alcohol, and then pressing it through small apertures so that 
 the fiber can be made anj' length whatever, without spinning? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. How does the textile strength of this compare with 
 ordinary cotton before it has gone through the process ? 
 
 Mr. MAGNaN. When it is woven together it is very strong — it is 
 strong enough. But I can not say, technically, how much stronger 
 one is than the other. 
 
 The Chairman. How will it wear, as compared with the wearing of 
 cotton or the wearing of silk goods? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. It can not stand a very great strain if the stuff is wet. 
 If the stuff' is wet you must not pull it, because then it comes to pieces; 
 but if you allow it to dry it regains its luster and its strength. For 
 dress goods it has not come into use yet, because when there is a spot 
 on it the ladies will begin to rub it, and then there is a hole in it. For 
 the articles which I have mentioned it is preferred, however, to gen- 
 uine silk. 
 
 The Chairman. But it must be kept dry ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Yes; in a certain way it must be kept dry. 
 
 The Chairman. It would not wash ? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. No; it would not wash. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. You can not make underclothes out of it? 
 
 Mr. Magnin. Not yet; but of course we are experimenting every 
 day to improve and perhaps we will make it more useful later on. 
 
 (The committee thereupon took a recess until 2 o'clock p. m.) 
 
72 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 SECOND DAY— AFTERNOON SESSION. 
 
 Committee on "Ways and Means, 
 Thursday^ February 8, 1906 — S j>. 7ii. 
 
 The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, with the chairman, 
 Hon. Sereno E. Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present: The Chairman and Messrs. Dalzell, McCleary, McCall,Hill, 
 Boutell, Curtis, Needham, Smith, Clark, Underwood, and Granger. 
 
 The Chairman. The gentleman from Connecticut desires to intro- 
 duce the representives of the hat industry, who wish to be heard. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. Chairman, in the district which I represent the hat 
 industry is a very large one, and employs a great number of people. 
 There are gentlemen present who have both technical and practical 
 knowledge with reference to the use of wood alcohol in the manufac- 
 ture of hats. They have gone to very great expense in preparing for 
 the presentation of this case, and I think it will prove very interesting 
 to the committee. 
 
 I take pleasure in introducing Mr. Charles H. Merritt, the chair- 
 man of the committee appointed by the hat industry in the United 
 States, Mr. E. J. von Gal, of the Hawes von Gal Company, of Danbury 
 and New York; Mr. Charles Keetor, representing Dunlap & Co.; and 
 Mr. Freeman, representing J. B. Stetson; also Mr. Mallory, Mr. 
 Louis Mignery, and Mr. White. The gentlemen would like to be 
 heard, in whatever order the chairman may desire. 
 
 The Chairman. If there is no objection, we will postpone hearing 
 these gentlemen representing the hat industries for a few minutes and 
 hear from Mr. Murphy, who is compelled to leave. 
 
 STATEMENT OF WILLIAM E. MTJRPHY, SECRETARY OF THE 
 ASSOCIATED CHAIR MANUFACTURERS OF NEW YORK. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Murphy. Mr. Chairman, I am authorized to represent a large 
 number of chair manufacturers and jobbers, whose factories and ware- 
 houses are located in various States, in connection with the enactment 
 of the proposed legislation covering the removal of the tax on grain 
 alcohol used in the manufacture of denatured alcohol, and beg to pre- 
 sent for your consideration the advantages of such legislation as 
 applied to the iinishing of all wood surfaces, and . particularly in the 
 finishing of chairs and kindred products, rather than submit statistics 
 based on the present consumption of grain alcohol under adverse 
 conditions. 
 
 It is a recognized fact that all wood surfaces can be finished quicker 
 and with much better results where we use grain alcohol in our stains 
 and varnishes, but the cost occasioned entirely by the tax imposed by 
 our Government renders it almost commercially prohibitive, and dis-. 
 poses of all prospect for its universal use. 
 
 Your committee is probably aware that throughout Europe grain 
 alcohol, denatured under the jurisdiction of the respective Govern- 
 ments, is used almost entirely as a solvent in mixing stains and var- 
 nishes for all wood finishes, and in our particular business the advan- 
 tage in cost is so great that we import fully 90 per cent of all the bent- 
 wood chairs and furniture used in the United States. The same argu- 
 ment prevails as applied to similar goods exported from Europe to all 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 73 
 
 other countries, and this is likewise explained by adding- to the low 
 wage schedule effective throughout Europe the further advantage in 
 the cost of finishing materials. 
 
 We firmh' believe that the enactment of the proposed legislation 
 now under consideration without any appreciable loss of revenue to 
 the United States Government would not only enable the chair manu- 
 facturers of the United States to meet the above-mentioned competitive 
 conditions, but decrease the cost of production to such an extent as to 
 ultimately permit the exportation of their surplus product instead of 
 creating abnormal domestic competition. 
 
 The Chairman. If there are no questions which the members of the 
 committee desire to ask of Mr. Murphy, we will now hear Mr. 
 Merritt. 
 
 STATEMENT OF CHARLES H. MERRITT, CHAIRMAN OF THE 
 COMMITTEE OF FUR HAT MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION OF 
 DANBURY, CONN. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. Merritt, will jon state your name and whom 
 you represent? 
 
 Mr. Merritt. My name is Charles H. Merritt. My residence is 
 Danbury, Conn., and I am a hat manufacturer by occupation. As 
 chairman of a committee appointed by the Fur Hat Manufacturers' 
 Association of Danbury, Conn., which represents not only hats manu- 
 factured in Danbury but in surrounding localities, and with the coop- 
 eration and statistics furnished by nearly all interested in this industry 
 in this country, I take pleasure in submitting to your honorable com- 
 mittee the following report as to the use of wood alcohol in the manu- 
 facture of hats and the general use of denatured alcohol in the arts 
 and industries: 
 
 First. Pertaining to the manufacture of stiff hats. — In the manufac- 
 ture of fur felt hats, whether for soft or stiff hats, in the preparation of 
 what is known as the body of the hat, which is made in a cone shape, 
 the process is similar. The fur fibers of the rabbit and other animals 
 after being mixed together and having removed from them bj' the 
 process of blowing various imperfect parts, like pieces of pelt or matted 
 fibers and hair, are drawn by a strong suction of air through small per- 
 forations in large copper cones, revolving on a turntable, to form a web 
 of fur for the future hat. When the proper amount of fur for a hat 
 has been drawn upon this cone the web is moistened and removed and 
 the fur fibers are felted or shrunk together, reducing a very large web 
 to the area required for the finished hat. This process of felting is 
 accomplished by the application of heat, moisture, and motion. 
 
 In stiff hats, after this body is completed and the surface of the same 
 shaved, the stiffening or shellac is introduced. This is necessary in 
 order to produce the required hardness, so that the shape may be 
 retained. In soft hats but little, if any, shellac is used and, conse- 
 quently, little or no alcohol. This shellac is the deposit of an insect, 
 and not the gum of a tree, and from time immemorial the shellac has 
 been used in different grades, some being quite dark and others very 
 light, according as the impurities have been removed. What is known 
 as bleached shellac is sometimes used, so that the color of the shellac 
 will not disturb the color of the body wheredelicate shades are required. 
 
74 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 In order to introduce the shellac into the body it is necessary first to 
 dissolve the shellac. This is accomplished almost altogether by the 
 use of what is known as wood alcohol. 
 
 Before the advent of the present method of manufacturing stiff hats 
 soda and borax were used to dissolve the shellac, but the result under 
 the present methods was so unsatisfactory that it became necessary to 
 discontinue their use. The great pressure the felt is subjected to and 
 the various steaming and softening processes required so disturbed the 
 traces of alkali left in the stiffening that it was found impracticable to 
 use these solvents to advantage and the trade has been obliged to use 
 alcohol. 
 
 The alcohol is used to dissolve the shellac and is a vehicle by which 
 it is conveyed into the felt. The shellac must be dissolved and in 
 liquid form to enable it to penetrate the hat body. After it is intro- 
 duced the purpose of the alcohol is accomplished and it is either allowed 
 to evaporate, or, under the more recent economical process, is recov- 
 ered in part by special process of condensation and then refortified or 
 the water removed, so the alcohol can be used over again. It in no 
 way becomes any part of the salable product. 
 
 The average amount of alcohol per dozen hats is about one-half a 
 gallon. It varies somewhat in different factories but the statistics we 
 have compiled warrant the assumption that this is a fair average. 
 
 The amount of shellac used to a dozen hats will vary sbmewhat, 
 according to the required stiffness and to the size. 
 
 A solution of 6 pounds of shellac to a gallon of alcohol would be 
 required for some kinds of hats, and for others not over 3 pounds. 
 Ten gallons of alcohol will dissolve 100 pounds of shellac, but if it is 
 necessary to reduce or thin this shellac in order to have it properly 
 enter the hat. There is no available and practicable substance, other 
 than alcohol, that will properly reduce or thin it after the shellac has 
 been cut. 
 
 Practically no grain alcohol, or at least none worthy of mention, is 
 now used in the stiff'-hatting industry, so the Government would lose 
 no revenue on this account. The revenue collected by the Govern- 
 ment for grain alcohol is $2,068 per commercial gallon. (See letter 
 from Treasurer of Department, p. 317, Kept. No. 1141, 54th Cong., 2d 
 sess.) In this same report you will see that on the basis of |2.30 for 
 grain alcohol there was a remainder of 23 cents left for the cost and 
 profit on a gallon of grain alcohol — the same paying a tax of 900 per 
 cent, taking 23 cents as a base, and multiplying it by 900 you have the 
 answer, $2.07 — so that the Government is receiVing, when grain 
 alcohol is sold at |2.30, 900 per cent revenue. 
 
 Concerning the estimated cost of denatured spirit, we submit the 
 following and refer to the report of the Commissioner of Internal 
 Revenue for last fiscal year as to the yield per bushel of corn from 
 large distilleries: 
 
 Distillers concede that the average annual yield from a bushel of corn in the large 
 distilleries is 5 proof gallons, which is equal to 2J gallons of absolute alcohol, or 2.66 
 gallons testing 94 per cent. It is also conceded bj' the larger distillers that the by- 
 products used for feeding cattle pay the cost of distillation. Therefore the cost of 
 producing grain alcohol can be exactly determined by the price paid for corn. 
 
 Corn at 30 cents per bushel would produce 94 per cent alcohol at 11 cents. 
 
 Corn at 35 cents per bushel would produce 94 per cent alcohol at 13 cents. 
 
 Corn at 40 cents per bushel would produce 94 per cent alcohol at 15 cents. 
 
FEEB ALCOHOL. 75 
 
 If the alcohol used in hat factories is denatured, as in England, with 5 per cent of 
 crude or partially refined wood alcohol, the cost of a hundred gallons might be esti- 
 mated in this way: 
 
 95 gallons grain alcohol, at, say, 14 cents |13. 30 
 
 5 gallons wood crude alcohol, at, say, 50 cents 2. 50 
 
 15.80 
 Add, say, 10 cents per gallon for profit, etc., which would of course be very 
 large 10. 00 
 
 25.80 
 We have been assured b)' several distillers that the manufacturers would not pay 
 more than 25 cents per gallon for untaxed denatured alcohol. 
 
 For the year ending December 31, 1905, there were paid by con- 
 cerns comprising nearly all of the principal hat manufacturers in this 
 country for wood alcohol $250,914.14:. If they had been able to obtain 
 denatured spirit at 25 cents per gallon, there would have been an 
 approximate saving of $161,302. At this ratio the amount for ten 
 years would be ^1,613,020, say the difference between 25 cents per 
 gallon and 70 cents per gallon, this extra amount being on alcohol 
 that pays no revenue to the Government. It is fair to estimate that 
 practicallj^ all this saving would, on account of the laws of competi- 
 tion, haA'e resulted in an economy to the consumer either in price or 
 in quality. 
 
 Allowing one-half gallon for each dozen hats manufactured, the 
 price per gallon, based on an average of |2.30 for grain alcohol, would 
 be $1.15, while at the estimated cost of denatured spirit, 25 cents per 
 gallon, the same would be 12^ cents per dozen, leaving a difference of 
 $1,025 per dozen of excess cost, which does no one any good, unless it 
 may be those interested directly or indirectly in the wood-alcohol 
 industry. On the contrary the use of wood alcohol is a positive injury 
 to the health of the employees, a serious interruption to business, and 
 really should not be permitted by law; but just as long as a cheaper 
 article can be obtained, willingly or unwillinglj', to meet competition 
 the manufacturer adopts it. In our own industry we ask especial 
 consideration in regard to the health of our employees, and we know 
 of no good reason why thej^ should not receive from Congress the 
 adequate protection that they are entitled to. 
 
 The health question is of the greatest importance, and while the 
 stiff-hat industry ia not a large one, we regard it as a duty of the Gov- 
 ernment to protect the operative, who is obliged to stand immediately 
 over his work and can not avoid encountering the rising fumes. A 
 large amount of money has been expended in efforts to improve the 
 conditions by exhaust fans and ventilation, but notwithstanding these 
 efforts the manufacturers have been unable to avoid the injurious 
 effects. 
 
 The use of alcohol as a solvent has been so largely increased that 
 the trouble has grown with its increased use. The refiners of wood 
 spirit felt confident that they could remove this trouble, and so stated 
 some nine years ago, but they have not as yet made the 95 per cent 
 commercial wood alcohol so it is free from its deleterious effects. The 
 evil is entirely unnecessary, the remedy plain, and the Government 
 should act. It will in our industry lose no revenue and should promote 
 the welfare of its people. 
 
 We are glad to submit to any supervison in the matter of detail 
 that the Government may prescribe for the use of denatured spirits, 
 
76 FEBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 and in our own case it can be verj' easily proven if thiere are any 
 attempted frauds. The average quantity used per dozen will in itself 
 be an approximate voucher for every establishment. 
 
 We ask the committee to frame such a bill as in their judgment will 
 cover our needs, leaving the details to the Commissioner of Internal 
 Revenue, to be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury; but 
 we recommend that in our own especial industry we be permitted to 
 recover by condensation in special apparatus the alcohol from the hat 
 bodies, instead of wasting it by evaporation, and be given opportunity 
 to refortify or strengthen the spirit so recovered, both under proper 
 supervision. The use of the recovery apparatus not only prevents 
 waste, but is a method of drying the hats and confines the vapors in 
 an air-tight construction, and when properly used is a factor of safety. 
 
 We have brought with us affidavits as to the injurious effects caused 
 by the use of wood alcohol, both of the parties themselves and the 
 medical profession, and shall also be pleased to submit oral testimony 
 from a few of those who are present. [See exhibits,^pp. 34:2-395.] 
 
 We have submitted the following questions: 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1906. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your emplo3rees? 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of eflPect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? 
 
 9. To what extent? 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alcohol? 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds iipon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats? 
 
 The inquiries and answers are here for your inspection. 
 
 [See pp. 372.] 
 
 In compiling the statistics, the straw-hat industry has been omitted, 
 though they are users of alcohol. 
 
 Those engaged in the hat industry are united in their replies — 
 
 First. That wood alcohol is used only on account of its being cheaper 
 in price than grain alcohol and because no other cheaper, satisfactory 
 solvent can be found. 
 
 Second. In their statements as to the injury to the health of the 
 employees engaged in its use or employed iri the rooms which are 
 reached or penetrated by its vapors. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 77 
 
 Third. As to serious interruption to business on account of its affect- 
 ing the eyes and health of the operatives. 
 
 Here are a few extracts concerning health and interruption in 
 answer to our inquiries: 
 
 A FEW QUOTATIONS FROM MAXUFACTUREES. 
 
 "It atfeets the eyesight of every man in the department." 
 
 ■'It has necessitated the stopping of work by some men for days at 
 a time until the effects of the poison were removed." 
 
 ''One of our men has just died whose health was undoubtedly 
 injured by the fumes." 
 
 "It is painful to the eves of the employees and also injurious to their 
 health." 
 
 "Our stifteners are not able to work full time." 
 
 "Seth Reed, emploj^ed handling hats after stiffening from Julj', 
 1904, to Januarj' 15, 1906, obliged to give up position and is still unable 
 to do any kind of work." 
 
 "JNIen are obliged to stop work sometimes for a daj'' and frequently 
 for parts of days." 
 
 "Theodore Dobbs had to give up for good, also Henry Magger- 
 suppe, Benjan:in Arnold, and Harold Stevens." 
 
 ■"An average stoppage of stiffening of one day per week." 
 
 "A number of times our men have been obliged to leave their work 
 and go home, unable to see, being blinded by the fumes. Have also 
 had men who had to quit entirely, unable to stand the fumes arising 
 from wood alcohol." 
 
 ' ' We have f requentl}' had our men out from one to three days at a 
 time." 
 
 "It happens often in our factory that men are obliged to stop work 
 and go home, being almost totally blind for a time." 
 
 "One stiffener lost eyesight, and it has injured numbers of their 
 hands." 
 
 "Albert Stevens, a workman, Bethel, Conn., states that he consid- 
 ers it a crime on the part of the Government to refuse the request of 
 the manufacturers of hats for free grain alcohol. Wood alcohol as 
 used at the present time has caused him such a serious ailment of the 
 eyes and general health that his doctor (Doctor English, Bethel, Conn.), 
 under whose care he is constantly, tells him that sooner or later he will 
 have to discontinue work on account of it. It has caused him such a 
 weakness of the eyes and loss of sight that he is unable to go out of 
 the house at night without danger." 
 
 "Can give no better case than my own, as I was a stiffener before 
 going into business, and had to stop work on account of injury to my 
 eyes a great manj' times." 
 
 "Affects the operatives' e3'es to such an extent they can work only 
 a few hours at a time — that is, in cold weather. In warm weather we 
 have no trouble." 
 
 "Have to work two sets of men, each set working onlj^ half a day, 
 or on alternate days. In some cases have had to shut down our entire 
 stiffening room, reducing our production very materially at the height 
 of the season." 
 
 (This from a firm using over double the quantity of wood alcohol 
 of any concern mentioned.) 
 
78 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 "Seven employees in stiffening department have had at times to 
 discontinue work." 
 
 "It made one man blind for a period of three months, from which 
 he has never fully recovered, and mjured arms, hands, and considerably 
 irritated the eyes of the workmen." 
 
 "During the last year one man was compelled to give up working 
 in it altogether." 
 
 "Many cases of injured eyes. Frequent stomach illness. Some 
 have been compelled to give up this work entirely." 
 
 "One man broke down; made almost blind; had to give up and 
 went West. Another man, William Grimshaw, broken down in health 
 and eyes almost ruined." 
 
 "Business has to be suspended frequently in the department where 
 wood alcohol is used, as employees are unable to work." 
 
 "William Stone, Bethel, Conn.; within three years eyes and nerv- 
 ous system so affected could not resume any employment for eight 
 months." 
 
 ON THE GENERAL USE OF DENATURED ALCOHOL IN THE ARTS AND 
 
 INDUSTRIES. 
 
 In reviewing the opposition to the use of denatured or nonpotable 
 alcohol we find from the past record the following objections: 
 
 First. Ruin of the wood-alcohol industry, stopping its export and 
 that of its kindred products, which now brings nearly $1,000,000 in 
 gold annually to this country. 
 
 Second. The price of acetate of lime and acetic acid would be more 
 than doubled and the price of white lead, Paris green, colors, calico 
 prints, etc., increased. 
 
 Third. The price of charcoal would be doubled, forcing an advance 
 in the price of charcoal pig iron. 
 
 Fourth. Cost to the Government in enforcing the law, besides loss 
 of tax. 
 
 Fifth. Frauds. 
 
 Sixth. No benefit to the public, but to a few manufacturers. 
 
 Census Bulletin No. 210, issued June 25, 1902, relating to the manu- 
 facture of chemicals and allied products, as reported during the census 
 year 1900, gives the following information with respect to wood 
 distillation : 
 
 The products obtained from the dry distillation of wood are reported as: Wood 
 alcohol, acetic acid, acetate of lime, pyroligneous acid, charcoal. 
 
 There were 99 establishments reported as producing some of the crude substances 
 enumerated. Of these 84 were regular wood-distilling establishments and produced 
 of crude wood alcohol, 4,191,379 gallons, having a value of $1,660,061; of acetate of 
 lime, 81,702,000 pounds, having a value of $926,358, and of charcoal, 14,428,182 
 bushels, having a value of 1612,000. 
 
 These works are reported as having a capital of $4,858,824 and 1,268 wage-earners. 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Factories 84 
 
 Wage-earners 1, 268 
 
 Crude wood alcohol produced gallons. . 4, 191, 379 
 
 Value $1,660,061 
 
 Acetate of lime produced pounds. . 81, 702, 000 
 
 Value $926, 358 
 
 Charcoal produced bushels. . 14, 428, 182 
 
 Value $612, 000 
 
FEES ALCOHOL. 
 
 79 
 
 The following table gives the total production of crude wood alcohol, acetate of 
 lime, and charcoal produced for the census years 1880, 1890, and 1900: 
 
 
 Number 
 of estab- 
 lish- 
 ments. 
 
 Wood alcohol. 
 
 Acetate of lime. 
 
 Charcoal. 
 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 1880 
 
 17 
 53 
 93 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 $86, 274 
 
 688,764 
 
 1,976,986 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 6,693,009 
 26, 778, 415 
 86,826,000 
 
 $156,892 
 315, 430 
 981,286 
 
 Bushels. 
 
 
 1890 
 
 1,116,075 
 4, 945, 963 
 
 
 
 1900 
 
 17,154,302 
 
 $726,672 
 
 
 Total value of products for 1900: 
 
 Crude wood alcohol $1, 976, 986 
 
 Acetate of lime 981, 286 
 
 Charcoal 726, 672 
 
 Total 3,684,944 
 
 The production of refined wood alcohol for 1900 is reported for 18 establishments 
 3,038,140 gallons, having a value of $2,296,898. 
 
 The wood used in producing wood alcohol and acetate of lime is hard wood, pref- 
 erably oak, maple, birch, and beech. 
 
 The total amount of wood reported as consumed in this industry for the census 
 year 1900 was 490,939 cords, having a value of $1,241,972. Assuming one man to 
 average 1 J cords of wood per day, the cutting of the wood would give employment 
 to 3,273 men for one hundred days each. 
 
 The States in which this wood alcohol and acetate of lime were produced are 
 stated as follows: 
 
 Number 
 of estab- 
 lish- 
 ments. 
 
 Wage- 
 earners. 
 
 Pennsylvania 
 
 New York 
 
 Michigan 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 New Jersey, Indiana, and Massachusetts 
 
 878 
 354 
 169 
 12 
 74 
 
 The exports of wood alcohol and acetate of lime are stated as follows: 
 
 Year. 
 
 Wood alcohol. 
 
 Acetate of lime. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Quantity. 
 
 Value. 
 
 1898 
 
 Gallons. 
 386, 938 
 727, 062 
 540, 799 
 
 $199,230 
 414,876 
 320,306 
 
 Po^inds. 
 37, 496, 288 
 48,987,511 
 47,790,765 
 
 $.537,856 
 700, 900 
 776,413 
 
 1899 . 
 
 1900 
 
 
 An examination of this report would seem to justify the following 
 conclusions : 
 
 First. As it is now generally admitted that legislation providing for 
 untaxed denatured alcohol would, in a very short period, result in the 
 consumption of at least 100,000,000 wine gallons, testing 94 per cent, 
 as a fuel for internal combustion engines and for lighting, heating, and 
 cooking purposes, in addition to the large quantity which would be 
 employed in industrial processes, and as crude or partially refined wood 
 alcohol has been found by European countries to be the most effective 
 material for rendering ethyl alcohol unfit for use as a beverage, the 
 consumption of that form of wood alcohol in the United States would 
 at least equal, if not exceed, the present supply should Congress enact 
 the proposed legislation. 
 
 Second. If it is conceded that legislation providing for untaxed 
 denatured alcohol will create a market for the quantity of crude wood 
 
80 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 alcohol now annually produced in this countrj', the capital and labor 
 employed in that industry (with the exception of those engaged in 
 refining the crude product) would not suffer. 
 
 Third. Since acetate of lime and charcoal are the principal by-prod- 
 ucts in the production of crude wood alcohol, the supply of such 
 by-products would not in any sense be diminished should Congress 
 remove the internal-revenue tax from denatured ethyl alcohol. 
 
 Fourth. Refined wood alcohol, and especially the so-called pure or 
 deodorized methyl alcohol, which is sold under such trade names as 
 "Columbian spirits," "Eagle spirits," "Lion d'or," and "Colonial 
 spirits," in the refining of which comparatively few workmen are 
 employed, is the only product resulting from the dry distillation of 
 wood for which there would be a limited market should Congress 
 remove the tax from denatured alcohol. 
 
 We expect that the conclusions reached from the foregoing will be 
 demonstrated to your committee by competent witnesses as to facts. 
 
 That instead of stopping export business it will make opportunities 
 for a lai'ge increase. 
 
 No cost to the Government would ensue but what the consumer 
 could well afford to pay. The consumer should reimburse the Gov- 
 ernment for all expenses. 
 
 There can be no loss of tax on a substitute for wood alcohol, as 
 wood alcohol pays no tax. 
 
 As to "No benefit to the public but a few manufacturers." 
 
 We consider that a bill that will provide for the sale of denatured 
 alcohol free of tax will be the greatest boon that could be granted this 
 nation, and instead of being a benefit to a few manufacturers, will be 
 of great value to the general public. Its use for light, fuel, and power 
 will be made possible. 
 
 Concerning the injury to the business of those engaged in the pro- 
 duction of crude wood alcohol and the refining of the same, while we 
 believe that their fear is largely unwarranted, we hope and believe 
 that the committee will recommend such a course to the Government 
 as will absolutely prevent an}' such result. 
 
 Properly denatured and made nonpotable, there is no danger of 
 its being used as a beverage, and intemperance will not be increased. 
 
 The advantages to the agricultural interests of the nation should be 
 apparent. To provide for the use of the crops and for waste material by 
 converting it into alcohol properly denatured for general distribution, 
 and the use of this product in so many valuable waj's should appeal 
 to all. This country should stand for free trade in its own raw 
 material. 
 
 If one man were attacked and injured in a foreign country, the 
 whole Government would be aroused and the patriotic impulses of all 
 stirred. When many at home are severely injured in their health and 
 the remedy plain, why should it not be applied? 
 
 [For exhibits accompanying -Mr. JNleri-itt's statement, see pp. 342- 
 395.] 
 
 I have been requested to read some comments prepared by Mr. 
 Charles Keator, who is the vice-president of Dunlap & Co., which 
 are as follows: 
 
 The use of free aloolioj would enable the domestic manufacturer to compete more 
 efficiently with the foreign manufacturer. Methylated spirits at the price it is sold 
 at in England, which country is the strongest competitor of the United States in 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 81 
 
 the hat line, would enable Dunlap & Co. to save about 70 cents per dozen, 
 is very large for one item of cost. \\'e have not heard just what methylated 
 
 which 
 . just what methylated spirits 
 is quoted at in England lately, but a few years ago the manufacturer in Carlisle, 
 England, incidentally stated in one of his" letters that he was then paying about 
 30 cents per gallon, "carriage paid." The wood alcohol used by Dunlap & Co. is 
 listed at SI. 50 per gallon, which at the rate of five-eighths of a gallon per dozen 
 shows a saving to the English manufacturer of over 70 cents per dozen. 
 
 Dunlap & Co., 
 Chas. K. Kbatok, 
 
 Vice-President. 
 
 Mr. Von Gal, president of the Hat Manufactiirer.s' Association, is 
 here with some exhibits, and I hope j'ou will find time to let him pass 
 them around. They show the different processes employed, and how 
 hats appear in manufacture. He represents a ver3' large firm which 
 manufactures a hat that is well known in the East and is known to a 
 considerable extent throughout the West. 
 
 The Chairman. Have aou had any experience in the use of grain 
 alcohol denatured with wood alcohol, relative to the injurious effects 
 upon the operatives in hat factories? 
 
 !Mr. INIeeritt. I have had no experience myself and 1 can not find 
 that there has ever been ver^- much experience along that line. I 
 have not had an opportunity to test it. But we have with us Mr. 
 Mingery who saj's that some of it was imported from England, which 
 he had experience with, and he will tell you later the result of using it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Are j'ou forced to use wood alcohol for your purposes 
 because of the competition in your business from abroad ? 
 
 ]Mr. ]Merritt. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Why do you select wood alcohol in preference to grain 
 alcohol ( 
 
 Mr. Merritt. Because grain alcohol is so much higher in price. 
 Wood alcohol is 70 cents a gallon. If any manufactui"er is interested 
 in preserving the health of his operatives, and using grain alcohol at 
 that price, he can not exist in business, because some other manufac- 
 turer will not use it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Then it is competition really which has driven you to 
 use the cheaper article? 
 
 Mr. Merritt. It is. 
 
 The Chairjian. Have you any statistics showing the amount of 
 alcohol used in other countries, where alcohol is free in the industries 
 you have mentioned? 
 
 Mr. Merritt. I think I should have to refer you to the record in 
 regard to that. I have ah-ead}' filed here a memorandum as to the 
 amount used in Germany. 
 
 The Chairman. I only wanted to know if the results in other coun- 
 tries were before the committee? 
 
 Mr. Merritt. Yes, sir. 
 
 STATEMENT OF EDWARD J. VON GAL, PRESIDENT OF THE HAT 
 MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION, OF DANBURY AND BETHEL, 
 
 CONN. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Von Gal. Mr. Chairman, we have heard so much of the statis- 
 tical, the commercial, and the theoretical side of this subject that I do 
 not intend to touch upon that branch of it. Before coming here we 
 had no idea we would find this committee as accessible as it is; but 
 
 11058—06 6 
 
82 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 now, when I find that it is one to which 1 can talk in plain, common- 
 sense language, I want to assure you that we appreciate your kindness 
 and courtesy of manner. 
 
 I wish to show you how this alcohol is introduced into a hat and the 
 different processes through which it passes until it becomes a salable 
 product. 
 
 We first take the fur, which comes in this form from the animal, 
 such as the rabbit, and we put that through a machine full of little 
 needle-like pickers. We blow it through, which tears out the parts 
 that are no good. This is put through as many times as we wish, 
 according to the qualitj" of the fur. When it has become thoroughly 
 cleansed, it is then ready to go through what we call a forming machine. 
 That machine has a large copper cone which is perforated full of 
 minute holes, and in that cone is a fan r-evolving at the rate of 2,500 
 revolutions per minute, creating an enormous draft downward. When 
 we feed this fur on an apron a brush is thrown against it and by suc- 
 tion it is drawn to the cone, making it adhere to it. The hat then 
 comes off in this condition, which is the first stage of the hat. 
 
 After that it is taken to the next department, where the hat is 
 brought down to this size by a process of felting — by a mixture of 
 heat, moisture, and shrinking. 
 
 After that it is taken to the next department, where the hat is sized 
 by a process of felting, accomplished by a process of heat, moisture, 
 and shrinking, until it gets to the measurement they want. Each of 
 these notches here [indicating] represents a size, and they are all made 
 to that dimension. I would like to have you see that. From that stage 
 you come to this [indicating]. A man then stands over a barrel half- 
 filled with this shellac, cut by wood alcohol as a solvent. We test it 
 with a hydrometer to the degree we want, according to the stiffness of 
 the hat. It is then dipped in and drawn out of a tank, and with a 
 square piece of copper, which we call a trench, it is scraped until we 
 get it as clean as we can. The hat as it comes out is full of moisture 
 from the alcohol and it is then dried in that state. You can see that 
 there is not a jparticle of alcohol left in it. It is all gone already in 
 that one operation. 
 
 I can tell you that there would be a saving of 100 per cent to me if 
 you would give us grain alcohol denatured. I have worked in grain 
 alcohol and in wood alcohol. It is a pleasure to work in grain alcohol. 
 It is pleasant to the hands, while wood alcohol sticks to your hands and 
 makesthem hard and stiff, so that in cleaning your hands you will tear 
 the skin off with it. But the eyes are the most susceptible part. I 
 have suffered from it myself. You gentlemen have no doubt suffered 
 from grated horseradish and you have the same thing with wood alco- 
 hol, except you can imagine how it would be to stand over it all day 
 long. 
 
 We have to pick out the very best men to follow this line because 
 it is one of the most important and the most scientific parts of the 
 whole hat business, to get the degree of stiffness just right so that 
 when finished it will not be too heavy or too light. We want to get 
 young men in a permanent business' to grow up with it. We have 
 spent considerable sums of money on men, and when we put them out 
 there to do this work we find that their constitutions will not stand 
 it. We put the son of my partner out there to do this work and he 
 
FBEB ALCOHOL. 83 
 
 had to give it up. We also iiad two other young men, but they could 
 not stand it. 
 
 So far as drinking is concerned, this stuff becomes nauseous when 
 you work in it so much. It is just like working in a candy store; you 
 never want to eat any candy. 
 
 After the alcohol is dried the hat goes through, under great pres- 
 sure, to give it form, and it is then iinished. 
 
 Everything possible has been done by the manufacturers that they 
 know how to do to make it fit for people to work with wood alcohol. 
 It is a crime to ask men to do it; but we have to do it. If a man stands 
 over it all day long and keeps stirring the fumes up by dipping the 
 hat in it, the fumes must rise. We use fans to drive these fumes out 
 as quickly as possible; but at best they are drawn up past his face and 
 affect his eyes and throat. These men stand there and struggle against 
 the fumes. I know that thej' have worked many times without seeing 
 what thej' are doing, merely by the knowledge which thej^ get from 
 constant work. 
 
 When this wood alcohol was first introduced in its best form we 
 paid fll.37i a gallon for extra refined. I have seen it when it was first 
 brought into the factories, and it has taken years to get tbe men so 
 that they will work in wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr Smith. That was wood alcohol of the highest grade? 
 
 Mr. Vox Gal. That was the highest grade we could procure at that 
 time. Now, as a solvent grain alcohol is, without exception, far supe- 
 rior to wood alcohol. I know this, not from any statistical informa- 
 tion or on an}' theoretical basis, but from common sense and from 
 having my hands in it and working in it. It is a better solvent and i(r 
 is softer and milder and in every way more desirable than wood alcohol. 
 Fire per cent of wood alcohol would not injure those who used it, and 
 we would be well pleased if you gentlemen would recommend this bill. 
 
 The Chairma?;. It was suggested by Mr. Yerkes, on yesterday, 
 that we might collect a tax of 3 to 5 cents a gallon for the purpose of 
 meeting the expenses of supervision and safeguarding the denaturing 
 of alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Vox GrAL. Anything you would be pleased to recommend in 
 that way, I am sure, would work out to our satisfaction and greatly 
 to our advantage. The common-sense view of it is this: Establish a 
 plant, for instance, at Danbury or Bethel, where there would be con- 
 stant supervision b}' the revenue authorities, and whatever it costs we 
 will pay for it by the gallon. We must consider the men and the 
 health of the men who have to work in wood alcohol. If one of our 
 citizens was injured in a foreign country how quick you would all 
 jump to protect that man. I have seen men who have worked in this 
 wood alcohol who became so aggressive and so angry that I could not 
 imagine what was the matter with them. I would wait until the next 
 day and then 1 would say, "What on earth was the matter with you 
 yesterday? " He would say, "Mr. Von Gal, I think I must have been 
 the same as drunk. I never took a drink in my life, but I was not 
 myself yesterday." I am satisfied that this alcohol acts on the man 
 externally just the same as it does internally, only not quite so quickly. 
 
 I shall be glad to answer any questions the members of the commit- 
 tee may have to ask me. 
 
 Mr. Hill. The hatters of the country have been steadil}^ asking for 
 this legislation for the last ten or fifteen years. 
 
84 FKEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Von Gal. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. This is nothing new ? 
 
 Mr. Von Gal. It is nothing new. We have been at this thing for 
 ten or fifteen years, to my knowledge. The manufacturers have 
 attempted, time and again, to do everything they could. 
 
 I thank you, gentlemen, for the manner in which you have treated 
 us here. We certainlj^ appreciate it. 
 
 STATEMENT OF S. C. HOLLY, OF DANBUEY, CONN. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Holly. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to say that I have listened 
 to the chairman of our committee and to Mr. von Gal, the president of 
 our association, and 1 agree with every word they say. I think the 
 matter has been so thoroughly drawn out and so thoroughly covered 
 in every particular that I have nothing to add to the discussion. If 
 there are any questions which you gentlemen would like to ask me, 
 I will be glad to answer them. 
 
 The Chairman. Does Mr. Mallory, of Danbury, desire to address 
 the committee? 
 
 STATEMENT OF C. A. MALLORY, OF DANBURY, CONN. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Mallory. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, it seems to me that 
 this matter has been pretty thoroughly explained to you by the gen- 
 tlemen who have preceded me, and I do not think I can add anj'thing 
 to it. I know that our men have sufi'ered a great deal in their work 
 in the hat stifi^ening business from the use of wood alcohol, and it 
 seems as though thej^ ought to have relief. 
 
 If there are any questions which you gentlemen would like to ask, I 
 would be pleased to answer them. 
 
 The Chairman. Are you connected with the same hat industrj^ that 
 Mr. von Gal is? 
 
 Mr. Mallory. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. Mignery, of Danbury, is here with us, and he is a 
 practical hat stiffener. I have no doubt that the committee would be 
 glad to hear what he may have to say in regard to this matter. 
 
 STATEMENT OF LOUIS F. MIGNERY, OF DANBURY, CONN. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Hill. I would like to ask you, Mr. Mignery, as a starter, 
 whether you would like to go back to hat stiilening, using wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Mignery. I would not go back to it under any consideration. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Would you like to go back to it, using grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Mignery. I certainly would; it would be a pleasure. I never 
 used very much of it, but 1 know the difference between the two. I 
 certainly held one of the best positions in the town of Danbury. I 
 worked for one firm nineteen years, and during the last twelve years 
 I worked for them I got a salary of |1,850 a year in the stiffening 
 department, and I would not go back to stiffening hats for twice that 
 amount of money. 1 don't think there is any manufacturer in Dan- 
 bury who could pay me to go back to work at that business, because I 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 85 
 
 consider it a crime to require a man to worli with that stuff. I am in 
 business to-day with men who do the work which I used to do, and I 
 know the suffering they go through and I feel sorry for them. Nobody 
 knows what suffering it is except those who have been affected by it. 
 
 Many a night I have gone home blinded, so that I could not sit with 
 my family, but would have to sit in the dark in some corner with my 
 eyes bound up with hot tea leaves, trying to get relief from suffering. 
 The suffering is something fierce. I think Mr. von Gal has fully 
 explained the conditions. He knows about it as well as I do and can 
 explain it better. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Have you ever used denatured alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MiGNERT. I have used it, but not a great deal. The people I 
 used to work for bought several cans of it. It used to come in 10- 
 gallon cans, sealed. It was very nice, mild stuff to work with and 
 was very smooth. Of course it had to be imported. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you think by the use of denatured alcohol the trouble 
 which existed in the use of wood alcohol would be avoided ? 
 
 Mr. MiGNEET. It would all be done away with. 
 
 ]\Ir. Hill. What is your judgment with regard to the quality of 
 work that would be produced? 
 
 Mr. MiGXERY. The result in the hat trade would be better ail the 
 way through. You can do better work and there would be no suffer- 
 ing for the men. It is not only the men who work over it that suffer, 
 but the people who are in the room suffer also. Those who don't get 
 near it are affected just the same, on account of the fumes. We have 
 boys around there and it is a pity to see them when thej^ go home at 
 night. They pull their hats down over their eyes and they can't look 
 at the daylight. It is miserable. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. White is here. He also is a hat stiffener and has 
 had experience in this matter. 
 
 STATEMENT OF C. E. WHITE, OF DANBURY, CONN. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. White, will you state your full name and your 
 occupation \ 
 
 Mr. White. My name is C. E. White, and I am a hatter by trade. 
 1 have been employed in stiffening hats for thirty-six years, and all of 
 that time I have been at work continuously for about thirty j^ears. I 
 have been to work with this wood alcohol for about ten years. I have 
 worked with both grain alcohol and wood alcohol. I find that wood 
 alcohol has undermined my whole constitution and I am a total wreck 
 to what I have been. Last summer I weighed 198 pounds; I was 
 taken sick and was sick for three weeks and when I got out of bed I 
 weighed 167 pounds, and it was due to the effect of wood alcohol. It 
 undermined my whole system. 
 
 I have gone home many and many a night when I had to bind my 
 eyes up in tea leaves and have my wife and daughters cut up my food 
 and feed me, because I couldn't see. 
 
 I have used, to keep these fumes out of my eyes, automobile glasses 
 with the holes all stopped up, and J have had special glasses made that 
 would fit tight so that no air could get behind them at all; but it did 
 not do any good. It might do good for a few minutes or for a half 
 an hour; but the fumes get back of the glasses and affect the nerve of 
 
86 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 the eye. I think that is where the trouble comes from more than 
 from the surface of the eye, according to my experience. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Why do you not speak plainer ? 
 
 Mr. White. My throat is in such shape that I can't; that is the 
 trouble. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Where did you work with grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. White. I worked with grain alcohol for two years in Danhury 
 in 1871. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Was that used for stiffening hats? 
 
 Mr. White. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. So that prior to the adoption of wood alcohol the 
 hatters did use grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. White. At that time we did. We had at that time some wood 
 alcohol that was not refined, and it affected the eyes of every man in 
 the finishing room, and we had to go back to the use of grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Is this establishment in which you worked still in the 
 business of making hats with grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. White. It is not in business now. They have been out of busi- 
 ness for some years. When I was a boy I had my nose broken and I 
 had to breathe through my mouth. I have taken my finger in this 
 way, and run it around my gums, and the skin would come off the 
 gums on my fingers. When I was sick last fall my teeth began to 
 feel kind of funny, and I took hold of them and pulled them out just 
 as you would pull anything out of your mouth. The gums separated 
 from the teeth. 
 
 Mr. Hill. There was no general practice of making stiff hats many 
 years ago. The stiff hat is a fashion of recent years, is it not ? 
 
 Mr. White. It is very much more the fashion now than it used 
 to be. 
 
 Mr. McCleaet. Is this difficulty you had with your teeth due to 
 your experience with wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. White. Yes, sir; let me be out of it for three or four days 
 and my throat will clear up so that I can speak very readily. 
 
 I may state here that the stiffeners with our firm are confined to the 
 work more than any others, because we have had steady work for 
 nine years. I think I have had eleven daj^s vacation in nine years. 
 We have been confined right in it all the time. 
 
 Mr. Boutell. You ought to get nine months vacation now. 
 
 Mr. White. That is what I ought to have; and I am going to take 
 it this spring and get out of it entirely. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Abbe, representing the American 
 Hardware Company, of New Britain, has left a statement here which 
 he would like to have pi'esented to the ('ommittee. 
 
 STATEMENT OF A. N. ABBE, REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN 
 HARDWARE COMPANY. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Chaiemam: Fusel oil, or amylic alcohol, as it is often called, is 
 an important material to the manufacturers of brass goods, hardware, 
 leather trunks, gas fixtures, brass and iron bedsteads, and other metal 
 articles, bjj whom it is used as in the preparation of the lacquers, with 
 which their products are coated to protect them against the injurious 
 effects of moisture. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 87 
 
 During the past few 3'ears there has been a remarkable increase in 
 tlie price of this material, owing to the demand greatly exceeding the 
 supply. In so far as this country is concerned the limited supply has 
 been wholly due to our antiquated policy of taxing industrial alcohol 
 at the same rate as beverage spirits, the effect of this policy being to 
 practically prohibit the use of grain or ethyl alcohol for industrial 
 purposes. 
 
 Fusel oil is produced commercially only in connection with the dis- 
 tillation of ethyl alcohol, and the quantity produced is therefore 
 dependent on the extent to which the latter material is distilled. It 
 is estimated that in order to secure one gallon of fusel oil the distilla- 
 tion of nearly 150 bushels of grain is necessary, so it can be readily 
 understood that it would be impossible to profitablj^ manufacture it 
 otherwise than as a by-product in the distillation of ethyl alcohol. 
 
 Twenty -five years ago the present uses of fusel oil in the manufac- 
 ture of lacquers and enamels, and for other industrial purposes, were 
 unknown, and the distillers of spirits and alcohol were compelled to 
 dispose of this by-product for practically nothing. About fifteen years 
 ago a small demand for it had ai'isen, and it was then sold at from 12 
 to 15 cents per gallon. As its value for various purposes was realized 
 the price was greatly advanced, as will be seen by the following state- 
 ment of prices of the crude oil during the past six years : 
 
 Per gallon. 
 
 1898 $0.55 
 
 1899 ., 55 to $0.60 
 
 1900 60 
 
 1901 60 to .70 
 
 1902. 70 to .85 
 
 1903 85 to 1 . 15 
 
 1904 1. 25 to 1. 50 
 
 1905 1 . 00 to 1.10 
 
 1906 1.15 to 1.20 
 
 This marked increase in cost has been dii'ectlj' caused by the demand 
 greatly exceeding the supplv, notwithstanding that a very large quan- 
 tity, amounting to about 300,000 gallons annually, is imported from 
 Germany. Fortunately for our manfacturers to whom fusel oil is a 
 necessary material, the production of ethyl alcohol in Germany is on 
 a much larger scale than in this country. Owing to the liberal laws 
 relating to the use of alcohol in the arts which have been in force in 
 Germany for a number of years the total production of ethyl alcohol 
 in that countrj' has been greatlv increased, the quantity distilled in 
 1902 being 223,899,120 proof gallons, or nearly 100,000,000 gallons 
 more than "was produced in this country in the same year. As the 
 population of the United States is 50 per cent larger than that of Ger- 
 many, this country should be producing over 300,000,000 gallons 
 annually. 
 
 With the vastly greater amount of ethyl alcohol that would be dis- 
 tilled as the result of the adoption by this country of liberal alcohol 
 legislation similar to that of Germany, the production of fusel oil 
 would be correspondingly increased. The effect of this large increase 
 in the supply would, of course, be to materially reduce the price, and 
 the users of fusel oil, or lacquei's made from it, would be benefited 
 accordingly. Since, for the reasons above stated, the manufacture of 
 fusel oil is not commercially possible, except in connection with the 
 distillation of ethyl alcohol, the encouragement of the production of 
 
88 FBEE AliOOHOL. 
 
 such alcohol is the only method by which a reduction in the cost of 
 fusel oil can be secured. 
 
 While a policy of cheaper alcohol would, by increasing the supply, 
 reduce the price of fusel oil, it would also make possible in certain 
 industries the substitution for that product of untaxed denatured alco- 
 hol or ethyl alcohol rendered unfit for beverage purposes. This would 
 have the effect of decreasing the present urgent demand for fusel oil, 
 and would tend to further diminish its cost. 
 
 In addition to the manufacturing purposes above referred to fusel 
 oil is largely used in making the various kinds of artificial leather which 
 are coming into general use. These leathers are found to be satisfac- 
 tory substitutes for natural leather in the manufacture of furniture 
 and for other purposes. The more abundant production of fusel oil, 
 consequent upon the removal of the internal-revenue tax from indus- 
 trial alcohol, would give the manufacturers of these leathers a much 
 cheaper solvent, and would enable them greatly to increase the sale of 
 their products. 
 
 With cheaper fusel oil the manufacturers of all kinds of lacquered 
 and enameled wares, brass goods, etc. , would not find it necessary to 
 resort to inferior substitutes, and the general public would benefit 
 through securing articles with a more durable finish than that given 
 by the lacquers which have been forced into use by the scarcity of 
 fusel oil. 
 
 The American Hardwai-e Company now uses the following quanti- 
 ties of solvents annually: 477 gallons 94 per cent ethyl alcohol; 1,677 
 gallons wood alcohol (Columbian spirits); 33,166 gallons fusel oil. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MONSON PRATT, REPRESENTING LOCAL UNION 
 111, BROTHERHOOD OF PAINTERS, DECORATORS, AND PAPER 
 HANGERS OF AMERICA, 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Pratt. I have been following the trade of painting for twenty- 
 two years and numerous cases of sickness have come under my obser- 
 vation resulting from the use of wood alcohol during that time — that 
 is to say, from shellacs and varnishes cut with wood alcohol. Impaired 
 vision is one of the effects of using this liquid. Pei'sonall}- after 
 working with it I have been unable to read any book or paper during 
 that evening. At our meeting, November 8, of last year, brother 
 Charles E. Huff arose in the meeting and showed thatthe'skin had been 
 stripped from both his hands by using wood alcohol. He said he had 
 been suffering in this manner for the last three weeks. He said it was 
 not done by internal use and that he would take an oath that he had 
 never drank a drop of wood alcohol in his life. 
 
 The brother with us to-day, C. L. Bedell, was employed with me on 
 the job when he went blind. He was using shellac cut with wood 
 alcohol and was also wood alcohol to clean the varnish from the dressing 
 case. Another workman had attempted it first, but it made him sick, 
 causing him to give it up, and he turned the job over to Brother Bedell, 
 who was at first sickened, then became blind, by inhaling the fumes of 
 the wood alcohol. Data will be given of the "^history of this special 
 case by the following speaker. I have known Brother Bedell for 
 many years as a man of integrity and sterling worth. 
 
 Good work can only be done W using grain alcohol; that is to say. 
 
FEES ALCOHOL. 89 
 
 on a good, first-class job the grain alcohol must he used. A good job 
 of rubbing or polishing can not be done with wood alcohol shellac. 
 
 That is to say, Mr. Chairman, in finishing the top of a table, or a 
 piano, or anything else, it is almost impossible to get a good, first-class 
 finish on it hj using wood alcohol. 
 
 I have gone home night after night when my eyes bothered me so 
 and pained me so that 1 had to throw my paper to one side and give 
 up the attempt to read for the night, because the water was running 
 out of my eyes. Brother Bedell, who we have with us in the room 
 to-da}', has lost his sight entirely. It has been a little over four 
 months since he has gone blind from the use of wood alcohol. The 
 doctors have sent certificates here certifying to that fact. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You had better introduce those certificates in evidence. 
 
 ]\lr. Pratt. Yes; Brother Cotton has got the certificates, which will 
 be filed. 
 
 STATEMENT OF CHARLES BEDELL, LYNN, MASS. 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. Bedell, I understand you are blind. 
 
 Mr. Bedell. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Just state to the committee how you became blind. 
 
 Mr. Bedell. Well, sir, I was set to work to clean up some old fur- 
 niture and refinish it, as we call it; to strip off the old shellac and var- 
 nish it over. The man I worked for gave me wood alcohol to do the 
 work with. He furnished the material and I had to use it, and I did 
 use it in a close room. At that time there was considerable wind 
 blowing and I could not have any of the windows open, and the con- 
 sequence was I kept the room closed and worked at it for three days. 
 At the end of the third day I went home. 1 got there, but I don't 
 know how. I was carried to the hospital and was unconscious for 
 forty-eight hours. When 1 came to I had no sight, and have been 
 given no hopes of it ever since. I have been to several specialists, 
 who say that my eyesight is gone forever. 
 
 The Chairman. You say the fumes of the alcohol which you were 
 using aflected j-ou while you were doing work in the shop? 
 
 Mr. Bedell. I used it with a sponge, to slop it onto this varnish 
 to soften it up, and my hands would get numb. Then you feel kind 
 of deadly and sick all over, and then you begin to feel weak and you 
 will have chills and your stomach will not retain water or anything 
 else. You can't eat and you can't drink anything and keep it on your 
 stomach. I could not for the last day that I had any recollection of. 
 That is as near as 1 can state to you gentlemen my condition. I gradu- 
 ally went off. 
 
 The-CnAiRMAN. You became unconscious? 
 
 Mr. Bedell. I became unconscious. I was in that condition when I 
 was carried to the hospital. When the doctor took me to the hospital 
 1 was unconscious. 
 
 The Chairman. Did you feel any pains in your eyes? 
 
 Mr. Bedell. I do not now. 
 
 The Chairman. Did you at that time ? 
 
 Mr. Bedell. At that time I did; yes, sir. Most of the same day 
 that I gave up the work, but it started previous to that. 
 
 The Chairman. What did the doctor say was the reason or cause of 
 your sickness? 
 
90 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Bedell. They laid it to the fumes of wood alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. The doctor said that was the cause of it? 
 
 Mr. Bedell. Yes, sir; I have statements here from three specialists, 
 who are considered good, to that effect. 
 
 Mr. Roberts. Mr. Chairman, one of the other gentlemen present 
 has a report from one of the surgical journals of the country describ- 
 ing in detail this gentleman's case and the cause of his sickness. I 
 suggest that it might be put into the record. 
 
 The Chairman. Let it be put into the record. 
 
 [See p. 395.] 
 
 Mr. McCleart. Had you worked in wood alcohol before this ? _ 
 
 Mr. Bedell. Yes, sir; I had to use wood alcohol for a long time, 
 but never so long at one time, and was never confined in a closed room 
 with it. I have felt the effects of it before, but not to alarm me any 
 or so as to cause me to think anything especially about it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You were a finisher in a furniture factory ? 
 
 Mr. Bedell. No, sir; I was a common house painter; but I am a 
 hard-wood finisher as well, and the man I worked for, knowing that 
 fact, gave me that job of work to do. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. Does it tire you to stand now ? 
 
 Mr. Bedell. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Egberts, of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, if there are no 
 further questions to be asked of Mr. Bedell, I would like to ask Mr. 
 J. W. Cotton, the secretary of the Brotherhood of American Painters, 
 Decorators, and Paperhangers, to give you some information on the 
 subject. 
 
 STATEMENT OF J. W. COTTON, KEPRESENTING THE BROTHER- 
 HOOD OF PAINTERS, DECORATORS, AND PAPERHANGERS OF 
 AMERICA. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Cotton. Mr. Chairman, I represent the Brotherhood of Painters, 
 Decorators, and Paperhangers of America, consisting of nearly 100,000 
 members. At a convention held in December last they indorsed the 
 proposed legislation for denatured grain alcohol for use in the arts. 
 
 Being here on this occasion is one of the greatest honors of my life, 
 yet one of the most painful, in so far as the occasion is one of vital 
 importance to the men who follow the trade, which 1 do. As a repre- 
 sentative of the painters and decorators of America, we Jbave caused 
 to be introduced, through our Congressman, bill H. R. 10071,'' and it 
 may be well at this time for me, as one of the committee, to state the 
 reasons for this bill which is now under your consideration. 
 
 In October of last year one of our members was stricken blind by 
 using wood alcohol for three days. A report of his illness is given in 
 the Painters' Magazine of December 5, 1905, in which is quoted an 
 extract from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, which has 
 already been submitted.* It gives a full report of Brother Bedell's 
 loss of sight from a medical standpoint. It also gives a report of the 
 case of H. Bradshaw, of Chicago, verified by Dr. W. F. Coleman, 
 professor of ophthalmology, post graduate school of Chicago. 
 
 Brother Bedell was examined by Dr. Miles Standish, of New Eng- 
 land, an eye specialist, who has verified all that has been stated. 
 
 « For copy of H. E. 10071, see p. 311. ^See p. 395. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 91 
 
 After this happened our union, No. Ill, of Lynn, passed a vote that 
 we, as a body of men, should refuse to use this wood alcohol. That 
 was published, and in a very short time inquiry by letter and telegram 
 came from all parts of the country. Realizing the magnitude of it, a 
 committee was appointed to answer the volume of correspondence thus 
 caused, and data has been collected from the mass of correspondence, 
 a partial cop3' of which I have in my possession, giving eleven cases of 
 extracts of letters, proving that this ingredient is very injurious to the 
 eyesight. I have here a number of these letters which I desire to file.'' 
 This correspondence also gives quite a number of cases in different 
 parts of the country, verified bj' physicians of sterling character and 
 worth, proving that ours was not an isolated case. We, as a commit- 
 tee, began to look for the remedy, and the unanimous opinion of all 
 Earties is that the reason this wood alcohol is used is tliat grain alcohol 
 as a tax of §2.07 per gallon placed upon it. We therefore pray for a 
 favorable consideration of the bill now before you for the following- 
 reasons : 
 
 That wood alcohol costs in the neighborhood of 43 cents per gallon, 
 and there is no tax upon it, enabling it to be sold at a nominal price, 
 while grain alcohol, costing 32 cents per gallon, has a tax upon it 
 ■of $2.07. 
 
 In bringing forward this argument we do not wish to be misunder- 
 stood. All that we ask is that grain alcohol be denatured, making it 
 unfit for use as a beverage. It will do far better work than wood 
 alcohol, and there will be a freedom from that danger to eyesight such 
 as is incident to the use of wood alcohol. There will probably be 
 others who appear before you who will tell you of the advantage of 
 this bill better than I am able to do. All that I ask is for you to view 
 it from a humane standpoint. 
 
 I have here a very remarkable and pathetic document. It is 
 remarkable because it is from a good brother who, seven years ago, 
 was working at the painting business and was stricken blind. He has 
 written a letter which, as I have said, is remarkable, because it is 
 remarkable for a blind man to write a letter. I would like the com 
 mittee to look at it. It is unique because it is something that does 
 not happen very often. It is pathetic because it tells, in a silent man- 
 ner, what a gift he has lost. ^Vith the permission of the committee 
 I will read it. 
 
 Replying to your inquiry of what caused my blindness, I will say that the unani- 
 mous opinion of more than a dozen of the best doctors of Lynn and Boston was that 
 it was caused by the use of shellac and varnishes which were cut with wood alcohol. 
 I know that when using shellacs or varnishes my eyes would run water all the time, 
 and I would be dizzy sometimes. If the room was all closed I would be almost 
 blind from the effects. 
 
 I am satisfied that the principal cause of my being blind and deaf was wood alcohol, 
 and in God's name and for the sake of humanity I hope and pray that wood alcohol 
 may be stricken from the painters' stock list. 
 
 While working at Dover, X. H., in a church that was all stain work, shellaked 
 and varnished, out of six painters only two could stand it to do the varnishing. 
 
 J. W. Caverly, 11 Vine sired. 
 
 This brother has kind friends who have given him a typewriter to 
 make his life a little more pleasant, and this letter which ihe wrote to 
 the committee while we were at his house is a specimen of his type- 
 writing. 
 
 I have also the indorsement of the temperance people in favor of 
 
 o See pp. 398-402 
 
92 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 this legislation. Here is a set of resolutions adopted at the Connecticut 
 Valley Conference on November 12, 1905, at the International Con- 
 vention of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers 
 of America at Memphis, Tenn., December, 1905, and adopted bj^ the 
 Master House Painters and Decorators of Massachusetts, January 9, 
 1906, and on it appears the signature of Anna B. Garney, the secre- 
 tary of the Massachusetts Woman's Christian Temperance Union. 
 
 i have also the same resolution indorsed by several members of the 
 council of Lynn, representing 1,000 members. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Asking for what 5- 
 
 Mr. CoTTOx. Asking that the tax be taken off denatured grain 
 alcohol to be used in the arts and industries. 
 
 1 have also the same I'equest, signed bj' Horace D. King, agent for 
 the Tolman temperance fund, which is one of the largest temperance 
 funds in the United States. He most heartily indorses this measure. 
 
 1 have here also a letter from Dr. Miles Standish, under date of 
 February 3, 1906, which says: 
 
 I send herewith a copy of the resolution passed by the New England Ophthalmo- 
 logical Society regarding the alcohol bill. 
 
 I consider it a very important measure indeed, and think it can not be too strongly 
 urged upon the committee at Washington. 
 
 Since Mr. Bedell was at my office another case has come under my care in my 
 service at the eye and ear infirmary, in all probability caused by wood alcohol 
 while working in an inclosed space on a war ship which is building at the Fore River 
 Iron Works. 
 
 He incloses with this letter a copy of resolutions adopted by the New 
 England Ophthalmological Society. 
 
 (For these resolutions see p. 402.) 
 
 I have here also a petition which has been signed by a great many of 
 our brothers, each one of them praj'ing that this bill may be passed and 
 that we may have denatured grain alcohol. If time had permitted, I 
 may say, we could have gotten thousands more to sign for that purpose. 
 
 1 have here a list of our local unions who have written to this com- 
 mittee stating that they will do all in their power to assist this measure 
 and that they are very anxious to have an enactment of a law. to take 
 the tax off from denatured grain alcohol. 
 
 1 have also one signed by the pastor of a Methodist Episcopal Church 
 who from his pulpit asked each member of his congregation to sign 
 this petition, as being in a very noble cause. » 
 
 Here is also one from Local Union No. 489, of Plattsburg, N. Y., 
 one from Local Union No. 439, of Wilmington, Del., and one from 
 Local Union No. 963, of Baltimore, Md. 
 
 1 have here a letter from the editor and manager of the Locomotive 
 Firemen's Magazine, which sa3's: 
 
 This will acknowledge receipt of printed matter relative to the bill recently intro- 
 duced in Congress which provides for the free use of domestic grain alcohol for indus- 
 trial purposes. I have read same carefully. I have long been in favor of removing 
 the tax on alcohol used for industrial purposes, and I sincerelv trust this bill will 
 pass. We will refer to the matter in a future issue of our magazine. 
 Yours, fraternally, 
 
 John F. McNamee, 
 Editor and Manager Brotherhood of Firemen's Magazine. 
 
 It would ill become me to trespass upon j'our time, feeling sure that 
 you will realize very fully that all we ask is that this bill may become 
 a law and so reduce the danger to men who are following the painting 
 trade for a living, realizing that when one's sight is gone life is blank- 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 93 
 
 and we ask, as is stated in the letter from J. AV. Caverlv, "in God's 
 name and for tlie cause of humanity," the enactment of the bill. 
 
 In conclusion, I presume I hear the question, AVho do we, as a com- 
 mittee, represent? ^iethinks I see behind me 100,000 painters of 
 this grand and noble country, who ask in pathetic notes for your con- 
 sideration. May I say favorable consideration '': Yea. I see the labor 
 press are raising their voice in our behalf, as are the temperance people, 
 and the building trades councils. As I have said before, organized 
 labor in every walk of life and the American Federation of Labor, a 
 bulwark of strength, asks for this relief to the painters. 
 
 The wives and children of this vast organized army of labor ask that 
 their loved ones may not be under this ban anj^ longer of having to 
 work for a living amid these dangerous surroundinos, and thus, for 
 the cause of humanity, we crave, implore, and, may we say, demand 
 your favorable consideration for the enactment of this very much 
 needed legislation. 
 
 Mr. Roberts. I think perhaps Mr. Weir can give the committee 
 some information on this subject. 
 
 STATEMENT OF RICHARD WEIR, OF LYNN, MASS. 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Weir. ]\lr. Chairman and gentlemen, 1 can not say anj^thing 
 more than to indorse everj' word that our secretar}^ has said and to 
 indorse everything the chairman of this committee has said. I am, 
 without doubt, the oldest painter on the committee. I am not only 
 the oldest painter on the committee, but I am probably one of the 
 oldest painters in the city of Lynn who is to-day living. 1 am one 
 who was brought up in the old school of painters, when we had no 
 such infernal stuff as this to use, which is possibly the reason why I 
 am living to-dav to be able to come here and testify in behalf of my 
 atHicted brothers. lsl\ brothers of the old school of painters, who 
 served their time with me, have graduallj^ commenced to drop away. 
 I do not know whj' that is so, but, before you gentlemen and before 
 God, I honestl}- believe and claim that many of the men who were 
 schooled and served their time with me have gone from this earth 
 from using this infernal stuff'. 
 
 Man}' and many a night 1 have gone to mj' home and to my wife 
 after using this stuff all day, and she looked at me and said: "Rich.^ 
 have you been drinking whisky ? " I had not been within 5 miles of 
 anj' public house or any saloon during the day; but the fumes of this 
 infernal stuff' had saturated my clothes, inflamed m}' eyes, and parched 
 my throat so that I could hardly speak to her. 
 
 Some dozen jears ago I worked for a contractor and builder and I 
 had to use wood alcohol. The contractor was a man who used to drink, 
 and when he ran out of what we would call good alcohol or good 
 whisky and had no more to drink he would use this. I went out to my 
 dinner one day and when I came back I went into the room and saw 
 him meddling with a can of wood alcohol. 1 knew that he had drunk 
 it. That was between 12 and 1 o'clock in the day. At 12 o'clock that 
 night he was a corpse. At least they say he was, and took him away 
 and buried him. A policeman rang ray bell the next morning and 
 said: "Mr. Weir, did you know that Frank Butterwith is dead;" 
 You see I name the man. I said: "No." He said: "He died at 12 
 o'clock last night." I said: "He drank my wood alcohol between 12 
 
94 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 and 1 o'clock yesterdaJ^" That was reported to the coroner and he 
 rendered a verdict that he had died from alcohoUc poisoning. 
 
 That being so, if this stuff is poisonous internallj^, as it is branded 
 on the bottles, it certainlj' must naturally be poisonous externally. If 
 we have cuts or bruises, or anything else upon us, we are just as liable 
 to be poisoned with it as we are if we drink it. 
 
 I hope, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, that you will give this matter 
 your best consideration on behalf of the painters of this country. I 
 hope and pray that we will get what we want, and that is Amei'ican 
 fair play. We do not want to injure anyone. We have nothing 
 to do with the wood alcohol people and we do not want to hurt their 
 industry. We come here simpl}^ asking that you will consider this 
 matter and give us what we ask for, and that is free denatured alcohol, 
 so that we can protect ourselves and our brother workmen and our 
 families. 
 
 I thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
 
 Mr. Roberts. Mr. Torre}^, a member of this committee, is here and 
 he can give you some of the experience he has had. 
 
 STATEMENT OF C. S. TORREY, OF LYNN, MASS. 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. ToRREY. Mr. Chairman, 1 do not know that 1 can say anything 
 further in regard to this question except to tell you that I have felt 
 the effects of working with wood alcohol a great deal.' I have been 
 employed in the business of house painting for the last fifteen j'ears 
 and during that time I have worked a great deal on the inside with 
 shellacs and varnishes. I Jiave found it A^ery injurious to me in dif- 
 ferent ways. It has affected both my eyesight and raj- kidneys; at 
 least the doctoi-s claim that is the cause of my trouble. 
 
 It was seven years ago that I had an attack of trouble in my side. 
 I had to discontinue working on account of it. I was working then 
 on the North Shore for a man by the name of J. C. Wilson, who had 
 a contract in E. C. Swift's residence on the North Shore. I was 
 working with varnish and I had to go home on account of the fumes 
 from the shellac. We were using, at that time, a " Union Shellac." 
 The name was printed right on the heads of the barrels. It is called 
 " Union Shellac," and it is cut with wood alcohol. A part of the time 
 we used grain alcohol for thinning and a part of the time we used 
 "Columbian Spirits." W^hen we were using grain alcohol it did not 
 seem to affect us; but when I was closed up in the building using 
 wood-alcohol shellac, and thinning with wood alcohol, it would cause 
 a blur to come over my eyes and I could hardly see while I was work- 
 ing. You would have to rub your eyes to get your bearings and see 
 where you were working. 
 
 Our work is in seasons. In the winter time we do not, as a rule, 
 have anything to do. The spring and fall are our busv seasons, and 
 the rest of the time we have to ourselves. In the busy"^season, which 
 IS generally in the spring of the year, it is cold and we have to keep 
 everything closed up so that we get no air at all. When we are con- 
 fined on inside work it is very hard on us. 
 
 I hope you gentlemen will'give this matter due consideration, and I 
 hope that we will get something that will be better than wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Roberts. Mr. W. S. Burton is here and perhaps the committee 
 would like to hear what experiences he has had in this matter. 
 
 The Chairman. AVe will hear Mr. Burton. 
 
n;EE ALCOHOL.. 95 
 
 STATEMENT OF W. S. BURTON, OF LYNN, MASS. 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Burton. ^Iv. Chairman and gentlemen, I do not know that I 
 can do anything more than substantiate what has already been said by 
 my codelegates, but I may state to you nij' own experience. I have 
 been employed at the craft of a painter for the past ten or twelve 
 years almost steadily. My experience has been the same as those of 
 the other men who have given their statements here to-daj'. When 
 we use shellac varnishes cut with wood alcohol in a closed room it will 
 cause dizziness and headaclie and a very disagreeable feeling. If you 
 work with it continuously during the day upon leaving j^our work at 
 night you will feel the sensation through your whole system which 
 has already been described. 
 
 I do not know that I can say anything further in regard to the effect 
 of wood alcohol in addition to what 3'ou have already heard. 
 
 If there are any members of the committee who would like to ask 
 me any questions in regard to the matter 1 would be glad to answer 
 them. 
 
 Mr. KoBEETS. Mr. James F. Grimes, representing the legislative 
 committee of the American Federation of Labor, is here and would 
 like to say a few words. 
 
 STATEMENT OF JAMES F. GRIMES, OF HOUSTON, TEX. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Grimks. ^Ir. Chairman, I have here my credentials, which I 
 would like to present. 
 
 [For these credentials see p. 402. J 
 
 The Brotherhood of Painters and Decorators of America is one of 
 the component pai'ts of the American Federation of Labor. They are 
 one of the 125 international trades that make up the American Federa- 
 tion of Labor. The painting trade is a sister trade to my own, as I am 
 engaged in the building business. 
 
 It was not m_v purpose to appear before the committee; but I have 
 been requested by the gentlemen interested to say a few words to you. 
 I would like to say that I was pleased at the questions propounded to 
 Mr. Cotton a while ago with reference to the Painters Magazine, when 
 he was asked whether it was a journeyman's magazine or an employer's 
 magazine, because I was aware at the time, having seen the document 
 during the week, that it was an employer's official journal. There are 
 times when it makes a difference whether it is an employer's journal 
 or an employee's journal. 
 
 I appear to speak for the painters and decorators, and for the work- 
 men generally who are affected by this legislation, and who are now 
 affected b}- working in alcohol under the conditions mentioned here. 
 
 I believe that it is not frequently that manufacturers and employers 
 and emploj'ees appear bef oi-e committees of Congress jointlj' as they do 
 in this case. I recollect that during past sessions of Congress it has Iteen 
 very seldom that this has occurred. I remember one occasion, how- 
 ever, when Mr. Daniel Davenport, representing interests that were 
 not trades union, lined up with the labor forces on a proposition. Of 
 course Mr. Davenport may say, like Speaker Cannon, that we lined 
 up with him. However, that may be, I am glad that there is a more 
 
96 FEES ALCOHOL. 
 
 general support of this measure by the employers and employees than 
 we usually find to be the case before Committees. 
 
 Mr. Claek. Has there been, for several j'ears, among painters gen- 
 eral complaint about this same matter ? 
 
 Mr. Grimes. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Claek. All over the country ? 
 
 Mr. Grimes. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chaieman. The name of Leonard Goebbels, representing the 
 Otto Gas Engine Works, is on my paper, and the Committee will hear 
 him if he desires to say anj'thing in regard to this subject. 
 
 STATEMENT OF LEONARD B. GOEBBELS, REPEESENTING THE 
 OTTO GAS ENGINE WORKS, PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Goebbels. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, 1 
 want to tell 3'ou about my experience in building and testing engines 
 operated on grain alcohol. 1 represent the Otto Gas Engine Works, of 
 Philadelphia, a concern employing about 250 men in the construction 
 of gas and gasoline engines exclusively. 
 
 We are the United States branch of our parent house, the Otto Gas 
 Engine Works of Cologne, who employ about 3,000 men in the build- 
 ing of these engines. We are located in Philadelphia and turn out 
 about 1,200 engines a year, mostly of the medium and larger sizes, 
 aggregating about 20,000 horsepower. Of these about 12,000 horse- 
 power are operated on liquid fuel, gasoline distillate, etc., consuming, 
 when run on an average of eight hours per day, 6,000,000 gallons per 
 year. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Does that refer to the consumption in this country? 
 
 Mr. Goebbels. In this countrj^ only; yes, sir. Owing to the rap- 
 idly increasing cost of the fuel, the use of it is now restricted to the 
 smaller engines, say up to 30 horsepower. In fact it is now impos- 
 sible for us to sell engines larger than this, except in isolated cases, 
 where tiie fuel can be had at the source of supply. 
 
 Three years ago the increase in cost of gasoline compelled us to look 
 for a suitable substitute. I went over to Germany to visit our 
 parent house and study the means which had been adopted in that 
 country to procure a cheap and effective power producer. I found that 
 denatured alcohol was very largely used in internal-combustion engines. 
 At that time, in 1903, our factory in Germany was building and selling 
 alcohol engines at the rate of about 20 per month, out of a total output 
 of 200 engines per month. The relatively small number of engines 
 manufactured by them I found was due to the great number of larger 
 engines, up to 3,000 horsepower each, which they were turning out. 
 
 I had occasion to take part in several shop tests made with these 
 alcohol engines, which varied in size from 10 to 30 horsepower. The 
 results which we obtained showed that out of an engine of a given 
 size— that is, a given cylinder capacity— we got on an average of 20 
 per cent more power than out of the same size engine operated on 
 gasoline. This is due to the fact that alcohol, while it does not have 
 the same heating value per volume as gasoline, the proportion being 
 about 1 to 1.6 in favor of gasoline, it is possible to get a higher effi- 
 ciency from alcohol, because it can be compressed to a much higher 
 degree without danger of spontaneous combustion than is possible 
 with gasoline. 
 
FEEB ALCOHOL. 97 
 
 The thermal efficiency, that is, the degree of utilizing all of the heat- 
 ing value of alcohol, is therefore much greater than that of gasoline, 
 the figures being about 21 per cent for gasoline as against 30 per cent 
 or more for alcohol. 
 
 The consumption of alcohol per horsepower I found to be practically 
 the same in volume as it was when using gasoline, that is, about one- 
 eighth of one United States gallon per hour. This is as far as the shop 
 tests made with such engines before shipment were carried. 
 
 Other and more scientific tests were made at the same time. I 
 remember one test made while 1 was there; when the exhaust gases, 
 that is, the products of combustion of the fuel, were analj^zed. The 
 test which came under my obsei'vation was made by a chemist of high 
 standing, a professor in a German universitj-, the object being to 
 determine the etfect of the exhaust gases upon the interior portions of 
 the engine and its connections, and the degree to which the atmospheric 
 air would be contaminated if the exhaust gases, as might be the case, 
 were puft'ed out into a room occupied bj- human beings. This was 
 done with a view of using alcohol locomotives for transporting cars in 
 mines instead of using horses, mules, or gasoline power. 
 
 The results showed that these exhaust gases contained 20 per cent 
 less of obnoxious constituents than the exhaust gases from a gasoline 
 engine. It was also shown that an alcohol engine produced about 30 
 per cent less of constituents which tend to contaminate the air than a 
 number of horses doing the same amount of work as the engine. In 
 addition to this, the horses or mules will keep on fouling the air when 
 they are doing no work at all, which, of course, is not the case with 
 an alcohol engine when idle. 
 
 As to the total number of engines in use at that time, in 1903, in 
 Germany, statistics show that one central station in Berlin alone had 
 contracts for supplying 1,011 alcohol engines. These were distributed 
 among the various industries as follows: 
 
 Agricultural purposes 544 
 
 Pumping plants 84 
 
 Creameries 63 
 
 Electric light plants 52 
 
 Woodworking machinery 45 
 
 Flour mills 40 
 
 Bakeries 33 
 
 Motor trucks 30 
 
 Boats 30 
 
 The rest were used for general power purposes. 
 
 In that year there were added about 50 or 60 engines to those in use 
 in Germany each month. The active interest which the Government 
 displayed in the use of these engines had a great deal to do with their 
 general adoption. Emperor William personally offered a prize for 
 the most perfect alcohol engine for military purposes. Competitive 
 tests were made with 6 or 8 engines of different makes; and I am glad 
 to state, by the way, that our own house secured the prize. 
 
 I want to state that we have made and sold a number of alcohol 
 engines for use in Cuba, where 1 understand alcohol is secured at 10 
 cents per gallon. I think that, in all, we built during the last year 10 
 or 12 engines of this kind. Our tests were made on engines running 
 from 2 to 15 horsepower. I have here figures giving the power and 
 fuel consumption of a 10 and 15 horsepower engine, when 93 per cent 
 alcohol was used. 
 11058—06 7 
 
98 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 A few preliminary tests were made to compare the rate of evaporation 
 and danger of explosion of gasoline and alcohol. First, a surface about 
 6 inches square was covered with equal volumes of gasoline and alco- 
 hol. The alcohol took twice as long to evaporate. Second, a small 
 quantity of gasoline in a receiver placed in any part of an iron bucket 
 had at the end of half an hour filled the bucket with explosive mix- 
 ture, so that a lighted match placed anywhere in the bucket caused an 
 explosion. The same experiment tried with alcohol failed entirely, 
 although the alcohol was allowed to stand a longer time. Two things 
 tend to account for this. Even dilute mixtures of gasoline vapors and 
 air are explosive, and gasoline vapor, being much heavier than air, 
 diffuses upward very slowly, thus keeping the mixture near the liquid 
 rich enough to be explosive. 
 
 The 10-horsepower engine was tested in the same condition in which 
 it had previously run on gasoline, without any change whatever. It 
 developed 11 brake horsepower, as against 10 horspower with gasoline, 
 and consumed li pints of alcohol per horsepower per hour. By 
 increasing the compression of the engine this consumption was reduced 
 to 1.1 pints per horsepower per hour. There was no difficulty in 
 starting the engine on alcohol, even when cold. This was particularly 
 important to determine, as in the German engines which I have tested it 
 was necessary to start the engine on gasoline and turn on the alcohol 
 after the engine had warmed up, which took about two or three minutes. 
 
 A 15 horsepower, of which I have a test record, shows similar results, 
 the power developed being 16.5, as against 15.2 with gasoline, while 
 the fuel consumption was 1.08 pints per brake horsepower per hour. 
 
 Mr. Hill. At what degree will alcohol spark? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. You mean the flashing point? 
 
 Mr. Hill. Yes. 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. Gasoline flashes at one-half the number of degrees 
 that alcohol does. 
 
 During the past five years our firm has constructed thirty -four marine 
 engines, of 160 horsepower each, for propelling submarine torpedo 
 boats. Fourteen of these are now in use in our Navy, the rest having 
 gone to England, Japan, Kussia, and Germany. When these engines 
 were built for the United States Navy the question of the danger from 
 using gasoline was brought up, and it was suggested to substitute 
 kerosene as a less volatile and less dangerous fuel. 
 
 This, however, was shown to be impracticable on account of the 
 odor which is unavoidably connected with the use of kerosene, even 
 when_ taking all possible precautions. Gasoline in this connection is 
 practically odorless if proper means are employed to carry off the 
 exhaust gases. In order to convince the representatives of the torpedo- 
 boat company, however, that in case of a positive objection on the 
 part of the Government to the use of gasoline alcohol could be used 
 with at least equal efficiency, a test was made by us in the presence of 
 the chief engineer of the torpedo-boat company. This trial demon- 
 strated that alcohol can be substituted for gasoline in the engines as 
 built for gasoline. 
 
 A test of several hours' duration was made, during which an engine 
 was connected to two full tanks, one containing gasoline and the other 
 alcohol, in such a manner that either of the two fuels could be turned 
 on or shut off. The engine was first started on gasoline, and after a 
 half hour's run the gasoline was shut off and the alcohol turned on. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 99 
 
 There was no change then in the amount of power developed, but the 
 fuel supply valve had to be opened a little more, increasing the con- 
 sumption from 0.110 of a gallon to 0.130 of a gallon per horsepower. 
 The engine was then shut down after a two-hour run, allowed to cool 
 off, and was started on alcohol and run for another period of one hour. 
 It was then taken apart and the cylinder valves and interior portions 
 of the engine were carefully examined bj^ the engineer. It was shown 
 that parts exposed to the combustion were as free from rust or sedi- 
 ment as they generally are when using gasoline. 
 
 I have also examined the interior portions of alcohol engines that 
 have been in continuous use for three years, and have found them to 
 be in good working order, except such wear as necessarily takes place 
 in all internal-combustion engines. 
 
 As to the outlook for increasing the use of internal-combustion 
 engines in case Congress should pass the law which we advocate, I 
 can say that a very conservative estimate places the number of engines 
 which our company alone would manufacture at double the number 
 which we are now able to sell. Furthermore, we could then success- 
 fullv build and sell engines of larger size. It is not an excessive esti- 
 mate to place the increase in consumption of fuel from 6,000,000 gal- 
 lons per year to 15,000,000 gallons used in engines which our company 
 could build with its present equipment. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You spoke about the number of engines your firm had 
 built in Germany. How many did you say it was? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. They have built about 200 engines per month, and 
 out of that there are 20 or 25 alcohol engines. There are now in 
 operation in Germanj^ about 5,500 or 6,000 alcohol engines. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you use wood alcohol in these engines? 
 
 ^Ir. GoEBBELS. No, sir; we use denatured grain alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. Why can you not use wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. It can be used. 
 
 The Chairman. There is only a difference in price? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. I think they could use it, but the fumes would be 
 very objectionable. 
 
 The Chairman. "Would wood alcohol be as efficient as grain alcohol? 
 ' Mr. GoEBBELS. Yes; very nearly so. There would be very little 
 difference. We have tried both and have found the efficiency about 
 the same. 
 
 The Chairman. Are these engines made on the same principle as 
 your gasoline and gas engines? They explode the gasoline in the 
 cylinder? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. Yes, sir; a mixture of alcohol vapor and air. 
 
 The Chairman. When the alcohol enters the cylinder does it enter 
 in the form of a spray, or how is it ignited? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. It enters in the air current before it reaches the 
 cylinder in the form of a spray, and it is then drawn into the cylinder 
 and compressed by the piston on the return stroke, and then there is 
 an electric igniter on the engine with contact points coming inside of 
 the cylinder, and when the contact is broken a spark is made which 
 explodes the vapor and transmits the power by the shaft to the engine. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Did you build the engine for the city of Matansas? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. No; it was built by our German house. 
 
 Mr. Hill. It is working successfully? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. Yes, sir. 
 
100 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. Does your house run a branch in Germany, or is 
 the house here a branch of the German house? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. Our house here is a branch of the German house. 
 
 The Chairman. This same firm has been manufacturing gas engines 
 in Philadelphia for a good many years, have they not? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. Yes; since 1876 — thirty years. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. How much have you invested here? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. One million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 
 
 The Chairman. Where is your plant? 
 
 Mr. GoEBBELS. In Philadelphia. 
 
 Mr. LoYERiNG. Mr. Chairman, Mr. H. S. Miner, reperesenting the 
 Welsbach Light Company, of Gloucester City, N. J., is here, and would 
 like to be heard by the committee for a moment. 
 
 STATEMENT OF H. S. MINER, EEPRESENTING THE WELSBACH 
 
 LIGHT COMPANY. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Miner. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, the Welsbach Light 
 Company have a factory located across the river from Philadelphia, 
 employing about 1,000 hands, besides a branch factory in the city of 
 Chicago, and. we use very large quantities of these solvents. We will 
 make this year, probably, about 15,000,000 of the Welsbach mantles, 
 with which you are familiar, and I presume the amount of solvents we 
 utilize per annum will possibly be something like 50,000 gallons. 
 
 The Chairman. How much difference in the price do you think you 
 could make if you used grain alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Miner. I can not easily figure that; but I can say that a gallon 
 of the solution will cover approximately 30 mantles, and a saving of 
 from 50 to 66f per cent would make a very considerable saving, which 
 would undoubtedly show in the price of the mantle, although we have 
 been subject to a considerable cut in price during the past two years, 
 which we have not been able to make the customer pay for. 
 
 The Chairman. Then you think that the use of grain alcohol will 
 result more beneficially to your company than to the public at large? 
 
 Mr. Miner. I would not be prepaied to say that, for competition 
 is becoming more and more active every year. 
 
 The Chairman. What 1 was trying to get at was whether there was 
 any probability of the price being cut to the consumer ? 
 
 Mr. Miner. We have already cut the price of the mantle from 50 
 cents to 10 or 15 cents, and I do not think there is a very great chance 
 of going lower. 
 
 The Chairman. Is there any way of reducing that brilliant light 
 which was shown here? That light would put my eyes out in a few 
 minutes. 
 
 Mr. Miner. The only way is to turn it down or put a shade over it. 
 
 The Chairman. I suppose you could shade it with ground glass so 
 that it would not be so brilliant? 
 
 Mr. Miner. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Are you not manufacturing in Germany ? 
 
 Mr. Miner. The inventor divided up the rights and sold them in 
 different countries. We have the rights for the United States. 
 
 Mr. Hill. There are no imported Welsbach burners used here; they 
 are all manufactured in this country ? 
 
 Mr. Miner. Yes; practically all. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 101 
 
 Mr. Hill. Of course under present conditions it is impossible for 
 the American companj- to export out of the United States 'i 
 
 Mr. Miner. Only for certain special purposes,, for which we may 
 have adopted a special mantle. 
 
 The Chairman. You may now proceed with your statement. 
 
 Mr. Winer. The "Welsbach Company, as is well known, is exten- 
 siveh' engaged in the manufacture of incandescent gas mantles. And 
 as has already been so clearly demonstrated in your presence, the 
 application of the Welsbach mantle to isolated lighting by means of 
 the alcohol lamps constitutes another held which, though entirely un- 
 developed in this country, might prove to have very large possibilities. 
 
 In the process of manufacturing the AVelsbach incandescent mantles, 
 and for the purpose of rendering them sufficiently strong to resist the 
 shocks incident to handling and transportation, they are coated with a 
 strengthening material, which is practically a flexible collodion and 
 consists principally of soluble cotton, or nitrocellulose in solution. 
 The solvents which are used in the manufacture of this strengthening 
 material are chiefly wood alcohol, acetone, amj'l acetate, ethyl alcohol, 
 and sulphuric ether. These last two solvents, ethyl alcohol and its deriv- 
 ative product, sulphuric ether, though possessing desirable qualities, 
 are used to onh' a very limited degree because of the excessively high 
 price which thej' command in the United States. 
 
 They would, however, be used to a verj^ large extent if the denatured 
 product could be obtained tax free and at prices comparing favorably 
 with those which the same material commands in European markets. 
 Such an action would work a very great relief to us, as denatured 
 ethyl alcohol could then be procured at a saving of over 50 per cent 
 of the present price which its substitutes now command. 
 
 The Chairman. I will now call on Mr. J. C. Warnes, of Chicago, 111. 
 
 STATEMENT OF J. C. WARNES, REPRESENTING THE INTERNA- 
 TIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Warnes. ^Ir. Chairman, I represent the International Har- 
 vester Company, which has recently engaged in the manufacture of 
 internal-combustion engines. In our position as builders of a large 
 number of engines, requiring a fuel which is produced in limited 
 quantities and which is often of an indifferent quality and a constantly 
 increasing price, the question of the future fuel supply becomes one of 
 most vital importance. 
 
 Alreadv the sale of engines in some sections of the country is ren- 
 dered more difficult owing to the exorbitant price of gasoline, and yet 
 the introduction on the farm of small explosive engines on an extensive 
 scale has scarcely begun. The agriculturist at the present time recog- 
 nizes more than ever before the general utility of the small engine on 
 the farm; for example, in pumping water, grinding feed, sawing wood, 
 operating churns and cream separators, thrashing grain, shredding 
 fodder, etc. With favorable prices on fuel, its application can readily 
 be extended to tractors, so that within a short time power-driven grain 
 harvesters, mowers, plows, corn harvesters, cultivators, and like imple- 
 ments may replace many of those in present use and thereby save the 
 cost and keeping of an extra team. 
 
 There is little doubt but the amount of the denatured alcohol used 
 for power and lighting purposes alone would far exceed the aggregate 
 
102 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 amount used for all other purposes. An estimate as to this amount 
 would be merely a conjecture. I believe 100,000 stationary engines 
 per year would be a very conservative guess on the output for the 
 factories of this country, and the gas-engine men with whom 1 have con- 
 sulted concur in this estimate. The basis for such conclusion is largely 
 in. the number built by our company and another concern, which I am 
 informed has an equally large output. 
 
 The editor of an automobile journal in Chicago informed me that there 
 were about 25,000 engines manufactured for automobiles each year. This 
 would make the engine output about 125,000 annually, and with those 
 already in operation there are perhaps not less than 300,000 engines. 
 Assuming that the engines will average 8 horsepower, then each engine 
 will consume in a day of ten hours approximately^ 10 gallons of gaso- 
 line. If there are 300,000 engines in this country running on this 
 basis for one day it would mean a consumption of 3,000,000 gallons 
 per day. These figures are largely illustrative, but it is thought that 
 they are also very conservative. They will indicate the enormous 
 fuel consumption and they may also oiler an explanation as to the 
 cause of the rapidly advancing price of gasoline. 
 
 Alcohol is a suitable fuel for explosive engines — in fact, it is the 
 ideal fuel, because of it.s unlimited and universal source and because 
 of its uniform quality. Its physical properties peculiajJy adapt it to 
 economical conversion into power in the combustion chamber of an 
 explosive engine. Alcohol will mix with water; it has a greater capac- 
 ity to absorb heat and a lower flash point than gasoline, thus pre- 
 serving a more uniform temperature, and in consequence less loss by 
 radiation, and also permitting a higher compression. Roughly speak- 
 ing, alcohol possesses only half as many heat units per volume as gas- 
 oline, but, on the other hand, its thermal efficiency is twice as great, 
 so that equal volumes will produce equal results in power. It is not 
 so much a question of the heat units in the substance, as how many of 
 the heat units can be converted into useful work. 
 
 The question as to the intrinsic merit of alcohol as a motor fuel is 
 best met by the fact that over 3,000 alcohol engines were said to be in 
 operation in Germany alone in 1904. Many satisfactory tests from 
 respectable authorities can be found in German, French, and English 
 publications. 
 
 It is also an interesting and important consideration that the same 
 engine may, with slight modifications, which are in the nature of attach- 
 ments, be rendered capable of using either a hydrocarbon oil or an 
 alcoholfuel. This means that most of the engines in present use can 
 with slight expense be converted into alcohol engines and a unity of 
 design followed in engines employing difierent fuels. 
 
 In view of the constantly increasing demand for gasoline, and because 
 of the adverse effect of the increased cost of same on domestic sales in 
 engines and of the difficulty of manufacturers here sharing in the for- 
 eign trade, we can not assume an attitude of indifference with respect 
 to the present question. Furthermore, the fact that a single corpora- 
 tion can play fast and loose with the prices and quality of petroleum 
 products accentuates the need of fostering a competing fuel, in order 
 to prevent a further increase in price and consequent arrest of develop- 
 ment in vast and important industries. 
 
 The Chaiemak. How long have they been using alcohol engines in 
 Germany? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 103 
 
 Mr. Waknes. I think they have been using them since 189.5. 
 
 The Chairman. You say there are about 3,000 in use there '^ 
 
 Mr. Warxes. There were 3,000 in 1904. 
 
 The Chairman. How many gasoline engines are in use there? 
 
 ^Ir. AVarnes. There are a great many. I would not attempt to say 
 how many gasoline engines are in use. 
 
 The Chairman. This 3,000 is a very small percentage of the number 
 of gasoline engines in use? 
 
 Mr. Waenes. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. And the}^ have been at work since 1895 to get out 
 that number? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir; they have been developing the alcohol engine. 
 
 The Chairman. How long has it been since they have had a success- 
 ful alcohol engine in Germany? 
 
 Mr. "Warnes. I could not saj' exactly, but I think it has been since 
 about 1900. They are beginning now to come into use extensively. 
 
 The Chairman. Does not gasoline cost more in Germany than it does 
 in the United States? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. It is considerably more expensive? 
 
 Mr. AYarntis. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. It would not look as though there would be such an 
 enormous development in the use of alcohol engines in this country in 
 the immediate future, comparing it with the development in Germany ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Do j'ou mean to compare the progress here with that 
 made in German}-? 
 
 The Chairman. You sa}^ that in Germany, since 1900, they have 
 had successful alcohol engines? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes; they have got about 3,000. 
 
 The Chairman. It is fair to presume that the gasoline engine, judg- 
 ing from the development in our country, must number 100,000 or 
 more there. The alcohol business has not advanced very rapidh- with 
 free alcohol in Germany, as compared with gasoline at a higher price? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. That was in 1901. At the present time the reports 
 show that there are about 6,000 in use; so that it has doubled in two 
 years. 
 
 The Chairman. About 6,000 now? 
 
 ]Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. That shows a substantial increase? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. I was trying to get at the consumption of alcohol 
 in view of the estimates that have been made of the amount of wood 
 alcohol it would take to denature it. 
 
 Mr. Warnes. I do not think it would be fair to make a comparison 
 with what they have done in Germany, or what they seem to be doing 
 at the present time, with what we could do, because the uses of it 
 here would be infinitely greater than thej- are there. 
 
 ]Mr. McCleary. Why is that so ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Because there is a greater field for its application, 
 and because we believe alcohol could be produced cheaper here than 
 it can there. 
 
 Mr. Clark. There are two or three times as many more farms in 
 the United States as there are in Germany. 
 
104 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The Chairman. These small engines you speak of are used largely 
 by farmers, who use them only during certain portions of the year. 
 The enormous consumption you speak of would bear a very small rela- 
 tion to the amount actually consumed in the year, because the engines 
 would run only during certain seasons of the year. 
 
 Mr. W'arnes. Yes, sir; it is quite, true that these engines would not 
 be used continuously on the farm; but I think these estimates are 
 conservative. 
 
 The Chairman. Would they use them every day in the year ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. No, sir; I do not think they would. 
 
 Mr. Clark. They could use the same engine for various purposes — 
 for pumping water, grinding feed, etc. ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. An automobile is not run constantly, all day long. 
 It is only run a portion of the time. We are getting alarmed about 
 where we are going to get all the alcohol that will be needed, accord- 
 ing to the enormous estimates we have heard here. 
 
 Mr. Warnes. We have nothing to base an accurate estimate on. 
 Our company will build about 20,000 or more a year. I am informed 
 there is another company in Chicago that will build from 20,000 to 
 30,000 a year; that is, 60,000 can be built by these two firms, and I 
 am sure they do not represent one-half of what is manufactured by 
 the two or three hundred gasoline engine manufacturers in this country. 
 
 The Chairman. Does your company build in Detroit? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. No, sir; we build in Milwaukee. 
 
 The Chairman. I am afraid, from what we have heard here before, 
 that they are building more than you are. 
 
 Mr. Warnes. I do not know what they are doing. 1 can only state 
 what we do. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How much does a gallon of gasoline cost now ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. It varies. In Chicago you can buy it for 12 or 13 
 cents a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Clark. It is going up ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir; in the West it costs from 18 to 21 cents a 
 gallon. 
 
 Mr. Clark. A gallon of alcohol, according to your view of it, 
 would make as much force to run a machine with as a gallon of 
 gasoline ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. And it is safer and cleaner? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. There are a great many people in the United States 
 who run engines in printing offices by some of these contrivances? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir; with gasoline engines. They are being 
 very generally used for that purpose. 
 
 Mr._ Clark. The farmers all over the West are getting more and 
 more in the habit of using these engines for the various purposes for 
 which such things can be used on a farm? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. The use of horsepower for harvesting machinery is very 
 rapidly passing away, is it not? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. No, sir; they have not attempted that very largely. 
 
 Mr. Hill. 1 mean for use in thrashing machines ? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir. 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 105 
 
 Mr. Hill. It is done bj- steam, is it not? 
 
 Mr. Warnes. Yes, sir; and b^^ gasoline in the West. They are 
 using gasoline engines and making a good many portable engines for 
 driving thrashing machines in the West and Northwest. 
 
 The Chairman. I want to say to the gentlemen present that the 
 committee, before recess, passed a motion to hear those in opposition 
 to this legislation on a week from next Tuesday, which will be the 20th 
 of February. We desire to get through with those in favor of the 
 proposition before that time, so that if there is anybody who would 
 like to be heard in the morning the committee will hear them. 
 
 [Statements of opponents of the bills begin on p. 129.] 
 
 STATEMENT OF HONORABLE ERNEST W. ROBERTS, A REPRE- 
 SENTATIVE FROM MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. RoBEETS. Mr. Chairman, I do not propose to take up much of 
 the time of the committee. I would like, however, to preface mj?^ 
 remarks by calling the attention of the committee to the fact that 
 there are two bills before it, both of which were introduced by me. 
 One is No. 109 « and the other No. 10071.* If the committee should 
 ever reach the stage of considering these particular bills which I have 
 introduced, I would like to say to them that No. 10071 is intended to 
 take the place of the first one. There were two clerical errors in the 
 first bill when printed, and the second one was introduced to correct 
 them. 
 
 I have been requested to read to the committee a communication 
 which it was hoped would be delivered by Prof. Elihu Thomson, who 
 is well known in the electrical, the mechanical, and the scientific world. 
 He had intended to be here in person, but he unfortunately caught 
 cold and is detained at home. This communication bears the head of 
 the General Electric Company, West Lynn, Mass., and is dated Feb- 
 ruary 2, 1906. He says: 
 
 Paper of Prof. Elihu Thomson, of the General Electric Company. 
 
 ALCOHOL AS A MOTOR FUEL. 
 
 The importance of cheap alcohol as a fuel for internal combustion 
 engines is not so generally realized as it should be. The increasing 
 use of this type of engine, operated generally by gasoline as a fuel, is 
 evident to everj'one. By it there is furnished a power for all purposes 
 which requires the minimum of attendance during the operation of the 
 engine and no preparation before starting. As an engine for farm 
 purposes the explosion type or internal combustion engine is ideal, 
 and its general application to automobiles is already an evidence of its 
 great convenience and effectiveness. 
 
 The use of gasoline as the fuel for such an engine is, however, sub- 
 ject to some disadvantages as compared with the employment of alco- 
 hol. In the first place the possible supply of gasoline is limited, and 
 its increasing use must inevitablj' result in a very undesirable increase 
 of price. It is a sort of by-product of the oil industry, and its price 
 has already increased and will probably continue to increase. This is 
 
 "For copy ^^ 
 fiFor copy of 
 
 of H. R. 109 see p. 310. 
 of H. R. 10071 see p. 311. 
 
106 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 particularly true for the better or higher qualities. Gasoline is more 
 volatile than alcohol, having a much lower boiling point, and is there- 
 fore proportionately more dangerous, especially in waroa weather. 
 The flame of burning gasoline is a highly luminous flame, one which 
 radiates heat rapidly, whereas the alcohol flame is a faint blue or an 
 almost nonluminous flame, which does not radiate heat to any great 
 extent. The consequence of this is that a mass of burning gasoline 
 will radiate sufficient heat to set tire to things at a distance from it, 
 while heat from burning alcohol goes upward, mostl}' in the hotgasses 
 which rise from the flame. 
 
 The case may be illustrated by comparing the flame of the burning 
 pine log in an open fireplace with that of ordinaiy gas mixed with air 
 in a fireplace. The flame from the burning pine log contains sufficient 
 carbon to radiate the heat freely into the room from the fireplace, 
 whereas the blue flame from the gas requires the assistance of a radi- 
 ator heated thereby, generally known as a gas log, often composed of 
 minerals, such as asbestos and the like, made red-hot by the blue or 
 nonluminous gas flame. On this account alcohol is a safer fuel than 
 gasoline, as the gasoline can set fire by pure radiation where alcohol 
 would not. Gasoline, as well as kerosene, has the great disadvantage 
 that it floats upon water and is distributed bj^ water. It is a well- 
 known fact that it is comparatively useless to attempt to extinguish 
 burning gasoline or kerosene by water alone. The use of water may, 
 in fact, be a positive disadvantage in floating the burning material 
 over considerable places in spreading fire. Not so with alcohol, which 
 mixes with water in all portions, ana which is at once diluted and pre- 
 vented from remaining combustible. 
 
 We have recently tested here at the works of the General Electric 
 Company in Lynn a Deutz alcohol engine, a type of engine made in 
 Germany especially for use with alcohol, and the results have been 
 such as to prove without doubt the entire suitability of alcohol, if 
 cheap enough, as a fuel for internal-combustion engines. This par- 
 ticular engine is to be sent to the island of Cuba and coupled to a 
 dynamo for lighting. It will be operated with the cheap Cuban alco- 
 hol, which is, 1 am informed, sold there at about V2 to 15 cents per 
 gallon. A few gallons of this alcohol were obtained and used in our 
 tests here, and it was found to be a high-grade spirit containing 94 
 per cent alcohol by volume and 6 per cent of water, or about 90 per 
 cent alcohol by weight. While it is not methylated or denatured, 
 there is no question that the behavior in the engine of denatured or 
 methylated spirit would be identically the same as with the pure grain 
 alcohol. 
 
 To obtain this sample of Cuban alcohol it was necessary that we pay 
 an import tax of $4 per gallon, with other charges, which made the 
 cost of the material used in testing enormous as compared with its 
 actual value in Cuba, and I may here remark that, as in testing an 
 engine of this kind a considerable quantity of alcohol will be used, 
 manufacturers here in the United States would sufl'er a considerable 
 disadvantage in building such engines as compared with those in a 
 country where methylated spirit, untaxed, is obtainable. In fact, the 
 cost of the material for testing the engines is probably a sufficiently 
 strong deterrent just now to prevent the manufacture being taken up 
 in the United States. The island of Cuba is, however, an excellent 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 107 
 
 field for the use of such machinery, on account of the low cost of 
 alcohol. 
 
 It may be mentioned here that our experiments developed the fact 
 that alcohol is suitable? as a motor fuel even when it contains as high 
 a percentage as 15 per cent of water. Notwithstanding the fact that 
 the heating value of alcohol, or the number of heat units contained, is 
 much less than that in gasoline, it is found by actual experiment that 
 a gallon of alcohol will develop substantially the same power in an 
 internal-combustion engine as a gallon of gasoline. This is owing to 
 the superior efficiency of operation when alcohol is used. Less of the 
 heat is thrown away in waste gases and in the water jacket. 
 
 The mixture of alcohol vapor with air stands a much higher com- 
 pression than does gasoline and air without premature explosion, and 
 this is one of the main factors in giving a greater efficiency. It fol- 
 lows from this that, with alcohol at the same price as gasoline, the 
 amount of power developed and the cost of the power will be rela- 
 tively the same so far as fuel itself is concerned, but on account of the 
 higher efficiency of the alcohol less cooling water is required, or a 
 less percentage of the heat of combustion is communicated to the 
 cj'linder walls of the engine. The exhaust gases from the alcohol 
 engine cany off less heat. They are cooler gases. 
 
 It is well known that the exhaust gases from a gasoline or kerosene 
 engine are liable to be ver}- objectionable on account of the odor. In 
 our tests of the Deutz alcohol engine here there was absolutely no 
 such objection with alcohol fuel, the exhaust gases being but slightly 
 odorous, or nearly inodorous, and what odor there was was not of a 
 disagreeable character. Our experiments with the burning of alcohol 
 as a motor fuel also showed us that alcohol possesses a considerable 
 tolerance as to the richness, or the reverse, of the mixture in the 
 engine, and that even when there was considerable excess of alcohol 
 for the air the exhaust was not disagreeable in odor, a condition which 
 with either gasoline or kerosene leads to a smoky, badly smelling 
 exhaust. The importance of a fuel which does not produce disagree- 
 able exhaust gas is greatest in the case of stationary engines of con- 
 siderable power, as in that case the exhaust is emitted in one locality 
 and maj' become a source of nuisance. This has often been experi- 
 enced with gasoline or kerosene engines and has tended greatly to 
 limit their application, particular!}' in denselv built-up sections. 
 
 There is just now the beginning of a large development in the appli- 
 cation of the internal-combustion engine to the propulsion of railway 
 cars on short lines as feeders to the main lines. In this case an ordi- 
 narj' passenger railway car is equipped with a power compartment at 
 one end, in which power compartment there will be installed an engine 
 of, say, 200 horsepower of the internal combustion or explosion type. 
 The growth of such a system is liable to be hampered in the near 
 future by the cost of gasoline as a fuel, and the difficulties of using 
 kerosene are still quite considerable. Especially is the exhaust likely 
 to be offensive. In this case alcohol, which could be produced in 
 unlimited amount, could be substituted. 
 
 A large variety of agricultural products are easih' capable of being 
 converted into alcohol, and such products as are unmarketable, either 
 from overabundance of crops or defective growth or damage are still 
 ivailable as sources. Hence each agricultural district would be able 
 
108 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 to supply itself with all the motor fuel needed, and at the same time 
 produce for other districts. Inasmuch as alcohol can be stored in tanks 
 for an indefinite period without change of its nature, any surplus 
 production of alcohol can easily be taken care of. Speaking with 
 a prominent beet-root sugar manufacturer, he gave it as his opinion 
 that from the wastes of the beet-root sugar industry alcohol could 
 be produced at a cost of about 10 to 12 cents per gallon. It is prob- 
 ably true that from other agricultural wastes, such as fruit parings, 
 fruit partly decayed, surplus corn, etc. , a cost equally low might be 
 realized. 
 
 It is easily possible to convey alcohol by a pipe line, and its very 
 limpidity or liquidity facilitates the process of pumping it through a 
 line. It is reasonable to infer that, freed from tax, there is no possi- 
 ble substitute for this valuable fuel which could be supplied at such a 
 low cost. It may be mentioned in conclusion that the efficiency — that 
 is, the ratio of the conversion of the heat units contained in the fuel 
 into power — is probably higher in the alcohol engine than in engines 
 operated with any other combustible, and doubtless, on account of the 
 comparative newness of the alcohol engines, there is still room for 
 some improvement in this respect. 
 
 Elihtj Thomson. 
 
 Mr. Roberts. I want to say, Mr. Chairman, that Professor Thom- 
 son is one of the originators of what is known as the General Electric 
 Company, and that company has one plant located in Lynn, in the dis- 
 trict which I have the honor to represent. They employ some six or 
 seven thousand hands and have a weekly pay roll of about 1100,000. 
 They have another plant at Schenectady, N. Y., employing about the 
 same number of men and paying out about the same amount in wages. 
 
 There are one or two other matters that I desire to lay before the 
 committee. I have had communications from manufacturers and 
 others, both in my own district and in my State, urging the passage of 
 some bill giving free denatured alcohol for use in the arts and indus- 
 tries. Among those who have communicated with me are the Chemical 
 Products Company, Avery Chemical Company, American Smokeless 
 Powder Company, American Powder Mills, Cochrane Chemical Com- 
 pany, Massachusetts Agricultural College faculty, leading colleges 
 and technical schools of New England, Harvard Medical School, Mas- 
 sachusetts College of Pharmacy, Tufts College and Dental School, 
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, American School Furniture 
 Company, Yawman & Erbe Manufacturing Company, Macy- Wernicke 
 Company, Library Bureau, and the Doten Button Desk Company. 
 
 I desire, further, to call the attention of the committee to three com- 
 munications which have been received by me. The first one is from the 
 Henry F. Miller & Sons Piano Company, who have a factory in my 
 district, who say: 
 
 We respectfully ask you to do everything in your power to have the internal- 
 revenue tax, amounting to 12.08 cents per gallon, removed from alcohol when made 
 from gram and undrmkable. We use considerable alcohol in our business, and the 
 saving to us by the removal of this tax would be very appreciable. 
 
 1 have also a letter from Alfred Noon, the secretary of the Massa- 
 chusetts Total Abstinence Society, in which he says: 
 
 I am sending you the petition herewith, and wish you would do all you can to 
 secure a safe measure covering the desired legislation. The only point in the bill 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 109 
 
 which impresses me mifavorably is the time of imprisonment in the penalty, as six 
 months seems too small a minimum. 
 
 I am aware that the liquor people are making a deal of noise about this matter, 
 and appear to be advocating something of this sort, but if it be true that the Stand- 
 ard Oil interests are opposing the introduction of alcohol for illuminating and fuel 
 purposes, does not the one chai-ge balance the other? 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is that from a preacher? 
 
 Mr. Egberts. He is a minister and he is secretary of the Massachu- 
 setts Total Abstinence Society. 
 
 I also want to call your attention to one or two extracts from a letter 
 received from the Haywood Brothers & Wakefield Companj^, of Wake- 
 field, Mass. They are probably the largest manufacturers of rattan 
 goods in the United States. They have four large factories — one in 
 my district, one elsewhere in the State of Massachusetts, one in Chicago, 
 and one in San Francisco. They have in different cities in the country 
 nine large warehouses where they finish their product, and in a letter 
 to me, which 1 will not read in its entirety, they say: 
 
 We do not know that we can furnish you any data or information that will help 
 along the cause, as we have not been able to use grain alcohol because of its excessive 
 cost, as much as we would like to do. * * * 
 
 We use considerable wood alcohol, but as you may know, it is offensive and our 
 employees claim that it affects their health, with the result that we have lost a num- 
 ber from this cause. 
 
 ISIr. Hill. So far as you know, none of the industries which are 
 represented there would cause any loss of revenue by using denatured 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Roberts. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. It would simply increase the use of grain alcohol by the 
 man uf acturers . 
 
 Mr. Roberts. I think that would be the result. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is this total abstinence society a part of the general 
 temperance movement in the United States ? 
 
 Mr. Roberts. I can not answer that. Their operations are con- 
 fined to promoting legislation looking toward temperance in Massa- 
 chusetts, and looking toward the enforcement of the laws as they now 
 exist. I have known this gentleman for many years. 
 
 The committee thereupon, at 5.15 o'clock p. m., adjourned until 
 to-morrow (Friday) morning at 10 o'clock a. m. 
 
FE.EE ALCOHOL. 
 
 THIRD DAY. 
 
 Committee on Wats and Means, 
 
 February 9, 1906, 10 o'clock a. m. 
 The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., pursuant to adjournment, 
 with the chairman, Hon. Sereno E. Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present : The chairman and Messrs. Dalzell, McCall, Hill, BouteU, 
 Needham, Smith, Williams, Robertson, Clark, Cockran, and Under- 
 wood. 
 
 The Chairman. We will hear Doctor Wiley this morning. 
 
 STATEMENT OF PROF. H. W. WILEY, CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF 
 CHEMISTRY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Professor Wiley. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, 
 I appear before you as Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry of the 
 Department of Agriculture, by authority of the Secretary of Agri- 
 culture, who approves of the principle of the pending bill." I appear 
 also as a member of the committee of the American Chemical Society, 
 which embraces now a membership of 3,000 of the more prominent 
 chemists of this country, and which appointed this committee for the 
 piu"pose of promoting some suitable legislation without committing 
 themselves to any particular form thereof, to encourage and promote 
 the use of alcohol in the industries free of tax. 
 
 I will also say, in this connection, that I was requested by the Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury, Mr. Carlisle, several years ago,* at the time 
 referred to by one of the speakers here on the first day, to see if 
 alcohol, in a form suitable for drinking, could be recovered from 
 denatured alcohol, samples of which he submitted. I believe I suc- 
 ceeded in recovering a sample of alcohol which could be drunk from 
 every sample which was submitted for that punpose. I wish, how- 
 ever, to say right here that I do not believe there is any method now 
 known, or any that is likely to be proposed, for denaturing alcohol 
 which is of such a character that a skilled chemist may not obtain 
 more or less of that alcohol in a potable form from the mixture. I 
 want to say this, because that is one of the objections which has been 
 urged against this legislation, and is one which I think is wholly 
 untenable. 
 
 It is not a question whether a chemist, working for days and some- 
 times for weeks, may be able to separate the pure product from the 
 mixture, because that is the function of the chemist. The question, 
 
 a For statement of the Secretary of Agriculture, see pp. 5-7. 
 6 See statement of Mr. Yerkes, p. 9. 
 
 Ill 
 
112 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 it seems to me, is whether such a separation could be made in such a 
 way as to make it a comniercial success in the face of the penitentiary, 
 which would confront the effort on all occasions. 
 
 In the first place, Mr. Chairman, no reputable chemist would un- 
 dertake such a task, and certainly no member of the American Chem- 
 ical Society would do so, because he would understand fully_ that such 
 an effort would merit and perhaps receive the condemnation of the 
 society and of the court, with appropriate punishment. 
 
 Another thing which I think your committee should remember is 
 this,. that an immense majority of the manufacturing men of this 
 country are thoroughly honest men and obedient to the law. Not 
 one in a hundred of them would ever make any attempt to avoid a 
 law of this kind. So that you may say 99 per cent of your revenues 
 are assured and protected without any punishment at all, by the 
 reason of the natural honesty of mankind. 
 
 I want to say further that I do not believe you can denature alcohol 
 in such a way as to make it so impotable that somebody will not 
 drink it without purification, because there are some men so depraved 
 that they would not hesitate to drink anything that even looked like 
 alcohol, even pure kerosene, thinking from its appearance that it 
 might be alcohol. 
 
 I mention these points because they are urged, and I will not call 
 in question the motive which prompts their presentation against a 
 measure of this kind. I do not wish to minimize any of these state- 
 ments. I think they are all true; and yet it appears to me that, 
 granting their absolute accuracy, you can so denature alcohol that it 
 can not be rendered pure in a simple way, but you can not denature 
 it in such a way that somebody will not drink it, and you can not be 
 certain that some manufacturer will not attempt to evade the law. 
 Let us admit all of these points without question. 
 
 The question, then, is presented. Is it practicable in view of these 
 facts to attempt legislation of this kind? I think it is, because I 
 believe the manufacturing industries of our country ought to be pro- 
 moted in every way possible. I speak of that because I am a farmer, 
 and because I know that the most prosperous agricultural communi- 
 ties are those which are situated near their own markets. The more 
 consumers you can put into this country for our agricultural products, 
 the more prosperous the farmers will be. I am not one who would 
 oppose the seeking of foreign markets for our agricultural products. 
 That may be well enough ; but I am one who wants to seek a domestic 
 market for agricultural products, because every time you sell an 
 agricultural product, with the exception of cotton, sugar, and oil, to 
 a foreign country, you carry into that foreign country a part of the 
 blood of our soil, which we ought to keep at home. 
 
 You can bleed a good healthy man once and a second time and he 
 will be all right, but if you bleed him every day and every year you 
 will reduce him to a skeleton. So you can take away from our fertile 
 soil some elements of fertility and send them to foreign countries a 
 few times, but if you do it all the time you will reduce your soil to a 
 skeleton. But if you sell our agricultural products at home then it 
 is possible to return to the soil those elements of fertility which have 
 been consumed in the production of the crops. 
 
 So I believe, from the viewpoint of the farmer, that it is to his 
 interest to extend our home market and induce a larger number of 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 113 
 
 consumers to engage in productive activity, like manufactures, in 
 order to keep our products at home. I say that our manufactured 
 products should be permitted, if it can be done by law, to use alcohol 
 in the arts and sciences without taking anything from our Treasury. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Do you not think it would be well to have it marked 
 poison, to avoid the risk to people who may drink it accidentally ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I think that would be a very good idea. It 
 might deter a great many people from drinking it who otherwise 
 would. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you not think that proposition is immensely intensi- 
 fied with reference to wood alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wilet. Yes ; I think that wood alcohol should be marked 
 poison, because since these hearings began I have read of three or 
 four people who have been drinking it by mistake, whereas had it 
 been marked with a skull and crossbones and as poison that would not 
 have happened. It is just like the soothing syrup that is sold here to 
 everybody who wants it, which contains a deadly poison and which 
 has killed more infants than we can enumerate. In England it is 
 required to be marked with a skull and crossbones and marked poison 
 before it can be exposed for sale. 
 
 Mr. Clark. There is one thing about this matter I would like to 
 know, and that is with relation to the comparative cost of getting this 
 denatured alcohol back into something like its original condition, as 
 compared with the manufacture of grain alcohol originally. Have 
 you any opinion on the subject as to whether it would cost as much 
 to get this stuff back into the condition it was originally as it would 
 take to manufacture it new ? 
 
 Professor Wilet. And pay a tax ? 
 
 Mr. Clark. Yes. 
 
 Professor Wiley. I think it would cost a good deal more. I think 
 the cost of restoring denatured alcohol to pure alcohol would be 
 greater than to manufacture and pay the tax on a fresh portion of 
 properly made alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. The only way I have heard of that being done 
 economically was to take advantage of the different degrees of tem- 
 perature at which these alcohols become a vapor. That is the only 
 way I ever heard it suggested that it could be done economically; 
 that is, by distillation. I do not know anything about it ; but I think 
 that that appeared in the report made in 1897, during the hearings 
 had at that time. 
 
 Professor Wiley. You can, by fractionation, separate bodies of 
 different boiling points ; but if you mix together two bodies with dif- 
 ferent boiling points and distill them once, you always carry over 
 a part of the mixed vapor. That can only be separated by repeated 
 distillations. . . , . , 
 
 Mr. Clark. xVs I understand it, the opposition to this plan comes 
 from four sources — first, those who think the Government would lose 
 the'revenue; second, some temperance people who think it would 
 lead to drinking the stuff; third, the wood-alcohol manufacturers 
 who think it would shut them out, and, fourth, it was hinted here 
 that back of the temperance people were the Eockefellers, with the 
 coal-oil business. If the temperance people get it thoroughly fixed 
 in their heads that this is going to lead to an extraordinay consump- 
 tion of alcohol, they have force enough in the country to beat it. 
 That is the reason I asked these questions. 
 
 1 1 nSR — OR 8 
 
114 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Professor Wiley. I am a temperance man, but not a prohibitionist, 
 and I suppose my distinguished friend from Missouri refers to a 
 prohibitionist, whom I think a very intemperate man. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I do not refer, necessarily, to prohibitionists. Yes- 
 terday somebody produced here a resolution from the Total Ab- 
 stinence Society of Massachusetts in favor of this resolution. As a 
 matter of fact, I have not, individually, received any protests from 
 iiny temperance organization about it; but a half dozen Congressmen 
 have told me that they had. Somebody here yesterday said that the 
 temperance people were being stirred up by the Rockefellers. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. I have a dozen letters from my district, from good 
 women, and others, who think this is going to lead to no end of 
 trouble. 
 
 Mr. Claek. That is the very reason I want to get the opinion of 
 Doctor Wiley about the cost of getting it back to its original form. 
 If it is as costly as it is to manufacture it, they are never going to 
 do it. 
 
 The Chairman. I have received a number of letters, and as I gather 
 it the temperance people are opposed to it because some of the liquor 
 journals are favoring it as an entering wedge for free alcohol for 
 drinking purposes. 
 
 Mr. Clark. It seems to me to be absolutely unreasonable to sup- 
 pose the liquor dealers would attack it as a liquor proposition, because 
 they do not drink alcohol and nobody but a degenerate or one who is 
 reduced to the last extremity would drink it. I never knew but one 
 man in my life who could drink it. 
 
 The Chairman. The letters which I have received from some of the 
 temperance organizations contain Avhat purport to be extracts from 
 liquor dealers' journals. I think one of them contains six or eight 
 extracts. They all seem to favor the proposition. 
 
 Mr. Needham. And those extracts were along this line: They 
 argued that it would make more business and would increase their 
 profits in the wholesale and retail liquor business. 
 
 The Chaiebian. Some of them said it would be an entering wedge 
 to free spirits. I think some of these temperance people ought to 
 come before the committee and explain themselves. There was one 
 man who claimed it would produce a great deal of drunkenness, and 1 
 asked him to get some information from the countries Avhere they had 
 free alcohol and where they had been having it for years ; and if he 
 could prove his assertion, I suggested that he come before the com- 
 mittee and give us the benefit of any facts he had bearing on the sub- 
 ject. I have never heard from him again. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Has not the Rev. Wilbur F. Crafts asked to be heard ? 
 
 The Chairman. No. 
 
 Professor Wiley. I remember very well, from my classical reading, 
 the phrase, " Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts," and for that rea- 
 son perhaps I may look with suspicion upon the advocacy of this 
 measure by certain interests. But it is really refreshing now and 
 then to take up a journal devoted to the liquor trade and find it, 
 instead of abusing me, defending the same proposition that I am 
 defending. I would not refuse help from my enemy in a case of 
 extremity, because I might suspect his motive in trying to save my 
 life was for the purpose of submitting me to subsequent torture, so I 
 welcome support from all sources. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 115 
 
 But you must remember that the journals you refer to also repre- 
 sent the distilling interests, and it is unquestionably true that this 
 measure would be of benefit to the distillers, because it would give a 
 greater market for their goods. You have certainly heard of the 
 sales in Cincinnati of high wine — that is, crude whisky — at a price 
 which seems almost incredibly low. I have read of sales of high 
 wine at $1.23 a gallon in Cincinnati, which is only 13 cents a gallon 
 for the alcohol it contains after paying a dollar and 10 cents tax. 
 In America there is an overproduction of alcohol ; and if this market 
 is open to the distilling interests, they will undoubtedly be benefited, 
 and they ought to be. 
 
 It seems to me that if anything is done to the so-called rectifying 
 interest it will be done because this work can be done without passing 
 through the hands of the rectifiers, and that branch would lose busi- 
 ness. If I were a prohibitionist I would favor this measure, and I 
 would try to make it extend to all alcohol that is distilled, ibecause 
 it would certainly lead to less consumption of alcohol in the present 
 form. Here is common ground on which the distiller and the pro- 
 hibitionist can stand and advocate the same measure. 
 
 Doctor Herrick made most of my speech the other day, and that is 
 the reason why I wanted to get in ahead of him. 
 
 The Chaiemax. You ought to have suggested that. 
 
 Professor "Wiley. He made it very much better than I could have 
 done, because I could not have explained to my distinguished friend 
 from Pennsylvania the difference between ethyl alcohol and methyl 
 alcohol so eloquently. 
 
 I want to say that I tried everywhere in the United States, except 
 at the right place, to get an alcohol lamp to show this committee, and 
 there was not a dealer in the country that I had access to that could 
 give me an alcohol lamp. So I went to work and made one, which I 
 will not show now, although it gives even a more brilliant light than 
 the one exhibited yesterday, for the reason that the mantle is longer. 
 AVe took an ordinary lamp and fixed on it an ordinary Welsbach 
 mantle, and, by heating this column of vaporized alcohol, you get a 
 brilliant illumination, just as you gentlemen saw it here the other day. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Some of the gentlemen of the committee would like 
 to see that lamp in operation. 
 
 Professor "Wiley (exhibiting the lamp). This is just an ordinary 
 lamp with a mantle, as on an ordinary gas jet. There is here a large 
 piece of metal to heat up, and it is now simply burning off the mantle. 
 These mantles are made with a combustible cover, which, when it is 
 burned off, leaves an earthy oxide there which becomes incandescent. 
 Now you see the brilliant light of the incandescent mantle. 
 
 I have prepared a large number of denatured samples of alcohol, 
 starting with pure ethyl alcohol and adding the common reagents, 
 which you have heard about, methylated spirits, pyridine, and so 
 forth. 
 
 I have some samples also which are prepared so as to be easily re- 
 covered, which it would be quite impossible to consider. If you de- 
 nature alcohol with gaspline or kerosene you make an ideal burning 
 fluid, but by simply mixing it with water you can so dilute the 
 alcohol that the kerosene will come out. It is a perfect denaturing 
 agent so long as the alcohol is strong enough to keep it in solution. 
 
116 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 I have made up denatured alcohol and then diluted it to proof — 
 that is, to 60 per cent by volume of ethyl alcohol. 
 
 That is the official strength of whisky in the excise office of this 
 Government. Proof means 50 per cent, by volume, of ethyl alcohol 
 and 50 per cent of water together with the flavoring matters that are 
 introduced to make what is designated as whisky. Then I have dis- 
 tilled both of these bodies in a still such as a moonshiner would use, 
 and then I have distilled that again, to show you that the distillate 
 is still absolutely unfit for use. 
 
 I have altogether about twenty samples illustrating the simple proc- 
 esses of recovery which would be possible in recovering alcohol, in 
 an inexpensive way, for consumption. 
 
 Now, if these are impracticable, as we have proved them to be, 
 1 do not think this committee need fear that anybody is going to the 
 trouble and expense and run the risk incident to accomplishing this 
 purpose. 
 
 The samples will be left here for the consideration of the commit- 
 tee, and are all properly marked, beginning with pure alcohol, then 
 pure alcohol reduced to proof, then alcohol denatured with different 
 agents, and then reducing that denatured sample to proof, to see if 
 it could be done. The distillation was made in an ordinary still, 
 such as could be used practically. I think these samples will demon- 
 strate to you the impossibility and impracticability of attempting to 
 rectify denatured alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. What did you find to be the most practicable 
 method of denaturing alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Methylated spirits with pyridine. 
 
 The Chairman. That is the French method ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. It is a French method; but other countries use 
 it also. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you understand the formula of the French to 
 be 2J liters of the mixture for 100 liters of ethyl alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. That is a very small quantity of the wood spirit. 
 Russia uses 10 per cent. I have here a late French journal bearing 
 on the matter, comparing the engines driven in Russia with denatured 
 alcohol with the French, showing that the Russian mixture, with the 
 largest percentage of denaturing material, is a better motor power 
 than the French, with a smaller quantity. 
 
 The Chairman. If you use 10 per cent of wood alcohol as a de- 
 naturing agent, what effect would that have on the varnish used in 
 making hats? The deleterious effects of using wood-alcohol varnish 
 on hats was described here on yesterday. 
 
 Professor Wiley. I think the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
 should be required to prescribe the degree of purity of denaturing 
 agents. The material used for denaturing, such as methylated 
 spirits, should have a certain degree of purity, and in that way the 
 danger to health could be avoided. When you are using only from 
 10 to 15 per cent of it of course it need not be so perfectly pure 
 as it would need to be if you were using larger quantities. I think 
 that, as a rule, it would take about 5 or 10 per cent of partially recti- 
 fied methyl alcohol to properly denature alcohol for general use. 
 That could be used in lamps and in the industries where alcohol 
 is employed, without danger to health. If you use more than that, 
 
KKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 lit 
 
 and burn it in a house, you will produce more or less formaldehyde, 
 which you do not prduce when there is only a small quantity present. 
 
 Formaldehyde is extremely irritating to the eyes and nostrils. It 
 is the finest agent in the world for sterilization, because it kills all 
 kinds of germs and penetrates all the crevices of a room. There is 
 nothing better in the world for the sterilization and purification of 
 a sick room and clothing than formaldehyde; but it is not a thing 
 you want to use all the time. It is like all other good things which 
 are useful in necessity, but which are not good when used every day 
 in the year. Therefore you do not want the denaturing agent or 
 the denatured alcohol so strong of methyl alcohol as to produce an 
 uncomfortable amount of formaldehyde. You can safely use up to 
 10 per cent without anj' danger of that whatever. 
 
 I would be in favor of using a sufficient quantity of the denaturing 
 agent to make it quite difficult, in a simple way, to recover it in a 
 condition suitable for potable purposes ; but I would not put that in 
 the statute, because it can be more safely left to the regulation of the 
 Treasury Department, which could make the proper investigations, 
 and see just what quantity and just what degree of purity should be 
 employed. 
 
 In all industries where a small amount of the denaturing agent 
 would not interfere with the processes, this denatured alcohol could 
 be used. It could be used for burning in lamps. You have seen 
 what a beautiful light it makes, and if you could get alcohol for 
 30 cents a gallon, it would be as cheap as kerosene or gasoline at 15 
 cents a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Smith. And safer than either? 
 
 Professor "Wilet. Safer than either, yes; and there would be less 
 danger of an explosion. You know how the motor industry is grow- 
 ing. The farmers are not as much in favor of automobiles on the 
 road; but they are in favor of motors which are built on the same 
 principle in their bams. They will come to using them on the roads 
 as soon as the roads are suitable; and they will use them in their 
 fields as a motor power for driving machinery. The introduction 
 of these motors on the farm is destined to come just as soon as fuel 
 is cheap enough. But the farmer who uses gasoline around his bam 
 is very soon going to have no barn, on account of the danger of fire. 
 
 It has always been the cry, when a new invention has been brought 
 out, from the laboring man that it will diminish the demand for labor. 
 "WTien was there ever such a demand for labor as there is in this 
 country now ? And the very product that is made by the people who 
 are opposing this measure will still have these extended markets by 
 the more general introduction of cheaper fuel, safer fuel, and illum- 
 inating agents throughout the country. 
 
 While all the wood alcohol may not be used for denaturing I think 
 a great deal more will be used than is indicated by the French 
 standard, because I think that is too low and too easily recovered. 
 The law ought to require it to be made strong enough so that no easy 
 method could be applied for its recovery. You would have to distill 
 it a dozen times to take out 10 per cent, while if you put in only 2 per 
 cent two or three distillations would get it out. 
 
 Mr. Hill. The process is increased by the quantity you put into the 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes. 
 
118 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Hill. The less quantity you put in the easier it is to extract it? 
 
 Professor Wileit. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I should suppose it would require the same effort to 
 extract small quantities. 
 
 Professor Wilet. The last processes, of course, are the most diffi- 
 cult because you have got to have several distillations before you get 
 down to the 2 per cent, and then you have got all the trouble you had 
 •before. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, I am heartily in favor of this measure, because 
 it is for the benefit of American agriculture, which I hope I try to 
 represent to some extent, and for the general good of the people. I 
 am not one who would seek to obtain a benefit for the farmer if it 
 were going to injure everybody else, but I believe that when agricul- 
 ture is promoted the whole country is benefited, and that we ought to 
 begin first with our agricultural industries. 
 
 Mr. Clark. It is true that these motors on the farm would be more 
 ■generally employed now if it were not for the danger of burning 
 everything up ; is it not ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes; the danger of using gasoline is so great 
 that it is practically a prohibition. Such an inflammable thing as a 
 farmer's barn ought to be, if it is properly stored — and if it is not he 
 would not be able to buy one of these machines at any rate — ought not 
 to be subjected to such a danger. 
 
 I now want to take up another feature of this matter which I do not 
 think has been discussed here. I would like to see the principle of 
 this bill extended somewhat, in such a way that none of the opposi- 
 tion which has been offered to it could possibly stand. I should like 
 to see the principle of this bill extended to the use of pure alcohol 
 in the industries, where pure alcohol is necessary and where no de- 
 naturing agent can be used. There are a great many industries of 
 that kind. Of course I would want it safeguarded in a proper way, 
 just as it can be done to-day under the present regulations. That is, 
 it must be under the supervision of the Internal Revenue Department. 
 
 The Chairman. AVhat industries have you in mind? 
 
 Professor Wiley. A very prominent one is the manufacture of 
 ordinary ether, which, I will tell my friend from Pennsylvania, is 
 ethyl oxide, and that the formula for it is (CaHg),©. 
 
 The Chairman. He will understand that perfectly. 
 
 Professor Wiley. I knew he would understand it under the instruc- 
 tion he has already received. 
 
 Now, why should ether be subject to a tax of this kind? There 
 are some ether drinkers, I admit, but they are very few. The ether 
 habit has been acquired by some few people, and there is such a thing 
 as ether drunkenness, but how rare it is. Nobody wants to drink 
 ether. But now everybody who uses sulphuric ether has got to pay 
 a tax on alcohol, with which it is made. Why not, in a bill of this 
 kind, permit the manufacture of a product like sulphuric ether, 
 where the alcohol has entirely disappeared and where the molecules 
 have been oxidized and converted into another product altogether, 
 which is most useful in the arts and in medicine ? Why should that 
 industry be subjected to that tax? If it were free of tax you would 
 develop the industry to a tremendous extent, instead of confining it 
 to the smallest limit. There would be a small loss of I'evenue, because 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 119 
 
 the alcohol used in its manufacture is taxed ; but the extension of the 
 industries in which ether could be used Avould be very great. 
 
 Smokeless powder is another substance in the manufacture of which 
 ether is largely used as a solvent, and it would also be used in the 
 making of artificial silk. 
 
 In other words, I should like to see this committee provide for the 
 free iise of alcohol, in a pure state, where it is necessarj' to have it 
 pure in the arts, under supervision, in all cases where the alcohol is 
 destroyed in the process and does not come forth in the form of alco- 
 hol at all. It seems to me this can be done with absolute safety. Of 
 course it would ha^'e to be done on a somewhat large scale, and where 
 it could be supervised by the authorities of the Internal Revenue De- 
 partment without any expense to the Government, but with an im- 
 mense advantage to many industries. 
 
 Mt. Robertson. A^Tiere it is denatured it will not be necessary for 
 it to be done on such a large scale ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Xo ; where you can use it denatured it would not 
 be; but you could not use denatured alcohol in making sulphuric 
 ether. 
 
 Mr. RoBEETSOiv. You could not use it in making fulminate of mer- 
 cury, could you? 
 
 Professor "Wiley. I do not know whether you could or not. I novr 
 want to show you a form of a denatured agency which has not been 
 given here. It is solid alcohol, and it is a very good form of denatured 
 alcohol. It is most convenient to carry, as you can carry it in your 
 vest pocket, and by burning one of these cubes you could make a cup 
 of tea. On the other hand, if you get very hard up for chewing gum, 
 you can take it in the ordinary way. This, in this form, is 93 per cent 
 alcohol. The solid body is made of nitrate of cotton dissolved in 
 alcohol, and a little amyl acetate is added to promote the solution. 
 This takes up a large quantity of alcohol and keeps it in a solid form, 
 and it can be used in that form for combustion. It is perfectly safe, 
 and there are no explosive properties about it at all. I have had this 
 for nearly two years, exposed to all the vicissitudes of this climate. 
 
 The Chaiemak. "^^liat is the cost of manufacturing that? 
 
 Professor Wiley. It is very cheap, if you will give us free alcohol. 
 The color in it is only put in for show and has nothing to do with the 
 material at all. It might as well be colorless. 
 
 Mr. Sjiith. Would it have to be kept away from fire? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Xo ; as I said, this has been standing in my office. 
 I put it in the fireplace so that in case it did go oflF it would not burn 
 the building down. There has been no evidence of decomposition, 
 and I think that is a pretty good test of its durability. Three pounds 
 of gun cotton will make a hundred pounds of this denatured alcohol. 
 This has about 95 per cent of combustible matter in it. It is a very 
 effective way of denaturing alcohol for certain particular purposes, 
 and I do not know but what it would be for many general purposes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Is it not possible, if you had free alcohol, that this might 
 be developed so as to make cheap fuel for use on the farm ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I do not know that it would be cheap where you 
 could use the liquid form. This is for special cases. The little 
 explosions you see there come from the nitrate of cotton, but that 
 would not interfere with the use of it if it was burned in a i^rojjer 
 receptacle. 
 
120 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 I believe that if the proper authority would make an investigation, 
 as has been done in other countries of all the methods of denaturing 
 and all the methods of recovering denatured alcohol and the cost, and 
 would go into the whole subject from a technical point of view 
 and an engineering point of view, just as we have with these samples 
 here on the table, it could be determined what different kinds of 
 denatured alcohol would produce a certain amount of motor force. 
 That could be done by any of our technical engineers who are familiar 
 with this method of work. You could get the data, or the Treasury 
 could get the data, which would enable them to thoroughly regulate 
 this matter and prescribe the methods of denaturing and the methods 
 of using. The Agricultural Department would be very glad to sup- 
 ply the raw materials from which alcohol is made and to investigate 
 all new sources. 
 
 There is one other thing about which I want to speak, and that is 
 to call your attention to the fact that Indian com is not the only 
 source of production of alcohol. It is true that in this country almost 
 all the alcohol used both for manufacturing purposes and as a bever- 
 age in bottled spirits, with the exception of brandy, is made from In- 
 dian com. Nearly one-half of our whisky is made from Indian corn, 
 and all the commercial alcohol made in the great distilleries of this 
 country is made from corn. What is called cologne spirits is made 
 from Indian corn. Yau will see how pure this spirit is made, and 
 what a pleasant odor pure alcohol has. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How does this come to be called ethyl alcohol? 
 
 Professor Wiley. The alcohols run in a regular series, as was ex- 
 plained the other day. The methyl alcohol is the first one. That is 
 CH3OH. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What is the stuff you make it out of ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. We make it out of wood. There are materials 
 in wood, which, when subjected to distillation, produce this alcohol. 
 Ethyl alcohol is made of sugar and starch. That is the next one in 
 the series and the formulae is C2H5OH. The next one is amyl alcohol. 
 Now, every one of these alcohols has a progressive higher boiling 
 point, and the first one, methyl alcohol, has the lowest boiling point. 
 
 Mr. Claek. That is wood alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. That is wood alcohol. Ethyl alcohol, which we 
 have here, is next, and amyl alcohol is next. 
 
 Mr. Clark. What is that made out of ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Whenever you ferment starch or sugar you make 
 a small proportion of amyl alcohol. It is what forms the chief part 
 of what is known as fusel oil in distilled spirits. 
 
 The Chairman. Then fusel oil is alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Fusel oil is mostly alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. How is it that it is so deadly ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Fusel oil is not so deadly. That is a mistaken 
 idea. 
 
 The Chairman. I have always been taught that you wanted to get 
 the fusel oil out of your whisky. 
 
 _ Professor Wiley. Fusel oil is rather a pleasant drink. You take a- 
 little of it every time you take a drink of distilled spirits. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. In that connection will you kindly explain the use of 
 the word "proof" in connection with alcohol? Absolute alcohol 
 would be what proof ? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 121 
 
 Professor Wiley. It would be 200. That is, a commercial gallon 
 of pure alcohol would be 200 proof. 
 
 Mr. BoTTTELL. And a gallon of it on which a tax of a dollar and 
 ten cents is levied is 100 proof ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes ; it is called " proof " simply. That means 
 100 proof. 
 
 Mr. Botjtell. It means one-half of absolute alcohol and one-half 
 of H,0? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes ; that is what it means. This cologne spirit 
 is about 96 per cent, and the rest of it is water. It is very difficult to 
 get the 4 per cent of water out of it. Ethyl alcohol is extremely 
 hydroscopic, and will extract water from almost anything. Therefore, 
 commercially it is never made more than 96 per cent, and the other 4 
 per cent is water. This would be then 192 proof, or 92 above proof, 
 as it is very commonly expressed. It is a purely arbitrary method of 
 statement, fixed for the convenience of our excise office. T^lien they 
 say liquor is " proof," it means that it is one-half ethyl alcohol and 
 one-half something else. 
 
 The CHAiEsrAN. How much ethyl alcohol has the average whisky 
 you buy in a barroom got in it ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. The whisky which you buy in a barroom is all 
 the way from 70 proof to 100 proof. When they want to sell it at a 
 smaller price per drink they dilute it with water and reduce the proof. 
 I went into a saloon — I do not very often go there, but this was for in- 
 spection, to see what they were doing — one night in a quarter of the 
 town where the millionaires do not live, and I was interested in seeing 
 a laboring man who was going to his midnight work stop for a drink. 
 He asked for a drink, the name of which I did not understand. I had 
 never seen it before, and I was interested in seeing what he got. He 
 got a small glass of beer, about one-half as large as an ordinary glass, 
 and then they put out a great big glass, and he took the whisky bottle 
 and filled it nearly full and then drank the whisky and chased it with 
 the beer. I said : " How can a laboring man afford to pay for a drink 
 like that ? " Now, what do you suppose he paid ? It was 5 cents for 
 both drinks. I venture to say that was reduced to 20 proof, or even 
 below that. They could not possibly sell it otherwise. He gets just 
 the same amount of alcohol, but he has to take more of it. 
 
 Mr. Claek. It would be better for him, if they did not put some- 
 thing else in it that was poisonous? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Of course, that was not whisky which he drank 
 at all. It was a compound which masquerades under the name of 
 whisky. But you have no control in a barroom after the excise offi- 
 cer leaves it over the strength of whisky, unless you take it out of a 
 bonded bottle, which has never been tampered with. That is re- 
 quired to be 100 proof by the laws of the country, and that is the 
 only way that you can be sure that your drink is up to the standard 
 strength. Usually the drinker dilutes his own whisky, but there 
 ought to be some way for the purchaser to know the strength of his 
 grog. I do not see why the law should refuse to let pure whisky, and 
 I mean by that straight whisky, be sold only at proof, while it will 
 permit a fake whisky to be sold at an;^ proof that it is desired to sell it 
 for. That is not a fair discrimination. No discrimination is fair, 
 but it is not a fair proposition. 
 
122 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 There should be no such discrimination between the pure article 
 and the artificial article. The laws of this country give every possi- 
 ble advantage to the artificial drink, so much so that the makers of 
 straight drinks are practically out of business to-day, except what 
 they sell to the mixer, because it is impossible to compete with an ar- 
 ticle sold without restrictions and made with any composition which 
 the maker sees fit to put in it. 
 
 I hope when you have finished with this you will take up that sub- 
 ject and require at least as rigid an inspection of the artificial bever- 
 ages as you do of the pure ones. 
 
 Mr. BouTBLL. In connection with the use of alcohol for fuel, it will 
 be quite an important factor to know what it will sell for, and in that 
 connection will you state what is the lowest proof at which alcohol is 
 useful for consumption? 
 
 Professor Wiley. You mean as a beverage ? 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. No; for burning. 
 
 Professor Wiley. It ought not to fall much below 95. It ought 
 to be as strong as possible. When you put water in it you diminish 
 its combustible power. That, of course, the Commissioner of Inter- 
 nal Revenue ought to take charge of, and he ought to be able to 
 describe what proof should be. It ought not to be, however, any- 
 thing below the commercial article, except as reduced by the neces- 
 sary ingredients required to denature it. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. You can see that the committee is laboring under a 
 good deal of embarrassment when witnesses testify in a general way 
 as to the heating power of alcohol, to determine whether they mean 
 proof alcohol or 200-proof alcohol. 
 
 Mr. McCall. I think there was one witness who testified that 
 alcohol with 10 per cent of water in it was more effective for cer- 
 tain purposes than pure alcohol. 
 
 Professor Wiley. That might be so. 
 
 Mr. Boutell. Did he mean 90 above proof? 
 
 Professor Wiley. No; 80 above proof. Alcohol with 10 per cent 
 of water in it would be 180 proof. Now, there may be some industries 
 where that would be used ; but for burning purposes certainly addi- 
 tional water would not improve it. 
 
 Mr. Robertson. One of the witnesses did testify yesterday that 
 the addition of 10 per cent of water would improve the efficiency of 
 the alcohol. 
 
 Professor Wiley. I have here the report which the Commissioner 
 of Internal Revenue could not get. It is the official report of the 
 British committee on this same subject. 
 
 Mr. McCall. He got that just as he was beginning his statement. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What is the date of that report ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. It is 1905. I got it when I was in London last 
 summer. 
 
 The Chairman. Have you an extra copy of that? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I have not; but I will place it at the disposal 
 of the committee if they will return it to me. It is a most valuable 
 document, because it goes over this whole ground. It is a very diffi- 
 cult book to get, because there is such a demand for it. The English 
 method of distributing public documents is somewhat different from 
 ours. None are given away. Even the Commission have to buy 
 their copies, I suppose. There was not one on sale; but one of the 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 123 
 
 members of the Commission gave me this with his personal compli- 
 ments. That is the only way I was able to get it. 
 
 jNIr. Smith. You have told the uses to which denaturized alcohol 
 would be applied? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes ; a few of them. 
 
 Mr. Smith. This wood-alcohol industry is quite an extensive in- 
 dustry in Michigan, and I would like to inquire from you what their 
 sphere will be if we pass this bill and allow free and untaxed de- 
 naturized alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I do not think, Mr. Chairman, that any witness 
 before this committee ought to disguise his opinion. I think this bill 
 will hurt the wood-alcohol industry, and I say this with regret, 
 because some of my best friends are engaged in it, and I hate to say 
 anything which Avill injure the gentlemen or injure their business. 
 But it is not a question of friendship before this committee. It is 
 a question of the greatest good to the public. I do believe, however, 
 that they will find an avenue for the disposal of their wood alcohol. 
 
 They may not be able to sell it at the almost prohibitive prices 
 at which they sell it now, because pure wood alcohol — ^that is, Colum- 
 bian spirits — is worth almost half as much to-day in the market as 
 ethyl alcohol, plus the tax. "When I go to buy Columbian spirits I 
 pay almost half the price of ethyl alcohol for it. I think I paid a 
 dollar and a quarter for the last gallon of pure methyl alcohol. 
 You have seen it here and you know how pure it is. The bad odors 
 of methylated spirits are not due to wood alcohol, but to the things 
 which accompany it and have not been removed from it. When you 
 purify methyl alcohol it becomes less and less toxic. But that it is 
 always more toxic in its pure state than the other has been shown, 
 by injecting it into animals. If one part of methyl alcohol would 
 kin, it would take say five and one-half or six parts of ethyl alcohol 
 to kill. That is, methyl alcohol is much more poisonous than ethyl; 
 so is amyl. Inasmuch as straight whisky contains about three-tenths 
 per cent of amyl alcohol and 50 per cent of ethyl alcohol j^ou can 
 see the amount of amyl you would get would be of little consequence. 
 
 When you consider that in the drink which you take before your 
 dinner or after this committee adjourns, of whisky, you have less than 
 three-tenths of 1 per cent of amyl alcohol, and if you have the 
 straight article, as I hope you do, you will have 50 per cent of ethyl 
 alcohol, you will see that if amyl is toxic in the proportion of four to 
 five you have not poisoned yourself mUch by taking three-tenths of 
 1 per cent of amyl alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the cost of production of a gallon of wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. That is not a question you should ask me, because 
 I have no idea. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Do 3'Ou know whether the price that is now asked for 
 wood alcohol is largely increased because of our excessive tax on 
 grain alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I could only answer that in a general way. The 
 tendency would be that that should be so. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Would it lessen the uses of wood alcohol to permit 
 denatured alcohol free of tax? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I think it would, undoubtedly. 
 
124 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Smith. So that the volume of that business would be largely 
 curtailed ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Until new avenues were found for it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. It could be used for denaturing ethyl alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Smith. But not so largely as to compensate for the losses in 
 other directions? 
 
 Professor Wiley. In that I think you are quite right, because the 
 consumer will take the cheapest, which would be ethyl alcohol, accord- 
 ing to present prices without tax. It was testified here, from the 
 census data, that it costs 39 cents to make a gallon of wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Would not the use of denatured alcohol increase 
 so largely as to take a considerable quantity of the wood alcohol for 
 a denaturing agent? 
 
 Professor Wiley. If you adopt the French method and use only 2 
 per cent, you would have to use 100,000,000 gallons in order to con- 
 sume 2,000,000 gallons of wood alcohol, and the census shows that you 
 made 12,000,000 gallons last year. 
 
 Mr. Hjll. But a considerable portion of that 12,000,000 gallons is 
 exported for denaturing purposes. 
 
 The Chairman. If you take 10 per cent for denaturing alcohol it 
 would take more? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes; and I think more than 2 per cent would 
 be required. I do not think that 2 per cent is enough. 
 
 Now, gentlemen, I do not want to take up too much of your time; 
 but I want to call your attention to a way in which the farmers are 
 going to be helped, aside from the production of the raw material. 
 Some of you asked here about making ethyl alcohol from wood and 
 sawdust. I know all about that process. I have looked it all over 
 and was asked to give an opinion in regard to the matter; but my 
 opinion was not of the kind that was useful to the inventor. 
 
 You can make ethyl alcohol out of any wood product whatever — out 
 of straw, which is wood, and out of corn stalks, which are wood, and 
 out of sawdust, or anything that is lignocellulose. You convert the 
 cellulose into sugar by an acid, and then you ferment that sugar and 
 get ethyl alcohol. Xlndei* the ordinary ways of conversion we have 
 never been able to get more than from 1 to 1^ per cent of ethyl alcohol 
 from wood material. 
 
 But Professor Classen, of , Germany, invented a process by which, 
 instead of using sulphuric acid, he used sulphurous under pressure, 
 and he undoubtedly got a much higher conversion into sugar than 
 was secured by the sulphuric-acid process. That is the process to 
 which you had reference the other day, but I doubt if he ever gets 
 more than 3 or 4 per cent, at the most, of ethyl alcohol out of wood. 
 When you remember that starch will yield nearly 50 per cent, you 
 will see that you can never compete with it with wood producing 2 
 or 3 per cent. 
 
 Mr. Bo'uTELL. I saw in the papers recently a statement that they 
 were about to begin operations in one of these factories somewhere in 
 Mississippi. 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes; they are going to make a practical trial of 
 it. One of my particular friends, Professor Long, has investigated 
 the matter and has made a report a little more favorable than I have 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 125 
 
 made about the matter. But still I do not look to see it a commercial 
 success ; and even if it were it would be of interest to the farmer, be- 
 cause he has to grow trees — or at least I hope he will in the future. 
 The sources of ethyl alcohol need not be looked for in the forest, while 
 the sources of wood alcohol must be looked for in the forests. It 
 takes twenty'five years to grow a tree, while you can grow a crop 
 every four months. 
 
 The farmer can grow any amount of starch and sugar that may be 
 wanted for any purpose in the world. There is no limit to the 
 aniount of starch and sugar which the farmers of this country can 
 grow, and not a pound of starch or sugar takes one element of fertility 
 from the soil. It is a pure gift of God, and if He had not meant it to 
 be used I suppose He would not have given it to the world. So there 
 is no limit, in my opinion, upon the capacity of the farmers of this 
 country to supply the materials for making ethyl alcohol. In Europe 
 the potato is almost the sole source of commercial alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Do you know of any experiments made with the 
 sweet potato? 
 
 Professor Wiley. It is chemically possible to make alcohol from 
 sweet potatoes, because they have as much fermentable matter in 
 them as the white potato. The yam, which is a relative of the sweet 
 potato, the cassava, the molasses from the beet sugar and cane sugar, 
 are all available and will be used in due course of time in the manu- 
 facture of alcohol. There are many other sources which can be uti- 
 lized for the making of alcohol. Look at the vast areas in this coun- 
 try where the most beautiful potatoes can be grown — in Maine and 
 Colorado, and also Oregon — ^where potatoes are grown in profusion 
 so far from the market it does not pay to grow them ; but when they 
 can be converted into alcohol it will be made to pay. 
 
 In the South the sandy soil is extremely well suited to the growth 
 of these tubers. I know my father always planted his sweet potatoes 
 on sandy soil, and I suppose yours did on the farm. While the soil 
 need not be so fertile for this purpose, yet there must be room for 
 the tuber to extend, and if the soil is so hard and firm that the tubers 
 can not do that, you can not grow potatoes there. There are thou- 
 sands of acres in this country where potatoes can be grown and con- 
 verted into alcohol or into glucose, where the land now lies almost 
 fallow. And so the farmer is going to be benefited on both lines. 
 He catches it coming and catches it going. It is going to be usef al 
 to him in its products, and it is going to be useful to him in rav/ 
 material. So that if you promote this industry you promote agri- 
 culture in both ways. 
 
 I have not read the bills and I do not care to. I am considering 
 the principle and not any particular measure which may be before 
 your committee. They may be imperfect, and they probably are, be- 
 cause they are not drawn to properly safeguard the revenues of this 
 country. I do hope that you gentlemen may see fit to take up these 
 bills and so change them and improve them that you can offer to the 
 farmers of the country this additional source ,oi profit, and to the 
 manufacturers of the country this additional impetus to the manu- 
 facturing industries of the country. I believe it will for a time, I am 
 sorry to say, affect the interests of some of my particular friends who 
 are in this wood-alcohol business. I do not have so many friends 
 
126 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 engaged with Standard Oil, as my friends do not reach up so high 
 as that. 
 
 I do not want to hurt their business, but I believe they will find 
 an abundant outlet for their productions — not, perhaps, at once, but 
 they will receive no permanent injury. Therefore the little injury 
 they do receive — and I will not minimize it — should be inflicted 
 upon them — if I may use that term, which is not a very happy one — 
 for the public good, for that is the purpose of legislation. I believe 
 that whatever promotes the prosperity of our people as a whole, 
 develops its wealth, its industries, and its manufactures, although it 
 may inflict some temporary damage upon some one person or interest, 
 ought to be encouraged, and that is the reason I appear before you as 
 an advocate of some measure of this kind. 
 
 There is one other item mentioned in the letter from my friend 
 Professor Long, relating to a product which may be of considerable 
 importance, which I have not mentioned, and that is ethyl chloride. 
 We know now Avhat ethyl is, and when you introduce into that a 
 molecule of chlorine you make ethyl chloride, which is not a beverage 
 and which is impossible to drink, but which i& a great refrigerant and 
 could be used by the farmer for domestic refrigeration at much les'3 
 expense than anhydrous ammonia, which is the common refrigerating 
 agent. 
 
 Professor Long says : 
 
 The degree of cold secured by it is not as low, but on the other hand it may 
 be recondensed after expansion rather easily. For certain kinds of cooling this 
 substance gives good results, and a small plant was in operation here some 
 years ago. A record of the machine may probably be found in the Patent Office 
 and is worth looking up. With free alcohol the ethyl chloride could be made at 
 a low cost, and would in time come into use for this purpose. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What is the price of ether in the market now ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I buy a great deal of it ; but I am sorry to say I 
 do not look at the prices. It is very high. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I do not niean the exact price ; but what, substantially, 
 is the price? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I should say if a gallon of alcohol would make a 
 gallon of ether the price of it would be the price of a gallon of alcohol, 
 which is $2.60 or $2.70, plus the price of making it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Then free alcohol would make it about one-twentieth of 
 the present cost, plus the price of making it ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. It would make a gallon of ether cost $2.20 less 
 than it does now. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What is your judgment, acquired by experiment, as to 
 the best formula for denaturing alcohol? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I can only say that you can recover easier that 
 which is denatured with kerosene or gasolin^. My conclusion is that 
 the best denaturing agents are methyl alcohol and pyridine. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What proportion of wood alcohol should be used ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I should ask for 10 per cent of wood alcohol and 
 about 1 per cent of pyridine base. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you understand that, if not immediately, at least in a 
 very short time, by using 10 per cent of the denaturing material, the 
 entire product of the wood alcohol industry, as it stands now, would 
 be absorbed for that purpose, aside from what is exported ? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 127 
 
 Professor Wiley. I do not know how much is exported; but I 
 would say that, with a reasonable law which is workable and which 
 you gentlemen could construct, there would be, in the course of a few 
 years, forty or fifty million gallons of ethyl alcohol used in the arts 
 and industries in this country, which would take four or five million 
 gallons of wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you mean aside from its use for fuel purposes on the 
 farm? 
 
 Professor Wiley. No ; I mean including that. I have no idea how 
 rapid the increase would be, but I know it would be immense. I 
 know a great many people now who do not use lamps to make their 
 tea on the table because the price of alcohol is so high. There is noth- 
 ing so nice in cooking as to make your dish right before you on the 
 table, and that would come into general use if we had an agent which 
 would not smell so badly and would be cheap. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Could the machinery which is now employed in making 
 refined wood alcohol be converted for the purpose of making refined 
 grain alcohol? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I think not. It might, so far as distillation is 
 concerned, but nothing more than that. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is wood alcohol made from hard wood? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I think so. 
 
 Mr. Claek. That simply grows out of the fact that wood alcohol is 
 a by-product of charcoal ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Clakk. They could make it out of soft wood if it paid to start 
 in originally to make wood alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. They are making some now out of pine wood, 
 because they are distilling it in order to recover turpentine, and wood 
 alcohol is a by-product. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Has anybody ever started in to make wood alcohol 
 originally, not as a by-product ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I do not know about that. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is it probable that wood alcohol will always be made 
 simply as a by-product of the manufacture of charcoal, or is it profit- 
 able enough'to induce somebody to start in and make it out of wood 
 from which you can not make a charcoal, as a main proposition ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. I could not answer that. 
 
 The Chairman. There is no wood that you could make wood alco- 
 hol out of without making charcoal ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. You would always make charcoal. Of course 
 you could not make wood alcohol without making charcoal. 
 
 The Chairman. Is it not a fact that charcoal is an article of consid- 
 erable value ? 
 
 Professor Wiley. According to the census report we heard the 
 other morning it is. 
 
 The Chairman. If there is no one else who desires to be heard this 
 morning, I want to announce that the committee has agreed to ad- 
 journ until a week from Tuesday, which will be February 20, to hear 
 those who are interested in the wood-alcohol industry. If any gen- 
 tlemen would like to be heard in the meantime, the committee can be 
 called together at a day's notice, and they can be heard. 
 
 (The committee, at 11.30 o'clock a. m., adjourned.) 
 
:pre:e alcohol. 
 
 FOURTH DAY— MOE]SriNG SBSSIOlSr. 
 
 Committee oisr Ways and Means 
 
 Tuesday, February 20, 1906 — 10 o'clock a. m. 
 
 The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., pursuant to adjournment, 
 with the chairman, Hon. Sereno E. Payne, m the chair. 
 
 Present : The chairman and Messrs. Dalzell, Grosvenor, Hill, Bou- 
 tell, Curtis, Needham, Smith, Williams, Clark, Underwood, and 
 Granger. 
 
 The Chairman. We will hear this morning Mr. Henry J. Pierce, 
 president of the Wood Products Company, of Buffalo, N. Y. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HENRY J. PIERCE, PRESIDENT OF THE WOOD 
 PRODUCTS COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. PiEECE. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee: On 
 behalf of the wood-alcohol industry and other manufacturing inter- 
 ests which would be affected disastrously thereby, I wish to protest 
 against the passage of any bill or the enactment of any law provid- 
 ing for tax-free grain alcohol for manufacturing or other purposes. 
 I respectfully present my reasons therefor as follows : 
 
 Internal-revenue taxes upon whisky and grain alcohol were first 
 imposed during the war of the rebellion. This naturally led manu- 
 facturers to look for a substitute cheaper in price for manufacturing 
 purposes. Thus wood alcohol, which, previous to 1865, had been 
 unJmown outside of laboratories, came into commercial use. Since 
 that time, built up under the laws of this country, the wood-alcohol 
 industry has steadily grown, until at the present time there are 118 
 different producers of the crude material located in the States of 
 Maine, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Ala- 
 bama, Wisconsin, and Missouri, with an investment of many millions 
 of dollars, and employing, including wood choppers, over 20,000 men. 
 
 During the past forty years wood alcohol has been of the greatest 
 possible benefit to the manufacturers of this country, and through 
 them to the people, in furnishing a cheap and satisfactory substitute 
 for taxed grain alcohol. In the year 1905 over 7,500,000 gallons 
 were produced, about 800,000 of which were exported. The price of 
 tax-paid grain alcohol during the past five years has ranged from 
 $2.10 to $2.45 per gallon, while the price of 95 per cent refined wood 
 alcohol during that period has been from 50 to 70 cents per gallon. 
 An abundant supply of wood alcohol is produced, sufficient for all 
 manufacturing demands. 
 
 11058—06 9 129 
 
130 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The Chairman. How high proof was that grain alcohol at $2.10 
 per gallon? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. That is from 92 to 95 per cent. 
 
 Mr. Hill. At what time was wood alcohol 50 cents per gallon ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Two years ago the price of wood alcohol for about 
 eight months got down as low as 50 cents a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Clark. When was that ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. That was about a year and a half ago. For two years 
 it was 60 cents per gallon. 
 
 The Chairman. You may proceed. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No country has ever passed laws providing for tax-free 
 grain alcohol so long as the supply of wood alcohol was sufficient for 
 manufacturing purposes. Thus Belgium produces more wood alcohol 
 than she can use industrially, and does not provide tax-free grain 
 alcohol. Denatured alcohol was formerly sold in Canada, but on 
 account of the amount drunk after the denaturing ingredients had 
 been removed and the difficulty of enforcing the law and preventing 
 fraud the Canadian government, which controlled the sale of dena- 
 tured spirit voluntarily raised its price 50 cents per gallon higher 
 than that of wood alcohol in order to encourage the building of wood 
 alcohol works, eight of which are now operating in Canada. 
 
 Wood alcohol is looked upon as a most valuable chemical com- 
 pound in Great Britain, Germany, France, and other European 
 countries, and its manufacture is fostered and encouraged in every 
 way possible. Care is and always has been taken that tax-free alco- 
 hol laws do not interfere with the sale of wood alcohol. Thus, when 
 in 1870 a tax-free alcohol law was first passed in England, 25 per cent 
 of wood alcohol was used as a methylating agent in order to provide 
 a sale for the entire product made in Great Britain, and the amount 
 mixed with the grain spirit has been decreased only in proportion as 
 the production of wood alcohol became less and consumption of de- 
 natured alcohol increased. 
 
 Attempts have been made to prove that refined wood alcohol is 
 injurious to the health of those using it. That wood alcohol is a 
 poison is well known, and we have the obituary notices of at least 200 
 authenticated cases where death has occurred from its being taken 
 internally. I have been engaged in the refining and sale of wood 
 alcohol for the past twenty-five years, and during that time the Wood 
 Products Company, of which I am president, has shipped over a 
 million barrels of wood alcohol, and I have yet to learn of a single 
 case where convincing proof has been furnished that death was due 
 to the proper use of wood alcohol. There are many employees in 
 wood alcohol works who have been constantly exposed to its fumes 
 and vapors for twenty years without any bad effects, and there are 
 thousands of workmen using wood alcohol every day without dele- 
 terious effect in factories producing celluliod articles, hats, furniture, 
 picture frames, cars, shoes, lacquers, and hundreds of other articles. 
 
 Wood alcohol is not solji to be used internally, and the occasional 
 cases of (Jeath or blindness reported could only have been caused by 
 its having been drunk. Investigation has shown, in most instances, 
 that the victims were strong drinkers and were either on a " spree " 
 or else utterly regardless of the consequences of taking into the 
 stomach an unknown liquid. If a person uses wood alcohol in an 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 131 
 
 improper or unusual way and is injured thereby it is published broad- 
 cast ; but we hear nothing of the baleful effects of inhaling the vapors 
 of turpentine, or of the numerous cases of lead poisoning, painters' 
 colic, or paralysis caused by working with white lead. 
 
 It is charged that the destruction of the forests is due to the manu- 
 facture of wood alcohol. This is untrue. Wood alcohol is obtained 
 during the destructive distillation of wood in the manufacture of 
 charcoal, enormous quantities of which are produced for use in the 
 manufacture of charcoal pig iron, planished sheet iron and powder, 
 and immense amounts used as fuel by the poorer classes in our large 
 cities. Pass a tax-free alcohol law, destroy the wood-alcohol in- 
 dustry, and there will be just as much forest land cleared, just as 
 much charcoal sold ; but on account of the wood-alcohol vapors going 
 to waste- the price of charcoal will be doubled, with a corresponding 
 increase in the price of charcoal iron and other products, and the tens 
 of thousands of people who now use charcoal for cooking purposes 
 will pay double for their fuel. 
 
 A kindred product in the manufacture of wood alcohol is acetate 
 of lime, over 60,000 tons of which are produced annually in the 
 United States. This valuable product is used in the manufacture 
 of" acetic acid, white lead, colors, and a number of other important 
 articles. Suppression of the manufacture of wood alcohol would 
 result in largely increasing the price of acetate of lime, and indi- 
 rectly of all the articles into the manufacture of which it enters. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the question of tax-free alcohol is far- 
 reaching in the disastrous effect it would have upon many industries 
 and in raising the price of a multitude of commodities in constant use 
 by the people. 
 
 Section 61 of the Wilson bill provided that " grain alcohol should 
 be free of tax under such restrictions as the Secretary of the Treasury 
 might provide." The Hon. John G. Carlisle, then Secretary of the 
 Treasury, found it impossible to frame regulations for putting the 
 Jaw into effect while at the same time safeguarding the revenues. 
 The law was therefore repealed at the next session of Congress. It 
 is said that Commissioner Yerkes thinks that a tax-free alcohol law 
 could be enforced, but every Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 
 1865 to the time when Mr. Yerkes took office was of the opinion, as 
 repeatedly transmitted in messages to Congress, that tax-free alcohol 
 in this country was impracticable, as the cost of attempting to protect 
 the revenues of the Government would be enormous and unsuccessful. 
 
 Mr. Clark. What do you mean by " tax-free alcohol ? " 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Alcohol free of tax — that is, alcohol with the tax re- 
 moved. 
 
 The advocates of tax-free alcohol say, " Why should we not have 
 denatured alcohol here when they have it in foreign countries ? " 
 Again I repeat, no country ever passed laws providing for tax-free 
 alcohol so long as enough wood alcohol was produced to supply the 
 manufacturing demand. Furthermore, the conditions abroad are 
 entirely different from those prevailing in the United States. Take 
 Germany, for instance, which is always quoted by those in favor of 
 tax-free alcohol as the country particularly blessed by that legisla- 
 tion. A government bounty is paid on the production of alcohol, and 
 petroleum distillates are high in price. The country is small, has 
 
132 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 an army of government officials holding life positions who look after 
 the enforcement of all laws, and the people are used to a system of 
 espionage and supervision which would not be tolerated here. 
 
 That we do not have tax-free alcohol is given as one of the prin- 
 cipal reasons why Germany is so far ahead of us in the manufacture 
 of chemicals. The great chemical industry of Germany is due wholly 
 to its technical schools, its perfectly equipped laboratories, main- 
 tained by manufacturers, the interest shown by the educational au- 
 thorities in scientific matters, and by the exhaustive methods ^f re- 
 search. The Germans are by nature scientific, and while undoubt- 
 edly some chemicals are produced there cheaper than here by reason 
 of tax-free grain alcohol, other countries having similar laws have 
 not been able to compete with Germany. 
 
 To aid the agriculturists of Germany, who can not compete with 
 American and Russian producers of wheat, and to make productive 
 great areas of sandy soil which can not be utilized for raising gram, 
 the Government for the past few years has been offering as an in- 
 ducement for the production of potatoes what is virtually a bounty 
 of 5 marks per hectoliter, or 4^ cents per gallon, on all alcohol made 
 from potatoes that is used for manufacturing purposes. With low- 
 priced labor alcohol can be made cheaper from potatoes in Germany 
 than it can be produced from corn in the United States, and this, 
 with the bounty of ^ cents per gallon, makes the price of alcohol in 
 Germany considerably lower than in this country. 
 
 In order to promote the use of potato alcohol in the form of de- 
 natured spirit for light, heat, and power, the Government has placed 
 an import duty upon petroleum, and as a result nearly two-thirds 
 of the amount of denatured spirit used in Germany last year was for 
 the above purposes. It is absurd to suppose that any considerable 
 amount of denatured alcohol would be used in this country for light, 
 heat, and power purposes, as the article could not possibly be sold at 
 a figure to compete with petroleum products. 
 
 The following are the German Government statistics of the amount 
 of alcohol used during the year ended October 1, 1903 : 
 
 Hecto- 
 liters. 
 
 American 
 gallons. 
 
 Tax-paid alcohol used for drinking and manufacturing purposes. 
 
 Denatured alcohol 
 
 Exported --- 
 
 2,375,778 
 
 1,110,050 
 
 242,614 
 
 !, 760, 927 
 1,324,190 
 1,409,926 
 
 Total amount of alcohol used in Germany during year ended 
 Oct. 1,1903 — 
 
 3,728,472 
 
 98,496,043 
 
 Denatured spirit used during year ended October 1, 190S. 
 
 American gallon. 
 
 For heat, light, and power (estimated) 18,604,845 
 
 In manufacture of vinegar 4,265,612 
 
 In manufacture of varnishes 1, 294, 930 
 
 In manufacture of celluloid 1 433,784 
 
 Other manufacturing purposes 4,705,861 
 
 Total denatured spirit used 29,305,032 
 
 The Chairman. Did you get those figures from official reports? 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir ; from the official reports of the Government. 
 Mr. Hill. Those are the same figures given in the report of the 
 parliamentary commission for 1903. are thev not? 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 133 
 
 Mr. PiEECE. I have not seen that, Mr. Hill. 
 
 The use of tax-free alcohol for making vinegar has been permitted 
 in the United States for many years, and it will be seen from the 
 above figures that, aside from the 4,265,612 gallons used for making 
 vinegar in Germany, there were only 6,434,575 gallons of denatured 
 alcohol consumed in manufacturing. There was fully as much wood 
 alcohol used in the United States for similar purposes. Aside from 
 the use in scientific and Government institutions, tax-free pure 
 alcohol is only permitted in Germany in the manufacture of fulminat- 
 ing powder, 458,700 gallons being used last year for this purpose. 
 These statistics show that the amount of denatured spirit used for 
 manufacturing in Germany is no greater than the amount of wood 
 alcohol used in the United States for similar purposes. 
 
 The Engineer, one of the leading technical journals of England, 
 in commenting on the recent results of trials in France of alcohol 
 as a substitute for gasoline in automobile running, says : 
 
 One of the most noteworthy things to be recorded in connection with the 
 French automobile industry during the past year is the failure of alcohol to 
 come up to the expectations that wfere formed of it a twelvemonth ago. Makers 
 of motor vehicles, with the exception of two or three, have never shown much 
 enthusiasm for the new spirit. They have been ready enough to run vehicles 
 with alcohol in competition held in the interest of this fuel, because they have 
 felt it their duty to support what is regarded as a national movement, yet, 
 despite the incessant encouragement of the Government, the use of alcohol in 
 this direction has not materially increased. As a fuel, it is fairly satisfactory, 
 but in all cases the consumption is so high that it can only be economically 
 employed in countries where the product is cheap and petroleum practically 
 prohibited. 
 
 Petroleum products have nearly doubled the heat units of alcohol 
 per pound, and there are grave difficulties found in the use of alcohol 
 for power. The internal combustion engines using it must have a 
 very high compression or its efficinecy is lost. This makes necessary 
 perfectly ground valves and constant regrinding of them. 
 
 As the official Government statistics show that less than 7,000,000 
 gallons of completely denatured alcohol are consumed per annum 
 in Germany for manufacturing purposes, as the low price of pe- 
 troleum products in the United States would undoubtedly prevent the 
 sale of any large amount of alcohol for light, heat, and power, as 
 completely denatured alcohol could only be used for the same pur- 
 poses for which less than 8,000,000 gallons of wood alcohol are now 
 consumed per year, and as the only increase in the sale of denatured 
 alcohol over that of wood alcohol would be on account of the lower 
 price, it is reasonable to suppose that not to exceed 10,000,000 gal- 
 lons of completely denatured alcohol could be sold in the United 
 States per annum. 
 
 The present price of 95 per cent refined wood alcohol by the single 
 barrel is 70 cents per gallon and that of grain alcohol is $2.45 per 
 gallon; less $2.07 tax would leave the price of untaxed alcohol 38 
 cents, to which must be added the cost of denaturing, which would 
 bring it up to about 45 cents per gallon. Assuming, however, that 
 denatured alcohol could be sold at 40 cents, it would only effect a 
 saving to those using it of 30 cents per gallon as against wood alcohol, 
 which upon 10,000^000 gallons would amount to $3,000,000 per year. 
 While it is probable that it would be impossible to safeguard the 
 
134 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 revenues of the Government, no matter how much money was ex- 
 pended, yet the annual cost to the Internal Revenue Department of 
 endeavoring to enforce the law would be at least $1,000,000. 
 
 The estimate of 10,000,000 gallons as the amount of denatured 
 alcohol that would be consumed in the United States each year is an 
 estimate of what might be used for legitimate purposes, but it is 
 only fair to say that many millions of gallons more would probably 
 be -used by separating the denaturing agents from the alcohol, thus 
 defrauding the Government of a large amount of revenue. Thus the 
 enactment of a tax-free alcohol bill providing for the use of de- 
 natured alcohol in the United States would only effect a saving of 
 $3,000,000 to those using the article, would cost the Government at 
 least $1,000,000 to enforce the law, and might cost it from $2,000,000 
 to $5,000,000 loss of revenue through the illegitimate use of the un- 
 taxed spirit. Furthermore, it would ruin the wood-alcohol industry, 
 seriously cripple other industries, and increase the price of numerous 
 articles now used in large quantities. 
 
 None of the bills now before your committee provide for giving 
 tax-free pure grain alcohol, and no advantage will therefore accrue 
 by the passage of a bill providing for denatured alcohol to manu- 
 facturers of patent medicines, medicinal preparations, perfumes, 
 chemicals, and the multitude of preparations in the manufacture of 
 which only pure grain alcohol can be used. This leaves as the bene- 
 ficiaries only those who can use denatured spirit. Such manufac- 
 turers are now buying wood alcohol, naphtha, turpentine, linseed oil, 
 etc. These substitutes are in ample supply, are giving general satis- 
 faction, and their displacement would be a serious blow to large 
 manufacturing interests, and the harm done would not be offset by 
 the saving effected. The lower price of denatured alcohol would 
 benefit certain classes of manufacturers, such as makers of hats, cel- 
 luloid, furniture, etc., but the extra profit would go entirely to them, 
 and the public would not be benefited through receiving their hats, 
 celluloid articles, and furniture a few cents dieaper for each article. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Why do you say it would not be beneficial to the people 
 you now name to have the price decreased? Does it only work one 
 way? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It would certainly give them a profit which they do 
 not now enjoy, but I can not imagine a manufacturer of hats redu- 
 cing the price of hats to the consumer by reason of free, untaxed 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Are you familiar with the method by which the price 
 of hats is fixed ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I am. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you not know that it is fixed every six months by a 
 concurrence between the employees and the manufacturers, in which 
 the -Scale of wages and the price per dozen is fixed, and the cost of 
 materials, the price of labor, etc., are taken into consideration by the 
 parties interested ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Then why would it not affect the cost of the article to 
 the consumer? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. When I go to buy my hat it costs me, accordins to 
 grade, $4 or $5 ^ 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 135 
 
 Mr. Hill. Are you speaking of the wholesale cost to the dealer, 
 and do you not know that is fixed absolutely, twice a year, according 
 to the actual cost shown by the manufacturer, in which all these 
 matters of cost are taken into consideration? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. So I understand. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Then why would it not affect the wholesale price, if 
 they have cheaper alcohol, say, at 30 cents a gallon? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I figure that the value of the wood alcohol in a hat 
 is about 3 cents. Now, suppose they saved a cent on each hat. I 
 am not speaking now of the wholesalers, but of the people, the mil- 
 lions and millions of people who buy hats. I do not think I will 
 get mv hat for $4.98 or $4.99 because 3 or 4 cents is saved by the 
 manufacturer. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Take your figure of cost at 30 cents a gallon, and it 
 would take practically a gallon of alcohol for a dozen hats. That 
 would be 2J cents a hat, or 30 cents a dozen. Do you not know 
 that hundreds of thousands of hats are sold in this country at less 
 than a profit of 30 cents a dozen? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I do not know what the profit is. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I thought you did not understand how the hat trade 
 was carried on. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I think the hat manufacturers are fairly prosperous. 
 
 Mr. Hill. There may be a difference of opinion about that. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It is absolutely certain that the Government can not 
 permit the unrestricted sale and use of tax-free alcohol unless it has 
 been denatured to an extent which will render it very obnoxious in 
 taste and odor, and in every way inferior to the ordinary commer- 
 cial grade of refined wood alcohol. Such an article could only be 
 used to displace wood alcohol, for which the total demand in this 
 country does not exceed 8,000,000 gallons per year. 'If, however, 
 the Government should permit partially denatured spirit to be sold, 
 as is done in Germany, it would be confronted by a great loss in 
 revenue, and a system of safeguards and espionage would have to 
 be established which would be not only costly to enforce, but thor- 
 oughly distasteful to the people. 
 
 It is not the industries that are now using wood alcohol which are 
 making such an effort to secure tax-free spirit, but it is the manufac- 
 turers of grain alcohol who would like to displace wood alcohol with 
 their own product, and the manufacturers now using pure tax-paid 
 
 frain alcohol who want their spirit denatured with a few drops of 
 one oil, ether, acetic acid, or turpentine. If the Government gives 
 tax-free spirit to one class of consumers, why not to all those who do not 
 use it for the manufacture of beverages? The makers of perfumes, 
 patent medipines, witchhazel, tinctures, fluid extracts, ether, alka- 
 loids, etc., will demand it, and where shall the line be drawn? Tax- 
 free alcohol once started, the way is open not "only for fraud, but a 
 most complex set of rules and regulations must be devised by the 
 Internal Kevenue Department, which will require an army of officials 
 to enforce. 
 
 The advocates of cheaper spirit have a great deal to say about the 
 benefits that will accrue to the farmer; that he can light his home 
 and run his farm machinery with alcohol motors; that his surplus 
 (Train can be converted into alcohol right on the premises and stored 
 
136 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 in tanks until wanted. It would require the services of the entire 
 standing Army of the United States to safeguard the revenues under 
 such conditions. The circulars sent broadcast to the farmers have 
 been so misleading that even the moonshiners are protesting against 
 the legalizing of so many small distilleries. 
 
 It has been found impossible to denature alcohol in such a way that 
 it can not be purified sufficiently to be used as a beverage. The Gov- 
 ernment will hardly dare to actually poison the alcohol, for fear of 
 fatal consequences to the multitudes of people living in prohibition 
 States who now satisfy their longing for liquor by drinking extract of 
 ginger, flavoring extracts, witch-hazel, bay rum, bitters, and patent 
 medicines composed principally of alcohol, and this class would wel- 
 come an article like denatured alcohol, which everyone would know 
 contained alcohol as its principal ingredient. 
 
 For several years past there has been located at 21 William street, 
 New York City, a bureau which has been the headquarters of a so- 
 called " committee of manufacturers," formed to assist in securing 
 tax-free alcohol. The managers of this bureau are two very clever 
 lawyers, Messrs. Allen & Graham, who apparently are giving their 
 entire time to the work as a business enterprise. This bureau has 
 been sustained by contributions, presumably the largest of which have 
 come either directly or indirectly from the manufacturers of alcohol, 
 who are interested in displacing wood alcohol with their product, and 
 also funds have been solicited and obtained from those who would be 
 supposed to benefit from tax-free alcohol. 
 
 This bureau has had in its employ newspaper writers, who have 
 furnished an enormous amount of material to the press in support of 
 the tax-free alcohol propaganda, and millions of circulars have been 
 sent to manufacturers using wood and grain alcohol, to auto- 
 mobile clubs* and owners of automobiles, and farmers through the 
 different granges, etc. Everyone to whom this literature has been 
 forwarded has been urged to send petitions to Congress asking for 
 the enactment of free-alcohol legislation. In other words, this bu- 
 reau has been endeavoring in every way to influence legislation, and 
 practically all the free-alcohol agitation of the past few years has 
 emanated from this source. 
 
 Those who ask for tax-free alcohol in the form of denatured spirit 
 are seeking to secure profit for a comparatively limited number of 
 people from a source which does not now exist, a benefit that would 
 not be shared in by the people at large. Their plea is, therefore, 
 purely selfish. 
 
 I would like here to quote a few brief extracts from some English 
 papers in regard to this matter. 
 
 [For these newspaper articles see pp. 410^12.] 
 
 Mr. BoTJTELL, Right in that connection, let me say that we are not 
 legislating for the degenerates in the slums of the cities of Europe, 
 and that it is "well to bear in mind in this connection that for twenty 
 years in this country, and within the memory of men now living, we 
 had no internal tax upon spirits, and the uniform testimony is that 
 we had, if anything, less intemperance in this country during the 
 fifteen or twenty years preceding the civil war than we have at the 
 present time. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Were all of these articles published as editorials, or 
 were most of them advertisements ? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 137 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir; this one from the Lancet was an editorial. 
 
 Mr. Claek. I take it that was an editorial, but were the others 
 advertisements published by the wood-alcohol people? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir ; they are from English papers. 
 
 Mr. Clark. They use wood alcohol in England as well as any 
 other place, do they not ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir ; but very little of it is made there now. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You can get almost anything into the newspapers if 
 you work it right. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. There was positively no effort on the part of any in- 
 terest to get these things published. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Of course I take it that the Lancet would not publish 
 can advertisement of that kind under any circumstances whatever for 
 pay. But these other articles, it seems to me, might be a part of a 
 propaganda on the subject and be paid for. Of course I do not 
 know ; but I am asking you for information. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I subscribed to a newspaper bureau and asked them 
 to collect such articles as might have a bearing on this matter, and I 
 have received perhaps a hundred of them during the past four or five 
 years, the original items of which I could submit to the committee if 
 they please to have it done. 
 
 Mr. Williams. What are these people pleading for ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. They are pleading for tax-free alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Williams. They are pleading, then, only for the removal of a 
 tax? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Williams. There is nothing felonious about that. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Not at all. 
 
 Mr. Williams. They would be -benefited by removing the tax ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. I appear here as the representative of a 
 great industry, which it has taken forty years to build up, in which 
 millions of dollars are invested and thousands of men are employed, 
 and where the welfare, when their families and those dependent upon 
 them is taken into consideration, affects fully 100,000 people. The 
 wood alcohol and other industries, which would be annihilated or 
 seriously crippled, have as much right to protection from injury 
 through a change in internal-revenue law as the manufacture of 
 woolens, shoes, iron, or any other product has from the lowering of 
 import duties, and I am confident that the members of the Ways and 
 Means Committee of the American Congress will not advocate legis- 
 lation which will result in the ruin of thousands of their fellow- 
 citizens. 
 
 The Chairman. What is wood alcohol worth now ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Seventy cents per gallon, by the single barrel. 
 
 The Chairman. What is the occasion of the advance of the price 
 of 20 cents per gallon in the last two years ? 
 
 Mr. PiEKCE. fi can not be produced at a lower figure. The cost of 
 material and the cost of labor, particularly, has caused the advance 
 in the price of wood alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. You said it was 60 cents a gallon for two years. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It was ; and at one time it got down as low as 50 cents 
 a gallon. I think that price remained in force for about six or eight 
 months. 
 
138 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The Chairman. And you say that is below what it can be produced 
 for now ? 
 
 Mr. PrEECE. It can not be produced for 50 cents. 
 
 The Chairman. Then why did it go down to 50 cents ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. That was through overproduction. The manufac- 
 turers thought that, perhaps, a low price at the time would induce a 
 larger use of wood alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. Did the manufacturers lose on it when they sold 
 it for 50 cents a gallon ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I think most of them did. There are some few manu- 
 facturers now in existence who are very favorably situated as to the 
 cost of wood, and who could, I think, manufacture wood alcohol at 
 50 cents a gallon and make a small profit ; but I think most of them 
 could not. 
 
 The Chairman. At 60 cents a gallon, did they lose on it ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. At 60 cents a gallon it was, of course, better ; but they 
 made some money at that price. 
 
 The Chairman. Is there any understanding about the price of 70 
 cents per gallon among the manufacturers? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Well, we try our best to regulate the figure. 
 
 The Chairman. At 70 cents a gallon ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. That is general among the manufacturers of wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. That is the understanding between them. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. We have meetings at different times to talk matters 
 over. There is considerable cutting of prices — that is, somebody will 
 be getting a 5-barrel price on a single barrel. 
 
 The Chairman. I notice in your statement that you estimated there 
 would be 10,000,000 gallons of alcohol used for other purposes than 
 manufacturing when they take out the denaturing element. I under- 
 stood you to say that? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No ; I did not say that. 
 
 The Chairman. You estimated that there would be a large quan- 
 tity used where they would separate the alcohol from the denaturing 
 element if we should pass one of these bills. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, Mr. Chairman; what I did say was that I esti- 
 mated that not exceeding 10,000,000 gallons of denatured alcohol 
 Avould be used in this country at the present time for legitimate pur- 
 poses, and that, in addition, there might be a very large quantity of 
 alcohol that would be separated from the denaturing ingredients and 
 sold for illegitimate purposes. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. You mean 10,000,000 used in the manufactures? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. You have estimated a loss of revenue of from three 
 to five million dollars on alcohol that would be restored? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It seems so to me. 
 
 The Chairman. We have had considerable testimony at these hear- 
 mgs the tendency of which has been to establish the fact that it would 
 cost more to take the denaturing material out of alcohol than it 
 would to distill it originally from grain. Have you anything to 
 submit on that subject? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 139 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I can not agree with that. I read with much interest 
 what was said by some of the gentlemen here in that respect. I am 
 to be followed by the chemist of the Wood Products Company, who 
 will have something to say on that subject. 
 
 The Chairman. For instance, Doctor Wiley stated that to take the 
 denaturing element out of wood alcohol, so that it could be used with 
 safety to life, it would have to be distilled and redistilled and redis- 
 tilled through a number of operations, and that this number of opera- 
 tions would cost a good deal more than it would to distill it originally 
 from the grain. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It would have to be distilled. 
 
 The Chairman. Would it have to be distilled a number of times ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. T do not think so. I should say twice. Experiments 
 have been made along that line which were conducted by Doctor Lati- 
 mer, who is, I think, now president of Rochester University. 
 
 The Chairman. He is not the president, but is a very scientific 
 man. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir ; and Mr. Stephens is going to present Doctor 
 Latimer's statement regarding his tests. 
 
 The Chairman. You think it would require two distillations ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you know what per cent of wood alcohol was 
 used in denaturing the alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Ten per cent. 
 
 The Chairman. Doctor Wiley seemed to think there would have to 
 be several distillations before it could- be reduced from 10 to 5 per 
 cent. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I can not agree with Doctor Wiley on that point. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If it should turn out that Doctor Wiley is approxi- 
 mately correct that it would be cheaper to make a new gallon of grain 
 alcohol than it would be to get this denatured alcohol back into 
 potable condition, and then it should turn out that the Government 
 could make restrictions so that we would not lose any revenue, the 
 philanthropic reasons which you advanced for opposing this measure 
 would vanish. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How much wood alcohol is made in the United States ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. About 7,500,000 gallons per year. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Did the law of supply and demand have anything to 
 do with the fact that almost immediately after Congress adjourned 
 without passing this bill, a year or so ago, wood alcohol suddenly 
 jumped up 10 cents a gallon in price ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I do not think it had any bearing at all ; I am sure it 
 had not. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Did not those conducting this wood-alcohol business 
 simply make an agreement that they would put it up 10 cents a gallon 
 because Congress could not get an opportunity to act for some time? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I do not think the action of Congress had anything to 
 do with that matter. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The failure of Congress to act was what caused it to 
 be put up, was it not? 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir. 
 Mr. Clark. Why did you put it up ? 
 
140 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. PiEECE. Because the natural time had come to put it up. I 
 can not remember that particular time ; but, as I told you, the price of 
 labor, wood, and all kinds of material has advanced ; and the price of 
 wood alcohol, like the price of all other products that are made in 
 this country, has been forced up. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Wood, and all that kind of stuff, did not suddenly 
 jump up 10 or 15 per cent just after Congress adjourned ? 
 
 Mr. PiEBCE. No; of course not. 
 
 Mr. Clark. And the whole reason was that as Congress had ad- 
 journed for a long vacation, and did not get into operation for a 
 month or two after it did meet, the wood-alcohol men knew that they 
 had twelve months in which to play a free hand with this business 
 and put the price up ; was not that the whole thing? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It was not, sir. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. The testimony at the last hearing was to the effect 
 that the production of wood alcohol was something like 12,000,000 
 gallons per annum. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. That was a mistake. I remember Professor Munroe 
 making that statement; but it was a little exaggerated. I am very 
 sure I am correct in stating that the total production is between 
 t,500,000 and 8,000,000 gallons. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do not the census figures show that for the year ending 
 June 30, 1905, the fiscal year, the production of wood alcohol in the 
 United States was 12,000,000 gallons, and that you shipped 600,000 
 gallons to Europe and to outlying places ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes ; I think it does, but the census report was wrong. 
 
 Mr. Clark. That is highly probable also. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It was wrong in the number of gallons produced ; but 
 it was approximately right in the number of gallons exported. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You represent the Wood Products Company? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You are president of that company ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That company is the successor of the Manhattan com- 
 pany ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir; and that was the successor of the Buffalo 
 Alcholene Company. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is it not true that your company absolutely controls 
 the product of refined wood alcohol, both as to the price to the pro- 
 ducer of raw or crude alcohol and the price that it is sold at to the 
 consumer ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. We refine about 75 per cent of all the wood alcohol 
 made in the United States. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You control the price absolutely ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. To a large extent we do. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You fix the price at both ends of the line? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. We do to a large extent; but there are other large 
 manufacturers ; one in your own State, at Sligo. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Yes ; I know that. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. There are several large refineries, five or six, in the 
 State of Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You have no idea that these people at Sligo would 
 stop making iron because free alcohol is provided ? 
 
. FREE ALCOHOL. 141 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir; I have not; but I do know that the price of 
 iron would advance, and as charcoal iron has to compete with coke 
 iron, it might have to advance to such an extent as to render it 
 unprofitable to make it. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Your company is what, in popular parlance, is called 
 the wood alcohol trust? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It is not a trust. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I am only asking you whether that is not what it is 
 called in popular parlance. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I have heard it called the wood alcohol trust; but it 
 is not such in any sense of the word. I would like nothing better 
 than to have the Wood Products Company investigated, because it has 
 a clean record. Now, that you have brought up that question, I 
 would like to say a word about it. The Wood Products Company 
 succeeded the Manhattan Spirits Company, and that, in turn, suc- 
 ceeded the Buffalo Alcoholene Company. Mr. Stephens and I started 
 about twenty-five years ago in a small way, and tried to do business 
 squarely along with the producers of crude wood alcohol. As we 
 have gone along they have placed their fortunes more and more in 
 our hands. If we were in such a position to-day as you suggest, why 
 do we not put the price to a dollar and a quarter or a dollar and a half 
 a gallon? 
 
 Mr. Clark. There is a limit to which even a trust can put up 
 prices. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Certainly this trust, if it be a trust, is asking a very 
 modest price compared with the price charged for taxed grain alco- 
 hol. As time has gone on we find that these manufacturers of crude 
 material have come to us, and have wanted to sell us their material, 
 and we simply buy it in the same way that any merchant or manu- 
 facturer does. We have been willing to do it on a very close mar- 
 gin, one that would leave us a fair amount of profit. Therefore, after 
 twenty-five years of work, we find ourselves doing 75 per cent of the 
 refining of wood alcohol, in a perfectly proper and legitimate way. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Do you produce wood alcohol at all ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Not crude wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You simply refine it? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. That is all. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You control 75 per cent of it and nobody else can com- 
 pete with you. That is the plain truth about, is it not ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir ; there are no patents covering the manufacture 
 of wood alcohol, crude or refiucied. It is open to the world. And, 
 furthermore, there are eight or ten large refineries of wood alcohol 
 in the United States besides the Wood Products Company. 
 
 Mr. Clark. When was it that wood alcohol was 90 or 95 cents a gal- 
 lon ? That was about a year ago, was it not? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir ; wood alcohol has not been above 70 cents per 
 gallon for seven years. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Wliom do you think really knows the most about what 
 the workmen of America are liable to do with regard to drinlring 
 this denatured alcohol, the American Federation of Labor and their 
 members here or those fellows over in London ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I think human nature is very much the same every- 
 where. 
 
142 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Whom do you think knows the most about the probabil- 
 ities of our American laborers drinking denatured alcohol ? Do those 
 people in London know what these American laborers are going 
 to do? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I do not think the American Federation of Labor 
 knows what will happen, because they have not had any experience. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Then how do the other fellows know what will hap- 
 pen? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. They know about their own people. 
 Mr. Dalzell. What has the American Federation of Labor to do 
 with the question ? 
 
 Mr. Clark. It has been stated what these people in London predict 
 will happen to the laboring classes ; that they will take to drinking 
 denatured alcohol. If they know all about what is going to happen 
 to the laboring man in England, it ought to turn out that the laboring 
 men in America would know what would happen to themselves, and 
 they are for this legislation. 
 
 The Chairman. Have you any information as to the amount of 
 grain alcohol now used in the manufactures and arts, where denatured 
 alcohol would be substituted ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I do not think there is any, if it is denatured with 
 wood alcohol. If you denatured with bone oil or sulphuric ether and 
 other ingredients, a good deal of it will be. 
 The Chairman. Have you any information on the subject? 
 Mr. Pierce. In answer to that question I will say that I do not 
 think it has been proven by experience in foreign countries that it is 
 possible to thoroughly denature grain alcohol with any other product 
 
 than wood alcohol 
 
 The Chairman. Without arguing that question, wiU you state what 
 amount of wood alcohol would be used and what loss there would be 
 to the revenue, if one of these bills should pass allowing free dena- 
 tured alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. In order to answer that question, if you will pardon 
 me, I would like to go on in the line I began, and it will not take me a 
 moment. I think it is necessary in order to answer your question 
 intelligently. 
 
 The Chairman. Proceed, then, with your answer in your own way. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I think that to completely denature alcohol, and when 
 
 I say completely I mean as completely as possible, the only ingredient 
 
 that can be used in wood alcohol. They do denature it with other 
 
 articles in Germany. 
 
 If you denature with wood alcohol, I do not think it would dis- 
 place any, practically, of the revenues of the Government. If you 
 use sulphuric ether or something of that kind for denaturing pur- 
 poses, so that you might make with it articles that are now made from 
 pure grain alcohol that is taxed, you would displace some revenue. 
 But if you denature it with wood alcohol, as I presume it would be the 
 intention of our Congress to provide, I do not think the revenue of 
 the Government would be interfered with, except illegitimately. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If it turns out that the amount of wood alcohol made 
 in the United States is only 8,000,000 gallons a year, then, even if 
 one-half of what Professor Wiley said about the amount of consump- 
 tion of denatured grain alcohol is correct, and, on account of this law, 
 the use of 10 per cent of wood alcohol to denature it is required, then 
 
PEEE ALCOHOL. 143 
 
 one-half of the output he talked about would absolutely consume the 
 entire output of wood alcohol in the United States for denaturing 
 purposes, would it not ? 
 
 Mr. PiEKOE. It would, if Doctor Wiley's statement is correct. 
 
 Mr. Claek. I am discounting his statement 50 per cent. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. If the estimates made are correct, then there will be a 
 sale for all the wood alcohol that is made. 
 
 Mr. Claek. As a matter of fact it would more than consume it all. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It would. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Mr. Clark's statement was that if Doctor Wiley's 
 statement was discounted 50 per cent it would still use up all the wood 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes. There are certain questions which you have 
 asked me and which I have answered apparently against myself and 
 my own industry ; but I will answer you truthfully, as nearly as I can. 
 Now, you will pardon me if I say that I can not believe, for the rea- 
 sons stated in my argument, that over 10,000,000 gallons of denatured 
 spirits would be used in this country. I have always tried to get an 
 object lesson when I wanted to prove anything. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I have a paper here from the Agricultural Department," 
 in which it is stated that there were manufactured in Germany from 
 September 1, 1903, to August 31, 1904, 101,823,470 gallons of alcohol 
 for industrial purposes. 
 
 Mr. Pleece. That is wrong. 
 
 Mr. Hill. With 33^ per cent less population there than here, would 
 you not assume that the demand in the United States for denatured 
 alcohol would in a very short time take all of your product and a 
 great deal more, on the basis of the use of 10 per cent for denaturing 
 material ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Mr. Hill, the statement you have just made is not 
 correct. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Have you any official authority or facts proving that it 
 is not correct? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I have, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. It is made over the signature of Mr. Zintheo, an expert 
 in the Agricultural Department. The statement is in writing and 
 signed by him. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I have no doubt that it is correct in so far as the con- 
 sumption of grain alcohol goes — ^that is, pure alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. He states that quantity was manufactured for use in 
 industrial purposes. 
 
 Mr. Pieece. Then I will put $50,000 against $10 that it is not cor- 
 rect. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You stated in your paper that Belgium did not have de- 
 natured alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. They do not. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Does not the report of the British commission state that 
 they do have it? 
 
 Mr. Pieece. I do not know. I have not seen any such report. 
 
 Mr. Hill. This report shows that the increase in the use of it has 
 been from 136,000 gallons in 1896 to 924,000 gallons in 1902. You 
 speak of the so-called " hat man*uf acturers." Of course you have no 
 
 a For this paper see p. 263. 
 
144 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 idea but what the gentlemen who represent these sixty-odd hat manu- 
 facturers are genume manufacturers ? 
 
 Mr. PiEKCB. I suppose they are. I only referred to the " so-called 
 committee." Whether all of the gentlemen whose names appear on 
 that committee represent their industries or not I do not. know. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the maximum price of refined wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. There are different grades of wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What has been the price of the best refined wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Peeece. Our 95 per cent grade — and that is the one we have 
 always quoted — ^has been as high as $1.40 per gallon, but only for a 
 very short time about ten years ago. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How cheap hag it been ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Fifty cents a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Do you export it? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes ; we export the crude material. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the price of refined wood alcohol in Germany ? 
 
 Mr. PiEECE. I think the price of refined wood alcohol in Germany 
 is about 63 cents per gallon. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Do you sell it at that; I understand that you are 
 selling your product in Germany ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Over there they use denatured alcohol, and we sell our 
 product in crude material. We ship only crude material there and 
 they refine it up to such a point as they wish for denaturing purposes. 
 Professor Herrick passed around a bottle of crude wood alcohol 
 here the other day, and said that was the crude wood alcohol used 
 for denaturing purposes, when there never was a gallon of crude used 
 for that purpose. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How does the price at which you sell it in Germany 
 for denaturing purposes compare with the price you get for it here? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. It averages just about the same. At the present time 
 the price we are getting for crude wood alcohol in Germany is 37 
 cents and here it is 40 cents. 
 
 Mr. Smith. So that, as a matter of fact, it is a fact that the German 
 Government is encouraging the use of denatured alcohol in the arts 
 and manufactures, and that has not really operated to reduce the 
 price of wood alcohol there, has it? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. So that it has really done your industry no harm? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No ; not in Germany. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You meet that situation as you find it there with a fair 
 profit? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir; we only sell wood alcohol for denaturing 
 purposes there, and of course here we sell it for manufacturing 
 purposes. 
 
 Mr. Dalzbll. If alcohol is made free, and denatured alcohol is 
 only used legitimately in the manufactures, and not by way of fraud 
 upon the Treasury, you thinlc there will be no loss to the Treasury? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I think not ; provided only wood alcohol is used as the 
 denaturing agent. If sulphuric ether or other agents are used there 
 would be large loss of revenue. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. I so understood you.' 
 
 Mr. Pierce. That is what I said. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 145 
 
 The Chaibjian. You said you had some official figures for the 
 period covered by the questions asked by Mr. Hill as to the-iise of 
 alcohol in Germany. What official figures have you covering that 
 period ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I have not the official figures with me, but I have what 
 is called the official green book of statistics, figures, and facts issued 
 by the German Government.'^ I have that in Buffalo and I can send 
 it to you. In my argument I have taken the exact figures from that 
 work. 
 
 The Chairman. The committee would like to have those figures. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir ; I will send them. They are in German, but 
 of course they are very easily translated. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The committee only wants to get at the truth about all 
 these matters. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. That is what I want you to have. If our industry 
 can not be conserved by telling the truth let it go down. 
 
 Mr. Hill. How do you account for the fact that there is a discrep- 
 ancy of about 50 per cent, or 4,000,000 gallons, in a quantity of some- 
 thing like 7,000,000 gallons of wood alcohol produced in this country 
 last year, 1905, when in 1904 the United States census report, pre- 
 sumably taken from your own concerns, shows a product of 12,500,000 
 gallons ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Mr. Hill, the census is wrong in that estimate. I am 
 sure of it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. They have no way of getting these figures except as you 
 give them to them. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. There are 118 makers of crude wood alcohol, and they 
 go to each one of them and take their figures ; then they come to us and 
 say. How much do you refine? How they compile those figures and 
 where the mistake occurs I do not know; but, as I have said before, 
 about 76 per cent of the entire product passes through our factories, 
 and I am very sure I am correct. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you suppose the census figures are completely wrong 
 with regard to the acetate of lime and charcoal manufactured ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I do not know. 
 
 Mr. Hill. They give the amount of acetate of lime manufactured 
 about the same as you give it, 120,000,000 pounds, or about 60,000 
 tons. That would have some bearing as to the correctness of their 
 figures on the production of wood alcohol, would it not ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Would you not naturally infer that if they were right in 
 regard to acetate of lime, a concurrent product, they must be nearer 
 than 50 per cent right in reference to wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I do not know how they compile their figures, but I 
 think I can prove I am right. I would rather show 12,000,000 gal- 
 lons production, but I can not do it when it is not a fact. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Do the gentlemen whom you represent in the 
 wood-alcohol industry contend that we ought to maintain the tax 
 on grain alcohol to protect your industry from competition ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. To protect our industry from suppression. We have 
 built our business up under the laws of the country. We started 
 after the internal-revenue taxes were put on in 1865, and we have 
 
 a For these statistics see letter of Mr. Pierce, p. 412. 
 11058—06 10 
 
146 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 gradually built the business up until we are a large industry now. 
 Under a law providing for free grain alcohol we can not live. We 
 are fighting for our lives here before this committee. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. You do not think the Government ought to take 
 the position of maintaining any industry by law and suppressing 
 another industry ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Even if the other one is unfortunate enough to 
 go down? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No; I believe in the greatest good to the greatest 
 number. If you can show that tax-free grain alcohol will benefit 
 more people than it will hurt, then pass such a law; but I can not 
 believe that. I believe it will hurt a great number and pull down 
 an industry, and will not be offset by any corresponding benefit. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Is there any demand for the highest grade of your 
 wood alcohol for anything but manufacturing purposes? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. There was a gentleman here at one of our meetings 
 who exhibited a very beautiful quality of wood alcohol, and it was 
 impossible to tell it from ethyl alcohol by the odor. I was won- 
 dering whether that product competed at all with ethyl alcohol in 
 the manufactures. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Some of the very cheap perfumes are made from the 
 higher qualities of wood alcohol. They use it in hair tonics and 
 such things as that. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. We are simply trying to find out in what field they 
 use it. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. People who have been using grain alcohol want to 
 get the best thing they can as a substitute, and they use Columbian 
 spirits; but pretty soon they are attracted by the lower prices, and 
 they get down to the 70-cent grade. I will say that our trade in 
 iiigh-grade wood alcohol is not increasing. We are not selling a 
 hundred barrels a year more of high-grade wood alcohol than we 
 were three years ago. 
 
 Mr. BoTJTBLL. Then I put my question in the wrong form. I will 
 ask you whether you sell any wood alcohol for any other than purely 
 mechanical purposes ? Do you sell it to manufacturers of perfomes ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. We do to a limited extent. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. And for medicines? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Not for medicines. Nothing for internal use, of 
 course, or for any improper purposes, although wood alcohol has 
 been used improperly. 
 
 The Chairman. We will now hear Mr. Edgar B. Stevens, chemist 
 of the Wood Products Company. 
 
 STATEMENT OF EDGAR B. STEVENS, CHEMIST OF THE WOOD 
 PRODUCTS COMPANY, BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
 am the chemist and also the secretary and treasurer of the Wood 
 Products Company. 
 
 I had the pleasure of attending the hearings before this committee 
 week before last, and was naturally much interested. I now wish 
 
FKEE ALCOHOL. 147 
 
 to review briefly a number of the statements made at that time, pos- 
 sibly to correct some of them, and I also want to give more informa- 
 tion on the subjects touched upon. 
 
 I regret having to oppose so many good fellows — my brothers in 
 the American Chemical Society and Society for Chemical Industry — 
 but sincerely hope that before these hearings are ended we can per- 
 suade them to change their views. 
 
 I was particularly interested in the remarks of Commissioner 
 Yerkes. He stated, you will remember, that he would oppose most 
 earnestly any bill granting pure tax-free alcohol for any purpose 
 whatever. Taking it for granted that his views on this subject co- 
 incide with those of this committee, we have then to consider only a 
 denatured alcohol, a spirit unfit for a beverage, which can not be 
 used in making perfumery or in the preparation of medicinal com- 
 pounds. 
 
 I have noticed that in all of the bills introduced during the present 
 session of Congress, which have for their object the granting of tax- 
 free denatured alcohol, the task of rendering such spirit unfit for 
 use as a beverage is left to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
 and the Secretary of the Treasury. I firmly believe this Department 
 of our Government is as competent to do the work as any set of men 
 on earth ; but they have a most difficult and perplexing problem be- 
 fore them. If we turn to other nations in the hope of profiting by 
 their experience- we are confronted with a varying set of conditions, 
 most of them entirely unfit for our use. 
 
 Looking to our nearest neighbor, Canada, we find two grades of 
 tax-free denatured spirit on the market there. No. 1, composed 
 of 75 per cent grain alcohol and 25 per cent wood alcohol, selling for 
 $1.10 per imperial gallon."^ This spirit is only sold to those giv- 
 ing a bond of $2,000, to the eflfect that it will be wholly used and de- 
 stroyed on their own premises and not sold. No. 2 consists of 50 
 per cent grain alcohol and 50 per cent refined wood alcohol. This is 
 sold at retail throughout the Dominion without any restriction what- 
 ever, and the price is about $1.50 per imperial gallon. The Canadian 
 government has a complete monopoly of the alcohol business, and 
 does all the mixing. In former years it licensed methylators, who 
 were allowed, under government supervision, to mix grain alcohol 
 with 10 per cent refined wood alcohol, and this mixture was then per- 
 mitted to be used and sold without government control. This law 
 proved unsatisfactory on account of the large amount of methylated 
 spirit which was drunk, and because several government officials were 
 found guilty of improperly methylating the alcohol. 
 
 The Canadian tax-free alcohol consisting of equal parts of grain 
 alcohol and refined wood alcohol is giving good satisfaction, and it 
 has been found that no attempt is being made to defraud the govern- 
 ment by purifying it, and the taste and odor are such that little if 
 any is used for a beverage. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Is it not true that the manufacturers of fulminating 
 powder in Canada are using free grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Without any denaturing ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir; under proper supervision; but the grade 
 that is sold for manufacturing purposes generally is 50 per cent. 
 
 o 1 imperial galIon=l gallon 1 pint and 9f ounces, United States standard. 
 
148 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Then Mr. Pierce was mistaken when he said that they 
 did not have denatured alcohol in Canada ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I do not remember that he made that statement. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understood him to say that." 
 
 Mr. Stevens. England has for many years permitted the sale and 
 use of tax-free grain alcohol denatured with 10 per cent of wood 
 alcohol, the mixing being done by licensed methylators and the spirit 
 produced sold under certain restrictions. It was found that this 
 alcohol was consumed in large quantities as a beverage by the slum 
 dwellers, and an attempt was made to prevent it by adding a certain 
 amount of petroleum naphtha. This mineralized and methylated 
 spirit is now sold to small consumers and dealers, who must never 
 keep on hand over 50 gallons, and an effort is made to keep a record of 
 even their small sales, in order to follow the spirit to its final con- 
 sumption. The working of this law in England is very troublesome, 
 and the inland revenue department is now endeavoring to devise a 
 new set of laws relating to the sale and use of tax-free spirit to sup- 
 plant _those in existence at the present time, which have proven 
 unsatisfactory. 
 
 The methylated spirits of England are not to be employed in the 
 preparation of any article capable of being used as a beverage or 
 internally as a medicine, although ether and hydrate of chloral are 
 among the articles permitted to be made under certain conditions. 
 Excise officers must make stated inspections of the premises using 
 denatured spirit. Manufacturers are required to give bonds, to make 
 formal applications stating exactly what the spirit is to be used for, 
 etc., and many fines and penalties are provided for violation of the 
 law. 
 
 Such a set of laws in this country would be of no benefit to the 
 small consumers of alcohol. The manufacture of articles in which 
 alcohol constitutes a considerable fraction of the cost would be car- 
 ried on by large concerns, who could a,fford to pay for Government 
 supervision. If the Government should permit everyone to use tax- 
 free alcohol in his business, it would have to scatter internal-revenue 
 officers throughout every city in the United States, and it would seem 
 that the red-tape and supervision necessary would be a hindrance 
 rather than an aid to industrial progress. 
 
 Commissioner Yerkes stated that the expense of administering 
 such a law would be costly, as it would be necessary to follow the de- 
 natured alcohol from the warehouse where it was denatured to the 
 manufacturing industry where it is to be consumed; that manu- 
 facturers using such spirit should give bonds and keep records of 
 the amount used, etc. Under such restrictions it would seem im- 
 possible for the small consumer, the one or two barrel buyer (who 
 constitutes the bulk of our trade) to derive any benefit from tax- 
 free alcohol. The special commission appointed by the English 
 Government to investigate the alcohol business reported that the 
 cost of methylated spirits was increased 40 per cent by reason of 
 measures necessary to protect the revenue. 
 
 England has had tax-free alcohol for many years ; she is a manu- 
 facturing nation, and yet the consumption of denatured alcohol 
 there in 1904 was less than three and a half million gallons. Tax- 
 free alcohol is not used in England for light, heat, and power. 
 
 o See p. 130. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 149 
 
 This same English commission, which has been so often referred to, 
 also states that in Berlin and other large German cities alcohol is 
 not used for light, heat, and power; that it can not compete with 
 oil and gas. I quote from its report : 
 
 In Great Britain, with cheap oil and gas, no conceivable reduction in the 
 pnce of methylated spirits would make such spirits able to compete with them 
 in price. 
 
 In France tax-free spirit is denatured with a refined wood alcohol 
 containing 25 per cent of acetone, which greatly increases the cost 
 of the spirit, but it is considered there the proper agent to use for 
 denaturizing. 
 
 In Germany we find a most liberal set of laws pertaining to the 
 use of alcohol for industrial purposes; but we must bear m mind 
 that Germany has a strong paternal government; that the people 
 as a whole are accustomed to discipline and obedience to laws to 
 an extent which does not prevail in the United States; that there 
 is little demand there for strong spirits for drinking use, the people 
 preferring beer and the milder sort of wines. We must also bear 
 in mind that their territory is small; that there is an army of 
 Government officials holding life positions and not dependent on 
 political favor. We must also take into consideration that free 
 alcohol is a national fetish in Germany, a hobby of the Emperor; 
 that the agrarian population is a power in politics, and that legis- 
 lation favorable to them has been thought to be absolutely neces- 
 sary. The Government has encouraged the growing of potatoes for 
 the manufacture of alcohol to an extent which seems incredible, 
 and it has aided and encouraged the establishing of exhibitions 
 throughout the Empire showing the uses and applications of alcohol 
 for heat, light, and power purposes. 
 
 Now, in regard to the growing of potatoes for the purpose of mak- 
 ing wood alcohol; a bushel of potatoes weighs 60 pounds and con- 
 tains 16 per cent of starch, making 9 pounds of starch to a bushel of 
 potatoes. Thej^ are able to obtain from that less than 1 gallon of 
 alcohol. It is an actual fact that the yield of alcohol from a bushel 
 of potatoes is less than 1 gallon, and if alcohol is going to be produced 
 in this country at from 10 to 15 cents a gallon the farmer would get 
 about 5 cents a bushel for his potatoes. 
 
 Mr. Curtis. Could not the farmer use potatoes that are now fed to 
 the hogs, which are unfit for market ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I doubt whether even then it would pay to take the 
 potatoes and raise them and use them for this purpose. They would 
 not make it from potatoes if they could grow corn, because corn con- 
 tains 70 per cent of starch. 
 
 Mr. Hill. They could utilize ground on which corn would not 
 grow. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. So I understand. 
 
 Mr. Smith. They would not make alcohol out of their potatoes if 
 they could sell their potatoes for any other purpose. 
 
 jir. Stevens. Certainly not. 
 
 The Chairman. They make it altogether from potatoes in Eussia, 
 do they not ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. It pays, with their cheap agricultural labor, to pro- 
 duce it from potatoes. 
 
 In spite of all this encouragement, however, the use of tax-free 
 alcohol in Germany is only allowed under the strictest sort of official 
 
150 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 supervision. I will not burden you with a review of the German 
 laws relating to the subject, but with characteristic caution and thor- 
 oughness they are the most complete, exhaustive, and inquisitive set 
 of laws ever devised by man. The parties using tax-free spirit must 
 in all cases have the full confidence of the Government authorities, 
 and reliance is placed wholly on the honor and integrity of the rev- 
 enue officials, because it is not pretended that the denaturing of the 
 spirit is sufficient to prevent fraud. In some cases free grain alcohol 
 is allowed to be used nearly pure, having been denatured by the 
 addition of a few drops of animal oil, turpentine, or sulphuric ether, 
 etc., and even the general denaturing agent, consisting of 2 parts 
 in 100 of wood alcohol and one-half part pyridine bases, is so easily 
 removed from the alcohol that the reliance is placed wholly on super- 
 vision. 
 
 I believe I am perfectly safe in saying that the laws relating to 
 the use of tax-free alcohol in Germany are no more suitable to our 
 people than its form of government; that even if the Internal-Rev- 
 enue Department were authorized to expend the amount necessary 
 to put such laws into effect the people would not submit to them for 
 a moment. Without proper supervision it is absolutely sure that 
 there are a large number of our citizens of certain tendencies who 
 would take advantage of the nearly pure ethyl alcohol, provided 
 under laws similar to those in force in Germany, and that the loss of 
 revenue and illegitimate use of such spirit would be paralyzing. 
 
 I am not here to suggest ways and means by which Commissioner 
 Yerkes can give tax-free alcohol, but simply want to show that 
 there are grave difficulties and dangers in the way, and that the 
 experiences of foreign countries are not suited to the conditions pre- 
 vailing here. 
 
 Both Commissioner Yerkes and Doctor Wiley had considerable to 
 say upon the possibility of purifying alcohol after it was denatured, 
 and I noticed that the committee asked a good many questions on 
 this point. 
 
 The Wood Products Company have given this matter a great deal 
 of thought and have done a lot of experimenting in this direction. 
 The results of our experiments show that from the standpoint of a 
 chemist or expert it is not possible to completely purify denatured 
 spirit in any simple way. It is, however, easily done with a good 
 column still, or if the alcohol is only partially denatured, like these 
 samples from Germany, then the simplest sort of apparatus will 
 separate the alcohol from its impurities. 
 
 For instance, here is a sample denatured with 5 per cent of wood 
 alcohol. Put that even in a simple still, and the first 20 per cent of 
 it which would come over would contain nearly all the wood alcohol. 
 The remaining 80 per cent would-be nearly pure ethyl alcohol, not 
 from a chemical standpoint, but from a practical standpoint. Its odor 
 would resemble grain alcohol very closely ; its taste is the same, and 
 it would be practically pure. If you take this sample with 2 per 
 cent of wood alcohol and one-half per cent of pyridine base, and add 
 a little strong acid to that, it combines with the pyridine, and the 
 odor completely disappears. The odor is very disagreeable, but 
 three or four drops of concentrated sulphuric acid makes it smell 
 just like grain alcohol. Then by simple distillation you remove the 
 wood alcohol and you have it practically free. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 151 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the first sample that you picked up used for? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. For cutting shellac. 
 
 Mr. Smith. That is used for varnishes on furniture? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is there anything harmful in the use of that? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Not at all. 
 
 Mr. Smith. I mean to persons using it in their business. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. There are no deleterious effects from its use ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. You can hardly tell but what that is pure ethyl 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What does that cost? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. In Germany? 
 
 Mr. Smith. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I am coining to that in just a few moments. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How much of this 10 per cent of wood alcohol in grain 
 alcohol would it take to kill a fellow if he drank it ? How poisonous 
 is it? 
 
 Mr. Stea^ens. I suppose a drink would naturally be diluted with 
 two parts of water, and with only 10 per cent of wood alcohol as a 
 denaturing agent he would get a very small portion of it. 
 
 Mr. Clark. When you have run it through the still once and have 
 left about 2 per cent of wood alcohol in it, is it really poisonous, to 
 any appreciable extent, immediately? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. They would have to keep up the tipple for quite a long 
 time in order to be poisoned ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. They certainly would. Referring to the drinking 
 of grain alcohol in England, I have the newspaper clippings here 
 which Mr. Pierce referred to." They are not editorials, but they are 
 clippings. I sent to a friend over there and asked him to collect 
 from the papers such articles as he might find relating to the drink- 
 ing of methylated alcohol, and in a few weeks back came a hundred 
 of them. We will place these original clippings on file. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What Mr. Clark wanted to know was whether those 
 were advertisements and were paid for. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. We wrote to Lister & Biggs, in London, one of the 
 largest firms there, and asked them to send us these clippings, and 
 they came back from them. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Mr. Pierce stated — and I believe he stated the exact 
 truth about it — that the distillers of grain alcohol were running a 
 news bureau in New York to advance their side of this question. It 
 is not a very radical or a very unfair assumption to suppose that the 
 wood-alcohol people have a press bureau located somewhere. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. These articles have the proper indorsement of Lister 
 & Biggs. 
 
 This is a most important subject and the most troublesome one con- 
 nected with tax-free denatured alcohol. In order to prevent the 
 spirit from being drunk in its denatured state or from being wholly 
 or partially purified, the Government will be obliged to dose the 
 alcohol to a degree which will make it extremely offensive, both in 
 taste and odor, or else must rely on official supervision to prevent its 
 
 a For Mr. Pierce's statement see p. 136. For copy of clippings see p. 410—112. 
 See also letters, p. 424. 
 
152 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 illegitimate use. The latter alternative has been adopted by Ger- 
 many, France, England, and some other nations, and is a frank admis- 
 sion on their part that it is practically impossible to denature alco- 
 hol in such a way as to prevent fraud. If our Internal Revenue De- 
 partment attempts to put out a moderately denatured alcohol, which 
 may be sold or used without supervision, every embryo chemist and 
 experimenter will accept the challenge and try to separate the alcohol. 
 Processes and formulas for doing it will quickly appear, and while 
 none of these processes may be perfect, some of them will produce a 
 potable spirit which will at least compare favorably with moonshine 
 whisky. 
 
 I quite agree with both Commissioner Yerkes and Doctor Wiley 
 that any responsible citizen would hesitate to defraud the Govern- 
 ment in this way with the penitentiary staring him in the face; but 
 we must remember that this is a large country. We are Sfelling wood 
 alcohol in nearly every city and town in the United States, and it is 
 only reasonable to suppose that denatured spirit would take its place, 
 and in lots of from one to ten barrels shipped to remote places, unless 
 followed hj a revenue officer or used under some sort of Government 
 supervision, there is at least a possibility that more or less of the 
 alcohol would be recovered and used for illegitimate purposes. 
 
 Now, in regard to those gentlemen who have appeared before you 
 stating the advantages of tax-free denatured alcohol for heat, light, 
 and power purposes. They have all assumed that this spirit could 
 be obtained at a price which would enable it to compete with petro- 
 leum distillates. 
 
 Professor Herrick showed some very nice lamps burning dena- 
 tured alcohol with a mantle, and he stated that in comparison with 
 kerosene, both being the same price per gallon, the alcohol lamp was 
 considerably more efficient. He did not tell you, however, with what 
 kind of a kerosene oil burner he compared his lamp. Judging from 
 the results he obtained he must have used one of the old flat-wick, 
 yellow-flame kerosene lamps, because he must acknowledge that some 
 of the modern student lamps with Argand burners and the larger 
 sizes with circular wicks having the down draft give not only a 
 more pleasing illumination but an efficiency in candlepower which 
 leaves the alcohol mantle lamp for behind. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How about the safety of the two ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I should say that a kerosene lamp was fully as safe 
 as an alcohol mantel lamp. Since writing this, by a mere accident I 
 met a gentleman connected with the Electrical Tests Laboratory, 
 which submitted the report produced here, and in the course of our 
 conversation I asked him what kind of a lamp he compared with the 
 alcohol lamp and he, without any hesitation at all, told me that he 
 used a little old hand lamp of an obsolete pattern." Now, I am not 
 criticising the report from the Electrical Tests Laboratories. It is 
 probably true. But I do criticise those who have given it out and 
 pretended it fairly represented the relative efficiency of alcohol and 
 kerosene, when they knew very well that the comparison was based 
 on the use of a little old flat-wick, obsolete type of lamp which was 
 discarded years ago. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You saw this lamp the other day? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I did. 
 
 " See letter, p. 334. 
 
FKEE ALCOHOL. 153 
 
 Mr. Smith. It gave a very brilliant light? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. It did ; but compared with a modern kerosene lamp 
 it is not in it for efficiency. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Here is a photograph of the two lamps that were tested. 
 Would you say that kerosene lamp was an obsolete type? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. He told me it was an old flat-wick burner. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Here is a photograph of it. You may look at it. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir; I should say that was a very obsolete pat- 
 tern of lamp. That is a single-wick burner. 
 
 Mr. Williams. That may be a lamp which is obsolete in the large 
 cities, but at the same time it is the one which three-quarters of the 
 .American people use all over the country. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I found a burner in Buffalo which they said gave 
 35 candlepower and burned fifty hours — that is, 1,700 candlepower 
 to 1 gallon of kerosene. I do not think it is quite fair to compare an 
 alcohol mantel lamp with a little old lamp like this. 
 
 The makers of the NuUite lamps and of the Best light guarantee 
 400 candlepower for 1 cent per hour, and certainly in the greater por- 
 tion of the United States kerosene oil and artistic, beautiful lamps are 
 obtainable which give an illumination at far less cost than alcohol, 
 even at 15 cents per gallon. 
 
 The gentleman who appeared before you representing internal- 
 combustion motors have stated their experiments prove that, gallon 
 for gallon, alcohol is as efficient as gasoline. We do not grant that 
 this is so, but how are they to obtain the alcohol at a price which will 
 enable them to compete with petroleum ? 
 
 I have already stated that the price of the cheapest grade of de- 
 natured alcohol in Canada is $1.10 per imperial gallon. In England 
 the wholesale price is 38 cent-s per gallon. In Germany the price of 
 the cheapest grade of denatured alcohol is to-day 26 cents per Ameri- 
 can gallon, and in France it is 30 cents per gallon. These are the 
 prices for 95 per cent alcohol per American gallon f. o. b. at the dis- 
 tillery. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the price of grain alcohol in Germany ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. It would be practically the same. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Are you giving the proof gallons ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. No, sir; 95 per cent. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What would be the price of a proof gallon in Germany 
 to-day ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Proof gallons in Germany would be about 14 cents. 
 We have had this within a week by cablegram, in order that we might 
 be right up to date with it. 
 
 - Mr. Hill. Is it not a fact that alcohol is a good deal higher this 
 year than it was in 1902 in Germany? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. In 1902 it was 21 cents instead of 26 cents, which 
 was due to a very large crop. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Then a large crop by the farmer makes low prices ? 
 
 Mr. Underwood. In 100 proof there is 50 per cent of water, is there 
 not? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Then in 95 per cent alcohol there would be some- 
 thing over 50 per cent of water in a gallon? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Ninety-five per cent alcohol means spirits contain- 
 ing 95 per cent of alcohol — ^that is, 95 parts in 100 pure alcohol. 
 Proof is equal parts of alcohol and water. 
 
154 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. I thought, from what Doctor Wiley said, that 
 absolutely pure alcohol would be 200 proof. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Then 95 per cent would have a majority of water. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. No ; ordinary alcohol is 188 proof. You divide that 
 by two and it gives you 94. You divide the proof by 2 and it gives 
 you the percentage. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What did I understand you to say was the reason for the 
 abnormally low price of alcohol in Germany in 1902 ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I am not able to say ; but I have understood that it 
 was the excessively large crop of potatoes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you know what the price of denatured grain alcohol 
 is now in Cuba ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I have heard it stated that it was from 10 to 12 cents 
 a gallon in Cuba. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Minister Squiers reports it at 10 cents a gallon in a 
 statement read here at the hearings two weeks ago. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. It costs 4 cents a gallon to barrel it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. That is made from sugar cane, is it not? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 In this country to-day the price of grain alcohol, minus the tax, is 
 38 cents per gallon by the barrel. We will assume, however, that in 
 some mysterious way ethyl alcohol is going to be produced for 15 
 cents per gallon at the distillery. Let us follow this to the consumer 
 and then see what it will cost. It has been proposed to denature 
 each gallon with one-tenth of a gallon of wood alcohol, and this will 
 cost at least 5 cents. Commissioner Yerkes has estimated the cost of 
 supervision, denaturing, etc., at from 2 to 10 cents per gallon. We 
 will assume that it is 5 cents, that makes 25 cents; the cost of the 
 barrel will be 4 cents per gallon, which makes 29 cents, and the 
 freight and somebody's profit is certainly going to bring it up to 35 
 cents per gallon. This, gentlemen, is surely a very low estimate of 
 the wholesale cost of denatured grain alcohol to the consumer, and I 
 venture to assert that if this be granted then the use of alcohol for 
 power purposes will be extremely limited in this country, with alcohol 
 at 30 or 35 cents. 
 
 Mr. Williams. If this increase will be so extremely limited, these 
 wood alcohol people are frightening themselves about nothing; are 
 they not? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I do not quite understand your question. 
 
 Mr. Williams. I say that if the increased use will be so extremely 
 limited it will then displace a very limited quantity of wood alcohol"? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. For heat, light, and power purposes it will not dis- 
 place any. Eeferring again to the report of the English commission, 
 it states that for motor purposes in Germany alcohol is denatured 
 with from 2 per cent to 50 per cent benzol or petroleum, as no satis- 
 factory solution has been found of certain difBculties which beset the 
 use of alcohol for motor purposes. The fact is the more petroleum 
 you use with the alcohol the better the motor works. That is a well- 
 known fact. 
 
 Eeferring for a moment to the very pathetic appeal by those repre- 
 senting the hatters' industry, I can only say that we make many 
 grades of refined wood alcohol, special grades for special work, an3 
 that the hatters during cold weather, when there is a lack of ventila- 
 
FRBE ALCOHOL. 155 
 
 tion, should use a high grade. Our Columbian spirit, at about $1.15 
 per gallon, has no effect whatever upon the eyes under any conditions, 
 and can hardlj^ be distinguished from ethyl alcohol. Mr. Merritt 
 stated that during the warm weather, when the windows and doors 
 could be kept open, they had no trouble. One would naturally think 
 that for humanity's sake the manufacturer of hats would supply his 
 workmen with a better grade on those days when it was found incon- 
 venient to provide proper ventilation. The fact is that manv of the 
 hatters use the very cheapest grade we manufacture, and the grade 
 that is intended for use on out-of-door work or where there is plenty 
 of ventilation. 
 
 The same argument applies to the painters and finishers. "We make 
 grades of wood alcohol at a slightly increased cost, which we guar- 
 antee will not affect the eyes, and if the wood alcohol is to be used 
 in some confined space, or in some unusual way, then a good grade 
 should be provided. Turpentine affects the eyes quite as much as 
 even the cheaper grades of wood alcohol, and surely the poisoning 
 by white lead, which the painters are compelled to use, is too serious 
 and fatal to need any comment on my part. 
 
 A great deal has been said before this committee about the benefits 
 of tax-free alcohol to the farmers. Letters and literature sent them 
 by the committee of manufacturers have evidently been read and dis- 
 cussed by the various Granges, and as a result a large number of 
 petitions in favor of cheaper alcohol have been sent to Congress from 
 all sections of the country. 
 
 This action of the Granges is really the most noticeable and inter- 
 esting feature connected with the present agitation for tax-free alco- 
 hol, and is in marked contrast with the general apathy and lack of 
 interest shown by the public and the manufacturing industries of 
 the country. The apparent sincerity of the movement surely entitles 
 it to respect, and I firmly believe that steps should at once be taken to 
 contradict the misleading statements and convince the farmer that 
 he is mistaken. We are told that he will have a larger market for 
 his crops, but we are not told how much larger. We people from 
 Buffalo live in a cool climate, and it may be that our temperament 
 partakes of the temperature prevailing there. At all events we have 
 not the fervid imagination of some of the advocates of free alcohol 
 who live in the lower part of the State. 
 
 The most ardent advocate, however, has not estimated the con- 
 sumption of tax-free alcohol for some years to come at over 50,000,000 
 gallons per year, and this amount of alcohol, at the rate of 2| gallons 
 per bushel, would be produced from 20,000,000 bushels of corn, or less 
 than 1 per cent of the 2,700,000,000-bushel corn crop of last year ; less 
 than one-half of 1 per cent of the total grain and potato crop. If, 
 then, we add these 20,000,000 bushels to the 2,700,000,000 bushels of 
 corn constituting a single year's crop, we have the increase in his 
 market, and I ask you, gentlemen, if this is any materially increased 
 market? The claim that free alcohol would create a larger market 
 is thus seen to have no foundation, and can be dismissed without fur- 
 tliGF discussiori. 
 
 I want to remark in passing that some of these very nice farms in 
 Michigan were cleared and made tillable by the manufacturers of 
 wood alcohol, and this very day there are thousands and thousands 
 of farmers driving their teams and hauling wood to our people. 
 
156 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Smith. That is very true ; but the difficulty is that trees do 
 not grow very rapidly, and they can not wait for another crop to 
 grow. They have got to utilize that land for some other purpose. 
 There have been many years when a surplus crop of potatoes have 
 rotted on the ground, when they had no market at all for them. If 
 they can have some other use for this crop it is very desirable. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I hardly think that alcohol would be made from 
 potatoes when it could be produced from corn. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Not when there was no other market for them ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Not even if there was no other market for them. 
 They had better let them rot. 
 
 As for having a number of small distilleries located in the farm- 
 ing sections of the country, I think those who have suggested this 
 idea have had very little experience or knowledge of the way Uncle 
 Sam manages this business. I have often been through distilleries 
 and noted with awe the precautions taken by the revenue department 
 to prevent fraud. 
 
 The grain miist be weighed when it comes in. After it is ground 
 it goes to the hoppers, where it is again weighed by the storekeeper, 
 the hoppers having locked spouts on them; the mash tubs have 
 screen over them, which are sealed by the proper official; the outlet 
 of the still goes into a storeroom, also under lock and key ; even the 
 pipes in the distillery conveying steam, water, spirits, etc., are each 
 painted a different color. Complete plans of the distiller, made by 
 competent engineers, must be filed in Washington, and also with the 
 local department; in fact, the distiller furnishes the capital, but 
 the Government runs the plant. It is not as easy to make alcohol as 
 it is butter and cheese. It requires the services of skilled men; the 
 processes of fermentation and distillation must be carefully watched 
 and scientifically conducted or the proper yield is not obtained. 
 Then, again, the rules of competitive business apply to the alcohol 
 industry as well as to any other, and small distilleries can not com- 
 pete with large ones. 
 
 Ex-Governor Bachelder, from Michigan, who appeared before you 
 in the interest of the farmers, stated they had occasionally a sur- 
 plus of potatoes there. In ordinary years the farmers there sell their 
 potatoes and other crops through regular channels, and it would never 
 pay to build a distillery and allow it to remain idle waiting for a 
 surplus crop. 
 
 If, then, I am right in stating that the consumption of 50,000,000 
 gallons of denatured alcohol per year will increase the market for 
 starch and sugar yielding crops less than 1 per cent, and if the dena- 
 tured alcohol, when made, is going to cost the consumer upward of 
 30 cents per gallon, I fail to see where the farmer is to be benefited 
 by the proposed legislation. 
 
 This cry for cheap alcohol is not as general and spontaneous as the 
 committee of manufacturers would have it appear. I have watched 
 the petitions in favor of free alcohol as they have been printed from 
 day to day in the Congressional Eecord, and have been much im- 
 pressed with the amount of time and monev spent to procure them. 
 Many of these petitions have come from small customers of ours, con- 
 cerns using less than 1 barrel of alcohol per month — manufacturers 
 of furniture, desks, pianos, etc., who could not hope to benefit $100 
 per year. Makers of articles which require in the individual piece 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 157 
 
 such very small quantities of spirit that it is impossible to suppose 
 the consuming public would be the gainer. 
 
 Should the Government bestow the bounty of free alcohol on a few 
 manufacturers, it will be legislation for a mere class, and a small one 
 at that. Free alcohol is not necessary to the success of those manu- 
 facturers who use alcohol, for the reason that most, if not all of them, 
 are fairly prosperous now; while those opposed to free alcohol can 
 show the ruinous effect of it on their industries. Ordinarily cheaper 
 raw material will insure cheaper products, but we think the strongest 
 argument against this particular legislation is that the benefit goes 
 and must continue to go to a few manufacturers alone, and the con- 
 suming public pays just as much as though the Government had not 
 relinquished the tax. 
 
 It would have been easy for us to fill this committee room with 
 thoughtful, earnest men engaged in the manufacture of charcoal, 
 acetate of lime, wood alcohol, charcoal iron, varnish, lumber, etc., all 
 eager to protest against the ruination of their business for the pur- 
 pose of giving an additional profit to a few manufacturers already 
 prosperous ; to protest against aiding the grain distillers, who already 
 have a monopoly. But I am satisfied that this committee will find 
 the country is not ready for tax-free alcohol ; that it can not compete 
 with petroleum distillates for heat, light, and power purposes, and 
 that its use in other directions will simply be to displace wood alcohol 
 with material benefit to the manufacturers of grain alcohol, but to 
 only a few others. 
 
 Mr. Hill. This is a very important matter in the hat trade. I 
 understand you to say that the trouble with the employees of the hat 
 manufacturers is that the hatters use a cheap grade of wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. And that the men, therefore, are poisoned by the use of 
 cheap wood alcohol, and if they used the higher grades of wood 
 alcohol it would not be injurious to the health of the employees. Do 
 I understand you correctly ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. We have a statement here submitted at the last hearing 
 by Mr. Keator, of Dunlap & Co., in which he says : " " The wood alco- 
 hol used by Dunlap & Co. is listed at $1.50 a gallon." That is a 
 pretty high grade or article, is it not ? 
 
 Mr. Ste\'ens. There is no such article listed on the market. We 
 know what he uses, and he pays 90 cents a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Hill. He states over his own signature that they use alcohol 
 at $1.50 a gallon, and he also gives the quantity that they use. He 
 states that in five years they paid $57,375 for wood alcohol, and that 
 in the year 1905 they paid $14,250 for that grade of wood alcohol, 
 which I presume is what you claim is of a hi^ degree of purity. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I am not sure what he was using five years ago, but 
 I know what he is using now. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. Keator ought to know what he pays for it. The 
 reason I am asking particularly about this is because it would be 
 criminal on the part of the hat manufacturers to use a poisonous 
 article if they could, by paying a little more, get a better grade and 
 
 a For Mr. Keator's statement, see p. 80. 
 
158 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 save the health of their employees. Dun'lap & Co. have evidently 
 tried to do that. He answers questions as follows : 
 
 " Is the use of wood alcohol detrimental to the health of your em- 
 ployees? " He says, " Yes." He is then asked: " Specify particu- 
 lar cases." He answers : " It made one man blind for a period of 
 three months, from which he has never recoyered; injured the arms 
 and hands and considerably irritated the eyes of other workmen." 
 How do you reconcile that with your statement? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I was particularly interested in that statement, and 
 I read that with a good deal of interest. In the first place, the price 
 of the high grade of wood alcohol has not been $1.50 for over four 
 years. Dunlap & Co. are paying less than 90 cents a gallon for the 
 grade they are using to-day. If he refers to the fact that it has any 
 effect on the eyes, he is referring to a time when he was using ordi- 
 iTary wood alcohol, because it is utterly impossible that there should 
 be any effect on the eyes from using the grade of wood alcohol he is 
 using now. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You think the 90 per cent grade would not be injurious? 
 I have before me the price list of the New York Journal of Commerce 
 of day before yesterday, and wood alcohol is quoted as follows: 
 "Wood alcohol, 97 per cent, 70-75 cents; purified, $1.25-$1.30." 
 Which of these grades does Mr. Dunlap use, the 70 to 75 cent grade 
 or the $1.25 to $1.30 grade? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. He does not use either one of those grades. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Which grade is it that does not injure the health of the 
 employees ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. It is the high grade, chemically pure, methyl al- 
 cohol. Those prices are retail prices. Our prices are all public. 
 There is no secret about it. We give 10 per cent discount on Colum- 
 bian spirits. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You will admit that there seems to be a radical differ- 
 ence of opinion between the consumer and the producer ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Not in the case of Dunlap & Co. I think those two 
 statements agree. He refers to the wood alcohol which he was using 
 years ago when he speaks of it affecting the eyes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understood you to say also that they were experiencing 
 great difficulty in England in the use of denatured alcohol, and con- 
 sequently the use of it was Very limited. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. It is very limited in England. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I suppose you will agree with the report of the Parlia- 
 mentary commission just made, dated the 20th day of March, 1905, 
 in which they say that ordinary methylated spirits should contain 
 only 5 per cent of wood alcohol instead of 10, as they have been using 
 heretofore, and in which they recommend that the regulations gov- 
 erning the sale at retail should be less stringent and more elastic. 
 If you agree to that, then the tendency is the contrary to what you 
 stated. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I stated that the revenue officers were attempting 
 to revise the laws because the present ones were not satisfactory, and 
 that notwithstanding that the use of denatured alcohol was only 
 S,500,000 gallons last year. 
 
 Mr. Hill. This report would seem to look toward legislation for 
 the purpose of securing a larger use, would it not? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir ; they are trying to. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 159 
 
 Mr. Smith. Do you buy the Michigan product ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. For all the factories in Michigan? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Not all of them ; but the majority of them. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How many are there in Michigan; are there five? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. There are more than that. I think there are ten 
 or twelve. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Are they small or large ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. With one exception they are all large, in Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Smith. And you take practically the entire output? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. Those we take from at all we take the 
 entire output. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How do you take it; under a contract from year to 
 3'ear ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir ; from year to year. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Do you make contracts for a longer period than one 
 year? 
 
 Mr. Ste\'ens. With some. 
 
 Mr. Smith. For how long? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. We have made contracts up to 1910. 
 
 Mr. Smith. That is a five-year contract ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Are there any conditions in that contract that in the 
 event of legislation of this kind they should be void ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. In every one of them. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Then you do believe it would be harmful to your indus- 
 
 Mt. Stevens. I certainly do. Doctor Wiley said that he did not 
 believe the consumption 01 denatured alcohol would reach 60,000,000 
 gallons for several years to come; and if you used 10 per cent for a 
 denaturing element you take 5,000,000 gallons, which is only a little 
 over one-half of the output. 
 
 Mr. Smith. The census just taken indicates that there are five fac- 
 tories in Michigan producing wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. There are more than that. There are three at Cad- 
 illac, each making 600 barrels a month. There is one at Gladstone, 
 one at Marquette, one at Manistique, one at Antrim, and one at 
 Burrell. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How much of an industry is it ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I could not say. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the amount of your contracts with them? 
 We have not been able to get very close, data on the volume of the 
 wood-alcohol industry. 
 
 Mr. Stevens. I could not give anything more than a guess at that. 
 
 Mr. Smith. I do not care to have you guess. It is really an impor- 
 tant industry ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. The charcoal is worth as much as the alcohol, and 
 the acetate of lime as much more. I should say it was from ten to 
 fifteen million dollars. 
 
 The Chairman. Can you furnish those figures to Mr. Smith ? 
 
 Mr. Stevens. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Put them in the record. 
 
 (For the statistics see p. 412, 413.) 
 
160 FREE ALCOHUL. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Somebody testified here that the by-products of mak- 
 ing charcoal amounted to 52 per cent of the whole business, the char- 
 coal making 48 per cent. 
 
 (The committee thereupon (at 12 o'clock m.) took a recess until 
 1.30 o'clock p.m.) 
 
 FOURTH DAY— AFTERNOOlSr SESSION. 
 
 Tuesday, Fehniary 20, 1906—1.30 p. m. 
 
 The committee reassembled at the expiration of the recess, with the 
 chairman, Hon. Sereno E. Payne, in the chair. Present : The chair- 
 man and Messrs. Dalzell, Grosvenor, McCleary, Hill, Boutell, Need- 
 ham, Smith, Williams, Clark, Underwood, and Granger. 
 
 The Chairman. We will hear Mr. Austin Farrell. 
 
 STATEMENT OF AUSTIN FARRELL, OF MARaUETTE, MICH., REP- 
 RESENTING THE CLEVELAND CLIFFS IRON COMPANY, 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I am here to-day for 
 the purpose of protesting against the various bills now before your 
 honorable body relative to the abolition or reduction of the tax on 
 grain alcohol used in the arts. 
 
 I am representing the Cleveland Cliffs and Pioneer Iron com- 
 panies, of Marquette and Gladstone, Mich., said companies being sub- 
 companies of the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company. 
 
 Aiid I might say, in this connection, I have been asked to represent 
 the Elk Eapids Iron Company, of Elk Eapids, and the Antrim Iron 
 Company, of Grand Rapids, Mich. 
 
 The works of the Pioneer Iron Company at Marquette consist of 
 a charcoal blast furnace, with a daily capacity of 125 tons pig iron, 
 }ind a chemical plant producing about 1,000 gallons of refined wood 
 alcohol daily and 13,000 pounds of acetate of lime. The plant of 
 the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company at Gladstone consists of a blast 
 furnace, with a daily capacity of 110 tons of charcoal pig iron, and 
 two chemical plants, with a joint capacity of something over 1,000 
 gallons of refined wood alcohol daily and about 12,000 pounds of 
 acetate of lime. In addition to these plants the Cleveland Cliffs Iron 
 Company is the largest individual ore producer on the Marquette 
 Eange and owns over 1,000,000 acres of timber land. 
 
 I am the general manager of the blast furnace and chemical depart- 
 ments. This protest on my part is most earnest. The passage of 
 any of these bills in their present form will affect our companies 
 most vitally, and it is a question with us, so far as our furnace and 
 chemical interests are concerned, of self-preservation. 
 
 Briefly, we have invested in these plants about $1,750,000. This 
 investment simply represents plants engaged in the ' production of 
 wood alcohol, acetate of lime, and charcoal pig iron. It does not 
 include working capital or our large investments in lands made nec- 
 essary for the successful operation of these plants. We produce 
 756,000 gallons of wood alcohol annually, about one-eleventh of the 
 total production of the whole United States. We produce 8,280,000 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 161 
 
 pounds of acetate of lime, about one-fourteenth of the total produc- 
 tion of the United States. We employ, on an average, about 1,000 
 men at our various plants and furnaces. Our pay rolls amount to 
 $43,500 per month. In the State of Michigan there is produced an- 
 nually 291,000 tons of charcoal iron. Of this amount we produce 
 98,400 tons, a trifle over one-third. 
 
 I mention these figures to give you an idea of the magnitude of our 
 business. In this connection it might be well to state that there are 
 seven other furnaces in the State of Michigan producing pig iron 
 and by-products, wood alcohol, and acetate of lime. All of these 
 furnaces, as well as ourselves, would be directly affected by the pas- 
 sage of these bills. More than 5,000 men are employed by these in- 
 dustries in this State. All of these furnaces mentioned are run in 
 connection with by-product plants. It is a significant fact that with 
 one exception every furnace in Michigan has gone into the produc- 
 tion of by-products or permanently gone out of blast. 
 
 It costs more to produce charcoal than coke iron. The difference 
 in cost is entirely due to the difference in fuel. Charcoal, under the 
 most favorable conditions, can not be produced so cheaply as coke. 
 Therefore charcoal iron can not be sold at as low a price as coke 
 iron, while, on the other hand, coke iron can be used for almost 
 every purpose where charcoal iron is now employed. Charcoal iron 
 is subject to more violent fluctuations than coke on account of the 
 more restricted consumption, and the price has at times been very 
 low. During the last ten years had it not been for the by-products 
 the margins in the charcoal business would have been in the majority 
 of the years on the wrong side of the ledger. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Do you mean to say that in the last ten years, if 
 it had not been for the by-products you could not have sold charcoal 
 iron? 
 Mr. Farrell. Not at any profit. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Is it not a fact that in the last five years there has 
 been a better sale for pig-iron products than for half a century 1 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Not for half a century. It has been good in the last 
 three years, but I said the majority of years. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. There has been a continual upward tendency of 
 all the iron markets, has there not ? 
 Mr. Farrell. It has been up and down. 
 Mr. Underwood. But I mean the average market? 
 Mr. Farrell. Yes; the average market has been up and down. 
 For instance, charcoal iron or coke iron have not been selling as high 
 as two years ago. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. But there has been a general upward tendency 
 since 1903 ? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Yes. While I do not mean to infer that a charcoal 
 blast furnace can never run without the by-products, I emphatically 
 state that its operations would be precarious and intermittent, and 
 unless favorably located many furnaces now in operation in connec- 
 tion with by-products would be compelled to go out of blast perma- 
 nently, and at the best the results of their operation would be very 
 uncertain and the loss enormous. 
 
 Eef erring again to my statement that we have invested in our 
 plants and furnaces $1,Y50,000, I beg to state that of this amount 
 about $840,000 represents our investment in chemical plants alone. 
 11058—06 11 
 
162 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 If these bills are passed this will be a total loss to us, and as pre- 
 \dously stated, our additional investment in furnaces would be ren- 
 dered practicallj^ valueless. In addition to this the large amount of 
 money we have invested in timber lands for the use oi these indus- 
 tries would be most seriously affected. These lands were purchased 
 with a view of supplying our furnaces and chemical plants with 
 material for many years to come. It is a well-known fact that the 
 hard-wood timber lands in the northern peninsula are not as good as 
 similar lands farther south. By this I mean that the percentage of 
 log timber per acre is small as compared with the lumber obtained in 
 the lower peninsula and formerly in Ohio and certain portions of 
 Pennsylvania and Indiana. 
 
 The lands controlled by our company are most carefully handled. 
 The best log timber is disposed of for the manufacture of hard- wood 
 lumber, while the inferior stuff which is unfit for lumber is cut up 
 into cord wood and manufactured as charcoal, and it is during this 
 process that we obtain the by-products. In many cases the amount of 
 log stuff is so small on an acre that it does not pay to lumber it were 
 it not taken out in connection with the cord wood. We therefore 
 utilize everything on an acre of land, nothing being wasted. Hereto- 
 fore many thousand acres of land containing timber were of com- 
 paratively little value. Now all of this inferior timber is converted 
 into alcohol and acetate of lime. There are many thousand acres 
 of land in the northern peninsula on which the soil is good and 
 especially adapted to the raising of root and hay crops. Great quan- 
 tities of potatoes and sugar beets are now raised annually in the 
 northern peninsula. 
 
 Owing to the heavy stand of timber and the inability of settlers to 
 find a market for it, it was very hard to induce farmers to come up 
 into our country. The labor required to clear up an acre of land was 
 very heavy, and the timber was formerly burned to get it out of the 
 way of the farmer. Our company has sold many thousand acres of 
 land to farmers on easy payments, and from them we take their log 
 ( imber and cord wood at the prevailing market prices. This enables 
 ihem to clear up their farm and make a little profit, where before they 
 made absolutely nothing from their timber. All these men are pros- 
 perous and well satisfied. If these bills were passed all these opera- 
 tions would cease and the large number of men engaged therein be 
 thrown out of employment, for the reason that wood alcohol can not 
 compete with grain after the internal-revenue tax is removed. 
 
 It is probably not in my province to go into this question of lumber, 
 as others better posted will bring it before you, but at the- same time 
 our company is so largely interested in timber lands in the northern 
 peninsula that they would be seriously affected in that line, as well 
 as in the other mentioned. 
 
 I have heard that the advocates of free alcohol have a great deal to 
 say regarding the injurious effects of wood alcohol on the physical 
 health of human beings; that the fumes are deadly and noxious. 
 There might have been some grounds for these statements fifteen or 
 twenty years ago, but I do not believe that this argument will hold. 
 I have personally been engaged in the production of wood alcohol 
 for the past ten years. We employ a great many men in our facto- 
 ries. During that time I do not know of anyone 'who has been phys- 
 ically or permanently injured from the effects of his association with 
 
VHEE ALCOHOL. 163 
 
 wood alcohol in its different stages of production. I have many 
 men who have been with me during this entire time and who have 
 always been and are to-day perfectly healthy. 
 
 There has been a great improvement made during the last five or 
 ten years in the production of methyl alcohol, and the product of 
 to-day from any first-class factory would not, I am sure, be injurious 
 to anyone unless it was taken internally. Then we know that it is 
 a poison, causing death or, at the best, blindness. We make no secret 
 of this. All our men know it, and every package that leaves our 
 furnace is marked, " Poison if taken internally." 
 
 I have tried to confine myself in this protest to such facts as affect 
 my company's interests. We believe that in view of the large amount 
 of money we have invested, the number of men we employ directly, 
 and the number of people depending on them, and the farmers whom 
 we are benefiting we have a right to be considered, and in the name of 
 the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, its allied interests, its employees 
 and officers, I emphatically protest against the passage of any of these 
 bills. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Let me ask you a few questions as to how that 
 affects your industry. Your principal industry is the making of pig 
 iron, is it not? 
 
 Mr. Faekell. We consider the by-products just as important. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. But that is the principal industry your people are 
 engaged in — making pig iron? 
 
 Mr. Fareell. I do not think we so consider it. We consider the 
 by-products just as important as pig iron. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Do you make ]ust as much money out of the 
 by-products ? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. I do not say we do, altogether. We have almost as 
 much money invested in chemical appliances as we have in the blast 
 furnaces. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What are you selling your charcoal iron at to- 
 day? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. It is quoted at $20 in Chicago. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What does it cost you for your ore? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. I do not know whether I can answer those questions 
 or not. The price of ore is, I think, about $3.70 a ton. It was last 
 year. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. How many tons do you take to make a ton of 
 pig iron? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. It takes about 2.1. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Two and one-tenth tons? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Do you require any lime for a mix? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. How much? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. It will average from 5 to 8 per cent. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Eight per cent of lime ? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. From 6 to 8 per cent; yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What does that cost? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Do you want me to tell you the cost of pig iron? 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Yes ; that is what I want. 
 
 Mr. Farrell. I do not think I would be at liberty to do that. I 
 have not been authorized to do it. 
 
164 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. According to my informati&n on the question, 
 I think you must be mistaken in your statement that this would 
 seriously affect the pig-iron business. 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I do not care to go into the details. I do not think 
 it is fair to ask me that question, but as I said in my paper, the differ- 
 ence between the cost of coke iron and charcoal iron is entirely due 
 to fuel. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. I understand. 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. We can make charcoal iron, as far as labor and raw 
 materials are concerned, as cheaply as the coke men can. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. Is it not really a fact that as to you gentlemen 
 who are making charcoal with these chemical processes, your by- 
 products pay for your charcoal? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. Not altogether. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. Does not j^our charcoal practically go into your 
 furnace free of cost to you ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. It goes largely toward paying for it. That is the 
 reason we do not want to see the tax removed. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. You get a fuel, in charcoal, taking out these by- 
 products, practically free of cost, whereas another producer of pig 
 iron has to pay for his colce without any by-product. 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. We do not get it altogether free of cost. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. Well, nearly so. My understanding is, and I 
 think that is a fact, is it not, that it is practically free of cost? Your 
 charcoal is free of cost when you take out the by-products? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. No, sir; I do not think you can say that. There is 
 still something due on charcoal. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. Not very much, is there ? If so, how much ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I could not say offhand how much, but there is 
 something still due to charcoal. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. There is not 10 per cent, is there ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I could not tell you that Toffhand. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. Then, as far as your iron industry is concerned, 
 the charcoal men are getting their fuel cheaper than the coke men 
 are? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. No, sir ; I do not think they are. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. The coke men are paying from $2.50 to $3.50 for 
 coke, are they not? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. They are paying about $3 for coke. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. It depends upon the section of the country they 
 are in ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. They are paying about $3 for coke, and I suppose 
 good practice to-day would take m the neighborhood of a ton. That 
 would cost them about $3 to a ton of iron, we will say, for fuel, and 
 our fuel costs about $6 to $6.50 a ton. That is what we get of the 
 by-products. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. But the by-products pay for that? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. No, sir; I do not think they do. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. They nearly do ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I should say they put us on a basis with coke iron. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. You get a better price for charcoal iron, do you 
 not, than they do for coke iron ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. There is a difference of about two to three dollars. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. There are certain markets, for instance in the 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 165 
 
 manufacture of wheels, where charcoal iron is preferable, is it not, 
 and is the best in the market? 
 
 Mr. Farkell. Yes; it is preferable, but there is less used per 
 wheel, because the wheel men to-day are using a great deal of coke 
 iron and manganese, and of course they claim they get equally as 
 good results. They guarantee a wheel to make a hundred thousand 
 miles, or if it does not, they replace it. Of course if that wheel 
 breaks, it does not cost a great deal to replace it, but the railroad 
 companies do not look at it in that way, and the result is that our 
 market for charcoal iron has been greatly curtailed in the last few 
 years. I am not a wheel man myself, but I would not like to say 
 that the wheels they make from coke iron are as good as those made 
 from charcoal iron. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Here is the proposition, and I think we agree 
 on it: It will not ruin your industry, the iron business, to give free 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. It will very seriously affect it. I do not say the 
 charcoal manufacturers can never run again if this tax is taken off, 
 but I do say it will seriously affect the interests, and many of them 
 can not run. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. In your statement to me a minute ago you said 
 that your charcoal costs you about $6 ? 
 
 Mr. Fareell. Yes ; $6 to $6.50. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. That one-half of that was in the by-product ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I say almost that. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. That is, you would save $3, according to your 
 statement, in the by-product ? 
 
 Mr. Fareell. Hardly $3. I would not want to admit that. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. That is what you stated a moment ago. 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I correct myself. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. And you get a differential of $2 on your charcoal 
 iron more than the coke man gets on his coke iron ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I said from $2 to $3 at the present time. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. The differential is from $2 to $3 in favor of char- 
 coal iron, which, if you made nothing on your by-products, makes up 
 for the difference. Then you make at least half of your by-products 
 on other things besides wood alcohol, do you not ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. No. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. Do you not make a profit on by-products — on 
 charcoal outside of alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I am talking of all the by-products combined. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. Wood alcohol is only one that goes into that ? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Acetate of lime is the only other. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. How much of the by-products do you make on 
 acetate of lime ? 
 
 Mr. Fareell. I 'say, taking acetate of lime and wood alcohol to- 
 gether, we would probably save not quite $3. 
 
 Mr. Undeewood. If we pass this bill, it does not interfere with 
 your profit on acetate of lime ? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. What would be the use of selling acetate of lime if 
 you can not sell your alcohol ? You can not afford to run a plant for 
 acetate of lime alone. Acetate of lime is directly made in the process 
 of making alcohol. 
 Mr. Undeewood. I understand. 
 
166 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Faerell. And if we can not sell our alcohol we can not make 
 acetate of lime. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. You do not think this would deprive you entirely 
 of selling wood alcohol, do you ? 
 
 Mr. Fareell. The market would be very small. Gentlemen, I am 
 only looking at this thing from my standpoint. Very extravagant 
 statements have been made as to the quantity of wood alcohol that 
 would be used. I do not know whether those statements are true or 
 not, but we feel that this will seriously affect us, and while I do not 
 want to question the statements, I think it is doubtful whether there 
 will be an immediate increase in the consumption of wood alcohol. 
 We do not want to gamble on that, anyhow. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Let me ask you this, which is a fair question: 
 Here is a great industry, for illustration, that makes fulminating 
 powder, that has to have grain alcohol to make it with. We do not 
 allow them to make it in this country because we tax them out of ex- 
 istence. Ought we to maintain a tax to drive those men out of 
 existence so that the wood-alcohol industry can survive, or, if we can 
 protect the revenue, ought we not to allow each business man to take 
 care of himself? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. I think that would be a very nice thing to be done if 
 it can be done, but I do not care about the fulminating people at all. 
 I am after the people in our own business. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Do you think it is right for this committee to 
 maintain a tax merely to keep you in business and drive your com- 
 petitor out? 
 
 Mr. Fareell. I believe the fulminating men can still make their 
 powder, and make it at a profit, and we were in the business before 
 they were. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Most of them have to make it in Canada or some- 
 where else. 
 
 Mr. Faerell. I believe they could make it if they wanted to. 
 
 Mr. Williams. I do not know that I understood you, as I do not 
 hear very well and you speak rather low. Do I understand you to 
 say that you do not know what it costs you to make pig iron ? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. I know what it costs us to make pig iron, but I do 
 not think, I ought to tell it. 
 
 Mr. Williams. You simply decline to tell what it costs, but you sell 
 it at $20 per ton? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. At the present time. We have sold it for a great 
 deal less. 
 
 Mr. Williams. It is rather a delicate question, but why is it you 
 think it is not right to tell ? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. I do not think I have any right to do so. 
 
 _Mr. Williams. You come before the committee to give the com- 
 mittee information. Do you not think you ought to give it quite 
 full information? 
 
 Mr. Faerell. Unless the executive officers of my company would 
 authorize me to do it, I do not think I ought to do it. 
 
 Mr. Williams. I understand you are coming before the committee 
 with the contention that if certain legislation is enacted it will render 
 your business less remunerative to you, it will cripple your business ? 
 
 Mr. Faerell. Yes, sir. 
 
I'EEE ALCOHOL. 167 
 
 Mr. Williams. The committee, desirous of finding out whether 
 your notion about that is correct or not, desire to know how much it 
 costs you to make pig iron. They know how much you sell it at, and 
 they want to know how much it costs you to make it. That would 
 shed a great deal of light on the minds of the committee so that we 
 would know what we were driving at. 
 
 Mr. Faerell. I am perfectly willing to take the matter up with 
 our company, and if the executive officers of our company authorize 
 it I will send you our cost sheet. When I come here before you, 
 gentlemen, I come here and make a statement honestly. I do not 
 mean to give you a bad impression that I am trying to hold some- 
 thing back, but I come here and honestly state that to the best of my 
 belief this 
 
 Mr. Williams. I am not quarreling with you about that. 
 
 Mr. Faerell. I think that ought to be sufficient. 
 
 Mr. Williams. The point is as to keeping back something. 
 
 Mr. Fabeell. The only thing I am keeping back is the details of 
 our business. 
 
 Mr. Williams. But it becomes a part of the detail of the business 
 of this committee in order to enable it to act intelligently on this 
 question, and for that reason it would be right important for the 
 committee to know. 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. I can take it up with our officers, and if they author- 
 ize me to_ do it I can send you a cost sheet, but I will tell you there is 
 no great profit in pig iron, not as much as some people think. 
 
 The Chairman. Are there any further questions by members of the 
 committee ? If not, we will hear Mr. Butt. 
 
 Mr. Faerell. I would like to say something for the Antrim Iron 
 Company and Elk Rapids Iron Company, and file a few figures in 
 reference to them. 
 
 The Chairman. Proceed and complete your statement. 
 
 Mr. Faerell. The Elk Eapids Iron Company produces about 
 30,000 tons of pig iron a year, 500 gallons of crude alcohol daily, 
 and 10,000 pounds of acetate of lime daily. They employ 600 men 
 and 100 farmers and their wagons at the present time. They have 
 about $600,000 invested in their plant, and the remarks I have made 
 regarding our business will apply to them. 
 
 The Antrim Iron Company, at Grand Eapids, makes about 30,000 
 tons of pig iron yearly, 600 gallons of refined alcohol daily, and em- 
 ploys about 700 men. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Let me see if I have the figures right. You say they 
 produce 30,000 tons of pig iron and 500 gallons of wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Fareell. About 600 gallons of wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That would mean $300 worth? 
 
 Mr. Faeeell. That would mean $300 worth. 
 
 Mr. Hill. And your idea is that the loss of that $300 would be 
 disastrous to the iron business ? 
 
 Mr. Faerell. I certainly think it would be. 
 
 Mr. Hill. On 30,000 tons of iron? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. Three hundred dollars a day. 
 
 Mr. Hill. If you got nothing for your alcohol, this company would 
 lose $300? 
 
 Mr. Farrell. A day. 
 
168 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understood you to say a year. 
 
 Mr. Faerell. No; 600 gallons daily. It would be $300 a day 
 gross. 
 
 The remarks I made with reference to our company will also apply 
 to the Antrim Iron Company. 
 
 STATEMENT OF N. B. BUBB, PRESIDENT OF THE MANUFACTUR- 
 ERS' CHARCOAL COMPANY, OF WILLIAMSPORT, PA. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. BuBB. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I ap- 
 pear before you as the representative of about 75 per cent of the acid, 
 or wood, alcohol manufacturers in the States of New York and Penn- 
 sylvania. I desire to especially speak of chemical charcoal, one of 
 the by-products in the destructive distillation of wood. 
 
 I have the honor to be president of the Manufacturers' Charcoal 
 Company, with offices at Bradford, Pa. This company is composed 
 entirely of manufacturers and was organized for the following pur- 
 poses : 
 
 (a) By united effort to extend the market for this particular 
 product. 
 
 (i) Enlarge the purposes for which said product is used. 
 
 (c) Bj^ comparison of method in manufacturing, adopt ways 
 whereby the said product may be manufactured with, greater 
 economy. 
 
 (d) By like means improve present methods of manufacturing ' 
 said product. 
 
 (e) To distribute the coal to the trade at the least possible cost. 
 (/) All these for the advantage of both producers and consumers. 
 The growth of this industry has kept pace with the growth of other 
 
 industries in this great country, so that to-day we are producing 
 double the quantity of charcoal that we produced ten years ago. 
 There are in active operation in the States of New York and Penn- 
 sylvania 80 acid factories. They produce annually 26,250,000 bushels 
 of charcoal. 
 
 A standard bushel of charcoal weighs 20 pounds. The production 
 is equivalent to 21,880 cars of 1,200 bushels each. This necessarily 
 is a source of large revenue to the railroads, and in many instances 
 lateral roads have been built and depend almost entirely on the rev- 
 enue derived from the transportation of charcoal and the raw product 
 that produces it. The charcoal is distributed in all of the principal 
 cities of the Eastern States, and as far west as Chicago. Approxi- 
 mately 1,250,000 bushels per month are used for domestic purposes. 
 For this class of trade the charcoal is packed in stout paper sacks 
 holding 3, 5, 8, and 10 pounds. At least 90 per cent of this sacked 
 coal is used in the tenement districts. Every grocery store in those 
 localities carries a stock of sacked charcoal. It is the daily custom 
 of these families to purchase in the early morning a sack of charcoal 
 to last them through the day. It is retailed at such price (an average 
 of 8 cents for a sack of 10 pounds) that its cost, considering its many 
 advantages, is no greater than anthracite coal. 
 
 It would be a decided hardship for these people if their supply of 
 charcoal was shut off or if it was advanced to a prohibitive cost. In 
 one city of about 300,000 inhabitants there is distributed monthly to 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 169 
 
 this class of trade an average of 200,000 bushels. The balance of 
 the monthly output, about 1,000,000 bushels, is used by varied inter- 
 ests, such' as tube, sheet, and plate mills, smelters, powder mills, and 
 a very large quantity in the production of charcoal pig iron. For all 
 these purposes, however, charcoal can only be used at such price as 
 governs the market conditions. 
 
 Should the proposed legislation become a law, not a single acid 
 works in existence could survive except by advancing the price of 
 charcoal at least 33J per cent. 
 
 Such a radical change would surely mean the crippling or closing 
 down permanently of many important industries employing an army 
 of men. 
 
 The charge that the acid producers are destroying and depleting 
 vast tracts of valuable timber is without foundation in fact. I can 
 best illustrate this point by reciting the operation of the works in 
 which I am directly interested. We are the owners of 16,000 acres of 
 timber lands in McKean and Elk counties, Pa. We operate 26 miles 
 of standard-gauge railroad, fully equipped with up-to-date rolling 
 stock. 
 
 Prior to our purchase the entire 16,000 acres had been completely 
 stripped of every tree that had any market value for saw timber. 
 
 Nothing was left but trees that have no market value whatever 
 except to be used in the manufacture of charcoal, acetate of lime, and 
 alcohol. 
 
 AH of the operations in the same line with which I am familiar 
 are parallel cases. All of them are using every endeavor to protect 
 the second-growth timber from forest fires. If this can be done ef- 
 fectually for twenty years, the second-growth timber will have reached 
 a stage where it could be utilized in producing the different products 
 by distillation. 
 
 Just a word here as to the charge that the continued use or han- 
 dling of wood alcohol in its various stages is injurious to the 
 workman. 
 
 Please bear in mind that the acid works produce what is termed 
 crude wood alqohol; that the crude article is more pungent in its 
 natural state than after it has passed through the refining process, 
 and that the standard test of crude is 82°, while the refined is brought 
 up to 95° and 98°. 
 
 With an experience of more than twenty years, therefore, I say 
 that the handling of wood alcohol is not injurious; but, on the con- 
 trary, that it is. a healthy and harmless occupation, as witness the 
 thousands of workmen who are to-day engaged in its production, 
 many of whom have been at it for fifteen, twenty, and even twenty- 
 five years. A number of the superintendents of these works, and who 
 are likely to be called upon in an emergency to fill any position at a 
 moment's notice, have been continuously at the business for a period 
 of twenty years or more and are now past 60 years of age. With- 
 out a single exception these men are hale, hearty, and disgustingly 
 healthy. Several of them are present here to-day as living examples. 
 At all of these operations little hamlets have sprung up, with the 
 schoolhouse and church as a necessary adjunct. 
 
 Many of the employees own their little homes with a small patch 
 of cleared ground on the side. With a few exceptions the class of 
 
170 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 labor is not of a high order. It would cause great hardships and 
 suffering if these people were deprived of their present employment. 
 Now, I do not propose to burden you with any statistics, but simply 
 to say that the annual output oi the three products from the de- 
 structive distillation of wood runs into the millions ; that the annual 
 pay roll to the army of wood choppers and employees in a,nd around 
 the factories runs into the millions, and in addition there is an army 
 of men throughout the entire East who are dependent upon obtain- 
 ing charcoal at such a price that the consuming public will use it. 
 We appeal to you, therefore, to make no change m the existing laws, 
 and claim that any benefits to be derived by the proposed legislation is 
 more than offset by the benefits now enjoyed. 
 
 STATEMENT OF W. G. SHARP, REPRESENTING THE ASHIAND 
 IRON AND STEEL COMPANY, ASHLAND, WIS. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
 wish first to read a brief statement I made before I had the oppor- 
 tunity of hearing the statements and testimony made two weeks ago 
 by the advocates of the passage of this bill. Necessarily I will have 
 to change my argument a little bit, and I desire to comment upon some 
 of those statements made. I wish before I read this statement to 
 say that I will be very glad to have interruptions at any time if there 
 is anything that does not appear quite clear to you gentlemen. 
 
 Representing the Ashland Iron and Steel Company, of Ashland, 
 Wis., as a large stockholder and director, I wish to protest against 
 the passage by Congress of any law which has for its object the 
 removing of the internal revenue on grain alcohol, and I desire to 
 take this opportunity to present a few reasons for this protest. 
 
 The company which I represent, while only one of many similar 
 institutions in the country, located from Maine to the Mississippi 
 River, has invested a million and a half dollars in its property lo- 
 cated at Ashland, Wis., and consists of a large charcoal pig-iron 
 furnace, chemical by-product plant (manufacturing wood alcohol 
 and acetate of lime), and timber lands. At the present time this 
 company is endeavoring to make charcoal iron to compete with the 
 coke product, and is enabled to a very large extent to do business from 
 the fact that all the by-products, such as wood alcohol and acetate of 
 lime, resulting from the destructive distillation of wood, are manu- 
 factured and marketed by us. 
 
 I wish to say in this connection that we are independent producers, 
 that we do not sell our product or any part of it to the Buffalo Wood 
 Alcohol Company, and I do not know that we have ever done so. £ 
 may not be entirely accurate in that. 
 
 In fact, the manufacture of wood alcohol is vitally connected with 
 the industry of charcoal pig-iron making. It is safe to say that fully 
 90 per cent of the charcoal iron furnaces doing business to-day in the 
 country use fuel manufactured from wood-alcohol plants, very much 
 cheapened by the saving of these chemical by-products. 
 
 Of all the wood-alcohol plants in this country, and there are up- 
 ward of 100 of them, a large percentage dispose of their charcoal for 
 the purpose of pig-iron manufacture, though it is also true that their 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 171 
 
 charcoal product has proven a great boon to the domestic users in 
 large cities where it comes in competition with coal as fuel. 
 
 In this day of business enterprise nearly all lines of manufacturing 
 have taken advantage of cutting off the corners by saving all the by- 
 products which may result from the main operations. 
 
 In this connection I wish to say I do not know how general it is, 
 because I am not a coke manufacturer, but in Pennsylvania they save 
 by-products to reduce the price of coke, using a German invention. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. There are comparatively few furnaces, though, 
 that save the by-products up to the present time? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I do not think they are doing it so universally now, 
 but they are conunencing it, and they are even making brick out of the 
 slag. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. That has not affected the industry up to the pres- 
 ent time in any way? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I understand from Mr. Farrell that there are 5,000 by- 
 product ovens in this country under the coke manufacturing pig-iron 
 companies. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. That is very small. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. It is, but it is bound to grow. These patents have been 
 bought by our coke-iron manufacturers. 
 
 Long ago charcoal-iron manufacturers saw the necessity and great 
 advantage to their business of going into the manufacturing of wood 
 alcohol, and the result is that many millions of dollars are at the 
 present time invested in this industry alone. 
 
 If it be urged as an argument in favor of the passage of a free 
 grain alcohol bill that it would preserve the forests, my answer is that 
 such preservation, if any, would be insignificant in extent, as charcoal 
 would still be manufactured for the use of these charcoal-iron fur- 
 naces and for domestic consumption, though naturally at a consider- 
 ably increased price. 
 
 In this connection it is important to know also that a ver^ large 
 percentage of the timber thus used in the manufacture of charcoal is 
 of such a nature and quality as to be almost valueless for any other 
 purpose. Over large tracts of timber lands, with which I am fa- 
 miliar, located not only in the South, but more especially in northern 
 Michigan and Wisconsin, there are valuable soft woods, such as pine, 
 hemlock, cedar, and basswood, promiscuously scattered through for- 
 ests of hard wood. In years past the pine, being most valuable, has 
 been taken out, logging roads having been made to remove this class 
 of timber. Later on the hemlock and cedar has come more into de- 
 mand ; but in order to make it profitable to remove this kind of tim- 
 ber the hard wood has had to be cut and hauled at the same time. 
 
 In fact, the pine were taken from many of those forests twenty 
 years ago, and no operations have been undertaken amidst those for- 
 ests until within the last three or four years, when hemlocks became 
 more valuable. 
 
 In all such operations the better class of hard wood is put into the 
 manufacture of lumber almost exclusively, while the inferior stuff, 
 which can not be used even as culls, is brought in and carbonized in 
 kilns in connection with wood-alcohol plants. In this way lumber- 
 ing operations in the North, especially in the so-called " hard-wood 
 districts," are greatly benefited and made more profitable. Indeed, I 
 
172 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 have in mind not a few lumbering enterprises that could not have 
 been successfully carried on had it not been for an arrangement by 
 which a division of the expenses of logging operations was made, 
 whereby these wood-alcohol plants took over the inferior and unmar- 
 ketable class of timber. 
 
 Not long ago the president of one of the important railroads in the 
 North told me that the manufacture of wood alcohol in his section 
 of the country had done more to bring in settlers and improve the 
 unsettled and half-waste territory through which his road ran than 
 any other agency, as it resulted in a clearing of the lands too poorly 
 timbered for lumbering operations and yet too rough for the encour- 
 agement of settlers to come in and till the soil. 
 
 While the amount of charcoal pig iron made in this country is rela- 
 tively small, yet it plays an important part in the iron industry, 
 especially in the manufacture of car wheels, on the quality of which 
 so much depends the safety of the traveling public. 
 
 I wish to say in this connection that the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 Company quite a number of years ago undertook to partly abandon 
 the use of charcoal, because it was more expensive. This action was 
 followed by quite a number of railroad wrecks, and I understand 
 later on one of their expert car-wheel makers took the position that 
 they would have to return to the use of charcoal iron because it was 
 a better iron. 
 
 Of late years a desire to cheapen the cost of every article of manu- 
 facture has resulted in a temptation to eliminate more and more from 
 various kinds of castings the use of charcoal iron, as it is necessarily 
 more expensive to manufacture than coke iron, though for many pur- 
 poses very much superior in quality. I think I can safely say that it 
 is only on account of the fact that charcoal-iron makers have been able 
 to save the by-products from the distillation of wood, of which wood 
 alcohol is the most valuable, that they have been able to do business in 
 competition with other kinds of pig-iron manufacturers. When it is ' 
 understood by your committee that charcoal iron is used by foundry- 
 men for the making up of a superior grade of finished products, the 
 objection to the enactment of a law which would very materially 
 enhance the price of such products to the public if still used at all 
 or cause an inferior article to be manufactured, because the price 
 of charcoal pig iron would put it beyond economical use, becomes 
 strongly apparent. 
 
 While it is true, as has been said, that at the present time there 
 is made a small proportion of charcoal pig iron to the great volume 
 of coke iron, yet this same product plays a very important part in 
 the iron industry, and it is undoubtedly true that no one factor has 
 contributed more to the ability of the manufacturers of this land of 
 iron to stay in the market than the production of wood alcohol and 
 kindred products, saved as they are from the smoke, which results 
 from the carbonization of the wood, and which would otherwise 
 escape into the air. 
 
 This threatened legislation, therefore, is of vital importance to the 
 allied industry of charcoal pig iron manufacture, in which, taken 
 in connection with their timber holdings, which would be rendered 
 almost valueless for other purposes than charcoal making, there are 
 many millions of dollars invested. From what has been said it is 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 173 
 
 clear that it plays an important part in the lessening to the consumer 
 of the cost of various kinds of lumber. 
 
 I have thus far considered the effect of such proposed legislation 
 upon the industry of charcoal pig-iron making alone. It is scarcely 
 necessary for me to say that the effect of such a law upon the wood- 
 alcohol industry as a separate institution would be disastrous. Not 
 being familiar with the special advantages which free grain alcohol 
 would offer to various manufacturing industries, I shall not attempt 
 to discuss or disprove them. I think, however, that it is a perfectly 
 legitimate argument to show that the making of wood alcohol has 
 come to such a state of perfection that, for very many purposes used 
 in the arts, it has proven almost a perfect substitute for grain alcohol. 
 Indeed, it is very extensively used, the rapid increase during the past 
 twenty years demonstrating that it has been a satisfactory substitute, 
 and that it has proven a great advantage in the manufacture t.f arti- 
 cles which would otherwise be burdened with the extra price of the 
 grain alcohol. If it is true, and I most assuredly believe that it is, 
 that there are strong reasons of public policy why grain alcohol 
 should never be made free for any purpose whereby it is to be gen- 
 erally used on account of the evils which may result from it, it can 
 be said with equal truth that this reason is entirely lacking when the 
 use of wood alcohol is considered. 
 
 While there has been a studied attempt made to create the impres- 
 sion throughout the country during the past year that the use of wood 
 alcohol as a beverage, diluted though it may be, was becoming more or 
 less general, yet I believe as a matter of fact that very little of the 
 stuff has ever been taken for internal use by anybody, however de- 
 praved his taste. 
 
 I see that published in the papers quite often during the last year. 
 T do not doubt the source from which much of this emanates, and 
 perhaps they have good reasons for putting it through the press ; but 
 it has become quite general, and it seems to me, at least, to be, from the 
 proofs I have, quite generally coming from one leading source. Even 
 from the Associated Press there was a dispatch from Tennessee a 
 while ago stating that some man had drank it, and some of the paint- 
 ers had struck on its use. 
 
 The fact of the matter is that it contains ingredients that for such 
 use are poisonous, and the cases of which I have read or with which I 
 am familiar show that its use becomes fatal ; not after a long use of the 
 stuff, but immediately — ^within a few hours. This fact has proven 
 in itself the best reason why no tax has ever been imposed upon its 
 use. But can it be said with equal truth that no harm would result 
 from the use of free-grain alcohol? It is my belief that no regula- 
 tions in this country, however stringent, could protect the public from 
 the harm resulting from the use of free-grain alcohol in the arts. If 
 I remember correctly. Senator Sherman made a speech a number of 
 years ago in the Senate upon this question of the revision of the in- 
 ternal revenue on grain alcohol, and he made the statement that he be- 
 lieved that the Government would be defrauded of upward of thirty 
 million dollars annually and that no provisions could be made so per- 
 fect as to prove a satisfactory safeguard against fraud and the im- 
 proper use of this product. 
 
174 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 It is fair for me to say that that bill was wider in its scope than the 
 present bill. It was for grain alcohol used in the arts and for phar- 
 maceutical purposes, and so on. 
 
 In answer to the statments industriously circulated during the past 
 year, and which through certain agencies have been widely publi^ied 
 in the press, to the effect that wood alcohol in some diluted form was 
 being used to a great extent for drinking purposes, perhaps no 
 stronger refutation could be made than to point to the fact that 
 although there is, in round numbers, a consumption of upward of 
 8,000,000 gallons of wood alcohol annually in the United States, yet I 
 understand that the instances where people have been known to drink 
 this product are very few indeed. It is natural to infer that where 
 this kind of alcohol is made and commonly handled by workmen 
 there would be more or less evidence of its being used as a beverage, 
 and I can say from personal knowledge extending over twenty years' 
 experience as a manufacturer of wood alcohol that the cases where 
 workmen or others in any way remotely associated with the business 
 ever drank this product have been exceedingly rare. 
 
 The fact of the matter is that the manufacture and development of 
 the wood-alcohol industry has been a happy solution of the problem 
 of furnishing a satisfactory substitute in many lines of manufacture 
 for the use of grain alcohol without resulting in widespread intem- 
 perance, furnishing, as it does, a substitute for grain alcohol at about 
 one-third or less of the cost. As the business has grown from year to 
 year, I have no hesitation in saying that there will be no trouble in 
 supplying all the needs of the manufacturers of this country for 
 many years to come. As I have before shown, it is not an industry 
 of small importance, but it has ramified out into many other impor- 
 tant lines of manufacture. 
 
 I have before briefly alluded to the danger in the passage of a law 
 that would greatly cheapen the selling price of grain alcohol, even 
 though well protected by safeguards against its improper use ; yet I 
 can not too strongly urge upon you the danger which I believe would 
 result from the widspread use of untaxed grain alcohol. Admitting 
 that proper restrictions could be framed for its use, yet ultimately it 
 must reach the hands of a large number of laboring men and other 
 classes of shop men who would have the actual handling and manipu- 
 lation of the product. 
 
 As it has been demonstrated that the methylated product can be so 
 chemically treated that the grain alcohol can be separated from the 
 mixture, it would not take long for cunning and ingenious men to 
 thus evade the law, and I believe that the work of national tem- 
 perance would be retarded greatly by the practical operation of such 
 a law. Clippings from the English press go to show that there are 
 many grave dangers which beset the enforcement of a law in that 
 country which requires the mixing or methylating of grain alcohol 
 for manufacturing purposes, and the cbndition of the workmen, 
 through the drinking of this mixture, has called forth protests from 
 many parts of the country. 
 
 For these reasons I believe that your committee should refuse to 
 recommend the passage of a law which would greatly harm, if not 
 destroy, the wood-alcohol industry and seriously affect other lines of 
 industry connected therewith. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 175 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Mr. Sharp, you say you are a director of this 
 plant ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Are you familiar with the operation of the plant 
 and the cost of operation? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir; I am. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What does it cost to make a ton of charcoal iron? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Now, do you mean 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Yes; under this plan. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Probably about $14.75 to $15 a ton for charcoal iron. 
 In some plants it costs a little more and in some a little less. 
 
 Mr. WhiLiams. Is that pig iron ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Charcoal pig iron; yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What do you sell that at in your nearest market ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. It sells at the furnace at about $18 to $18.75 a ton. It 
 sold in Chicago to-dav at from $19.50 to $20. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What grade is that; foundry grade? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. No. 1 foundry? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What does the same grade of coke iron sell for? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I am guessing at that, but I think $16.75 to $18. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Then there is a differential of two or three dol- 
 lars in favor of the charcoal iron? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes ; at the present time. There has been a time dur- 
 ing the past year when it was less. Not more than $1. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. There have been times when it was much greater ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, I think as high as $4, but not any higher than 
 that. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. In the manufacture of charcoal at the plant, what 
 does it cost you to make a ton of charcoal? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. It costs us, I think, about 6f cents a bushel up there, 
 although it has run as high as 11| cents. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Six and three-quarter cents? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. A bushel. We use anywhere from 85 to 100 bushels 
 l^er ton of iron, so that you can multiply it by about 90. 
 
 I wish to say^in this connection, on the varying price of pig iron, 
 that while it is true there is some profit in pig iron to-day, a profit of 
 probably $3 or $3.50 a ton, yet I remember within eighteen months, 
 when we were carrying within our yards a million dollars of iron 
 that we could not sell. I remember a time, about seven or eight years 
 ago, when iron that cost $11 or $12 a ton was sold in St. Louis at 
 $10.50. The iron business fluctuates up and down. To-day we are 
 making iron at a good profit; but I wish the committee to know that 
 within eighteen months all of the furnaces — indeed, even the-furnaces 
 Mr. Farrell represents — had 25,000 tons of pig iron that we could not 
 dispose of, and we carried it until our backs were almost broken. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. You say this charcoal costs 6| cents a bushel ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. On an average ; yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. What do you sell the by-products for that come 
 out of a bushel of charcoal ? What does the lime sell for ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. We get 60 cents a gallon for our alcohol. 
 
176 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. And how much for the lime ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I do not remember what that is. Mr. Gray, who is 
 here, I believe could tell you. I think it is about a dollar and thirty 
 cents delivered in New York. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. A dollar and thirty cents for what 'i 
 
 Mr. Sharp. A dollar and thirty cents a hundredweight delivered 
 in New York. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. After you have sold the alcohol and the lime, the 
 by-products that come out of charcoal, how much has the charcoal 
 cost you ? Do you not get the charcoal about free ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. No ; I do not think we do. Oh no ; not anywhere near, 
 because we figure that our by-product saves us about $3 to $3.50 a 
 ion, sometimes as low as $2.50 a ton on our iron, and our charcoal 
 costs to us about $6 to $6.50 a ton. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Do you mean the charcoal that goes into a ton of iron ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. A ton of pig iron; yes, sir. We have to use about 
 100 bushels — in some places a little more and in some a little less. 
 T made a mistake which I wish to correct about the Ashland plant. 
 1 am interested in one or two other furnaces. My principal holdings 
 are in the Michigan Iron Company and the Ashland, but the Ashland 
 is costing about 7^ cents a bushel for our coal. We have other 
 furnaces where it costs about 6J cents, but I think the average would 
 be about 6| cents a bushel. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Then, as I understand, the situation is about this : 
 You have a differential in favor of charcoal iron of about $3 a ton ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. And the savings, by reason of these by-products, 
 on the charcoal that goes in a ton of pig iron is about two or 
 three dollars a ton ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. So that if you made nothing out of your by- 
 products, the differential you get on pig iron is enough to equal the 
 difference in cost? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. It might be that way. You take our timber lands. 
 There are places where by saving these by-products and using up a 
 quality of timber that could not otherwise be used we can sell the saw 
 timber for other purposes, all of which goes in to a%ct our cost and 
 the profit arising from the business. Having been in this business 
 about fifteen years, I want to say, as my honest opinion, that the 
 passage of such a biU as this would practically destroy our business. 
 It might work a while, gentlemen, so that the consumption of this 
 denatured alcohol would require a larger amount 
 
 Mr. Underwood. When you say " practically destroy " your busi- 
 ness you mean your business of wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Whliams. You do not mean as an iron manufacturer ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. No; except that it would put us where we would have 
 to ask a higher price still for our charcoal iron. It would give our 
 competitors who manufacture the coke iron a better chance to get 
 in under us and drive us out. 
 
 Mr. Williams. They can not drive you out. There are certain 
 things your iron must be used for that their iron is not fit for. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 177 
 
 Mr. Sharp. That is true ; but at the same time they are using a good 
 bit of charcoal iron where they can use coke iron now. 
 
 Mr. Clark. It turns out that the estimate of Doctor Wiley was 
 pretty nearly right. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. He is the fairest one of all the witnesses. 
 
 Mr. Clark. But take his estimate at 50 per cent and split it in half 
 and make the consumption of denatured grain alcohol 50,000,000 
 gallons a year. That would come very near using up all of this wood 
 alcohol that you can now supply in order to denature it, would it not ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. That would be at 10 per cent ? 
 
 Mr. Clark. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes; it would take 5,000,000 out of probably 8,000,000 
 we are making. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If that turned out to be true, you gentlemen would not 
 be harmed in the estimation of a hair, would you ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. If that were true, we would not be harmed except to 
 about 60 per cent of our product. 
 
 Mr. Clark. But you have got to supply these other wants anyway. 
 You export 300,000 gallons of it a year. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. We export about 8 per cent of what we make, I pre- 
 sume. 
 
 Mr. Hh,l. It is sold at about the same price abroad as it is sold for 
 here — 55 cents a gallon — so that the mystery in my mind thus far 
 is, if it is sold at 55 cents abroad in countries where denatured alcohol 
 is authorized, why it would have any effect on changing the price 
 here if denatured alcohol was authorized. Why would it? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I do not think it would require anywhere near the 
 consumption of wood alcohol to mix with the other alcohol that we 
 make — ^that is, I think the 50,000,000 gallons would be largely in 
 excess of the output. I wish also to read a letter, if I may ? 
 
 Mr. Clark. Unless the letter is in that connection, I want to ask a 
 question before you get to it. What this committee wants is the 
 truth. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes ; I want that. 
 
 Mr. Clark. We all want to ascertain that. Some people claim 
 that this wood alcohol is used for intoxicating purposes. Some of 
 the others, who seem to be equally credible, absolutely scout it. Has 
 not anybody ever analyzed that subject to see what there is in it — 
 how much poison there is, and if so, what? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Can a man get drunk on wood alcohol without killing 
 himself ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I doubt it very much; but I would not want to say 
 that, because I do not know. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You ought to try it on some of these fellows. 
 
 Mr. Williams. A great many who try it do die. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Do you know anybody who has that information ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I only know what I have seen myself and in the few 
 cases that have occurred near our works, where some Swede who was 
 chopping wood for us has drunk the stuff and it has killed him. We 
 have a good many Swedes sometimes, and I never heard of more than 
 four or five cases in my connection with the business. 
 11058—06 12 
 
178 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If it is as poisonous as some of these reports make it, 
 a man would be an absolute idiot to drink a drop of it. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes; I think he would; and, Mr. Clark, we label all 
 our goods " Poisonous." Every single one of the packages that goes 
 out of our works is labeled " Poisonous." 
 
 Mr. Clark. I think they ought to be. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. This letter is from one of the largest varnish manu- 
 facturers in the United States, a personal friend of mine, to whom I 
 spoke about it. I got this letter here at the hotel to-day. It is in 
 regard to the varnish business. It is a very short letter. I do not 
 want to weary you with a long argument, but he says : 
 
 + *«**** 
 
 From a varnish manufacturer's standpoint we consider the passage by Con- 
 gress of a free-alcohol bill will be disastrous. 
 
 Denaturized alcohol can be produced at a price which will make it an induce- 
 ment to consumers to use alcohol varnishes to a much greater extent than at 
 present, thus displacing just so much oil varnish. 
 
 The saving in using this cheaper varnish will be so trifling that the articles 
 varnished could not be sold at a reduced price, thus the manufacturers making 
 the varnished articles will be the only ones benefited. At the same time their 
 wares will not be so good as if coated with oil varnish. 
 
 There is a vast amount of money invested in the oil varnish business and 
 many skilled workmen employed in the Industry. The introduction of a cheap 
 substitute will greatly injure the varnish business, and along with it the linseed 
 oil and spirits of turpentine Industries. In these latter multitudes of farmers 
 are interested, as well as tens of thousands of artisans and ordinary laborers 
 employed. 
 
 The general public will not be benefited by the introduction of denaturized 
 alcohol. Only a few manufacturers and distillers of alcohol will be benefited. 
 
 It can not be made cheaply enough to be used as fuel and light in competition 
 with petroleum products. 
 
 That is what I wish to speak upon a moment, because there is 
 where I think we are all apt to be greatly misled as to the amount of 
 the denatured product that is to be used in this country. We have a 
 substitute here that will clearly undersell-it. 
 
 Corn and molasses are the cheapest articles that can be used In the manufac- 
 ture of alcohol (the use of potatoes for the purpose in this country is out of the 
 question). 
 
 The price of alcohol in the future, as it has been in the past, will be based on 
 the price of corn. The present price, about 40 cents, can be considered a fair 
 average. At this price a bushel of mash properly prepared costs 4.5 cents. 
 This will make, under the very best possible conditions, 3 gallons of alcohol, or — 
 
 Cents. 
 
 Cost per gallon of alcohol 15 
 
 Fuel, barrels, and other expenses, at lowest calculations 10 
 
 Total 25 
 
 to this must be added expense of distribution, distillers and dealers' profits, cost 
 of Government supervision. 
 
 It is safe to say that by the time denatured alcohol would reach the con- 
 sumer the cost would be from 35 to 40 cents per gallon. 
 
 It will be an utter impossibility to produce and sell denatured alcohol at a 
 price to compete with petroleum products. The present price of 67 per cent gas- 
 oline (used for automobiles, etc.) is 10 cents, delivered to the retail merchant in 
 his store. To this must be added his profit, which is from 2 to 4 cents per gal- 
 ion, making the total cost to the consumer, at the outside, 14 cents. 
 Tours, very truly, 
 
 Bebhy Brothers (Limited). 
 Febeuaey 17, 1906. 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 179 
 
 Mr. Claek. That man leaves out the important fact in that cal- 
 culation that the revenues from manufacturing alcohol will about 
 pay his manufacturing. 
 
 Mr. Shaep. In answer to that, Mr. Clark, I brought up that iden- 
 tical point, because I have seen him since we had our hearing here. 
 I asked him about that, and he said that the alcohol was made from 
 molasses and not from the refuse ; that the beet-sugar manufacturers 
 were using all their refuse. He himself is a large beet-sugar manu- 
 facturer. 
 
 Mr. Claek. I am talking about corn alcohol more than the beet. 
 I do not know anything about beets, and I do know about corn. 
 
 Mr. Shaep. I misunderstood you. I will take that back. In an- 
 swer to that I will say the grain alcohol stands the consumers, less 
 the internal revenue, about 38 cents. I think it is placed before the 
 public at about 38 cents. Take the arguments presented here before. 
 All these gentlemen assumed there was going to be a tremendous con- 
 sumption of the denatured product, most of it for mechanical pur- 
 poses, power purposes, and so forth. If it can be explained to me 
 why the public will take advantage, if there is an advantage, of 
 using that at 35 cents a gallon instead of gasoline and kerosene at 8 
 and 10 cents a gallon, I will be glad to know it. I do not believe 
 they will do it. The statistics show that over in England there have 
 been only 3,000,000 gallons of the denatured products 
 
 Mr. Claek. It has been stated that gasoline and all these things 
 are dangerous, especially about barns and agricultural work on the 
 farm ; that they are too apt to cause fire and explosion. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. We do not hear of many explosions. I do not see re- 
 ports of inany in the papers, and I do not read of many fires caused 
 by it where it is used as a motive power. 
 
 Mr. Claek. There is very great caution among farmers about put- 
 ting it too close to the barn. The only reason you do not read about 
 it is because they do not use it. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Do you know whether the insurance policies permit 
 people to use it ? 
 
 Mr. Shaep. I know they do. 
 
 Mr. Williams. They put so many conditions around it that people 
 are afraid to use it, as a rule. 
 
 Mr. Shaep. I have not read the article myself, but I have read 
 comments on an interview with Mr. Edison, and I understand there 
 was a long interview with him in the Saturday Star of this city, in 
 which he said he had no hesitation in promising electricity so cheap, 
 in storage batteries and in other ways, that it would displace all the 
 motive power we now have. I believe that is coming in time, and I 
 believe that a great deal of this talk about using denatured alcohol 
 for so many purposes will go up into thin air. I do not believe for 
 a single moment it is going to be anywhere near as widely used as 
 has been stated. Professor Wiley was entirely honest with us in 
 his statement, and I respected it of course, because he frankly said, 
 in answer to questions put to him, that it would seriously injure 
 our business, if not destroy it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. It would not destroy it unless it was extensively used. 
 
 Mr. Shaep. It would not if it was very extensively used. 
 
180 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Your idea is it would not be extensively used ? 
 
 Mr. Shaep. Not anywhere near as much as has been stated. I 
 believe this will gradually work up, and it will take a series of years, 
 quite a good many years, to have a large volume used. If that is 
 true, I want to ask what is going to be done with our 110 factories in 
 this business? We can not run under half operation. We have got 
 to run full operation in order to get the benefit of the gases used 
 under the boilers, under our kilns, and so on, or we have got to sus- 
 pend. The price of iron is bound to go up, and it will destroy our 
 business. The price of acetate of lime is bound to go up, because 
 we have got to make the acetate as part of the alcohol process. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Have you figured out at all what it costs you to make 
 acetate of lime and charcoal if you only got half the price you are 
 now getting for wood alcohol, say 30 cents instead of 60 cents a 
 gallon ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I have not figured that up. It would take me a little 
 while. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You would go on making it if you only got half that 
 price, would you not ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Thirty cents ? 
 
 Mr. Hill. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. We would have to get some better improved process 
 than we have now. We might find some new by-product. I do 
 not want to say as an absolute fact that we would shut down upon 
 this becoming a law, but I wish to honestly state to you that I believe 
 we would have to do it. We would have to revise a good many things 
 we are doing now. Our labor is higher. We used to pay 80 cents 
 a cord for chopping wood. We are now paying $1.10. Timber land 
 used to sell for $3.50 to $4 an acre three or four years ago. We are 
 now paying $12 and $14 an acre for it. We are buying some land at 
 $10 and $12 an acre now not as good as we paid $4 an acre for three 
 or four years ago. 
 
 Mr. Hill. All up through Connecticut the industry of charcoal 
 making, employing hundreds and thousands of men in the Housa- 
 tonic Valley, has been absolutely wiped out of existence by the 
 charcoal which you people make. Would you think it would have 
 been an equitable thing to prevent you from going into this business 
 because you could make a cheaper product than they were making? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. No. Why don't they make the by-products? Were 
 they making by-products ? 
 
 Mr. Hill. No; they were making charcoal. You, by making the 
 by-products, could make the charcoal cheaper than they could, and 
 absolutely drove hundreds of thousands of charcoal makers out of 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. My only reply to that is that they should have pro- 
 tected their industry by making alcohol themselves. We certainly 
 would not want to protect men who are not alive to their necessities. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Following up the argument underlying Mr. Hill's 
 (question, if their industry did not pay they had better have gotten 
 into some other industry. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes. I thank you, Mr. Williams, for your ansAver. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. There were some figures given by parties in your 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 181 
 
 absence that may not be wholly accurate, and it might be well to have 
 the actual figures to compare with them. Will you kindly give these 
 figures ? How much charcoal is produced from a cord of wood ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Anywhere from 40 to 50 bushels. It varies very much 
 according to whether the wood is dry or wet. There is a common idea 
 that a cord of wood if wet will product more alcohol and more char- 
 coal. It is just the reverse. A, dry cord of wood will produce 50 
 bushels, I think I might say, on an average. Sometimes it goes as 
 high as 52, but I think the average cord of wood produces 46 bushels. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. How much alcohol would that same cord of wood 
 produce ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. That depends a great deal on the process. There are 
 two kinds of processes used in making alcohol in this country. One 
 is the kiln process, which we use, and the other is the retort. Kilns 
 run anywhere from 2^ to 3f gallons on the average. You might 
 say 3|. 
 
 Mr. Williams. From 2^ to 3f gallons to what? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. To a cord of wood. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. How much acetate of lune ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. There again are two kinds of processes used. By one 
 process they get a good deal more than by the other. We do not go 
 into the one where they save most, because we get more on the result 
 accomplished than they do. When you use the laboratory methods 
 3'ou get more charcoal, more alcohol, and more acetate of lime. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. How much acetate of lime do you get in your 
 process ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I think about 90 pounds. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. To the cord of wood ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. What is the average price you pay for the wood ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp.. Up at Ashland ? 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. $2.50 a cord. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You say you do not sell your alcohol products to the 
 Pierce-Stevens Company ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. No, sir ; we do not. We never have. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Are you exporters of alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I do not think we ever exported but very little. 
 
 Mr. Smith. But you handle your own products to your own cus- 
 tomers ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. The Pierce-Stevens Company fixes the price substan- 
 tially, does it not ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Sometimes it has, and sometimes not. It varies 5 or 
 10 cents a gallon, but as a rule there is an understanding as to the 
 price. We have done that partly. For instance, I will give an 
 illustration. It is only what any business man would do to save his 
 business. In southern Indiana a party went into business. A couple 
 of Jews bought out a plant there, thinking they were going to be 
 independent m the business. They got a lot of money. They put 
 in it about a hundred thousand dollars extra money and commenced 
 to sell at a reduced price. They found they had to transport the 
 
182 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 wood down the Cumberland River, and they finally had to go into 
 the hands of a receiver. We never tried to compete with them. 
 We let them take the business at that price. 
 
 Mr. Smith. There is competition in the sale of alcohol, is there ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes, sir; although I wish to be fair with you and say 
 that where we can have an understanding we do so. Although it has 
 been in our power all the time to boost it up, however, if we want to 
 get together and put the price higher, to-day it is selling for about 
 50 cents a gallon less than it was ten years ago. The price of labor 
 has a good deal to do with that, just as it did over in Germany, 
 where this denatured product costs now 25 and 26 cents and cost 
 perhaps 22 cents three years ago. The amount of farm products 
 they had cut quite a figure. 
 
 Now, with reference to the hat manufacturers. They have a pro- 
 tective tariff to protect them, but it only means, according to what I 
 have gathered here, that they only get about 2 J cents on a hat. 
 Whether the man who buys the hat would get that profit or the manu- 
 facturer, I do not know. It would be hard to say. You take the 
 potato business; the agricultural interests in this country. If we 
 used 100,000,000 gallons of the denatured product it would not mean 
 more than 1^ per cent of the business in potatoes or corn. It cuts 
 a small figure. The farmer can not possibly get the benefit that is 
 pictured by the advocates of this bill. It is purely experimental. 
 We have here different conditions than those in Cuba. I lived a good 
 many months down in those countries and I know the men down 
 there get 20 and 25 cents a day. Our farriier can not compete with 
 them. They live on beans down there. 
 
 Mr. Williams. They do not do any work after they get the 25 
 cents, do they? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. No ; it is all over then. We can not compete with the 
 farm labor of Germany nor France. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If Mr. Edison could make the American people be- 
 lieve that he had really discovered a good storage battery, this and 
 a good many other things would come to a very sudden conclusion, 
 would they not ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes ; I think so. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The storage battery would be the ideal thing among 
 farmers and everybody else? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. Yes; it would be very safe. 
 
 As a manufacturer of this product and having about all I have 
 invested in the manufacture of it — pig iron making and wood alco- 
 hol — I ask the committee to be careful and not take the statements 
 as to the widespread consumption of denatured products. Let us 
 grow up to this. Let us be careful what we are doing, because it will 
 destroy or seriously cripple our industry. 
 
 The Chairman. How are we going to grow up unless we com- 
 mence ? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. If you commence, commence with a large enough mix- 
 ture of our product to let us live. We are only asking what the 
 other industries ask for. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You would rather have us commence on this than on the 
 tariff on pig iron, would you not? 
 
FREK ALCOHOL. 183 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I do not know which would cut the deepest with us. 
 
 The Chairman. The difficulty with that large percentage of alco- 
 hol is that it would not grow if you put in too much alcohol. The 
 consumption would not grow. It would cost too much. I would 
 like to hear some suggestion as to how we can commence and grow. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. If you are up against that, gentlemen, perhaps it 
 would be to our advantage to leave you in the dark. 
 
 STATEMENT OF WILLIAM S. GRAY, COMMISSION MERCHANT AND 
 EXPORTER, NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Gray. From the standpoint of a commission merchant and ex- 
 porter of wood-product chemicals, in which business I have been en- 
 gaged for the last twenty-five years, I beg to submit the following 
 statement : 
 
 Exports. — There was exported during the past year acetate of 
 lime, products produced therefrom, and wood alcohol amounting to 
 $2,500,000. This money brought into the country was distributed 
 among over 100 manufacturers and in turn paid out by them largely 
 for labor. 
 
 ^Yood alcohol. — The great bulk of this article is used in the United 
 States as a solvent for shellac gums in the manufacture of spirit var- 
 nishes, which, please bear in mind, is only a small percentage of the 
 whole varnish business. The price of these spirit varnishes depends 
 largely on the cost of the gum shellac, which is produced in India, 
 imported and controlled by a comparatively few large importers. It 
 is a very speculative article, selling a few years ago at 14 cents per 
 pound, then rapidly advanced to about 60 cents, back again to 30 
 cents, and now about 45 cents. You can see, therefore, that any re- 
 duction that could be made in the price of the solvent through de- 
 natured alcohol would cut but a very small figure indeed in the cost 
 of these varnishes and would only be of the smallest advantage to the 
 many manufacturers using them. In fact, they are used in such 
 small quantities, when compared with the finished article, that the 
 public would practically get no benefit from any slight saving that 
 might be made. The wood-alcohol industry is of far more impor- 
 tance to the country than the whole spirit-varnish business, and to 
 break down or even injure it by the proposed change in the internal- 
 revenue laws would, in my opinion, bring no adequate recompense 
 whatever. 
 
 Denatured alcohol. — ^Most of the arguments on the other side and 
 the wild estimates of the quantity that would be consumed were based 
 on the hypothesis that this article could be sold to the people at 10 
 or 15 cents per gallon, thereby coming into competition with kerosene 
 oil, gasolene, etc., for power and lighting purposes, but you can 
 readily see that this is- fallacious, as ethyl alcohol is now selling at 
 38 to 40 cents per gallon at wholesale, not including the tax. When 
 you add to this the cost of administration, from 2 to 5 cents per gal- 
 lon, and the cost of methylating, the wholesale price will be close to 
 45 cents per gallon, and it would be distributed at somewhere about 
 
184 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 ■ 50 to 60 cents. Gasolene, which has the same eiRciency for running 
 motors, automobiles, etc., is now selling in single barrels at about 14 
 cents. 
 
 In fact, it is less than that in cities. I refer to places in the 
 country. 
 
 The Chairman. Is that the retail price ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. It is the price for a single barrel. I just bought one 
 on my farm up in New York, and they carted and delivered it to my 
 tank at 14 cents a gallon. You can not bottle up water in the Missis- 
 sippi Eiver and deliver it to me at that price. 
 
 After going into this question very thoroughly, I am convinced 
 that the sale of this article for purposes other than the manufacture 
 of spirit varnishes, in which wood alcohol is now universally used, 
 would be very limited indeed and the growth of same only a gradual 
 one. It would bring no industry that I can think of to the country, 
 and the spread-eagle generalities of some of the gentlemen on the 
 other side have no foundation in fact. They have not told you of the 
 specific industries that would be started, but simjjly referred to in- 
 dustries in other countries where conditions are entirely different. 
 
 In the solvent business, in which wood alcohol is used to-day, there 
 is just so much that can be used. There can not be any more. It 
 niust grow gradually. If you jump out into the great fields of run- 
 ning motors and power, it is an entirely different thing ; but no one 
 is going to buv alcohol for 40 or 50 cents a gallon who can get gaso- 
 line and petroleum products and other things at from 7 to 12 cents. 
 
 I am convinced that if you pass a methylating bill hore there 
 would not be sold the first year over 10,000,000 gallons. Is it rea- 
 sonable to believe that alcohol would sell cheaper if there were a 
 larger demand for it? Is it reasonable to believe it would go into 
 other hands? The very same people who control it to-day would 
 control it then, and if they have a larger demand they will get more 
 money for it. It is my experience in this business that the cost has 
 nothing to do with the selling price of an article. It is the demand 
 and supply. If prices are too high, the demand in this country 
 would regulate it very quickly. It is absurd, to anyone who has 
 studied the solvent business and been in it all his life, to say that 
 50,000,000 or 90,000,000 gallons of this article at three times the 
 present prices of fuel would be used. 
 
 Aniline dyes.— These goods are imported largely from Germany, 
 and it was stated by the other side that the reason for this was that 
 the manufacturers in that country had free alcohol. The facts are 
 that 90 per cent of the aniline dyes produced in the world contain 
 no alcohol of any description, and 90 per cent of the remainder are 
 made from pure wood alcohol, as neither ethyl alcohol nor dena- 
 tured spirits would answer the purpose. Yoii can see, therefore, 
 that free alcohol would not aid this industry in the slightest. 
 
 The Chairman. Do they use wood alcohol in Germany to make 
 these aniline dyes? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Quite largely, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. They are the great manufacturers of aniline dyes? 
 
 Mr. Gray. They are the great manufacturers, the manufacturers 
 for the world. They make what they call methyl colors, which they 
 ship to China, very largely. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 185 
 
 The CzMKMAN. You say 90 per cent of that 10 per cent remainder 
 IS made with wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes; ethyl alcohol cuts no figure in making aniline 
 
 The Chairman. That must be done in Germany ? 
 
 Mr. Grat. It is done in Germany. 
 
 Fulminate of mercury.— This article, like pharmaceutical chemicals 
 and many other small articles, can only be made from pure grain 
 alcohol. Neither wood alcohol not denatured spirits can be used as 
 a substitute. 
 
 Fulminate of mercury is the one little article that I think could be 
 male free. It is not a very large article, and it would not injure 
 our industry, or any other. It is a question whether you want to 
 remove that or not. 
 
 Tax. — ^What the druggists all over the country demand is a reduc- 
 tion of the internal revenue from $1.10 to 70 cents. This would 
 lower the cost of nearly all pharmaceutical chemicals, injure no 
 industry, and would, I believe, yield about the same income to the 
 Government as what they are now collecting. 
 
 The Chairman. You mean, reduce the whole tax ? 
 
 Mr. Grat. The whole tax. 
 
 The Chairman. From $1.10 to 30 cents? 
 
 Mr. Grat. To 70 cents. That would not hurt our industry. 
 
 The Chairman. What effect would that have on the revenues ? 
 
 Mr. Grat. I do not think it would affect it very much. 
 
 The Chairman. You think the consumption could be increased 
 right off then 70 per cent if we reduced the tax from $1.10 to 70 
 cents ? 
 
 Mr. Grat. Mv. Kline made the same statement. The wholesale 
 duggist associations at their meetings have made the same statement. 
 
 "St. Hill. Did not Mr. Kline say they did not want the reduction? 
 
 Mr. Grat. Yes ; he said he did not want the reduction. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I mean that they did not want denatured alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Grat. No; the druggists did not want denatured alcohol. 
 It is of no benefit to anyone except the solvent people. 
 
 Europe. — The methylating laws were brought around by the fact 
 that there was not sufficient wood alcohol made in the different coun- 
 tries to supply the demand for a cheap substitute for ethyl alcohol. 
 The amount of wood alcohol used in methylating was arranged from 
 time to time on the basis of the output of that article. England 
 commenced with 25 per cent and has since reduced that amount to 
 10 per cent. 
 
 Mr. Hill. The commission recommended 5. 
 
 Mr. Gray. The commission recommended 5, but the last Parlia- 
 ment declined to pass that bill. I was there at the time. You could 
 hardly pick up a paper in Glasgow or London without seeing cut- 
 tings in reference to people being brought into the police court for 
 using denatured alcohol.'' 
 
 Mr. Hill. It is not any more dangerous than the 100 per cent stuff, 
 is it? 
 
 Mr. Grat. The straight stuff does the business up quickly. 
 
 The Chairman. I am curious to know where you are going to get 
 
 a See newspaper clipping, p. 410, and letters, pp. 424r-42(i. 
 
186 PEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 that increase in the use of alcohol by reducing the tax from $1.10 to 
 70 cents? What is it going to be used for ? Is there going to be any- 
 more of it drank ? 
 
 Mr. Geat. No; they would probably sell more for perfumery. I 
 have tried to sell wood alcohol for perfumery, but they said they 
 would not attempt to use wood alcohol in perfumery, because they 
 said the ladies tippled on it. 
 
 The Chairman. What do they use in perfumery now ? 
 
 Mr. Grain. They use a pure grain alcohol 70 per cent strong. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you think it would be used more for per- 
 fumery if you would reduce it ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes. They might use it for moonshine. 
 
 The Chairman. I guess it will all be moonshine. 
 
 Mr. Gray. France still methylates with 25 per cent. In Germany 
 but very little wood alcohol is produced, and as they are obliged to 
 import the great bulk of what is consumed the amount of wood 
 alcohol used in methylating has been reduced to the minimum. All 
 over Europe methylated spirits are selling at from 35 to 40 cents per 
 gallon, and the article could not be sold at a lower price than that 
 here. Consequently you can see that it would not come into competi- 
 tion with kerosene oil, gasoline, etc., and be no relief to the people in 
 general. 
 
 Mr. Stevens this morning gave the price as 20 cents at the fac- 
 tories in large quantities, but the selling price in Europe is 35 to 40 
 cents. The silk gentleman who came over here from France and testi- 
 fied before your committee last week told me he was then paying 41 
 cents for methylated spirits in Paris. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understood the gentleman who preceded you to say it 
 would cost 38 cents here, did he not ? 
 
 The Chairman. That is, not methylated for 38 cents. 
 
 Mr. Gray. It is quite plain that methylated spirits could not be 
 sold for less than from 40 to 45 cents wholesale and retailed at 60 
 cents, and nobody is going to run an automobile with that. I know 
 it costs me enough now to run my automobile with gasoline at 14 
 cents. 
 
 The Chairman. Is that 70° gasoline? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I do not laiow what it is. 
 
 The Chairman. I am informed a member buys it here in Wash- 
 ington for 9 cents by the barrel ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I think you can buy it to-day in Warren, Pa., at 7 cents. 
 There is plenty of cheap fuel withput this. 
 
 Health. — At the present time there is being sold all over this 
 country about 10,000 barrels of wood alcohol per month, and it is 
 only on rare occasions that there is any complaint. It is also handled 
 all over Europe for one purpose and another, but I have yet to hear 
 of one single instance of its hurting the eyes or the health of workmen 
 there. A long experience has convinced me that when it is used with 
 ordinary care it is no more injurious than grain alcohol, turpentine, 
 or other articles necessary as a solvent. It is stenciled and labeled 
 "poisonous if used internally," same as carbolic acid and other ar- 
 ticles of a similar character used in the arts and sciences, consequently 
 there is no excuse for anyone using it for drinking purposes. 
 
 In reference to this wood-alcohol business, if anything happens in 
 New York, if any impure whisliy is found, it is all wood alcohol, 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 187 
 
 according to the reports. If anyone injures his eyes at any place it 
 is wood alcohol. Wood alcohol injures the health; wood alcohol 
 does everything. 
 
 Effect on other industries. — As you are no doubt aware, wood alco- 
 hol, acetate of lime, and charcoal are produced from the wood, and if 
 you should pass a law destroying the market for the principal article 
 our factories would either have to stop or secure an excessive price 
 for the other articles. This would greatly enhance the cost of not 
 only charcoal, but of acetate of lime, the products of which are used 
 very largely in this country for the manufacture of white lead, colors, 
 mordants, calico prints, etc., and any relief that you would give to 
 the spirit-varnish manufacturers would have to be paid for by other 
 industries that are of vastly more importance to the people at large.- 
 
 To sum up the situation, it is my candid opinion that the interests 
 of the whole people will be better served by allowing the internal- 
 revenue laws to remain as they are at present than they would be by 
 passing a denaturing bill. When the time comes, as it may come in 
 the future, that there is not a good and sufficient substitute for ethyl 
 alcohol produced in this country for use in the arts and sciences, it 
 will then be time enough to take up this question, same as other 
 European countries have been obliged to do. What I would favor 
 now would be a reduction of the tax to 70 cents and the passage of the 
 Levering bill," which permits of a drawback to the extent of the tax 
 on ethyl alcohol on all products made therefrom for export. This 
 would give our people an equal chance with manufacturers in other 
 countries to compete for the markets of the world, and at the same 
 time cause no loss of revenue to our Government. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That equal chance would only extend to foreigners, not 
 to domestic consumption. 
 
 Mr. Gbat. No; to foreigners, for export. People say we are los- 
 ing our position in export because we have not free alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. It would not have any bearing on the consumer here ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. They certainly should have free alcohol for export. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Why so? 
 
 Mr. Williams. On the general and well-recognized principle that 
 it should be sold to foreigners cheaper than to our own people. 
 
 Mr. Gray. There has been some talk about ether. It is an article 
 made in a small way. It is an article used by patent-medicine people 
 very largely to soothe pain, but that article is now being made from 
 gas quite largely in Richmond, Va., and I think the time is not far dis- 
 tant when it will be made entirely in that Avay. 
 
 Wood alcohol can not be exported in any large way. It is quite 
 impossible for other uses, outside of methylating, outside of cutting 
 shellac or as a solvent for gums and gun cotton. It can not be used 
 for any other purpose. It simply means that if you pass a bill here 
 methylating that 10 per cent, there would be 8,000,000 gallons of 
 alcohol made in the United States. There would be one million sold 
 in this country, and another million, all told. You could not sell 25 
 per cent of it. The result would be there would be no market for anj' 
 of it. 
 
 Mr, Clark. You discount Professor Wiley and these other gentle- 
 men in their estimates. 
 
 a H. R. 111. 
 
188 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Gray. I do not think Professor Wiley said 100,000,000. 
 
 Mr. Clark. He said 50,000,000. 
 
 Mr. Gray. Did he not say it might possibly grow to that, but he 
 did not know ? 
 
 Mr. Clark. But he simply took one-half of what one of the other 
 experts did. 
 
 Mr. Gray. One man said 200,000,000 gallons. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I did not hear that. 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes ; he said it was going to be sold at retail at 10 cents 
 a gallon, and that innumerable motors were going to be built to use it. 
 
 I maintain this article can only be used for a solvent ; and if any- 
 thing, even at one-half of the price of denatured alcohol, could be 
 used to-day, I would then maintain it could only be used as a solvent. 
 The solvent can only get a slow growth. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Can it not be burned ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. But there are far better things to burn at half the price. 
 
 Mr. Clark. But it does burn ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes; it is a matter of price entirely. I have been 
 twenty -five years engaged in the solvent business, and I have followed 
 it all over the world, and I know there is no use for wood alcohol 
 except for solvents and gun cotton, unless you could get it down to 
 a price to compare with kerosene oils and gasoline — 10 or 12 cents — 
 and that is quite impossible, because it is selling at 40 cents a gallon, 
 wholesale, and it would give them a larger demand, and the price 
 would be higher instead of lower. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Suppose the tax on grain alcohol was absolutely re- 
 pealed to-day. Would not that put the price of your stufp to legiti- 
 mate cost? 
 
 Mr. Gray. That would put us out of business. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You think it would? 
 
 Mr. Gray. It would put us out of trouble, absolutely. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Why? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Because we can not make a solvent as cheap as grain 
 alcohol. I think almost anyone would prefer grain alcohol. It is 
 more pleasant and agreeable to use. If the tax were repealed en- 
 tirely and all restrictions taken off it, so that everybody could make 
 it, I think grain alcohol could be made cheaper than wood alcohol 
 and be sold at the same price. 
 
 Mr. Williams. You would go out, then, because the other thing 
 would be better? 
 
 Mr. Gray. That is about the point. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Is that not a mighty good reason for going out? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I do not know. If that is the reason, you ought to take 
 the revenue off and give us free trade all along the line. I do not 
 want free trade, because we would not have any market for our goods 
 here. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Mr. Gray, I have gathered from what some of 
 the gentlemen have stated here that a highly refined wood alcohol is 
 not offensive and can be used without being injurious. 
 
 Mr. Gray. In what way ? 
 
 Mr. Underwood. For making hats, some of them have said, if it 
 was not the highest degree. 
 
 Mr. Gray. Oh, certainly. 
 
FKEE ALCOHOL. 189 
 
 Mr. Underwood. And for solvents it would not be injurious if it 
 were highly refined ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Oh, no. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Would not the result of this legislation merely be 
 that it would require you to refine your wood alcohol to the highest 
 point in order that it might compete with grain alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Geat. You can not refine it all to the highest point. You can 
 only get a percentage of that high-grade goods from alcohol. In 
 Germany they require this line of goods for making methyl colors, 
 and by taking this out and separating it they take out the percentage, 
 40 or 60 per cent of this, that they can get out for that purpose, and 
 then they have the bad-smelling stuff for denaturing. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. "VYould not that make a field for your industry? 
 Would you not use the bad-smelling stuff for denaturing, and would 
 you not still have the field for the highly refined wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. That field would be very small. As Mr. Pierce said 
 this morning, the people would use grain alcohol. I remember when 
 the business was very small. In fact, I remember those very hatters 
 there when I used to go down to Danbury, in Mr. Hill's district, and 
 the men were all in the habit of tippling from it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I am afraid you would not dare state that in Danbury. 
 
 Mr. Gray. I think they all knew it very well. In fact, I have had 
 manufacturers tell me the men struck because they were getting an 
 article they could not use. There is a fine of $5,000 and two years' 
 imprisonment for 
 
 Mr. Hill. That is provided for in the law in England. 
 
 Mr. Gray. I do not know about that. 
 
 Mr. Hill. There is no trouble about that. 
 
 Mr. Gray. If that was done here you would be putting back into 
 the hands of five or six workmen a perfectly palatable alcohol. I do 
 not believe any market could be made; for it with denatured spirits 
 here. There would be very little market for the other — not enough 
 to take up 25 per cent of it. 
 
 Mr. McCleaey. That is, 25 per cent of the wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes. If a methylating bill should come at all, they 
 would have to commence with a large amount, and then it would 
 make a very bad state of affairs. When the time comes for a neces- 
 sity, I should be in favor of it. That is the way all other countries 
 have treated the question. We are selling wood alcohol at a very low 
 price, and it is controlled by the demand and supply ; but we are ex- 
 porting large quantities. It is bringing two and a half millions back 
 into this country for waste woods, and the varnish trade, the solvent 
 trade, and all those trades to-day are in the greatest state of pros- 
 perity. In no other country are they as prosperous as here. I have 
 dozens o| them on my books, and no one that I know of wants a 
 change. They are all satisfied. I do not know where this agitation 
 comes from. I can not find it. 
 
 Mr. Williams. It has evidently got here, has it not? Somebody 
 must want it. 
 
 Mr. Gray. Somebody wants it, and those people are paying the 
 bills. 
 
 Mr. Smith. The furniture manufacturers of Grand Eapids, Mich., 
 representing a very large industry, have all petitioned for it. 
 
190 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr, Gray. What benefit could it be to the furniture manufacturers? 
 
 Mr. Smith. I do not know. 
 
 Mr. Gray. Say a man out there pays 77 cents for a gallon of shel- 
 lac. This shellac is controlled by a very small coterie of importers. 
 They ran it up from 14 cents to 60 cents, back to 30, and now to 52 
 cents. I do not believe the difference between denatured spirits and 
 wood alcohol would make varnish one cent cheaper. 
 
 Mr. Smith. But they claim they are forced to use a cheaper prod- 
 uct and therefore they get a less satisfactory finish. All the furni- 
 ture people of Grand Rapids have written asking that we provide 
 some way for the use of a higher grade of alcohol in the arts. 
 
 Mr. Gray. Mr. Smith, if they will pay 20 or 25 cents more for it, 
 they will get it, because the finest finished furniture in the world is 
 made right here. I have seen nowhere in the world in my travels, and 
 I have traveled around a great deal, a finer finish on furniture than 
 that made here. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Did you hear the piano manufacturer who was here? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I certainly did. Mr. Clark wanted to know if we 
 would get pianos any cheaper. At the outside, it would not make a 
 difference, with methylated spirit or wood alcohol, of more than 15 or 
 20 cents on a piano, and the best-finished pianos in the world are made 
 in America. They are all made from wood alcohol, and the best- 
 finished furniture in the world is made in America and made from 
 wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. And made in Grand Kapids. 
 
 Mr. Gray. That is right; made there and sold in Europe. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Sold all over the world. 
 
 Mr. Gray. I can see no demand for this thing. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you assent to that statement about Grand 
 Rapids ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes ; I saw their furniture in Germany. I admired it 
 for the magnificent finish it had, too. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Do you know whether it was sold any cheaper in 
 Germany than down in Mississippi? 
 
 Mr. Gray. No ; I do not. I was not buying it then, Mr. Williams. 
 
 Mr. BoTJTELL. Have you any financial interest in any of the wood- 
 alcohol enterprises? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I have no financial interest in any of the wood-alcohol 
 manufacturing plants. I have a little interest in one of the refineries. 
 It is only a small stock interest, however, and nothing of any great 
 killing matter one way or the other. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You are the general selling agent for the Wood Products 
 Company ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I am the general selling agent. It is a small part of 
 my business. 
 
 Mr. Smith. That is Mr. Pierce's company ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. That is Mr. Pierce's company. We handle chemicals 
 generally, and acetate of lime is thfe largest part of our business. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You made one exception a few minutes ago in refer- 
 ence to fulminate of mercury. You said you were perfectly satisfied 
 they should go that far ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes ; that is only reasonable. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Can you think of anything else? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I can not think of another fliing. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 191 
 
 Mr. Smith. It would not be harmful to the industry ; it would be 
 helpful? ■^' 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes. I have talked with my friends and many others, 
 and while I have heard people say that industries would rise up like 
 mushrooms in every marsh, I can not think of a single one. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. Gray, the accepted evidence shows that the increase 
 in the use of wood alcohol has been very large for the last four or five 
 years — from four million to eight million. 
 
 Mr. Gray. No; it has been verj' gradual. I do not think four 
 million was right. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Substantially all that increase has been at the expense 
 of the revenues of the United States. 
 
 Mr. Gray. No, sir; it is simply that the industries of the country 
 have increased so much in the last three or four years. I do not 
 believe the revenues of the United States have suffered bv reason 
 of it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Your last remark tended to confuse me somewhat. 
 You say the statement that these industries will jump up as mush- 
 rooms all around is a myth? 
 
 Mr. Gray. That is what they say, if they get denatured alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. If it is a myth, then taking this tax off will not hurt 
 you? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Certainly it will hurt me. If you sell denatured alco- 
 hol, where are we going to sell our wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Smith. If you say we will not sell it, why will it do jj^ou any 
 harm? 
 
 Mr. Gray. If it is denatured, of course it will be sold. It will take 
 the whole market, and wood alcohol will be out of it. 
 
 Mr. Smith. I did not understand jovl. 
 
 Mr. Gray. It will all be sold. It will take the entire market. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Then it will supply the place of the wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Certainly. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. And do it better ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. I do not know that it will do it better. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. AVhy should it take the place of it? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Because it will be creaper. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. It will be cheaper and do it as well ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes, that is it. A few cents a gallon cheaper. 
 
 STATEMENT OF W. E. LUMMXIS, GENEE,AL MANAGER OF THE 
 COMMONWEALTH MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BOSTON, 
 
 MASS. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. LuMMUs. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I have prepared a very 
 ornate article to read here. The points, however, have been touched 
 upon to such a large extent that I will not trouble jrou with the read- 
 ing of the whole thing. There are one or two points that I would 
 like to bring out especially, because the company I represent is, in a 
 way, altogether unattached from the remainder of the industries. 
 
 The Commonwealth Manufacturing Company has grown up in a 
 portion of the country in which the production of wood alcohol and 
 methyl alcohol is unknown, and being isolated from the rest of them, 
 as it were, our point of view is somewhat different, and we have faced 
 
192 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 other problems and possibly developed other facts in connection with 
 alcohol that our friends in the Middle West have not. 
 
 We are dependent on the wood-alcohol industry because we do not 
 buy crude alcohol and refine it into refined alcohol, but we buy the 
 refined alcohol already finished, ready to put out on the market, and 
 from that we proceed to the manufacture of pure methyl alcohol, 
 and that we have been doing for about seven years. The samples of 
 our products have been handed around here in this hearing as an 
 example of the insidious character of methyl alcohol, and that is the 
 main product of our manufacture. 
 
 Our opposition to the removal of the tax from ethyl alcohol for 
 use in the arts is, first, in behalf of our own company, as the passage 
 of this law will, of course, deprive it of its raw material inevitably, 
 unfailingly. We can not possibly make methyl alcohol without the 
 continuance of the wood-alcohol industry on a large scale, so that 
 it may supply us on economical terms. But I protest also, and to 
 much more point, for the consumers of pure methyl alcohol. 
 
 The products of pure methyl alcohol now, under the various brands 
 under which it is sold, constitute the most highly manufactured 
 manufactures in the country ; that is, everything that is carried to a 
 high degree of finish or perfection in which the alcohol becomes a 
 part of the final product, and so must contribute to its excellence, 
 and other things in which the excellences are achieved by skilled labor 
 of a high quality (by hand labor in many of those industries), re- 
 quires a pure alcohol, because the workmen are so exposed to the 
 fumes constantly and directly under their eyes. It must be per- 
 fectly harmless, so that the last hour of the day is just as efficient as 
 the first. Many of these manufactures are products in which the 
 slightest impurity would render it unable to compete; that is, the 
 standard of excellence is so high that either for chemical or physical 
 reasons all impurities of every nature whatsoever must be gotten out. 
 Now, the extent of the demand for an alcohol of that purity is some- 
 thing I have not heard mentioned here. 
 
 Our company was the first to bring out a pure alcohol of chemical 
 purity, but there are others engaged in it. We manufacture about 
 one-third of the total and manufacture it from wood alcohol, and the 
 total, as near as we can get at it, is about 900,000 gallons per annum, 
 consumed in these highly manufactured products, of which the Wood 
 Products Company manufacture a part and other manufacturers 
 some of it. 
 
 Why is this measure of interest to consumers of a pure alcohol? 
 Because a pure alcohol, for most of these purposes for which they 
 require it, can not be made from grain alcohol, even if they were 
 willing to pay the full tax and pay the present price of grain alcohol, 
 $2.36 to $2.38 and $2.40 a gallon. They could not get a pure article 
 for some of these purposes. Unfortunately a large exhibit of some 
 samples of this work has been sidetracked somewhere and I can not 
 show them this afternoon, but I would like to offer them in evidence 
 later, because they represent a very important line of manufactures. 
 
 Wood alcohol, you see, is a starting point for manufactures of 
 vast importance, because this alcohol goes in relatively small quanti- 
 ties to immense numbers of them. Few customers take over 10 bar- 
 rels a month, and most of them take only 1 and 5 and 10 gallon and 
 
b'BEE ALCOHOL. 193 
 
 half barrel and barrel lots. Methyl alcohol has found its way, as 
 I say, into all the highly manufactured products. I have here a 
 list of 110 different industries in which our product is used. I will 
 not take your time by reading them, but will file them. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That is a product which can not be procured from grain 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. LuMMtrs. Oh, no. 
 
 Mr. HJELL. You said it was refined more highly than it was possible 
 to refine grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. LuMMTJS. Yes; because grain alcohol can not, by any of the 
 industrial methods, be refined higher than 97.4 strength. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Then this legislation would not interfere with the con- 
 sumption of wood alcohol so far as that is concerned ? 
 
 Mr. LxjMMTJs. Yes, sir; quite so, because, on the other hand, it 
 would exterminate this large industry completely, and our large 
 plant and the business we have built up would immediately go under 
 the hammer, because it would be impossible to maintain it one day. 
 
 Mr. Hill. How is that possible, if there is no competition between 
 the two? 
 
 Mr. LuMMtfs. I will tell you why. 
 
 Mr. BoTjTELL. Before you pass to that, would you mention a few of 
 these large industries? 
 
 Mr. LuMMtrs. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I would like for you to answer Mr. Hill's question, 
 because it is very important. 
 
 Mr. Hill. My question is. Why it is possible to destroy the wood- 
 alcohol industry, so far as that is concerned, if there is no possible 
 competition between the two articles? 
 
 Mr. LuMMUs. With Mr. Boutell's permission, I will answer Mr. 
 Hill first, and then I will give a list of those industries. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Certainly. 
 
 Mr. LuMMUs. I will have to go back to the price at which dena- 
 tured alcohol will be available. Denatured grain alcohol can not 
 possibly be used in these arts. That is, the impurities in denatured 
 grain alcohol, purposely introduced for the revenue, would render it 
 unfit for these industries, which I will shortly show, and therefore 
 if no methyl alcohol can be made because wood alcohol is put where 
 we can not reach it, the only alcohol available as a partial substitute 
 will be grain alcohol at $2.36 to $2.38 per gallon. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You can not use that at all ? 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. We can not use that at all. Some of it can be used 
 to produce products of inferior quality. 
 
 The Chairman. I understand your idea is that if we should pass a 
 bill making denatured alcohol free there would be such a great con- 
 sumption of wood alcohol that there would be nothing left for your 
 industry? 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. No, sir. The passage of such a law will injure the 
 manufacture of wood alcohol and of all other wood products to such 
 an extent that the industry can not be depended on to furnish us a 
 supply at a price we could afford to pay. 
 
 The Chairman. You think it would wipe out the industry ? 
 
 11058—06 13 
 
194 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. No ; it would not wipe it out, because some would be 
 manufactured for denaturing. But any diminution of the prices 
 obtaining in the wood-alcohol industry — and I refer partly to the 
 great overproduction that has taken place — ^would be caused by an 
 enhancement of the price, which would be unretarded by other con- 
 siderations, and wood alcohol would be no longer available because of 
 its cost and its rarity for manufacturing this methyl alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you not think Brother Gray would strive to 
 supply you with that article if it were really needed ? 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. I do not believe I can answer that question con- 
 vincingly without going into vast detail to convince the committee of 
 the enormous cost of producing products of wood distillation. Wood 
 distillation in this country is developed on a par with the highest 
 chemical industries of Germany. Apparently this is not generally 
 known, as it is of so recent origin, but there is no chemical industry 
 in Germany that is more scientifically developed than the distillation 
 of wood products in this country. 
 
 Mr. Claric. If there are used in this particular branch you are talk- 
 ing about 900,000 gallons of wood alcohol a year, then there is no sort 
 of danger of not getting that amount of wood alcohol, because wood 
 alcohol is a mere by-product of making charcoal. They are not going 
 to throw away 900,000 gallons of wood alcohol ; so that it seems to me 
 3'ou are dead sure to get your supply. 
 
 Mr. LuMMtrs. A gallon of wood alcohol will yield a relatively small 
 quantity of this stuff. The remainder must be marketed at no profit, 
 if a market can be found for it, and that is one of the subtle reasons 
 that contribute to these things ; that is, they are difficult to explain 
 convincingly, but they are facts ; that it requires the present scale of 
 the production of wood alcohol for the continuance of the production 
 of methyl alcohol; and this is also true of a vast number of other 
 products. 
 
 The Chairman. You have no fear for this industry, except what 
 may arise from interfering with your supply of wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. That is so. That is not only true of me and my 
 bread and butter and my company, but it is also true of the con- 
 sumers of this product, whose products are not only made for use in 
 this country, but are, many of them, the highly manufactured things, 
 like perfumes, etc., exported to meet in competition the products made 
 with foreign alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I do not understand that it is exported at a price less 
 than that for which it is sold here. 
 
 Mr. LuMMUs. I would not dare to generalize, because the number 
 of those products is so vast. I would not dare to say. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Where is your factory ? 
 
 Mr. LuMMUs. In Boston. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What other factories in New England do you represent? 
 - Mr. Ltjmmtjs. Do I represent ? 
 
 Mr. Hill. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Lttmmus. None other ; just that one. I merely speak for my 
 customers, the consumers, in addition to speaking for myself, because 
 we are in the same boat. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You buy wood alcohol and highly refine it? 
 
 Mr. Lummus. Yes, sir. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 195 
 
 Mr. HEiLL. You know of no other factories in New England that do 
 that same thing? 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. No, sir; there are none. There are some producers 
 of crude alcohol in New England — one, I think, at Calais, Me., one 
 in Vermont, and there is a very small one in Massachusetts. I think 
 there was one in Connecticut at last accounts. 
 
 Mr. Bjll. Do you not know of any in Connecticut that are lying 
 idle, so as not to produce any at all, and are paid to lie idle, so as 
 not to make an oversupply ? 
 
 Mr. Ltjmmtjs. No, sir ; I did not Iniow of that. 
 
 Mr. BJiLL. A^Tiere was the one you referred to in Connecticut? 
 
 Mr. LuMMtrs. I understand there is one run by James Marshall 
 somewhere. I do not know where it is. I have heard, too, but I do 
 not remember now. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I do not think that comes into this category at all. 
 
 Mr. Ltjmmtjs. No; they produce wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That is a recovery of alcohol used in the arts? 
 
 Mr. LuMMtrs. That is at Danbury and at Fall River. I did not 
 refer to those. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. "Will you now state half a dozen or more of the 
 customers who must use methyl alcohol instead of any kind of grain 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. I would like to give you a list of them. 
 
 Mr. BoTJTELL. I do not mean the names. I mean the industries. 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. No; I would not undertake to give the names, be- 
 cause we have a file catalogue that keeps one employee busy all the 
 time cataloguing the names of customers. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. I do not care for those. I want the industries. 
 
 Mr. LtJMMirs. Our product is used in the manufacture of perfumes, 
 lacquers, varnishes, toilet preparations, soaps, shoe dressings, photo- 
 graphic and optical papers, incandescent lights, and jewelry. The 
 varnishes are not such as are used on chairs, etc., but the high-class 
 spirit varnishes and lacquers, which are used to preserve the brilliant 
 appearance of metal work, glass work, and all sorts of enameled sur- 
 faces. The production of those lacquers is increasing very rapidly. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. The use of wood alcohol is compulsory in that ? 
 
 Mr. LuMMUs. The use of methyl alcohol, you mean. 
 
 Mr. BotTTELL. Methyl alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Ltjmmtts. You could substitute in a part of those grain alco- 
 hol, but the substitution would be at an advance of a hundred per cent 
 in cost, because we can not make a pure wood alcohol at a dollar and 
 ten cents a gallon, and the pure ethyl alcohol, under the recommenda- 
 tions of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, would not be allowed 
 to go without the tax and would cost $2.38 to $2.40. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Fusel oil is used as a substitute, is it not ? 
 
 Mr. LtTMMUs. No ; not as a substitute, but as an accessory solvent, 
 because amyl acetate made with fusel oil will perform certain func- 
 tions that no ethyl alcohol wUl perform at all, and is necessary, 
 the same as ethyl ether will be necessary in some other operations. 
 
 I wish to lay special emphasis on the manufacture of transparent 
 soap. We make finer transparent soaps in America than are made 
 abroad; and Mr. Kline's statement here that less than 500 barrels 
 per annum were used in manufacturing transparent soap becomes 
 
196 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 ridiculous in the face of my ledger, where I have one customer who 
 uses 500 barrels per year, and other customers who use two or three 
 hundred barrels of methyl alcohol a year. 
 
 Mr. Hill. He said less than 500 barrels of grain alcohol was used. 
 Mr. LuMMUs. If that is so I misunderstood him. 
 Mr. Hill. And he was showing there would be no loss of revenue 
 by this legislation. , , ^, ■ t 
 
 Mr. Ltjmmtts. With regard to the cost of alcohol, Mr. Chairman, I 
 have heard a great many estimates as to the cost of alcohol, and I have 
 been to some trouble to prepare data on the subject, based upon fig- 
 ures that have been furnished me by friends of mine who are man- 
 aging the big distilleries of the Middle West. Their figures are given 
 in sincerity. I will not quote their names without their permission 
 unless it is absolutely necessary, because I do not think it would be a 
 fair use of their confidence; but I have a sheet, copies of which I 
 would like to file with the committee "—and I have a number of 
 copies — showing the cost of ethyl alcohol made from corn and also 
 of ethyl alcohol made from gram. 
 Mr. Claek. What is the cost of ethyl alcohol made from corn? 
 Mr. LuMMUs. These figures that they have given me— I will not 
 
 go into all the details 
 
 Mr. Clark. No ; I want to know the average. 
 
 Mr. Lttmmus. At a distillery in Ohio, of a capacity of 5,000 barrels 
 per day, or 24,500 proof gallons daily, one of the largest in the coun- 
 try, the net cost per fuU gallon of 95 per cent — ^that is, not mixing 
 up proof gallons at all— is $0.301699 ; that is, 30.17 cents per gallon 
 for corn alcohol. That is without any addition for other charges that 
 go to make up the use of alcohol. 
 
 I will now read from the paper I have prepared. 
 I wish to protest against the enactment of any legislation which 
 will permit the use of ethyl alcohol, tax free, in the arts — 
 
 First. In behalf of my company and of the other manufacturers 
 of pure methyl alcohol, because such tax-free alcohol will inevitably 
 be manufactured to a large extent from imported waste products, 
 and by underselling so injure the wood-alcohol industry, upon which 
 we are dependent for our raw material, that its manufacture will no 
 longer be profitable. 
 
 Second. I protest in behalf of the vast manufacturing interests 
 which are consumers of our products or are dependent upon the con- 
 tinuance of the wood distillation industry for their supply of manu- 
 facturing materials and to whom this law will bring injury, but no 
 benefit. 
 
 The support which the proposed measure has received arises from 
 the popular impression that tax-free ethyl alcohol will be avail- 
 able for all kinds of manufacturing and other purposes at an 
 extremely low price, variously estimated at from' 7 to 24 cents per 
 gallon; that it is of superior merit in all respects to other alcohols 
 and liquid solvents, and that the increased demand which will result 
 from its cheapness will confer great benefit on American agriculture 
 by stimulating the production of corn and other cereals for its manu- 
 facture. 
 
 o For these statistics, see p. 413. 
 
" FBEE ALCOHOL. 197 
 
 As the price at which tax-free denatured alcohol will be available 
 is the chief point made in favor of this law, and no serious attempt 
 has been made by the petitioners to show what such price will be 
 under the law, I beg to submit for the consideration of this committee 
 the more important factors which have been found to affect the price 
 in those countries in which tax remission has been most successfully 
 applied and a statement of the cost of alcohol made from corn and 
 molasses, with the probable increase of their cost made necessary by 
 the provision for revenue protection which the experience abroad 
 has shown to be necessary and based on conditions of spirit manu- 
 facture actually prevailing in this country. 
 
 The elements of such cost in all cases are : 
 
 Production: (1) Cost of material at distillery ; (2) manufacturing 
 charges, less the value of by-products; (3) cost of excise supervision 
 of distillery. 
 
 Use : (4) Cost of methylating, including material and supervision ; 
 (5) distribution — freight, brokerage, banking, etc.; (6) regulating 
 use under licenses and supervision. 
 
 The British departmental committee appointed to investigate this 
 question in 1905 visited the principal European countries, and have 
 embodied their findings in a Parliamentary report of most admirable 
 thoroughness. This report gives special prominence to the German 
 alcohol regulations as a model, affording the greatest possible free- 
 dom to the consumer consistent with a maximum of protection to the 
 revenues. 
 
 It is of interest to note the cost of denatured spirit to the consumer 
 in Germany and Great Britain, which, reduced to United States 
 standard gallons and expressed in American money, is: 
 
 Germany (see British report, p. 11, par. 38), $0.43 per gallon, 93 
 per cent. 
 
 Great Britain (see British report, p. 5, par. 11), $0,365 per gallon, 
 93 per cent. 
 
 Of the British price of 36^ cents the — 
 
 Cost to manufacture $0. 2014 
 
 Cost of excise supervision of manufacture .0934 
 
 Cost of excise supervision of methylating and use .0702 
 
 Total .3650 
 
 It will be seen that the cost of spirit in Great Britain, 20.14 cents, 
 is increased 63 per cent by the expenses incident to protecting the 
 revenues throughout its manufacture and use. The report implies 
 that the more efficient methods employed in Germany involve a 
 similar proportion of cost. (See British report.) 
 
 Cost of ethyl alcohol in the United States. — In figuring the cost 
 of denatured alcohol in the United States the only materials which 
 need be considered are corn, yielding 2.45 gallons of 95 per cent alco- 
 hol to the bushel, and molasses yielding approximately one-half 
 gallon of 95 per cent alcohol for each gallon of molasses. Potatoes 
 are only employed in Germany under Government assistance, for, 
 being poor in starch (20 per cent) , they could not possibly compete 
 on even terms, and sorghum, being otherwise useless, could not com- 
 pete, as the entire cost of cultivation and manufacture would be 
 charged against the product. 
 
198 
 
 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Cost from corn, at 0.466 per 
 bushel: 
 Materials (0.387 bushel) _ - . 0. 1805 
 Manufacturing expenses _ _ . 1385 
 
 Less by-products. . . 
 
 .3090 
 .0312 
 
 .3778 
 Excise supervision of manufac- 
 turer (at 0.05 per proof gal- 
 lon, as per com of internal 
 
 revenue) . 095 
 
 Methylating or denaturing (av- 
 erage of cost in England and 
 Germany) .060 
 
 Licenses and regulation of use 
 (average of British and Ger- 
 man cost) - 015 
 
 .4478 
 
 Cost from molasses, at 0.03 per 
 gallon: 
 
 Materials (3 gallons) 0. 06 
 
 Manufacturing expenses _ _ .09 
 
 Excise supervision of manufac- 
 turer (British cost, 0.0934).. 
 
 Methylating or denaturing (av- 
 erage British cost, 0.07) 
 
 (See report, pt. 5, p. 11; pt. 
 36, p. 3.) 
 
 Licences and regulation of use. 
 
 .150 
 .095 
 
 .060 
 .015 
 
 .330 
 
 The above figures, so far as they relate to cost to manufacture, may 
 be accepted as the minimum of cost to-day — those from corn being 
 rather low in so far as they make no allowance for spoiled grain and 
 abnormal fluctuations in price. 
 
 The costs for denaturing and revenue protection are averaged from 
 the costs of the British and German experience — see British report. 
 
 Two important conclusions are developed from the above calcula- 
 tions, which we would urge upon you to consider. First, that the price 
 of denatured alcohol is far greater than supposed by the ordinary en- 
 thusiastic supporter of this measure, who has been led to expect some- 
 thing for almost nothing; second, that as denatured alcohol made 
 from molasses is in every respect as useful as denatured alcohol made 
 from corn, and fully 12 cents cheaper per gallon than corn alcohol, 
 no additional consumption of corn or cereals need be looked for, while 
 the present enormous supply of waste molasses, due to the less effi- 
 cient methods of sugar refining employed in the Tropics is available ; 
 and, consequently, not one penny of benefit will accrue to the Ameri- 
 can farmer by the increased consumption of corn for this purpose. 
 
 As is well known, millions of gallons of base molasses are pro- 
 duced in all the Central and South American countries, and the West 
 Indies, which is now largely burned, fed to animals, or destroyed, 
 although a portion is dumped on our shores, at almost any price 
 above freight, and at New Orleans, Boston, and Brooklyn is being 
 worked up into inferior liquors. That it is not more generally used 
 at present is due to the fact that alcohol made from molasses has a 
 disagreeable odor and taste which render it less acceptable for the 
 chief purposes for which ethyl alcohol is now employed in the United 
 States, namely, liquors and medicines. 
 
 For industrial purposes, however, especially where repulsive dena- 
 turants are to be employed, the odor and taste of molasses alcohol are 
 not a defect, and should the tax-free law open an avenue to its more 
 extensive use it is difficult to see how any other material could be 
 considered for the manufacture of industrial alcohol. 
 
 The inquiry will possibly arise, " Why will not American molasses 
 residue be consumed in this way ? " The answer is, " There is no 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. . 199 
 
 residue." Both in the cane and beet sugar industries as now con- 
 ducted in this country the methods of manufacturing are so highly 
 developed and efficient that practically a very insignificant portion 
 fails to be worked up into merchantable sugar. 
 
 The farmers have been told that under this law they could erect a 
 cooperative distillery in which surplus crops or inferior farm prod- 
 ucts may be worked up into alcohol in off years. When it is remem- 
 bered that alcohol can only be manufactured under modern competi- 
 tive conditions, in large distilleries, employing up-to-date apparatus 
 and scientific processes, and capitalized for hundreds of thousands of 
 dollars, it will be seen that no rural communities could erect such a 
 plant, to say nothing of sustaining it in idleness, under heavy depre- 
 ciation and official supervision, awaiting an off season in crops to 
 recoup their investment. To anyone at all acquainted with the con- 
 ditions necessary to successful production against modern competi- 
 tive conditions, the impossibility of such a scheme is obvious. The 
 rural distilleries of Germany, which probably suggested this idea, 
 produce only by virtue of Government subvention and what may be 
 called " waste labor." 
 
 Having shown, as we believe, with reasonable accuracy, the prob- 
 able cost of denatured alcohol and the source from which it will be 
 obtained, we wish to emphasize that to permit its manufacture will 
 confer most doubtful benefits upon the general public, the chief bene- 
 ficiaries being the foreign producers of waste molasses, the steamship 
 owners — also foreign — and the American Distilling Company. On 
 the other hand, it will inflict a staggering blow upon_ the wood- 
 distillation industry, which, as has been shown, is of vast importance, 
 not only as a direct employer of capital and labor, but as furnishing 
 products which are the starting points for other manufactures of 
 almost unlimited importance to the country as a whole. 
 
 To illustrate the doubtful benefits of the lower price of tax-free 
 alcohol: The consumer of wood alcohol for cheap spirit varnishes 
 will be compelled by the intense competition to at once employ tax- 
 free spirit, because it is cheaper, but will derive no competitive 
 advantage from the change whatsoever, for all others of his craft 
 have the same privilege ; but, though deriving no benefit, he will have 
 to submit to a degree of official supervision and interference similar 
 to that found necessary in the other countries having tax-free laws. 
 He will be subject to endless regulations regarding hours, access 
 to supplies, size and shape of vessels employed, the amount of spirit 
 he may have on hand over nights and holidays, minute directions 
 pertaining to the receipt and storage of packages, complete sepa- 
 rate record books to show disposal of spirit, as to kind and quan- 
 tity of products, penalties for excessive evaporation in leakage, and 
 heartbreaking delays pending the adjustment of any appeal he mav 
 make from the exactions of the officer in charge. To be obliged 
 to propitiate a self-important petty official will be a new experience 
 to most American manufacturers. 
 
 The discouragement to business enterprise and progress conse- 
 quent upon the excise regulation of industries using tax-free alco- 
 hol is best set forth in the British parliamentary report already 
 referred to. Many witnesses, both in England and Germany, testi- 
 
200 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 fied that rather than submit to. the publicity, delays, and interference 
 of official control they had ceased to manufacture articles rec^fuiring 
 alcohol. 
 
 It is impossible to imagine some of our immense American indus- 
 tries submitting to annoyances which, however wise and necessary, 
 have exhausted the patience of even the official-ridden German. 
 
 It is an amusing commentary upon the much-lauded beneficence of 
 tax-free alcohol that both the German and English who have tried it 
 consider it of small value in protecting them from American compe- 
 tition, and the Germans have demanded and made effective higher 
 tariffs and prohibitive legislation as the only means of keeping down 
 the American competition. It has been contended that the great suc- 
 cess of the German manufactures of coal-tar colors, such as the ani- 
 lines, was due to the benefits of free alcohol, and the British committee 
 appointed to investigate this matter developed the fact upon the au- 
 thority of Doctor Erhardt, of the Badische Aniline und Soda Fab- 
 rick, that not over 10 per cent of the colors have had any alcohol em- 
 ployed in their manufacture whatsoever, and that the cost of the alco- 
 hol used was not over one-half of 1 per cent of the total cost of manu- 
 facturing a given quantity of the colors. The committee's report 
 proceeds as follows: 
 
 That the consumption of spirit in Germany, affords no standard by which to 
 measure the possible consumption in this country (p. 13, par. 5). 
 
 The production of spirit in Germany is a state-aided enterprise, of which the 
 primary purpose is not so much the production of spirit as the encouragement of 
 agriculture (p. 24, sec. 9, par. 1). 
 
 And the consumption is not due to the absolute cheapness of spirit or any 
 special advantage that it possess as an agent for producing heat and light, but 
 solely to its cheapness as compared with coal, gas, or oil, and, in Germany, oil 
 In the interests of alcohol is subjected to a duty of 3 marks per hundredweight 
 (p. 26, pars. 9 and 10). 
 
 We may say that the increased demand that might arise for spirit in this 
 country, in consequence of an extension in its use for internal purposes, may 
 safely be placed at less than 3,500,000 proof gallons (p. 27, the last paragraph). 
 
 The most serious result of the remittance of tax on ethyl alcohol 
 ]ies in the effect upon the consumers of pure methyl alcohol. 
 
 This product is comparatively new, having come into common 
 use in the last seven or eight years, and its production is considered 
 one of the feats of chemical industry. Contrary to popular impres- 
 sion, it has all the merits of ethyl alcohol to an even higher degree, 
 except for internal use. It is purer chemically as now produced, 
 more spirituous, a better solvent, and under the various brands — 
 '^Lion d'Or Spirit," " Colum'bian Spirit," " Eagle Spirit," " Imperial 
 Spirit," etc. — is almost universally employed in all those industrial 
 operations and products in which an odorless or sweet- smelling spirit 
 is required, free from chemical impurities. The demand for this 
 product has now reached over 900,000 gallons a year, but the full 
 significance of this huge consumption is only realized when it is 
 explained that this alcohol is distributed in relatively small quanti- 
 ties to most of the industries in which highly manufactured products 
 are produced — products whose excellence is achieved by highly paid 
 skilled labor, and in which the purest spirit is essential, either because 
 of delicate operations or conditions of manufacture, or because the 
 alcohol becomes a part of the final product and so must contribute 
 to the attractiveness or efficacy of the object made. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 201 
 
 My company is supplying pure methyl alcohol to customers in some 
 1 different trades, and there are something like 110 trades laiown to 
 require a product of this quality. This they now obtain at from 
 $1.10 to $1.25 per gallon. 
 
 Under the proposed law the manufacture of methyl alcohol from 
 wood alcohol will be no longer profitable, and the only supply of a 
 sweet-smelling and pure spirit will be straight pure ethyl alcohol, 
 full taxed, at a cost of not less than $2.36 to $2.40, according to 
 strength. 
 
 The direct result: The cost for spirit to these industries will be 
 increased from $1.10 to $2.36, or $1.26 more per gallon, or $63 per 
 50-gallon barrel. 
 
 • This means placing a burden of some $1,100,000 tax on our most 
 highly-developed manufactures, provided they are able to continue 
 to consume alcohol at such a price. 
 
 I have customers engaged in the manufacture of transparent soap, 
 a highly competitive article, who consume from 2 to 300 barrels of 
 methyl alcohol per year, and to whom this would mean an increase of 
 $12,000 to $18,000— more than 100 per cent in their cost. 
 
 In the manufacture of perfumes, lacquers, varnishes, toilet prepa- 
 rations, soaps, shoe dressings, photographic and optical goods, furni- 
 ture, vehicles, vessels, mirrors, moldings, fancy papers, incandescent 
 lights, and jewelry the consumption is relatively large and the effect 
 of such increase correspondingly disastrous. 
 
 We believe it is obvious that a large portion of the demand for tax- 
 free alcohol arises from incomplete information on the part of the 
 petitioners and is in many cases bound to produce results quite the 
 opposite of those desired. 
 
 The paiirters and decorators appeal for relief from the poisonous 
 effects of wood alcohol by substituting denatured ethyl alcohol. As 
 wood naphtha and pyridine are the two denaturing materials invari- 
 ably employed, it is hard to see how denatured spirit will afford them 
 relief. If the painters' union is sincere, they will first eliminate 
 from their trade white, lead, turpentine, Paris green, mercury, colors, 
 etc., each of which is a poison which annually claims a thousand vic- 
 tims to one for wood alcohol. 
 
 The hat makers need not suffer from wood alcohol fumes, if they 
 will comply with factory ordinances as to ventilation, and at an in- 
 creased cost of 2 cents per dozen, could employ a harmless wood spirit. 
 
 Even the claim that ethyl alcohol may be successfully employed 
 in explosion motors, both portable and stationary, to the great ad- 
 vantage of the farmer — presumably because of its low price — ^be- 
 comes of doubtful validity in the face of the experience in Ger- 
 many and France. It is to be remembered that in Germany 
 petroleum products are more expensive than alcohol by rea- 
 son of governmental regulation. The vast production of alco- 
 hol in Germany has its rise in the policy of the State to keep 
 the country, in so far as possible, independent of foreign supplies, 
 such as food products, petroleum, and so on, by fostering agricul- 
 lure even to the extent of subsidies, but chiefly, however, for the pur- 
 pose of obtaining the consent of the agrarian or land-owning party 
 to certain measures. The raising of potatoes has therefore received 
 special financial eiicouragement to the benefit of farmers and land- 
 lords, with an enormous stimulus of the production of alcohol. 
 
202 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Purely as a protection to the alcohol industry, petroleum has been 
 taxed up to a higher price, and, despite all these measures, the em- 
 ployment of alcohol in motors is almost a complete failure, notwith- 
 standing many years of experiment. 
 
 I beg to file the report of Mr. Andre Massenet, general manager of 
 the American Panhard and Levessor Company," to the effect that 
 the efficiency of alcohol in explosive motors was greater in proportion 
 to the gasoline employed therewith and greatest when no alcohol was 
 used at all. The Panhard people have expended large sums in the 
 unsuccessful effort to utilize alcohol, except as herein stated. It is most 
 clearly demonstrated that alcohol motors are much more expensive 
 to construct and difficult to maintain in working order on account of 
 the higher compression required for their successful operation, but, 
 most important, their failure to comply with conditions of economy 
 is complete, and under no conceivable conditions of the liquid-fuel 
 market will alcohol be preferred for explosion motors. 
 
 Any appreciable scarcity of gasoline would permit the profitable 
 production of coal-tar naphtha long before the cost of molasses alco- 
 hol could be reached, and the supplies thereof are coextensive with 
 the supply of soft coal. 
 
 Those who are accustomed to regard Germany as the home of all 
 highly developed and scientific manufactures may be surprised to 
 learn that in the distillation of wood and the development of its 
 highly manufactured products this country has obtained a preemi- 
 nence quite comparable with that enjoyed by Germany in the field of 
 coal-tar products and synthetic dyes. The products of wood dis- 
 tillation — charcoal, acetate of lime, and alcohol — are highly competi- 
 tive with products derived from other sources and interchangeable 
 with them, and the introduction of successful competition of tax-free 
 ethyl alcohol against wood alcohol would immediately deprive the 
 wood-distilling industry of its chief source of income and precipitate 
 a demoralized condition from which it is. difficult to see any prospect 
 of recovery. . 
 
 Others will lay before you the importance of the charcoal iron in- 
 dustry and of the vast works, both in this country and abroad, depend- 
 ent upon our acetate of lime, and by its purchase contributing to our 
 wealth and progress. 
 
 I wish to call your attention to what has been accomplished in man- 
 ufacturing a sweet-smelling methyl alcohol from wood alcohol, sam- 
 ples of which are now before you. 
 
 Contrary to the popular impression, methyl alcohol has all the 
 merits and spirituous properties of ethyl alcohol to a higher degree, 
 and is, in fact, by nature the most spirituous spirit and the most 
 alcoholic alcohol, bein^ first in the natural order. The prestige 
 which ethyl alcohol enjoys is purely a survival of a less exacting 
 industrial era, when its use was tax free and the merits of methvl 
 alcohol were entirely unknown. 
 
 Finally, I wish to urge upon the committee a continuance of the 
 present tax on grain alcohol and its consequent protection to the wood 
 alcohol industry against competitive material from abroad, because 
 the full advantages of the wood distillation industry have not yet 
 inured to the country ; but, on the contrary, its most splendid devel- 
 
 « For this report, see p. 414. 
 
FREE ALCJHOL. 203 
 
 opment seems to lie immediately before us. By provision for the per- 
 manent supply of raw material, which is now being made by wise 
 forestry, both on the part of the great charcoal iron concerns and with 
 the farming people in the Middle West, the permanence of raw ma- 
 terial is assured. In every stage of this, the most elaborate of our 
 chemical industries, improvement is taking place; greater economies 
 are effected, and greater excellence of products is achieved. In addi- 
 tion to the use of charcoal, already mentioned, it is now employed 
 with sulphur in the manufacture of carbon disulphide, a solvent of 
 low price and great usefulness, applicable to the rubber and gutta- 
 percha industry, and also as a raw material for the manufacture of 
 other more complicated substances. Imported, as formerly, the price 
 was 11 to 20 cents per pound ; but the American product, of superior 
 excellence, is now in the vicinity of 4 cents per pound. 
 
 From the acetate of lime is now produced acetic acid in large quan- 
 tity, and the perfection of its processes of manufacture has been con- 
 stantly attended with a lowering of price until now it is able to with- 
 stand the competition of formic acid, made in Germany from waste 
 products. Acetate of lime is also the source from which is made 
 acetone and acetone oil ; the first, essential in a very large way to the 
 manufacture of explosives and certain varnishes and lacquers, the 
 acetone oil as a solvent for varnishes, etc. But in the manufacture 
 of wood alcohol and of methyl alcohol from wood alcohol have oc- 
 curred perhaps some of the highest developments of the art, and from 
 research work now under way it seems probable that in the near 
 future refined wood alcohol, as we now know it, will be entirely 
 worked up into pure methyl alcohol and valuable by-products, with 
 a consequent diminution in cost and wider employment. 
 
 We trust the conmaittee will see that the benefit of tax-free alcohol 
 consists only in substituting an offensive form of ethyl alcohol for 
 the wood alcohol, at only slightly lower prices and under conditions 
 of employment far from acceptable to the average American manu- 
 facturer. 
 
 That the benefits of such substitution have been greatly exaggerated 
 is clear ; that, on the other hand, the effect of the law, instead of being 
 beneficial to manufacturers, will cause an increase of more than 100 
 per cent in the cost for pure alcohol for those manufacturing enter- 
 prises whose requirements are now filled with pure methyl and who 
 enjoy every prospect, under present conditions, of a lower price as the 
 arts develop is also clear. 
 
 The reduction in the price of alcohol brought about by this law 
 will not benefit any producer in the United States, neither a producer 
 of grain nor corn nor sorghum nor any of these other products men- 
 tioned, because they are all direct products against which the whole 
 cost of manufacture will have to be charged, whereas the molasses that 
 is produced in such immense quantities in Cuba, Porto Rico, Mexico, 
 Honduras, Venezuela, and Colombia can be turned onto these shores 
 at from 2| to 3 cents a gallon, even with the minimum duty of waste, 
 10 cents, added to that for manufacturing, and brought into the 
 market as an alcohol at 15 cents a gallon before the revenue charges 
 are added to it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That will burn, will it not? 
 
 Mr. Lttmmtjs. Yes; the alcohol will burn; but Avhen it is de- 
 natured, ready to burn, there has been added to it nearly 70 per cent. 
 
204 FREE ALOOHOL. 
 
 It has got up to 32 cents per gallon under administration charges 
 of denaturing, so that it can not be a substitute for petroleum, but it 
 can be manufactured. The farmers have been told that under this 
 law they would erect a cooperative distillery 
 
 Mr. Claek. How many distilleries did you consult about this 
 thing — one or several? 
 
 Mr. Ltjmmus. It is very difficult to tell you. I meet and talk 
 with the grain-alcohol people generally, because I am the patentee of 
 apparatus which is used in those distilleries. 
 
 Mr. Clark. But how many have you talked to? 
 
 Mr. Williams. We would like to know whether your figures are 
 derived from one distillery or from a great many. 
 
 Mr. Lttmmus. Those figures I wish to file are only from one dis- 
 tillery, because I did not suppose more than one would be called for, 
 and I was able to get the genuine figures right from the books, while 
 in other cases I do not enjoy that privilege. I am simply visiting 
 these others in the interests of the Distillers' Apparatus Company, of 
 which I am also manager, and thefe my duty is that of vender and 
 they are customers, so we are not on such confidential terms. This 
 friend kindly furnished me with figures right from the books. I 
 have, however, made my estimates somewhat lower. That is, I have 
 left out all these considerations of waste, and that sort of thing, and 
 figured the theoretical production of alcohol, namely, 4.9 proof gal- 
 lons per bushel of corn, which is the assumption of the revenue regu- 
 lations, but it would not be as cheap as that. 
 
 I think it ought to be clear that it is true — it is easy verifiable if 
 I am wrong — that no American material whatsoever can be used. 
 It may be very naturally asked why would not molasses made in 
 America be employed instead of molasses made in the West Indies? 
 The reason is that there is no residue of the molasses made in Amer- 
 ica. A gentleman has already cited that case, but in the nature of 
 my business it becomes necessary for me to be somewhat familiar 
 with the beet-sugar refineries. 
 
 Mr. Williams. I was informed they were buying sorghum all over 
 the South to be sent to Cincinnati, and it was being turned into 
 whisky, rum, alcohol, or something. 
 
 Mr. Ltjmmus. I think that is true, but it can no longer be done in 
 the face of this molasses, because this molasses costs nothing but the 
 freight. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Are they doing it now ? 
 
 Mr. Ltjmmus. No, sir; that had to be given up because of the 
 charges of cultivation and harvesting of the sorghum and the subse- 
 quent manufacturing it into the only thing it could be made into. 
 The alcohol had to be charged against the one product. 
 
 Mr. Williams. The beet-sugar industries claim to have some inter- 
 est in that. 
 
 Mr. LuMMus. The beet-sugar industries of Michigan have no mo- 
 lasses residue except at Bay City. It was worked up into alcohol 
 there, but it was more profitable for other purposes, and they have 
 given it up. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How about at Alma ? 
 
 Mr. LuMMUs. I can not talk from inside information at Alma, but 
 there are two places at Bay City, and the German-American Farm- 
 ers' Cooperative Association worked up every particle of theirs. In 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 205 
 
 fact it is a great reproach to a beet-sugar man if he has any molasses 
 residue. It is a reflection on his technical skill and he would not be 
 employed. 
 
 The Chairman. The committee have gone over that matter very 
 thoroughly -within a month. 
 
 Mr. Lttmmus. The point I wish to make is that no American mate- 
 rial could be raised for the purpose of making alcohol under this law. 
 
 STATEMENT OF LOUIS L. DRAKE, SECRETARY OF THE NATIONAL 
 PAINT, OIL, AND VARNISH ASSOCIATION, 27 WILLIAM STREET, 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Drake. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
 might in truth state that I represent an association said to combine 
 more capital than any other organization in the country, as our asso- 
 ciation, comprising almost all of the manufacturers of paints, oils, 
 varnishes, brushes, cans, and other allied products and materials, as 
 well as most of the larger jobbing houses dealing in these lines, has on 
 two occasions — once at its sixteenth annual convention, held in St. 
 Louis, 1903, and again at its seventeenth annual convention in Buffalo, 
 1904 — adopted resolutions protesting against the passage of any legis- 
 lation in favor of tax-free alcohol for use in the arts, and these resolu- 
 tions, together with accompanying letters from me as secretary, were 
 sent to the honorable chairman of this committee, and, I am informed, 
 are in its files. But I have no desire to mislead this committee by say- 
 ing that I represent all our members, in spite of such action, when I 
 know that there are members of our association who are in favor of 
 such legislation ; and, gentlemen, if I may be permitted to digress long 
 enough to say so, I hope that at some time, possibly in the near future, 
 officers of organizations or gentlemen representing a clientele shall 
 not be allowed to come before this or any other committee of Con- 
 gress unless they are prepared to demonstrate exactly whom they rep- 
 resent and in what manner they were empowered to act. 
 
 In order that your conrnaittee might have an exact expression of 
 opinion from our members, we have had a postal-card vote, and I am 
 here representing those who voted against the proposed legislation, 
 and it is their objections that I beg to present for your consideration, 
 because I have been requested to appear on behalf of a body of manu- 
 facturers whose business is menaced by such action. They are 47 in 
 number, and they represent, according to Dun's Commercial Reports, 
 an invested capital of from $6,395,000 to $13,800,000; but as some of 
 these are incorporated companies, whose capital is not included in 
 such ratings, I might say the amount actually invested ' is nearer 
 $100,000,000. Twenty- four of these are manufacturers of varnishes, 
 and it is from their aspect in particular I desire to speak in protest. 
 
 I might say in this connection that the president of the Paint 
 Grinders' Association also wants to present some resolutions here, 
 and I have been asked to read them to you. That organization c em- 
 prises all of the paint grinders in the United States. 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. Drake, this committee is more interested in 
 knowing what connection you have with the business and in learning 
 the facts than they are in exactly whom you represent. You can 
 print that in the record, but if you will give us what connection you 
 
206 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 have with the business so as to show that you are able to be familiar 
 with the facts and state the facts, it will help us more. 
 
 Mr. Drake. I am right at that, Mr. Chairman. While I have been 
 in the business myself for about twenty-three years, I have never 
 been a manufacturer of varnishes, but I have here letters and state- 
 ments from the manufacturers of varnish which I would like to pre- 
 sent to you. 
 
 As some of you gentlemen may recall, before the civil war there 
 were but few manufacturers of varnishes in the country, and their 
 business was in what might generously be called its infancy. In 
 those antebellum days varnish was largely made from shellac cut with 
 grain alcohol on which there was no tax, and consumers who cared to 
 do so — and most of them did — made their own varnish. With the 
 demand for revenue made necessary by the enormous expenditures of 
 the war, an internal tax was put on grain alcohol. In order to 
 cheapen the cost of gum varnishes, which were demanded to take the 
 place of shellac at the increased cost caused by the imposition of the 
 tax, manufacturers were forced to find new methods for the produc- 
 tion of the former. 
 
 Some of these innovations were good; others were bad. But it is 
 a fact that on the whole an improvement in quality of varnishes took 
 place, with the result that consumers have come to expect the highest 
 possible grades. During the cheapening period I have mentioned 
 new grades of varnishes were invented, known as " first coaters," 
 " quick-drying " varnish, " solvents," or thinners. Of these and other 
 specialties, some of which, like Liquid Granite and Jap-a-lac and 
 Nu Kote, have become a household word, many millions of gallons are 
 made and sold "every year. These grades as a whole — let me impress 
 this upon. you, gentlemen — are superior to the varnishes made before 
 the war from shellac cut with grain alcohol. So the necessities for a 
 war revenue nearly fifty years ago have had a conspicuous influence 
 upon the development of that great industry whose pots and kettles 
 and fires are seen throughout the length and breadth of the land, for 
 alniost every large city, as well as many small cities, has these fac- 
 tories located in its midst. 
 
 In the city of Newark, N. J., where I reside, this industry is con- 
 siderable and comprises nearly a dozen concerns. One, built up by 
 our former governor, Franklin Murphy, advertises at great expense 
 the use of only high grades. These concerns represent millions of 
 dollars of invested capital and sales, while there are nearly as many 
 others located throughout the State of New Jersey, at Jersey City, 
 Hoboken, near Plainfield, below Trenton, etc. 
 
 In Ohio it is a very considerable industry. There are nearly a 
 dozen manufacturers m Cleveland, and there are others located in 
 Toledo, Akron, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, etc. 
 
 In Chicago and New York there are quite a dozen in each city. In 
 Long Island City, a borough of the latter city, I believe it is the 
 largest industry in its borders. 
 
 Buffalo has three, of which one is one of the two or three largest 
 in the country, with branch factories in Long Island City and 
 Chicago. 
 
 Philadelphia has as many as any of the larger cities, and in addi- 
 tion to their voting against the proposed legislation the local Paint 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 207 
 
 Oil, and Varnish Club, comprising all the manufacturers in those 
 linens in that city, has also voted in the negative. 
 
 You are doubtless familiar with the extent of this industry in your 
 respective districts, so it is not necessary for me to go into further 
 detail as to their number or importance. 
 
 At the last hearing of your committee gentlemen came here claim- 
 ing to represent the board of commerce of Detroit. They spoke in 
 favor of this legislation. Did they speak for the Acme White Lead 
 and Color Works ? Did they speak for Berry Brothers, of that city ? 
 No. Let me read what the former concern says on this subject : 
 
 We wish to say most emphatically that we are decidedly opposed to this 
 legislation. We admit that it is possible that a few manufacturers might bene- 
 fit from being enabled to use tax-free alcohol, but we are also decidedly of the 
 opinion that the public at large would derive no benefit nor profit therefrom, 
 and so far as it applies to our particular business as manufacturers of varnish 
 it would prove a great injury. 
 
 Varnish solvents, or thinners, such as linseed oil, turpentine, naphtha, etc., 
 are more desirable than alcohol and are also in ample supply ; and, in our judg- 
 ment, the materials mentioned are of far greater importance than the tax-free 
 alcohol, which would probably very largely displace them. 
 
 We believe that it has been found practically impossible to denature alcohol' 
 in such a way as to prevent its use as a beverage, with all the resultant dangers 
 and sufferings which are inevitable ; and, last, but not least, the passage of such 
 an act would also deprive the Government of a large and needed revenue. 
 
 We hope that you may see your way clear to vigorously oppose the passage 
 of this measure. We feel that anybody who would take the trouble to study 
 the question from all standpoints could arrive at but one conclusion, that being 
 that it would be very unwise to pass any measure providing for tax-free alcohol 
 under present conditions. 
 
 And, gentlemen, this is a concern that started only twenty years 
 ago or so, with $20,000 capital, and now has over $1,000,000 invested, 
 and advertises that its factories cover more ground than any other 
 paint and varnish manufacturer in the business. 
 
 Berry Brothers is a concern with more than a million, and both 
 these firms have urged me to appear in their behalf and protest 
 against legislation such as is urged by the Detroit Board of Commerce. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Are they some Detroit men ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes ; that is the Acme White Lead and Color Works, 
 of Detroit. They started in business twenty years ago by virtue of 
 these new conditions, and they built up a business which has an in- 
 vested capital of $1,000,000. 
 
 Mr. Smith. There is no question that the Chamber of Commerce 
 passed this resolution ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. The Chamber of Commerce passed a resolution, yes; 
 but they did not represent this concern nor other concerns which 
 have this capital invested, whose interests are affected. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Did these concerns make protest? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes, sir; they have since. They were not there- as I 
 understand it, and did not know of the action. I do not know the 
 particulars,- but they have really set up since a counter sentiment 
 there because they claimed the meeting was held and they did not 
 know much about it. 
 
 Mr. Hill. They object to alcohol varnish on account of its being 
 cheaper ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Not altogether, sir. It would . be about the worst 
 thing that could happen to people who have furniture and pianos 
 
208 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 and things of that kind to have it put on such things. That is what 
 I want to make clear later on. My statement will take about ten 
 minutes. 
 
 I have been interested in the statements made to your committee 
 by Mr. Paul Mehlin, president of the National Piano Manufacturers' 
 Association. It seems to me almost incomprehensible that such an 
 organization, if it really comprises the best interests in that industry, 
 should have adopted resolutions in favor of denatured alcohol. 
 
 I can only agree with him in part of his statements. When he de- 
 clared that " frauds in the use of tax-free alcohol were impossible in 
 the piano business, as manufacturers purchased their varnish and 
 stains ready-made, and could not afford to recover the alcohol, even 
 if it were possible to do so," he spoke the literal truth, for, gentlemen, 
 there is but little or no grain alcohol in varaishes as made to-day and 
 sold the piano manufacturers, and it could not be used, even if the 
 duty were taken off, by manufacturers who have any regard for the 
 integrity of their products. He was, therefore, also right when he 
 said that " the effect upon the national revenue of the passage of a 
 ■free-alcohol bill would be infinitesimal," and it naturally foUows 
 that his itatement is true when he says that "At the present time he 
 believes that less than 10 per cent as much grain alcohol was used as 
 in 1891." 
 
 When he states that " Piano manufacturers had been obliged to 
 resort to wood alcohol, although that article did not cut the gum 
 used in making varnishes so well as grain spirits," I must confess I 
 do not know what he was talking about in view of the statement he 
 had just made that " Manufacturers purchased their varnish and 
 stains ready-made." Perhaps he may have referred to manufacturers, 
 if there are any in these enlightened days, who do not buy their 
 varnishes, but cut shellac for their own consumption. In this event, 
 I must take exception to his statement that they are " obliged " to us3 
 wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol. To my mind such people 
 would not know their best interests, and there is no obligation on the 
 part of a manufacturer of a piano, even if it be only a $100 instru- 
 ment, to save the paltry difference, especially in view of the fact that 
 he could purchase a better article ready-made. 
 
 Then, again, when he says, " The average grade of wood-alcohol 
 varnish now used costs about $1.75, while grain-alcohol varnish costs 
 about $3," he states something which has no real bearing upon the 
 case. These might be the prices if such grades were made and sold 
 to piano manufacturers, but such is not the case. I have done a little 
 investigating along these lines and I find that at least 60 per cent — I 
 have not had time to find how much more — of the varnish used by 
 piano manufacturers is high-grade varnish, sold at $2.50 per gallon 
 and upward, and that it necessarily contains neither grain alcohol 
 or wood alcohol, but is made on a gum base with linseed oil as its sol- 
 vent. One firm alone sells to piano manufacturers 200,000 gallons 
 per year at $2.50 per gallon, or a total business of $500,000, while the 
 total sales to this trade alone are said to be about 450,000 gallons. 
 
 The only result of taking off the tax on grain alcohol, so far as 
 piano manufacturers are concerned, would be precisely the same as 
 with all other consumers — ^that is, it would enable them to dispense 
 with the varnish manufacturer and cut shellac with grain alcohol 
 ior their own consumption. This is about the worst thing that could 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 209 
 
 happen, not only to the varnish industry, but to the purchasers of 
 pianos or any other article on which such a material should be used, 
 for it would be the poorest finish that they could obtain. 
 
 Now, you have heard what a concern in Detroit has had to say. 
 Let us turn to Philadelphia and I will read you what is said by 
 another large — ^perhaps the second or third largest manufacturers 
 of paints and varnishes in the country, John Lucas & Co., with over 
 a million invested. 
 
 If the dangers from methyl alcohol in its natural state do not prevent parties 
 indulging in it as a beverage, vyhat might be expected when the percentage of 
 danger was reduced to, say, 5 or 10 per cent? It would certainly amount to 
 almost a premium on its use, i. e., the denatured article as a beverage. 
 
 The same might also be stated in regard to the mixing of the light petroleum 
 products, or hydrocarbons, with it. Even at present it is quite a common thing 
 for persons to inhale the fumes of benzine, etc., to produce intoxication, and the 
 mere addition of 5 or 10 per cent of the naphthas to grain alcohol would be no 
 barrier, but a strong inducement to use it as a beverage. 
 
 Again, there is the old difficulty which the Government met when first estab- 
 lishing the internal-revenue system. The profits are so great in the recovery or 
 depriving the article of its denaturizer, so as to sell it in the pure state, perhaps 
 as a beverage, that a large number of illicit distilleries would be created, and 
 the police expenses of the Government would be increased enormously in the 
 efforts to prevent such recovery. It may be stated that this is not the case in 
 other countries, but you must recognize the fact that there isn't near the in- 
 ducement -in other countries to do it, nor are the opportunities nearly as great 
 where the people are under greater surveillance or government espionage. 
 
 There Is also a strong plea in favor of the measure on behalf of the farmer 
 or agricultural class. Of course, if the use of agricultural products In producing 
 larger quantity of alcohol would be stimulated, there would be a corresponding 
 reduction in the use of other agricultural products, such as linseed oil from 
 flaxseed, turpentine from the pine trees of the South, etc. 
 
 From Cleveland we have a letter from a manufacturing concern 
 which has been built up within twenty-five years — the manufacturers 
 of jap-a-lac — another concern with a plant worth its million, and is 
 said to be spending $100,000 yearly in advertising. They say : 
 
 It would deprive us of a very large amount of business should the bill pass. 
 The makers of varnishes would have to go back to old methods, but it would be 
 retrograded with a loss of much business. 
 
 The wholesale druggists and others would derive the benefit at the expense 
 of the varnish manufacturers of our country. We therefore pray you [this was 
 written to the Congressman from their district] that you will seriously con- 
 sider this important measure, as it affects manufacturers on the whole. And 
 again, it would greatly benefit foreign producers of gum shellac by the advance 
 which would naturally follow in this conmiodlty. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Let me ask a question bearing upon another mat- 
 ter. Do you export a great deal of varnish ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. We export about $500,000 worth annually. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Do you know anything about the export price as 
 compared with the domestic price ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. The export price would be just about the same as here. 
 
 I would like here to say that I am informed that about twenty 
 years ago, before the industry was so well established, we imported 
 about $250,000 of varnishes annually, whereas now we export over 
 $500,000. This export business would be seriously affected by the 
 passage of the proposed legislation. 
 
 Another varnish manufacturer, with over $1,000,000 invested, says : 
 
 From a varnish manufacturer's standpoint, we consider the passage by Con- 
 gress of a free-alcohol bill will be disastrous. 
 
 11058—06 14 
 
210 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Denatured alcohol can be produced at a price which will make it an Induce- 
 ment to consumers to use alcohol varnishes to a much greater extent than at 
 present, thus displacing just so much oil varnish. 
 
 The saving in using this cheaper varnish will be so trifling that the articles 
 varnished could not be sold at a reduced price, thus the manufacturers making 
 the varnished articles will be the only ones benefited. At the same time their 
 wares will not be as good as if coated with oil varnish. 
 
 There is a vast amount of money invested In the oil varnish business, and 
 many skilled workmen employed in the industry. The introduction of a cheap 
 substitute will greatly injure the varnish business, and along with it the 
 linseed oil and spirits of turpentine industries. In these latter multitudes of 
 farmers are interested, as well as tens of thousands of artisans and ordinary 
 laborers employed. 
 
 From the Buffalo manufacturer mentioned above : 
 
 Can you not appear before the Ways and Means Committee on the question 
 of free alcohol in the arts and sciences, which you know would be a very serious 
 thing for the varnish and paint trade? 
 
 The Chairman. Do I understand they make varnish with linseed 
 without using good shellac ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. They do not use shellac in those varnishes at all. That 
 is the industry I have tried to indicate has been built up. 
 
 The Chairman. They do not use it in this high-grade varnish?, 
 
 Mr. Drake. They do not use the shellac in it ; no, sir. It is made 
 from gums and turpentine, and linseed oil as a solvent. 
 
 The Chairman. And no alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. No alcohol. Of course there are alcohol varnishes, 
 but most of the trade does not care to make them, and some manufac- 
 turers will only do it in very limited quantities to oblige a customer. 
 If a customer says he wants some shellac varnish for a certain pur- 
 
 f)ose they will make it up. There is a concern that makes quite a 
 ittle of shellac varnish, and it is understood and we all believe that 
 should this bill pass importers of shellac and people interested in that 
 commodity will of course cut it themselves, and that will do away 
 with all this business. 
 
 The Chairman. Are you able to tell us what proportion of the 
 varnish is made from linseed oil and gum and what proportion of 
 shellac is used with alcohol, approximately ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Approximately, the greater part of it. 
 
 The Chairman. What do you mean by that — what per cent? 
 
 Mr. Drake. I should say, roughly, 70 to 75 per cent. 
 
 The Chairman. Is made from oil and gum? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Is made from oil, gum, and turpentine. 
 
 The Chairman. All the varnish, used for every purpose ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. I would like to put that another way. I would like 
 to make that as counter to shellac varnishes. I would put it the other 
 way and say there is not 30 per cent of shellac varnishes used in this 
 country to-day. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. Is that the only kind of varnish that requires the 
 use of alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Not over 30 per cent where alcohol is used? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Probably less than that where alcohol would be used; 
 yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Not over that ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. No, sir; because there is some sheUac that might be 
 used with other solvents than alcohol. I want to put that that way 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 211 
 
 and make this explanation for that reason, that all oil varnishes are 
 not necessarily varnishes made from gums and turpentine and oil. 
 All these different grades that I have mentioned, like jap-a-lac and 
 other specialties, have been made up out of the gray matter of men's 
 minds as time has progressed, and they only know the formulas. 
 Of course, I do not know, and neither does anyone else, so far as I 
 know. 
 
 And now from a jobber in Boston, one who will not be hurt by loss 
 of business because not a manufacturer, but one well qualified by 
 long years and success in the paint, oil, and varnish lines to express 
 an opinion: 
 
 We are not in favor of free denatured alcohol until we are better posted as 
 to same, both as to the benefits to be derived and risks to be incurred. 
 
 There is also another element which comes into the case — the effect on high- 
 grade varnishes. 
 
 If it can be proved that this change can be effected without increased danger 
 in the attempted use by certain people for drinking purposes, or for illicit sale, 
 and also that the people would receive the benefit by much decreased cost, and 
 we knew about what that benefit would amount to, we should be inclined to 
 favor the change, but until we receive such information we should not favor 
 the change. 
 
 The present state of the discussion, as shown in the newspapers, is very 
 chaotic, and, so far as we know, we have seen no estimate as to what alcohol 
 and shellac varnish would sell for under the law as proposed, there having 
 been given no definite idea as to the way in which the denaturing was to be 
 brought about. 
 
 I have considered this matter solely in its relation to the varnish 
 industry of the country. There are many reasons that occur to my 
 mind in opposition to removing the tax, and other interests to be con- 
 sidered. I have taken up so much of your time that I must not refer 
 to other interests that may be affected adversely, but in conclusion I 
 must pause a moment to ask you to consider one point. If the 
 800,000 farmers represented by the master of the National Grange, 
 Patrons of Husbandry, are to be benefited, do not forget that the 
 farmers in the great West and Northwest now raising flaxseed will 
 suffer proportionately by having their output curtailed. And at the 
 same time, the farmers in the South now interested in growing tur- 
 pentine will also have a loss in their output of like proportions. 
 
 I have not yet heard of anyone who is prepared to prove exactly 
 what benefits ^?ill accrue should the tax be taken off. No one has 
 been able to say exactly what the Government will lose in internal 
 tax. No one has guaranteed that the grain alcohol will be sold at 
 a price below that of competing articles. No one has admitted how 
 much higher shellac will be. AH statements on these matters have 
 been merely guesswork. As stated in one of the letters I read, " The 
 present state of the discussion is very chaotic," but it does not require 
 one to be a prophet or a son of a prophet to know beyond peradven- 
 ture that injury will be done the varnish industry. Consumers can 
 cut shellac, and conditions will revert back to the state they <vere in 
 before the war. I do not believe the deluge will follow as a result, 
 but it will require years and years of labor and hundreds upon hun- 
 dreds of thousands of dollars to be expended in educating people to 
 the fact that after all they don't want shellac cut with grain alcohol 
 for varnish purposes. 
 
 The Chairman. Can you give us an idea of the total amount of 
 varnish uied per year? 
 
212 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Drake. To give you an idea I will mention just one little item 
 turned out by one concern of manufacturers in Cleveland, where 
 they are selling just one little side of the trade. That concern is sell- 
 ing 200,000 gallons 
 
 Mr. Hill. What is that, oil or alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. That is oil varnish. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understand, then, you think Mr. Mehlin is mistaken 
 about the amount of grain-alcohol varnish used in the piano trade, 
 and you say it is not used there ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. It is not used to any extent in any first-class varnish. 
 It is used to a small extent 
 
 Mr. Hill. How about in the manufacture of furniture? Is it 
 equally as true in regard to furniture? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. And equally true as regards railroad cars? 
 
 Mr. Drake. That takes in another branch of the business. 
 
 Mr. Hill. It is the same sort of varnish. 
 
 Mr. Drake. In that case they can not use shellac at all. That is 
 a high-grade varnish. But in regard to furniture, some of you gen- 
 tlemen have bought a piano or some other valuable piece of furni- 
 ture and after a time have found it shows streaks of white through 
 it — a kind of mildew, as it were. That is caused by the atmosphere 
 or water getting into the shellac and starting up that action. The 
 only time that shellac should be used, or is used, to-day by anybody 
 excepting those making a cheap line of furniture and stuff of that 
 kind, is when they want to get a quick drier. You can put a coat 
 of varnish on and in three or four hours it will be dry. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That is wood-alcohol varnish. 
 
 Mr. Drake. Grain alcohol is just the same. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Then, in your judgment, there would be no loss of reve- 
 nue by the Government in case of this legislation by the substitu- 
 tion of other solvents for grain alcohol in these various industries, 
 because it is not now used in the industries. 
 
 Mr. Drake. Very little; yes, sir. There would be very little loss 
 to the Government in that respect. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Who would be benefited, in your judgment, by 
 the passage of this legislation? 
 
 Mr. Drake. The people who would benefit by it — and they would 
 be the only people to get any particular benefit out of it (and they 
 would benefit, by the way, greatly) — would be, first, importers of 
 shellacs. Shellac is sold to-day at 50 cents a pound, and it has been 
 going up in leaps and bounds. To-day there is not enough in the 
 world to go around, and in the last two or three years people have 
 had to beg for the stuff. 
 
 ,tlr. Grosvenor. The persons who want to use alcohol in the manu- 
 factures would be benefited, would they not? They would get it 
 cheaper ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. They would get what cheaper? 
 
 Mr. Geosvenor. Alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Drake. Of course I do not know what the price of alcohol 
 would be in those days. Personally, I think it will be 40 cents, and 
 I think, also, when that is added to the cost of shellac, at 50 cents 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Without going into the shellac business, the peo- 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 2l3 
 
 pie who want to use alcohol would be benefited, would they not? 
 They would get it cheaper. 
 
 Mr. McCleakt. In other industries, aside from varnishes? 
 
 Mr. Geosvenor. In other business, where they do not use shellac 
 at all. 
 
 Mr. Drake. Do you mean if the duty is taken off, and denatured 
 alcohol is possible, certain people would get a cheaper product ? 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Yes ; and be benefited financially. 
 
 Mr. Drake. I think certain lines would. I think, for instance, 
 chemists would be the people who would get the greatest benefit from 
 it — manufacturing chemists and the wholesale druggists. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Take the hat manufacturer. Would he not be 
 benefited ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. If a hat manufacturer was so mean, let us say, as to use 
 a cheap 40-cent article, and would not use a higher-price article, and 
 he could get the grain alcohol down to, say, 40 cents, he would be 
 benefited; yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Now, you have got one step on the road I am try- 
 ing to get you. You are opposed to the passage of this bill, are you 
 not? 
 
 Mr. Drake. I am representing these gentlemen who are opposed to 
 it; yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. And you think it would be for their benefit not 
 to repeal it ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Their financial benefit? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes, sir; I certainly do. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Are you in favor of using the taxing power of this 
 Government to benefit one industry and injure another? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Not as a given proposition; but now that you have 
 raised that question I will tell you frankly what I am in favor of. 
 I believe if this or any other committee of Congress is going to open 
 the door by taking the tax off grain alcohol, the door should be opened 
 and we should have it off everything — white lead, turpentine, and 
 everything. 
 
 I would like to read one letter that came to our association. I did 
 not try to influence our members. We said "Are you for this or 
 against it ? " This is a reply I got : 
 
 We are decidedly in favor of free denatured alcohol, either of duty or 
 internal revenue. 
 
 And down in the corner : 
 
 Also in getting the tariflf down on zinc, oil, lead, etc., that the trust holds us 
 up for. 
 
 Gentlemen, I wish to say that if this legislation is passed, although 
 I was born a Republican, of Republican ancestors, and have always 
 been a Republican and a high protectionist, next year I will be com- 
 pelled to come here with- all my fellow-citizens and ask you to take 
 the duty off all these things on which we are so awfully taxed — white 
 lead and all these things. White lead is going up in leaps and 
 bounds. 
 
 The Chairman. There has not been any very violent increase in 
 the duty on white lead while it has been going up in leaps and 
 bounds recently? 
 
214 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Drake. No, sir. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you think the consolidation of the white-lead com- 
 panies in this country in the last few months has had any bearing on 
 that? 
 
 Mr. Drake. It has had that already, sir. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Do you think the tariff has had anything to do 
 with the consolidation of the white-lead companies in the last few 
 months? 
 
 Mr. Drake. I think that is a self-evident proposition. 
 
 Mr. Williams. That is what I thought. 
 
 Mr. BotTTELL. That it has not ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. That it has. 
 
 Gentlemen, it goes against my grain to stand here and say anything 
 toward taking off the tax. I am a protectionist. As I stated, I was 
 born and have been bred up that way ; but we should be consistent in 
 all things, and although I recognize the fact that the internal tax and 
 the customs duties are different things, when you get down to it, if 
 you are going to talk about a certain line of trade or industry you 
 are going to benefit and another you are going to hurt, we have got 
 to look things squarely in the face. 
 
 The Chairman. You want all the tax and duty taken off your in- 
 dustry and left on the others ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. No, sir ; I want the tax left on this grain alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. But you want all the other duties taken off ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. No, sir. I told you it went against my grain to advo- 
 cate any such proposition, but we should be logical. 
 
 The Chairman. If we change this, you will want everything 
 changed ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes, sir ; I will be here next year. 
 
 Mr. Hill. But do you not think it would be proper to tax the wood 
 alcohol with the grain under those circumstances, to be real logical 
 about it? 
 
 Mr. Drake. No, sir; I do not think so, because we put that duty 
 on to create an internal revenue. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you think wood alcohol has any more privileges in 
 this country than the general mass of farmers have? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Not as a general proposition ; and if it comes to the 
 proposition of taking the tax off one or putting it on thfe other, I 
 guess I would be in favor of putting it on, with all due deference to 
 my friends. I do not know whether they would kick or not. The 
 consumers would be the ones that would feel the effect of it in the 
 long run. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Whenever you bring this thing down to a consid- 
 eration of this fellow's interest and that fellow's interest, it gets a 
 little confusing, does it not ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. Yes, sir; I say treat them all alike. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You say the white-lead trust is probably the out- 
 growth of the tariff ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. I do not think the question was put in that way. I 
 have forgotten what the question was, but I think it was, " Did it 
 not have some bearing on it ? " 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is it not true there is a white-lead trust in England, 
 where there is no tariff ? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 215 
 
 Mr. Drake. Two or three years ago at^our convention our dry- 
 color conmiittee recommended that our association should petition 
 Congress to take the duty off white lead, and this is the way the 
 chairman of the committee figured it: He proved to his own satis- 
 faction, and to the satisfaction of myself and some others there, 
 that pig lead could be produced and taken over to the other side, 
 manufactured there, brought back here, the duty paid, and it would 
 be very close to the price of the home stuff; and at that time, if I 
 remember, the price of lead in that country was about half of what 
 it is here. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Organization really is the basis for these prices that 
 have gone up by leaps and bounds, is it not ? 
 
 Mr. Dkake. Not altogether, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Ten years ago, when we passed the Dingley law, 
 prices were low, and the fact that they are high now is due to your 
 combinations rather than to the principle. 
 
 Mr. Drake. Not altogether, sir; because the only thing that has 
 made the success of the National Lead Company has been the fact 
 that it was protected. 
 
 The Chairman. Have you anything else to say ? 
 
 Mr. Drake. I have here this petition of the Paint Grinders' Asso- 
 ciation, comprising all the paint grinders of the United States. 
 
 The Chairman. That may go into your remarks. 
 
 (For this petition see p. 415.) 
 
 The committee thereupon (at 4.30 p. m.) adjourned until Wednes- 
 day, February 21, 1906, at 10 o'clock a. m. 
 
FREE ^.ECOELOL. 
 
 FIFTH DAT— MORNING SESSION. 
 
 Committee on Ways and Means, 
 WedTiesday, February ^1, 1906. — 10 o'clock a. m. 
 
 The committee met, pursuant to adjourmnent, with the chairman, 
 Hon. Sereno E. Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present : The Chairman, and Messrs. Dalzell, Grosvenor, McCleary, 
 Hill, Boutell, Curtis, Needham, Smith, Williams, Clark, Underwood, 
 and Granger. 
 
 The Chairman. The committee will hear, this morning, Mr. Rob- 
 ert McClain, representing the Grasselli Chemical Company, of New 
 York City. 
 
 STATEMENT OF ROBERT McCLAIN, REPRESENTING THE GRAS- 
 SELLI CHEMICAL COMPANY, NO. 63 WALL STREET, NEW YORK 
 CITY, N. Y. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. McClain. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
 feel a little like a by-product hitched on to the rear end of a wood- 
 alcohol deputation. We are not especially interested in alcohol of 
 any kind ; but we do, however, represent one of the by-products. We 
 are manufacturers of acetic acid, in the manufacture of which acetate 
 of lime is very largely used, and any legislation that will tend to re- 
 duce the consumption of wood alcohol must of necessity increase the 
 cost of acetate of lime, and consequently increase also the cost of 
 manufacturing acetic acid. The manufacture of that article is quite 
 large, amounting to from twenty-six to twenty-seven million pounds ; 
 and your committee can very readily see how important it is to the 
 manufacturers of acetic acid that the cost to them of acetate of lime 
 is kept as low as possible. 
 
 Acetic acid is used by all woolen manufacturers throughout the 
 country, by all the calico-print mills, by silk manufacturers and silk 
 dyers. It is used also in lead corroding, in the manufacture of paints 
 and colors, in the manufacture of celluloid combs, and in many other 
 manufacturing industries. So it is important that the cost of pro- 
 ducing this acid be not increased. I may say that acetic is now get- 
 ting to a point where its use is threatened by the introduction of 
 formic acid, which can be imported and used in place of acetic acid. 
 Acetic acid itself is used very largely, and it would be a serious matter 
 to several of the manufacturing chemical interests of the country if 
 its use was abandoned, which would largely follow if there is any 
 further advance in the cost. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What is acetic acid used for ? 
 
 217 
 
218 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. McClain. As I just stated, it is used by the woolen manufac- 
 turers throughout the country, in the calico-print mills, by silk manu- 
 facturers and silk dyers, and it is also used in lead corroding, in the 
 manufacture of paints and colors, in the manufacture of celluloid 
 articles, and in many other industries. 
 
 The Chairman. Can it not be produced in any other way than as 
 a by-product of wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MgClain. Not at a cost at which it can be used. Now, I am 
 not a wood-alcohol man, and I would like to roast them ^ little if I 
 could, but we are informed by the wood-alcohol manufacturers that 
 if any legislation is passed reducing the consumption of wood alcohol 
 to any considerable extent, they will be obliged to make up such loss 
 by increasing the price of acetate of lime. Some of the wood-alcohol 
 interests say that it would double the cost of acetate of lime. I do not 
 think it will, but if it did advance it a cent a pound you can see what 
 a tax it would be on the acetic-acid manufacturers. In fact it will 
 amount to a total extra cost to the acetic-acid manufacturers of over 
 a quarter of a million dollars annually. 
 
 Acetate of lime, of course, as you know, is a by-product of wood 
 distillation, and any reduction in the price of wood alcohol would 
 have to be made up by an advance in the price of the by-products, 
 such as charcoal and acetate of lime. 
 
 Mr. Hill. How much do they say the increased cost will be ? 
 
 Mr. McClain. Some manufacturers say that if this bill is passed 
 it will double the cost of acetate of lime. 
 
 Mr. Hill. In other words, they figure that there will be absolutely 
 no manufacturing of wood alcohol, in order to arrive at that result? 
 
 Mr. MoClain. They can not do that. They are obliged to run 
 their plants to produce acetate of lime; but the chief object of run- 
 ning a wood-distilling plant is to produce wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. But they must assume that they would get nothing for 
 the wood alcohol in case this legislation passed, in order to reach 
 the result which you claim. 
 
 Mr. MoClain. I do not think you can legislate wood alcohol out of 
 existence. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You have got to do it in order to reach that result, ac- 
 cording to the census figures. 
 
 Mr. McClain. No; I think it was shown yesterday that your 
 Census figures are a little off. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I think that is partly explained by one party figuring 
 on proof gallon and the other on bulk gallon. They were going to 
 get together and adjust that last night and you will have that report 
 this morning. 
 
 Mr. McClain. I understood that the production of wood alcohol 
 was approximately seven and a half or eight million gallons per 
 annum. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. Pierce has stated that he gave the figures in bulk 
 gallon and he thought that Professor Munroe gave his figures in 
 proof gallon. They were going to determine that last night. 
 
 Mr. McClain. I am not specially posted in the production of wood 
 alcohol, nor am I sjpecially interested in it. What the manufacturers 
 of acetic acid are after is to keep the cost of producing acetate of lime, 
 as a mere by-product of a wood-distillation plant, as low as possible, 
 
FEEE AXjCOHOL. 219 
 
 for the reason that if there is a further advance in the cost of this, 
 there must necessarily be a very great reduction in the consumption, 
 because formic acid will come in and be used where acetic acid is"now 
 largely used. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Is formic acid just as good for the purpose? 
 
 Mr. McClain. I think so. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Is it more expensive ? 
 
 Mr. McClain. Yes ; it has been more expensive than acetic acid up 
 to the present time. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Is formic acid also a by-product of wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. McClain. No; it is a German production. I do not think 
 formic acid is made in this country. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What is the price of acetic acid ? 
 
 Mr. McCi^iN. It depends upon the strength. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Say, of forty-seven thousands specific gravity ? 
 
 Mr. McClain. I can tell you better in the percentage, which is in 
 common use. Twenty-eight per cent acetic acid is now selling at 
 about 2 cents a pound. 
 
 Mr. Hill. That is the ordinary strength? 
 
 Mr. McClain. That is the strength in common use. If the produc- 
 tion of wood alcohol is so reduced as to make it necessary to increase 
 rhe cost of acetate of lime, they will not have to go much further in 
 their increase to practically kill a large proportion of the acetic acid 
 business. It will not kill it all, because some of it has got to live ; but 
 they will largely reduce the consumption and, as I say, that advance 
 would mean a tax of a quarter of a million dollars annually on the 
 acetic acid manufacturers. 
 
 Mr. Hill. The protective duty is now 2 cents a pound. Does it 
 not strike you that ought to take care of the industry, without taxing 
 domestic industries to maintain it? 
 
 Mr. McClain. That is all right as a matter of protection; but if 
 you have got to suffer from the manufacturing cost at home, your 
 protection will not help you much. 
 
 Mr. Hill. In other words, we have got to protect one industry 
 against another in this country ? 
 
 Mr. McClain. And in any other country that is the case. We can 
 eat each other up, if you will only give us the chance. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Could we not develop the industry of manufactur- 
 ing formic acid in this country ? 
 
 Mr. McClain. Now you are getting into the field of chemistry, and 
 I am not a chemist. 
 
 Mr. Needham. You can not tell us generally about it? 
 
 Mr. McClain. No ; I can not tell you anything about formic acid 
 that would be fit for the stenographer. Acetic acid is also the basis of 
 the manufacture of all the lead acetate and acetate of soda. Acetate of 
 lead is used largely by the paper and paint manufacturers. Acetate of 
 soda is used in the print mills to a large extent. So that there will 
 be many manufacturing enterprises adversely affected by the passing 
 of a law such as the one now under consideration, under which the 
 manufacture of wood alcohol would be very much restricted and the 
 consumption reduced, in which event the by-products would be pro- 
 duced at increased cost. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. What is the present domestic output of acetic acid ? 
 
220 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. McClain. That I can not tell you ; but I know the amount of 
 acetate of lime used in the production of acetic acid is close to 
 twerity-seven million pounds annually. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. A pound of acetate of lime makes how much acetic 
 acid? 
 
 Mr. McClain. That I can not tell you. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. You speak of an additional tax of a quarter of a 
 million dollars a year upon the acetic acid manufacturers. 
 
 Mr. McClain. I will put that in another way, and say an addi- 
 tional cost. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. The ordinary business man, when he finds that there 
 is an additional cost of raw material, adds that to the price with a 
 little more. Can not you distribute this two hundred and fifty or 
 three hundred thousand dollars upon this long line of manufacturers ? 
 
 Mr. McClain. We will handle it to the limit which competitive 
 articles permit us to do, and the manufacturers will add it onto the 
 cost of their articles, and it will finally come right down to the wearer 
 of the coat. 
 
 Mr. BoTTTELL. The members of the Ways and Means Committee 
 will have to pay for it ? 
 
 Mr. McClain. The members of the Ways and Means Committee 
 will have to pay their full share. 
 
 The Chaieman. The committee will now hear Mr. F. Howard 
 Mason, representing the Buffalo Chamber of Commerce. 
 
 STATEMENT OF F. HOWARD MASON, REPRESENTING THE BUF- 
 FALO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, BUFFALO, N. Y. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Mason. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
 represent the Chamber of Commerce of Buffalo, and bring with me 
 resolutions adopted by that organization " which, in substance, ask 
 that the legislation now before you, for free denaturized alcohol, may 
 not be favorably reported, and further that this committee and Con- 
 gress pursue the same policy in the future that they have in the past 
 of encouraging and fostering industries in this country. 
 
 The legislation before you at this time particularly affects Buffalo 
 to a large extent, for the reason that we have there, as you know, the 
 plant of the Wood Products Company. We have there also manu- 
 facturing establishments, developed by the growth of the wood- 
 alcohol business for the making of machinery and utensils used in 
 the distillation of wood and the manufacture of by-products. In 
 addition to that, we have paint, oil, varnish, and linseed oil establish- 
 ments. In addition to that, as you all know, at Niagara Falls and 
 Buffalo there has been, in recent years, a tremendous development of 
 electrical power. We feel that if the citizens of Buffalo and other 
 parts of this country are willing to put their money into experiment- 
 ing with and producing products which enter into the rpanufacture 
 of other articles they should be encouraged. 
 
 We have heard here, if you please, that the mass of the people 
 are going to be benefited by tax-free alcohol. It has been stated 
 that anywhere from fifty to a hundred million gallons will be manu- 
 factured, and perhaps there will be; but there has got to bo a 
 
 For these resolutions see p. 421. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 221 
 
 market for it. There is not a market for it at this time beyond, per- 
 haps, to the amount of eight or ten million gallons. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. How do you determine that figure ? 
 
 Mr. Mason. By the present consumption of wood alcohol in this 
 country. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. Then your idea is that grain alcohol will simply 
 take the place of wood alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Mason. Yes, sir; that seems to be the argument presented 
 before the committee, and I assume that to be a fact. Last year the 
 grain crops of this country aggregated about 4,000,000,000 of bushels, 
 and of that amount 30,000,000 bushels of grain went into the manu- 
 facture of about 121,000,000 gallons of alcohol. In other words, 1 
 bushel of grain will make 4 gallons of alcohol. It does not take 
 but about 12,000,000 bushels of grain to make 50,000,000 gallons of 
 alcohol, and 12,000,000 bushels or grain, scattered all over this coun- 
 try, would not have a very material effect, in my judgment, upon the 
 price of farm products. 
 
 It seems to me, from what has been said before this committee, not 
 only by those in favor of this legislation, but by those opposed to it, 
 that if we apply the principle of the greatest good to the greatest 
 number, then the present tax upon grain alcohol should surely be 
 continued. The great and varied industries which utilize various 
 forms of wood alcohol at the present time simply say that if they 
 have tax-free alcohol they will use it in place of the present com- 
 modity. 
 
 The present manufacturers of alcohol have a market, and a good 
 big market, which is increasing every year, as will be shown by the 
 returns of the Internal-Revenue Department. So long as the com- 
 petition of wood alcohol is not interfering with that industry, why 
 disturb present conditions and drive the wood-alcohol industry out 
 of the market? It seems to me, in the last resort, that is what it 
 amounts to. It is largely sentiment, to my mind, which is urging 
 this legislation. If we get right down to the bone of the matter, it 
 seems to me that it is simply one interest trying to throw out another 
 for their own personal benefit, and that the public, as a matter of fact, 
 is simply not considered. 
 
 The Chairman. We will now hear Mr. George Clapperton. 
 
 STATEMENT OF GEORGE CLAPPEKTON. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen: Representing 
 four important allied industries of the State of Michigan engaged in 
 the manufacture of hard-wood lumber, the production of pig iron, 
 the manufacture of charcoal, the manufacture of wood alcohol, acetate 
 of lime, and other by-products, namely, those of Cobbs & Mitchell (In- 
 corporated), Cummer, Diggins & Co., The Mitchell Brothers Com- 
 pany, and The Boyne City Chemical Company, I present some views 
 upon the question before you ; and I desire to say, at the outset, that, 
 after attending these hearings and glancing through, in a cursory 
 way, the thousands of pages that make up the record of consideration 
 of this subject by Congress I fully appreciate the difficulties and com- 
 plications of the problem which confronts the members of this com- 
 mittee at this time. 
 
222 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 In presenting these views I desire to state frankly that we present 
 them from the standpoint of interested men; men who have estab- 
 lished and built up these great industries in our State. We present 
 them feeling that they should, and we confidently believe they wiU, 
 receive the consideration to which they are entitled from the mem- 
 bers of this committee. 
 
 It may, perhaps, generally be assumed that distilled spirits is an 
 appropriate subject for taxation, for obvious reasons which appeal to 
 most men as perfectly sound. For fifty years the taxation of distilled 
 spirits has been an important source of public revenue, and under this 
 system various industries have been established and developed. The 
 internal-revenue tax, first levied upon the breaking out of the rebel- 
 lion, was 20 cents per gallon, and it has continued until the present 
 time, the rate varying from the first nominal tax to $2 per proof 
 gallon. From 1868 to 1872 it was 50 cents per gallon ; from 1872 to 
 1875 70 cents; from 1875 to 1894 90 cents, and since 1894 $1.10 per 
 proof gallon. 
 
 Under that system of revenue taxation these industries have been 
 established and built up. Upon the subject of the effect upon the 
 public revenue of the passage of this bill, and the difficulties that may 
 be encountered in safeguarding the revenues of the country, I shall 
 not assume to speak. I do not know a thing about those subjects. 
 
 Mr. Clakk. I am glad to find one man who does not. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I recall, however, that in the consideration of this 
 subject by previous committees, and by the distinguished committee 
 of the Senate some years ago, these questions were regarded as of 
 sufiicient importance to prevent them from making any change in 
 this tax. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You understand that the measure then included all 
 chemical preparations, pharmaceutical preparations, and medicinal 
 preparations, which are entirely eliminated now. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I understand that the Senatorial commission was 
 authorized to consider the question from any standpoint, and to 
 recommend it from any standpoint. If I am correct, the members 
 of that commission united in a report, and the primary reason for 
 failing to recommend any change in the law was because such an 
 enactment would seriously affect the revenues of the Government, and 
 it would be very expensive to prevent fraud upon the Government. 
 I recall that the distinguished Senators Piatt and Russell, who were 
 most strenuous in their advocacy of the proposition, nevertheless 
 united in an adverse report, saying that it was not expedient to enact 
 such legislation, and presumably for those reasons. 
 
 The Chairman. Senator Piatt based his report entirely on the 
 question of revenue, as I remember. He thought the matter could be 
 safeguarded by legislation ; but that we could not afford to lose the 
 revenue. Mr. Russell held the same view. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I recall that Mr. Evans in his report, after a 
 careful investigation, stated it as his conclusion that the loss of reve- 
 nue which would result to the Government was in excess of ten mil- 
 lions of dollars. We now hear men, at the present time, claiming 
 before this committee that it would not affect the revenues of the Gov- 
 ernment, so that it is a question which is exceedingly confusing to me. 
 
 On the subject of methylated alcohol, and the possibility of de- 
 
FBBB ALCOHOL. 223 
 
 methylating it, I had the privilege of listening to the arguments of 
 the different gentlemen, particularly Doctor Wiley, in which he 
 showed conclusively that it would be exceedingly difficult and im- 
 practicable to demethylate denaturized alcohol. Then I have heard 
 other views presented. I turn to the previous reports of investiga- 
 tions by committees and commissions, and I find m the hearings of 
 1896 and 1896, at page 562, under the authority of Doctor Squibb, 
 who is regarded as one of the most eminent chemists in the world, 
 the statement that methyl alcohol can be taken out with comparative 
 ease, at a cost not to exceed 2 or 3 cents per gallon. 
 
 In that same report I find a statement of Professor Lattimore that 
 methylated spirits can be demethylated successfully on a compara- 
 tively small scale. In the report of the Commissioner of Internal 
 Revenue in the hearings of 1895-96, at pages 349 and 354, he stated 
 that 10 per cent methylated spirits can be so purified, at a moderate 
 cost for material and apparatus, that a great majority of the pro- 
 ducers would fail to detect the slight odor and taste of methyl alcohol 
 in the spirits of distilled product, and would find it still more diffi- 
 cult in the artificial liquors. So I say, after reading and hearing all 
 of these statements on this subject, that it is a matter of conflicting 
 opinion which is simply up to the members of this committee. It 
 seems to us, however, that in view of these conflicting reports this 
 committee should make haste slowly ; and that they might well hesi- 
 tate, for various reasons, to change the tax in any respect, and thereby 
 form an entering wedge for the impairment of this important source 
 of revenue. 
 
 I speak more particularly this morning, however, of the situation 
 
 Presented in the State of Michigan with respect to the subject of 
 :ee alcohol; and I desire this committee to place themselves in my 
 State, among our industries, our iron furnaces, our vast hard-wood 
 forests, our chemical plants, and our charcoal plants, and con- 
 sider them from our standpoint. It is possible that our views may 
 not be sound. They may appear to you to be more or less exag- 
 gerated; but they are our views and we believe in them. These 
 industries are just as important to my State, and to the people who 
 have built them up as the hat industry is to Connecticut, and as the 
 industries are to any other State. We have heard a good deal about 
 prospective industries and the possibilities that may be attained 
 through tax-free alcohol in the future. But our concerns are estab- 
 lished industries which this bill proposes to legislate out of existence, 
 and we look at the question from that standpoint. It is a serious 
 practical condition that confronts us, not a speculative theory. 
 
 If this committee were up in the north woods of Michigan it 
 would find that perhaps no State in the Union presents a diversity 
 of conditions and industries more forcibly illustrative of the argu- 
 ments pro and con upon this subject. There is no better object lesson 
 in the Union as to the benefits and injuries that would result from the 
 passage of this bill. Nowhere are there stronger inducements for 
 people to give and take, to reconcile conflicting interests and views 
 upon this subject than in the State of Michigan. 
 
 It is a State of diversified manufactures and of agricultural and 
 forest products. It produces in great abundance the various fruits, 
 grains, and cereals, including the sugar beet, from which the advo- 
 
224 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 cates of free alcohol have produced that article, on paper, in un- 
 limited quantities, and with almost inconceivable cheapness. It is 
 a State devoted to the manufacture of articles in which alcohol is 
 used to a greater or less extent. It contains vast quantities of 
 material suitable for the production of charcoal, wood alcohol, and 
 other by-products thereof, and almost valueless for any other pur- 
 poses; and furnishes a large portion of the iron ore of the country, 
 in the reduction of which the manufacture and use of charcoal is 
 essential. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. How near is your nearest coal field to these iron 
 mines ? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. The bituminous coal in the Saginaw region would 
 be from 25 miles to 400 miles distant. I think the greater portion 
 of' the coal supply comes from Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, 
 both bituminous and hard coal. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Is the coal in the Saginaw region a coking coal? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I am not sure ; but I thank it is not. It does not 
 appear, however, to be adequate for the supply in Michigan, and 
 furnishes but a comparatively small portion of the supply, so that 
 we are dependent upon other States. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. You have never really tested the question whether 
 that coal supply would answer your demands at your Michigan 
 furnaces ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I can not speak with authority on that subject; 
 but I fancy that it would not. Now, under such conditions the farm- 
 ers of Michigan would naturally be interested in and attracted by the 
 proposition of this bill, which, as in thecase of many previous propo- 
 sitions, has been so attractively presented with respect to the benefits 
 to be derived therefrom. 
 
 If untaxed alcohol would be produced from its fruits, grains, and 
 cereals so simply, cheaply, and bountifully as to greatly enhance the 
 value of its products, our farmers would naturally desire this, regard- 
 less perhaps of the feelings of present consumers of those products. 
 If the passage of this bill would enable him to establish stills on 
 every crossroads for the manufacture of cheap alcohol for heat, light- 
 ing, and motive power and, as some one in these hearings has said, 
 " from any old thing that has sugar or starch in it," and derive large 
 profits therefrom, it would perhaps be to his interest. 
 
 On the other hand, in view of the large interests that would be 
 affected, our Michigan farmers will not be deluded and deceived by 
 sophistries or fanciful and exaggerated representations as to the pro- 
 duction and consumption of untaxed alcohol, or the extent or general 
 diffusion of benefits to be derived therefrom. 
 
 Our manufacturers, who use alcohol to a greater or less extent in 
 their processes, are exceedingly prosperous now. They are operating 
 to their capacity to supply the wants of consumers of their products 
 at good prices. Still, they would naturally be interested in the prop- 
 osition to cheapen the cost of even a minor raw material, thereby 
 enabling them to derive a still larger profit. On the other hand, theiy- 
 are vitally interested in the other great industries of the State, upon 
 which they are more or less dependent, and would forego this small 
 advantage to themselves rather than impose a ruinous embargo upon 
 other established industries of their State. Michigan therefore is 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 225 
 
 peculiarly interested in the consideration of this subject, broadly, 
 from the standpoint of all who would be benefited or injured by the 
 removal of the revenue tax upon alcohol in the manufactures and 
 arts. 
 
 Michigan is perhaps the first State — but after the hearing of yes- 
 terday perhaps I had better change that and say the second State — in 
 the Union in the production of methyl or wood alcohol, as she is first 
 in the production of iron and hard-wood timber products. The man- 
 ufacture of wood alcohol is one of a group of great industries, each 
 dependent upon and supporting the other. The iron ore from our 
 mines required furnaces for the smelting and reduction thereof. The 
 furnaces were built as the mines developed. These furnaces required 
 special fuel in the form of coke or charcoal for their operation. 
 While charcoal could hardly compete with coke in price, it produced 
 a much better quality of pig iron, highly desirable for special pur- 
 poses, such as the manufacture of car wheels, and so forth. 
 
 Vast tracts of timber surrounded our furnaces sujtable for char- 
 coal. The burning of charcoal in the old way was crude, wasteful, 
 and expensive. The cost of this necessary fuel was high and en- 
 hanced the cost of the production of pig iron. 
 
 Enterprising men were engaged in our iron industries and in our 
 lumbering industries. A grave situation confronted our lumbermen 
 in the cutting and manufacturing of our hard-wood forests. A com- 
 paratively small portion of our hard-wood growth consists of timber 
 suitable for lumber or manufacturing material. A large part qf the 
 lumber-producing tree was refuse, necessarily wasted' in ordinary 
 lumbering operations. 
 
 Unless utilized in some other way, it rotted or was burned upon the 
 ground by the settler in clearing land for cultivation. All of our 
 hard-wood forests contain varying proportions of inferior trees, 
 suitable for the production of charcoal, but for nothing else. Destruc- 
 tion and waste of forest growth were the inevitable result of hard- 
 wood lumbering operations and the clearing of the land. It was 
 in all cases difficult, and in many impossible, to manufacture and 
 put upon the market at a profit our hard-wood lumber without 
 utilizing, in connection with the cutting and manufacture thereof, 
 the refuse and inferior woods. 
 
 Two practical problems confronted our iron men and our lumber- 
 men. (1) The cheap production of charcoal for the iron furnace. 
 (2) The utilization of the refuse and inferior woods by the lumber- 
 men. 
 
 The iron furnaces and the charcoal plant were built together at the 
 most economical location with -respect to transportation. The char- 
 coal was consumed by the iron furnace, but the cost was high. How 
 to reduce that cost and obtain relatively cheaper fuel, and thereby 
 cheapen the cost of pig iron, was the next problem. 
 
 It was discovered that out of the waste from charcoal production 
 could be obtained important by-products, chief of which was wood 
 alcohol. 
 
 The managers of our hard-wood lumber and iron industries began 
 to investigate conditions in other lines with a view to. finding a 
 market for these by-products. Our manufactures and arts needed 
 alcohol to a certain extent, but the revenue tax thereon rendered its 
 
 11058—0(5 15 
 
226 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 use therein expensive, and to a great extent prohibitive. They 
 required a substitute therefor, and thus was created a growing 
 demand for wood alcohol, which could be produced and sold for much 
 Jess than the taxed alcohol of commerce, without interfering mate- 
 rially with the public revenue or being used as a beverage. 
 
 American ingenuity and capital were equal to the situation. 
 Adapting themselves to existing conditions they solved the problem 
 of supplying our lumber interests with a market for charcoal, cheap- 
 ening the cost of this essential fuel to our iron furnaces by the utili- 
 zation of by-products, and supplied the urgent needs of our manu- 
 factures and arts for a cheap substitute for taxed alcohol. 
 
 Improved methods for the production of alcohol were adopted by 
 which a maximum yield was obtained from the wood ; and processes 
 for the production of wood alcohol, acetate of lime, etc., from the dis- 
 tillation of wood in connection with the making of charcoal were, 
 devised, and capital was freely invested in the establishment of 
 chemical plants m connection with the charcoal plants and the iron 
 furnaces for the production of these by-products. The art of making 
 and refining wood alcohol has steadily improved until the product 
 is equal to grain alcohol for most manufacturing and industrial 
 purposes, where it is not used in the prepartion of articles for human 
 consumption, while the price has steadily declined and its use rapidly 
 increased. 
 
 So that existing industries in this country for twenty or twenty- 
 five years have been supplied by these established industries in my 
 State with this substitute for alcohol, which they demanded and 
 required, and during all these years they have had the benefit of it. 
 The hat industry of Danbury for all these years has had 70-cent 
 wood a,lcohol in place of two dollar and a half grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Hill. The hat industry of the country has paid a tribute of 
 $1,600,000 in the difference in price between wood alcohol and what 
 the price of denatured grain alcohol would have been? 
 
 ]V6. Clappeeton. Certainly, from that standpoint; but from the 
 standpoint of existing conditions created by the revenue tax upon 
 that product they have had the benefit of the cheap substitute in 
 place of alcohol ; and I say that we are glad of it. We are perfectly 
 willing for our Yankee friends to have 30 cents a dozen more profit 
 on those hats, but at the same time we want to save a little profit 
 for ourselves, so as to be able to buy an occasional cheap $5 hat, and 
 keep them out of banln-uptcy. 
 
 As a result of the saving of these by-products, charcoal was fur- 
 nished to our iron furnaces comparatively cheap, thereby cheapening 
 the production of pig iron. The charcoal furnaces consumed the 
 refuse and inferior woods of our hard-wood forests, " enabling our 
 lumbermen to utilize the entire forest growth, sweeping the ground 
 clean in their operations. This cheapened the production of our 
 hard-wood lumber and encouraged and attracted the settler upon the 
 land. The manufactures and arts for twenty years have enjoyed the 
 practical benefits of comparatively cheap wood alcohol as "a sub- 
 stitute for taxed alcohol. 
 
 These allied and dependent industries established and developed 
 by the ingenuity and capital of our enterprising citizens and adapted 
 to existing conditions have contributed largefy to the growth and 
 prosperity of our State. Many millions of dollars are permanently 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 227 
 
 invested therein, thousands of men are steadily employed at good 
 wages in connection therewith, and numerous smaller industries and 
 occupations are sustained thereby. Every one of these industries 
 and the consumers of their respective products are benefited by this 
 modern development. 
 
 I ha,ve observed also some confusion and conflict on the subject of 
 statistics before the committee. I do not know how to reconcile them, 
 and I am simply waiting for this committee to tabulate statistics 
 that will be absolutely reliable. I find some variance between the 
 reports as to the products of these various industries which have been 
 presented at these hearings, and those which I present from my 
 State. For instance. Professor Munroe said that the number of gal- 
 lons of wood alcohol manufactured in the United States in 1904 was 
 12,493,000, while Mr. Pierce, of Buffalo, placed it at 8,000,000. I 
 think the difference might perhaps be somewhat reconciled by the 
 fact that one is based upon refined alcohol and the other upon crude 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Whose figures were first? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. The first figures, I think, were those of Professor 
 Munroe. I will say that so far as our industries are concerned we 
 refine our own alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. Professor Munroe's figures are based upon the 
 census. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. So I understand. In Michigan the charcoal- 
 chemical plants of the State, thirteen in number, consume or furnish 
 a market for 600,000 cords of rough wood annually. They produce 
 30,000,000 bushels of charcoal annually for our furnaces. They pro- 
 duce 3,500,000 gallons of wood alcohol, used as a substitute for grain 
 alcohol. It is estimated, I think conservatively, that a cord of wood 
 will produce upon an average 5^ gallons of wood alcohol. The 
 plants at Cadillac, Mich., to which I have referred, which are per- 
 haps the most modern in existence at the present time, and which 
 utilize every improvement known to the arts, produce 10 or 11 gal- 
 lons per cord. But based upon an average of 5| gallons per cord 
 we have 3,500,000 gallons a year produced in the State of Michigan, 
 by the thirteen industries there, worth at the market price about 
 $1,925,000. 
 
 Professor Munroe gives the number of pounds of acetate of lime 
 in the United States for 1904 as 120,490,000, aggregating a value 
 of $1,521,000. The State of Michigan, upon what we believe to be 
 a conservative estimate, produced 105,000,000 last year, worth at the 
 market price $1,995,000. 
 
 Professor Munroe gave the number of bushels of charcoal reported 
 in the United States in 1904 as 27,000,000. Michigan produces 
 30,000,000 bushels of charcoal, which, at 5i cents a bushel, would be 
 of the value of $1,650,000. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. Do I understand you to say that Michigan produces 
 more bushels of charcoal than Mr. Munroe gave us for the whole 
 country ? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. Yes, sir; that is our estimate, and I think our 
 estimates are fairly reliable. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Professor Munroe's figures were for 1900 and 
 your figures were for 1906. 
 
228 FEEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Clappekton. Professor Munroe's figures were for 1904, and 
 appear on page 38 of these hearings. Then on page 79 of the hear- 
 ings I find that some other gentleman gives figures substantially 
 corresponding with his. 
 
 Mr. Hell. Are your figures an estimate or are they from actually 
 gathered statistics ? 
 
 Mr. Clappeton. They are an estimate based upon the number of 
 cords of wood consumed. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Is the number of cords consumed also an estimate or is 
 that from actually gathered statistics ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. That is from gathered statistics, through commu- 
 nication with one another. 
 
 Mr. Hill. They are not actually taken from the books of the vari- 
 ous companies using it ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Practically so, but not with absolute accuracy. 
 
 The Chairman. You get the reports from these different com- 
 panies ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. We have a report from each one giving the aggre- 
 gate, and in round numbers it is 600,000 cords. Now. the capital in- 
 vested in these industries we estimate to be at least $3,000,000. I want 
 to say that every cord of wood in the daily consumption of an alcohol 
 plant represents an investment of $2,500. That is to say, a plant 
 using 100 cords of wood daily would represent an investment in char- 
 coal and chemical plant of $250,000. A very practical illustration 
 of the development of these allied industries is afforded by the three 
 plants at Cadillac, to which I have referred, and with which my 
 friend, Mr. Smith, is entirely familiar. These three companies were for 
 many years engaged in the manufacture of pine. As the pine became 
 exhausted they found themselves in the possession of vast tracts of 
 hard wood, the larger portion of which was refuse and inferior wood. 
 They had 108 miles of railroad that had been built up, and there were 
 a number of little towns with stores and institutions and an army of 
 men settled around them, all connected with these industries. It 
 became necessary to transfer their operations to hard-wood products. 
 
 For some years they operated with as thorough and business like a 
 system as could be devised or exist anywhere ; but it was found that 
 the hard-wood lumber business was not conducted at any substantial 
 profit, so it became necessary to look around them to see what could 
 be done to continue this enterprise on a business and paying basis. 
 They began to utilize their hard-wood lumber and to manufacture 
 their beech and maple into flooring, which is shipped in bundles all 
 over the United States to-day. This, in connection with the rough 
 hard -wood business, made it more profitable ; but still, as I have inti- 
 mated, they found that they were consuming but a small portion of 
 their hard wood. Hence the next problem which confronted them 
 was the utilization, in connection with lumber operations as they 
 went along, of the refuse and inferior wood. After studying the sit- 
 uation thoroughly they established charcoal and chemical plants, first 
 one, then a second, and then a third, which consumed all of the 
 refuse and inferior wood from the lumber operations, and prepared 
 the ground for the settler. That required an investment, in these 
 three institutions, of something over $900,000. 
 
 Mr. Smith. That includes the institution as it stands, for all pur- 
 poses ? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 229 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. No ; that includes the three charcoal and chemical 
 plants. The other property investments would bring the amount up 
 to several millions of dollars. These plants represent, as I have stated, 
 the highest state of the art, and they were built to obtain the highest 
 yield of these products of charcoal, acetate of lime, and wood alcohol ; 
 and so these industries have been built up in that State, and they are 
 utilizing all of these products. In other words, they are utilizing the 
 smoke. Then was discovered another difficulty. The marketing of 
 this charcoal by shipping it long distances consumed all the profit, 
 and the solution of that problem was found in the iron furnace 
 which was constructed last year, and which is perhaps the most up- 
 to-date iron furnace in the State, or in the United States. The pur- 
 pose of that, as it is the purpose of all these allied industries, is to 
 bring the iron furnace, the charcoal, and the chemical plant together 
 at the most economical point with respect to transportation of the 
 products. 
 
 The effect of the removal of the entire revenue tax upon alcohol 
 in manufactures and arts would be to destroy the chemical plants 
 engaged in the making of wood alcohol and other by-products of 
 the manufacture of charcoal. These plants were designed and built 
 at great expense especially for this purpose, and could not be used 
 for any other. A great industry built up under the protection of this 
 revenue tax and to supply the needs of manufacturers for a substitute 
 would be completely ruined, the capital invested therein lost, and the 
 men employed in connection therewith thrown out of employment. 
 
 Mr. Clark suggested yesterday that this industry would still con- 
 tinue to some extent for the manufacture of a less product than the 
 consumption of the country to-day. That is a mistaken theory. If 
 we could take Mr. Clark up there and show him through one of these 
 factories we would convince him of the error of that idea, and I 
 wish we had him there. Mr. Smith would be willing to take him up 
 in a special car at any time, and we would show him the finest industry 
 in the coimtry. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If you take the estimate made by the most enthusiastic 
 witness who testified in favor of free grain alcohol, or if you take 
 Doctor Wiley's- estimate, which I think was a very conservative one as 
 compared with the others, we find that within a comparatively short 
 time the consumption of grain alcohol would amount to 100,000,000 
 gallons a year, or we may discount that and say it will amount to 
 50,000,000 gallons a year. If you believed it was going to be 50,000,000 
 gallons a year it would relieve you of all this difficulty, would it not ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Theoretically that would be true. But these men, 
 with millions of dollars invested, can not continue business or estab- 
 lish a business on the prospect of something that may occur in the 
 future. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If that proposition was rigidly adhered to you never 
 could make any advancement in the world. You have got to consider 
 probabilities, and what is §oing to happen in the world. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I will illustrate that in this way : These chemical 
 charcoal plants are established by the investment of several millions 
 of dollars. They must run to their full capacity. They run days 
 and nights and Sundays. They can not run one day in the week; 
 they can not run at one-half of their capacity. They must run at 
 
230 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 their utmost capacity to manufacture this product at a profit. Sup- 
 pose this bill should pass, notwithstanding the prospects that have 
 been figured out here on paper, in w|hich these practical men have no 
 confidence whatever, or at least very little confidence, they would have 
 to continue this army of wood choppers, and they would have con- 
 tracts extending over years. 
 
 Will the members of this committee put themselves in the place of 
 our manufacturers? If this bill should pass, removing the tax from 
 grain alcohol, could they safely continue those contracts for their 
 timber? Could they go on running these factories at enormous ex- 
 pense to supply demands which they are confident will be cut off? 
 Would any member of this committee undertake to do it ? This alco- 
 hol, as I have stated, is manufactured in large quantities. The gases 
 must be consumed in vast volumes. The plant I have in mind now, 
 running at Cadillac, is operated under the retort system, and the heat 
 is supplied by the sawdust and refuse from their sawmills. The alco- 
 hol plant uses the exhaust steam, and every element that can be saved 
 in these allied industries is utilized in rimning these plants to their 
 utmost capacity. They could be run in no other way. 
 
 I want to say to this committee, representing the views of these men, 
 that they could not continue permanently, and could not even under- 
 take to do it, if this bill should pass. I do not mean to say that no 
 charcoal would ever be consumed or manufactured, but it would mean 
 the rearranging of the business and the destruction of a considerable 
 portion of it. They feel confident, and I say this deliberately, that 
 they would have to cut off the pipes between the charcoal plant and 
 the chemical plant and let the smoke go into the atmosphere. There 
 is no other use to which the chemical plant could be turned, and that 
 would mean a great increase in the price of charcoal, with its conse- 
 quent results. 
 
 •The Chairman. You say that charcoal sells now at 6i cents a 
 bushel? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. Yes. 
 
 The Chairman. Suppose you cut off the chemical plant entirely 
 and let the smoke go to waste, how much more would the charcoal 
 have to bring in order to make up for the loss ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I have heard that variously estimated. Roughly 
 speaking, it is generally considered to be about double. How accu- 
 rate that statement is I am unable to say. 
 
 The Chairman. Have you no opinion on that subject yourself? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. My own judgment is that it would substantially 
 double the cost of charcoal. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How much charcoal does it take to make a ton of iron ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I think Mr. Sharp can answer that question bet- 
 ter than I can. 
 
 Mr. Sharp. I think it would take from 90 to 100 bushels, at 20 
 pounds to the bushel. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If the price of charcoal was doubled, how much would 
 that add? 
 
 Mr. Sharp. It would add $5 or $6 to the price of a ton of iron. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you remember what the price of charcoal was 
 before they started to save these by-products ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. No ; I would not undertake to give that in figures. 
 
FREK ALCOHOL. 231 
 
 The Chairman. 1 have a dim recollection that when I was a boy 
 they used to sell it at 8 cents a bushel; but that was several years ago. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. I want to say to Mr. Clark that this would 
 involve the whole enterprise of manufacturing charcoal and pig iron 
 in uncertainty. 
 
 Mr. Clark. I understand that it would, provided everybody 
 should take the pessimistic view that you do about the quantity of 
 grain alcohol that would be used. Did you hear a man testify here 
 about the manufacturing of internal combustion engines in Detroit? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. No ; I did not hear him, but I have read his state- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Clark. His estimate was, if I correctly remember his testi- 
 mony, that that industry alone would consume 200,000 gallons a day. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you know how much alcohol you get from a 
 cord of wood, and how much acetate of lime and wood alcohol you 
 get? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I would prefer to tabulate a correct estimate of 
 these costs and furnish them to you, rather than undertake to make it 
 in a general way. There is no question in our minds but what the 
 production of the by-products of charcoal — wood alcohol, acetate of 
 lime, etc. — would be cut off, for the reasons I have stated. 
 
 The Chairman. Of course in that estimate you would have to con- 
 sider the cost of manufacturing the by-products. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. Based on the business as it exists and the profits 
 therefrom, operated in the most economical way and to the utmost 
 capacity of these mills, we are confident that it would mean, at the 
 outset, the utter destruction of the chemical plants connected with 
 these allied industries. That destruction would have a corresponding 
 effect upon the prices of other products — namely, charcoal, pig iron, 
 and hard-wood lumber — and hard-wood lumber operations would be 
 very seriously affected by this result to the production of charcoal, 
 because it is necessary, in order to carry on these lumber operations 
 at a profit, to consume not only an occasional tree or a small portion 
 of a tree suitable for manufacturing lumber, but to consume the ref- 
 use of the tree and all growth about it. 
 
 The Chairman. It has been stated here that the cost of wood alco- 
 hol for one year averaged a little less than 40 cents a gallon. I think 
 it was for the census year 1900. Is that correct, as the cost of it at 
 the factory ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I think that is substantially a correct statement 
 as to the factory cost for crude oil. To that has to be added other 
 factory elements, which you, as a business man, understand thor- 
 oughly, which greatly augment the actual cost of the article put down 
 upon the market for the consumer. 
 
 The Chairman. It also appears that for six months you sold it at 
 50 cents a gallon, and for a period of years at 60 cents a gallon, and 
 it is now YO cents a gallon. In the meantime the price of lumber has 
 been steadily advancing, and you get more for your hard-wood lum- 
 ber. The price of iron is also higher than it was when you were get- 
 ting 60 cents a gallon for wood alcohol. What necessity is there for 
 you to get 70 cents a gallon now to make a reasonable profit ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. The advance in hard-wood lumber is due to sev- 
 eral causes — to the increase in wages of laborers, to the enhanced 
 
232 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 price of stumpage, and other elements — ^but in the alcohol and char- 
 coal branches oi these industries the profit at present prices is not a 
 great profit. It is a living profit and helps to support the other 
 branches of these allied and dependent industries. If you put upon 
 the market an article at a lower price, it would displace a portion of 
 these products. 
 
 The Chairman. I see that point, of course. I was simply trying 
 to get at the reason why it was necessary to get 70 cents a gallon for 
 wood alcohol in order to make a profit. Of course I can realize that 
 the advanced cost of timber lands would have an influence in that 
 regard; but that would not account for more than a portion of it. 
 There has been a pretty good advance. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. The only reason why it was necessary was that 
 the price simply affords what is regarded as a reasonable profit. It is 
 possible that they might be content with a smaller profit; but the 
 profit is not large enough to stand very much reduction. 
 
 The Chairman. There is no water in the capital stock to be 
 squeezed out ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Not in the capital of the enterprises I speak of. 
 
 Mr. Granger. Is it not true that it is not a question of cost at all, 
 but is a question of supply and demand? That is, if the demand is 
 great you will be able to put your prices higher ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. To a certain extent I presume that is so. 
 
 Mr. Granger. It is not the cost of a thing, but it is what you can 
 get for it in the market that influences you to put it up to 70 cents, 
 because there is nothing to compete with it. If there was anything to 
 compete with it, it would probably come down ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. It would probably come down; but the point I 
 make is that it is not an -industry which can stand any material reduc- 
 tion in profit. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you happen to remember what the wholesale 
 price of maple lumber was in 14)00 ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. No ; I would not undertake to give that figure. 
 
 Mr. Smith. He can probably tell you what stumpage was worth ten 
 years ago. 
 
 The Chairman. Can you give me the wholesale price, in 1900, of 
 maple lumber ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Mr. Fitzgerald can probably state the wholesale 
 prices of maple lumber in 1900, as compared with the price now. 
 
 Mr. Fitzgerald. The prices have been constantly changing, up and 
 down. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Are the hard-wood forests of Michigan in anything like 
 the state of depletion that the pine forests are ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Not anything like to the same extent. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How long will that country furnish material for these 
 charcoal plants ? Of course, I understand it would be a mere guess. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I was going to refer to that later on, but I will do 
 it now. This is a short-lived industry in our State. I would say 
 that the estimate of the natural life of these industries, the charcoal 
 and by-product industries in connection with our hard-wood forests, 
 would be perhaps fifteen years. 
 
 The Chairman. I do riot think you have answered my question 
 about the .price of lumber. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 233 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I can not give you that information, accurately. 
 The Chairman. What was hard-wood stumpage worth in 1900, by 
 the acre? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. In 1900, in our part of the State, I would say it 
 was worth from $10 to $15 an acre. In the upper part of the State it 
 would be worth from $3 to $8 or $9. To-day they are very much 
 higher. 
 
 The Chairman. What is it worth now ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. The stumpage values in the upper part of the 
 lower peninsula, roughly speaking, would run from $20 to $40 an 
 acre. 
 
 The Chairman. How long has it been since your company bought 
 any? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I can not give you that statement. 
 
 The Chairman. Have you bought any since 1900 ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Yes. 
 
 The Chairman. What proportion of it ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I know of a large tract being purchased within 
 two or three years at $26 an acre. 
 
 The Chairman. How much have you purchased in proportion to 
 what you held in 1900? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Comparatively little. The larger portion of the 
 holdings of these companies was purchased before 1900. 
 
 The Chairman. At what price was it purchased ? 
 
 Mr. CtAPPERTON. It would run from $5 to $15 an acre. 
 
 The Chairman. So that when that is exhausted, and you have to 
 go into the market again, you will have to put up the price of these 
 products ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. When that is exhausted the industries will be ex- 
 hausted with it. 
 
 The Chairman. Have you got all there is of it ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. The chemical anSt charcoal industries can not 
 exist without hard wood. 
 
 The Chairman. Have you got all there is of this hard-wood timber ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. No. 
 
 The Chairman. Practically all? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. No; but it is being rapidly consumed for other 
 purposes. 
 
 The Chairman. "When you exhaust what you have on hand you 
 will have to pay $30 or $40 an acre ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. When this is exhausted, the other will be ex- 
 hausted with it. As I stated a moment ago, the life of these in- 
 dustries is very probably not more than fifteen years, because of 
 the rapid consumption of the timber. 
 
 The Chairman. Is that true all over the United States? Are 
 there not districts where you can buy hard-wood stumpage, outside 
 of Michigan, New York, and Pennsylvania ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I presume there are States containing larger 
 supplies of good forests than ours; but ours, perhaps, will be still 
 well up in the list as to hard-wood timber. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Is it not altogether probable that if the industry was 
 to end in, say, ten or fifteen years, the ingenuity of American invent- 
 ors and the desire of capitalists to make fair dividends would devise 
 
234 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 some industry to take the place of these industries at Cadillac, and 
 use practically the same apparatus? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I do not believe that this apparatus or these 
 plants can be utilized for any other purpose; and I doubt whether 
 some of them would pay even for dismantling, after this business 
 is' at an end. 
 
 Free alcohol is not necessary to the success of manufacturers who 
 use alcohol or this substitute, as they are prosperous now. They 
 have enjoyed the advantage of this comparatively cheap substitute 
 for many years, and the additional advantage of untaxed alcohol 
 would not be very great. They do not require the sacrifice of great 
 industries built to supply their needs and of which they have received 
 the benefit. 
 
 The eflPect. of the destruction of the chemical plants used in con- 
 nection with the manufacture of charcoal would be to greatly enhance 
 the cost of producing charcoal. It would be produced and sold at 
 a much greater profit than it is now, or not produced at all. The 
 effect of increasing the cost of charcoal would be to increase the cost 
 of pig iron. The by-products, wood alcohol, acetate of lime, etc., 
 now produced in enormous quantities, would be lost to commerce and 
 industry. 
 
 The destruction of the manufacturing of the by-products of char- 
 coal would be a serious menace to and impair the value of hard-wood 
 timber holdings, which are of little value for other purposes. Many 
 millions of dollars have been invested in such timber for the purpose 
 of utilizing this rough lumber in connection with iron furnaces. It 
 would seriously handicap the manufacture of hard- wood lumber and 
 inevitably increase the market price thereof to the consumer. 
 
 In short, the passage of this bill would be a serious blow to all 
 the allied industries of which I have spoken, and to the capital and 
 men employed. The continuance of the tax would not destroy any 
 existing industry, as all who u^e it now are fairly prosperous. 
 
 Notwithstanding the conflicting views I have heard advanced here, 
 it is our impression that the benefits resulting from untaxed alcohol 
 have been greatly exaggerated and overdrawn, and that they would 
 accrue chiefly to the large manufacturers thereof and not to the 
 consumer or the small manufacturer. 
 
 It has been represented here that free alcohol could be made from 
 
 f rains, fruits, cereals, cornstalks, and other products susceptible of 
 ermentatiori for a few cents a gallon, and the inference evidently 
 intended to be drawn is that the consumer could purchase it in the 
 market at a nominal price. Also, that it could be manufactured in 
 small plants or stills throughout the country, and the benefits or 
 profits of the manufacture thereof participated in by farmers and 
 small manufacturers and be widely diffused among the people. While 
 we are not prepared to discuss that subject from a technical stand- 
 point of facts and figures, it seems to us that common observation 
 and knowledge of conditions as they exist in Michigan must disclose 
 the utter fallacy of such arguments or inferences. 
 
 The manufacture of alcohol on a modern scale and by modern 
 methods from any product would require extensive plants equipped 
 with steam power, crushing machinery, and distilling apparatus. 
 The product would have to be refined, appropriately stored, and put 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 235 
 
 upon the market. As in the case of other products manufactured 
 fi'om the raw materials coming from the land, this would require 
 large invested capital, and would pass into the hands of a compara- 
 tively few concerns. 
 
 I have observed with a great deal of interest some of the estimates 
 that have been made with regard to the consumption and production 
 of tax-free alcohol. The distinguished Secretary of Agriculture sub- 
 mitted a letter," although he stated at the outset that he did not come 
 to give either help or hmdrance to this legislation. He did, however, 
 advance a great many theories in regard to this matter. 
 
 I have been viewing this subject from the standpoint of the farmer, 
 as I am a farmer, with my friend, Mr. Clark. It is stated here that 
 an acre of land would produce 50 bushels of Indian corn, from which 
 could be made about 140 gallons of commercial alcohol. I have some 
 recollection of tramping Sirough the corn rows myself, when I was a 
 boy, and it occurred to my mind that 50 bushels of Indian corn, 
 which means 100 baskets as we used to husk it, grows occasionally on 
 an acre ; but it does not represent anything like the average crop of 
 corn in the State of Michigan. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The Secretary was talking about Iowa, Missouri, and 
 Kansas. 
 
 Mr. BoxTTELL. He had Illinois particularly in mind, I think. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. But take it at 50 bushels to the acre at 40 cents a 
 bushel. That would be $20 for the raw corn. That would be 14 
 cents a gallon for the corn alone. Now, as a novice, it seems to me 
 that the farmer, before he would stop feeding his corn to his hogs or 
 selling it from his wagon, would have to see a great deal more than 
 16 cents a gallon before he would undertake to put it into alcohol. 
 
 Then the Secretary refers to the subject of potatoes, which is an 
 important industry in our State, and he says that assuming an aver- 
 age crop to be 300 bushels to the acre, it would produce 225 gallons 
 of commercial alcohol. We occasionally raise 300 bushels of pota- 
 toes to an acre in our potato fields, but that is a rare maximum. If 
 you are going to take an average, it would be safe to divide that by 
 2. I take it that 300 bushels to the acre, at 40 cents a bushels, which 
 is a pretty modest price for potatoes in Michigan, would be $120 for 
 the 255 gallons of alcohol for the potatoes alone, and that wotild 
 amount to 47 cents a gallon for the potatoes alone. 
 
 Recalling the question of my friend, Mr. Smith, from Michigan, 
 on yesterday, I will say that these industries for manufacturing alco- 
 hol are not going to be established and built up with the idea of 
 consuming an occasional glutted product or the waste that comes 
 from our potato and fruit crops. They would have to be built up 
 and be dependent upon an average crop each year for the material 
 to supply these factories. 
 
 The Secretary of Agriculture goes farther. I have no fault to 
 find with the theories he is advancing in this letter, but I simply 
 refer to them to illustrate the difference between theory and practice 
 in building up industries. He says that potatoes are a commercial 
 crop only when they are within a certain distance of the market, and 
 that at the average price at which potatoes sell they can be hauled 
 but a short distance, but when looking to it as a source of heating 
 
 1 For copy of Secretary Wilson's letter see pp. 5-7. 
 
236 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 and lighting, factories would be created in country neighborhoods, 
 and the potato would then be grown for its largest possible yield of 
 alcohol. Now, my friend to the right here and myself know that 
 while this committee is sitting here the sidetracks of the railroads in 
 Michigan are lined with cars properly equipped for taking our potato 
 crops thousands of miles to the various portions of this country and 
 abroad. Onr potato market is as wide as the world. We have occa- 
 sionally had a year when- the market was glutted, or my friend's 
 railroad could not supply us with sufficient capacity to move the crop. 
 The price of potatoes that we ship to-day to supply the demands of 
 the tables of our people is greater than 40 cents a bushel. I shipped 
 my potatoes for my use last fall, and they cost me 70 cents a bushel 
 at the farmers' market. 
 
 Mr. Clark. That was because the potato crop was almost a flat 
 failure last year. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Possibly that may have had some effect, but this 
 year you could not consume a bushel of potatoes in the State of 
 Michigan in the production of 40-cent alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Then they would not make alcohol of them, and there- 
 fore it would not interfere seriously with the wood-alcohol industry. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. It would not this year; but I refer to that to 
 show the difference between theories about establishing stills at every 
 crossroads, depending upon these potato crops for their supply, and 
 the actual facts. 
 
 Again, it is proposed to take the stalks of Indian corn and make 
 alcohol out of them. Why, it has seemed to me at times that we were 
 going to put a machine at every cross-roads, and have the boys feed- 
 ing these, cornstalks into one end while the old man took the alcohol 
 out of the other and put tobacco or something else in it to keep the 
 boys from drinking it, making it cheaper to drink than bottled spring 
 water. The farmer in my State is not calling for 16-cent alcohol or 
 for the removal of the tax in order to consume his potato crop or his 
 fruit crop, because he has a better market for them to-day in supply- 
 ing the wants of our people than he would have in the production of 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. The claim is made that this alcohol could be made 
 from low-grade potatoes and low-grade corn that are not marketable. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I appreciate that ; but on the other hand I think 
 it will be conceded that in this day and age of the world, with our 
 rate of consumption in this country, industries are not going to be 
 established to supply the American people from these little waste 
 products of consumption, or from our small apples or small potatoes. 
 
 The Chairman. You have got to have about the same supply each 
 year? 
 
 Mr. Clappetron. You have got to have a steady supply each year in 
 order to run modern industries. 
 
 The Chairman. I am a good deal interested in this potato question, 
 because the farmers in my district raise potatoes. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Now, if I am any judge of cornstalks they would 
 have to be cut green in order to make alcohol out of them ; and con- 
 sequently they would be cut before the corn matured, and you would 
 spoil your corn crop in order to make alcohol out of the cornstalks. 
 
 The committee thereupon took a recess until 2 o'clock p. m. 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 237 
 
 FIFTH DAY— AFTBRKOON SESSION. 
 
 Committee on Ways and Means, 
 Wednesday, Fehruary 21, 1906 — 2 p. to. 
 The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, with the chairman, 
 Hon. Sereno E. Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present: The Chairman and Messrs. Dalzell, McCleary, Hill, Bou- 
 tell, Curtis, Needham, Smith, Clark, and Underwood. 
 The Chaieman. Mr. Clapperton, you may proceed. 
 
 STATEMENT OF GEORGE CLAPPERTON— Continued. 
 
 [Against removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, at the time a re- 
 cess was taken we were speaking of the letter of the Secretary of Agri- 
 culture with regard to making alcohol out of cornstalks. He says: 
 " If the stalks of Indian corn could be utilized at that time for the 
 manufacture of alcohol they would produce a quantity which would 
 be almost incredibly large ; " but, before he gets through, he shows 
 the fact which I have been trying to impress upon the committee, that 
 this is purely speculative as to the future. He says : 
 
 Of course, it must be remembered that there would be very great difficulties 
 attending the saving of these stalks and the manufacture of alcohol from them, 
 and as long as there are cheaper sources it is evident that they will not be 
 utilized for this purpose. But the time is doubtless coming vehen technical 
 and commercial skill will be able to utilize this immense source of energy. Our 
 coal mines are definite quantities and are being rapidly used up. Our forests 
 are disappearing, and many of them have disappeared. The same is true of the 
 sources of mineral oil and natural gas. In the future — it may be some time in 
 the future — ^the time will certainly come when the world will have to look to 
 agriculture for the production of its fuel, its light, and its motive power. 
 
 Now, that may all be true as a speculative theory, but we are 
 not willing to see our industries wiped out upon this speculation as 
 to the future. 
 
 The master of the State grange has also the same theory in rela- 
 tion to the vast production of alcohol at an inconceivably cheap 
 price, and the benefits to be diffused among the people generally by 
 that manufacture and that consumption. He says : 
 
 I am advised by reliable authorities that a little more than 2i gallons of 90 
 per cent alcohol, the strength of which has been found most suitable for light- 
 ing and motor fuel purposes, can be produced from each bushel of corn. 
 
 Then he figures out that with corn at 40 cents a bushel producing 
 24 gallons of alcohol to the bushel, the alcohol would cost 16 cents 
 a gallon. That is, it would cost 16 cents a gallon for the corn in the 
 ear to make a gallon of alcohol ; but he says the by-products would 
 pay for the manufacture. 
 
 The point I make in regard to these matters is simply that- they 
 are speculative theories. I submit to you, as practical men, that you 
 could not establish an industry, or interest one single dollar of capital 
 in an industry based upon the manufacture of denatured alcohol 
 on any such theory as is advanced by any of these men, or upon any 
 speculation based upon the fact that some man, in the laboratory, 
 has produced some alcohol from cornstalks. I say that you could 
 not establish an industry or secure the investment of a dollar on less 
 than double the amounts estimated by any of these men, as the cost 
 
238 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 of producing this alcohol. I say it is a far cry from the laboratory, 
 and from the man at his desk with a lead pencil figuring on paper, 
 to a great established industry, established and developed upon busi- 
 ness principles to produce an article of commerce for consumption 
 among our people. 
 
 You have got to take into consideration the raw material and the 
 price of labor. You have got to establish your plant and allow for 
 the wear and tear of machinery, for interest on your investment 
 and for losses, for your expenses in business, for advertising and 
 getting into the markets, and for establishing and maintaining it 
 in the future. I say that these views are not practical. Our idea 
 is that tax-free alcohol would eventually be produced in quantities 
 to supply all the needs of trade at not less than 35 to 40 cents a 
 gallon, as has been demonstrated here; and that the effect of that 
 would simply be to displace a large part, at least, of the product 
 from these established industries making wood alcohol, for the benefit 
 of a few who are engaged in the manufacture of grain alcohol; and 
 that it wiU be a generation, if ever, before you would realize the re- 
 sults predicted by these men of the laboratory and of theory. In 
 the meantime our industries would go down. 
 
 Mr. Underwood asked a question the other day which struck me 
 as very fair, and I thought if I were sitting at his desk I would 
 ask the same question and would be impressed thereby. He asked 
 whether or not, if these things are true, we could tax our industry 
 for the benefit of others; and whether it was a right principle to 
 maintain our industry at the expense of others. I say, frankly, that 
 if it is true, if it were a fact that alcohol free from tax could be pro- 
 duced at anything like the cost, and used by the people so as to produce 
 anything like the benefits these theorists claim for it, I would then 
 say, if I were sitting at your desk, let our industries go down and 
 make a sacrifice of them, if it is necessary for the benefit of the 
 whole people to do it. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. I have been very much interested in your state- 
 ment, because you have been very fair and very clear. I think you 
 have afforded the committee a great deal of benefit. But there is 
 one question before this committee which, I think, none of you 
 gentlemen have touched upon. We all differ very much upon the 
 question as to whether we should levy a tax for protection, while 
 there is a foreigner involved ; but internal-revenue taxes apply only 
 to our own citizens. Can this committee afford to establish the 
 principle of levying an internal-revenue tax on the citizens of the 
 United States for any other purpose than that of raising revenue? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. My reply to that is, No. You, perhaps, can not 
 justly establish a principle of that kind, and if the question before 
 this committee was as to whether you should establish this revenue 
 tax de novo, I would be with you. I say now that if the resulte 
 would be as general and as beneficial as it is claimed here they would 
 be, and if those results would be as generally diffused among the 
 people as it is claimed they would be, I would say go even further and 
 destroy and sacrifice our industries entirely ; let our plants go out of 
 existence ; let those in Pennsylvania, New York, and other places go 
 out of existence for the benefit of the people at large. But it does not 
 present itself to our minds in that way. That is not the proposition. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. '239 
 
 The proposition to our minds is that you are asked simply to annihi- 
 late our industries to add a little to the profit of others that have been 
 established and built up by the aid of our industries ; and we contend 
 that the benefits would not be what they are claimed to be. That is 
 the way it presents itself to us. But if our industry was one that we 
 were seeking to establish as a new thing, it would be a different mat- 
 ter. The question that presents itself to us, as practical men, is 
 whether or not you should legislate out of existence industries that 
 have been, under the internal-revenue system, brought into existence 
 for the benefit of others that have been helped thereby. I say that if 
 the sacrifice of our industries is necessary for the benefit of the people 
 at large, then sacrifice them, and we will take our medicine. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. You understand that the committee will look at 
 the theory of levying taxation or the theory of maintaining taxation 
 as exactly the same as establishing a tax, and both must stand or fall 
 on the same theory. The practice may be different, but the theory for 
 maintaining an internal-revenue tax is the same as the theory for 
 establishing it. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Possibly it is as a theory ; but as a practical ques- 
 tion it presents itself to our minds in this way : When you say to us 
 that these industries in which we have millions of dollars invested 
 and thousands upon thousands of men employed are to be annihi- 
 lated to help out the distillers of the country, or to add 30 cents a 
 dozen profit to hats, or 25 cents profit on a piano, or to help out the 
 international harvester trust, which is so much concerned about the 
 farmer, we say that it is not a square deal, taking the circumstances 
 as they exist at the present time. 
 
 I say that it seems to us, as a practical question, to resolve itself 
 into just this: That the passage of this bill would enable our present 
 distillers to manufacture, for 40 cents a gallon, denatured alcohol 
 to be used for industrial purposes, which would displace our product 
 and ruin our industry; and it would not provide a sufficient benefit 
 to the people to compensate for the loss of our industries. That is 
 the question which comes to us with vital force. 
 
 The Chairman. I understand that your proposition is that as Con- 
 gress has taxed alcohol, and growing out of that fact has come a 
 demand for cheaper alcohol to be used in the industrial arts, which 
 thus helped in the establishment of your industry on its present basis 
 and induced the investment of a great deal of capital in it, that 
 industry ought not to be wiped out, unless it is clearly for the advan- 
 tage of the people at large ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Yes,; that is my position. If it is necessary to 
 sacrifice them for the people at large, do so; but do not do it on an 
 hypothesis, or on a speculative theory or dream; because, from our 
 standpoint, and we are in earnest about it, this talk about denatured 
 alcohol coming into competition with our immense resources and 
 supplies in the way of oil and natural gas and coal is all moonshine. 
 It is not going to be done. You are simply going to give an addi- 
 tional benefit to some existing industries for a little while at our 
 expense. That is what concerns us. We are not men who are coming 
 here in the shape of a trust and asking for some special advantage 
 at the sacrifice of others; but we do not like to have our industry 
 sacrificed entirely for the benefit of a few. 
 
240 FEBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Speaking from my own standpoint, as a farmer, it seems to me 
 clear that we are not going to participate to any very great extent 
 in this cheapened product of denatured alcohol which, from the 
 figures that have been presented, and looking at it from a common- 
 sense standpoint, is not going to be produced short of 35 or 40 cents 
 a gallon, which is just a low enough price to put us out of business. 
 We simply want this Congress to give our industries a chance to get 
 out from under. We do not believe an exigency exists which requires 
 the annihilation of these industries. One gentleman, who is vitally 
 interested in this matter and has his whole fortune invested in it, 
 spoke to me at noon and said : " What are we going to do on the first 
 day of July next. We have got thousands of men under employment 
 and under contracts to supply us with timber, and working in these 
 plants. We have got to produce immense quantities to keep up our 
 industry. What are we going to do the first year or the second year 
 or the first ten years, until the theories of these gentlemen have been 
 worked out, to see whether you are going to produce hundreds of mil- 
 lions of gallons a year ? " 
 
 I was very much interested in the frank statement of Professor 
 Wiley that our industry would be very much crippled, if not de- 
 stroyed, if free alcohol was permitted in this country. At the same 
 time he predicted 50,000,000 or a 100,000,000 gallons a year would 
 be produced in a very short time. But this appeals to us in this 
 way: The prediction as to our industry is based upon facts; and 
 the estimate as to future production is based upon speculative theory. 
 
 Obviously, the small manufacturer and the farmer would not par- 
 ticipate in the profits or benefits of free alcohol to any appreciable 
 extent, or to any greater extent than they do now in the manufacture 
 of other products from the fruits, cereals, or grains of the farmer. 
 
 I submit that the proposition that you are going to reach out with 
 this bill and supplant in the use for light, heating, and motive power 
 the supplies that are now in existence to-day is all speculative and 
 perfect moonshine ; that it can not be done. Why, it has been pre- 
 dicted for years that the use of electricity was eventually going to 
 displace steam and every other source of motive power. We can 
 easily imagine that the time is coming when it will do it ; but in the 
 meantime the locomotive remains with us. I say that the suggestion 
 or prediction that alcohol is going to displace gasoline at 7 or 8 or 10 
 cents a gallon and coal and other sources of light and fuel is not a 
 practical proposition. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What have you got to say as to the proposition that it 
 is already in very general use in Europe? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. My friend, as to the general use of it in Europe, 
 I think you have an exaggerated idea of it. In those countries the 
 conditions are materially different from those here. Take Germany, 
 for example. I understand it is in general use there, although I do 
 not pretend to be informed upon the subject. I understand that 
 there is an import duty upon kerosene. They have no native petro- 
 leum. The conditions are entirely different in Germany and in Eng- 
 land from what they are here, so different, in fact, as to afford no 
 criterion. One of the men who testified in favor of free alcohol 
 stated that over in England this denatured alcohol sold for 35 or 40 
 cents a gallon, and it retailed as high as 50 cents a gallon. 
 
FKEE ALCOHOL. 241 
 
 Mr. Hill. What do you say as to the shortage in the supply of 
 gasoline, etc., as illustrated by the fact that in the last six months 
 there have been imported about 6,500,000 gallons from the other side 
 of the world to meet the increased demand? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. My judgment on that would be that it is entirely 
 temporary. I do not believe there is any apprehension existing in the 
 public mind about the supply of oil in this country. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You do not agree with the Detroit Chamber of Com- 
 merce on that subject? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I have a good deal of sympathy with those fel- 
 lows up at the Detroit Chamber of Commerce, but still I am not will- 
 ing that our industry should be annihilated in order to help them to 
 increase their profits when they are now paying 20 per cent a month 
 in cash dividends, or to help the fellows who are running their auto- 
 mobiles around our cities at our expense. I do not believe it is neces- 
 sary for us to sacrifice our industries to help them. 
 
 In relation to the immediate substitution of alcohol for light, fuel, 
 and motive power, I say it is purely speculative and that not in our 
 generation will it come about as a practical proposition, if it ever 
 does. In the meantime we have something that is tangible in which 
 our money, our time, and our labor is invested. Why, talking about 
 heat, light, and power, we have a man in our town who has discovered 
 something new in the line of electricity, and, contrary to the state- 
 iiients of all mechanical engineers that it is an impossibility, he has 
 discovered a new mechanical movement by which he avoids the loss 
 of electric power in reducing the speed of the motor in its practical 
 application to machinery. He fits up a little dynamo and puts it into 
 every wheel of the vehicle, and he has it reduced so that he is going to 
 build windmills for the farmers and electric fans and all sorts of 
 little machines for the farmers, and he is going to do it so cheap that 
 gasoline will not figure in the proposition at all. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Has he got that really started, or is it just in his head ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Yes ; I speak from experience, because I have got 
 $100 worth of stock in it, and it is going to be worth $10,000. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If it will do all that, the stock ought to be worth that. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I think there is still a little left for sale. 
 
 Mr. Clark. If you will guarantee that it will do that I will invest 
 every dollar I have got in it. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I actually think, gentlemen, that there is more 
 basis for the proposition to-day that this electrical apparatus will 
 supplant gasoline, and everything of that kind, for popular use, for 
 heat, light, and motive power within the next five years than there is 
 that free alcohol will supplant it in a whole generation. So I say to 
 you, wipe out our industries, if you will, if it is necessary to sacrifice 
 them for the good of the people, but do not do it on an hypothesis, a 
 speculation, or a dream. 
 
 With all modem advancement scarcely a product of the Michigan 
 farmer can be named that is not sold by the farmer in bulk as raw 
 material, or in the refining, selection, or conversion of which the 
 producer derives direct benefit. 
 
 The prosperity of the farmer depends now and will continue to 
 depend upon the enormous- consumption of his products by the people 
 at large, and the agricultural and manufacturing industries must 
 remain separate and distinct. 
 11058—06 16 
 
242 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The grain is sold in bulk. Its increased use in the manufacture of 
 free alcohol would not materially increase the market price to the 
 consumer. Otherwise the consumer might justly complain. _ 
 
 His fruits are sold upon the tree or in bulk. The various existing 
 processes for its preservation or manufacture into other products 
 are not, and practically can not be, participated in by him. Canning 
 and preserving factories, wineries, etc., may afford a larger market 
 for his products, but he does not directly participate in the profits 
 thereof. 
 
 Beet-sugar factories recently established in our State interest him 
 only as a producer of the crude material — the beet — to the extent 
 that he engages in its culture, but he derives only the benefit of an 
 increased demand for the products of the farm. The profits of the 
 sugar factories are not for him. In localities where he has been 
 induced to substitute the raising of beets for other crops extensively 
 the sugar companies make enormous profits. In other localities where 
 the farmer does not take kindly to the raising of beets in place of other 
 crops, the sugar factories have been dismantled and moved away. 
 
 The Chairman. The beet-sugar factory people from Michigan 
 come down here and complain that they have to give all the profits 
 to the farmer. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. I understand that, and that is based upon as thin 
 a theory as the friends of free alcohol are advancing before this com- 
 mittee. My friend Mr. Smith remembers one place where the 
 farmers had" taken kindly to the culture of beets, and the sugar factory 
 there pays 60 per cent profit, while the farmer gets a fair price for 
 his beets. But in the district of my friend Gardner there were two 
 plants where the farmers did not take kindly to the culture of beets. 
 They wanted to raise corn and other products, and those factories 
 have been dismantled and moved away, because the farmers did not 
 take kindly to that culture. It did not affect him even in the raising 
 of the crops, much less in the way of participating in the manu- 
 facturer's profits in the beet-sugar factories. So I say, with regard 
 to the distillation and production of this free alcohol in the future, 
 the profits would go into the hands of the big distillers and the big 
 industries, and the farmer would indirectly, perhaps, get a little better 
 market for his products. 
 
 The farmer in our State raises cucumbers and such eatables for an 
 open market, but the conspicuous " Heinze " factories cover the State 
 to manufacture the products therefrom. He does not even manufac- 
 ture the vinegar for the tables of our people. It is made by large 
 manufacturers who are exempted from tax upon alcohol used in the 
 manufacture thereof, and sold to the consumer at a higher price than 
 the untaxed alcohol would be sold, according to the representations of 
 some of the advocates thereof. 
 
 I merely refer to this to illustrate our idea that the farmer, the 
 small manufacturer, and the people generally are not going to profit 
 raaterially by the reduction in the price of alcohol, and the substitu- 
 tion of untaxed alcohol at 40 cents a gallon for ours at 60 or 70 cents. 
 
 The farmer does not participate directly in the profits of the manu- 
 facturers based upon his products. Millionaires are found among the 
 large manufacturers consuming his prodacts, not among those who 
 raise them. The manufacturer of untaxed alcohol would be no ex 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 243 
 
 ception to this rule. The public would not materially participate in 
 the benefits of this tax exemption. 
 
 We confidently submit that the finding of the committee of 1897 is 
 as applicable to the conditions at the present day as to the conditions 
 then. The benefit of free alcohol in the manufactures and arts would 
 be almost entirely enjoyed by a comparatively few large manufac- 
 turers, and would not be shared by the people generally, nor by those 
 who manufacture on a small scale. 
 
 We submit that great industries which have been built up under 
 conditions created by the revenue tax upon alcohol, while the Govern- 
 ment has derived the benefits of that tax and the manufacturer has 
 received the benefit of the use of an essential substitute, are entitled 
 to serious consideration and reasonable protection. AVhile under 
 some circumstances the general benefits to the public at large might 
 justify the sacrifice of great established industries, such conditions 
 do not now exist. These chemical plants allied to the lumber and 
 iron industries are necessarily short lived. The benefits of the pro- 
 posed radical change in our internal-revenue provisions would be 
 derived by a few large manufacturers and not by the public at large. 
 It is not necessary to destroy one established industry to promote the 
 interests of another. 
 
 And so, gentlemen, I submit again that this is a serious condition 
 concerning these allied industries in my State and not a speculative 
 theory. We ask this committee to take these facts into consideration 
 as they exist, and not as they ought to exist. If it had been built up 
 on the condition, if the principle suggested by Mr. Underwood had 
 been followed years ago and the question was to be taken up de novo, 
 the proposition would be different. But take the conditions as they 
 exist now and put yourselves in our place, as the owners of these in- 
 dustries, with thousands of people dependent upon them, and see 
 what you ought to do. 
 
 I wish you might be able to look upon these things as we see 
 them and understand them as the men on the inside of these industries 
 do. I wish that you might have a committee go and look around 
 through our industries, go through our mills, see our towns and the 
 men who are dependent upon them, so that you might look upon it 
 from a practical standpoint, and see it as the question presents itself 
 to our people who are engaged in these industries, as well as others. 
 T believe that if you could look upon it in that way, and view these 
 industries from a practical standpoint, from the standpoint of the 
 men who for a generation have gotten right down under and gradu- 
 ally built these things up until they affect a whole State that you 
 would go slow. You would adapt this matter in some way so that 
 our industry might continue and we could get out from under. 
 
 I can not close without expressing my sincere appreciation of the 
 patience with which you busy men have listened to us representing 
 these industries. I thank you for it. I want to say, in conclusion, 
 that this matter with us is not a theory. We are vitally interested, 
 as a State, not only in the future of these industries, but in the 
 practical solution of this unique and very complicated proposition 
 before you. 
 
 So I say, as I said in the beginning, make haste slowly. Let us 
 work this out without requiring the sacrifice of the millions of dollars 
 
244 . FEES ALCOHOL. 
 
 invested in industries long established for doubtful benefits based 
 upon purely speculative theories. 
 
 The Chairman. Can you tell us how much wood alcohol was made 
 in 1890, or can Mr. Pierce tell us ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I should say about 4,000,000 gallons. 
 
 The Chairman. That was in 1890? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Can you get me definite information and send it 
 to me by letter ? 
 
 Mr. Pierce. I will, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. You have asked for certain tables of _ prices, 
 which we would be very glad to collect and tabulate. Anything this 
 committee desires to assist in their deliberations, we would be glad to 
 furnish. 
 
 The Chairman. I would like to see these figures if they can be sent 
 to me within a reasonable time. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I will, then, with the consent of the committee, 
 reserve the privilege of collecting and filing such data on this sub- 
 ject as the committee desires. 
 
 The Chairman. Say, within a week. 
 
 Mr. BotTTELL. You have made a very good, straightforward argu- 
 ment against this proposition from the business point of view, so 
 much so that I would like to ask you this question, as a business man. 
 I want to ask you for the details of your opinion on the economic 
 principle on which you base your opposition to this measure. You 
 used the expressions that this measure would " legislate the wood- 
 alcohol industry out of existence;" "that this measure would anni- 
 hilate your business; " and your entire argument is based upon the 
 economic principle that it is a wise policy to maintain an internal- 
 revenue tax for the purpose of fostering and encouraging a domestic 
 industry, is it not? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Not as an economic policy. On theory I would 
 oppose the adoption of this principle for building up industries at 
 the present time if it was something that was coming up new. But 
 we have gone on for the past twenty years, and the Government has 
 seen fit to establish that system and to derive the benefits therefrom 
 during all those years. The industries which have required a substi- 
 tute for alcohol, which was made exceedingly expensive by that tax, 
 have had the benefit of our production. We have built up industries 
 to supply their demand. Take the situation as it exists to-day, and it 
 is not a situation brought about by the operation of any economic 
 policies, but is a condition which this tax has created in this country. 
 
 Mr. BoTjTELL. Historically, the American people have always been 
 very much opposed to excise duties, so much so that when they were 
 first imposed it created the first revolution in this country. From 
 1849 to 1863 we had no internal-revenue tax of any kind. Now, sup- 
 pose the conditions of revenue, etc., should warrant a reduction in 
 this unpopular form of tax, could you make the same arguments that 
 you are making now against reducing this high tax or removing it 
 altogether ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I think, Mr. Boutell, I would make the same 
 argument to a radical change that would affect existing industries, 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 245 
 
 based upon speculation and uncertainty. I would work the thing 
 out in some way without unduly sacrificing one interest that has 
 been built up for a comparatively small benefit to others. I suppose 
 it is generally conceded that our revenue tax upon distilled spirits 
 and articles that may be used as beverages has come to be recognized 
 as a sound principle. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Certainly; but you yourself have shown that this 
 tax has varied from 20 cents to $1.10 in the course of forty-three 
 years, and yet it has seemed to me that all those who have opposed 
 a reduction, in part, of this tax have based their arguments on the 
 theory that it is unwise policy to reduce a maximum excise duty. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. I think perhaps it might be regarded as unwise 
 policy to reduce that maximum duty generally, 7ander the present 
 conditions of the revenue. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Let me ask you this question : If you believe in main- 
 taining the tax for the sake of encouraging this industry, would you 
 believe, as a business man, in the passage of a new excise duty for 
 the sake of encouraging domestic industries ? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. No; I would not. I do not advocate the con- 
 tinuance of this tax for the encouragement of this industry. "We 
 have gotten through with encouraging this industry by this tax, or 
 in any other way. I assume to say that never again will a combined 
 charcoal and chemical plant be established in this country under this 
 revenue tax. I say that these business men realize what the future 
 may have in store for them. 
 
 Mr. BoTTTELL. To make more clear what I mean — the manufac- 
 turers, for example, of spurious colored butter have secured the pas- 
 sage of a bill taxing at the rate of 10 cents a pound similarly colored 
 oleomargarine. In the Gulf States we have, under our beneficent 
 tariff system, cane-sugar growers who have become prosperous ; but 
 of late years they have found themselves in competition with manu- 
 facturers of beet sugar. Would you favor a tax of 5 cents a pound 
 on beet sugar? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. No ; I would not. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Why not? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. Because I do not believe in that principle. 
 
 Mr. Botjtell. It would be a great benefit to the cane sugar grow- 
 ers, would it not ? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. Possibly it would be a benefit to them by putting 
 so much money in their pockets; but our situation is different. We 
 are not asking for something to encourage the building up of our 
 industries. We are asking for something to let us down fairly, as we 
 are working under the very system which Congress has established. 
 
 Mr. Boutell. That assumes that there is a proprietary right in a 
 tax. 
 
 Mr. TJndeewood. Where do you differentiate between levying a tax 
 and maintaining a tax ; where is the difference in principle ? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. I am free to admit that if you and I should sit 
 down to build up industries and assist them in this country, on the 
 theory that we wanted to build them up in this way, we could, per- 
 haps, build them up more wisely than Congress has done in the past. 
 But they have seen fit to establish this system and to build up these 
 industries ; and so we are simply meeting a practical question of how 
 
246 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 to dispose of the product and save these industries from undue sacri- 
 fice while you are changing this revenue system. I appreciate the 
 force and weight of the proposition that it would be evidently of 
 advantage to the people, if it could be brought about without danger 
 to our revenues and without unduly sacrificing any interests, to use 
 alcohol industrially in this country, and possibly in the future great 
 benefits may be derived from it. But we are meeting a condition as 
 to existing institutions and existing industries which presents to my 
 mind not a theory that I might have in mind in building up, but a 
 practical condition which exists at the present time and which we, as 
 Americans in business life, have to meet every dajr. 
 
 The Chairman. The advocates of this bill claim that it will not 
 make any difference to the revenues and that it will not lessen revenue 
 at all. I understand your position is that it would not be fair to 
 remove this tax from grain alcohol for the purpose of building up 
 an industry, unless it is of far more importance than yours, which 
 would be hurt by removing the tax ? 
 
 Mr. Clappekton. Yes. 
 
 The Chairman. I understand that is your position ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Yes ; that unless the benefits to be derived by the 
 people generally, under this proposition, are of sufficient importance 
 to warrant the utter sacrifice of the industries that have been estab- 
 lished, I feel that it is unjust to require that sacrifice. 
 
 The Chairman. There is no other reason given for taking off this 
 tax except to encourage the ethyl alcohol business and the business 
 that would grow out of it. It is not for the purpose of reducing 
 revenue or increasing revenue. It is not a question of taxation at all. 
 It is simply an application to remove it in order to help the ethyl 
 alcohol business and the business growing out of it. Your position 
 is that that ought not to be done unless there is a greater good to the 
 people of the United States to be accomplished by it. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. That is my position; that the result that would 
 be accomplished would simply be to supply in the industries of this 
 country a few million gallons of cheaper alcohol in place of ours, 
 giving the benefit to a few industries, and in the meantime wiping out 
 ours. That is the way it strikes us, as a practical proposition. We 
 do not, however, agree with the proposition that it would not affect 
 the revenue. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. There is really a most important question which 
 is coming before this committee, as to whether this legislation would 
 affect the revenues. Have you anything to say on that subject? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. All I know about that subject is what I have 
 learned from the records of Congress in the last twenty years, and 
 the additional information I expect to get on that will pi'obably 
 come through this committee. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Of course, you do not claim that the Government gets 
 any revenue on wood alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. No. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You must admit that every gallon of wood alcohol used 
 as a substitute for ethyl alcohol deprives the Government of the tax 
 on that gallon of ethyl alcohol, do you not? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. Suppose, Mr. Hill, that the volume of the con- 
 sumption of the denatured product will be as large as it is claimed it 
 will be. If it is used for existing purposes, would not the use in 
 
i-BEE ALCOHOL. . 247 
 
 excess of the present wood product deprive the Government of that 
 much revenue ? 
 
 Mr. Hill. Not at all. If it was a new industry, according to your 
 theory, they would use grain alcohol in place of wood alcohol, 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I am frank to confess that I do not know whether 
 it would affect the revenues of the Government or not. I have heard 
 distinguished men figure it out that it would affect the revenues, and 
 I have heard distinguished men say that it would not. My own 
 impression and feeling is that it would, more or less, affect the rev- 
 enues, and would be an entering wedge which might come back upon 
 you in the future. As to the safeguarding of that revenue against 
 fraud, I am equally in the dark, although I am strongly impressed 
 with the idea that it would be a very expensive thing to prevent 
 fraud, although the American people, with their resourcefulness, 
 might accomplish it. 
 
 Mr. Hjll. You must admit that the substitution of 7,000,000 gal- 
 lons of wood alcohol for tax-paid ethyl alcohol has affected the reve- 
 nues just so much, and that if the substitution goes on the revenue is 
 affected proportionately. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. If your hat people, in place of using 7,000,000 
 gallons of wood alcohol, would have used ethyl alcohol with a two- 
 dollar tax upon it, then it has displaced it; but you have had the 
 benefit of the $1.70 saving during all these years from our industry. 
 
 Mr. Hill. We do not look at it in quite that way. We consider 
 that we have been taxed just so much more by reason of there having 
 been this tax on grain alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. They have not paid the tax. The men who wear the 
 hats have paid the tax. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. I agree with that. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. I understand you further contend that any benefit 
 which might result from this would not extend to the consumer but 
 would aid the manufacturers. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. I believe that would be the practical result. For 
 a long time to come it would not be diffused generally among the 
 people. 
 
 Mr. McCleart. You say this proposition for removing the tax on 
 grain alcohol is based upon a theory which may not work out in prac- 
 tice. If it does not, it will not do any harm to existing industries. 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. Most assuredly, Mr. McCleary; it would simply 
 put us out of business and annihilate us. 
 
 Mr. McCleaey. Why should it, if it is only a theory ? 
 
 Mr. Clappeeton. Simply because, while that theory is being dem- 
 onstrated, next year and the year after, etc., we can not go on and 
 run our factories. We can not keep our woods forces of thousands of 
 men going after the first day of July. We can not keep our factories 
 running to their necessary utmost capacity until it is demonstrated 
 whether it is a theory or not. We are satisfied that the result would 
 be to enable our present distilleries to put 40-cent alcohol on the 
 market with which we could not compete; and in the meantime we 
 must simply cut our pipes and stop cutting wood. 
 
 Mr. Smith. It seems to me that annihilates your $10,000 theory 
 you spoke of awhile ago. Where are we going to get our returns 
 from that hundred-dollar investment. That wipes it out right away. 
 
248 FBBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I did not expect we would get that next year. 
 There is some limitation as to time upon that. 
 
 Mr. McClbaey. I gather from your argument, which I think was 
 a very able one, that the real thing you would do would be to cease 
 making these by-products, but you would go on making charcoal and 
 these other things. You could certainly continue to make them, and 
 the only difference would be that you would cut your pipes and let 
 the smoke escape. The result of it would go on just the same. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. To a certain extent. I am glad you asked that 
 question, because while we do not think it would put the charcoal 
 industry out of business, we do feel that it would materially affect 
 the industry by doubling the price of the production of charcoal. 
 That would have to be taken into consideration in the manufacture 
 and price of iron and in the lumber that is produced from our hard- 
 wood forests in connection with charcoal. I think we could finally 
 adapt ourselves to that situation ; but it would materially affect us ; 
 that is, it would bring the industry down from its high condition of 
 positive prosperity and from certainty to uncertainty. We would" Ee 
 groping in the dark as to what the effect would be in the future. 
 
 Mr. MoCleary. You have stated that this industry for which you 
 are contending is a temporary one and is likely not to continue for 
 more than fifteen years at any rate? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. That is our view of it. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. I wanted to know whether I understood you cor- 
 rectly. When you are gathering your statistics, would it trouble 
 you too much to get the relative use of alcohol, gasoline, and these 
 other materials for power, light, etc., for Germany and the other 
 countries, so that we might have a comparative statement as to how 
 much alcohol is used, how much gasoline, etc. ? 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I think we could get that material for you with- 
 out very serious trouble; and we will be glad to undertake it. 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Mr. Chairman, may I have an opportunity to say just 
 a word to the committee ? 
 
 The Chairman. The committee will hear you for a few minutes. 
 
 ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF H. J. PIERCE, PRESIDENT OF THE 
 WOOD PRODUCTS COMPANY. 
 
 [Against removal of tax. For former statement of Mr. Pierce, see p. 129.] 
 
 Mr. Pierce. Mr. Chairman, I only want to say that I very heartily 
 concur in the suggestion of Mr. Clapperton that perhaps you may 
 think it best to have a committee investigate the facts and see whether 
 they are facts which the wood-alcohol industry and its allied in- 
 terests have placed before you. I will say that if you do appoint 
 such a committee we will show it our factories, we will open our 
 books to it, and will show them our profits. I do not know of any 
 men who have become very rich through making wood alcohol and 
 its sale. We will show you everything. We will furnish all the 
 information that you may ask for, because we want you to know 
 the actual facts and to believe them in relation to our industrv. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 249 
 
 If you do not appoint such a committee, if there is any information 
 which you would like, and you will communicate with us, it shall be 
 given to you fully and truthfully. 
 
 The Chairman. If there is no other gentleman who wishes to 
 be heard in opposition to these bills, we will hear Professor Munroe 
 with reference to the census. 
 
 ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF PROF. C. E. MUNROE. 
 
 [For removal of tax. For former statement of Professor Munroe, see pp. 
 
 38-45.] 
 
 The Chairman. The statement of the census of 1904, that there 
 were 12,000,000 gallons of wood alcohol produced in this country is 
 challenged, and the statement is made that it does not exceed about 
 8,000,000. 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. Yes; I heard that statement made, and some other 
 comments on the statistics. I do not know all that has occurred here, 
 because I have been occupied in my business and have been unable 
 to attend all of these hearings. It seems to me, however, from what 
 I have heard and read, as though my personal veracity or my com- 
 petency had been impugned. 
 
 The Chairman. I do not think there was any question about your 
 veracity at all. 
 
 Mr. ' Mtjnroe. To properly state the situation it may be best to 
 describe how the census statistics are secured and treated. In 1903 
 I gave a lecture before the Franklin Institute on " The census of 
 manufactures of 1900," and as the methods followed in 1904 were 
 practically those which obtained in 1900, 1 will, with your permission, 
 read that part of my address dealing with this subject. 
 
 Prior to the commencement of the field work a card catalogue was prepared 
 of all establishments of productive industry throughout the United States of 
 which a record could be found. In this work city directories were utilized, sup- 
 plemented by trade directories, the reports of factory inspectors, the lists of com- 
 mercial agencies, records of technical journals, and notices of new factories sup- 
 plied by newspaper-clipping bureaus. 
 
 The cards thus prepared for each of the greater cities were numbered and 
 forwarded to the chief special agent of each city, who was required to return 
 every card marked to show whether a schedule had been secured for the estab- 
 lishment, and if not, the reason why, as " burned," " removed," " not manufac- 
 turers," etc. The cards for the smaller cities were retained in the Office, and 
 the schedules as received were checked upon them. When the local agent an- 
 nounced his work complete, he received from the Office transcripts of all cards 
 for which schedules had not been received, and was required to furnish the miss- 
 ing returns, or supply a satisfactory reason why they could not be obtained. In 
 this way the Office possessed a complete check upon the work of every special 
 agent, and was able to secure a more thorough and satisfactory canvass than 
 had ever before been obtained. 
 
 Wherever the card catalogue revealed the failure or neglect of an enumerator 
 or special agent to secure a return for an existing establishment, the attempt 
 was made to obtain it by correspondence, often successfully. In the case of 
 some very large establishments thus overlooked it was necessary to send a 
 special agent directly to the establishment in order to secure a return. In 
 many instances the failure to secure a return on the first canvass was due to 
 the fact that the manufacturing establishment was located beyond the city 
 limits and fell, therefore, within the jurisdiction of enumerators who neg- 
 lected it. 
 
250 FKEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 The growing tendency of manufacturing establishments to locate at points 
 convenient to a great city, hut outside Its corporate limits, Increases the dlflS- 
 cultles of a thorough canvass of manufactures, which can be fully overcome 
 only by the use of the card catalogue just described. Another difficulty arose 
 from the tendency to render th'e factory report from the city office as If the 
 operations were carried on at the officer Thus In my own topic returns received 
 made it appear that an Industry which produces much dirt was being conducted 
 in one of our most sumptuous office buildings and that many fertilizer factories 
 were located on high-priced property in one of the busiest thoroughfares. The 
 incongruity of these returns led to an Investigation, which revealed the fact 
 that not only were the factories not located at the places given, but that in 
 some instances they were not even in the city or the State returned, but in an 
 adjacent State. Such errors were not uncommon in the first returns, but they 
 were serious and had to be corrected, for, as legislation upon public and local 
 interests for a considerable term of years will be guided largely by the statistics 
 of this census. It was essential to make the returns as exact as possible, particu- 
 larly as regards location. 
 
 The statistics were collected ujpon specially prepared schedules. 
 First, a general schedule, copies of which were supplied to all manu- 
 facturers, and supplemental schedules for various industries. T 
 present copies of the general schedule and of the supplemental sched- 
 ule, wood distillation, used in 1904, upon which the statistics I have 
 given you were collected, and I beg to particularly call your attention 
 to the fact that there is a certificate of correctness attached to each of 
 these schedules which the person furnishing the information is called 
 upon to sign. 
 
 The supplemental schedule, wood distillation, had not been issued 
 when the census of Michigan was made in 1903, and therefore the sta- 
 tistics for the wood-distillation industry in that State were returned 
 .on supplemental schedule, chemical manufactures. 
 
 In describing how these reports are treated in the Bureau of the 
 Census I will read further from my address. 
 
 On receipt of the filled and returned schedules they were examined to see if 
 all of the questions asked had been answered and in the proper form. Next, the 
 returns were analyzed to ascertain if they contained duplications In the 
 entries of money or material. Then costs of material and labor were inspected 
 and checked by information obtained from a large number of reliable sources, 
 having due regard to the industry under consideration and the locality where 
 the operations were carried on. Then the materials and products were com- 
 pared as to kind and amount, to ascertain if any inconsistency existed, and 
 these were checked by reliable data at hand. In the industry with which I 
 was charged the methods of stochiometry were employed to ascertain theoret- 
 ical yields, and then the proper margin for losses in yields was applied and these 
 compared with data from other sources. The returns of capital, miscellaneous 
 expenses, months in operation, employees and wages were investigated by pre- 
 viously agreed upon methods, which were issued as instructions by the office to 
 all in any way connected with the examination of schedules. 
 
 When errors were discovered the attention of the special agent who " took " 
 the schedule or the person who furnished the Information was called to the 
 mat1:er by correspondence, the particular errors and their character being 
 pointed out. We were aided in making this explanation by the fact that two 
 copies of the schedule were given to each establishment to be filled, one of 
 which was to be retained by the person giving the information and the other 
 forwarded to this office, and by these means a large number of the schedules 
 were perfected. When this was not done and the matter was of sufficient 
 Importance a personal visit would be made to the establishment or several 
 establishments of that class, where operations could be studied at close range 
 and the persons conducting the business conferred with directly. 
 
 This I found to be a most satisfactory method of procedure, for I received 
 the most courteous treatment, was given every facility for procuring informa- 
 tion, and received the assurance of the manufacturers, when they definitely 
 understood what it was sought to accomplish, that the project met with their 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 251 
 
 complete approval, and, if accomplisbed, would be greatly to their benefit. 
 When, however, these means of directly securing information were exhausted 
 without avail, then indirect sources were drawn upon. In my own experience 
 I can recall but one intsance where the responsible official of an enterprise of 
 magnitude persistently (and it must be said intemperately) refused to give 
 the information required. Yet his obstinacy availed him nothing, as his broader- 
 minded associates in the enterprise took a different view of the matter. 
 
 The investigation of the schedules for the chemical and allied industries was 
 especially difficult, because of the large number of instances in which material 
 produced in an establishment was used in further manufacturing operations 
 in the same establishment ; and to the further fact that in many cases part of 
 the material consumed appeared as a by-product which was regained and 
 reused in subsequent operations. The separation of this material was essen- 
 tial, not only to prevent duplication, but also to present the true condition of 
 collateral manufactures. Thus, in the fertilizer manufacture some manufac- 
 turers purchase the sulphuric acid with which to make their superphosphate; 
 while others have sulphuric-acid plants, in which they make the sulphuric acid 
 which they subsequently consume. In the manufacture of explosives the same 
 conditions hold true for nitric acid, while here also the sulphuric acid is regained 
 and used over. 
 
 After the schedule had been thus inspected and, when necessary, 
 revised, the information was recorded in such manner that the mate- 
 rials used appeared on one side of the account and the products man- 
 ufactured on the other, and the data was tabulated and summarized, 
 the necessary clerical and bookkeeping work being checked by several 
 persons. 
 
 Taking the manufacturing schedules as a whole, the quantity of obviously 
 erroneous information received on the first returns was appalling. Many of 
 the schedules showed an obvious misapprehension of the significance of the 
 . questions asked ; some of the schedules revealed upon their face the intention 
 to mislead and deceive the Census Office. In my personal experience these 
 usually emanated from unwise subordinates, who thought thus to protect the 
 interests with which they were charged. On bringing these returns to the 
 attention of the principals they expressed regret, tendered apologies, supplied 
 schedules perfected in every detail, and rendered every possible assistance. 
 
 In fact, as stated, after manufacturers became convinced that we were 
 handling the matter intelligently and bid fair to obtain results that would be 
 of value without jeopardizing personal interests, they gave us the fullest assist- 
 ance. Several furnished a transcript of the statement of their business for 
 the prior six months or year. Others drew from their books a detailed state- 
 ment of every kind of material purchased by them during the census year, with 
 quantities and costs. Others supplied wage lists ; others precise information 
 ds to processes. 
 
 Such was my comment on my experience in the census of 1900, 
 and I shall be very sorry if my experience with the census of 190i 
 leads me to a different opinion as to the attitude of the manufacturers 
 in this country. 
 
 The Chairman. As to what was the condition with reference to 
 wood alcohol ? 
 
 Professor Muneoe. We first tried to find out every establishment in 
 the country, and then we sent to them and asked them for informa- 
 tion. I will say that I have personally, in meeting with manufac- 
 turers and in public, said : " Gentlemen, the data that you supply 
 will be called for by Congress, and you have an opportunity here to 
 set it forth in a way that will be convincing." I will now pass around 
 our schedule, first the general schedule of chemical manufacturers. 
 
 Here is our general schedule, which calls for character of organiza- 
 tion, character ojf industry, capital invested, wages, and miscellaneous 
 expenses, and statistics of that sort. Together with that we issued 
 
252 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 supplemental schedules for each of these many industries constituting 
 the chemical industry, and among them was one for wood distillation. 
 You will observe that we call, on this schedule, for the number of 
 cords of wood used, the number of tons of limestone used, the number 
 of bushels of lime, the number of tons of soda, the number of gallons 
 of crude wood alcohol, the amount of fuel, and all that sort of thing, 
 in order to cover both the crude and the refined product. 
 
 The Chairman. Did you call for the amount of acetate of lime? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. Yes; when I passed these schedules around I did 
 not read the whole. We called for brown acetate of lime, gray acetate 
 of lime, acetate of soda, acetone, formaldehyde, wood ashes, pyro- 
 ligneous acid, pyrolignite of iron, dye liquors, wood creosote, and all 
 other products. 
 
 The Chairman. We will excuse you from mentioning the balance 
 of them. 
 
 Mr. MuNEOB. Those were sent out, and returned. 
 
 The Chairman. They were sent out to the manufacturers through- 
 out the country ? 
 
 Mr. Mtjneoe. To the manufacturers engaged in the wood distilla- 
 tion business, both to those producing crude wood alcohol and those 
 producing refined wood alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. And you got replies ? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. Yes; we received replies from 116 establishments. 
 I understand that to-day there are 118, two of them having gone into 
 operation since 1904. We received replies from 116 establishments, 
 and that data has been summed up. 
 
 I ought to say that there will be a discrepancy in a comparison of 
 statements, which is a perfectly honest one. For instance, this cen- 
 yus of 1905 is as of 1904 ; but by law the Census Office was directed to 
 take the census of Michigan jointly with the State authorities in 1903, 
 so that the statistics here accumulated for the State of Michigan are 
 for the year ending December 31, 1903, and for the rest of the United 
 States for the year ending December 31, 1904. 
 
 Again, you call for alcohol, but you do not designate whether it is 
 crude or refined alcohol that you ask for. When you are interro- 
 gating people you ask about alcohol, and the answer may be for crude 
 alcohol, or it may be for refined alcohol, or for both. The census 
 statistics as given to you, amounting to some 12,000,000 gallons, 
 show the total of crude and refined alcohol. Now, I will say that 
 leads to a duplication, because in that refined alcohol is a considerable 
 amount of crude alcohol already enumerated in gallons. 
 
 The Chairman. The refined and the crude alcohol was not given 
 separately ? 
 
 Mr. Mtjneoe. It was not; and at this moment it can not properly 
 be. 
 
 The Chaieman. So that the return made by them was the total 
 amount of crude alcohol, and added to that the amount they produced 
 of refined alcohol? 
 
 Professor Munroe. Yes, sir; we add the two together, and they 
 can not now properly be separated for the following reason : There 
 are establishments in this country which produce crude alcohol and 
 refine it in the same factory. I am unable, as yet, to get from those 
 factories the returns of the crude alcohol manufactured in their fac- 
 tory, and further refined in their factory. Judging from that which 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 253 
 
 has been returned as refined, after having been previously produced 
 as crude alcohol, such returns will swell the amount of crude alcohol, 
 because it shrinks on an average about 20 per cent in refining. 
 
 I believe that for the acetate of lime and charcoal there is no need 
 of an explanation. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you mean to say that 100 gallons of crude alco- 
 hol would make 70 gallons of refined ? 
 
 Mr. Mtjnroe. It would make about 80 gallons. The shrinkage is 
 about 20 per cent on an average. These afl have to be averaged, just 
 as in enumerating the amount of alcohol produced from a cord of 
 wood we have found it to average about 10 gallons to the cord, and yet 
 it might happen that it would fall down to 5^ gallons, with poor 
 workmen and bad apparatus, while with better apparatus it is some- 
 times reported to be 12 gallons. I have sometimes gotten estimates as 
 high as 14. 
 
 The Chaiemajs". The wood alcohol that is used in the trade is 
 refined alcohol? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. Not necessarily. As a rule it would be refined alco- 
 hol, but I can understand that there are purposes of trade for which 
 crude wood alcohol might serve. I want to say that, as I have lis- 
 tened to these comments, I have been somewhat confirmed in these 
 figures as we have given them. For instance, I think that perhaps 
 the men who have said there were between seven and eight million 
 gallons of alcohol produced may refer to refined alcohol, and if they 
 did it would mean that 10,000,000 gallons of crude alcohol were used 
 to produce this refined alcohol. As I stated the other day, the figures 
 I brought to you are subject to correction through any further re- 
 vision of the schedules. There are now letters being sent to many 
 manufacturers inviting any revision in their schedule that is proper, 
 and asking them to state whether the alcohol returned was crude 
 alcohol or refined alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. You think there may be a further necessity for 
 revising your figures, by reason of their having returned both crude 
 and refined alcohol from one factory? 
 
 Mr. Mtjneoe. Yes, sir; and I think the numbers are going to be 
 larger rather than less. 
 
 The Chairman. Without criticising your results, do you not think 
 it would be better, in the future, to ask separately for the amount of 
 crude and the amount of refined gallons? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. That is what we do now. 
 
 The Chairman. You do that, but they give it to you in a lump ? 
 
 Mr. Mtjneoe. Yes, sir; and in certain instances it has been impos- 
 sible to obtain it in the other way. 
 
 The Chairman. You are satisfied that although you asked them to 
 state separately the amount of crude and refined alcohol, they would 
 state both in a lump ? 
 
 Mr. Munroe. I am, in some instances. I wish to explain this by 
 stating that factories that produce crude alcohol and then refine it 
 may report only under the entry " refined," and not under the head of 
 " produced and consumed," as called for. Completing this schedule 
 by making this entry will increase the total. 
 
 The Chairman. And they have been asked to make a new state- 
 ment? 
 Mr. Munroe. Certainly. 
 
254 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The Chairman. Did they do it ? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. I have not yet gotten the answers from them. I 
 have only taken the matter up recently. You see we have several 
 hundred thousand of these schedules to examine. It was but a little 
 while ago that we were asked to make this special. 
 
 The Chairman. So that these figures are not now complete? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. No, sir ; Mr. Nortli's letter of transmittal stated that 
 they were subject to revision of schedules and that revision is still 
 necessary. I think that revision will lead to an addition in the gross 
 gallons of alcohol. This morning I heard statements about charcoal, 
 and it raised the question in my mind at once as to whether all of the 
 charcoal enumerated in those statements was produced in wood dis- 
 tillation. I am only occasionally connected with the census. I am 
 engaged as an expert special agent when they want such services, but 
 I am interested in these problems all the time and when not connected 
 with the census I take up these subjects. I took up the subject of 
 wood distillation in a paper that was published before a congress in 
 Berlin. I took the published data and went over it for 1900 
 
 The Chairman. Are you not making that same investigation now? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. This was a perfectly independent investigation of my 
 own, from data already published. 
 
 Mr. Hill. There were 17,000,000 bushels of charcoal made in con- 
 nection with the wood-alcohol industry, and 45,000,000 outside of it, 
 all told. 
 
 The Chairman. How much wood alcohol was reported in 1890 ? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. The number of gallons of crude wood alcohol re- 
 ported in 1890 was 1,116,075 gallons. 
 
 Mr. Clark. How many distillations of crude wood alcohol does it 
 take to get up to this 95 per cent pure ? 
 
 Mr. MuNROE. There are men here better able to answer that than I 
 am, because they are actually engaged in that business. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Does it take more than one? 
 
 Mr. MiTNROE. So far as I could see the -operation going on, it was 
 continuous. They were filling the stills and distilling alcohol there. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The reason I asked that question was this: I am try- 
 ing to get at the amount of wood alcohol made in the United States, 
 and if it is produced by repeated distillations, then it seems to me 
 you might have counted the same quantity of crude alcohol over 
 two or three or four times — if it takes that many distillations to get 
 this 95 per cent pure. I do not know that is the case ; but it seems to 
 me, from the way the returns were made to your question, that that 
 might happen — ^that a certain thousand gallons of crude alcohol 
 might be counted four or five times before you got through with it. 
 It looks like you ought to be able to get a square answer out of them 
 as to how much crude alcohol they produce. So far as the charcoal 
 business is concerned, there are innumerable small charcoal establish- 
 ments all over the country, in the backwoods, which do not pre- 
 tend to make alcohol out of it, and you never will get any returns 
 from them. When I was a boy every blacksmith shop in the whole 
 country in the woods had a charcoal establishment of its own. 
 
 Mr. MiTNROE. There are large quantities produced in what we call 
 the " household " or " neighborhood " industries for which we do 
 not collect any statistics. 
 
FBEB ALCOHOL. 255 
 
 Mr. Hill. In the figures which you filed the other day, the char- 
 coal industry for 1900 is given at 17,154,000 bushels. They related 
 only to one of the products of wood industry, and not to the total 
 production ? 
 
 Mr. MuNEOE. They did. 
 
 Mr. Hill. You fignire, then, the value per bushel at 4^ cents, as 
 shown by the statements of the wood-alcohol producers themselves, 
 do you not? 
 
 Mr. MtJNEOE. About 5.4 cents. I want to say that we are only too 
 willing to revise our figures and to be guided by the gentlemen en- 
 gaged in the manufacture, if we can obtain definite information. 
 We want to get the truth. 
 
 Mr. Clapperton. I would like to ask if it is proper for me to make 
 an examination of the report of my remarks and if I can have the 
 privilege of making corrections in them ? 
 
 The Chairman. Yes ; if you do not delay it too long. Any of the 
 gentlemen can revise their statements if they will come here and 
 do so. 
 
 Mr. Zintheo, it is suggested by Mr. Hill that, having submitted a 
 statement in regard to the consumption of alcohol in Germany, you 
 desire to be heard further on that subject. 
 
 STATEMENT OF C. J. ZINTHEO, OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Hill. In his printed statement that was filed with the commit- 
 tee at the last hearing,'^ Mr. Zintheo stated that in 1903 and 1904 
 there were consumed 101,000,000 gallons of industrial alcohol in Ger- 
 many. Inasmuch as that has been seriously disputed I thought it 
 was fair to him that he should have an opportunity to state his au- 
 thority for making that statement. 
 
 The Chairman. We will be very glad to hear the explanation. 
 
 Mr. Zintheo. I find that in a number of the reports which I have 
 from Germany, France, Sweden, and various other countries on the 
 subject of alcohol. The statement I made was from a consular 
 report made by Consul-General Mason, of Berlin; I took the state- 
 ment from his report, in which it is said that during the campaign 
 1903-4 there were produced in Germany 101,823,470 gallons. This 
 is under the heading of the subject of the manufacturing and tech- 
 nical uses of alcohol in Germany. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What is that publication ? 
 
 Mr. Zintheo. It is a consular report. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. What number is it ? 
 
 Mr. Zintheo. It was made in July 24, 1905. 
 
 Mr. Dalzell. One of the daily consular reports ? 
 
 Mr. Zintheo. Yes, sir. There is a great deal of material on this 
 subject which I do not think you gentlemen have yet had, and I think 
 it will be of interest to you. 
 
 The Chairman. What is there in that report to show whether 
 that is the total production of alcohol, or whether it was alcohol used 
 free of tax in the arts ? 
 
 oFor this statement see p. 262. 
 
256 FEBB ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. I do not know. It is on the subject of the manu- 
 facture for technical use. 
 
 The Chairman. Is that the only thing which indicates it? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHBO. I believe so. 
 
 The Chairman. I wish you would pass me that report. 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. There is considerable other matter here on the sub- 
 ject that would be of interest. Here is a German still used for manu- 
 facturing alcohol in the agricultural districts. There is a photo- 
 graph of it, showing that it is quite an inexpensive affair. There are 
 also several alcohol motors. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is that in a consular report? 
 
 Mr. Zinthbo. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What is the date of that? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. It is March 13, 1902. Here is one of an alcohol 
 stationary engine. Here is a flatiron that is used in the agricultural 
 districts, where they are using alcohol as fuel at 2 cents per hour. 
 Here are some lamps that are used over there. Here is a street light 
 which is used quite extensively. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Does that use denatured alcohol? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. These all use denatured alcohol. I can also show 
 you a bulletin issued by a German agricultural society, giving a num- 
 ber of tests as to the use of alcohol in internal combustion engines for 
 farm motors, for military wagons, and for various purposes. Of 
 course it is in the German language, but it can be easily translated. 
 Here is a report further oh the subject of alcohol in expositions, which 
 gives a good deal of information on the subject of how alcohol is man- 
 ufactured from potatoes, corn, and various other substances. I have 
 here pictures of some of the stoves used in Germany to take the place 
 of ordinary stoves for heating purposes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Your business in the Agricultural Department is what? 
 
 Mr. Zinthbo. My business is to investigate farm implements and 
 farm motors of all kinds. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Will you, as briefly as you can, state to the committee 
 what your judgment is as to the possibility of the use of denatured 
 alcohol in the line of farm machinery, farm engines, etc., in this 
 country. You have investigated that subject in different countries, 
 have you not ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. I have. I can give you some idea of the importance 
 of it by the requests we get for information. We get letters from 
 farmers in all sections of the country, who want to know about these 
 various subjects, and of course we have to try to keep posted. There 
 is one line I might mention where a good deal of alcohol would be 
 used for internal-combustion engines in western countries, where they 
 have to irrigate. There are large tracts of land which they are using 
 now by what is called dry-farming methods, but in that section they 
 can not entirely depend upon the dry-farming methods. They have 
 to irrigate small patches. The water has to be pumped about 15 or 
 30 feet, and, in the prairie countries, where there is no fuel of any 
 kind and where gasoline is very expensive, this would be extremely 
 useful. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What do you find it to be in those sections of the coun- 
 try? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. I can not give the exact figures, but it varies from 25 
 to 35 cents a gallon. If they could raise potatoes, which, in a great 
 
PBEE ALCOHOL. 257 
 
 many years, rot on the ground, as they do in Colorado, 'where there is 
 no market for them, and would use those potatoes in the manufacture 
 of alcohol for internal-combustion engines in pumping water for 
 irrigation they would be able to utilize millions of acres of land which 
 are now of no use at all ; and there would be plenty of room for the 
 Michigan woodmen to find jobs if they got out of the wood-alcohol 
 business. 
 
 The amount of alcohol that might be used depends of course upon 
 the cost of alcohol as compared with the cost of gasoline. It does not 
 necessarily signify that if the tax is removed from denatured 
 alcohol it will be substituted for gasoline. That depends upon the 
 price of alcohol. In the sections of the country where you can get 
 gasoline for 8 to 10 cents a gallon they will probably use it, but 
 where they have to pay 30 or 35 cents they would use another sub- 
 stance which is cheaper. I think also that in automobiles in cities, 
 where the smell is quite objectionable, they would be willing to pay a 
 few cents more for alcohol than for gasoline to obviate that disagree- 
 able odor. There is another thing. On the farms gasoline is not 
 safe, and gasoline engines would be introduced to a much greater 
 extent on the farms except for the fact that farmers are afraid to 
 use it around the farm. 
 
 Gasoline engines for use on the farm will have to be " fool proof," 
 as they say in the West, and " nigger proof," in the South, in order 
 to be introduced among the farmers. The great objection is that 
 gasoline is dangerous, and they can not allow these ordinary fellows 
 to handle it. With alcohol in place of it I believe they could utilize 
 it quite safely, and there would be a greater demand for its use in 
 internal-combustion engines on the farm than exists now. Traction 
 internal-combustion engines would come more extensively into use. 
 1 think that we need not wait for Edison to invent his storage bat- 
 tery if we can get alcohol for use. Of course it would not dis- 
 place gasoline in all places. It would not displace kerosene in all 
 places for light, but it would to some extent. I have a state- 
 ment here showing that the only other source of light that is cheaper 
 than alcohol is ordinary gas. Alcohol is found to be cheaper in Ger- 
 many than kerosene for lighting purposes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. This is not a mere theory in Germany and in other 
 places where denatured alcohol is used? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. No, sir; it is not a mere theory. It is a practical 
 thing. I have some catalogues here containing photographs of motors 
 manufactured over there which are used for plowing purposes in the 
 fields and the motors used for carts in the cities. Here is an alcohol 
 motor used for plowing purposes. Here is an alcohol internal-com- 
 bustion engine that is used in the dairies. Here is one that is being 
 used for military purposes. They are using it now in almost every 
 way. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Those are photographs of actual operations? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. This is a manufacturer's catalogue, which shows the 
 kind of engine he manufactures and sells. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Is it in actual operation ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes ; it is in actual operation. There would be no 
 necessity fmc a manufacturer to make these different kinds of engines 
 unless there was a demand for them. 
 
 Mr. Needham. How would this do as fuel for locomotive purposes ? 
 
 11058—06 17 
 
ii58 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. If it can be used for internal-combustion engines in 
 other fields, it can be used in locomotives. There are locomotives on 
 the market now using internal-combustion engines with gasoline for 
 interurban purposes. Alcohol, if it could be manufactured cheap 
 enough, could be used instead of gasoline. 
 
 The Chairman. In Germany they use gasoline in connection with 
 alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes ; they use a certain percentage ; in some cases as 
 high as 30 per cent of gasoline mixed with the alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Curtis. Is not that dangerous ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. No. 
 
 The Chairman. I see in this report that notwithstanding that, the 
 use of the alcohol in the year 1904 diminished instead of increased 
 for the use of motors and engines. 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes ; that was for the reason that the potato crop was 
 almost a total failure, and the price of the alcohol went up to 31 cents 
 a gallon. 
 
 The Chairman. 31| cents a gallon? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Whereas it used to sell for 15 to 17 cents. 
 
 The Chairman. They did not find it profitable to use alcohol at 
 31^ cents a gallon in Germany in 1904 for the purposes of running 
 motors ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. No; they could get the gasoline cheaper, but they 
 still continued to use alcohol for light and heat. It only affected the 
 internal-combustion engines. 
 
 The Chairman. There was an increase in the use of it for light 
 and heat ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes ; it states the number of gallons of alcohol sold 
 in one of the department stores for light and heat during 1904. 
 
 The Chairman. I think this report of Consul-General Mason ought 
 to go in the record, on pages 10 and 11 and the first paragraph of 
 page 12, including the signature of Mr. Mason. 
 
 The paper referred to is as follows : . 
 
 Alcohol in Germany. 
 
 how manufactured and used. 
 
 Consul-General Mason, of Berlin, Germany, In the annexed communication 
 corrects some erroneous impressions that have been created in this country 
 regarding the materials used in Germany for the manufacture of alcohol for 
 industrial purposes. The consul-general also contributes Interesting facts re- 
 garding the use of alcohol for motor and industrial purposes. He writes : 
 
 From the number of inquiries which have been received recently at this 
 consulate, and which seem to have been inspired by press statements published 
 in the United States, it is apparently believed there that alcohol for industrial 
 uses is manufactured in Germany from peat, street garbage, and various other 
 materials, and that the use of alcohol as fuel for motors, especially for auto- 
 mobiles, has been recently begun and is rapidly increasing to vast proportions in 
 this country. 
 
 In reply to all these inquiries it may be said that alcohol is not made on 
 an industrial scale in this country from peat or from garbage of any kind. 
 Aside from the small amount that is produced for drinking and medicinal 
 purposes from prunes, grapes, cherries, and other fruits, the great sources of 
 alcohol for industrial and other uses sire potatoes, grain, and the molasses 
 derived as a secondary product from the manufacture of beet^ugar. From 
 the official statistics of the last year's campaign (September 1, 1903, to August 
 31, 1904) the following figures are derived, which show the total production of 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 259 
 
 alcohol from each of the three materials during the year, in hectoliters of 26.429 
 gallons each : Potatoes, 3,045,605 ; grain, 692,483 ; beet molasses, 116,211 ; total, 
 3,854,299 hectoliters (101,823,470 gallons). 
 
 AS A MOTOR AGENT. 
 
 In respect to the use of alcohol for motor purposes, the following are the 
 obvious facts : 
 
 Several years ago, vrhen the motor vehicle for military and industrial pur- 
 poses began to assume a new and extraordinary importance, the German Gov- 
 ernment became impressed with the necessity of building motors which could 
 be operated with some liquid fuel that could be produced in Germany, in the 
 event that through the chances of war or other cause the supply of imported 
 benzine and other petroleum products should be cut ofC. Alcohol offered the 
 solution of this problem, and all the influence of the Government was exerted 
 to encourage its production and its more extended use for motor purposes. 
 Prizes were offered for the best alcohol-driven draft wagons for military and 
 agricultural purposes, and all the great gas-motor builders gave great attention 
 to perfecting engines specially adapted to the use of alcohol as fuel. 
 
 At the same time a powerful organization known as the Centrale fur Spirltus- 
 Verwerthung, with central offices at Berlin and branches throughout the 
 Empire, was established, and began a systematic, persistent campaign to 
 encourage and extend the use of alcohol for various industrial and economic 
 purposes, especially heating, cooking, and lighting. Special exhibitions were 
 held from year to year, which have been fully degcribed in these reports, and in 
 which were displayed the whole apparatus and process of alcohol production 
 from potatoes, corn, and molasses, motors of various types and sizes for marine, 
 agi-icultural, and industrial purposes, and a vast assortment of alcohol stoves 
 for heating, cooking. Ironing, etc., and lamps and chandeliers in endless variety 
 in which alcohol vapor, burned Inside an incandescent mantel, produced a light 
 of high intensity and cheaper for rural districts of Germany than either 
 electricity or petroleum. 
 
 The net result of all this systematic effort has been to extend so rapidly the 
 use of alcohol for heating, lighting, and chemical manufacturing purposes that 
 when the drought of last summer reduced somewhat seriously the output of 
 potato alcohol, the previous surplus was exhausted, and the price advanced until 
 alcohol became too costly for economical use as fuel for motors. 
 
 ALCOHOL FOE INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES. 
 
 The consequence of all these conditions has been that while the general use of 
 alcohol for industrial purposes, heating, lighting, and a vast range of chemical 
 and other manufacturing purposes has steadily increased in Germany, the per- 
 centage of the whole product that is used for motor purposes is relatively small 
 and, so far from increasing, is said to be rather diminishing, though to just what 
 extent it would be difficult to prove. A few Germans, from patriotic motives, 
 use alcohol for driving automobiles, freight wagons, motor boats, and farming 
 machinery. A single department store in Berlin, which ordered its equipment 
 of delivery wagons four years ago, during the height of the alcohol-promotion 
 movement, still consumes yearly 80,000 liters (about 19,000 gallons) of alcohol 
 for driving these wagons, but mixed, for greater efficiency, with about 15 per 
 cent of benzole. 
 
 It has been found by elaborate tests that the economy of alcohol as a fuel for 
 gas motors is largely increased by its being carbureted through admixture 
 with a certain percentage of benzole or other product of mineral oil. For a 
 time it was believed that this admixture of benzole could not be safely carried 
 beyond 20 per cent, but more recent experience has shown that a mixture of 
 equal parts of alcohol and benzole can be used, especially in large motors, 
 with entire safety and economical results. For automobile purposes the usual 
 proportion is now about 30 per cent of benzole or gasoline, but at the present 
 cost of alcohol it can not compete on the score of economy with mineral hydro- 
 carbons in a country where they are either produced or imported free of duty. 
 
 There are now in use in Germany something more than 2,000 stationary or 
 portable alcohol engines, exclusive of the spirit motors used in automobiles. 
 They consumed in the campaign year 1903-4 36,000 hectoliters (951,120 gallons) 
 of denaturated alcohol. Owing to the enormous potato crop of 1901 and the 
 
260 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 consequent overproduction of alcohol, the denaturated spirit of the grade used 
 for motors could be bought in 1902-3 in any quantity for 15 to 17 cents per 
 gallon, but for reasons hereinbefore stated this price rose in 1904 to 35 marks 
 per hectoliter (about 31.5 cents per gallon), at which figure it became more 
 expensive as motor fuel than gasoline. 
 
 Such Is substantially the situation in Germany. The manufacture and indus- 
 trial uses of alcohol were never so great, so important, and so varied as now. 
 This general increase in the campaign year 1903^, compared with the preceding 
 year, was, according to the annual report of the Centrale, more than 2,900,000 
 gallons.. But notwithstanding the fact that all the leading German manufac- 
 turers of gas engines and motor vehicles make alcohol motors that are technic- 
 ally successful, the question of price is the controlling consideration, and of the 
 whole 3,854,299 hectoliters (101,823,470 gallons) of spirits produced during the 
 last campaign year, only about 1 per cent was used for motor purposes. 
 
 Fbank H. Mason, Consul-General. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Mr. Chairman, do we not want this other consular 
 report to go in the record too ? 
 
 Mr. Hill. I would like to ask the broad question whether, from 
 your general investigation of the subject, as a representative of the 
 farm machinery bureau of the Department of Agriculture, you think 
 this would be wise legislation and in the interests of the farming 
 community of the United States ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. It certainly would. It would certainly benefit the 
 farmers. They could get cheaper power, cheaper light, and cheaper 
 heat. They could utilize the raw material from the farm, not on the 
 individual farms, as some claim, but perhaps in county distilleries, 
 where they could manufacture the alcohol and sell it without having 
 to add the freight to the cost of the gasoline, which they have to do 
 now. As to the price of manufacture, that, of course, is still an open 
 question. 
 
 Mr. Curtis. What would be the effect on the smaller farmers in 
 Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, where we do not get it on a large scale ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. They have the raw material there, principally corn 
 in Iowa and eastern Kansas, and there is a great deal of that corn 
 that is not fit for consumption. Sometimes they have frost, and that 
 affects the corn, and it does not mature. It does not command a good 
 price on the market. That corn could be utilized for the manufacture 
 of alcohol. There has been a great deal of objection to using corn- 
 stalks for feeding purposes in the past, but at the present time the 
 farmers are able to take the whole plant, stalk, ear, and all, and shred 
 it and put it into a silo and make the very best feed. A few years 
 ago they did not think they could do that. As to the time of cutting, 
 it has been demonstrated that the cornstalk contains the most sac- 
 charine matter, or the greatest percentage of sugar, at the time the 
 ears are in the glazing state, or ]ust at the time it is cut, so that the 
 cornstalks would then be suitable for the use of manufacture of 
 alcohol, if it can be done cheaply enough. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you know what the price of kerosene oil is in 
 Germany ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. That varies. I believe the statement I sent to the 
 committee gave the price as 17 cents a gallon. 
 
 The Chairman. Did you give in your statement the price of oil in 
 Germany ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. And also gasoline ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes, sir. 
 
PEEE ALCOHOL. 261 
 
 The Chairman. Then I do not care to have you repeat it. Mr. 
 Underwood, this consular report — 1288— is rather lengthy, and there 
 are several cuts in it. I have asked the clerk to secure sufficient 
 copies for the committee without printing them in the record, if that 
 will do just as well. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Are there any more questions? 
 
 Mr. Needham. As long as crude oil is 20 cents a barrel, x)f course, 
 there would not be any prospect of ever using this alcohol on locomo- 
 tives? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Crude oil does not seem to be quite suitable for inter- 
 nal combustion engines. 
 
 Mr. Needham. We use it nearly altogether in California. 
 
 Mr. Curtis. That depends on the burner, does it not ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. It depends on the burner; but the amount of gaso- 
 line that can be procured from oil is somewhat limited, as is well 
 known, and the price of gasoline is constantly increasing. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You are connected with the Department of Agricul- 
 ture? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. How long have you been connected with it ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Since July 1. 
 
 Mts. Smith. You say during that time you have had a number of 
 inquiries about this denatured alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes, sir ; a great many inquiries. Before that time 
 I was professor of agricultural engineering at the Iowa State Col- 
 lege, and I had inquiries out there also. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Were these inquiries from various sections of the 
 country ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. From various sections of the country. They wanted 
 to know how this material could be utilized and how it could be manu- 
 factured into alcohol and how alcohol could be used after it is manu- 
 factured. 
 
 Mr. Smith. When they ask for that information, what do you do ? 
 Have you some written data you send them ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTEDEO. We prepare a letter. The farmers' grange investi- 
 gations have only recently been established, so we have not the 
 bulletins prepared as yet. We have to prepare the data for each 
 inquiry. 
 
 Mr. Smith. There is no systematic attempt on the part of the 
 Government to start a propaganda of this kind ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. None whatever. 
 
 Mr. Smith. The inquiry originates in the country and comes to 
 you voluntarily ? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes, sir. The farmers feel at liberty, when they are 
 interested in any subject, to ask the Department of Agriculture 
 about it if they do not know, and we can tell what they are inter- 
 ested in from the letters we receive. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Judging from your testimony, you have not thrown 
 any cold water on it. 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. I have no reason to. We are interested in benefiting 
 the farmers. 
 
 Mr. Smith. You give them the facts as they appear to you? 
 
262 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. And let them draw their own conclusions? 
 
 Mr. ZiNTHEO. That is right. 
 
 STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY ME. C. J. ZINTHEO. 
 
 [Referred to on p. 255.] 
 
 Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I have charge of the 
 farm machinery investigations of the Department of Agriculture. 
 In the investigations of farm implements and farm motors, the im- 
 portance of tax-free alcohol for farm purposes has been brought very 
 forcibly to our attention. 
 
 A few facts in regard to the use of denaturized alcohol in foreign 
 countries, which have not so far been brought out clearly in these 
 hearings, may be of value. Germany produced and used in 1901 
 denaturized alcohol to the extent of 30,642,720 gallons, as compared 
 with 10,302,630 gallons used in 1886. Of this vast amount about two- 
 thirds was of the ordinary grade for power and heating purposes, 
 such as costs 13^ cents per gallon. The remaining third of the 
 entire amount was denaturized for lighting and chemical purposes, 
 or used pure under certain restrictions, for the manufacture of per- 
 fumes, etc. The use of a different denaturizing agent of alcohol for 
 lighting, from that which is used for heat and power purposes, is 
 accounted for from the fact that the addition to alcohol of a 
 hydrocarbon — ^benzine, for instance — on account of its density in- 
 creases the lighting power and at the same time diminishes the cost 
 of the liquid. The light produced by the gas carbureted by benzine 
 is very bright, intense, and economical. Certain burners give mar- 
 velous results from the view point of cheapness compared with light- 
 ing intensity : One-tenth cent per burner per hour for 71 candlepower. 
 
 On the point of denaturizing agents for alcohol the following points 
 may be of value : 
 
 Each country has adopted different ways of making alcohol unfit 
 for beverage. A distinction should be made between a general de- 
 naturant and special denaturants. To make this more clear, besides 
 the alcohol used for lighting, heating, and motor power, there are 
 numerous industries in which alcohol is necessary, either as dissolvent 
 or as first ingredient, and according to these different uses the Gov- 
 ernment grants a partial or complete removal of taxation. 
 
 In Germany denaturation is practiced on alcohol at 80°. The gen- 
 eral denaturant now used in Germany is composed thus: 1 liter of 
 methylene, one-quarter liter of pyridine, and 2 liters of benzal for 100 
 liters of alcohol. When utilized for production of motor power, the 
 proportion of benzol added is greatly increased — 15 to 50 per cent. 
 In France the conditions of denaturation are fixed by the consulting 
 committee of arts and manufactures of France. They use principally 
 methylene, say, 10 liters to 100 liters alcohol at 90°. For alcohol in- 
 tended for heating and lighting they add to this mixture one-half liter 
 of heavy benzine, having the characteristic odor of the heavy prod- 
 ucts of the distillation of coal and boiling at between 150° to 200°. 
 This general denaturant gives every guaranty to the fiscal authorities, 
 but it costs about three times as much as the general denaturant used 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 263 
 
 in Germany. Mr. Sorel, one of the great authorities in this matter, 
 advocates another formula: To 97 liters alcohol, 90°, he adds 1 liter 
 methylene, 1 liter benzol, 1 liter of grease or oil taken from the wool 
 of sheep. 
 
 In Switzerland the authorities use Doctor Lang's denaturant, 
 which is for 100 liters of alcohol, 94°, 2 liters methyletique acetone 
 and one-third liter superior acetone. Lately they have added to this 
 mixture one-half per cent of pyridine oil. This denaturant is rather 
 costly. Greece and Roumania have adopted a denaturant about the, 
 same as that used by Germany. In the Argentine Republic denatura- 
 tion is practiced by adding to 1,000 liters alcohol 5 liters essence of 
 misbane, or 3 liters of terpinoleine. The ether from grain alcohol 
 is also used as a denaturizing agent. 
 
 All of these denaturants have given satisfaction to the different 
 Governments, and it may be safely said that the experience of the 
 past and the great progress realized in the domain of denaturation 
 have crushed the arguments so often invoked by the adversaries of 
 denaturation that the denaturant can be removed and thus the alcohol 
 can be renatured. 
 
 It may' thus be noted that a great many different ingredients be- 
 sides wood alcohol may be utilized for denaturizing agents, and that 
 the use to which the alcohol is eventually applied should govern the 
 kind of denaturizing material used. 
 
 For motor and automobile purposes the practice prevails in some 
 sections of Germany of utilizing 30 per cent of ordinary gasoline as 
 a denaturizing agent. Experiments have shown that a mixture ot 
 ec[ual parts of alcohol and gasoline can be used to advantage, espe- 
 cially in large motors. From September 1, 1903, to August 31, 1904, 
 there was manufactured in Germany 101,823,470 gallons of alcohol 
 for industrial purposes. The Government pays a bounty on export 
 products in the manufacture of which alcohol has been used. The 
 net result of the fostering of all industries in Germany which utilize 
 alcohol was that in 1904, when the drought seriously reduced the 
 potato crop of Germany, from which the alcohol was manufactured, 
 the previous surplus was exhausted, and the price advanced from 13J 
 cents per gallon to 30 cents per gallon, and this made it too costly for 
 economical use as a fuel for motors. Last year's potato crop, how- 
 ever, again reduced the price so that it is now sold for about 18 cents 
 per gallon of 90 per cent purity. 
 
 In 1896 the Belgian Government removed the tax on denaturized 
 alcohol used for technical purposes. The increase in its use in Bel- 
 gium from 1896 to 1902 is as follows : 
 
 GaUons. 
 
 1896 126,058 
 
 1897 284,211 
 
 1898 290,316 
 
 1899 286,711 
 
 1900 425,178 
 
 1901 575,447 
 
 1902. 924,421 
 
 In other words, there was used in Belgium seven times as much 
 denaturized alcohol in 1902 as in 1896. The increase in its use in 
 France and Austria is still greater. 
 
264 FREE ALCOHOL,. 
 
 ALCOHOL LAMPS. 
 
 The varieties of lamps used for burning alcohol in France, Ger- 
 many, and Belgium are very numerous. They vary in candlepower 
 from 25 to 600 for house and street use. For the purpose of light- 
 house lighting, alcohol lamps have been constructed the strength of 
 the light of which far exceeds 1,000 candlepower. 
 
 The imperial palace of Germany is lighted by alcohol lamps. One 
 manufacturer reports the use of their alcohol lamps in 300 German 
 and 200 other European railroad stations. The lamps for these pur- 
 poses are constructed very much like our street electric arc lights, but' 
 of course use the Welsbach incandescent mantles. 
 
 The following gives the cost of alcohol for light, as compared with 
 other substances, as reported by one manufacturer when the alcohol 
 cost 30 cents per gallon : 
 
 [In cents per IB-candlepower hour.] 
 
 Cost of alcohol used In lamps 0. 0008 
 
 Cost of gas . 0006 
 
 Cost of electricity ^ — . 0014 
 
 Cost of kerosene .0010 
 
 This at 18 cents per gallon for kerosene in Germany. 
 
 These figures are for small lamps and represent the candlepower of 
 an incandescent light. For larger lights the amount of alcohol used 
 l^er candlepower hour is very much less, as previously stated. In 
 general, the cost of alcohol as compared with kerosene for light is in 
 the ratio of 6 to 10 in favor of the alcohol. It may also be noticed 
 that only gas can compete with alcohol for lighting purposes, and 
 alcohol has the advantage over it by being a portable light that may 
 be used anywhere. 
 
 ALCOHOL FOB HEATING PURPOSES. 
 
 The alcohol heating stoves made in Europe should not be con- 
 founded with our coal stoves. They are only intended to be used 
 instead of gasoline stoves for cooking, and in places where a small 
 unit of heat is required and where we now use oil stoves or an open 
 grate. 
 
 These stoves are made in various sizes and cost from $11.50 for 
 the larger size to $8.40 for the smallest size. They are simple in con- 
 struction and easily kept clean; can be carried about and utilized in 
 any room without odor or danger of explosion. 
 
 One of the convenient novelties largely used in Germany is an 
 alcohol flatiron with a small reservoir, which being filled with alcohol 
 and lighted heats the iron for the hour's work at less than 2 cents. 
 
 ALCOHOL MOTORS. 
 
 The fi/st attempts made in Germany in 1804^1905 to employ alco- 
 hol in internal combustion engines were not successful, the diffi- 
 culty being to get the alcohol to a sufficient state of vaporization. It 
 was only after taking the peculiarity of alcohol into consideration, 
 namely, its difficult inflammability, that success was obtained in 
 advantageously employing alcohol for motors. What was first re- 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 265 
 
 • 
 
 garded as a drawback in alcohol turned out to be an important ad- 
 vantage, for in consequence of the difficulty in igniting the air mix- 
 ture it could be compressed to a greater extent in the motors, using 
 up much more of the heat than was possible with gasoline or kerosene 
 engi.nes. A good alcohol motor works, when fully loaded, at a thermal 
 efficiency of over 30 per cent, while a similarly good gasoline motor 
 exhausts the warmth of its fuel in the most favorable case at 20 per 
 cent, and the kerosene motor hardly reaches 18 per cent. In conse- 
 quence of this, alcohol can easily compete in an economic sense with 
 gasoline and kerosene motors. The comparative cost of operating 
 alcohol, gasoline, and kerosene motors in Germany is given as $0,016 
 per horsepower hour for alcohol ; $0,017 for gasoline, and $0,016 for 
 kerosene. 
 
 There are numerous manufacturers in Germany who make both 
 stationary and portable internal-combustion alcohol engines. Trac- 
 tion engines for city drayage, farm cultivation, and thrashing, as well 
 as small locomotives using alcohol as motive power in mines and for 
 military purposes, are quite extensively used. For automobiles the 
 alcohol motor is very largely employed, and in this field it has proved 
 to be very advantageous in its clean, odorless workings, especially in 
 crowded cities. 
 
 In various sections of Germany, France, and Belgium have been 
 inaugurated during late years automobile races with various types of 
 machines, and in these the alcohol-driven motors have proved to be 
 equal to those using other forms of motive power. 
 
 USE OF ALCOHOL MOTORS IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 It has already been explained to you what is liable to be the output 
 of internal-combustion engines and the use for denaturized alcohol 
 in this country if the proposed legislation is allowed to take effect. 
 A few additional facts along this line may not be amiss. 
 
 In the irrigated section of the West, pumping of water for irrigation 
 in many cases has to be resorted to, and there the main question for 
 the irrigator to solve is to find a cheap motive power for pumping. 
 Many of these places are located long distances from the railroad and 
 still farther from the source of supply of gasoline, so that on account 
 of freight and drayage the price of gasoline is 35 cents per gallon. 
 
 In these same places cheap and abundant crops of potatoes can be 
 raised, which often go to waste for want of a market. These pota- 
 toes, if converted into alcohol and utilized for power and pumping 
 purposes, will greatly extend the agricultural area in the seraiarid 
 region, where each farmer would be able to irrigate by pumping a 
 few acres of his farm, and thus secure him against the dry years 
 which come periodically. In these sections of the country it would 
 be necessary to establish agricultural potato distilleries, so as to save 
 freight on the farm products and alcohol. 
 
 There are now in Germany 6,000 such agricultural distilleries, of 
 which 4,000 represent the chief activity of the farms on which they 
 are located, whereas 2,000 play a secondary role. The total value of 
 products derived from these agricultural potato distilleries in Ger- 
 many amounts to about $25,000,000 per annum. These German farm 
 distilleries are very simple affairs, and do not require very expen- 
 sive machinery. They are, of course, under Government control, 
 
266 FEEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 • 
 
 iind only a small part of the alcohol they manufacture is used for 
 technical purposes. Most of it is used for beverage. 
 
 In order to make an internal-combustion engine of general utility 
 for farm work, it must be made " fool proof " m the West and " iiig- 
 ger proof " in the South. In this respect the alcohol engine will have 
 many advantages over the gasoline engine. 
 
 Several firms in this country besides the Otto Gas Engine Company 
 now make alcohol engines for their trade in Cuba and South America, 
 and practically all of the gasoline engine manufacturers are experi- 
 menting with alcohol as a substitute for gasoline, so as to be ready, 
 as soon as the proposed law is passed, to supply the demand for 
 engines. 
 
 Another advantage of alcohol engines is that not so much heat is 
 radiated from the cylinder as in a gasoline engine, where it has to be 
 surrounded with a water jacket and a rather Targe auxiliary tank of 
 water to keep it cool. This is a great disadvantage in portable and 
 traction gas engines. Some engines of small horsepower are now air 
 cooled. This could be accomplished with larger horsepower engines 
 using alcohol, which would reduce both the weight and the cost ot the 
 engines, and make them more suitable for traction purposes in plow- 
 ing and soil cultivation, as well as for automobiles. 
 
 Thus it may be seen that with alcohol free of tax the farmer will be 
 benefited by the market produced for a great many waste and starchy 
 products unfit for or unnecessary to consumption. At the same time 
 he will be able to light and heat his home, do the disagreeable and 
 hard work on the farm by this motive power, and transport himself 
 and his products by the same power. 
 
 C. J. ZiNTHEO. 
 
 The Chairman. Does any other gentleman desire to be heard? 
 Mr. Gray. I would like to say just one word in answer. 
 The Chairman, ^e will hear you briefly. 
 
 ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF WILLIAM S. GRAY. 
 
 [Against removal of tax. For former statement of Mr. Gray see pp. 183-191.] 
 
 Mr. Gray. Our friends on the other side refer to what is done 
 over in Germany, and the conditions over there. If you will make 
 the conditions the same in this country we are willing to submit. 
 In Germany they allow a heavy bounty on alcohol, to make alcohol 
 cheap, and put a very heavy duty on petroleum, to make it dear. 
 This gentleman says petroleum is 17^ cents in Germany. It is 7 
 cents in New York. That is the only reason why alcohol is used over 
 there in motors, because they can not get the gasoline as cheap. They 
 might pay 1 cent or 2 cents more for it, but never three times as 
 much. 
 
 This gentleman, who came here from France on the silk businesSj 
 stated that alcohol cost 41 cents there. When I was in Germany last' 
 summer the conditions were more favorable than they had been. The 
 potato famine was all over for a year, and you could not buy a drop 
 for less than 36 cents. 
 
 Mr. Smith. What the Frenchman spoke about the other day was 
 the best, 95. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 267 
 
 Mr. Gray. No; that was methylated alcohol, such as he wants 
 you to give him here. Who will buy it for motors? I can buy all 
 the gasoline I want for from 12 to 14 cents — a single package de- 
 livered to my place at 14 cents. Why would I pay 40 cents for alco- 
 hol to run my automobile ? 
 
 Mr. Needham. Gasoline is not safe, is it, though? 
 
 Mr. Grat. It is just as safe as alcohol. I have heard of explosions 
 with alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Needham. The insurance rates are not as high, are they ? 
 
 Mr. Gr4T. They make us pay pretty high rates on alcohol in New 
 York. 
 
 Mr. McCleaey. If it be true that none of the things that the advo- 
 cates of this bill expect to happen will happen — if the alcohol will 
 not be used — ^where is the harm to come to you gentlemen who are 
 opposed to it ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. The methylated spirits that they propose — the dena- 
 tured alcohol — ^will be used in the varnish trade and will simply take 
 the place of the wood alcohol we are now supplying. 
 
 ISffr. McCleary. That is your special industry ? 
 
 Mr. Gray. That is my special industry. I maintain that we are 
 selling about 8,000,000 gallons of wood alcohol in the United States 
 of America for use in the solvents. I maintain that not one gallon 
 more of methylated spirits will be used than the natural increase 
 that comes from year to year, because it is three times the price of the 
 material we are using for motors and other things and will not be 
 used for that purpose. That is the position I take in this. 
 
 Doctor Wiley said that it might grow up in years. It all depends 
 upon the price. If you tell me you can give me denatured alcohol 
 for 10 cents a gallon, that will take all of the wood alcohol we have 
 for methylating at 10 cents, it is absurd. It will be 40 cents I 
 do not see how it can be lower, and I can not see anything to do except 
 replace the wood-alcohol business. In fact, the distillers of the 
 country have wakened up lately to the fact that this wood alcohol ip. 
 going to be a big business ; that it amounts to ten or twelve thousand 
 barrels a year, and they want it. We are getting it, and they want it. 
 
 Mr. Gdrtis. Do not the advocates of this measure claim that be- 
 cause the farmer will be able to use the corn, as was said by the gen- 
 tleman who spoke before you, and the potatoes, a great many of 
 which go to waste now and are left rotting in the ground (I think 
 he said in Colorado), that will enable them to make this alcohol 
 cheaper? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Why don't they make it now ? Corn is cheap. Alcohol 
 has gone up 50 per cent in the last year, and corn is cheap. Why 
 don't they make it now? Alcohol was selling at $2.32 and $2.33 a 
 year ago. Now it is selling at $2.45 and $2.47. During that time 
 corn has gone down quite heavily in price. 
 
 Mr. Curtis. In many places they have not stills enough. They 
 have not had any encouragement. 
 
 Mr. Gray. There is a sale for all the alcohol you can get. There 
 is an immense sale for alcohol. I was talking to our Congressman, 
 Mr. Olcott, and he said he had about 500 petitions. Every farmer 
 thinks he is going to take his corn and make it in his teakettle into 
 whisky and use it. That is the idea. That is the reason all these 
 petitions are coming in. The hypothesis is wrong. 
 
268 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Smith. Mr. Olcott represents the New York City district. 
 
 Mr. Grat. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Smith. And he has had petitions for it? 
 
 Mr. Gray. Yes, sir ; they are getting them from all over the coun- 
 try, because they think they are going to get something for nothing. 
 I think the time for methylating spirits will come the same as it came 
 in Germany, and England, and France, but it has not by any means 
 come yet, when we can make far more than is necessary, and when we 
 are exporting it all over the world and bringing the gold back here. 
 The time will come, just the same as it came in England, Germany, 
 and France, when there will not be enough wood alcohol made here. 
 That will be a good time for a methylating bill. 
 
 The Chairman. I did not mean to have you go all over the whole 
 argument, although I think the questions of members of the com- 
 mitteee brought it out. 
 
 Mr. Gray. I am quite through, Mr. Chairman. 
 
 Thereupon, the committee, at 4.30 o'clock p. m., adjourned. 
 
FUEIil ALCOHOL. 
 
 SIXTH DAT— MORNING SESSION. 
 
 Committee on Ways and Means, 
 
 Friday, March ^, 1906, 10 a. m. 
 
 The committee met, pursuant to adjourmnent, with the chairman, 
 Hon. Sereno E. Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present : The chariman and Messrs. Grosvenor, McCleary, McCall, 
 Hill, Boutell, Curtis, Needham, Williams, Clark, Cockran, Under- 
 wood, and Granger. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS F. MARSHALL, A REPRESENTA- 
 TIVE FROM THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Marshall. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, 
 I appear before you as the author of the bill (H. R. 12075) " pend- 
 ing before your committee. 
 
 Representing as I do a purely agricultural district, I am greatly 
 desirous that the legislation should be such as will give to the farm- 
 ers the greatest measure of good. 
 
 Owing to the fact that the manufacturers are better organized 
 (and therefore better able to look after their interests closely) there 
 may be a feeling among your committee, and others as well, that 
 their interests are the largest involved. To this view I emphat- 
 ically dissent, and assert that under the right kind of legislation the 
 farmers will be the largest beneficiaries. 
 
 I believe that the manufacturers have made a showing which cer- 
 tainly entitles them to relief, but I realize, on the other hand, that it 
 would be easy to pass legislation which would satisfy, the manufac- 
 turers, but which would be of no practical benefit to the farming 
 classes, and such action on the part of your committee would cer- 
 tainly be deplorable. I say, further, that it is entirely practicable to 
 so legislate as to give untold benefit to the agricultural classes and 
 the manufacturer as well. 
 
 The benefit to the farmer and all others who propose to use alcohol 
 for the purposes of heat, light, and power will be measured directly 
 by the cost of denatured alcohol. Denatured alcohol niust be made 
 accessible to all who desire to use it, at a price on the market which 
 will place it in direct competition with gasoline and kerosene, making 
 due allowance for its superiority for the purpose intended. 
 
 There are three things that go to make up the selling price of 
 denatured alcohol : First, the cost of manufacture ; second, the nature 
 and the percentage of the denaturing material, and third, the tax on 
 denatured alcohol, if any. I will take these up in order. 
 
 a For copy of H. R. 12075, see p. 312. 
 
 269 
 
270 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 It has been shown by your hearing that 2J gallons of alcohol can 
 be made from a bushel of com — 2| gallons is the exact amount — and 
 that the by-product from the still is worth enough for stock food to 
 pay for the distillation. It therefore stands undisputed that the 
 market price of a bushel of corn would be the price of 2| gallons of 
 alcohol, and it naturally follows that the cost of alcohol would be 
 practically the same made from other farm products. It must be 
 borne in mind, however, that the corn and other raw material need not 
 be of merchantable quality, which would materially reduce the cost. 
 The price of the raw material should be figured at the local markets 
 nearest to where it is produced, and taking com as the example, 30 
 cents a bushel is the fair price, which would mean 12-cent alcohol. 
 
 I would like to add that this morning I had a letter from Profes- 
 sor Wiley, chief chemist of the Agricultural Department, in response 
 to some correspondence which I addressed to him relative to the prac- 
 ticability of making alcohol from the whole plant of the corn ; that is, 
 taking the whole corn, the fodder, the grain, and cobs altogether, and 
 making it into alcohol. I did this for the reason that in North Da- 
 kota and in many of the northwestern States we are apt to have our 
 com crop frosted, and, furthermore, in my State we raise corn with- 
 out expectation of getting big returns from that crop, because we can 
 afford to do it, owing to the greatly increased jdeld of wheat and other 
 grain for two or three years after. Doctor Wiley advises me that it 
 IS entirely practicable to do this; that it would double the yield of 
 alcohol — that is, there would be twice as much from the whole plant 
 as there would be from the grain alone. 
 
 The Chairman. How much is corn worth a bushel where it could be 
 used for this alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. Thirty cents ; that would be the average price. 
 
 The Chairman. I think it will turn out, Mr. Marshall, that a 
 gallon of alcohol will be equal in cost to about a half bushel of corn — 
 that is, 30-cent corn would yield about 15-cent alcohol. That is from 
 actual comparison on the books of the distilleries for a number of 
 years past, and I think that would be a pretty safe basis to calculate 
 upon. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I think Mr. Hill has some correspondence which 
 would cover that subject. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I will put it in by and by.'' 
 
 Mr. Clark. Do they raise much corn in the Dakotas ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. We are beginning to raise a great deal. The agri- 
 cultural colleges have been able to shorten the time it takes to mature 
 corn one day every year. I am a farmer myself, and I put from a 
 quarter to a third of my land in corn every year, and of late years 
 we have been getting big crops. 
 
 Mr. BouTBLL. Your point is that the stalk, the leaves, the grain, 
 and the cob that go with a bushel of corn would make altogether 4 
 gallons of alcohol? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I should say five. The statistics show 2f gallons 
 of alcohol per bushel of grain of corn. 
 
 The Chairman. That seems to be the experience. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The by-products of alcohol will pay for the making of 
 it, in the way of slops and feed for cattle and hogs. 
 
 " For these figures see p. 407. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 271 
 
 Mr. Marshall. Well, we have cattle and hogs, too, and that is 
 another reason why it should be made in our country. 
 
 The most discouraging thing to the agricultural classes which was 
 brought out in the hearing was the statement made by the wood- 
 alcohol people, that the cost of denatured alcohol would be so high as 
 to prevent its use for fuel, light, and power. Their estimates were 
 very unfair, being based upon the price of corn and potatoes at the 
 great market centers ; whereas distilleries would be located where the 
 raw material is produced. Their prices also were based upon a high 
 quality of merchantable raw material, whereas cheaper grades would 
 be used, as the product need not be pure. 
 
 In their estimates tha wood-alcohol people added materially to 
 the cost of denatured alcohol by adding an exorbitant tax and ex- 
 cessive expenses of denaturing and charges for packages. On the 
 other hand, they compared this high-class alcohol with the cheap 
 gasoline and kerosene of the cities. The exact converse of what they 
 undertook to prove is true. Alcohol can be produced in the country 
 for very much less than in the cities, while gasoline and kerosene in 
 the country markets are from 50 to 300 per cent higher than in the 
 eastern cities. 
 
 It might be interesting to note that in my own home in North 
 Dakota we pay 18 cents per gallon in 5-gallon lots for inferior kero- 
 sene, and gasoline costs all the way from 18 to 25 cents per gallon, 
 according to the grade, and in the smaller towns of North and South 
 Dakota and Minnesota it is hard to procure gasoline of a quality fit 
 for use in engines, it being only possible to purchase it in barrel lots 
 and pay for local freights. 
 
 Now, right in my town the Standard Oil Company has a dis- 
 tributing point and large tanks. They don't keep gasoline of high 
 grade fit for use in gasoline engines. I have three gasoline engines, 
 and know. 
 
 The Chaieman. What do you do for gasoline ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I send to Fargo for it, 110 miles, and it is shipped 
 to me by local freight, a barrel at a time, costing 22 cents a gallon, 
 and they are not very anxious to let me have it even then. We are 
 right up to a famine on gasoline of the quality that we should have 
 to use in internal-combustion engines. 
 
 The Chairman. In Germany 25 per cent of the mixture is gaso- 
 line in running engines ; they don't use pure alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. That is because alcohol does not volatilize as 
 rapidly as gasoline. 
 
 The Chairman. They find it necessary in practice to use that. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I think if we could get the alcohol that our in- 
 genious people will be able to fix that. 
 
 When the committee come to consider the nature and quantity of 
 denaturing material to be used, it would certainly seem wise to be 
 guided by the years of experience of foreign nations. The evidence 
 clearly shows that the quantity of denaturing material has been 
 reduced repeatedly by them, and it would certainly be unwise for us 
 to begin where they did. Wisdom would lie in the direction of com- 
 mencing where they have left off. 
 
 This feature of the legislation is a serious one to the agricultural 
 classes and should be considered very carefully by the committee, as 
 the cost of denaturing material will greatly add to the cost for 
 
272 FREE AliCOHOL. 
 
 which denatured alcohol can be sold. For instance, if as much as 10 
 per cent of wood alcohol were used as a denaturant, at the present 
 price of wood alcohol it would add 50 per cent to the cost, and we 
 have no reason to expect that, with the price of wood alcohol con- 
 trolled by a trust, that product will be any cheaper. You will see, 
 therefore, the importance of reducing the amount of denaturing 
 material to be used to the minimum that is compatible with safety 
 against fraud in placing the denatured alcohol on the market. 
 
 Regarding the tax, no evidence has been brought to show that the 
 revenue of the Government would be materially affected if the tax 
 were entirely taken off denatured alcohol. I am advised that the 
 honorable Secretary of the Treasury made the statement before your 
 committee recently that in his judgment the revenue would not be 
 materially affected by taking the tax off denatured alcohol. The 
 Government could therefore well afford to pay the additional ex- 
 pense which would be caused by the supervision of the sale of dena- 
 tured alcohol, in view of the enormous benefits which would accrue 
 to the country at large. Furthermore, it would be unfair to tax 
 denatured alcohol and at the same time allow the three or four million 
 gallons of ethyl alcohol used to fortify the sweet wines to go free. 
 I do not want to be understood as advocating a tax on this alcohol, 
 however. 
 
 I think the furthest that the Government ought to go toward 
 putting a tax on denatured alcohol would be to compel the distillers 
 to pay the salaries of the men who are put in supervision over those 
 distilleries; not pay them direct, but pay to the Government, so 
 that the agent or representative of the Government would not be 
 under obligations to the distiller. 
 
 Mr. Needham. Could not a tax be placed on the bond that would 
 cover the employees ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I should judge so. 
 
 Mr. Clark. One cent a gallon would be ample. The distillery 
 that could not distill a thousand gallons a day would not be worth 
 having. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. We pay, however, a great deal of money in North 
 Dakota to have our gasoline and kerosene inspected, and even then it 
 IS of inferior quality. We have a great deal of trouble. It is safer 
 to ship, handle, and use our own denatured alcohol than it is 
 gasoline. 
 
 Mr. McCleaey. Safer in what way ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. Less dangerous to life. It is certainly no more dan- 
 gerous to ship or handle denatured alcohol that it is wood alcohol, 
 especially refined wood alcohol. 
 
 The authorities in England favor the proposition that the expense 
 of supervision should be paid by the Government, and the German 
 Government goes even further by paying a bounty. 
 
 The development of the wood-alcohol industry has been wonderful, 
 and is only another striking illustration of the wonderful ingenuity 
 and energy growing out of the proper combination of brains and cap- 
 ital. Had anyone undertaken to state to this committee twenty-five 
 years ago that from six to ten gallons of alcohol and an equal amount 
 in value of other products could be made from a cord of wood, that 
 person would have been looked upon as a visionary. The success of 
 the wood-alcohol industry may therefore be safely used to illustrate 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 273 
 
 the possibilities of the manufacture and use of denatured ethyl 
 alcohol. 
 
 We have every right to expect that this same combination of brains 
 and capital will so cheapen the production of alcohol as to make it 
 available for every possible use. With the almost endless amount of 
 raw material at hand, part of which at least can be produced in prac- 
 tically every county in the United States, it is discounting the intelli- 
 gence and progressiveness of our people to say that we can not pro- 
 duce ethyl alcohol as cheaply as any other country. New processes 
 will be discovered by which the cost will be cheapened, and new raw 
 materials will be found. 
 
 Our manufacturers in every line of business are doing wonders to 
 cheapen our products, and we daily purchase articles for our con- 
 sumption and use and marvel at their cheapness; and there is no 
 reason to suppose that ethyl alcohol will be an exception to the rule. 
 It therefore seems that all fears that the cost of manufacturing alco- 
 hol will be prohibitive are groundless. 
 
 In view of this I want to impress upon your committee emphat- 
 ically that the question of placing denatured alcohol upon the 
 raarket at a price which will bring it in direct and successful competi- 
 tion with gasoline and kerosene, at least for the purposes of fuel, 
 light, and power, in the agricultural districts of this country, rests 
 entireh' in the hands of this committee. By insisting upon an undue 
 amount of denatured material, or by taxing denatured alcohol, or by 
 hedging the legislation about with too many restrictions, the greatest 
 benefits to be derived from this legislation will be thwarted. 
 
 The Chaiemak. Mr. Marshall, you want to restrict the quality but 
 protect the revenue, don't you ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. Oh, certainly; but you understand there are re- 
 strictions and restrictions. 
 
 The Chaieman. Certainly ; but it seems to me that restrictions can 
 not be any too carefully guarded in such a measure as this. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. They can be too expensively provided for, but not 
 too carefully guarded. 
 
 On the other hand, it would seem that by dealing wisely with 
 these features of the lepslation there can be no doubt in the minds of 
 thoughtful men that it is a question of but a little time when the use 
 of alcohol will supplant the use of kerosene and gasoline throughout 
 the wide sections of the country where relief is most needed and 
 deserved. And under such legislation I do not think that any of us 
 can make an estimate with any degree of certainty as to the enor- 
 mous quantity of this useful material that will be consumed. 
 
 A serious consideration of this subject leads me to believe that 
 provision should be made, first, for the use of pure alcohol in 
 manufactures strictly under bond ; second, for denatured alcohol con- 
 taining from 5 to 10 per cent of ethyl alcohol, for the use of manu- 
 facturers, under necessary rules of regulation ; third, for a mineral- 
 ized denatured alcohol, containing 2^ per cent of a preparation made 
 of four parts of wood alcohol and one part of pyridine bases, and 
 proper coloring matter, known as " completely denatured alcohol " or 
 mineralized denatured alcohol," to be sold freely without restric- 
 tion after it leaves the hands of the manufacturer. These provi- 
 sions in force would give the manufacturing industries a tremendous 
 impetus, and would give the agricultural classes and those allied with 
 
 11058—06 18 
 
27 i FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 them an inexhaustible supply of most excellent and satisfactofy 
 material for fuel, light, and power. 
 
 The provisions for the removal of the tax from denatured alcohol 
 would, as a matter of course, be covered in the bill. The quantity 
 and nature of denaturing material to be used, as well as the size of 
 the distilleries to be licensed, and the regulations governing the super- 
 vision of its manufacture and sale could, of course, either be cov- 
 ered by specific legislation or left in the control of the Comjnis- 
 sioner of Internal Revenue, subject to the approval of the Secretary 
 of the Treasury. To my mind it would be altogether the wisest to 
 do the latter. The regulations prescribed by the Department would 
 naturally be elastic, and could be changed as necessity required with- 
 out the delay of securing Congressional action. It appears to me 
 that it would be very objectionable to legislate as to the exact quan- 
 tity of denaturing material to be used, as it would leave the pro- 
 ducers of denatured alcohol largely at the mercy of the wood-alcohol 
 people, who could probably advance the price at their pleasure. On 
 the other hand, if the regulations were in the hands of the Depart- 
 ment, an advance in price could be met by a reduction in quantity, 
 and the authority of the Department would act as governor. 
 
 What I have said regarding the quantity of denaturing material 
 to be used as affecting the price, and the size of the distilleries to be 
 licensed, will, of course, apply with equal force whether these pro- 
 visions are embodied in the proposed law itself or covered by the 
 rules and regulations prescribed by the Department. 
 
 I am not one of those who believe that the wood-alcohol interests 
 will be seriously injured by this legislation, for T am emphatically 
 of the opinion that the use of denatured alcohol will grow so fast 
 that it will in a great measure provide a market for that product, 
 and that the same energy and ambition that enabled them to build 
 up their tremendous business will enable them to maintain it under 
 the new conditions. I do not care to be placed in the light of oppos- 
 ing any industry. It is only fair, however, to say that the wood- 
 alcohol people are not particularly deserving of protection at the 
 hands of Congress. While they deserve great credit for their enter- 
 prise and energy in developing their magnificent industry, on the 
 other hand, they have taken advantage of the tariff wall on the one 
 side and the internal revenue on the other to extort from the public 
 all the way from 100 to 300 per cent profit, and, promptly conforming 
 to the customs of the times, have organized themselves" into a trust. 
 They have been the fortunate beneficiaries of a most peculiar condi- 
 tion, the like of which has never been known before, ought not to 
 exist now, and should never be known again. 
 
 There is no politics in this proposition. Eepublicans and Demo- 
 crats alike are free traders so far as their home markets are con- 
 cerned. It is a deplorable condition, contrary to the spirit of our 
 institutions, which permits our revenue laws to be used to protect one 
 industry against another. The revenue laws are for the purpose of 
 raising needed funds for the support of the Government, and their 
 functions cease there. 
 
 The people of the Northwest are tremendously interested in this 
 problem. In my district, in the State of North Dakota, practically 
 every local newspaper is vigorously advocating this legislation, and 
 the farminc, agricultural, and daily papers are a unit for it. My 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 275 
 
 mail is burdened with letters and petitions daily. What I sav l^r my 
 own State is true for all the Northwestern States. 
 
 This morning I received a letter from the lady president of a local 
 organization of the W. C. T. TJ. in North Dakota, with whom I am 
 unacquainted, and urging me to do everything in my power to pass 
 this legislation. The Prohibitionists of North Dakota have with- 
 drawn their opposition, and are standing with this proposition almost 
 to a man. 
 
 At the risk of repeating, I want to plead with the committee not to 
 minimize the benefits of this legislation to the farmers and those 
 closely allied with them. We all realize the importance to the manu- 
 facturers, but it would certainly be a fatal mistake to overlook its 
 importance to the agricultural interests, for it will unquestionably 
 develop that of the two theirs is by far the greater. The manufac- 
 turer can get along nicely with 50 cent denatured alcohol, but the 
 farmer must have from 15 to 20 cent alcohol. Your legislation will 
 regulate the price. It rests with you to say whether the price will be 
 placed within the reach of all or whether it will be prohibitive. 
 
 I take it that if your committee takes favorable action on this propo- 
 sition it will report a committee bill rather than any of the bills pend- 
 ing before you. I beg, however, to call attention to the feature or 
 H. E. 12076," introduced by me, which provides severe penalties for 
 the rectification of denatured alcohol, and I urge that those or similar 
 provisions may be adopted, with a view of preventing frauds on the 
 revenue and the use of alcohol as a beverage. 
 
 The Chajeman. I notice you say that the wood-alcohol men have 
 exacted a profit of from 100 to 300 per cent on their article. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I did ; yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. What proof have you of that? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. As I understand it, the statistics show that wood 
 alcohol has cost about'39 cents a gallon, and their selling price now is 
 70 cents, and has been as high as 90 cents. 
 
 The Chaeeman. If sold at 70 cents there would be 75 per cent 
 profit, or about that. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I am not certain; I think it has been sold for a 
 higher price. Mind you, that is in big quantities to manufacturers. 
 
 The Chairman. That is the refined article. If you could prove 
 your assertion it would remove a great part of the objection. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. Of course I can not prove it, but I tell you what I 
 believe. Wood alcohol is a by-product of the manufacture of char- 
 coal and acetate of lime, and it costs the makers little or nothing. I 
 can not prove it, but there are a lot of things that I can not prove of 
 which I am confident. 
 
 Mr. McCall. Can you show any reason why the law. should dis- 
 criminate between grain alcohol and wood alcohol by imposing a tax 
 on grain alcohol and leaving wood alcohol free ? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. In my judgment there is no more reason why there 
 should be a tax on denatured alcohol than on gasoline. 
 
 Mr. Clark. When they were selling this stuff at 90 cents a gallon 
 they were making more than 100 per cent profit. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Do you think it would be more satisfactory if we 
 passed a bill of this kind, and described in the bill how alcohol shall 
 
 o For copy of H. R. 12075 see p. 312. 
 
276 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 be denatured and handled, or to leave it to the Commissioner of In- 
 ternal Revenue to determine that proposition? 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I covered that before you came in, Mr. Under- 
 wood, but I will say that I am against legislation in detail, and I am 
 particularly in this instance in favor of a general bill which would 
 leave it entirely to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. 
 
 ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF DR. HARVEY W. WILEY, CHIEF OF 
 THE BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
 WASHINGTON, D. C.« 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Hill. May I have the privilege of asking Doctor Wiley four 
 questions ? 
 
 The Chairman. Certainly. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I will state. Doctor, that the first two do not bear directly 
 upon this proposition, but the last two do. 
 
 Do you know of any reason, as affecting the revenue or otherwise, 
 why natural domestic alcohol should not have the same treatment in 
 manufacture for export which foreign alcohol now has ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I do not. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Do you know of any reason, as affecting the revenue or 
 otherwise, why natural domestic alcohol should not be used free of 
 tax in bond for domestic consumption for manufacturing in such in- 
 dustries as destroy the alcohol in the process of manufacture, under 
 supervision free of expense to the Government? 
 
 Doctor WiLET. I do not. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Now, the two that bear directly on this legislation in 
 regard to denatured alcohol. Do you know of any reason, as affect- 
 ing the revenues or otherwise, why denatured alcohol, known under the 
 English parliamentary report as ordinry methylation, should not be 
 used under conditions substantially as recommended by that com- 
 mission in this country ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I do not; no; but I would like to make one sug- 
 gestion there. I think that every package containing denatured 
 alcohol in this country should be marked " Poison," and with a 
 skull and cross bones as an additional warning against its being used 
 by mistake. With that qualification I answer that question. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Isn't that incorporated in the law in England? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I don't Iniow whether it is or not. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I think it is, and for that reason I did not cover that 
 feature. 
 
 Do you know of any reason, as affecting the revenue or otherwise, 
 and especially as bearing upon the temperance question, why de- 
 natured mineralized alcohol, known under the English parliamentary 
 report as complete methylation, should not be used under conditions 
 substantially as recommended by that commission in this country? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I know of no. reason why they should not. 
 
 The Chairman. Doctor, do you claim to be an expert on the con- 
 dition of the revenue ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. No, sir ; I do not. 
 
 The Chairman. Or on the temperance question ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. No, sir. 
 
 o For former statement of Doctor Wiley, see p. 111. 
 
FREE AliCOHOL. 277 
 
 The Chairman. Do you wish to make some further statement ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. Only in connection with this last question. I said 
 to the committee when I was here before that the denaturing with 
 pure gasoline or anything of that kind was objectionable on this 
 ground, because by mere dilution the mineral or oil can be separated, 
 and therefore the mineral denaturing should apply to such substances 
 as appear in base, which is not separated by dilution, and therefore 
 can not be rectified simply by dilution. That is what is meant by the 
 English as complete methylation. 
 
 The Chairman. Doctor, do you know of any experiments that 
 have been made in making the alcohol from cornstalks, including the 
 whole plant, showing the amount that can be gotten from a suffi- 
 cient quantity of cornstalks and grain to produce a gallon of alcohol, 
 using the whole thing, all of the corn ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. Only those that I have made myself. At the time 
 the starch, the hardening, makes the complete grain, the cornstalk by 
 analysis contains quite as much fermentable matter as the corn itself ; 
 and if that is utilized, as I have utilized it experimentally, it yields 
 practically the same amount of alcohol from the stalk as from the 
 grain. If you allow the cornstalk to dry up, then it will only con- 
 tain a trace of fermentable matter. If the whole stalk should be 
 used at that period, it would yield about twice as much alcohol as it 
 would when dry. 
 
 The Chairman. What is the nature of that alcohol as compared 
 with grain alcohol for drinking purposes — for instance, making 
 whisky ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. It compares almost directly with grain alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. Is it as good for the purpose of making whisky ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I think so ; fully as good. 
 
 The Chairman. Of course that method could not be pursued except 
 when the grain was at that particular stage, and the whole distilla- 
 tion must be made within a few weeks. You could not run the dis- 
 tillery all the year round. 
 
 Doctor Wiley. In this locality you could begin as soon as the 
 green corn comes on the market. The stalks, as soon as you pull the 
 ears, could be converted into alcohol. The season might last three 
 months in this locality. Farther south it would be longer, and in the 
 north probably only three or four weeks. 
 
 The Chairman. Now, Doctor, considering the length of time that 
 the operation can be practiced, does not that account for the reason 
 that distillers use grain instead of using the stalks and all ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. They could only use the stalks for a very short 
 period ; therefore they prefer to use the grain. 
 
 I want to add this to my other answer: You asked me if alcohol 
 made from the whole plant would be similar to that made from the 
 grain, and I said yes, it would be similar; but you must remember 
 that the alcohol distilled from the stalk is distilled from sugar, and 
 would therefore have more of the characteristics of rum than of 
 whisky. Still the alcohol distilled from the starch in corn would 
 be similar exactly to that used for making ordinary whisky from 
 Indian corn. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. Is there any difference in the value for light, heat, 
 and power ? 
 
278 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Doctor Wiley. None whatever; ethyl alcohol is the same in all 
 cases. 
 
 The Chairman. Do I still understand you that that product would 
 be good for the manufacture of whisky ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Be practical ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. Yes, sir; but the whisky would have a little dif- 
 ferent flavor from the other. 
 
 Mr. Marshall. I just this morning had a letter from Doctor 
 Wiley covering this subject, one feature of which has not been 
 brought out by the questioning. I believe that the corn plant could 
 be shredded and dried and put up until such time as it could be used 
 to make alcohol. I will say that Doctor Wiley says that there is no 
 process invented or known at this time by which that can be done, 
 but I believe it is entirely practicable, and I would like to have 
 Doctor Wiley present his views as to whether or not it could be done, 
 thereby providing for the manufacture of alcohol from the entire 
 plant of the corn the year round. 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I wrote Mr. Marshall that the whole stalk could 
 be cut and put aside where the greater part of the fermentable mat- 
 ter could be preserved, but there is always some fermentation in the 
 silo, some loss. 
 
 The Chairman. That is a rather expensive process. 
 
 Doctor Wiley. Well, as I explained, it would be. Another method 
 would be to dry the material and preserve it in that way, which 
 would be less expensive ; but these are problems which have not been 
 worked out at all, and therefore I could present no valuable opinion. 
 
 Mr. Clark. In making this alcohol from the whole plant does it 
 separate the grain from the other part of the plant and make it in 
 two different ways, or do you grind it all up together — the grain, 
 fodder, stalks, and all ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I will say that I have never made any alcohol from 
 the kernel. In the experiments I made I only used the stalk.' It 
 would make but very little difference whether you put it all together 
 or whether you used them separately. It would be much more con- 
 venient to use them separately. The ear of the corn should be 
 pulled just as it hardens. That would be the best condition for 
 preservation. The stalk could be harvested, for instance, and run 
 through a sugar mill and the juice fermented, but the season would 
 be very short. 
 
 Mr. McCleary. The harvest is very short ? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Suppose they should ear the grain when it is in the 
 milk stage, shock it, and let it dry. Would that preserve this alcohol 
 in the stalk and fodder, or would it evaporate? 
 
 Doctor Wiley. It would all evaporate as soon as the stalks are 
 dried. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Some years ago a dean of an agricultural college out 
 in my country — Professor Sanborn — ^had a theory about cutting corn. 
 He thought that the best time in the year to cut corn for farm pur- 
 poses was to cut it in the milk. stage. His theory was that the corn 
 was just as good, if not a little better, and that he preserved a very 
 large excess of nutriment in the fodder and stalk above what it does 
 when you get out the corn cured. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 279 
 
 Doctor Wiley. I think Mr. Sanborn was partly right in that, 
 because if you out the corn when the blades are still partially green, 
 it makes a better fodder, with more nutriment than if you wait until 
 it is dried. But so far as the sugar is concerned, when it is dried in 
 the shock you will find no sugar in it at all. 
 
 Mr. Williams. The sugar is the only thing you get alcohol from in 
 the stalk ? 
 
 Doctor AViLEY. Yes, sir. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. VICTOR MUEDOCK, A REPRESENTATIVE 
 
 OF THE STATE OF KANSAS. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Mtjedock. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, we live in an age of 
 chemical terror. Doctor Wiley has just said that in case we do have 
 denatured alcohol, a package released into circulation should have 
 upon it a skull and crossbones. Now, as a matter of fact, wood 
 alcohol circulates freely, and with no other label than this: A red 
 label with the word " poison " on it, and with no skull and crossbones. 
 
 The chairman asked Mr. Marshall about the price of wood alcohol. 
 I would like to call the committee's attention to the testimony of Mr. 
 Stevens, I think, who pointed out that the cost of wood alcohol was 
 40 cents and the selling price of the crude was 70 cents. But he said 
 that there were varieties of wood alcohol, one called Columbian spirit, 
 at $1.15, and another one at $1.90 per gallon, which shows that the 
 statement that Mr. Marshall made that the profit on wood alcohol is 
 from 75 to 300 per cent 
 
 The Chairman. Oh, no; the cost of Columbian spirits is a great 
 deal more, is greatly in excess of 40 cents a gallon. What I am try- 
 ing to eliminate in these hearings is anything like " moonshine " 
 about this business. I want to get down to the solid facts. I be- 
 lieve that a law allowing denatured alcohol would be a benefit. But 
 I don't want to give the idea to people that it is going to be a 
 Colonel Sellers's affair, that every man that raises turnips is going 
 to make alcohol. We want to get down to a rock basis upon this. 
 
 Mr. MuEDOCK. I have assumed that the bill which might come 
 out of this committee would either fix the amount of denaturant to 
 be used in methylating alcohol for different purposes or would leave 
 that duty to the Department. The matter is of the greatest impor- 
 tance in either event. I have also assumed that strict governmental 
 supervision will be provided for — that is, supervision over the dena- 
 turing process. The French supervise the quality of the grain alco- 
 hol to be denatured, the quality of the denaturant, the quality of 
 benzine, and the amount of coloring material. 
 
 I speak of this because I believe the larger interest in methylated 
 alcohol is because of the possibilities in its use of cheaper fuel and 
 better light for the farmer. 
 
 I call attention to three factors which will extend or deny this 
 benefit, accordingly as the bill is framed, or the Commissioner of 
 Internal Revenue regulates: First, the per cent of denaturant to 
 be used; second, the amount of tax levied for supervision; third, 
 the limitation of the capacity of the denaturing distilleries. 
 
 In the beginning corn will be used to produce alcohol. Potatoes 
 will come later. So I will deal with corn. So many factors enter 
 iptn t.hp. nricft of cereals that I would not undertake to say to what 
 
280 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 extent an increase in domestic demand of some 25,000,000 bushels 
 of corn annually, this cutting into the price-reducing surplus, would 
 affect the price of com. If it is true that it would affect the price 
 advantageously to the farmer, then, conversely, the growth of the 
 wood-alcohol industry has worked detrimentally to the price of 
 corn, for it has been indicated by testimony here that in the last 
 fourteen years the production of wood alcohol has increased from 
 1,000,000 gallons in 1890 to 12,000,000 gallons in 1904, and this 
 increase has supplanted some 7,000,000 gallons of alcohol made from 
 corn. 
 
 Now, whether or not the farmer is to have direct and tangible 
 benefit from removing the tax on denatured alcohol depends, to my 
 mind, on the language of the bill this committee reports. 
 
 Alcohol, it is said, sold frequently before the civil war at 14 cents 
 a gallon. But most of the advocates of this legislation think the 
 cost in the proposed industry would be, for 180-proof alcohol, below 
 that. Put it at 15 cents. Should the denaturant be specified in 
 the bill or by regulation as crude wood alcohol, with pyridine, at 10 
 per cent, the denaturant alone, with wood alcohol at 70 cents a gal- 
 lon, would increase the price of fuel alcohol to 22 cents. 
 
 Mr. Williams. That statement has been made several times. In 
 making a gallon of this denatured alcohol, when you put 10 per cent 
 of wood alcohol in you take 10 per cent of the other stuff, which is 
 still more expensive, out, so that it decreases the cost of a gallon 
 instead of increasing it. 
 
 Mr. Mttedock. You would decrease at the rate of 15 cents for the 
 wood alcohol, and you would take out 10 per cent of the grain 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Whatever less the wood alcohol costs than the ethyl 
 alcohol costs would be the reduction from the price of a gallon. 
 
 Mr. Muedock. Your grain alcohol would cost 15 cents, and 10 per 
 cent out of that would be considerably less than 10 per cent of the 
 70-cent alcohol added. 
 
 Mr. McCall. Then it would be 20|r cents, to figure it exactly. 
 Your product would be a gallon and one-tenth of the resultant 
 product. 
 
 Mr. Muedock. That is true. If, then, as Commissioner of Internal 
 Revenue, Mr. Yerkes, suggested, 5 cents is added as a tax to cover 
 expenses of supervision, the price would reach 27 cents. Adding 
 the profit of sale, and basing it on half the profit made to-day on the 
 crude product of the wood-alcohol makers (cost, 40 cents; selling 
 price, 70 cents), would bring fuel alcohol to the consumer up to 37 
 cents a gallon. This would shut it out of the markets as fuel and 
 light. 
 
 Mr. Hill. They don't sell it at 70 cents ; that is refined. 
 
 Mr. Muedock. I am talking about the crude wood alcohol which, I 
 understood, would be used for denaturing purposes. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I understand that the first refining as ordinarily used 
 is not absolutely crude ; that the crude sells at about 40 to 50 cents. 
 
 Mr. Muedock. I don't so understand. 
 
 Mr. Hill. What is selling at 70 cents is refined alcohol. 
 
 Mr. CuETis. The crude is less — about 50 cents ; between 50 and 60 
 cents. 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 281 
 
 Mr. Mtjedock. The selling price would be further affected by the 
 limitation of the capacity of a distillery permitted under the law. 
 Mr. Yerkes places it at a minimum of 100 barrels of mash per day. 
 Certainly if the price is to be unhampered and uncontrolled by combi- 
 nation, the minimum should be kept as low as is commensurate with 
 safety in administration. 
 
 With grain alcohol at 15 cents, with a half cent tax or none at all, 
 2^ parts denaturant, fuel and light alcohol would enter the market 
 around 20 cents and have a chance to compete with other fuels and 
 illuminants. In some sections it would dominate. Therefore if 
 denatured alcohol is to reach the farm for fuel and light, and 
 there it is most needed, the reported bill should carry : 
 
 First. As low a per cent of the denaturant as is safe from the perils 
 of recovery, following, if possible, the English formula of 2^ dena- 
 turant to 100 spirits. 
 
 Second. That the tax for . governmental supervision be fixed, if 
 one must be levied at all, at a figure not so high as to discourage the 
 adoption of this fuel and light, at its most critical moment — that is, 
 in the very beginning. 
 
 Third. Such a minimum limitation on fuel-alcohol distilleries as 
 will keep the price beyond artificial manipulation. 
 
 Much has been said here about the drinking of alcohol. Grain 
 alcohol is taken to-day, after dilution, by a species of degenerates 
 laiown to the police as " white liners." They are, in grade, below the 
 opium and cocaine fiends, and not so numerous. The wood-alcohol 
 drinkers belong to the realm of accidents. Denatured alcohol would 
 not be potable of course and would not be taken, even by degenerates. 
 And it would be guarded, no doubt, as wood alcohol is not to-day, by 
 being colored violet as in England, or green, as it is by malachite in 
 France. 
 
 The chance for fraud finds its best opportunity in the interim 
 after the grain alcohol is produced and before the denaturant is 
 added. I do not see why methylated alcohol should not be restricted 
 in its making to the premises where the grain alcohol is produced, 
 the Government not permitting a distillery making alcohol for in- 
 ternal use to denature any portion of its product, or to sell it for 
 denaturing. This would put the tax on the process of denaturing. 
 
 My belief has inclined and my conviction grows that there is 
 wrapped up in proper legislation on this subject a marvelous addi- 
 tion to farm life. 
 
 Forty years ago Horace Greeley, in expatiating on the advanced 
 scientific farming prevailing then, spoke of the farm life of forty 
 years before that, in the days of Monroe and Jackson. He wrote: 
 ■^ Farming, as understood and practiced by those among whom I 
 grew up, was a work for oxen; and for me the life of an ox had no 
 charm. Most of those I knew seemed to till the earth mainly because 
 they could not help it; and I felt I could help it. So I shook from 
 my brogans the dust of the potato patch and stepped out in quest of 
 employment better suited." 
 
 The farm of to-day is beyond what Greeley could have fancied 
 forty years ago when he boasted of agriculture's advancement. 
 
 The modern farmer is the manager of an estate, with ledger record 
 of outgo and income and balances. He supervises in the midst 
 
282 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 of motors and machinery; delves in the mysteries of chemistry, of 
 seed selection; of soil formation; soil enrichment and cultivation. 
 
 Boolis and magazines are on his shelves, a telephone is at his elbow; 
 the newspaper is delivered daily at his door. 
 
 Practically all the creature comforts of city life are his. Three 
 are in part denied him; one, a satisfactory light to ranlc with gas 
 and electricity; another, a cheap, safe, and easily transported fuel; 
 and the other, means of refrigeration. The last, the chlorine addi- 
 tion to denatured alcohol, which has been described here, might 
 bring him. The better light and the cheaper fuel, a large portion of 
 the 6,000,000 farmers believe will undoubtedly come to them through 
 an enactment which will remove the tax from nonpotable denatured 
 ethyl alcohol, made from corn and potatoes, yams, and the residue 
 from sugar beets. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. I think we ought to have this in the record, and this 
 is as good a time and place to put it in as anywhere. 
 
 The statement from the Secretary of the Treasury for the year end- 
 ing June 30, 1905, on page 92, shows that for the years from 1848 
 down to 1863 we had no internal-revenue taxes of any kind in this 
 country on liquor or alcohol or anything else. This of itself ought 
 to be a sufficient answer to those misguided people who think that 
 some reduction in the internal-revenue tax will affect the cause of 
 temperance; also to those people who think that upon the mainte- 
 nance of the present high internal-revenue taxes depends the safety 
 of this Eepublic. No United States works on sociology have ever 
 pointed out that there was any more temperance in this country from 
 1848 to 1863 than there has been in the last year. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. HALVOR STEENERSON, A EEPRESENTATIVE 
 FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Steeneeson. I have prepared no essay upon the subject, but 
 inasmuch as the people in my district take a very intense interest in 
 this proposed legislation, I think it proper that I should urge upon 
 the committee favorable action. 
 
 It seems to me that so far as the question of revenue is concerned, it 
 has been sufficiently answered by the Secretary, the Commissioner of 
 Internal Revenue, and others who have spoken on that subject. 
 
 It seems to me that there has been a good case made out on the 
 question of the probable production of alcohol cheap enough to be 
 used for fuel and light and power by the farmer. It is natural that 
 the people of my district, which embraces the Minnesota side of the 
 great Eed River Valley, should be intensely interested in this matter. 
 The land there, similar to the land in the neighborhood of Mr. Mar- 
 shall's district, is the richest land, perhaps, in the world. The extent 
 of it is over 200 miles north and south ; on our side we have 30 or 40 
 miles in width of what we call the Red River Valley. 
 
 This is a very rich, settled country, where the farms are practically 
 us level as this floor, only a very slight slope, and there is no place on 
 earth where machinery can be used to such advantage in farming opera- 
 tions as in the Red River Valley ; in fact, we are using more modem 
 machinery than any other section, I believe, in the United States. 
 We have potato farms where they raise hundreds ud to thonsanrlQ nt 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 283 
 
 acres by machinery at a very low expense. We use machinery for 
 almost everything. Very few men are employed in proportion to the 
 area that is cultivated ; but, of course, we use chiefly horse and mule 
 power. There are instances, however, where steam has been used 
 upon farms, though it is a little too restricted. The only steam prac- 
 tically now used is for thrashing. But if alcohol can, as stated by 
 these gentlemen who have investigated and who are experts, be pro- 
 duced at a cost that will be practicable and within reach, so it can be 
 rtsed for fuel and light and power, it will be the greatest blessing to 
 that country that can be imagined. We pay now from $10 to $11 a 
 ton for hard coal, which is shipped to Duluth and by rail into the Eed 
 River "Valley. There is no particular scarcity of fuel, but, of course, 
 there is liable to be blockades on railways there in the winter, or by 
 strikes, and the farmer would be at the mercy of the supply people 
 for this fuel. 
 
 The wood supply is not very great and is liable to be exhausted in 
 the near future. So that I can see the reason why the people of my 
 district are constantly reminding me of this measure. I am getting 
 letters every day; not only these petitions that are evidently pre- 
 pared and sent out by the agricultural journals, but letters from im- 
 portant individuals, members of political committees, editors, influ- 
 ential people throughout the district, who are taking a very lively 
 interest in this matter; in fact, more interest is shown in the subject 
 now under consideration than any other subject now pending in Con- 
 gress. And you can easily see the reason why. We have a very long 
 winter, and we have plenty of opportunities for the use of light and 
 fuel, and for mechanical power on the farm. I am sure on this sub- 
 ject I can not further enlighten this committee. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Wouldn't it be cheaper to come down to Missis- 
 sippi ? 
 
 Mr. Steenerson. I think if we came to Mississippi we would 
 transform that wonderful State in a very few years, so as to make it 
 four times as prosperous as now. 
 
 Mr. Williams. We can support whole families on what you re- 
 quire for fuel alone. 
 
 The Chairman. I would like to ask Mr. Steenerson if 30-cent 
 corn is not as cheap fuel as $11 anthracite coal? 
 
 Mr. Steenerson. I don't think so. I know I have been paying 
 $11 for anthracite coal 
 
 Mr. Williams. Wepay $14 in Mississippi. 
 
 Mr. Steenerson. We pay $7 a cord for maple wood. Although I 
 am the owner of 120 acres of very fine timber near town, I have not 
 opposed this on the ground that it would hurt the price of wood, the 
 same as the wood-alcohol people are. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. ROCKWOOD HOAR, A REPRESENTATIVE 
 FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 [For removal of tax. I 
 
 Mr. Hoar. Mr. Chairman, I have not any information on the tech- 
 nical details of this subject on which I coul'd enlighten this committee 
 or contribute to this consideration. I have a great many letters from 
 people of activity and influence in my district who are in favor of 
 denatured alcohol for manufacturing and for mercantile purposes. 
 
 I have received no nrotest s at nil from any of my constituents as 
 
284 TEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 to the proposition involved in its adoption. I suppose it can be 
 adopted for mercantile and manufacturing purposes without endan- 
 gering what is called the temperance question, in which so many peo- 
 ple in Massachusetts are intensely interested. However, every intel- 
 ligent man realizes that a proposition which is urged by the distiller 
 and what is called the " liquor interests " must be considered with a 
 great deal of caution and intelligence by people who are on the 
 temperance side concerning its adoption. I don't think, however, 
 that the question of whether it is for the interests of the manufacturer 
 is a matter that is of especial interest to the people in my district. 
 "We are all friends of the manufacturer and the producer, but it is 
 principally because we have learned that his success and prosperity 
 mvolve the success and prosperity of his employees and of the 
 people of moderate means in the community, and that is the prin- 
 cipal reason why we are interested in everything which makes the 
 price of a manufactured article less and the employment of the 
 workmen more steady and secure. It is the man of moderate means 
 who is enabled, because he can buy his goods cheaper, to have a larger 
 surplus left for the education of his children and the comfort of his 
 household; but whatever adds unnecessarily to Avhat he pays for his 
 goods makes the market less and the chance of steady employment 
 more uncertain. 
 
 Now, it is because I believe that there is no danger to the temper- 
 ance interests in the first place and because there is a great oppor- 
 tunity to make prices less and employment surer that I hope some 
 intelligent scheme can be adopted which will result in the use of 
 denatured alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Mr. Hoar, as a matter of fact, the Total Abstinence 
 Society in Massachusetts has passed a resolution in favor of a well- 
 denatured alcohol. 
 
 Mr. HoAH. Yes ; I find no opposition from any temperance person 
 whatsoever. Those who read the articles that have been reprinted 
 from the London Lancet, which is an able and intelligent magazine, 
 and very different from English journals with reference to drinking 
 denatured alcohol as sold in England and Scotland and Ireland, will 
 see great significance. It says that there is a danger which certainly 
 ought to be avoided, if possible, in its manufacture and sale in this 
 country. 
 
 Mr.CLAEK. Of course you don't know personally anything about 
 the origin of these articles ? 
 
 Mr. HoAE. Not at all; they come openly from the chief official of 
 the Wood Alcohol Manufacturers' Association, and are sent out with 
 his pamphlet and with his address. It is plain enough where they 
 come from. 
 
 Mr. Claek. Do you know whether they first sent out the articles 
 or not ? 
 
 Mr. HoAE. I don't know. I don't think the London Lancet pub- 
 lishes material 
 
 Mr. BoTjTELL. It is reasonable to suppose that the degenerate who 
 would drink denatured ethyl alcohol would, if he could not get it, 
 drink wood alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Claek. They would not drink it very long. 
 
 Mr. HoAE. That is too big a question for me. 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 285 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. WESLEY L. JONES, A REPRESENTATIVE 
 FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Jones. I don't care to attempt to inform the committee upon 
 this question; I could not do that. I simply want to express my 
 interest in this matter, and to state that the people of our State are 
 greatly interested in it. I have tried to follow the hearings as 
 closely as I could, and it seems to me that if the bill could be framed 
 with proper safeguards it would be a very wise measure. That is 
 all I care to say. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. WILLIAM E. JOHNSON, OF LAUREL, MD. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Ctjetis. I understand Mr. Johnson would like to be heard. 
 
 The Chairman. Please give your full name. 
 
 Mr. Johnson. William E. Johnson. I live at Laurel, Md. 
 
 In what little time I have to make some remarks on this subject 
 I don't wish any misapprehension to appear. I do not represent 
 anybody, but I think I have special facilities for knowing and reflect- 
 ing the sentiments of the temperance people of the country on the 
 subject. I am in the employ of the National Prohibition committee 
 as a literary agent. I am, and have been, for three years associated 
 with Mr. John G. Woolley in the preparation of an encyclopedia on 
 the alcohol question, acting as managing editor, and have more than 
 two hundred collaborators throughout the world. I am vice-presi- 
 dent of the Maryland Anti-Saloon League, a member of the Prohibi- 
 tion executive conunittee in the State of Maryland, and director of 
 the department of the alcohol problem of the Bureau of Economic 
 Research. I have followed this subject with much interest for some 
 four years, and while, as I said before, I do not represent anybody 
 on this topic, I think I can reflect the views of the temperance 
 people of the country generally. 
 
 This measure has been agitated in one way or another, I believe, 
 since about 1888, and in all that time not a State or national tem- 
 perance organization of the country has ever opposed it in any way 
 whatever. Not a State or national temperance organization of the 
 country is now opposing it in any way whatever. As a matter of 
 fact, the prohibition leaders of the country, as a rule, almost without 
 exception, are advocating the measure, not wholly as an economic 
 measure, but as a temperance measure, one which we believe will be 
 an indirect advantage to the temperance cause. The reasons for that 
 are simply this : The prohibition philosophy, as it has been preached 
 for twenty years, does not advocate the abolition of anything that 
 has a proper use, so far as that proper use is concerned. The pro- 
 hibition people of this country do not oppose the proper use of any- 
 thing, no matter what it is. The whole prohibition propaganda in 
 this country is directed against the improper use of alcohol as a bev- 
 erage, and nothing else. We regard that as an improper use, a 
 destructive use. So far as the industrial use of the drug is con- 
 cerned, the Prohibitionists, almost without exception, are inclined to 
 favor and encourage it rather than discourage it ai).d oppose it. 
 
 The Prohibition party, and the W. C. T. U., and some other 
 organizations that take a radical view of this temperance question 
 
286 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 have declared again and again for the entire abolition of the whole 
 revenue system. The temperance people as a rule are hostile to the 
 revenue system because they believe that the temperance interests 
 by that system have not been properly safeguarded. The first inter- 
 nal-revenue law, that of 1794, and the law of 1813 
 
 The Chairman. Will you kindly be brief on the subject of the 
 abolition of the entire revenue system, because that question is not 
 before the committee, and there are other gentlemen who desire to 
 be heard before 12 o'clock ? 
 
 Mr. Johnson. I will omit entirely what I had to say on that 
 point. It was only to suggest that the former revenue laws con- 
 tained safeguards for the temperance interests which do not appear 
 in the present legislation. I only desire to address the committee on 
 one other point which is directly before you. Some gentleman the 
 other day presented a number of clippings from English secular 
 papers referring to the improper use of methylated -spirits. I don't 
 know anything about the authenticity of these clippings, and I do 
 not deny them. But the same sort of clippings could be gathered 
 regarding the improper beverage use of wood alcohol, red ink, kero- 
 sene, or the improper use of a large number of the other things. 
 As a matter of fact, a few days ago one of the morning papers had 
 a story about some one making a beverage of creosote. For ten years 
 I have been 
 
 Mr. Williams. Patent medicines ; Jamaica ginger. 
 
 Mr. Johnson. Yes, sir; carbolic acid, for that matter. I do not 
 think a tax of $1.10 a gallon on carbolic acid would discourage suicide 
 very much. Legislation can not well guard against the freaks of a 
 dipsomaniac short of confining him in an asylum. For years I have 
 been in close touch with the temperance leaders of England, Scotland, 
 Germany, and France, and other countries where the temperance re- 
 form is making progress. They have favored this legislation all the 
 time. It has been to their advantage. While it is not strictly temper- 
 ance legislation, it has operated directly to the advancement of the 
 temperance cause in those countries. In Germany especially this legis- 
 lation has resulted in the removal of the opposition of the agrarians to 
 advanced temperance le^''iation. That has been the effect in Ger- 
 many. In England it has been to the advantage of the temperance 
 cause in that it has shown the people that there is a proper use for 
 this article ; and it has led the people to class alcohol more and more 
 along with gasoline and coal oil, and things that are to be used in a 
 proper way, rather than used as a beverage or in an improper and 
 destructive way. 
 
 We believe this legislation would do for the temperance reform in 
 this country what it has done for us in European nations where the 
 policy of tax-free alcohol for proper purposes has been in effect. 
 
 First. It would relieve us of the task of further argument as to 
 what would be done with the capital invested in distilleries if the 
 beverage traffic was prohibited. 
 
 Second. It would relieve us of the burden of explaining what we 
 would do for a market for the farmer's grain in case prohibition went 
 into effect. 
 
 Third. It would enable us to emphasize the argument we have 
 always inade, that prohibitionists are not opposed to the proper use 
 of anything, but only wish the sale of alcohol placed on precisely the 
 
TKEE ALCOHOL. 287 
 
 same footing as bad meat and dangerous drugs— that is, to encourage 
 its use for legitimate purposes, and only prohibit its indiscriminate 
 sale for beverage uses, uses which inflict upon society such a burden of 
 suffering, crime, disease, and misery. 
 
 I dont know that I have anything more to set forth. I have at 
 home a considerable number of letters from prominent prohibition 
 leaders in this country advocating the measure. I have not got them 
 with me. For instance, I have a strong letter from Dr. Isaac K. 
 Funk, of New York, the editor of the Standard Dictionary, and prob- 
 ably the most prominent prohibition leader in New York City. He is 
 very earnest in his advocacy of this measure. I have another letter 
 strongly commending it from Dr. Samuel Dickie, president of Albion 
 College, and for twelve years he was chairman of the Prohibition 
 national committee. I have another strong letter from Dr. James 
 B. CranfiU, of Texas, the strongest prohibition leader in the State 
 and Prohibition nominee for Vice-President in 1888. I have another 
 letter from I. H. Amos, of Portland, Greg., chairman of the Pro- 
 hibition committee of that State, and a large number of others of 
 the foremost leaders of the country. 
 
 There is not a prohibition paper in the United States opposing this 
 legislation. John G. WooUey, editor of the New Voice, is heartily 
 in favor of it. The American Issue and the Lincoln Magazine, the 
 principal organs of the Anti-Saloon League, are advocating such a 
 law as you have under consideration. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM A. OALDERHEAD, A REPRESENT- 
 ATIVE FROM THE STATE OF KANSAS. 
 
 [For removal of tax. For additional statement of Mr. Calderhead see p. 290.] 
 
 Mr. Calderhead. It was what Mr. Lovering here said, a year or so 
 ago, on the floor of the House concerning the advantage of free alco- 
 hol for manufacturing purposes that directed my attention to it, but 
 at that time -I had very little knowledge of the extent to which it 
 entered into the manufacturing products of the country. I have paid 
 very little attention to the manner in which the internal-revenue laws 
 operate upon distilled spirits. I have always had a personal opinion 
 concerning the operation of the internal-revenue tax on liquors. I 
 was a boy in the service in the Army, and was here in Washington at 
 the time the original tax was levied, and I remember very distinctly 
 that the temperance people were agitating a tax of 50 cents a gallon, 
 and that within two weeks the distillers were here advocating a tax 
 of $1 a gallon and obtained it; and immediately they made a busi- 
 ness that was profitable and have had the support of the Government 
 by reason of that tax ever since, until it has grown to be so important, 
 and it seems to me it would be impossible to remove the tax for fear 
 of the injury that we would do to the business of the country. Part 
 of that arises out of the profit of liquor sold as beverages and part 
 from the distilleries. 
 
 I have had a few remonstrances from small societies, temperance 
 people, objecting to the removal of the tax upon alcohol, and their 
 chief objection to it was that the bill was approved by the distillers. 
 Immediately when I explained to them that we were proposing to 
 remove the tax from alcohol that had been denatured, so that it was 
 
288 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 rendered unfit for a beverage, they were satisfied with the explana- 
 tion. And I have had no further remonstrances from them. 
 
 The testimony that has been given before the committee and that is 
 printed in the hearings is of much value to you, more so than any 
 statement that I can make. The testimony of the chemists bewilders 
 me when I listen to them. The testimony of the master of the 
 National Grange concerning the value of this report of the farmers 
 that produce corn, potatoes, and other vegetables and grain products 
 from which this alcohol can be made is better testimony than I can 
 give you. I want to ask your attention particularly to the testimony 
 of the master of the grange, who, I think, demonstrated to you that 
 alcohol could be manufactured at a cost of about 14 cents a gallon, 
 and that would make a price of more than 40 cents a bushel for corn. 
 I think he said 50 cents, but I think one of the other gentlemen 
 stated about 40 cents. 
 
 Every new use that can be made of any farm product is better for 
 them than any legislation for the purpose of protecting — for instance, 
 the protective tariff. The man who can reduce freight rates 5 per 
 cent between the farms of the United States and the factories of the 
 United States does it not for the single crop of one farmer, but for all 
 products, and it will make a greater increase in the value of the 
 property of the country than any other legislation in that direction. 
 Just in the same way this will open up a new business. As I 
 look at it, I do not apprehend any immediate destruction of the wood- 
 alcohol industry by reason of it. The change takes place slowly. 
 The production of this new form of alcohol and the introduction of 
 it in the American arts and sciences will not be done in one day nor 
 done in one year. The change will come slowly, and the business of 
 the country will adapt itself to the new conditions. 
 
 I feel sure from the testimony of Mr. Yerkes, the Commissioner of 
 Internal Revenue, that the problem of its effect upon the revenues of 
 the country will be easily disposed of. I think he stated that it could 
 not exceed $250,000 a year, for the reason that alcohol manufactured 
 for these mechanical and scientific purposes is not made now and 
 pays no revenue now. It costs too much to use it now and pay the 
 tax. If the tax is removed and the alcohol is rendered unfit for use 
 as a beverage it is just that much addition to the manufactured 
 products of the country, in addition to opening up a new business 
 in every line of manufacture into which this element will enter. 
 The list of things into which it enters as a necessary ingredient 
 astonishes me when I look at it. It has been stated by some who 
 have been testifying here, and easily ascertained from their testimony. 
 
 The bill that I mtroduced was with, a limited knowledge of the 
 subject, and yet I thought that it covered the whole purpose of such 
 a bill.'' 
 
 But the testimony of the chemists in the presence of the committee 
 shows that it would be more expensive to remove this denaturing 
 material from the alcohol than to make new alcohol from the original 
 material, so that the penal section will have rare occasion for any use. 
 On the other hand, leaving the administration of the law entirely un- 
 der the control of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner 
 
 o H. R. 7079, for copy of which see p. 310. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 289 
 
 of Internal Revenue insures the operation of the law, and there is 
 little difficulty about executing the internal-revenue law now. 
 . I think I could add nothing more to what I have just stated than 
 the fact that after the close of the investigation that I have given it 
 for two months I believe that it will add to the value of general farm 
 products o-f the country; that it will facilitate the manufacturing 
 output of the country, cheapen it; that every civilized country in the 
 world excepting our own has adopted this policy, and there is no rea- 
 son why We should delay it any longer. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM C. LOVERING, A REPRESENTA- 
 TIVE FROM THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. LovEEiNG. Mr. Chairman, in the few words I have to say I de- 
 Fire to address myself to one feature only concerning this matter, and 
 that is the new upes to which denatured alcohol will be put and the 
 new classes of manufacture that it will develop. A man never finds 
 anything until he looks for it, yet without very great search I am 
 daily learning of new articles to be manufactured out of cotton, for 
 instance — and which I am very familiar with — if we could have de- 
 natured alcohol. You are aware that celluloids are made from cot- 
 ton and alcohol or ether. The alizerine dyes are made from alcohol 
 and coal tar. 
 
 Mr. McCeeaey. Mr. Lovering, in view of some of our conversations, 
 would this help in the matter of making America independent in this 
 matter regarding dyes ? 
 
 Mr. Lovering. Absolutely helpful, there is no question about that. 
 There are two series of aniline dyes, the methylene series and the 
 ethyl group. The methylene of course are made of wood alcohol, but 
 the ethylene are a higher grade of dyes which are very needful in our 
 manufactures to-day. Most of them are imported from Germany, 
 and I apprehend, as Mr. McCreary has said, that the very fact that 
 we do have to import these dyes will operate very strongly in modify- 
 ing the German position in regard to us in the recent tariff contest. 
 
 I might go on and enumerate to you a great many things that can 
 be made with the denatured alcohol. For instance, I heard the 
 other day of a line of silk imitation, artificial silk. That is only a 
 beginning. It can be extended and a great number of manufactures 
 established along the same line. 
 
 Mr. HrLL. Is what is known as nearsilk a product of cotton ? 
 
 Mr. Lovering. Nearsilk is another thing. It is made from mer- 
 cerized cotton. This artificial silk is made directly from cotton, 
 entirely from cotton, dissolved in ether. We can not do it in this 
 country. As you were told the other day, it costs about $3.75 a 
 pound to make that material in this country. But if we could de- 
 nature alcohol we could make it for from 60 to 65 cents a pound. 
 There is a difference, and it would all consume American products. 
 The only artificial rubber that has ever been made has been made in 
 this way with cotton and alcohol. Somehow or other they seem to 
 assimilate. But it is making the best use of alcohol and it will make 
 a very good use of cotton. I don't hesitate to say that I think in a 
 few years it would increase the consumption of cotton many thou- 
 11058—06 19 
 
290 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 sands of bales, hundreds of thousands of bales, just for this purpose. 
 We are making billiard balls of celluloid, combs, brushes, and all 
 that sort of thing. All celluloid products are made of alcohol and 
 cotton. 
 
 Mr. Williams. What you have not time to name, Mr. Lovering, 
 can you not make a list of and hand to the clerk so that they will be 
 included in the hearings? 
 
 Mr. Lovering. Yes."^ One more thing. I learned only recently of 
 the manufacture in this country of a product to be used in cleaning 
 machinery, something that cuts the grease. You know what that 
 means if you have been in a printing office. They use benzine and 
 oil for cleaning purposes now. If they could have a cheap alcohol it 
 would be another agent for that purpose of great value. It is particu- 
 larly useful in a printery. I am told that they would like very much 
 to use alcohol, but they do use benzine ; but alcohol is better. 
 
 ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM A. CALDERHEAD. 
 
 [For removal of tax. For former statement of Mr. Calderhead see p. 287.] 
 
 Mr. Calderhead. Just one moment. I want to draw your atten- 
 tion to the fact that the principal use of this alcohol will be the heat- 
 ing and lighting of 90 per cent of the houses in my district, which are 
 lighted with lamps using kerosene. There are two or three gasoline 
 engines in every township in my district, and in every town of a 
 thousand people there are two or three. In towns of 10,000 people 
 there are a dozen gasoline engines. The use of alcohol for power and 
 light in my district will be a most important thing. 
 
 Mr. Hill. "V\Tiat do you pay for gasoline ? 
 
 Mr. Calderhead. Eighteen cents a gallon over most of the district. 
 There are one or two places in the district, by reason of the railroad 
 competition, where it is sold at 16 cents, and one or two places where 
 it is sold at 20 cents. The price of kerosene is about the same as the 
 price of gasoline. But the number of engines is increasing, and 
 within five years at the same rate practically every good farm of IGO 
 acres in the whole district will have a gasoline engine upon it for 
 pumping, or grinding feed, and other uses of that kind. They need 
 this new fuel — that is what the chemists describe it to be. 
 
 The Chairman. This closes the hearings, so far as I know, with 
 the exception of Secretary Shaw, who will be here this afternoon. 
 
 Whereupon, the committee, at 12 o'clock noon, took a recess until 
 2 o'clock p. m. 
 
 « For this list see p. 409. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 291 
 
 SIXTH DAY— AFTERlSrOON SESSION. 
 
 Friday, March 2, 1906—2 p. m. 
 
 The committee reassembled, pursuant to adjournment, with the 
 chairman, Hon. Sereno E. Payne, in the chair. 
 
 Present: The chairman, and Messrs, Grosvenor, McCleary, Mc- 
 Call, Hill, Boutell, Curtis, Needham, Williams, Clark, Cockran, Un- 
 derwood, and Granger. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. LESLIE M. SHAW, SECKETARY OF THE 
 
 TREASURY. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 The Chairman. Gentlemen, we will hear Secretary Shaw on the- 
 subject of free alcohol denatured. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. This is a subject, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, 
 that I have been interested in for two or three years, and concerning 
 which I contemplated putting a recommnedation in my last report, 
 but the condition of the Treasury was such then that I dared not 
 do it. I have talked with a number of people about it, and I be- 
 lieve it is of great importance. It means much to the agricultural 
 interests, especially in the grain-producing States, and much to the 
 manufacturing interests. I say it means much to the grain-produc- 
 ing States directly, as furnishing a direct market for grain, and then 
 that it will directly benefit all agricultural communities, in that it 
 will aid manufacturing and thus furnish a market for all classes of 
 agricultural products, cotton included. 
 
 But while I hesitated last year to put a recommendation for this 
 legislation into my report because of the condition of the Treasury, 
 the condition of the Treasury has now very greatly improved 
 
 Mr. Hill. I congratulate you. 
 
 Secretary Shaw (continuing). Beyond anyone's anticipation. We 
 are now running on a surplus. Of course it is not large yet; but a 
 year ago we had a deficit of $25,000,000 for the current fiscal year, 
 and now we have a surplus of a little over a million, so that we can 
 stand a little loss in revenues for so great an enterprise. 
 
 I dare not guess what the cost will be, and while there are plenty 
 of people willing to furnish an estimate, perhaps under oath [laugh- 
 ter] , I doubt if anyone would be willing to give bonds. 
 
 Mr. Grosvenor. Mr. Secretary, do you believe it can be ascertained 
 with any kind of reasonable approximation ? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. I do not. Of course, reasonable approximation 
 depends a little upon what you mean as " reasonable." " As between 
 a half million and a million or ten million there is a wide scope. Of 
 course I do not believe it will cost us anything like $10,000,000, and 
 yet if it did cost, say, $10,000,000, we could probably stand it. As we 
 are running now we could easily stand ten million a year, because we 
 have a surplus against which we could draw, if you please, or which 
 could be consumed, if necessary. So that I do not care to be heard 
 upon that phase of it. I think it is pretty largely a guess, and for 
 that reason I would hesitate to advise that it should now be furnished 
 free. 
 
292 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Now, I want to make this suggestion, Mr. Chairman, if you please : 
 That if you put a small tax upon it, enough to somewhat more than 
 pay the expense of administration — and I suppose everyone will 
 agree that it ought to pay the expense of supervision in that, re- 
 spect 
 
 Mr. Geosvenoe. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue thought 
 that 5 cents would be enough. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. I was going to say that 6 cents a gallon will 
 possibly cover the loss. I do not think it will more than cover the 
 loss. No one can tell how much will be consumed. But I am going 
 to make this suggestion, that you put on 5 cents a gallon for two 
 years, and put it all in one bill, and thereafter let the Secretary of 
 the Treasury assess against the various producing plants such a tax 
 as will pay the administration. 
 
 Now, to work out the logic of this, you put this in operation the 1st 
 of July, 1907, and on the 1st of July, 1909, when we will be in 
 shape to look out for more revenues if they are necessary, and regard- 
 less of who may be successful or who may not be successful — that is 
 probably the time when readjustment of revenue would naturally 
 come — ^I say, between the 1st of July, 1907, and the 1st of July, 1909, 
 you have put alcohol practically free in the hands of our manufactur- 
 ers for our chemicals, and our factories, and our gunpowder, if you 
 please, and things of that kind, everything else except illumination 
 and for the explosive engines. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Mr. Secretary, by a tax of 5 cents a gallon, do you 
 mean an import duty? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Oh, no. I would propose to let that stand, and 
 that we give ourselves the monopoly of furnishing this free alcohol. 
 The term " free alcohol " has to be explained. " It does not mean free 
 from customs tax, but free from the internal-revenue tax, approxi- 
 mately. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Now, then, this 5 cents a gallon duty, reduced to 
 a percentage basis, would be about 30 per cent ad valorem 
 
 Mr. CooKEAN.- About 50 per cent, would it not be? 
 
 Mr. Williams. It would be about 30 per cent, if it is worth 18 or 
 19 cents. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. They talk about 10 cents a gallon. Somebody 
 had a statement here from the distilleries where it cost a little over 10 
 cents. 
 
 Mr. Williams. At 18f , which seems to me about the best thing I 
 have seen as to what it could be furnished for. If you put it at 20 
 cents, of course that would be exactly at 20 per cent, and down at 
 ISf cents it would be between that and 30 per cent, and nearer 30 
 per cent. I' just asked that question in order to show that 5 cents 
 a gallon would not be a very small tax. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. It would not be a very small tax, but as compared 
 with what we now pay it is a pretty small tax. From our standpoint 
 of what it now costs, it will make possible the building of our chem- 
 ical factory. 
 
 The Chaieman. Will you give us an estimate of what it will cost 
 to take care of this denatured alcohol — the cost to the Government? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Commissioner Yerkes and I made our guesses 
 separately [laughter], and we came within $50,000 of each other. 
 That is to say, I guessed $200,000 and he guessed $250,000. This you 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 293 
 
 must provide in the bill, because you can not start one of these fac- 
 tories and give it supervision with nothing to pay for that when you 
 start it. You must make the appropriation in the bill or we have 
 nothing to operate with. 
 
 The Chairman. I was going to ask what officials you would have 
 to have in each factory, and how many would be necessary ? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. You see this is entirely a new proposition. You 
 can guess as well as I can. Here is a factory, say, starting at Boone, 
 Iowa. That is where I should expect the first factory to be estab- 
 lished. [Laughter.] It is being constructed for the purpose of man- 
 ufacturing denatured alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. You would have to have the highest degree of 
 supervision in such a place as that in order to collect the revenue? 
 [Laughter.] 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Yes; that is just the place where you would find 
 'the safest men to supervise it. [Laughter.] 
 
 The Chairman. And of course they would be the most expensive. 
 [Laughter.] 
 
 Mr. CocKRAN. Would you not have to denature the management? 
 [Laughter.] 
 
 Secretary Shaw. No. They would have to be on the ground while 
 the factory was being constructed. We will have to send men, I 
 suppose, to Europe to examine those factories there, and see how they 
 are operated there. You certainly do not want to take out a barrel 
 of alcohol and then get a barrel of wood alcohol and pour it from one 
 to the other. You must have some mechanical process which is the 
 least expensive and the most certain; and in order to put those in, 
 the factory should be constructed under supervision and approved, 
 and in order to do that we ought to have an engineer examine the 
 distilleries of Europe that are doing the same thing and have him 
 study this process and ascertain what it will cost the Government to 
 supervise that process. 
 
 The Chairman. "V\Tiat is the examination force in any distillery 
 now, approximately? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. I can not tell you that. Commissioner Yerkes 
 can tell you the exact number. 
 
 Mr. Grosvexor. You would expect to supervise this commodity 
 until it reaches the manufacturer — that is, until he bought it? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. No. My idea is that a factory should be limited 
 to either potable or denatured alcohol. They should not be permitted 
 to manufacture both kinds. Now, when they are manufacturing in 
 one distillery potable alcohol you need not follow it after it leaves 
 the factory. Nothing goes out of this except the legitimate product. 
 Mt. Geosvenor. After you get your money you do not care what 
 they do with it ? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. No ; do not care what they do with it. Of course, 
 you must put in the bill a provision for the use of low-tax grain 
 alcohol in bonded factories, because I am not certain that they can 
 use denatured alcohol, perhaps, to make powder, and if it also be 
 
 true that you can not use it to make 
 
 Mr. Underwood. Gun cotton? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Yes ; gun cotton, and a great number of things. 
 1 do not know but that denatured alcohol used in one way might 
 spoil it for varnish. 
 
294 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 In those things you must give the Department the greatest pos- 
 sible latitude, and, if you will pardon me, I will niake this suggestion : 
 Omit from the bill any description of the way in which it shall be 
 done, but authorize the erection and operation of the distilleries for 
 the production of nonpotable or denatured alcohol, and then give the 
 Secretary of the Treasury and the Commissioner or Internal Revenue 
 authority, a limited authority, to put that in operation, because you 
 can not amend the law. We can make regulations and amend them. 
 The only difficulty I have is running uj) against the law. [Laughter.] 
 
 Mr. Williams. The whole Administration does not share that 
 difficulty. [Laughter.] 
 
 Secretary Shaw. I can amend my own regulations without very 
 much difficulty, but your bills, your statutes, are what trouble me. 
 [Laughter.] 
 
 Now, I want you to fix this so that we can make the reflations 
 and amend those as we may find it necessary, and we will give you a 
 product that will not be used as an intoxicating beverage, but will 
 be used for manufacturing purposes, and the intent will be carried 
 out. But if you say it will be denatured with this and that and the 
 other thing, when you do that you will find 
 
 Mr. Grosvenoe. You do not want it to be so specific as to become 
 a body of limitations? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. No. You want it to operate practically. You 
 want to take off the bridle. 
 
 Mr. Underwood. You want to say that this should be done under 
 such rules and regulations as the Department shall prescribe? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Yes; and for the manufacture m bonded estab- 
 lishments. 
 
 Then you ought to provide for the withdrawal of alcohol under 
 such regulations as you may prescribe; and then, of course, it will 
 be necessary for a man to be in those factories to see that the alcohol 
 is not taken out except under supervision. You can put on the penal- 
 ties, if you please, for the violation of the law and making improper 
 use of the product. I think those penalties should be very strong, 
 because the temptation would be very great. When you are pro- 
 ducing from that still a product that is worth above a dollar a 
 gallon, of course it would be quite a temptation to let a little escape; 
 and you want to fix that just as severely as you do the prohibition 
 against distilleries under the present internal-revenue laws. 
 
 Mr. McClbary. In other words, you want the laws of denaturing 
 to be pretty strictly enforced? .[Laughter.] 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Yes. 
 
 Mr. Clark. You never did finish your statement as to what would 
 happen after the year 1909. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Yes. In the meantime we will begin to put this 
 into the arts ; jthe chemical factories will spring up, and they will use 
 it not only for making the dyes, but for a- good many other things, 
 and they will know that the tax comes off; and knowing that it is 
 coming off is almost as good as taking it off^ and saves your revenues. 
 Why? If it is coming off your factory goes up. It is planned for. 
 It has been experimented with, and you Iniow that it can be used for 
 such and such purposes. My judgment is that some opposition that 
 might arise to the bill will be warded off if you protect pretty well the 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 295 
 
 revenue. I do not believe that you can very well overestimate the 
 importance of this measure. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. I wanted to ask you this one question, Mr. Secre- 
 tary, and pardon me a moment before I ask it while I develop the 
 thought I have in mind. I am one of those who believe that all 
 internal-revenue taxes are to a more or less extent burdensome upon 
 our domestic industries. I would like to see the time when we could 
 go back to the period which the country enjoyed from 1849 to 1863, 
 when we had no internal-revenue taxes of any kind, and therefore 
 I do not believe that anybody in any industry has what might be 
 called a " proprietary interest " in any tax. The condition m this 
 country now is that by our internal taxes we are the only civilized 
 nation in the world that prohibits the use of alcohol for every pur- 
 pose except that of drinking. That is the testimony of the prohibi- 
 tion man who was here this morning. That is the evidence of the 
 wood-alcohol men, who would be witnesses against themselves. Their 
 evidence was to the effect that wood alcohol had substantially sup- 
 planted all alcohol used in the arts, so that there would be no effect 
 upon the revenue. 
 
 Xow we have come to the point where we are to decide whether it 
 is wise to let this industrial agent, used in the arts and industries for 
 light, heat, and motive power, be free of tax. Now, if we had no 
 tax, such as was the case between the years 1849 and 1863, we would 
 not have these bills and we would not have these hearings. The only 
 reason why we have got to denature alcohol and throw these restric- 
 tions around this product is because we continue the tax on potable 
 alcohol. 
 
 Now, the thought in my mind was this: Instead of giving the 
 farmers of this country a cheap means of buying light, heat, and 
 motive power; instead of taxing them, had we not better increase 
 the tax on potable alcohol — drinking alcohol — a cent a gallon, if we 
 need any more revenue? In other words, I am very clear in my 
 mind that if the facts, as we have them from the experts, are cor- 
 rect and true, we ought to give the farmers and the manufacturers 
 of the country this great industrial agent at a cost sufficiently low 
 as to put it fully within their reach for use. Prior to 1863 every- 
 body had it both for drinking and for use; and the thought in my 
 mind is whether, if it is necessary to have $250,000 more or revenue — 
 whether we can not put a cent a gallon more tax on potable alcohol ? 
 
 Mr. Geosvenoe. In that way you would tax every man in order to 
 benefit a few ? 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. No; that is not the thought, General, at all. The 
 thought is that the tax is necessary on the drinking alcohol, and the 
 freedom should be on the alcohol used in the industries and arts. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. I will not go into that line of theorizing, if you 
 please. I will just run up against the practical facts of it. I might 
 join you in that theory, but I think I know where you would bring 
 up if you undertook to amend the revenue laws by which you might 
 get more revenue from any particular source. Your efforts would 
 either end in discussion or in no bill. 
 
 Mr. CocKEAN. Why, Mr. Secretary? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. One reason is because my good friend [addressing 
 Mr. Cockran] is in Congress, and would not allow a revenue law to go 
 
296 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 through without having some plan of his own to incorporate in it. 
 [Laughter.] 
 
 Mr. CocKEAN. I will take Mr. Boutell's plan right now, without 
 the slightest amendment. 
 
 Mr. BouTELL. Do not misunderstand me, Mr. Secretary. I do not 
 think we need any more revenue; but if more revenue is needed 
 
 Secretary Shaw. If you think you can get this through without 
 any tax at all — I would almost — if you think you can get it through 
 and not pay its expenses — I would be the last man to raise my 
 voice against it. But I am here giving a little advice, thinking I 
 know a little of the sentiment of the country ; and I think if you 
 can get this through now, subject to a little tax — get it through 
 with certainty now — that in a few years the tax will all be gone, and 
 you will have removed the objections that will be raised; and per- 
 haps this is the strongest objection. If you remove that and you get 
 this provision made for two years, you have accomplished a great 
 thing, in my judgment, and with an economy of time and trouble; 
 and I am looking as much to avoiding trouble as I am to the ultimate 
 results. So far as revising the revenue laws is concerned, if you 
 should go into that you would get before you knew it into a partisan 
 contest. 
 
 Mr. Cockean. Eevising an internal tax like this? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. If you get to revising any revenue matter at all, 
 you will find before you get through with it in this year of grace 
 that you are in a partisan measure, and this ought not to be that. 
 This is too big for partisanship. 
 
 Mr. Cockean. Quite so. Why would not the reduction of the duty 
 to 5 cents open the door to party controversy, i^ you please, quite as 
 much as a total abolition of the tax would ? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. If you think you can get it through without any 
 tax at all, I do not want to stand here and oppose it, even if it should 
 cut down the revenue somewhat. I am disposed to think we can spare 
 the cut. 
 
 Mr. Williams. It is a very close question, even if people can get 
 this commodity without any tax, get it free, whether they will get it 
 cheaply enougiti to compete with the things that can be used for fuel, 
 light, and power. It is so close a question that it seems to me that 
 5 cents a gallon added to its cost to the purchaser would exclude it as 
 a competitor with other commodities used in the production of fuel, 
 light, and power. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. I have one thought in this that possibly has not 
 occurred to you or possibly it has. My judgment is that in many 
 manufacturing industries— for instance, the hat industry — they use 
 alcohol in making hats — and my judgment is that in the tariff on 
 hats a differential representing the cost of the alcohol was worked into 
 the tariff rate, so that they are protected now, even in its use. 
 
 Mr. Williams. I am not talking about that. I do not suppose it 
 jvould make much difference — the small amount needed or employed in 
 the hat business. 
 
 Mr. Hill. I was here when the schedule was drawn. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Down in my friend Mr. Clark's district his people 
 are looking for a great deal of relief through the use of this stuff as 
 a power producer in connection with the use of agricultural ma- 
 chinery. Even at 19 or 20 cents it is questionable whether it will 
 
FEEE AliCOHOL. 297 
 
 not be too high to compete with some things that are now being used. 
 If you make it 25 per cent higher, you are ]ust cutting off its competi- 
 tive use with kerosene or gasoline, or~ those other things by just that 
 much as a direct agent for fuel, light, and power. Now, of course, 
 the quantity used in the manufacture of hats is so very small in com- 
 parison with the total value of the finished product that it would 
 not make much difference. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Let me make myself clear. I grant you that the 
 5-cent tax would be prohibitive on power for two years. It will not 
 be prohibitive on chemicals, and hats, and in a great many other 
 ways. It will not be prohibitive on the erection of distilleries. It 
 will not be prohibitive on an experiment conducted in good faith, 
 and you will then know exactly, when it is produced, what the effect 
 is going to be a year later, when the other 5 cents comes off; and 
 planning for that is almost as good as taking it off at the outset. 
 If you avoid and escape the opposition, which will probably be the 
 main opposition, if any, it will be the question of revenue. I do not 
 know how the Speaker of the House feels about it, but if he objects 
 to it at all it will be on the score of revenue. I need not tell you that 
 he is a little jealous along those lines, and the same thing is true as 
 to the other end of the Capitol. Of course that is for your committee 
 to consider and determine. 
 
 Mr. CocKEAN. You say the 5-cent tax, so long as it lasts, will prac- 
 tically shut this out as a competitor or competitive agent in produc- 
 ing heat, light and power ? 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Yes. 
 
 Mr. CocKEAN. That is the main object of it, is it not, to produce a 
 cheap and available agent for the production of heat, light, and 
 power? That would practically rob or deprive the agent of its 
 cheap contributing power in the production of heat, light, and 
 power ? 
 
 Mr. Williams. That would exclude the farmer from all benefit 
 from it except the little increased sale of his corn. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. You put this bill in operation on the 1st of July, 
 1906; you and I will agree that the farmer will not get to using 
 very much of this product for his gasoline engine before the 1st day 
 of July, 1907, and you have then postponed it a year. I am so 
 favorable to this proposition that, rather than see this thing defeated 
 now — and you do not know when you will get it in as good shape as 
 now — I would say a delay of one year is not worth batting an eye 
 over. 
 
 Mr. Clark. Now, it has been variously estimated here as to what 
 the consumption would be, and the lowest consumption that anybody 
 who attempted to get at it estimated was 50,000,000 gallons a year, 
 and the highest guess as to the amount of consumption in the next 
 two years was 200,000,000 gallons in a year. Now, for convenience, 
 take the lowest estimate of 50,000,000 gallons, and a tax of 1 cent per 
 gallon would raise $500,000 a year revenue, and that is as much as 
 the superintendence of this thing would be likely to cost. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. Yes; practically. But, mark you, it will be a 
 little strange if we consume at the end of one year as much as Ger- 
 many does after a century of experiment and production. 
 
 Mr. Clahk. Yes. 
 
298 TREE ALCOnOL. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. It is idle to talk about 50,000,000 gallons. Talk 
 rather about 10,000,000 gallons at the end of one or two years, and 
 then you are doing very well. 
 
 Mr. Williams. At 10,000,000 gallons a 2-cent tax would raise 
 $200,000. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The man who gave the highest estimate here was a 
 manufacturer, and a very intelligent kind of man he was, too — a man 
 from Detroit, whose business it was to manufacture internal-combus- 
 tion engines ; and his estimate was that they would consume 200,000,- 
 000 gallons a year. Of course, I do not think they would consume 
 to exceed five or six million gallons the first year. Your idea is that 
 that factory would seek to make special products to meet this trade 
 as soon as it could be gotten cheap enough. But you must start 
 somebody to make it in the meantime, and unless we get this alcohol 
 as cheap as kerosene and this other stuff — ^gasolene — it is not going 
 to be a competitor in our part of the countrj^— yours and mine — and 
 we are interested at both ends of this proposition — to make the alco- 
 hol and to use it after it is made. 
 
 Secretary . Shaw. We would rather send the farmer to his corn 
 crib to light his house than to any corporation that we know anything 
 about. 
 
 Mr. Clark. These New England brethren get one benefit out of it. 
 They can not make alcohol, because they have nothing to make it out 
 of, but they can use it after it is made. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. I believe you will avoid some difficulty and accom- 
 plish about as much if you remove the tax at the end of two years. 
 
 Mr. Hill. Mr. Secretary, have you given any attention at all to 
 this proposition that the form of methylation for manufacturing 
 should be taxed and the form of methylation for light and power 
 should not be taxed ? That is, put the tax on the one for two years, 
 and let the other off? That is a suggestion that might be worth 
 thinking of. 
 
 Secretary Shaw. If that can be worked out, I would say. Yes. I 
 do not know that it can be, but possibly it can. You will readily see 
 there is not difference enough, I think, worth discussing. It is just a 
 question as to which will pull through with the least pressure and the 
 least amount of doubling up. [Laughter.] Is there anything fur- 
 ther, gentlemen ? 
 
 The Chairman. Nothing further, I think, Mr. Secretary. We are 
 much obliged to you. 
 
 Mr. Volstead desires to be heard for a few moments. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. ANDREW J. VOLSTEAD, A REPRESENTA- 
 TIVE FROM MINNESOTA. 
 
 [For removal of tax.] 
 
 Mr. Volstead. Mr.* Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I 
 was busy this forenoon, so that I wiU beg the indulgence of the com- 
 mittee for a few moments now. 
 
 I want to call the attention of the committee to the situation up in 
 our country ; that is, I want to call attention to the fact that there is 
 a strong feeling up there in favor of denatured alcohol. There is no 
 question about it. 
 
 I do not desire or intend to enter upon any general discussion of the 
 merits of this proposed legislation. I simply want to refer to the 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 299 
 
 demand for this legislation ^Yhich I know exists in my section of the 
 country, and to offer some observations upon a few of the objections 
 made to it. 
 
 In my State the leading daily newspapers have contained a number 
 of editorials urging this legislation. Nearly every issue has of late 
 contained something in its support. The farm papers are especially 
 enthusiastic for it. The newspapers in my district urge it strongly, 
 and local organizations of farmers have sent me resolutions urging 
 its passage. Nearly every mail brings several letters and petitions 
 advocating it. I do not know of a single paper in the State oppos- 
 ing it. 
 
 The only communication that I have received in opposition came 
 from Pittsburg, Pa. That the demand for this legislation is general 
 and insistant is beyond question. Those who oppose this legisla- 
 tion have urged, among other things, the following considerations: 
 First, that denatured alcohol should not be permitted until the supply 
 of wood alcohol is exhausted ; second, that the denatured alcohol can 
 not be sold for less than 40 cents per gallon ; lliat this will prevent its 
 use for light, heat, and power, and as a consequence its use will be 
 so limited as to deprive the farmers of any benefit in an enlarged 
 market for farm products. 
 
 In support of this first contention it is urged that this has been the 
 course pursued in Europe — a contention unfounded and immaterial; 
 and it is further urged that it would only take about fifteen years 
 before the supply of wood alcohol would be exhausted here. If you 
 gentlemen conclude to wait the fifteen years now asked, you or your 
 heirs will find these same gentlemen at the end of that period asking 
 for another fifteen years. They will never be ready to quit as long 
 as there is a strick of timber left. I do not believe that the use of 
 denatured alcohol will cause any great hardship to the people inter- 
 ested in wood alcohol, though I concede that they will be deprived of 
 some of the profits now realized. 
 
 It was admitted in 1896, before the joint committee of Congress 
 examining this subject, that the price of wood alcohol was fixed arbi- 
 trarily, almost, without reference to the cost of production, and it is 
 practically admitted that the price is so fixed now. It was a monopoly 
 then, and is no doubt more of a monopoly now. Conceding that the 
 price of wood alcohol may be somewhat reduced, the parties produc- 
 ing it are in a position to largely recoup their losses by an additional 
 charge for their other products. But even though it should be con- 
 ceded that the enactment of this law would cause a large loss to the 
 wood-alcohol interests, they have no right to complain. They knew 
 when they made their investments that Congress might at any time 
 change the law so as to allow the production of denatured alcohol 
 free of internal-revenue tax. They do not claim that they have in 
 any way been misled. They took their chances, the same as other 
 people, against contingencies that might injure their business. They 
 have no special equities to plead. They ruined the business of others 
 engaged in producing charcoal ; they took from the distillers of grain 
 alcohol the opportunity to sell their product for the purposes for 
 which wood alcohol is now used, and at the same time they deprived 
 the Government of millions of dollars annually in internal revenue. 
 
 The industrial evolution demands the survival of the fittest, and 
 does not permit any individual industry to block the path of prog- 
 
300 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 ress. It can not be denied that this law would work hardships. 
 Still it is no doubt wise. The invention of the printing press ruined 
 the old copyist. The reaper and self-binder took from the farm 
 laborer a large share of his work. The modern factories for making 
 shoes and clothing drove most of the shoemakers and tailors into the 
 streets to look for other avenues of employment, and the type-setting 
 machine made it possible to dispense with thousands of typesetters. 
 The wood-alcohol industry survives in Europe, with denatured alco- 
 hol there, and will survive here under like circumstances. They know 
 that ruin will not result from the enactment of the proposed law. 
 They never would have made their investments in the face of such 
 danger. 
 
 The contention that denatured alcohol can not be made cheap 
 enough so as to be used for light, heat, and power merits some con- 
 sideration. To establish this contention it is said that grain alcohol 
 is now sold at 38 cents per gallon, while kerosene and gasoline, that 
 would compete with denatured alcohol, sell at a small fraction of that 
 =u7n. These facts are not at all controlling. In 1896, when this sub- 
 ject was last investigated by Congress, the price of grain alcohol was 
 23 cents per gallon, and it has even been sold at a lower figure than 
 that. The economies of production are greater now, and an abun- 
 dance of material can be produced that will more than compete in 
 cheapness with the material producing that cheap alcohol. 
 
 During the last year gasoline has sold in my district at about 20 
 cents per gallon, and kerosene at about 15 cents. Alcohol can, no 
 doubt, be sold at less than 20 cents per gallon. The records of the 
 Commissioner of Internal Revenue show that a number of distillers 
 produce five gallons of proof alcohol from one bushel of corn. The 
 by-products of distillation are said to more than pay the cost of pro- 
 duction — a fact that has been asserted without' denial at these hear- 
 ings. This would make the cost of a gallon of alcohol 90 per cent 
 pure about 11 cents per gallon, if produced from corn at 30 cents per 
 bushel. 
 
 The farm price of corn in my district has not averaged 30 cents 
 during the last ten years. I have sold more or less of corn during 
 that time, and I do not remember that I have ever received more than 
 30 cents per bushel. 
 
 To produce the present commercial alcohol, it has to be redistilled 
 so as to eliminate from it the fusel oil. This diminishes the quantity 
 and adds quite a little to its expense. The presence of fusel oil in the 
 alcohol would not interfere with its use as denatured alcohol. I am 
 assured by parties who claim to know, that alcohol can be produced, 
 not from corn, but other products unsuited for potable spirits, at 
 from 6 to 8 cents per gallon. But even conceding that it can not be 
 sold for less than 20 cents per gallon, a figure at which it has been 
 on the market, it will still be largely used for light, heat, and power, 
 even where kerosene and gasoline are less in price, because it possesses 
 advantages that make it very much more desirable. 
 
 If I am correctly informed, it stands undisputed in these hear- 
 ings that one gallon of denatured alcohol will give as much light 
 as two gallons of kerosene. It appeared that this is not a matter of 
 speculation, but of practical test. Nor is it disputed that alcohol 
 gives a bright white light, very closely resembling the incandescent 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 301 
 
 electric light. It is free from smoke and practically clean, while 
 the lierosene lamp always emits more or less of a disagreeable odor, 
 is difficult to keep clean, and gives, in comparison, a dingy-looking 
 light. 
 
 As denatured alcohol at 30 cents per gallon will give as much and 
 a better light than kerosene at 15 cents per gallon, it will easily com- 
 pete in large sections of the country. The internal combustion engine 
 has been greatly improved during the last few years. It is greatly 
 in demand, and especially so on the farm, but with its present fuel, 
 gasoline, is so dangerous that its sale is restricted to places where 
 the danger from fire is small. The alcohol engine is said not to be 
 dangerous and to otherwise answer the same purposes as the gaso- 
 line engine. It is free from the disagreeable odor of the gasoline 
 engine 'and more reliable, as it is not necessary to control the mixing 
 of air and alcohol to the same extent as it is necessary to control 
 the mixing of air and gasoline to produce the proper explosion. 
 
 The Chairman. In Germany they use 25 per cent gasoline for 
 motors. The gasoline they think necessary in order to ignite and 
 consume the alcohol in the cylinder. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The reason they do that in the motor business is 
 that the gasoline seems to start the combustion quicker than the 
 alcohol. 
 
 Mr. Volstead. I know that among the farmers a great many would 
 use it in stoves. 
 
 The Chairman. There is no difficulty in using it in a stove. 
 
 Mr. Volstead. A great many people refuse to use gasoline stoves 
 for fear of fire. A large number of them could easily be persuaded to 
 use an alcohol stove, even at considerable higher cost of fuel than 
 that paid for gasoline. After they had used such a stove once it 
 would be considered indispensable, especially during the heat of the 
 summer months. 
 
 In considering these questions it should be borne in mind that a 
 mere comparison of cost will not determine the question of whether 
 gasoline or denatured alcohol would be used. The law of intense 
 economy that dominates the business world does not prevent people 
 from securing, without much reference to cost, personal comforts and 
 conveniences. "We burn electric lights at more than double the cost 
 of kerosene. The tallow dip is still cheaper than kerosene, but is too 
 cheap for this age.. We ride in expensive carriages, though cheap 
 wagons are still available, and some even drink high-priced whisky, 
 though, right at hand and free for the asking, the Potomac River 
 offers a better drink. 
 
 It is ridiculous to contend that the farmers are not interested in 
 this proposition. The passage of this law would mean not only 
 greater conveniences for many of the farmers in a very much superior 
 lamp, stove, and engine, but it would mean a greatly enlarged market 
 for their products. More than 1,000,000,000 gallons of kerosene is 
 used annually in this country. To supply alcohol in place of half 
 of that, which they may do some day, wcfuld require 100,000,000 
 bushels of corn annually — an amount much larger than the average 
 annual export of corn, and about twice as large as that for 1904. . 
 
 I believe, however, that the widest field for the use of this alcohol 
 is for heat and power purposes, and that for such use it is destined to 
 play a very important part in the industrial life of the nation. 
 
302 PEEB ALCOHOL, 
 
 I am firmly convinced that the question of whether we shall be able 
 to produce alcohol at a price so that it may be available for use by 
 the people who are asking for it will depend upon what Congress 
 does. It can hedge it about with restrictions and tax it to such 
 an extent as to render its production and use almost impossible, 
 or it can profit by the experience in other countries and accord 
 to those producing and using such alcohol the same liberal treatment 
 that experience has shown to be practical there. No law or regula- 
 tions should be made so as to unduly limit the size of the distillery. 
 You have allowed all sorts of small distill^ies, to encourage the pro- 
 duction of alcohol for use as a beverage. Let us have a fair deal 
 when we come to make alcohol for industrial purposes. Allow, as 
 you do now, the small still to which the farmer can deliver his prod- 
 uct and from which the denatured alcohol can be supplied to the 
 immediate community, and we will guarantee to break the price of 
 the alcohol trust. 
 
 There, should be no tax on the denatured alcohol. We have been 
 told by some of the wood-alcohol people that in Germany they encour- 
 age the production of alcohol by paying a bounty upon the produc- 
 tion of potatoes. Germany is among the foremost as an enlightened 
 and progressive nation, and while her example might well be imi- 
 tated, we ask for no bounty. We only ask that the industry be 
 treated the same as any other legitimate business. If there is any 
 expense in policing this alcohol, it is an expense that might well be 
 borne by the alcohol used for drinking purposes, as it is for the pur- 
 pose of securing the tax upon that alcohol that the expense is in- 
 curred. It certainly should not bear a tax so long as alcohol used in 
 fortifying sweet wines is free from tax. It should at least receive 
 as favorable consideration as alcohol used in a beverage. 
 
 Nor should a large amount of wood alcohol be required in dena- 
 turing. Some of the European countries use only from 2 to 2^ per 
 cent. To require a large amount, of wood alcohol would defeat the 
 principal advantage of the law. The price of wood alcohol may, as 
 I have said, be fixed almost arbitrarily at any figure. Ten per cent 
 of wood alcohol for denaturing at 90 cents per gallon would no 
 doubt make the wood alcohol cost almost as much as the 90 per cent 
 of grain alcohol. 
 
 I believe it would be better to provide for at least two classes of 
 denatured alcohol — one class for light, heat, and power, which might 
 be mineralized and colored, and another class denatured with sub- 
 stances that would render it less offensive and more -serviceable for 
 other industrial purposes. It has occurred to me that the bill should 
 prescribe the kind and quantity of material to be used for denaturing, 
 but that the exact chemical qualities of such substances had better be 
 left to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to prescribe. 
 
 There is one other thing that I wanted to call your attention to. 
 I have drawn a bill <^ on this subject, and there are some things in it 
 that I think are worth considering. I put in some provisions with 
 reference to supervision.- 
 
 By the way, let m& refer to one thing that was spoken of by the 
 Secretary of the Treasury in this connection. He seemed to be of 
 
 " H. R. 13855 ; for copy of this bill see p. 313. 
 
rilEK ALCOHOL. 303 
 
 the opinion that we ought to build separate factories for the pur- 
 pose of manufacturing this denatured alcohol. It may be right to 
 do that, but if the alcohol is taken from the factory or the distillery, 
 and it seems to be it would be all right to take it there, and then fol- 
 low it from the distillery by a sort of bookkeeping system (such as 
 you now have in reference to the handling of intoxicating liquors) to 
 the retailer, and require the retailer to keep books and return a copy 
 of those books each month to the collector of the district, you can 
 trace it. 
 
 Permit me to make another suggestion, because it has been urged 
 very strongly that we could not take care of this alcohol and properly 
 supervise it. It has been urged that we do not have as much police 
 supervision in this country as they have in other countries. 
 
 In my bill I made this suggestion, that you should require the 
 postmasters and the carriers — ^the mail carriers are practically in 
 touch with all the people every day — to report to some extent what 
 has been done with this alcohol, and it seems to me in that way you 
 can cheaply obtain the necessary information, and for all purposes 
 obtain thereby the same thorough police surveillance as they have in 
 Europe. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Let me ask the gentleman this question: What is 
 there in the way of practical usage to prevent this : Whenever a man 
 wanted to take out of a bonded distillery or warehouse a certain 
 amount of alcohol on the pretense that it was to be denatured, or to 
 be used as denatured alcohol, and thereby escape the tax then and 
 there in the presence of the officer it was denatured. That would be 
 the end of it. What have we got to do with inquiring about the use 
 of the denatured alcohol afterwards? 
 
 Mr. Volstead. It is simply to follow it afterwards. The other 
 bills are practically of the same nature, although not as definite on 
 the subject. This provides that the alcohol shall be denatured in a 
 bonded warehouse and then immediately removed not less than 600 
 feet away. That was copied to some extent from the internal-rev- 
 enue law as to the handling of liquor. After that it simply follows 
 it by a system of bookkeeping, requiring the man who sells it to make 
 a return to the collector of the district, and when it comes to the 
 hands of the retailer as he retails it he makes a like report. That, 
 I think, would not be an onerous requirement. 
 
 Mr. Williams. Suppose this was denatured in the presence of the 
 officer whenever it was ready to be sold, and then shipped away. 
 ^Vhy should we want to follow it after it is denatured and after it 
 has left the distillery ? We have no interest in it any more. We will 
 say that it is to be marked " Poison " and denatured. 
 
 Mr. Volstead. In some countries they follow it. In Germany, I 
 understand, they do not follow it. As soon as it has been denatured 
 there and placed upon the market, it is absolutely public property 
 without any further police supervision. 
 
 Mr. Williams. I ask you that because I wanted to get your idea 
 as to what practical trouble there would be about that. 
 
 Mr. Volstead. It can in a measure be purified, and to some extent 
 it might be well to look after it. 
 
 Mr. Williams. The evidence here is that it will cost more to purify 
 it than it will to originate it. 
 
304 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Mr. Clark. The suggestion of Secretary Shaw was to have the 
 establishments to denature alcohol devoted entirely to that purpose, 
 and the establishments for producing potable alcohol to deal entirely 
 with that. That clears away that difficulty. 
 
 Mr. Williams. It increases the expense. 
 
 Mr. Clark. There is a great deal of mystery in the public mind, 
 and it is very, much magnified, on the question of distillatiSii. The 
 Government has worked upon this proposition so far that it is almost 
 impossible for a fellow to defraud the Government in a distillery. 
 They measure the capacity of a distillery, and if the owner has a 
 distillery of a certain capacity he has got to walk up and pay the 
 tax for an amount of production measured by the capacity. They 
 do not allow him to make only 1,100 gallons in a distillery capable of 
 making 1,200 gallons. That is, they require him to pay the tax on the 
 total capacity of his distillery. If the suggestion of the Secretary 
 is agreed to, it does away with all this surveillance. 
 
 There is another thing about it : Under the present regulations they 
 fix the minimum that you can make in one of these distilleries and 
 they will evidently do it with this ; and the regulations of the Depart- 
 ment will settle all these difficulties, every one of them. 
 
 Mr. Volstead. Now, there is another thing that I want to call your 
 attention to, and I want to be brief, because I realize that this com- 
 mittee must be tired of the subject. My thought is this : Not to place 
 in the denatured alcohol that is to be used for heat, ligh, and power 
 any large amount of wood alcohol. It is perfectly evident to this com- 
 mittee that the 4)eople who, are producing wood alcohol can readily 
 hold us up and prevent the sale of denatured alcohol at any low 
 figure if we are required to put in as high as, say, 10 per cent of wood 
 alcohol. Now, in Germany, Norway, Sweden, and other countries 
 from 2 to 2^ per cent is all that is required. 
 
 Reading the report of 1896, 1 find this, that while there was fraud 
 when they put into the denatured alcohol quite a large percentage of 
 wood alcohol, they found that by adding certain products of coal 
 tar — I am not going to say what they call it 
 
 Mr. Hill. Pyridine? 
 
 Mr. Volstead. Yes. They found there was practically no diffi- 
 culty and they have reduced very largely the amount of wood alcohol 
 required in the denatured alcohol. 
 
 Mr. McCall. Do you know how much wood alcohol they finally 
 put in? 
 
 Mr. Volstead. Yes; 2 per cent in some countries. The coal-tar 
 product, when it is added, makes the denatured alcohol very dis- 
 agreeable. "When you add water to it it becomes cloudy, and the 
 taste and appearance of it is just as bad as though you had not added 
 the water. In fact, it looks a good deal worse, because the alcohol 
 keeps the oil in solution when it is up to about 95 per cent pure, 
 while when you get it down to a small per cent it is not strong enough 
 to keep it in solution, and for that reason it appears more clearly in 
 the mixture. 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. Volstead, inasmuch as the passage of such a 
 bill would strike a pretty severe blow at the wood-alcohol business, 
 and, inasmuch as all other countries use wood alcohol to denaturize 
 alcohol, should we not go in search of something else rather than wipe 
 out the wood-alcohol business entirely ? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 3U5 
 
 Mr. Volstead. No, sir. I do not believe that if you add as much as 
 10 per cent the wood-alcohol people will profit as much by it as they 
 would by a smaller quantity. But if you make it possible for us to 
 use denatured alcohol for light and fuel, we are going to use it in 
 large quantities, and we are going to demand every bit of that wood 
 alcohol in a very short time. But if you leave a large percentage of 
 wood alcohol in there, I believe we can not accomplish it. The manu- 
 facturers of wood alcohol will stand in their own light and will look 
 for an immediate profit instead of a profit in the future. 
 
 I thank you, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, for the attention you 
 have given me. I have talked longer than I ought to have. But 
 I thought I ought to say something because my people are strongly 
 interested in this question. We have some day got to get something 
 in place of coal and kerosene and gasoline, or we will suffer a great 
 deal, because we have cut away most of our timber, .and are distant 
 from the other kinds of fuel. 
 
 STATEMENT SUBMITTED BY CASEY A. WOOD, M. D., PROFESSOR 
 OF CLINICAL OPHTHALMOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 ILLINOIS. 
 
 INJUHIOTJS QUALITIES OF WOOD ALCOHOL. 
 
 It matters not whether methyl alcohol be in the form of wood 
 spirits, Columbian spirits, wood naphtha, lioii d'or, colonial spirits, 
 union spirits, eagle spirits, green wood spirits, standard wood spirits, 
 or whether it be employed to adulterate whisky, " high balls," 
 " punch," " hot drops," " witch hazel," " bay rum," " eau de cologne," 
 " Florida water," " essences," " Jamaica ginger," " extract of lemon," 
 " liniments," " patent medicines," proprietary and domestic remedies, 
 it exhibits its toxic properties whenever it is introduced into the 
 human system. 
 
 That its employment in the arts is fraught with many dangers to 
 life and eyesight is an unquestionable fact. In the first place, when 
 taken into the lungs as fumes, either directly (as from varnishes), 
 or when burned in a lamp, it may produce blindness unless it be freely ■ 
 mixed with pure air. Cases of blindness from the absorption of 
 methyl alcohol by the lungs or skin, or both, are well authenticated. 
 In the article written by Doctor Buller and myself for the Journal 
 of the American Medical Association, October 1-29, 1904, we pub- 
 lished nine such cases, and a number of others have occurred previous 
 to that time and since. These instances are mostly found in shellackers 
 or varnishers who are occupied in varnishing the interior of beer vats, 
 small closets, or other ill-ventilated spaces, or who wash their hands, 
 arms, and faces with wood alcohol to remove the resin from them. 
 Probably the reason we do not see more cases of poisoning in hat and 
 whip factories is that the air is, although highly charged with the 
 fiunes of methylated spirits used in dissolving the resins required 
 for this purpose, diluted with fresh oxygen. It is the confined, re- 
 breathed air that is dangerous. 
 
 In the second place, it is well known that the employees of fac- 
 tories where Columbian spirits and other forms of " deodorized " 
 
 11058—06 20 
 
306 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 methyl alcohol are used are frequently tempted to drink the fluid. 
 Owing to some extent to the exaggerated claims made for the " purity " 
 of " deodorized " wood alcohol, and partly to the fact that thirsty 
 individuals are often willing to take risks, the poisonous nature of 
 the spirits does not seem to deter them from indulgence in them, and 
 many cases of death and blindness have resulted in this way. When- 
 ever " alcohol " in any shape is placed within easy reach of workers 
 in it they are prone at all hazards to use it as an intoxicant, espe- 
 cially if it is deprived of its nauseous odor and taste and made to 
 resemble ethyl alcohol. 
 
 There is every reason to think that the adulteration of alcoholic 
 beverages and alcohol extracts with Columbian spirits, etc., is still 
 
 fjoing on, and there does not seem to be any way to prevent this so 
 ong as it is " deodorized." Another reason why workers with wood 
 alcohol or Columbian spirits are exposed to the poisonous effects of 
 this intoxicant is that not every person who drinks it or inhales it is 
 acutely poisoned thereby. Methyl alcohol intoxication is an ex- 
 ample of idiosyncrasy, ]ust as in the case of some other poisons. 
 Some individuals are largely immune to it so far as permanent damage 
 to the organism is concerned. For example, if ten persons drink 4 
 ounces of Columbian spirits, within three hours all will have intesti- 
 nal distress and other symptoms of narcotic poisoning. Of these 
 ten, four will probably die, two of them becoming blind before death. 
 Six will eventually recover, but two of these will very likely be per- 
 manently blind. With still larger doses the proportion of death and 
 blindness will be greater. To repeat, it is just on account of this 
 peculiarity that employees in factories using methyl alcohol become 
 careless and are likely to be drinkers of Columbian spirits or other 
 " deodorized " form of methyl alcohol. 
 
 It is not always easy to detect some of the evil results of the poison 
 on workers with methyl alcohol. These often take the shape of a 
 chronic form of poisoning which shows itself in obscure disease of the 
 digestive apparatus and nervous system, and my experience is that 
 quite a few of these patients have attributed and do still attribute 
 their condition to other causes than the true one — slow poisoning by 
 .methyl alcohol. 
 
 It is, however, the drinking of adulterated fluids that is responsible 
 for more deaths and cases of blindness than is brought about by in- 
 halation or other form of ingestion of methyl alcohol by workers in 
 the arts. These victims of misplaced confidence are generally those 
 who indulge in the commoner forms of whisky and other adulterated 
 spirits, but to these must be added many a case of fatal intoxication or 
 blindness from drinking methylated essence of peppermint, or patent 
 medicine (whose chief menstrmn has been "deodorized" alcohol), 
 '' eau de cologne," " bay rum," " Florida water," lemon extract, etc., 
 made with Columbian or Colonial spirits instead of ordinary grain 
 alcohol. The individual thus affected drinks one or more of these con- 
 coctions for their intoxicating effects, thinking they are made up with 
 ordinary alcohol, and finds too late that he has imbibed some kind of 
 poisonous methyl alcohol. These alcoholic debauches frequently 
 affect groups of drinkers, as instanced by the deaths of twenty per- 
 sons in a certain district in New York City from drinking whisky 
 containing wood alcohol purchased in a low saloon. There are also 
 
FKEE AliCOHOL. 307 
 
 numerous instances of wholesale deaths and blindness among sol- 
 diers and sailors who were unable to obtain grain alcohol easily; 
 among Indians, who go on sprees with methylated " bay rum " or 
 " extract of lemon," and among men who together went on protracted 
 drinking bouts. 
 
 It is quite easy to understand why these cases of death and blind- 
 ness are so rare in Continental countries, where there is a cheap 
 commercial ethyl alcohol to be had. No labeling of bottles and 
 packages will guard against the evil effects of wood alcohol as long 
 as people are free to indulge in a poisonous product that so closely 
 resembles ethyl alcohol as do Columbian spirits or other "deodor- 
 ized " product. Safety lies in an untaxed mixture of ethyl alcohol 
 for commercial uses mixed with some nauseous protective agent, 
 corresponding to the " methylated spirit " of Great Britain or the 
 " Brennspiritus '' of Germany. Another effective method would be 
 an untaxed or slightly taxed pure ethyl alcohol for conunercial pur- 
 poses, combined with a strict prohibition of the manufacture or sale 
 of " deodorized " wood alcohol. 
 
 The Chairman. Gentlemen, this closes the hearing. 
 
 Thereupon, at 3 o'clock p. m., the committee adjourned. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I.— BILLS UNDER CONSIDERATION. 
 
 , A. — Roberts Mil. 
 
 H. R. 109. — ^A Bill To provide for untaxed denaturalized alcohol for manufac- 
 turing purposes and for use in the arts. 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That distilled spir- 
 its of an alcoholic strength of not less than eighty degrees above 
 proof as defined by sections thirty-two and forty-nine of the Revised 
 statutes of the United States may, when rendered unfit for drinking 
 purposes or for use as a beverage, be removed from distillery ware- 
 houses free of tax, imder such regulations as the Commissioner of 
 Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury, shall prescribe. Provided, That such substances, approved by 
 the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, shall be mixed with such distilled spirits so as to render 
 the same unfit for drinking purposes or for use as a beverage. 
 
 Sec. 2. That distiEed spirits, before being removed from distillery 
 warehouses free of tax under the provisions of this Act, shall be 
 branded or marked as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with 
 the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prescribe, and 
 shall have affixed to each cask or package an engraved stamp indicat- 
 ing that such distilled spirits have been rendered unfit for drinking 
 purposes or for use as a beverage, said stamps to be provided and 
 furnished by the several collectors as in the case of other stamps, 
 and to be charged to them and accounted for in the same manner; 
 and for the expense attending the providing and affixing of such 
 stamps ten cents for each stamp shall be paid to the collector of the 
 district on making the entry for such removal. 
 
 Sec. 3. That any person who shall rectify or purify distilled spirits 
 which have been removed from distillery warehouses free of tax 
 under the provisions of this Act, by removing or separating the sub- 
 stances from such distilled spirits, by any process whatever, shall 
 on conviction be subject to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars 
 nor more than five thousand dollars and be imprisoned not less than 
 six months nor more than three years. 
 
 Sec. 4. That distilled spirits removed free of tax from distillery 
 warehouses under the provisions of this Act shall be not stored or de- 
 posited on any premises in which the business of a distiller, rectifier, 
 wholesale liquor dealer, or retail liquor dealer is carried on, or on 
 any premises connected therewith by any private or internal commu- 
 nication, and every distiller, rectifier, wholesale liquor dealer and 
 retail liquor dealer who shall store or deposit, or cause to be stored 
 
 309 
 
310 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 or deposited, such distilled spirits on the premises in which such busi- 
 ness IS carried on, after such distilled spirits have been removed from 
 distillery warehouses, shall on conviction be fined not less than two 
 hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned 
 for not less than six months nor more than two years. 
 
 B. — Lovering hill. 
 
 H. R. 111. — A Bill To encourage the export trade in drugs, chemicals, and other 
 articles of domestic manufacture. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That on the ex- 
 portation of articles manufactured or produced in the United States 
 in part from domestic alcohol on which an internal-revenue tax has 
 been paid there shall be allowed a drawback equal in amount to the 
 tax paid on the alcohol so used : Provided, That no other than domestic 
 tax-paid alcohol shall have been used in the manufacture or produc- 
 tion of such articles. Such drawback shall be determined and paid 
 in manner provided for determination and payment of drawback on 
 exportation of articles of domestic manufacture and production made 
 wholly or in part from imported duty-paid materials under section 
 thirty of an Act entitled "An Act to provide revenue for the Govern- 
 ment and to encourage the industries of the United, States," approved 
 July twenty- fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven. 
 
 G.—Hill mi. 
 H. R. 430. — A Bill To provide for free alcohol in certain arts and industries. 
 
 Be it enacted iy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled. That from and after 
 the passage of this Act either grain alcohol or methylated spirits, or 
 both, at the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury, may be with- 
 drawn from bond and used without payment of the internal-revenue 
 tax thereon in any manufacturing process wherein said grain alcohol 
 or methylated spirits are consumed or destroyed upon the premises of 
 the manufacturer, so that thejf become no part of the salable product 
 or can not be recovered therefrom. 
 
 Seo. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed to 
 make such regulations as he may deem necessary to provide for and 
 control the use of grain alcohol and methylated, spirits in manufac- 
 turing processes as provided in section one. 
 
 D. — Galderhead hill. 
 
 H. R. 7079. — A Bill To permit the Industrial uses of alcohol and to enlarge the 
 domestic market for farm products. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That on and after 
 the passage of this Act no internal-revenue tax shall be levied or col- 
 
FBElil ALCOHOL. 311 
 
 lected on ethyl alcohol of domestic production which has been ren- 
 dered undrinkable or unfit for use as a beverage prior to withdrawal 
 from distillery bonded warehouse. 
 
 Sec. 2. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval 
 of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prescribe the necessary regula- 
 tions to carry this Act into effect. 
 
 Sec. 3. That any person or persons who shall rectify or purify ethyl 
 alcohol which has been removed from distillery warehouse free of tax 
 under the provisions of this Act so as to remove or separate therefrom 
 by any process whatever the substance or substances which have been 
 added thereto for the purpose of rendering such ethyl alcohol un- 
 drinkable or unfit for use as a beverage shall, on conviction, be sub- 
 jected to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than 
 five thousand dollars and be imprisoned not less than six months nor 
 more than three years. 
 
 E. — Jones Bill. 
 
 H. R. 8430. — A Bill Amending section sixty-one of an Act entitled "An Act to 
 reduce taxation, to provide revenue for the Government, and for other pur- 
 poses," approved August twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, 
 and repealing the internal-revenue tax on potato alcohol used in the arts or 
 in medicinal compounds, and for light, fuel, and power purposes. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That section sixty- 
 one of an Act entitled "An Act to reduce taxation, to provide revenue 
 for the Government, and for other purposes," approved August 
 twenty-seventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, be amended to 
 read as follows: 
 
 " Sec. 61. That any manufacturer finding it necessary to use 
 alcohol in the arts, or in any. medicinal or any like compound, 
 and any person, corporation, or association of persons using solely 
 for light, fuel, or power purposes alcohol made from the potato, 
 may use the same under regulations to be prescribed by the Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury, and on satisfying the collector of internal 
 revenue for the district wherein such person, corporation, or asso- 
 ciation of persons reside or carry on business that he or it has 
 complied with such regulations and has used such alcohol therein and 
 therefor, and exhibiting and delivering up the stamps that show 
 that the tax has been paM thereon, shall be entitled to receive 
 from the Treasury of the United States a rebate or repayment of 
 the taxes so paid." 
 
 Y.—Rolerts Bill. 
 
 H. R. 30071. — A Bill To provide for untaxed denaturized alcohol for industrial 
 
 purposes. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of_ the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That distilled 
 spirits of an alcoholic strength of not less than eighty degrees above 
 
312 FREK ALCOHOL. 
 
 proof, as defined by section thirty-two hundred and forty-nine of 
 the Revised Statutes of the United States, may, when rendered unfit 
 for drinking purposes or for use as a beverage, be removed from 
 distillery warehouses free of tax under such regulations as the 
 Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury, shall prescribe: Provided, That such sub- 
 stance or substances, approved by the Commissioner of Internal 
 Revenue and the Secretary of the Treasury, shall be mixed with 
 such distilled spirits so as to render the same unfit for drinking 
 purposes or for use as a beverage. 
 
 Sec. 2. That distilled spirits, before being removed from distillery 
 warehouses free of tax under the provisions of this Act, shall be 
 branded or marked as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with 
 the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, shall prescribe and 
 shall have affixed to each cask or package an engraved stamp indi- 
 cating that such distilled spirits have been rendered unfit for drink- 
 ing purposes or for use as a beverage, said stamps to be provided 
 and furnished by the several collectors as in the case of other stamps, 
 and to be charged to them and accounted for in the same manner; 
 and for the expense attending the providing and affixing of such 
 stamps ten cents for each stamp shall be paid to the collector of the 
 district on making the entry for such removal. 
 
 Sec. 3. That any person who shall rectify or purify distilled 
 spirits which have been, removed from distillery warehouses free of 
 tax under the provisions of this Act by removing or separating the 
 substances from such distilled spirits, by any process whatever, shall, 
 on conviction, be subjected to a fine of not less than five hundred 
 dollars nor more than five thousand dollars and be imprisoned not 
 less than six months nor more than three years. 
 
 G. — Marshall Mil. 
 
 H. R. 12075. — A Bill To exempt from internal-revenue tax domestic alcohol 
 intended for lighting, heating,- and manufacturing purposes, and for use as 
 motor fuel. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assemhled, That when that 
 form of distilled spirits of domestic production commercially known 
 and- described as " ethyl alcohol " has been rendered unfit for use as a 
 beverage by the addition thereto of such material or substance as the 
 Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury, shall prescribe, such distilled spirits, or ethyl 
 alcohol, when intended for use in manufacturing processes and for 
 lighting, heating, and cleaning purposes, and for use as a motor fuel, 
 may be withdrawn from distillery bonded warehouses free of in- 
 ternal-revenue tax, under such rules and regulations as the Commis- 
 sioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of 
 the Treasury, shall prescribe. 
 
 Sec. 2. That the distilled spirits or ethyl alcohol withdrawn free 
 of tax under the provisions of this Act shall have an alcoholic 
 strength of not less than eighty degrees above proof, as defined by 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 313 
 
 feection thirty-two hundred and forty-nine of the Eevised Statutes 
 of the United States. 
 
 Sec. 3. That any person, or persons, who shall rectify or purify 
 the distilled spirits or ethyl alcohol, which has been removed from 
 distillery warehouses free of tax under the provisions of this Act, 
 so as to remove or separate therefrom by any process whatever the 
 material or substance which has been added thereto for the purpose 
 of rendering such distilled spirits or ethyl alcohol unfit for use as a 
 beverage shall, on conviction, be subjected to a fine of not less than 
 five hundred dollars, nor more than five thousand dollars, and be 
 imprisoned not less than six months nor more than three years. 
 
 H. — Volstead bill. 
 
 H. R. 13855. — A Bill to provide for denaturalized alcohol, the tax to be paid 
 thereon, and regulating its sale. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
 United States of America in Congress assembled, That alcoholic spir- 
 its containing not less than eighty per centum of alcohol may be 
 denaturalized and thereafter removed from any bonded warehouse 
 free of tax for use and consumption, subject to the limitations herein 
 contained. Any person desiring to denaturalize and remove any such 
 alcohol free of tax shall apply to the Commissioner of Internal Reve- 
 nue therefor. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue may thereupon 
 detail some suitable oiEcer to supervise such denaturalization and 
 removal. The denaturalization shall take place in the bonded ware- 
 house where the -alcohol is kept and shall be done in the presence of 
 and under the immediate supervision and direction of the officer so 
 detailed for that purpose. Denaturalization shall consist in render- 
 ing such alcohol unfit for human use in or as a beverage. The mate- 
 rials and other means for denaturalizing such alcohol shall be 
 furnished and provided by and at the expense of the party applying 
 for denaturalization, who shall also pay as a tax upon each gallon of 
 alcohol denaturalized one-fourth of one cent, to be evidenced by 
 suitable stamps. The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall cause 
 to be prepared such stamps for the payment of said tax as directed in 
 section thirty-three hundred and twelve of the Revised Statutes of the - 
 United States and the provisions of sections thirty-three hundred and 
 twelve, thirty-three hundred and thirteen, thirty-three hundred and 
 fourteen, thirty-three hundred and fifteen, thirty-three hundred and 
 sixteen, thirty-three hundred and sixteen A, thirty-three hundred 
 and twenty-two, thirty-three hundred and twenty-four, thirty-three 
 hundred and twenty-five, thirty-three hundred and twenty-six, and 
 thirty-three hundred and twenty-seven, of said statute shall, except 
 as herein otherwise provided, apply to and govern the use and abuse 
 of such stamps. 
 
 Sec. 2. That at the time such denaturalization takes place the officer 
 in charge thereof shall ascertain the quantity'^ and quality of the 
 alcohol denaturalized, and the quantity and qualitj^ of any material 
 used in such denaturalization, and he shall then serially number and 
 affix a stamp upon each cask and package containing denaturalized 
 
314 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 alcohol and make a full record of all the facts to be so ascertained 
 and the steps taken in such denaturalization. That thereupon the 
 denaturalized alcohol shall in the presence of said officer be removed 
 from such bonded warehouse to some other place not less than six 
 hundred feet distant in a direct line from any place where liquor is 
 distilled or rectified, and no denaturalized alcohol shall, without the 
 consent in writing of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue ,and upon 
 such conditions as he may prescribe, be kept, used, sold, or otherwise 
 disposed of within six hundred feet from any distillery or refinery, 
 and no denaturalized alcohol shall be kept, used, or handled in any 
 place that may contain any still or where intoxicating liquors are kept 
 or dealt in, nor in any building adjoining or communicating with any 
 building containing any still or in which intoxicating liquors are kept 
 or dealt in. Any person violating any of the provisions of this sec- 
 tion shall on conviction be punished by a fine of not more than one 
 hundred dollars or by imprisonment until such fine is paid not to 
 exceed six months. 
 
 Sec. 3. That anyone procuring the denaturalization of any alcohol 
 shall keep a book in which shall be entered the date of denaturaliza- 
 tion, the name of the officer in charge thereof, the quantity and 
 quality of denaturalized alcohol contained in each cask or package, 
 the number of each cask and package, and kind of adhesive stamp 
 thereon; and in sending out of his stock or possession any denatu- 
 ralized alcohol before the same is removed from his premises or 
 possession he shall enter in like manner in said book the date when 
 and the name and post-office address of the person or firm to whom 
 such alcohol is to be sent, the quantity and quality of such alcohol, 
 from what cask or package drawn, or if in the original cask or 
 package in which the denaturalized alcohol was removed from the 
 bonded warehou.=ie, then the name of the distillery and the number 
 of the cask or jjackage and kind of adhesive stamp thereon. Every 
 person dealing in such denaturalized alcohol shall keep a like book 
 in which shall be entered the date when each cask or package of such 
 alcohol is received, the quantity and quality thereof, the number and 
 stamp appearing upon any cask or package containing such alcohol, 
 the name of the person or firm, and the place from which received; 
 and at the time of sending out of his stock or possession any part of 
 said alcohol, the date when and the name and post-office address of 
 the person or firm to whom sent or delivered, and the quantity and 
 quality of such alcohol. Every such book shall at all times be kept 
 in some public place on the premises of the person or firm securing 
 such denaturalization or dealing in denaturalized alcohol, and any 
 revenue officer, postmaster, or mail carrier may examine it and take 
 an abstract therefrom. When such book or books have been filled 
 up as aforesaid, it shall be preserved by the party required to keep 
 sjiph book for a period of not less than two years, and during such 
 time shall be produced by him to every revenue officer demanding it, 
 or to any postmaster or mail carrier detailed by a revenue collector 
 to make a demand therefor. 
 
 Every person required to keep the books prescribed in this section 
 shall, on or before the tenth day of each month, make a full and 
 complete transcript of all entries made in said book during the 
 month preceding, and after verifying the same by oath shall forward 
 the said transcript to the collector of the district in which he resides. 
 
FEES ALCOHOL. 815 
 
 Any failure to keep or preserve such book, and any refusal to permit 
 such inspection or transcript thereof, or refusal or neglect to make or 
 transmit to said revenue collector said transcript above required 
 shall subject the person so offending to a fine not exceeding one 
 hundred dollars for any failure, neglect, or refusal. Any postmaster 
 or mail carrier may be required by the revenue collector of the dis- 
 trict in which he resides to demand inspection and take transcripts 
 from such books kept by any patron of the post-office or to whom 
 such carrier delivers mail and transmit such transcript to such reve- 
 nue collector, together with such other information as may be called 
 for by such revenue collector in regard to the use or disposition of 
 such alcohol. 
 
 Sec. 4. That no person shall sell, barter, or otherwise dispose of 
 any denaturalized alcohol without first having obtained a license, 
 To obtain such license he shall pay therefor to the collector of inter- 
 nal revenue of the district in which he intends to conduct such busi- 
 ness one dollar, and make and file with such collector a statement of 
 the particular building and room therein in which the business is to 
 be carried on and the alcohol kept in store, together with such other 
 information as may be required by the commissioner of internal 
 revenue, and thereupon license may be granted by such commissioner 
 of internal revenue to the party applying, authorizing him to keep 
 and sell denaturalized alcohol in the particular room or rooms so 
 specified for the period of one year, and it shall be unlawful to keep, 
 sell, barter, or otherwise dispose of any denaturalized alcohol in any 
 other place than the one for which license is granted. Any person 
 violating any of the provisions of this section shall be subject to a fine 
 not to exceed one hundred dollars. 
 
 Sec. 5. That all denaturalized alcohol kept by any dealer or person 
 denaturalizing such alcohol shall at all times be open to the inspec- 
 tion of all officers and agents of the United States charged with the 
 enforcement of the revenue laws, and such officers and agents shall 
 be entitled to receive samples from any cask or package of such 
 liquor free of charge for the purpose of inspection, and the Com- 
 missioner of Internal Revenue shall, with the approval of the Secre- 
 tary of the Treasury, prescribe the steps to be taken and the material 
 and means to be used for denaturalizing alcohol and shall make all 
 needful rules and regulations to carry this Act into effect. 
 
 Sec. 6. That any person who shall separate or remove the whole or 
 any part of the substance or substances mixed with any alcohol to 
 denaturalize the same or shall restore any denaturalized alcohol so as 
 to make it fit for use in or as a beverage shall, on conviction thereof, 
 be subject to a fine of not less than two hundred dollars and not more 
 than five thousand dollars, and be imprisoned not less than two 
 months nor more than ten years. Anyone who shall know or have 
 reason to believe that any denaturalized alcohol has been so wholly 
 or partly restored to its condition before denaturalized who shall 
 sell or otherwise dispose of any such restored alcohol shall, on con- 
 viction, be subject to like punishment. 
 
 Sec. 7. That any officer or person supervising or assuming to 
 supervise the denaturalization and removal from any bonded ware- 
 house of any alcohol (whether detailed thereto by the Commissioner 
 of Internal Revenue or not) who shall suffer or permit any alcohol 
 to be removed from any bonded warehouse as denaturalized alcohol 
 
316 
 
 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 before the same has been fully denaturalized in accordance with the 
 provisions herein contained and the regulations of the Commissioner 
 of Internal Revenue that may from time to time be made in regard 
 to such denaturalization, shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by 
 a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not 
 to exceed five years, or both. 
 
 II.— LETTER OF C. J. ZINTHEO, TRANSMITTING STATISTICS OF PRO- 
 DUCTION OF ALCOHOL IN GERMANY, AND COMPARISON WITH 
 PRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 (Seepage 258.) 
 
 United States Department of Ageicultttee, 
 
 Washington, D. C, March 1, 1906. 
 Hon. S. E. Patne, 
 
 Chairman Ways and Means Committee, United States Congress. 
 Deae Sir: At the hearings of your committee on tax-free alcohol 
 you asked for some statistics on the amount of alcohol used in Ger- 
 many for various purposes. I inclose you herewith some statistics ou 
 the quantity of alcohol produced in Germany and the United States, 
 compiled from official figures. 
 Yours, very truly, 
 
 C. J. Zintheo, 
 In charge of Farm Machinery Investigations. 
 
 III.- 
 
 -STATISTICS OF PRODUCTION OF ALCOHOL IN GERMANY AND IN 
 THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 TOTAIj PEODUCTION op the united states and GERMANY COMPABED. 
 
 In the following tables the total production of distilled spirts in 
 Germany and the United States are compared for the fifteen years 
 since the German law was liberalized. This is most important, as 
 it shows the total of the loss to the American distillers of alcohol for 
 industrial purposes that has resulted from not having laws in this 
 country as favorable as those of Germany. The column giving the 
 amounts on which taxes were paid shows the total consumption 
 within the United States, and the corresponding German consump- 
 tion is shown by deducting her total exports. 
 
 
 Germany. 
 
 United States. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Total produc- 
 tion. 
 
 Total produc- 
 tion. 
 
 Tax paid. 
 
 1888 
 
 Proof galloTis. 
 161,567,693 
 144,081,541 
 166,152,416 
 166,878,781 
 156,767,524 
 160,029,969 
 172,880,699 
 165,948,686 
 176,083,287 
 163,768,674 
 173,666,350 
 201,538,356 
 193,734,252 
 214,019,245 
 223,899,120 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 
 71, 688, 188 
 
 91,133,560 
 
 111,101,738 
 
 117,767,101 
 
 118,436,606 
 
 131,010,330 
 
 92,158,651 
 
 81,909,771 
 
 89,992,555 
 
 64,279,076 
 
 83,668,411 
 
 100,162,334 
 
 109,245,187 
 
 124,520,600 
 
 128,623,402 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 71,565,486 
 77,163,529 
 85,043,336 
 88,473,437 
 95,045,787 
 99,145,889 
 88,777,387 
 75,655,742 
 68,480,720 
 69,979,362 
 79,764,749 
 85,126,132 
 94,887,201 
 100,066,820 
 104,110,193 
 
 1889 
 
 1890 
 
 1891 
 
 1892 
 
 1893 . . 
 
 1894 
 
 1895 
 
 1896 
 
 1897 
 
 1898 
 
 1899 
 
 1900 
 
 1901 
 
 1902 . . 
 
 
 Total 
 
 2,619,516,482 
 
 1,516,692,400 
 
 1,283,184,770 
 
 
PKEE ALCOHOL. 
 Consumption of tax-free alcohol in Germany. 
 
 317 
 
 Year ending October 1— 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Year ending October 1— 
 
 Amount. 
 
 1888 
 
 Proof gdllmis. 
 20, 476, 768 
 22,786,987 
 28, 074, 667 
 27,426,341 
 29,127,384 
 32,062,803 
 36,102,693 
 37,977,396 
 
 1896 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 42,694,947 
 45, 818, 132 
 46,979,841 
 52 290 000 
 
 1889 
 
 
 1890 
 
 1898 
 
 1891 
 
 1899. 
 
 1892 
 
 1900 
 
 66,098,285 
 61,063,000 
 58, 632, 840 
 
 1893 
 
 1901 
 
 1894 
 
 1902 
 
 1895 
 
 
 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 
 Increased consumption in 1902 over that of 1896 15, 937, 890 
 
 Increased consumption in 1902 over that of 1888 38, 156, 072 
 
 An average yearly increase for the fifteen years of over 2, 500, 000 
 
 Consumption trebled in fifteen years. 
 
 The following table shows in a general way the purposes for which 
 this tax-free alcohol was used in 1902 : 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 
 Manufacture of celluloid 880,915 
 
 Sulphuric ether 2, 943, 440 
 
 Acetic ether 21, 920 
 
 Chloroform 40, 143 
 
 Iodoform 17, 114 
 
 Other chemical substances 1 1,722,460 
 
 Color lakes 182, 757 
 
 Scientific preparations 2,447,016 
 
 Druggist and medicinal preparations 2, Oil, 755 
 
 Brewers' varnish 70, 145 
 
 Sodium soap 55, 567 
 
 Powder and fulminates 917, 400 
 
 Finishing rubber fabrics 13,627 
 
 Total amount delivered from distilleries to manufacturers 
 
 direct It, 324, 259 
 
 Other manufacturing purposes not classified 8, 999, 263 
 
 Sold through the wholesale and retail trade, principally for fuel for 
 cooking, heating, lighting, and power purposes, and balance for 
 manufacturing 38, 309, 318 
 
 Total 58, 632, 840 
 
 Quantity of alcohol produced in Germany for the two fiscal years ending October 
 1, 190S, and Octoler 1, 1904. 
 
 [Complied from ofiBcIal figures.] 
 
 ABSOLUTE OE PUBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Fiscal year ending October 1, 1903 : Hectoliters. 
 
 Total quantity produced 3,383,139 
 
 Total quantity consumed, free of tax, in industrial arts 1,289.123 
 
 Fiscal year ending October 1, 1904 : 
 
 Total quantity produced 3,848,900 
 
 Total quantity consumed, free of tax, in the industrial arts 1, 394. 607 
 
 The tax on alcohol in Germany is based on pure or absolute alcohol. 
 A hectoliter (26.4 wine gallons) of absolute alcohol is therefore 
 equal to 52.8 American proof gallons. The German production and 
 
318 
 
 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 the consumption in the arts for the fiscal years ending October 1, 1903 
 and 1904, expressed in American proof gallons, was as follows : 
 
 Year. 
 
 Production. 
 
 Used free of 
 tax in the arts. 
 
 1903. 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 178,629,739 
 203,221,920 
 
 Proof gallons. 
 68,065,691 
 
 19(M . 
 
 73,835,249 
 
 
 
 IV.— PAPER ON DENATURED ALCOHOL, BY A. VON SCHELLE. 
 DENATUKED ALCOHOL. 
 
 Introduction. — If you ask a child, the first passer-by, " What 
 should be done with alcohol — ^would it not be preferable to bum it 
 rather than to drink it?" he will answer invariably, inevitably, 
 " Burn it." 
 
 Since the remote episode of Noah, the first known victim of the 
 grape, the drunkard has been the object of merriment to idlers, the 
 delight of caricaturists, the favorite theme of phrase makers. Drunk- 
 enness is as well the cause of copious tears. It is a vice. Now, 
 humanity is saturated with vices (and vices can not be corrected 
 with phrases, however sonorous they may be). (Such is the fact 
 and it will not occur to anyone to contradict it, I think.) Should the 
 least doubt exist as to this, let the St. Thomas open any newspaper 
 lying at hand. He will soon be convinced by reading an intermina- 
 ble litany of crimes, suicides, misdemeanors, divorces, fights, quarrels, 
 and other miseries which follow in consequence of the absorption of 
 this many-colored drink, which peoples the earth with its victims. 
 
 But the miseries caused by alcohol is not our theme, so let us at 
 the very beginning state clearly the end in view and not deviate 
 from the object which we pursue. Far from seeking to augment the 
 consumption of alcohol as a beverage, the question is to find canals 
 other than the digestive one for its employment. Let us further 
 state that we do not consider the use of wood alcohol, which is dan- 
 gerous, but of pure ethyl-alcohol of inferior quality, denatured and 
 applied to agricultural, domestic, and industrial uses. 
 
 Let us, for the moment, leave aside the interminable discussions 
 of the savant. Is alcohol really a food, or does it but traverse the 
 system without undergoing any transformation ? Is it or is it not a 
 source of heat ? Is it a good or an evil ? Is it a blessing or a curse? 
 Does it exercise, a happy or a disastrous influence from a hygienic 
 point of view ? 
 
 It suffices us to know that the abuse of alcohol constitutes a danger 
 in regard to the degeneration of mankind ; it is one of the elements 
 the most prejudicial to health, and it is the source of infinite evil. 
 After having been a terrible factor of ruin, madness, and death, it 
 becomes day by day a marvelous and dazzling agent which dissipates 
 shadows and gives wings to humanity. 
 
 Some thunder that too much alcohol is fabricated ; others sigh that 
 not enough is produced ; such is the dual problem which science en- 
 deavors to solve in seeking to make the two pleaders accord. It is 
 useless to indulge in declamations, to make great gestures, to emit 
 high-sounding and empty phrases. Let us be simple. The facts are 
 there and speak more loudly than words. A social problem does not 
 want the trumpet of high-sounding literature. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 319 
 
 For the spirit of man, tortured by the tales of horrors enacted 
 under the influence of drink, such as are described every day in the 
 columns of the press, has set to work. Its genius, aroused and sus- 
 tained in its fight against the curse by its desire of doing well for its 
 fellow-beings, has struggled to find better uses than depraving man- 
 kind. It has found the remedy ; better than that, it has transformed 
 the evil into good; the curse has become a blessing. It is proved 
 that alcohol can rival with gas, acetylene, and electricity, as well 
 for lighting large areas as for domestic uses. Science provides us 
 with the employment of an inexhaustible series of products of the 
 soil, and, at the same time, has created a new source of riches for the 
 agriculturist. That which causes disorder to the stomach of man 
 agrees perfectly well with the internal organisms of lamps, stoves, 
 and motors. Let us turn from these considerations to confine our- 
 selves to more restricted limits. 
 
 Denatured alcohol. — Allow me to say that I do not introduce myself 
 as a scientist, as an inventor. All the honor attached to these discov- 
 eries belongs to the investigators, among whom I have the honor to 
 Imow several. My only ambition is to serve a country for which I 
 have not ceased to feel the deepest admiration, and to make myself 
 useful to friends who have shown me a courteous welcome and a sym- 
 pathetic confidence. I wish to prove that I deserve it and I mean to 
 Iveep it. 
 
 Let us state first what denatured alcohol is : 
 
 Alcohol mixed with repugnant ingredients is rendered undrinkable, 
 unfit for man's consumption. Acetone oil, derived from the grease of 
 the wool of sheep, has given an efficacious denaturizer. It is a known 
 fact that for a certain time chemists have found processes which 
 render fraud impracticable. As a consequence, governments are 
 justified in removing the tax that is put upon alcohol not used as a 
 beverage. There is to be waged an interminable battle between the 
 scientists and the Government officials. The remedy is so simple that 
 is seems useless to waste ink in demonstrating its efficacy ; it is at the 
 same time so radical that one feels agriculture to be on the verge of 
 revolution. The addition of hydrocarbure has made it an element 
 of light, a center of intense heat.- This addition of a hydrocarbure, 
 benzol, for instance, on account of its density, increases the lig;hting 
 power and at the same time diminishes the cost price of the liquid. 
 The light produced by the gas carburetted by hydrogen is very bright, 
 intense, and economical. Certain burners give marvelous results from 
 the point of view of cheapness compared with the lighting intensity 
 (half a centime per burner per hour 7^ carcel, Digneff). One of the 
 specialists consulted by the Government of the United States, Mr. 
 Leon Labonde, says : 
 
 For the production of light, as alcohol gives a nonluiuinous flajne, a chemical 
 mantle is used, somewhat similar to the Auer light, but for the production of 
 heat generally it is simply perfection, and nothing has yet been found to equal 
 ethyl alcohol for this purpose, owing to the fact that it produces perfect and 
 complete combustion. This alone of all uses is so pregnant of consequences bene- 
 ficial to mankind, and the healthfulness of the substance used for these two 
 purposes is such as to compel especial attention from those in a position to give 
 it the needed impetus. In this case a fractional advantage in the actual cost to 
 the consumer, whether for the heat or the light thus obtained direct from ethyl 
 alcohol, would be more than offset by the healthfulness of the source of heat and 
 
320 PEEE AliCOHOL. 
 
 light, and it is absolutely safe. The correct proportion of air and gas is abso- 
 lutely necessary for complete combustion ; the essential mixer is the carburetter. 
 Alcohol once denatured is not only made repugnant, but by the addition of other 
 ingredients it has become incandescent light. Instead of being drunk it is 
 burned ; it is transformed for utilization in industry. It gives a pleasant heat 
 for the home, it propels the motor, the automobile, and the launch. The simple 
 fact of obtaining denaturation permits each private citizen to light his farm, 
 his manufactory, his works, to heat his home, and to transport himself by 
 alcohol. 
 
 Besides the uses already cited there is the fabrication of varnish, vinegar, of 
 felt and hats, ether, gilt for frames, coUodium, artificial silk, fulminate of mer- 
 cury, antiseptic vs^adding, wall paper, anatomical and pharmaceutical prepara- 
 tions, transparent soap, solidified alcohol, etc. This list is partial, rather than 
 comprehensive, for " there is scarcely a manufacturer in the country who does 
 not use alcohol in the production of his goods to a greater or less extent." 
 
 History of its uses in Europe. — The first attempts made in Germany, 
 in 1894-95, to employ alcohol in internal-combustion engines were 
 not successful. Since 1896 the law in Belgium has granted exemp- 
 tion from taxation on alcohol destined to specified industrial uses. 
 (See table.) In 1897, Professor Ringelmann, in a series of experi- 
 ments which he conducted at the Experimental Mechanical Labora- 
 tory at Paris, found that with certain precautions the use of alcohol 
 was feasible. The unprecedented vintage in France in 1900-1901 
 threw so great a quantity of alcohol upon the market that it could 
 compete in price with that made from beets and molasses in the north. 
 This depression caused the large owners in the south to search for 
 new markets, and the result "vvas serious consideration given by the 
 department of agriculture to industrial uses of alcohol, prizes being 
 offered November, 1901-May, 1902, for researches made tending to 
 widen the field of its utility. These researches have borne many 
 valuable results. The commercial aspects, however, are not so en- 
 couraging as the rapid strides made in mechanical appliances. It 
 was stated after the competitive races held in France in 1901 and 
 1902 under the auspices of the Government that bases of supplies 
 should be established throughout France in order to favor the use of 
 this fuel. 
 
 History of its uses in the United States. — Now, let us glance back- 
 ward in history and " render unto Caesar the things that are Cae- 
 sar's," for oiRcial documents prove that the use of alcohol for lighting, 
 cooking, and industrial purposes was applied in the United States iii 
 the early sixties. We extract from documents submitted by Charles 
 A. Conant's " Use of Alcohol," from " La Science des Finances," by 
 Prof. Leroy Beaulieu, and from " Cobden Club Essays," second 
 series, 1871-72, pages 500 and 502, the following extract : 
 
 Mr. David Wells takes the tax of alcohol as an example of the perturbation 
 that a high and indirect tax may cause in a series of industries. Before the 
 war of secession the manufacture of spirits was free from all special taxes and 
 supervision, as much on the part of the Union as on the part of the States 
 which compose it. It resulted from this freedom that alcohol served a multi- 
 tude of industrial uses for which it can not be employed in the larger part of 
 the countries of Europe. The production was enormous, amounting to 90,000,- 
 000 gallons (410,000,000 liters), coming especially from the distillation of maize. 
 Alcohol served for lighting under the name of burning fluid, and this use of 
 alcohol was so widespread that it was demonstrated in 1864 in Congress that 
 the quantity of alcohol employed for the manufacture of this burning fluid 
 required in the city of Cincinnati alone the distillation of 12,000 bushels of grain 
 per day. Because of its low price, alcohol was also used as fuel for the domes- 
 tic cuisine, for baths, and laundry. It entered into the production of varnishes, 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 321 
 
 into that of medicines, and replaced in the larger proportion of perfumeries the 
 grease or oil which are employed In like cases in Europe. 
 
 In a word, according to Mr. David Wells, the difeerence in price of this 
 article in the United States and in Europe gave a method of employment quite 
 different in the first and in the second countries to common products of univer- 
 sal use. The establishment and successive increases of the tax on spirits had 
 the result of upsetting all these industries and in some cases of destroying them. 
 The manufacture of burning fluid for lighting suddenly ceased ; happily it was 
 replaced by petroleum, which was about to be discovered. 
 
 This is what we read in "Alcohol in Arts and Manufactures," 
 page 7 : 
 
 The history of internal-revenue taxation of distilled spirits is as follows: 
 In 1791, when every nerve was strained to furnish sufficient revenue to estab- 
 lish the public credit, there was imposed upon spirits distilled from molasses, 
 sugar, or other foreign materials a tax of from 11 to 30 cents per gallon, accord- 
 ing to proof, and upon spirits distilled from domestic articles of from 9 to 25 
 cents per gallon. When Mr. Jefferson became President, he denounced the 
 system of internal taxation as " an infernal one — " 
 
 one which could not be resorted to in a government like ours, and, 
 consequently, in 1802 the tax upon spirits was repealed. No further 
 tax was levied until 1813, when it became necessary to resort to extra- 
 ordinary methods in order to carry on the war between Great Brit- 
 ain and this country, which began in 1812. The taxation of distilled 
 spirits was then renewed, the tax being graduated according to the 
 capactiy of the still, the duration of its operation, and the materials 
 used. In 1817 this tax was repealed, and from that time until the 
 outbreak of the civil war no recourse was had to internal taxes of any 
 Idnd, though the Treasury suffered periodically from diminishecl 
 revenues. When, at the breaking out of the war, 1861, it became nec- 
 essary to resort to every possible means to make money, a tax was 
 levied on distilled spirits of 20 cents per gallon. From that time 
 until the present the tax has been continued, the rate varying at dif- 
 ferent periods — at one time being as high as $2 per proof gaflon. 
 
 Vide Senate Eeports, volume 2, Fifty-fifth Congress, second ses- 
 sion. No. 411, Alcohol in Manufactures and Arts, Washington, Gov- 
 ernment Printing Office, 1897. (3621.) 
 
 In 1888 the Senate adopted an amendment to the tariff bill passed by the 
 House, known as the Mills bill, providing for the untaxed use of alcohol under 
 restrictions, and supervision therein specified. The Finance Committee, in 
 reporting the measure, said (p. 9) : "The provisions of the substitute which 
 allow the use of alcohol in the industrial arts free from taxation would prove 
 a great benefit to a large number of important manufactures. Alcohol is used in 
 the production of more than five hundred chemical and industrial arts, and its 
 use in all these directions would be largely extended if the onerous tax should 
 be abolished. The heavy tax upon alcohol unnecessarily increases the price of 
 many manufactured products, with no corresponding benefit except the result- 
 ing revenue, which is now unnecessary." (Vide act of March 1, 1891, Rev. 
 Stat, sec. 3283; act of March 1, 1879, sees. 42, 49, tarifC of 1890, slightly 
 modified by the law of 1897.) 
 
 There are statutes in the United States which permit the use of alcohol free 
 of tax by colleges and scientific associations. (Rev. Stat., sec. 3, 297.) 
 
 Retrospect. — If I go back fifty years to my childhood and pass in 
 review the diverse modes of lighting, I see defile before my aston- 
 ished eyes, in chronological order, the smoky tallow candle and its 
 pinchers, the wax and paraffin candles and snuffers, the carcel lamp, 
 burning vegetable and mineral oils, the petroleum and schist oils, 
 the coal gas, then the incandescent light, electricity, acetylene, and 
 
 11058—06 21 
 
322 FEEE AIiCOHOL. 
 
 alcohol. I skip over several, and who knows what we may expect 
 from the future. What surprises. These systems have had their 
 friends and their detractors. Each step toward progress has been 
 barred by routine, embarrassed by obstacles. Opposition takes the 
 most varied forms, finds the most unexpected arguments, and at each 
 step it has been necessary to fight, inch by inch, inertia, competition, 
 and ill will. Then these hesitations once overcome, one is struck to 
 find that these monsters were nothing but phantoms. From the 
 most primitive lamps we have jjassed to the most expensive and 
 luxurious specimens; progress strides unceasingly and nothing suc- 
 ceeds in hindering it in its ascending march. 
 
 Sometimes the researcher has borrowed from the vegetable or 
 animal kingdom, sometimes from the bowels of the earth; he takes 
 from everywhere, all elements are exploited, streets are broken open, 
 ceilings torn down, canalization is established, then to pipes succeed 
 wires, and each step ahead is marked by progress. The last step 
 taken on the other side is in the use of alcohol. What I have said 
 about light applies equally to heat and motor power, as well as to a 
 great many other industrial uses of alcohol. The mind feels dis- 
 concerted at the examination of the discoveries which inventive 
 genius unfolds, and in this unexplored domain the creative faculties 
 of the American citizen will take free flight. It is in this country 
 of marvelous resources that we see new organisms spring forth from 
 hazard, from a fortuitous circumstance, from which a mind always 
 on the alert can derive profit by assuring the practical results of 
 his discovery. 
 
 General considerations. — The question which occupies us can be 
 studied under so many diverse phases that it will be permitted me 
 only to touch in passing certain considerations which speak highly 
 for the adoption of the bill (No. 9302) brought before the last ses- 
 sion of Congress by Congressman Boutell, of Chicago, and providmg 
 the removal of revenue taxes from denatured alcohol. The pointe 
 most worthy of our consideration are the following: Hygienic, 
 economic, fiscal, agricultural, social, humanitarian, industrial, crimi- 
 nal, and antialcoholic. 
 
 Hygenic. — First as to hygiene. A common use of alcohol for in- 
 dustrial purposes, people say, will throw temptation in the way of our 
 neighbor, and thus promote intemperance. But is this so? Will 
 people drink more, or will they drink less? "Who has drunk, will 
 drink,^" says the proverb, and you can say that the progress of druiik- 
 enness is striking. Whatever has been done, no remedy has yet been 
 successful. History has neglected to register the number of cures. 
 The advertising sheet of the newspapers abounds in infallible reme- 
 dies, but a little costly. I suppose that in spite of all that may be 
 done, always and everywhere people will drink. But it seems diffi- 
 cult to admit that the drunkard wiU drink more because his room is 
 lighted by alcohol; that his cooking is done by alcohol; that his 
 motor is driven by alcohol. It is madmissible that, however de- 
 praved a drunkard may be, he will prefer to take a drink which has 
 been made repugnant when he can find it unadulterated everywhere, 
 close at hand. 
 
 Of course, there will be exceptions. There are people who have 
 drunk alcohol in which anatomical preparations were kept, in which 
 dead bodies were preserved. Still, special laws are not made for 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 323 
 
 exceptional and degraded people, any more than one thinks of sup- 
 pressing humanity under the pretense that some people are fools and 
 criminals. And at least this can be said from the hygienic point of 
 view, that it may be hoped that thus the alcohol of inferior quality will 
 escape human consumption, since, according to reports of specialists, 
 it is the absorption of this alcohol of inferior quality which is 
 especially injurious to health. 
 
 Let us pass on to the economic side of the question: 
 Economic. — This brings me naturally to speak briefly about the 
 production of alcohol in Belgium, and incidentally to mention the 
 fabrication of beet sugar, of which alcohol is a by-product. The time 
 has gone when distilling was an agricultural industry, employing 
 primitive implements. Blumenthal has invented the continuous dis- 
 tillation process. Let us not dwell upon the historic details of taxes 
 established and removed, classifications according to raw materials 
 used and implements adopted, divisions, agricultural and industrial, 
 and categories of different kinds. 
 
 Li Belgium, in 1896, the law granted exemption from duty on 
 alcohol destined to certain industrial uses. The quantities used 
 which profited by this measure in 1896-1902 were, respectively : 
 
 [Hectoliters, 50° alcom. Gay-Lussac] 
 
 1896 4,811 
 
 1897 10,800 
 
 1898 11,032 
 
 1899 10,895 
 
 1900 15,04C 
 
 1901 21,867 
 
 1902 35,128 
 
 It will be easy to ascertain the corresponding figures taken from 
 the statistics published by the French, German, Austrian, and other 
 governments, and to compare the quantities of denatured alcohol used 
 for industrial purposes, which is the point we have in view. Let it 
 suffice to know that from 166,742 hectoliters of alcohol, at 50 per cent, 
 produced in Belgium in 1832, it sprang to 736,905 hectoliters in 1901. 
 But in 1902, because of the increase in excise duty from 100 to 150 
 francs per hectoliter, the production fell to 65 per cent, 165 hectoliters. 
 
 The following table gives for the years 1901-3 the importance of 
 production and consumption of alcohol in Belgium. Owing to the 
 progressive augmentation of alcohol taxation, the consumption has 
 been always decreasing during these years : 
 
 Hectoliters at 60° in- 
 
 1901 
 
 1902 
 
 Manufactured In the country (quantities liable to taxation) . 
 Importation .' 
 
 Total 
 
 Exportations (exempt from taxation) . 
 
 Leaves for consumption 
 
 Quantities employed for industrial uses. 
 
 Human consumption . 
 
 736, 905 
 17, 837 
 
 667, 165 
 11, 850 
 
 754,"742 
 68, 349 
 
 669,015 
 52,287 
 
 696,393 
 26, 368 
 
 616, 728 
 40, 129 
 
 670, 025 
 
 576, 599 
 
 Population - - 
 
 Consumption per capita. 
 
 6,826,219 
 8.45 
 
 492,218 
 10,471 
 
 602, 684 
 67,413 
 
 436,271 
 65, 172 
 
 370,099 
 
 6,893,403 
 5.37 
 
 Belgium • General notes collected and published under the direction of the genera, 
 commissariat of Belgium, Brussels. Em Eussel, editor, 1904. 
 
324 
 
 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 We have made in Belgium, in these last few years, numerous ex- 
 periments on the lighting power of alcohol compared with the 
 power of other lights. In principle the alcohol lamp resembles the 
 petroleum lamp. The difference is in the burner. A wick draws 
 up the alcohol from the recipient. Then by exterior combustion 
 the alcohol is heated in this warm chamber, vaporizes, is mixed with 
 air, and the gas resulting from the mixture when ignited makes the 
 mantle incandescent. Along the burner runs a recuperative rod, ter- 
 minating at the top by a metal plate which receives the heat of the 
 mantle and returns it, thus producing evaporation anew. There are 
 other lamps without mantle; their lighting power is less. Some 
 lamps burn pure alcohol with the flame in the form of a tulip. 
 This light is Hot so white, and not so stable. However, some people 
 prefer these lamps. 
 
 The following table of consumption, and the comparative cost 
 price between the alcohol lamps of the French inventor, Denayrouze, 
 and the petroleum lamps, shows the results of experiments made in 
 the laboratory of photometry by Professor Eousseau, professor of 
 physics in the university and m the Military School of Brussels : 
 
 Table of consumption and comparative cost price of alcohol lamps 
 and petroleum lamps, the results of repeated experiments made by 
 Prof. E. Eousseau, of the University of Brussels : 
 
 
 Hori- 
 zontal 
 inten- 
 sity by 
 
 unit. 
 
 Consumption. 
 
 Price, 
 by unit 
 kilo- 
 gram. 
 
 Cost price in 
 centimes. 
 
 Observations. 
 
 Description of 
 lamps or 
 burners. 
 
 Oarcel 
 hour. 
 
 By hour. 
 
 By 
 hour. 
 
 By even- 
 ing of 
 6 hours. 
 
 Alco- 
 hol. 
 
 Petro- 
 leum. 
 
 Differ- 
 ence in 
 favor 
 of al- 
 cohol. 
 
 Alcohol lamps: 
 
 1»89 
 3« 04 
 4«96 
 
 1» 89 
 3° 04 
 
 4» 96 
 
 13i!'90 
 121-70 
 US' 60 
 
 338' 
 288- 
 
 32«' 
 
 26!' 
 38«' 
 57«' 50 
 
 62^ 37 
 85e'12 
 
 168s' 72 
 
 0" 60 
 O" 60 
 
 ceo 
 
 0'>23.60 
 O" 23. 50 
 
 O" 23.50 
 
 1« 300 
 1«900 
 2«875 
 
 1« 465 
 2« 000 
 
 ■ 3« 779 
 
 2" 800 
 11" 400 
 17« 250 
 
 8° 790 
 72-000 
 
 22» 374 
 
 
 
 
 12-4 
 
 
 
 
 12-5 
 
 
 
 
 Petroleum lamp, 
 rouodburnerof 
 12 lines 
 
 7« 800 
 11« 400 
 
 17" 260 
 
 8-790 
 12= 000 
 
 22» 374 
 
 0°990 
 
 Sepulchre lamp . . 
 Powerful restau- 
 rant lamp 
 
 0«600 
 5» 124 
 
 Since then several other lamps have been produced — ^the lamp 
 Lecomte, astereogas, alcolucine, alcolene, and other mediums of alcohol 
 light — of which I shall not speak at length, not wishing to appear as 
 advertising in favor of one or the other inventor. But we may just as 
 well mention here divers systems, all burning the gas of alcohol and 
 utilizing canalizations as is done for coal gas. 
 
 The possibility and the practicability of the industrial uses being 
 demonstrated, it remained to prove that alcohol could be produced at 
 a sufficiently low cost price to justify its employment. Mr. Leon 
 Mougeot, minister of agriculture in France, called in March, 1903, 
 under the presidency of Mr. Viger, a great International Congress of 
 Social Economy, which studied especially legal measures toward 
 favoring the use of alcohol. (Le Genie Civil.) Let us mention here 
 also the researches of Professor Kingelmann on the use of alcohol for 
 motors and agricultural machines, and also the studies of Professor 
 Sorel on the phenomena of combustion and carburation. We may 
 mention, by the way, stoves, baking ovens, chafing dishes, soldering 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 ^25 
 
 lamps — all using alcohol. We have seen solidified alcohol used in 
 these utensils. AH these inventions prove that in a short time great 
 progress has been made and that more strides may be expected in the , 
 future. 
 
 The following is extracted from Mr. Gardner D. Hiscox, M. E., 
 " Gas, Gasoline, and Oil Engines :" 
 
 In this study of the question of alcohol in its domestic and industrial applica- 
 tions we find that the utilization of this combustible in explosive motors is the 
 most interesting. One of the unquestioned advantages of the alcohol over gaso- 
 line is that alcohol is a fixed product, whatever may be its use. 
 
 To raise the caloric power of denatured alcohol and to lower its cost price, 
 alcohol is mixed with gasoline at 70 per cent gravity. This mixture at 50 per cent 
 gives a caloric power of 7,586 heat units per pound, which seems to be the most 
 advantageous. From the numerous trials made in France it has been found 
 that the consumption of 50 per cent carbureted alcohol Is nearly the same as 
 that of gasoline for a given power, and this notwithstanding the difference in 
 the theoretical caloric powers of the two combustibles, from which it follows 
 that the efficiency of the alcohol motor is greater than that of gasoline. Some 
 very exact experiments made by Professor Musil at Berlin have shown the 
 efficiency of various kinds of motors to be as follows : Motors run on city gas 
 (according to the type), 18 to 31 per cent; portable steam motors, 13 per cent; 
 kerosene motors, 13 per cent ; gasoline motors, 16 per cent ; alcohol motors 
 (mean figures), 23.8 per cent. 
 
 The high efficiency is evidently due to the great elasticity derived from the 
 expansion of the water vapor that is contained or produced by the alcohol at the 
 moment of its combustion, this expansion tending to make the explosions in the 
 cylinders less violent than when gasoline is used, and thus giving a longer life to 
 the wearing parts of the motor. So much has this been found to be the case 
 that in order to increase the beneficial action of the water vapor the German 
 Motor Construction Company, of Marienfeld, recommends a mixture of 20 per 
 cent of water, and has built motors to run on such a mixture that consume only 
 0.17 per horsepower hour. Finally, the result of the latest experiments recently 
 made in France for motors especially constructed for use with alcohol has been 
 a lowering to 124 pound per horsepower for medium-sized motors employing a 
 50 per cent mixture of carbureted alcohol. 
 
 As to economy for motors, I have seen diagrams, and if sometimes 
 the balance is in favor of certain other products, the difference is also, 
 as we have said before, compensated by other advantages — such as 
 cleanliness, easy care, and absence of bad odor. Economy does not 
 always agree with the ideas of comfort, such as are in favor here. 
 The necessity of luxury, the facilities, and other advantages must 
 enter into account in their turn. Velvet and silk cost certainly more 
 than a cotton dress, and God knows if the American woman is fond 
 of luxury and can dress herself with elegance. Do you mean to say 
 that the millionaire who rides in his automobile will refuse to pay a 
 few nickels more to avoid the infection to which he is subjected 
 during his promenade ? Let him who preaches extreme economy take 
 the car if he prefers this mode of locomotion, and so he will be satis- 
 fied, while the millionaire who can also have his own way will slumber 
 in his 30-horsepower motor. Each will be satisfied, and everything 
 is for the best. 
 
 In Germany they have constructed lighting apparatus from 100 to 
 COO candlepower for certain important stations, which are as powerful 
 as arc lights and of which the cost price is not so high. There, from 
 150,000 hectoliters in 1885, the use of denatured alcohol for traction, 
 lighting, and heating arose to 1,200,000 hectoliters in 1900, and, ac- 
 cording to German authorities, this quantity will augment. Through- 
 out the (3-erman Empire quantities of stations have adopted this light ; 
 in Berlin the station of Stettin, and even the palace of the Emperor, 
 
326 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 being lighted by alcohol, as well as the harbor of Meniel on the Baltic. 
 In 1900 the price of the liquid was 20 marks the hectoliter. Two dif- 
 ferent associations have succeeded in giving a steadily increasing de- 
 velopment to the uses of Alcohol. The Institute of Fermentations in 
 Berlin produces in quantities denatured alcohol, and the Central Syn- 
 dicate, Central-Spiritus-Verwerthung, at the head of which is Baron 
 de Pudlitz, favors the employment of alcohol and urges unceasingly 
 an intelligent propaganda in its behalf. That is why for the last two 
 years you find in Germany many motors driven by alcohol in place of 
 benzine, and thousands of lamps and stoves utilizing exclusively this 
 fuel. More than that, the Government pays a bounty on export- 
 products in the manufacture of which alcohol has entered. Alcohol 
 is cheap there — 23 centimes (5 cents) the liter, delivered at any rail- 
 road station ; and the consumer has interest to use it in preference to 
 petroleum on account of the heavy duty put on the importation of the 
 latter. The reasons why the cost of production is low are that alcohol 
 is made from potatoes, which require little cultivation and are grown 
 on low-priced ground. The laws against adulteration are stringent, 
 but the most important cause is found in the principle of cooperation 
 in the syndicate of agricultural distillers, which controls 80 per cent 
 of the output, and it sells to a single agency. 
 
 In Russia the industrial consumption is about 1,000,000 hectoliters 
 per year. It was 130,000 hectoliters in 1880. Rectified alcohol 
 (wodka) is a monopoly of the State there. The statistics prove that 
 in 1902 this monopoly had produced in 71 districts a sum of 488,000,- 
 000 rubles. The outlav was 142,000,000, so that the Government had 
 a return of 346,000,000 rubles. 
 
 In Switzerland it is about 60,000 hectoliters per year. In half a 
 century, from 1850-1903, the production of alcohol arose in France 
 from 940 to 2,656,000 hectoliters. In 1884 the price of alcohol was 
 254 francs a hectoliter. In 1902 the price of pure alcohol was 31 
 francs a hectoliter. The minister of agriculture endeavors by all 
 means to propogate its industrial uses. 
 
 Let us pass on to the agricultural side of the question. 
 
 Agricultural. — This question is before all an agricultural one. It 
 is at this point of view especially that the adoption of the bill laid 
 before Congress by Congressman Boutell will have an expansion of 
 which it is not possible to calculate the limits. The farmer will, 
 thanks to denatured alcohol derived from his farm, the product of 
 corn, wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, beets, fruit, etc., transformed 
 into alcohol, not only light and heat his home, cook his food, and 
 drive his engine with alcohol of medium or inferior quality, but he 
 will be able to sell it to his neighbor, who will profit from the same 
 advantages. Agricultural products by denaturation have become 
 light, heat, fuel for the motor, for agricultural implements, for the 
 service of the pump, for watering, irrigating, etc. Let us examine 
 what result denatured alcohol will show when applied to the United 
 States, where half of the population is given to agriculture, where 
 corn, potatoes, wheat, oats, fruit, etc., abound and are exported in 
 large quantities; and bear in mind that there is a market not only 
 for home consumption of the alcohol manufactured therefrom, but 
 for its export. 
 
 Alcohol is found everywhere.' It is easily extracted after fermen- 
 tation from a great number of plants and products containing sugar 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 327 
 
 or f ecule ; beets, sugar cane, molasses, wine, dregs of wine, grape pulp, 
 fruit, potatoes, rice, sorghum, corn, manioc, residue of the brewery, 
 roots, etc. It is in this land of corn that the importance of the appli- 
 cation dazzles the intellect. The agriculturist should bear in mmd 
 that more corn will be needed, better prices may be expected, the off- 
 products will have a commercial value and thus the result will be 
 greater profit. In the sugar-beet belt it has an equal importance. 
 For these two agricultural industries give besides, not to mention the 
 other by-products, an excellent food for cattle, rich in ingredients 
 easily assimilated. The manure also from these cattle will restore 
 fecundity to the ground. That is what the agriculturists of Califor- 
 nia and Colorado and the city of Peoria, 111., have understood, who 
 have adopted pulp as a basis of alimentation for their dairy cows and 
 cattle, and this is all the more important, that the stability of condi- 
 tions, internal and external, is assured here. 
 Allow me to quote official documents : 
 
 Corn is admittedly ttie best alcohol producing material in the world, and corn 
 alcohol can be produced in this country cheaper than in any other part of the 
 world. With proper rules and regulations which would put our people upon an 
 equality in the matter of facilities for presenting their product to the markets 
 of the world, with our improved machinery and appliances in use for the dis- 
 tillation of our alcohol our produce would practically control the world's market 
 for alcohol. (Senate Reports, vol. 2, No. 411, 55th Congress, 2d session, 1897-98, 
 p. 869.) 
 
 Fiscal. — As to the fiscal aspect of the question, it should not hinder 
 the Government in a country as prosperous as the United States, 
 where the resources are bountiful and where the burdens of European 
 states are lacking. The unequaled prosperity of this marvelous 
 country does not permit the hindrance of small preoccupations which 
 paralyze other countries less fortunate, less bountifully endowed by 
 nature. These resources are such that they provoke the stupefaction 
 of foreign governments, which feel themselves menaced in their com- 
 merce; the exuberant prosperity of the United States is one of the 
 subjects of envy and of jealousy which tariffs do~not succeed in stay- 
 ing or in circumventing. Here agricultural questions are the object 
 of the solicitude of the Government, and it will be quick work for the 
 State to conquer the opposition of concurrent trade when it wishes to 
 dispose of its produce and that has no other aim than to accumulate 
 colossal wealth. There is an easy way to turn the difficulty which has 
 been adopted in Germany : Increase the sale price of drinkable alco- 
 hol and reduce as much as possible the price of denatured alcohol. 
 
 You will be told that alcohol is too dear, but nobody will tell you 
 how it is that it is dear. The reason is very simple. It is because the 
 alcohol is weighted with taxes and formidable duties which the gov- 
 ernments, with an aim, at the same time moral and financial, have 
 imposed upon it as a drink. In spite of the pitiful sentences and the 
 contrite gestures, most governments rejoice secretly to see the fire- 
 water consumed by their citizens. It furnishes an easy taxation, 
 borne without much murmuring, which with a little skill and habit 
 is adorned with brilliant moral and humanitarian colors, and in which 
 the money, the essential thing in their eyes, does not cease to increase 
 in a fruitful progression. With a few sonorous words and an effect- 
 ive climax 'one easily enough frightens natures and souls which are 
 easily accessible to fear. 
 
328 TEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Expert opinion is to the effect that tax-free alcohol could be profit- 
 ably sold in the United States at 15 to 20 cents per gallon, whereas 
 the quality used in the arts and manufactures now bears a revenue 
 lax nearly fourteen times the cost of manufacture. The growth of 
 domestic trade is thus greatly hampered and the development of the 
 foreign trade rendered impossible, all this to the detriment of Ameri- 
 can labor. The savants have finished their role, and the interested 
 people lend themselves to experiments which are repeated everywhere. 
 Manufacturers have gone resolutely into this line, and every day you . 
 can see in the streets, more and more automobiles driven by alcohol 
 carrying merchandise and delivering it at the door. In Paris you can 
 even see an automobile ambulance of the Red Cross. 
 
 It is the turn of the governments to take up these researches and to 
 facilitate the application of the acquired results. Divers govern- 
 ments, France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Belgium, Italy, etc., 
 have granted partial and complete exemption from taxation which 
 burdened alcohol destined to special industrial uses, for nowadays 
 alcohol is employed as well for driving engines, automobiles, and 
 boats. 
 
 Certain burners consume, it is true, less weight of alcohol than 
 of petroleum. One burns less liquid, and the difference in price 
 is thus advantageously compensated in favor of alcohol where pe- 
 troleum is burdened by heavy taxes or costly transport. This ques- 
 tion has become the object of preoccupation of those who have at 
 heart the welfare of humanity and who take an interest in the ad- 
 vancement of agriculture and of progress in general. You must 
 have read in the papers about automobile races held in France, in 
 Germany, in Austria, in Ireland, in Belgium, and certainly nobody 
 ignores the development gained by automobilism in the United 
 States. Let me say in passing that this new industry is due to the 
 enlightened initiative of one of my countrymen. Baron van Zuylen, 
 who has established large works in Paris. The columns of the news- 
 papers are full of daring exploits and of the deadly accidents which 
 have been the lot of the hardy chaffeur. Launch races are of recent 
 actuality, and have given the proof that this industry, which until 
 now had been pure sport, has become of practical value. 
 
 Social. — But now let us take up another side of the question : Think 
 also of the new field offered to labor; the vast horizons which are 
 opened by the creation of new industries utilizing the products of 
 American soil. The workman will be able to work at home in the 
 evening; his wife will be able to cook his dinner without much 
 labor; the country will be lighted like the town; the farm like the 
 mansion. To be sure, there remains for us to face the question ol 
 trusts, but they have an opponent whom I shall not designate. He 
 alone suffices to solve the difficulty and to reduce it for public good. 
 Besides, in America the man with a hoe has something to say, and 
 to my knowledge in the United States he has both teeth and claws. 
 He has decided not to be trampled upon — and he is millions. That 
 is why he will conquer the sullen hostility of a small oligarchy, 
 jealous to see its sphere of action encroached upon, and desirous of 
 paralyzing all efforts in the march of progress. It is the assault 
 given to the men of greed by 30,000,000 of agriculturists against 
 a few millionaires who will understand that they must submit, and 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 329 
 
 that remedies can be found to curb them if they don't obey willingly 
 to the law which does not distinguish between rich and poor. 
 
 Humanitarian. — The antialcoholic societies which accomplish with 
 so much zeal their arduous duties and assume the task of bringing 
 remedies to the evils engendered by the abuses of 'drink, will not fail 
 to understand the importance of this new orientation. They will 
 certainly give their help toward pushing the public powers and pro- 
 voking initiative in the direction of the industrial utilization of 
 solidified alcohol, artificial silk, and a great many uses besides. By 
 ignoring facts, in keeping silence, one finishes by seeming to approve 
 what should be corrected. 
 
 Expositions. — ^Let it suffice to state these facts in a cursory study, 
 which has no other aim than to call the attention of public powers 
 in order to provoke an attentive and minute study of the studies des- 
 tined to create new national riches, and above all, researches made 
 in view of utilizing the products of the soil. In certain countries 
 so-called progress is but a treadmill where they merely mark time. 
 Administrations abhor innovations, and- they await to see what is 
 being done elsewhere. In other countries where the governments 
 have at heart the interest of agriculture, as in Germany and France, 
 for instance, the march is resolutely forward. They have understood 
 the utility of exempting from taxation the alcohol destined for in- 
 dustrial purposes. This has permitted the creation of new industries 
 which consume large quantities of alcohol. 
 
 Germany, England, France, Switzerland, etc., rival one another in 
 zeal in favoring the use of alcohol for lighting, heating, motoring, 
 and give important premiums for the best apparatus, as well as 
 prizes to be distributed in automobile races. The secretary of agri- 
 culture, Mr. Dupuy, witnessed on the 28th of October, 1900, the start 
 of 51 automobiles, driven by alcohol, to take part in the race between 
 Paris and Rouen. This race, known as " The Second Criterion of 
 Alcohol," was organized by Mr. Giffart. Allow me to mention in 
 passing the illumination of the Orangery at the banquet given to the 
 mayors of France and the open-air lighting of the gardens of Vin- 
 cennes during the international exposition. It was proved that it is 
 possible to intensify the lighting power of alcohol by incandescence 
 in the same way that it is done for gas. The incandescent light of 
 alcohol is brighter than the light of gas, does not smell, and is less 
 dangerous than petroleum. 
 
 In the great agricultural show of 1901, held in the gallery of ma- 
 chines, a special section was reserved for motor alcohol. Another 
 test of the value of automobiles driven by alcohol was given in 1901 
 in the "north circuit," organized by Mr. Famichon. There it was 
 proved, besides, that a new exploding mixture formed with air and 
 vapor of alcohol gave satisfaction to all exigencies of the chaffeur, 
 even in regard to swiftness. This race comprehended two tests in 
 several categories, by water as well as by land: (1) The test of 
 fpeed on the road between Champigny and St. Germainen-Laye, 
 by Eetel and St. Quentin, the distance covered being 924 kilo- 
 meters in two heats, on the 15th and 16th of May. The speed 
 attained should be considered as a minimum which could be easily 
 surpassed, as the weather was most inclement and the bad con- 
 dition of the roads was a serious drawback. (2) As to the quan- 
 
330 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 titles of alcohol used during this race : The test took place May 15 to 
 17, between Paris, Boulogne-sur-mer, and return — say a distance of 
 730 kilometers. The weather was again favorable. Mud stuck to 
 the wheels, which necessitated additional power. The mininnun 
 quantity of alcohol consumed for heavy industrial carriages was 
 99.0643 c. c. per ton per kilometer. Professor Ringelmann states on 
 that occasion that the small consumption is suitable to the small 
 reservoirs which it is desirable to conceal as much as possible under 
 the carriages as well as in the launches, and the absence of disagree- 
 able odors demonstrates that alcohol carburetted to 50 per cent can 
 very well replace mineral essences for automobiles and for boats. 
 The boat tests were equally satisfactory. We must admit that the 
 cost price was in favor of essence, other advantages being in favor 
 of alcohol, such as cleanliness, easy start and motion, absence of odor, 
 and avoidance of repeated cleaning, which is one of the disadvantages 
 of petroleum. These advantages compensated the slight difference 
 of cost price, taking into consideration the fact that until then auto- 
 mobolism was a luxury. 
 
 In ten months the said department has organized two expositions 
 of lighting and heating apparatus, fixed motors and automobiles, 
 marine motors, implements of all sorts, as well for agriculture as for 
 industry, all using denatured alcohol. 
 
 A rather interesting experiment was made in Congress Hall of the 
 Bourbon Palace in the presence of the agricultural group of the 
 French legislative chamber. A conference on the inventions of in- 
 candescent lighting by alcohol was followed by practical experiment, 
 and all the hemicycle was lighted by a single burner, which thus 
 demonstrated all the advantages to be derived from this medium of 
 light. The initiative of the congressmen of this agricultural center 
 has thus permitted the public to discern that the country, as well as 
 the towns, may be lighted without means of canalization, "and that the 
 agriculturists may derive from their fields the productive substances 
 of the light which they require. In the company of friends more 
 competent than myself I visited an exposition of alcohol held in 
 Paris by the ministry of agriculture in the Palace of Industry in 
 1902. We all admired the excellent organization and the intelligent 
 direction which were evidenced in this contest, and we were happy 
 to witness the unanimity of the praise from foreigners greeting the 
 success of this marvelous and fairy illumination of the ancient gal- 
 lery of machinery. At this exposition of Champs de Mars, May 24 — 
 June 1, 1902, I saw a quite novel apparatus, which will appeal to 
 agriculturists. It was an automobile mowing machine. This ma- 
 chine deserves to be pointed out. The price was high, but would 
 certainly be notably reduced if its employment became general. 
 
 We have seen that these inventions have gone beyond the laboratory 
 domain and have entered within the practical. They have stood the 
 test of several years' experiment. Nearly 800 exhibitors have dis- 
 puted for the trophies, superb works of art, the artistic medals in 
 which the refined taste and skilled craftsmanship enhanced llieir 
 value. The dual object which the Government had in view was to 
 evidence and to enhance the recent discoveries, and. also to encourage 
 the production, as well as to favor the use of denatured alcohol. It 
 was there that our King was struck by the immense advantages of 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 331 
 
 the application of alcohol for automobiles and conceived the idea of 
 employing it in the Kongo, which has actually been done there. The 
 success of the show was co7nplete and the proof was made in the 
 most conclusive way that lighting by alcohol is one of the most per- 
 fect means that exists and that the automobiles, the motor,-, the ma- 
 rine motors, ran as excellently as could be desired. Since that time 
 new experiments are being pushed in that direction — motor alcohol. 
 They have in Paris a dynamometer constructed especially for meas- 
 uring the effective power at the wheel rim of automobiles. The ex- 
 periments made in this way were found to agree perfectlj^ with those 
 made during the road tests. There could be seen a thrashing machine 
 which was being experimented. 
 
 Instead of fighting alcohol and of smothering it by preventive 
 taxes, it seems more logical to denature it chemically and to exact 
 that it render the most important services which it is capable of ren- 
 dering as motor power. 
 
 Other international expositions have taken place — in Salle, Ger- 
 many, and in Brussels, in the Palace Cinquantenaire, February 7-16. 
 Last year during the cattle show a model dairy could be seen at work, 
 the motive power being supplied by an engine driven by alcohol. 
 Let us signalize the great success won by motor alcohol in the great 
 international contest, Paris- Vienna, in 1902, the most important dis- 
 play as yet organized as to the number and quality of carriages and 
 in overcoming the difficulty of the roads. Out of the 218 chaffeurs, 
 26 preferred alcohol to essence. The Banard-Levassor motor car 
 driven by carburetted alcohol arrived first at Belief or t, covering the 
 408 kilometers which separate this town from Champigny at the 
 medium speed of 90 kilometers (55.9 miles) per hour. Certain parts 
 were covered at the rate of 123 kilometers, notably between Fontenay 
 and Rozoy. Such a high speed had never before been reached on the 
 Paris-Bellefort run. The adaptibility to this use can not be doubted 
 therefore. One of the large consumers of alcohol will be the auto- 
 mobilist. Rene de Knyff, one of my countrymen, was champion, 
 wuming the cup d'Aremberg, thus proving that alcohol is recom- 
 mendable, not only in point of endurance in practical use, but in point 
 of speed. Let us hope that these lessons will not be lost, and that 
 you will derive profit from the experience acquired elsewhere. 
 
 Last year in Vienna in the Rotunda of the Prater ample proof was 
 given of the great strides made in the direction of alcohol used in 
 its multiple applications to industr^'. The Industrial Administra- 
 tions of Lower Austria, organized in 1904, April 21-June 12 — this 
 international exposition in the Rotunda and part of the Prater, Ger- 
 many, Russia, France, Belgium, and Italy took part. Austria made 
 the most important showing, though its development in this line 
 is recent. The Emperor of Germany sent the section of a train 
 driven by an alcohol engine, as well as an automobile searchlight. 
 By the side of these were shown toys worked by alcohol and diminu- 
 tive men-of-war maneuvering in the basin. In the French compart- 
 ment could be seen a light-house with a powerful alcohol lamp, the 
 exhibit of the Pasteur Institute and of the laboratory of the experi- 
 mental office, subsidized by the French Government, the exhibit of 
 the National School of Agricultural Industries of Douai, and the 
 fine display of artificial silk of the inventor Chardonnet attracted 
 
332 FEEE AliCOHOL. 
 
 special and well-deserved attention. Allow me to quote from a, re- 
 port dated the iTth December, 1897 : 
 
 The committee has fully and carefully considered the subject and has reached 
 the conclusion that it would not be expedient under existing conditions to exempt 
 alcohol or any other form of distilled spirits from the payment of internal- 
 revenue tax when used in the arts and manufactures. — Joint views of James K. 
 Jones, Walter Evans, Benton McMillin, C. H. Piatt, C. A. Russell ; individual 
 view, Walter A. Evans. 
 
 Conclusions. — But time passes and I must cut short. The question, 
 as you see, is not new in the United States. The circumstances to 
 which I refer by the above quotation have changed and this has struck 
 the attention of Mr. Boutell. New discoveries have been made in 
 France, Germany, Austria, and other European countries, and 
 brought to a practical solution. Why should you not do what has been 
 done elsewhere ? Washington is becoming one of the leading capitals 
 of the world. The inauguration of the new building of the Depart- 
 ment of Agriculture offers a timely opportunity to invite the Old 
 World countries to show there what has already been done in the 
 direction of alcohol light, heat, and motor power. In order to con- 
 vince and to let subsist no further doubt, why should you not hold 
 there an exposition of alcohol, a special exhibition demonstrating the 
 importance, the practical side of its industrial uses, and thus open a 
 new and fruitful field to the inventive capacities of the American peo- 
 ple, of which they have given so many and such ample proofs. Let us 
 keep before our eyes that he who contents himself by living in the 
 shadow condemns himself to be ignored, and let us not forget that it is 
 not easy to recuperate the energy necessary to the prosperity of the 
 undertaking that one has once deserted. Happiness and grandeur 
 result, above all, from the intelligent activity of the workers of a 
 country. 
 
 This is the object for which I have come as a friend to talk of 
 familiarly with you. I endeavor to make you profit by the good 
 things we have on our side, as within a short time I shaJl, in exchange, 
 put at the disposal of my countrymen what I have learned in contact 
 with people more learned and possessing an experience by which they 
 have not yet profited. It is because I Imow that the regular develop- 
 ment of commercial relations between peoples constitute one of the 
 surest factors, the most certain path toward consummating lasting 
 peace that I am here to-day. Good tactics consist in deriving benefit 
 from the experience acquired by others at their risk and in applying 
 results highly paid for to our own needs. 
 
 This part of acting as a link between peoples made to appreciate 
 each other by learning to know each other, who by exchanging their 
 products and their knowledge become friends, is the dream which I 
 endeavor to realize, the ideal, the aim to which I have consecrated my 
 life. I am a grateful son of this great country to which I am indebted 
 for my happiness, and I try to repay my debt by a good deed. You 
 may find, perhaps, that as a foreigner I place my ambition too high, 
 that my ideal is lost in the clouds. What can I say ? I remember that 
 the geese of Rome have saved the capital, and my ambition does not 
 aspire that high. May I find the words to make you share the con- 
 viction that I have acquired by study, and that is based upon a rather 
 costly experience gained through several years. I wish to make 
 vibrate with enthusiasm your souls filled with love for the welfare of 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 333 
 
 your country. I do not speak with the ardor of youth; enthusiasm 
 sometimes agrees illy with the adoption of certain measures, and one 
 must speak after ripe reflection when from what one says may depend 
 the fortune of people in whom one feels interest. 
 
 Excuse me for having wandered from my field. The experience 
 which I have won by age makes me read into the future. I foresee a 
 new orientation, which will be served by pacific efforts and silent toil. 
 I foresee new economic victories and new strides in the path of prog- 
 ress. I can foresee that progress will spread over the length and 
 breadth of the United States as shine the rays of the beacon light 
 over New York Harbor in the hand of the Goddess of Liberty, dif- 
 fusing their luminous effulgence far and near, the symbol of liberty 
 lighting the whole world. 
 
 A. Van Sghelle, Chicago. 
 
 March 5, 1905. 
 
 V. CREDENTIALS OF RUFUS F. HERRICK. 
 [See page 27.] 
 
 American Chemical Society, 
 
 Northeastern Section, 
 Boston, February 2, 1906. 
 Mr. EuFus F. Herrick. 
 
 Dear Sir: I take pleasure in informing you that the executive 
 committee of the northeastern section of the American Chemical 
 Society are unanimously in favor of your representing the section in 
 favor of removing the internal-revenue tax on alcohol that has been 
 denaturized or otherwise rendered undrinkable at the hearing before 
 the Committee on Ways and Means, at Washington. 
 Yours, sincerely, 
 
 Arthur M. Cornet, Secretary. 
 
 SociETT OF Chemical Industry, 
 
 New England Section, 
 Boston, Mass., February 3, 1906. 
 Mr. KuFUS F. Herrick, 
 
 Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. G. 
 My Dear Mr. Herrick : It gives me pleasure to advise you that by 
 vote of the New England section of the Society of Chemical Industry, 
 at their meeting held February 2, 1906, you were elected accredited 
 delegate to represent the section before the Committee on Ways and 
 Means at the hearing February 7, 1906, on tax-free denaturized 
 alcohol. 
 This letter will serve you as your credential. 
 Yours, very truly, 
 
 Alan A. Claflin, 
 Honorary Secretary Local Section. 
 
334 
 
 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 VI. REPORT OF TEST OF ALCOHOL AND OIL LAMPS BY ELECTRICAL 
 TESTING LABORATORIES. 
 
 [See page 28.] 
 
 Electrical Testing Laboeatoeies, 
 
 General Office and LABORATOKrES, 
 Eightieth Street and East End Avenue, 
 
 New York, N. T., February g, 1906. 
 
 [Report No. 1870. Report on test of alcohol and oil lamps. Orders Nos. 1783 and 1784.) 
 
 The technical details of this test are set forth in report No. 1865. 
 From the results of the test the following data are compiled: 
 
 Lamp. 
 
 One gal- 
 lon will 
 last— 
 
 Candle- 
 power. 
 
 Candle- 
 power 
 hours. 
 
 
 ft. m. 
 58 52 
 87 
 
 25 
 9 
 
 1,471 
 783 
 
 Oil 
 
 
 
 Approved : 
 
 Electrical Testing Laboratories, 
 (Signed) Preston D. Miller. 
 
 Wilson S. Howell, 
 
 Manager. 
 
 VII. REPORT OP SECOND TEST OF ALCOHOL AND OIL LAMP, BY 
 ELECTRICAL TESTING LABORATORIES, WITH EXPLANATORY 
 LETTER. 
 
 [See pages 28 and 152.] 
 
 16 Herrick Street, 
 Winchester, Mass., March 3, 1906. 
 Hon. Seeeno E. Payne, 
 
 Chairman Committee on Ways and Means, 
 
 House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir: At the hearing before your honorable committee on 
 February 7 I submitted a report of the Electrical Testing Labora- 
 tories, giving certain facts as to a comparative test of the lighting 
 value of alcohol and kerosene. 
 
 On February 20 Mr. Edgar B. Stephens, secretary and treasurer of 
 the Wood Products Company, of Buffalo, in testifying before your 
 committee, made the assertion that he was informed by a gentleman 
 connected with the Electrical Testing Laboratories that, in arranging 
 for the comparative test of alcohol and kerosene burning lamps, 1 
 had selected " a' little old hand lamp of an obsolete pattern " for use 
 in burning kerosene." 
 
 This statement is altogether untrue. The lamp taken by me to tlm 
 Electrical Testing Laboratories for this purpose was not " a little old 
 hand lamp of an obsolete pattern," but a new average-sized chandelier 
 lamp, with the style of wick and burner which is in use by a large 
 
 o See page 152. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 335 
 
 majority of the 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 farmers of the country, and by 
 the residents of the smaller towns and villages. 
 
 I selected this lamp because I was informed by representatives of 
 the largest lamp manufacturers that this style and kind of lamp, or 
 those of even less light-giving capacity, were the kind of which by 
 far the largest quantity were manufactured and sold in this country. 
 
 I have inquired of the Electrical Testing Laboratories as to whether 
 any statement was made by their representative, as alleged by Mr. 
 Stephens, and am informed positively that nothing of the kind was 
 stated. 
 
 In view, however, of the fact that the statement by Mr. Stephens 
 was calculated to create a doubt in the minds of the members of your 
 committee as to the reliability of the report as to the relative efficiency 
 of alcohol and kerosene, I took occasion immediately on reading a 
 report of his testimony to arrange for another comparative test. 
 
 I called on various large manufacturers of round-wick kerosene- 
 burning lamps, and, after a careful investigation, purchased from 
 Messrs. Edward Miller & Co., one of the largest lamp manufacturing 
 concerns in the country, a 30-candlepower round wick central draft 
 lamp, which had been found by photometric tests to give 30 candle- 
 power. This lamp was thoroughly tested on March 2 and 3 by the 
 Electrical Testing Laboratories in comparison with a " Boivin " 
 alcohol-burning lamp, using a Welsbach mantle. 
 
 Each of these lamps were found by photometric tests to give 
 slightly over 30 candlepower. The consumption of alcohol and 
 kerosene by each lamp was very carefully noted, with the result that 
 the completed tests showed that with an alcohol-burning lamp giving 
 30.35 candlepower a gallon of alcohol would burn for fifty-seven 
 hours and five minutes, and that with a kerosene lamp of 30.8 candle- 
 power a gallon of kerosene would last twenty-eight hours and forty 
 minutes. This establishes the fact that with two lamps of an equal 
 lighting capacity a gallon of alcohol will furnish nearly twice as 
 much light as a gallon of kerosene. 
 
 I may state in this connection that the lamp furnished b;^ Messrs. 
 Miller & Co. is stated by them to be the type of lamp which their 
 experience has shown to be the very best yet designed, in so far as 
 high light-giving and low kerosene-consuming capacity is concerned. 
 
 In these tests care was taken to use the best quality of kerosene, so 
 that there would be no question as to the entire fairness of the test. 
 
 By comparing the inclosed certificate of the Electrical Testing 
 Laboratories with that of the first test referred to in my testimony 
 before your honorable committee on February 7, you will find that the 
 results of the second test show even more strongly than the first test 
 the superiority of alcohol over kerosene, and I am pleased to be able 
 to furnish you this convincing proof that in my testimony submitted 
 in regard to this matter there was nothing erroneous or misleading. 
 
 I note in the statement submitted by Mr. Stephens the assertion that 
 makers of certain kinds of kerosene lamps claim an exceedingly large 
 candlepower can be developed with a comparatively small consump- 
 tion of kerosene. I have made careful inquiry, but can find no proof 
 that any of these lamps have ever been subjected to actual tests by a 
 recognized authority, such as the Electrical Testing Laboratories. 
 Yours, very respectfully, 
 
 Etrrus F. Heebick. 
 
336 free alcohol. 
 
 Electrical Testing Laboratories, 
 
 General Office and Laboratories, 
 Eightieth Street and East End Avenue, 
 
 New York, N. Y., March 3, 1906. 
 
 [Report No. 191-7. Report on comparative test of a French Incandescent mantle alcohol 
 lamp and a round- wick center-draft Miller kerosene lamp. Order No. 1859.] 
 
 The technical details of this test are set forth in report No. 1916. 
 From the results of the test the following data are compiled. 
 
 Lamp. 
 
 One gal- 
 lon will 
 last- 
 
 Candle- 
 power. 
 
 Candle- 
 power 
 hours. 
 
 
 h. m. 
 57 5 
 28 40 
 
 30.35 
 30.8 
 
 1,732 
 883 
 
 Oil 
 
 
 
 Electrical Testing Laboratories. 
 Preston S. Millar. 
 
 Approved by — Clayton H. Sharp, Test Officer. 
 
 VIII. FORMULAE OF SAMPLES OF ALCOHOL EXHIBITED BY RUFUS 
 
 K. HERRICK. 
 
 [See page 33.] 
 
 1. Denaturized alcohol with PoUachek's denaturant. 
 
 2. Denaturized alcohol (German formula) : 100 alcohol 95 per 
 cent, 2\ denaturant. This denaturant made from 4 of partially 
 purified wood alcohol, 1 of pyridin. 
 
 3. Denaturized alcohol (German formula) : 100 alcohol 95 per 
 cent, 2^ denaturant. This denaturant made from 4 of crude wood 
 alcohol, 1 of pyridin. 
 
 4. Denaturized alcohol (Argentine Republic formula) : 100 alco- 
 hol 95 per cent, 1 oil of myrbane. 
 
 5. Denaturized alcohol (Switzerland, Doctor Lang's formula) : 
 100 alcohol 95 per cent, 2 methylic acetone. Commercial : One-third 
 superior acetone, one-fourth per cent pyridin. 
 
 6. Denaturized alcohol (Great Britain, "Mineralized spirits"): 
 95 alcohol 95 per cent, 5 crude wood alcohol, three-eighths of 1 per 
 cent mineral naphtha. 
 
 Denaturized alcohol (Great Britain, " Methylated spirits ") : 90 
 alcohol 95 per cent, 10 crude wood alcohol. 
 
 IX. LETTER OF A. VON SCHBLLE, PRESENTED BY RUFUS K. 
 
 HERRICK. 
 
 [See page 33.] 
 
 DENATURIZING ALCOHOL. 
 
 To the Gazette : Each country has adopted different ways of mak- 
 ing alcohol unfit for a beverage. A distinction should be made 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 337 
 
 between a general denaturant and special denaturants. To make 
 this more clear besides the alcohol used for lighting, heating, and 
 motive power, there are numerous industries in which alcohol is 
 necessary either as a dissolvent or as first ingredient, and accord- 
 ing to these different uses the Government grants a partial or com- 
 plete removal of taxation. 
 
 In Germany denaturation is practiced on alcohol at 80° Guy- 
 Lussac. The general denaturant now used in Germany is composed 
 thus : 1 liter of metylene, one-fourth liter of pyridine, and 2 liters of 
 benzol for 100 liters of alcohol. When utilized for production of 
 motive power, the proportion of benzol added is greatly increased— 
 15 to 50 per cent. In France conditions of denaturation are fixed by 
 the consulting committee of arts and manufactures of France. They 
 use principally metylene, say 10 liters to 100 liters of alcohol at 90° 
 Guy-Lussac. For alcohol intended for heating and lighting they 
 add to this mixture one-half a liter of heavy benzine having the char- 
 acteristic odor of the heavy product of the distillation of coal and 
 boiling at between 150°-200°. This general denaturant gives every 
 guarantee to the fiscal authorities, but it costs about three times as 
 much as the general denaturant used in Germany. Mr. Sorel, one of 
 the great authorities in this matter, advocates another formula: To 
 97 liters alcohol 90° he adds 1 liter methylene, 1 liter benzol, and 1 
 liter of grease or oil taken from the wool of sheep. 
 
 In Switzerland the authorities use Doctor Lang's denaturant, 
 which is for 100 liters of alcohol 94°, 2 liters methylethylique acetone 
 and one-third of a liter superior acetone. Lately they have added 
 to this mixture one-half per cent of pyridine oil. This denaturant is 
 rather costly. Greece and Eoumania have adopted a denaturant 
 about the same as that used by Germany. In the Argentine Eepublic 
 denaturation is practiced by adding to 1,000 liters alcohol 5 liters 
 essence of mirbane or 3 liters of terpinoleine. 
 
 All of these denaturants have given satisfaction to the different 
 governments, and it may be safely said that the experience of the 
 past and the great progress realized in the domain of denaturation 
 have crushed the arguments so often invoked by the adversaries of 
 denaturation that the denaturant can be removed and thus the 
 alcohol can be renatured. 
 
 So many varied points of view can be taken, either social or 
 economic, hygienic, moral, legal, criminal, all different according to 
 the different conditions of the countries where denaturation is applied, 
 that volumes might be written. Allow me to cut short by stating 
 that such is the confidence that I have in the immense future for 
 alcohol that I have built a distillery. My intention is not to make 
 degenerates, but to give to my neighbors light, heat, and motor 
 power. The old canalization of gas pipes is now used for alcohol 
 gas, and the light is as bright as the best electric light. Scientists 
 are at work to invent special denaturants which are patented, and 
 their realization brings large sums of money to the inventors of such 
 products as artificial silk and solidified alcohol. 
 
 From letters which I have received from American correspondents 
 it appears that there exists a movement in favor of holding in 
 Washington during the session of Congress a special exposition of 
 applied alcohol in all of its industrial and economic uses. This has 
 
 11058—06 22 
 
338 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 already been done in France, Germany, Austria, and other countries, 
 and such a scheme I have already proposed to Secretary "Wilson dur- 
 ing my stay in "Washington last May. This is certainly the most 
 practical way to demonstrate that what has been done elsewhere 
 could be introduced without difficulty in the land of plenty, all the 
 more so that corn is produced there in the best conditions and that 
 it constitutes the best material to make good alcohol. Molasses, a 
 by-product of beet sugar factories, is also used in Belgium to make 
 alcohol under economical conditions. 
 
 A. Van Schelle. 
 American-Belgian Chamber of Commerce, Brussels. 
 
 X. LETTER AS TO PRICE OP LION D'ORR. 
 
 [See page 34.] 
 
 Boston, Mass., February 6, 1906. 
 Mr. EuFtrs F. Hereick, 
 
 Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. C. 
 Dear Mr. Hereick: Yours of February 5, 1906, received this 
 morning. Lion D'Orr costs us $2.25 per gallon, on which a fair 
 retail price would be $3; 1 quart, $0.85; 1 pint, $0.50; i pint, $0.25. 
 I shall be pleased to hear your report on this conference. 
 Very truly, yours, 
 
 Frank Davidson. 
 
 XI. TEST OF LION D'ORR BY HENRY J. WILLIAMS. 
 
 Chemical Laboratory, 161 Teemont Street, 
 
 Boston, February 6, 1906. 
 Mr. RtTEUs F. Hereick, 
 
 Hotel Raleigh, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir: I herewith inclose receipted bill as per your request 
 of yesterday received. The sample of " Lion D'Orr " was delivered 
 by Metcalf Saturday afternoon and I have made the tests which you 
 asked for to-day. The package as delivered was sealed, and it bore 
 a duplicate of the inclosed outer label on the bottle; also at the 
 bottom of the bottle another large label 4 inches long by 2 wide bear- 
 ing the inscription in heavy letters, five-sixteenths of an inch long 
 by one-sixteenth inch thick, " "Wood alcohol, poison." 
 
 By chemical test I find this alcohol, which has very little odor 
 and is colorless or water white, possesses the following properties: 
 
 Boiling point, 65° to 67° C; very constant, 65.5° to 06°. A 
 slight yellowish residue (2 per cent by volume) remains, boiling 
 above 67° C. Specific gravity at 20° C, 0.799. 
 
 Ten cubic centimeters bulk, containing 1 cc. alcohol — i. e., 10 per 
 cent by volume tested with HjSO^, after addition of 2 drops 0.5 per 
 cent resorcine solution — yields a very faint pinkish color with much 
 greenish at the dividing line between the two liquids. The same 
 amount of " Lion d'Or " after oxidation 6 times with the copper coil 
 yields immediately a very decided pink color with abundant white 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 339 
 
 flocks. Commercial ethyl alcohol of the same strength, similarly oxi- 
 dized, yields practically nothing that can be mistaken for pink. 
 
 The " Lion d'Or " is unquestionably, in my opinion, methyl alco- 
 hol deodorized and having lost some of its more volatile constituents. 
 
 I learn that perfectly pure methyl alcohol is not considered poison- 
 ous by some chemists, though they are pretty well agreed that impure 
 or crude wood alcohol is poisonous. _ 
 
 Trusting that the above gives you all the Information which you 
 desired, I remain, 
 
 Yours, very truly, Henry J. Williams. 
 
 XII. MEMORANDA RESPECTING THE CONSUMPTION OP UNTAXED 
 ALCOHOL IN GREAT BRITAIN FOR INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES. 
 
 A parliamentary commission was appointed in Great Britain in 
 1 904 to inquire into the " existing facilities for the use without pay- 
 ment of tax of alcohol in the arts and manufactures." This report 
 states that the total quantity of untaxed denaturized alcohol used 
 was 5,500,000 imperial proof gallons, of which 1,800,000 was used as 
 solvent for shellac in producing varnish, etc. The commission esti- 
 mated that as a result of the extension of the use of alcohol for indus- 
 trial purposes about 3,500,000 proof gallons additional would be used. 
 
 This parliamentary commission visited Germany, and the follow- 
 ing are some of the comments made in their report : 
 
 In Berlin alcohol, which was to compete with gas as well as with oil, is very- 
 little used. In the rural districts oil is probably dearer than in Berlin and more 
 difficult to procure, whereas methylated spirits is of universal distribution and of 
 uniform price, and it is therefore in these rural regions that the main consump- 
 tion takes place. 
 
 In Great Britain, with cheap gas and cheap oil, no conceivable reduction in 
 the price of methylated spirits would make such spirits able to compete with 
 them in price, and price must always be the determining motive of choice for 
 the mass of the people, for though alcohol has certain advantages in directions 
 other than price, they are not of any marlced significance in themselves, nor are 
 they of a character to appeal very powerfully to the masses. 
 
 (The alcohol lamp has been vastly improved since this report was 
 written.) 
 
 The commissioners visited a warehouse in Berlin to witness the 
 operation of denaturizing alcohol used for heating, lighting, cooking, 
 etc. Referring to the material used for rendering the alcohol unfit 
 for use as a beverage the report states : 
 
 The denaturing mixture, consisting of four parts of wood naphtha to one part 
 of pyridine bases, is received in iron drums ready mixed from the factory where 
 it is prepared, which we subsequently visited. The drums are kept under rev- 
 enue seal, and may only be opened in the presence of the x-evenue officer. The 
 quantity of denaturant required from each cask is drawn off In a graduated 
 can and emptied into the cask through the bunghole. The revenue officers keep 
 a running account of the quantity drawn off from the store drum from time to 
 time on a label attached to the drum. 
 
 After the addition of the denaturant the revenue officers must satisfy them- 
 selves that a thorough mixture of the spirit and denaturant Is effected by .<!tir- 
 ring with a wooden rod or by rolling the cask about, and the denatured spirit is 
 then free from further revenue control. 
 
340 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Consumption of untaxed industrial alcohol in Germany. 
 
 Fiscal year ending October 1— 
 
 Hectoliters 
 of pure or ab- 
 solute alco- 
 hol. 
 
 Quantities 
 expressed In 
 
 American 
 proof or tax- 
 able gallons. 
 
 1899-1900 
 
 1,047,417 
 1,161,326 
 1,114,230 
 1, 289, 123 
 1,394,607 
 
 55,303,617 
 61,318,012 
 58,831,344 
 68,065,694 
 73,635,249 
 
 1900-1901 -. 
 
 1901-1902 
 
 1902-1903 
 
 1903-1904 
 
 
 The hectoliter is equal to 26^ American Wine gallons. In Germany the unit of tax is 
 a liter of pure or absolute alcohol, and therefore the number of wine gallons of alcohol 
 used for manufacturing and other industrial purposes must be multiplied by 2 to express 
 the quantity in American proof gallons. 
 
 XIII. RESOLUTIONS OF DETROIT CHAMBER OP COMMERCE. 
 
 [See page 61.] 
 
 Preamble and Resolutions Adopted by Detroit Board or Com- 
 merce January 16, 1906. 
 
 the tax on alcohol. 
 
 The great extent and variety of Detroit's manufacturing industries 
 gives the city an especial interest in the cheapening of fuel for power 
 purposes. This interest is heightened by the remarkable expansion 
 of the manufacture of motor and stationary gas engines. Recent im- 
 provements in the use of alcohol have given it much greater efficiency 
 as a heat producer than either coal gas or gasoline. It is an essen- 
 tial substance in a great many processes of manufacture, and in con- 
 nection with incandescent mantles it makes an economical and 
 brilliant light. It can be profitably manufactured and sold at 10 
 cents a gallon, and in its manufacture can be utilized potatoes and 
 other starchy products even when they are not fit for domestic use. 
 By methods of denaturalizing, alcohol can be rendered unfit for use 
 as a beverage in any form and limited to purely mechanical uses. 
 
 This mechanical product is now taxed $1.10 per proof gallon. In 
 other countries naturalized alcohol is not taxed. It is proposed that 
 the tax iniposed by this country shall be removed, and legislation to 
 this end will be considered by the Congress. Such enactment wiU bene- 
 fit farmers by affording a market for root products that can not other- 
 wise be utilized, and by giving them cheap power for pumping water, 
 cutting, thrashing, and grinding grain, and for other farm purposes ; 
 it will benefit manufacturers of all classes by giving them greater 
 choice of fuel for power ; it will benefit our foreign trade by putting 
 manufacturers on an equality with those of other countries; it will 
 benefit householders by the introduction of cheap light, and it will 
 benefit consumers generally by reducing the cost of many manufac- 
 tured articles. - 
 
 Be it therefore resolved, That the Detroit Board of Commerce be- 
 lieves that the removal of the tax on denaturalized alcohol is in the 
 ■"iterest of almost all classes in this country, and it is therefore 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 341 
 
 respectfully urged upon our Senators and Kepresentatives in Con- 
 gress that legislation may be enacted for this purpose. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of this preamble and resolution be sent to 
 the Secretary of the Treasury and to each of the Senators and Repre- 
 sentatives in Congress from Michigan. 
 
 C. F. BlELMAN, 
 
 President. 
 
 XIV. ALCOHOL MOTORS AND PUMPS IN CUBA. 
 
 [See page 63.] 
 
 [from United States Minister Squiers, Habana, 0«6a.] 
 
 Matanzas, a city of about 40,000 inhabitants, has water connection 
 in 1,700 out of 4,000 houses, which use about 100,000 gallons a day. 
 The waterworks, operated by an American company incorporated in 
 the State of Delaware, are located a few miles distant from the city, 
 where there are springs giving excellent water in sufficient quantity 
 to supply a city of 100,000 people. 
 
 The alcohol motor pump, used on Sunday last for the first time, is 
 of German manufacture, and cost, complete with installation, $6,000. 
 This motor pump is a 45-horsepower machine and is operated at a 
 fuel cost of about 40 cents an hour, or $4 a day of ten hours, pump- 
 ing 1,000,000 gallons of water. 
 
 As alcohol here is very cheap (10 cents a gallon) the running 
 expenses of these motors are at the minimum. The Germans are 
 selling in Cuba many such motors for electric-lighting and water 
 plants at very low prices. One firm has a contract to put in an 
 alcohol motor pump at Vento, for use in connection with the Habana 
 water supply, which is expected to develop 180 horsepower, to cost, 
 with installation, about $25,000, and to pump 1,000,000 gallons an 
 hour at a fuel cost of $1.60. The same firm has installed an electric- 
 plant alcohol motor of 45 horsepower, which supplies 138 lights 
 (Hersh lamps) at a fuel cost of 5 cents an hour. 
 
 I call the attention of those who are interested in our Cuban trade 
 to the fact that at the breakfast which followed the installation there 
 was not one article on the table of American origin except the flour 
 in the bread. 
 
 H. G. Squiers, Minister. 
 
 BLiBANA, Cuba, August 20, 190!^. 
 
 XV. CREDENTIALS OF F. F. INGRAM FROM MICHIGAN STATE GRANGE. 
 
 [See page 64.] 
 
 Michigan State Grange, 
 
 OFriCE OF THE MaSTER, 
 
 Fruit Ridge, Mich., January 30, 1906. 
 To all who may inquire: 
 
 This is to certify that Mr. F. F. Ingram is appointed and given 
 full authority to represent the Michigan State Grange before Con- 
 crress in the matter of removing or, more definitely, permitting the 
 manufacture of alcohol free of internal-revenue tax, when rendered 
 unfit for beverage purposes. 
 
 Very truly, Geo. B. Horton. 
 
342 FBEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 XVI. PHYSICIANS' STATEMENT OF INJURIES FROM USING WOOD 
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 [See page 76.] 
 
 Class A. — Cases who have teen forced to discontinue work in stiffen- 
 ing department on account of the effects of wood alcohol. 
 
 Case 1. — Benjamin Perry, Danbury, Conn.; age 32. 
 
 History. — Worked in wood alcohol five and one-half years; began 
 to have trouble at the end of three months, with inflammation of the 
 eyes and nausea. After leaving work was unable to stay in the light 
 and had to remain in dark room for an hour or two. 
 
 Vision.— Righi eye, 15/30; left eye, 15/20. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Negative. Lungs, normal; 
 liver, normal; kidneys, normal. 
 
 Case 2. — George Sherwood, 64 Pleasant street, Danbury, Conn.; 
 age 38. 
 
 History. — ^Worked at stiffening about eight years ago; in wood 
 alcohol, two and one-half years. Had to give it up on account of 
 inflammation of eyes ; could not work an entire day because his sight 
 failed him. Trouble with eyes began with tears running down the 
 cheeks and through the nostrils. Some days could work until late 
 in the afternoon, but at other times not more than two hours before 
 vision failed. Eyesight usually returned within an hour or two 
 after leaving off work. While working in the factory was unable to 
 read at all during the evenings ; when not working in wood alcohol 
 had no difficulty about reading in artificial light. About a year ago 
 attempted to return to this branch of work, but was unable to finish 
 the first day, and gave it up. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Vision : Left eye, 15/30 ; right eye, 15/20 ; ' 
 conjunctiva, normal; lids slightly thickened; right eye has scotoma 
 or blind spot ; right disk is cupped at outer side ; left eye normal. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, normal ; throat, normal ; 
 lungs, normal; heart, normal; liver, 3| inches; functions, normal; 
 kidneys, normal. 
 
 Case 3. — James Grimshaw, Danbury, Conn. ; age 46. 
 
 History. — Had worked in wood alcohol thirty-two years and gave 
 up last October on account of failing eyesight. While working in 
 wood alcohol his eyes were badly inflamed, but eyesight remained 
 fair up to six years ago, when it began to fail. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Vision : Is able to distinguish large objects, 
 but is unable to recognize features at a distance of a few feet ; vision 
 for reading totally lost; is able to recognize test-card letters 1 1/40 
 with each eye; conjunctiva, normal; lids not thickened; both optic 
 discs are deeply cupped. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, normal ; throat, normal ; 
 lungs, normal; heart, normal; liver, normal; kidneys, normal. 
 
 Case 4. — Henry Magersuppe, Danbury, Conn. ; age 32. 
 
 History. — ^Worked twelve years in stiffening room with wood alco- 
 hol, and had to give up on account of inflanunation of eyes four years 
 ago. Suffered also from inflammation of nasal passages and cough. 
 During last year had to use wash for the eyes. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 343 
 
 Examination of eyes. — "Vision of right eye, 15/70; left eye, 15/50. 
 Eight eye optic disk congested, veins enlarged and tortuous. Left 
 eye shows same condition. Is unable to read but with best illumina- 
 tion. Vision has improved since stopping work, but at that time he 
 was unable to read at all nights. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose : Septum defected toward 
 left ; membrane congested ; mucous surface extends abnormally near 
 the rim of nostril. While working in alcohol had severe inflamma- 
 tion of nasal mucous membrane. Throat : There is chronic pharyn- 
 gitis; rima glottis and epiglottis intensely congested; vocal chords 
 clear; there is no hoarseness. Lungs normal; heart, normal; liver, 
 4| inches, normal ; Iddneys, normal. 
 
 Case 5. — John P. Berry, 96 Garfield avenue, Danbury, Conn. ; age 
 36 years ; weight 200 pounds. 
 
 History. — ^Worked m wood alcohol four years; began in fall of 
 year and discontinued work in this department in 1898 on account of 
 pain in the eyes and dimness of vision, which were so severe tiiat he 
 feared losing his sight entirely. AVhile working in wood alcohol the 
 eyes would smart and burn to such a degree that he would be unable 
 to keep them open, and frequently had to go home and lie down in 
 the dark for an hour or two before he could eat; was never able to 
 use the eyes for reading after working through the day, especially in 
 winter. The eyes usually began to trouble him by 9 o'clock, and 
 trouble continued for the rest of the day. Eyes have never been the 
 same since. 
 
 Habit regarding liquor, — Drinks beer occasionally, but did not use 
 any liquor while at work in wood? alcohol. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Vision, right eye, 15/20; left eye, 15 ''30; 
 conjunctiva is not inflamed; lids not swollen or thickened ; physiolog- 
 ical blind spot only ; optic disk not clearly defined ; pink and edges 
 not clear; blood vessels normal; eye is easily fatigued by examina- 
 tion and congests quickly. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, normal ; throat normal ; 
 lungs, normal; heart, normal; kidneys, normal ; liver, normal. 
 
 Case 6. — L. F. Ising, Danbury, Conn.; age, 44 years; jeweler. 
 
 History. — Nine years ago worked with a blowpipe and an alcohol 
 lamp in which he burned wood alcohol for the purpose of meHing 
 down some gold; was engaged an hour or two each day for about 
 three weeks. A short time after this the eyes began to trouble him 
 ■with an intense conjunctivitis and ulceration of both cornea, followed 
 by failing vision; has had conjunctivitis ever since to a greater or 
 less degree, and has been forced to give up his trade as watcLmiiker. 
 
 Examination. — Conjunctiva intensely congested in both eyes; lids 
 very much swollen, and are glued together in the morning. Vision: 
 Kight eye, 10/40; left eye, 10/50. Both optic disks are choked; the 
 border can scarcely be made out; veins are tortuous; disks are quite 
 pink; blind spots normal in position in each eye. the left increased in 
 size to double that of the right ; general physical condition normal. 
 
 Case 7. — Gustav Gustavson; Germantown, Danbury, Conn.; age 18. 
 
 HiHory. — Worked in wood alcohol six months and then had to give 
 it up last winter on account of its effect upon his eyes ; could not stand 
 the burning, and could not see nights after finishing worlr; had to 
 sit in a dark room, and the pain in the eyes frequently kept him 
 
344 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 a-\rake. There was excessive flow of tears and discharge from the 
 nose. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Eyes are congested and lids _ thickened ; 
 vision of right eye, 15/20 ; left eye, 15/20 ; neither optic disk has any 
 cupping, but both nerves show congestion and enlargement of veins. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, normal; lliroat, sensa- 
 tion of tightness, slightly congested; lungs, normal; heart, normal; 
 liver, normal; urine normal; does not use alcoholic drinks. 
 
 Class B. — Cases who are at present working in the stiffening depart- 
 ment of hatting and show effects of wood alcohol. 
 
 Case 1. — Charles Clark, 77 South street, Danbury, Conn. ; age, 28. 
 
 History. — He has worked in stiffening room fourteen years ; began 
 work during the warm weather. When he began work there was very 
 little wood alcohol used, but after two years the amount of wood alco- 
 hol was increased and he then began to have sore eyes, headache, and 
 discharge from the nose. For three days at a time he has been so 
 affected as to be unable to open the eyes. He is unable to use the eyes 
 any evening after working. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Conjunctiva strongly congested and lids 
 very much thickened. There is excessive secretion from the eyes that 
 runs down through the nose and outside on the cheeks. Both optic 
 disks are strongly congested, veins enlarged and tortuous. Vision is 
 dim ; is unable to use test type. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, nasal membrane is con- 
 gested so that there is scarcely passage ; excessive secretion of mucous ; 
 states that he has to breathe through the mouth at night after work- 
 ing; throat, pharynx and upper larynx strongly congested and swol- 
 len; lungs, there are coarse bronchial rales over the entire chest; 
 heart, normal ; liver, normal ; kidneys, normal. 
 
 Case 2. — Anson Williams, Rocky Glen, Danbury, Conn. ; age, 20 
 
 History. — Has worked in wood alcohol four years; began work in 
 the fall and began to have trouble with the eyes in less than a month. 
 Then the nose began to discharge and a cough started. During sum- 
 mer months and on clear days he has but little trouble, but is unable 
 to read or see at night after working. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Intolerance of light; conjunctiva congested; 
 lids swollen and congested; optic disks are not clear; there is swell- 
 ing of both and disks are brought forward 1^ D. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, inferior turbinated bones 
 are so swollen that they meet the septum ; is unable to breathe through 
 the nose at night; throat, larynx and pharynx are congested; vocal 
 chords congested and voice husky; lungs, normal; heart, normal; 
 liver, normal; stomach, has no appetite after working, has pain in 
 epigastrium, and lost 5 pounds in weight in two months; kidneys, 
 normal. 
 
 Case 3. — William Slade, 10 North street, Danbury, Conn. ; age, 49. 
 
 History. — Has worked in wood alcohol two years. Previous health 
 good, present health good ; has never had to give up work on account 
 of wood alcohol, but has to stop work several times during the day 
 and go into the drying room for one-fourth to one-half hour to re- 
 cover from the effects of the alcohol on his eyes, so that he can see to 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 345 
 
 continue work. Has to lie down in a dark room for an hour on arriv- 
 ing home. Eyes are always glued together in the morning after 
 working with a sticky discharge. Frequently suffers from dizziness 
 while at work. Pain and pricking in the eyes after the first hour or 
 two; can not read but a short time, and has been unable to read a 
 paper for the past month. Eyes become red and fiery when at work 
 and tears constantly running; does not use alcoholic stimulants. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Eyes, both lids are swollen, not now acutely 
 congested; examination made on Sunday, twenty-four hours after 
 leaving off work ; left eye, optic nerve is not white and glistening, is 
 pink ; cupped on the outer side. Right" nerve is cupped three-fourths 
 of the way out and one- fourth of the way on the inner side; vision, 
 right eye, 12/50; left eye, 12/50; blind spot in left eye is in normal 
 physiological position, but three times normal size. Right eye 
 normal. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, normal; throat, normal; 
 lungs, normal; heart, normal; liver and kidneys, normal. 
 
 Case 4. — John N. Harrison, 25 Town Hill, Danbury, Conn. ; age, 27. 
 History. — ^Has worked in stiffening department thirt«en years; 
 began to have trouble with eyes on first beginning use of wood alco- 
 hol ; dimness of vision, inflammation of the eyes, and is able to work 
 now only by using cocaine to relieve the burning and pain. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Conjunctiva not at present conjested; lids 
 slightly thickened ; optic disk shows excessive cupping, with dilatation 
 of the veins ; blind spot physiological in position, three times normal 
 size in each eye. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, membrane not swollen; 
 throat, pharynx and larynx congested, show catarrhal condition; 
 lungs, normal; heart, normal; kidneys, normal. 
 
 Case 5. — C. Wilkins, 62 Davis street, Danbury, Conn. ; age, 31. 
 History. — Has worked thirteen and one-half years in wood alcohol, 
 and for the past ten years has had to use cocaine in the eyes to relieve 
 the pain and enable him to continue work. Has had to increase the 
 strength of the cocaine solution and use it about once in half an hour ; 
 suffers constantly from a catarrhal condition of nose and throat and 
 a feeling of distention in the head. 
 
 Examination of the eyes. — There is little congestion of the conjunc- 
 tiva, but the lids are thickened and swollen. Optic discs are deeply 
 cupped, veins dilated and tortuous ; blind spot extends over the entire 
 right upper quadrant in right eye. Left eye, normal. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, membrane intensely con- 
 gested, especially on septum, so that the swelling brings the surface 
 of the membrane nearly to meeting that of the inferior turbinated; 
 lungs, coarse bronchial rales over entire chest; heart, normal; liver, 
 normal ; kidneys, normal ; skin of hands is so worn off that the lower 
 layers crack and bleed easily. 
 
 Case 6. — William J. Phillips, Middle River, Danbury, Conn.; 
 age, 47. 
 
 History. — ^Has worked in stiffening room sixteen years until last 
 winter, when he was obliged to use cocaine in order to work, and 
 finally had to give up that branch of hatting. Had irritation of the 
 eyes and nose with a dry cough, and was unable to see on leaving the 
 factory. Can not see now to read at night. 
 
346 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Conjunctiva shows no congestion; lids are 
 not swollen; right optic nerve is cupped, left is not; vision dimin- 
 ished in both. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, normal; throat, con- 
 gested; lungs, normal; heart, normal; liver, normal; kidneys, 
 normal. 
 
 Case 7.— William K. Williams, Danbury, Conn. ; age, 42. 
 
 History. — Has worked fifteen years in stiffening room; began to 
 have trouble with eyes at start; became irritated and inflamed, and 
 was unable to see in bright light or to read at night. There is a 
 chronic discharge from nose and a dry cough, especially in the 
 morning. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Conjunctiva inflamed; vision, left eye 
 15/70, right eye 15/40; optic nerve cupped, and veins distended and 
 tortuous in both eyes. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, membrane congested and 
 swollen, excessive secretion of mucous ; throat, congested, voice clear ; 
 lungs, has moist bronchial rales in both sides; heart, normal; liver, 
 normal ; kidneys, normal. 
 
 Case 8. — Harold Wood, 8 Crofut street, Danbury, Conn. ; age, 18. 
 
 History. — Has worked in stiffening room with wood alcohol for 
 one year; began to have trouble with the eyes and nose at the first 
 week ; after three weeks began to cough ; has had to stop work eight 
 days at one time, and many times during the day has to stop to 
 recover from effects of alcohol upon the eyes. After work is unable 
 to see to read and has a blur before the eyes constantly. 
 
 Examination of eyes. — Conjunctiva intensely congested and lids 
 swollen ; fundus of eye is intensely congested ; veins dilated and tor- 
 tuous; there is such intolerance of light as to make a careful exam- 
 ination almost impossible; dimness of vision makes satisfactory use 
 of test card impossible. 
 
 Examination of deeper structures. — Nose, left nostril not congested, 
 right very much so and swollen; throat, pharynx, epiglottis, and 
 rimaglottis intensely congested; vocal chords, clear; lungs, moist 
 bronchial rales on both sides of chest; heart, normal; liver, normal; 
 kidneys, normal. 
 
 SUMMARY OF DETAILED REPORT OF EXAMINATION OF MEN EMPLOYED IN 
 STIFFENING HATS WITH SHELLAC CtTT WITH WOOD ALCOHOL. 
 
 . Class A, case 6, is a jeweler, but showed evidences of the effects of 
 wood alcohol and was included in this class. 
 
 Class B, case 6, should be in class A, but came in for examination 
 with class B and was thus included in this class. 
 
 About 60 men who had been working in the department of stiffen- 
 ing hats appeared before us for examination, and we found all of 
 them suffering substantially as stated in their brief affidavits. For 
 more thorough examination, a number of men were taken at random 
 from the group who were at present working in wood alcohol, and 
 another group of those who had been forced to discontinue work 
 where wood alcohol was used, were examined for purposes of com- 
 parison. 
 
 As the effects of prolonged exposure to the fumes of wood alcohol 
 have never been investigated, we have examined the organs that 
 usually show degenerations as a result of the prolonged use of alco- 
 
FREE jUjCOHOL. 347 
 
 holic stimulants in beverages to see if there were any analogy between 
 the effect of the two kinds of alcohol and also to assure ourselves 
 that the clinical history was a clear one of the effects of wood alcohol. 
 
 While none of the men have ever used stimulants to excess, many 
 of them have used them in moderation, but all agree in stating that 
 no man can work in wood alcohol and drink at the same time. They 
 state : " The stomach will not take liquor." 
 
 We find that several hours after work we were able to tell from 
 the fumes of wood alcohol given off in the breath of the individual 
 whether we had to deal with a man who had been working in wood 
 alcohol that day or if he was one of those who had given up work 
 in this department. The vapors are absorbed and taken into the 
 system to such an extent that it is a number of hours after leaving 
 the fumes of alcohol before the elimination from the breath is com- 
 plete. We must, therefore, admit that we have constitutional effects. 
 
 It has been stated that the effects of .wood alcohol, when taken in 
 the stomach accidentally, have been atrophy of the optic nerve and 
 the development of blind areas. The local effects of wood-alcohol 
 fumes are also strongly manifested upon the superficial structures of 
 the eye so that the results upon this organ are from a twofold 
 source — local and constitutional. As the secondary results upon the 
 eye are in the deep structures and practically the same as those pro- 
 duced by absorption of the drug into the system, they may be taken 
 up together. 
 
 A number of the cases complained of dizziness and functional 
 mental disturbance while working in the fumes of wood alcohol, but 
 we were unable to demonstrate any uniformity of symptoms that 
 indicated central nerve troubles. 
 
 Most of those working in the stiffening department showed a 
 state of inflammation of the skin of the hands, a dryness and loss of 
 the superficial layers of the skin, but we are unable to state that 
 this is due entirely to the irritating effects of wood alcohol and that 
 it may not be in part due to the effects of the shellac. We have, 
 therefore, not included it in our findings. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 That the fumes of wood alcohol are pungent, irritating, causing 
 inflammation of mucous and serous surfaces with which they come in 
 contact. Every one of these cases examined presented evidences of 
 superficial inflammation of the .eyes, with a tendency to serious sec- 
 ondary deep-seated degenerations; catarrhal conditions of the nose, 
 throat and bronchial membrane, with, in one case that has come to 
 our notice, a secondary infection of tuberculosis. 
 
 The symptoms are congestion of the eyes with intense pain, water- 
 ing and dimness of vision, with later development of atrophy of bun- 
 dles of nerve fibers in the optic nerve and development of blind spots. 
 In two of the cases there was such intolerance of light that we had 
 almost despaired of an examination with the opthalmoscope, and in 
 all of the cases there is the inability to use the eyes for other purposes 
 while engaged in this work. There is swelling and congestion of 
 the membrane of the nose to such an extent that many of the men 
 become mouth breathers. 
 
 E. A. Stkattan, M. D. 
 D. C. Brown, M. D. 
 
348 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 XVII.— AFFIDAVITS OF EMPLOYEES AS TO INJURY FROM USING 
 
 WOOD ALCOHOL. 
 
 [See page 76.] 
 
 Boston, February 5, 1906. 
 State of Massachusetts, County of Suffolk, ss : 
 
 Wm. H. O'Brien, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 
 55 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about ten years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 
 days and parts of days annually; that his present 
 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows : Had to stop using it six years ago, having contracted asthma 
 from its use. 
 
 W. H. O'Brien. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 5th day February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Thomas E. Doran, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 February 5, 1906. 
 State of Massachusetts, County of Suffolk, ss : 
 
 Theodor Peter, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 
 64 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about ten years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 
 100 days and parts of days annually; that his present 
 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows : He is unable to work full time each day on account of intense 
 pain in the eyes, scarcely being able to see ; also suffering ill effects 
 to his entire system. 
 
 Theodor Peter. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 5th day February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Thomas E. Doran, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Benjamin Perry, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 
 32 years of age ; that he rias been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about five and a half years ; that during this period wood 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac five and a half years; 
 that on account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapaci- 
 tated for work for about sixty days and parts of days annu- 
 ally ; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used 
 as a solvent, is as follows : Eyes and stomach effected. 
 
 Benjamin Perry. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 349 
 
 Danbury, Janvary SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 George Sherwood, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 38 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about two and one-half years ; that during this period wood 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac two and one-half years ; 
 that on account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapaci- 
 tated for work for about one and one-half days and 250 parts of 
 days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol 
 being used as a solvent, is as follows: All right; not working in it 
 now. 
 
 Geo. Sh'Skwood. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbtjey, January SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 James William Grimshaw, being duly sworn, deposes and says: 
 That he is 46 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffen- 
 ing department for about thirty-two years; that during this period 
 wood alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac about eighteen 
 years ; that on account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been in- 
 capacitated for work for about 50 to 60 parts of days annually ; that 
 his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, 
 is as follows : Almost blind ; can not see to read or write. 
 
 James Wm. (his x mark) Grimshaw. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 
 Frederick A. Knapp. 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Claims he can write, but could not see to write his name. 
 [SEAL.J Notary. 
 
 Danbury, Janvary 30, 1006. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Henry Imagersuppe, being duly sworn, dejjoses and says : That he 
 is 32 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twelve years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac twelve years; that on account 
 of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about fifty days and one year parts of days annually ; that his pres- 
 ent condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as 
 follows : Eyes and lungs affected, so that I had to give it up. 
 
 Henry Imagersuppe. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 
 [SEAL.] William C.Swii^, 
 
 "- Notary Public. 
 
350 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Danbury, January 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fair-field, ss : 
 
 G. Gustofson, being duly sworn, deposes and sajs: That he is 18 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 ior about one-half year; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac one-half year; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about one hundred parts of days annually ; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: All 
 right ; had to give up working in it. 
 
 G. GtJSTOFON. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Anson Williams, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 
 20 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about four years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac four years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 thirty days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Starts with an in- 
 flammation of the eyes and nostrils; intense pain; loss of appetite; 
 can not see in a bright light. 
 
 Anson Williams. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 John N. Harrison, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 27 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about thirteen years ; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac thirteen years ; that on account 
 of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about three hundred days annually; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Eye- 
 sight affected. 
 
 John N. Harrison. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 C. Wilkins, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 31 years 
 of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department for 
 abount thirteen and one-half years; that during this period wood 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 351 
 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac thirteen and one-half 
 years; that on account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been 
 incapacitated for work about fifteen days and 120 parts of days 
 annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being 
 used as a solvent, is as follows: Eyes very painful, with dry throat 
 and bad cough. 
 
 C. WiLKINS. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [SEAL.J William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, Conn., January 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fair-field, ss : 
 
 Wm. J. Phillips, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 47 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about twenty years; that during this period, wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac sixteen years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work about 
 thirty days and 20 parts of days annually; that his present condi- 
 tion, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: 
 Eyesight and health impaired; many times obliged to be carried 
 home from work ; causes a dry throat and cough. 
 
 Wm. J. Phillips. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danburt, January 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticttt, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Wm. E. Williams, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 42 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about fifteen years; that during this period, wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac fifteen years; that on account 
 of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work 
 for about one-third of the time each week; that his present condi- 
 tion, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: 
 Unable to read or sit in a bright light. 
 
 Wm. R. Williams. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January 30, 1906. 
 State op Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Harold Wood, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 18 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about one year'; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac one year ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about eight 
 days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol 
 
352 FBBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 being used as a solvent, is as follows : Very bad effect on the eyes and 
 
 stomach. Intense pain. Obliged to stop at times in the middle of 
 
 the day on account of it. 
 
 Harold Wood. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal, j Febderick a. Knapp, _ - 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbtjrt, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 William Clark, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 25 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about ten years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac ten years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about two 
 hundred days annually ; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Eyes, stomach, and 
 nose have all been affected. Advised by doctors to stop. 
 
 William Clark. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knap?, 
 
 Notary Puhlic. 
 
 Danburt, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Charles Sherwood, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 
 34 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about ten years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac ten years ; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 three hundred parts of days annually; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: All 
 right ; not working in wood alcohol at present. 
 
 Chas. Sherwood. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Byron S. Brooks, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he 
 is 49 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening 
 department for about eighteen years; that during this period wood 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac six years while I worked 
 at it; that on account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been in- 
 capacitated for work for about three years ; can not work at stiffening 
 on account of effect of wood alcohol on my eyes. 
 
 Btron S. Brooks. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 353 
 
 Danbuey, January SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 A. Lane, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 17 years 
 of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about one-half year; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac one-half year ; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 twelve days and 100 parts of days annually ; that his present condi- 
 tion, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : 
 All right ; had to give up working in it. 
 
 A. Lane. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbukt, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Harold B. Stevens, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 20 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about two years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac two years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for wOrk for about 
 fourteen days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Eyes and nose affected 
 so that it was given up. 
 
 Harold B. Stevens. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : . 
 
 William Griffin, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 20 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about one year; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac one year ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about five 
 days and tien parts of days annually; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: On 
 account of wood alcohol I had to give the job up. 
 
 William Geiffin. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Geoege H. Cole. 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Gustave Mougin, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 
 60 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twenty-one years; that during this period wood 
 
 11058—06 23 
 
354 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac fifteen years; that on 
 account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for 
 work for about ten days and a good many parts of days annually; 
 that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a 
 solvent, is as follows. Sore eyes every night ; weak stomach. 
 
 Grrs MoTJGiN. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Feedeeick a. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbtjet, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Frank V. Green, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 40 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about twenty years ; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac three years; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: My 
 whole body is poisoned by fumes of alcohol, so that I have not been 
 able to do any kind of work, and am in the care of a local physician, 
 with little improvement. 
 
 Frank V. Green. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [SEAL.J Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 January -30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Geo. B. Keeler, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 
 (59 years of age; that he has been employed in hat stiffening depart- 
 ment for about fifty-five years ; that during this period wood alcohol 
 "has been used as a solvent for shellac fifteen years ; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about twenty -five days and forty parts of days annually; that his 
 present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is 
 as follows: Eyes very sensitive to the light and air; has been led 
 home from factory totally blind ; can not read by gas or lamp light. 
 
 G. B. Keeler. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Arthur Collins, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 18 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat stiffening department 
 for about four years ; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 nsed as a solvent for shellac four years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about fifty 
 days and one hundred parts of days annually ; that his present condi- 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 355 
 
 tion, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: 
 Ihat I can not read by gaslight; eyes so sensitive can not see when 
 first going in open air; have been so affected had to be led home from 
 work a great many times. 
 
 ^^JSTHUE Collins. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Fhedeeick a. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuet, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Robert Abbott, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 29 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat stiffening department 
 for about three years ; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac three years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about twenty 
 days and various parts of days annually ; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Weak 
 eyes, nose affected, and a blind sty, which is not well as yet, being 
 there for a year and a half. 
 
 Robert Abbott. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Januaet 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Benjamin Cooper, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 
 60 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twenty years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about fifty days and 30 to 40 parts of days annually ; that his present 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows : Eyes very sensitive ; can not stand strong sunlight or read by 
 lamplight. 
 
 Benjamin Cooper. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Jesse Neal, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 48 years 
 of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department for 
 about one year ; that during this period wood alcohol has been used as 
 a solvent for shellac — years ; that on acount of the effects of wood 
 alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about thirty days and 
 30 parts of days annually ; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 
356 FBBE ALCOHOL. 
 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Can not read by gas- 
 light; eyes so sensitive that I can hardly stand going in the open air; 
 can not see when first go out. 
 
 Jesse (his x mark) Neal. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [SEAL.J Feederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Pxiblio. 
 
 January 30, 1906. 
 State of CoNisrECTicuT, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Charles H. Wood, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is 
 34 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twelve years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 five days and some parts of days annually ; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: In- 
 . flamed eyes ; nose affected, and must stop work frequently from pain. 
 
 Charles H. Wood. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] ' Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danburt, January 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticttt, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Martin Quinn, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 36 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about eighteen years; that during this period wood alcohol hps 
 been used as a solvent for shellac twelve years ; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 twenty days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : It has caused temporary 
 blindness and intense pain; general bad health; impossible to read 
 at night, uses an eyewash constantly to reduce the inflammation. 
 
 Martin Quinn. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] * William C. Swipt, 
 
 Notary Puilic. 
 
 Danbury, January SO, 1906. 
 State op Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Austin Van Wie, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 37 years of age ; that he lias been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twelve years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac twelve years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about twenty-five days annually ; that his present condition, caused by 
 wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Eyesight affected: 
 lungs affected. 
 
 Austin Van Wie. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
FEES ALCOHOL. 357 
 
 Danbtjry, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Tony Tucci, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 18;^ 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about three months; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac three months ; that, on account 
 of the effects of wood alcohol, he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about 15 parts of days; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Inflammation of eyes, 
 with intense pain. 
 
 Tony Tucci. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Puhlic. 
 
 Danbuet Conn., January SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 J. Madden, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 30 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about thirteen years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac seven years ; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 thirty days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Headache and poor 
 sight. 
 
 J. Madden. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Fhedeeick a. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Puhlic. 
 
 Danbuet, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 John P. Berry, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 36 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about fifteen years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac four years ; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work about 
 days and parts of days annually; that his present condi- 
 tion, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : 
 It has caused intense pain and inflammation of the eyes. Was 
 obliged to discontinue work in that department on that account. 
 
 John P. Berry. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 • Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Eugene Nelson, being duly sworn, deposes and says : Xhat he is 31 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 
358 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 for about twelve years ; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac twelve years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 twenty parts of days annually; that his present condition, caused 
 by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Inflammation 
 of eyes and catarrhal headache. Works half day in stiffening room 
 and half day in clearing room. Suffers from, effects of wood alcohol 
 while working in stiffening room and ill effects gradually pass away 
 when in daring room. 
 
 Eugene Nelson-. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuet, Conn., January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Joseph Eyre, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 39 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about nineteen years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac thirteen years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about twenty-five days and a great many parts of days annually; 
 that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a 
 solvent, is as follows: My eyes become watery from fumes of alcohol; 
 unable to read for days; have used grain alcohol in England with no 
 bad effects. 
 
 Joseph Eyee. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danburt, January 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Hawly Partrick, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 
 61 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about forty years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac twenty years ; can not say how many 
 days he has been incapacitated for work on account of the effects of 
 wood alcohol, but a good many days had to leave work; that his 
 present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is 
 as follows : Eyes very weak, and while working in the stiffening room 
 eyes become inflamed, I become nauseated, and have to stop work. 
 
 Hawly Partrick. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danburt, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Joseph Logan, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 36 
 years of age^ that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about eight years ; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 359 
 
 used as a solvent for shellac eight years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 sixty days annually ; that his present condition, caused by wood alco- 
 hol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Eyes and stomach affected. 
 
 Joseph P. Logan. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Janitaet 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fair-field.^ ss: 
 
 George Birt, beign duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 26 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about 9 years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac nine years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about twenty 
 days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol 
 being used as a solvent, is as follows : Loss of appetite, inflammation 
 of the eyes; uses an application of cold tea leaves for relief. 
 
 Geo. Biet. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [SEAL.J Feedeeick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, January 30, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Paul Halas, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 20 
 j'ears of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about one year; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac one year; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about ten days 
 annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being 
 used as a solvent, is as follows: Inflammation of eyes and intense 
 pain. 
 
 Paul Halas. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, Conn., January 30, 1W6. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 J. H. Williams, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 45 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about four years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac four years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about one- 
 third of the time each week; that his present condition, caused by 
 wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Unable to read or 
 
 sit in a bright light. 
 
 J. H. Williams. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
360 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Danbuey, January SO, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 F. W. Smith, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 7t5 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about fifty years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac about fifteen years ; has personally used 
 it three years; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol 
 being used as a solvent, is as follows : Only works about one-half day 
 at a time. 
 
 F. W. Smith. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Fhederigk a. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 DANBUKr, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connectiout, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 W. F. Elwell, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 37 
 j^ears of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 of about ten years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for few parts 
 of days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood 
 alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Dry throat and nose 
 trouble. 
 
 W. F. Elwell. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, Conn., January SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Thomas F. Leahy, being duly sworn, deposes and says: Thatjie^-is 
 19 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for- about three years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac — years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 twenty- four days annually; that his present condition, caused by 
 wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Feel sick anci 
 sometimes have a rash from wood alcohol. 
 
 Thomas F. Leahy. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Feedeeick a. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, January SO, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Nelson Booth, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 60 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about thirty years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac fifteen years ; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 361 
 
 about thirty parts of days annually; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Eyes 
 strained ; unable to read nights ; can not stand ordinary light. 
 
 Nelson H. Booth. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbtjrt, January 30, 1906. 
 State of CoNNECTictrT, County of Fair-field, ss: 
 
 Christian Muchlf eld, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he 
 is 34 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening de- 
 partment for about sixteen years; that during this period wood 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac — years; that on 
 account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for 
 work for about thirty-six days annually ; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: My 
 eyes often trouble me from the fumes of wood alcohol so that I can 
 not work. 
 
 Christian Muchlfeld. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 S. F. Patrick, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 41 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about twenty-six years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac eleven years ; can not tell how many 
 days he has been incapacitated for work on account of the effects of 
 wood alcohol, but has lost a great deal of time; that his present con- 
 dition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : 
 Eyes weak and generally impaired health, and under the doctor's 
 care from time to time. 
 
 Danbury, Conn., January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 M. J. Trowbridge, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 44 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twelve years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac twelve years ; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for a great 
 many parts of days annually; that his present condition, caused by 
 wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Inflames his eyes 
 
 and nose. , , -^ ,^ 
 
 M. J. Trowbridge. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] William C. Swift. 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
362 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Danbcry, January 30, 1906. 
 State op Connecticut, County of Fair-field., ss : 
 
 Frank Brown, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 34 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about sixteen years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac thirteen years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about ten days and quite a few parts of days annually ; that his pres- 
 ent condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as 
 follows : The fumes of wood alcohol inflame his eyes, causing a gen- 
 eral catarrhal effect. 
 
 Frank Brown. 
 
 Signed and sworn to be fore me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [sEAL.j William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuet, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Rudolph Meltzer, being duly sworn, deposes and savs : That he is 
 30 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twelve years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about two days and some parts of days annually; that his present 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows: Eyes are inflamed most every day after work; has to use an 
 eyewash frequently. Was obliged to discontinue for three months 
 the past year. 
 
 KuDOLPH Meltzer. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January 30, 1906. 
 State op Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Sidney J. Stuckey, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 41 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twenty years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac about eighteen years; that on 
 account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for 
 work for about fifteen days and thirty parts of days annually ; that 
 his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, 
 is as follows: Effects eyes and stomach; impossible to read nights; 
 can not stand light ; effects liver and kidneys. 
 
 S. J. Stuckey. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 363 
 
 DANBURr, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Frank Jackson, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 34 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ]nent for about one-half year; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac one-half year; that on account 
 of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about four and one-half days and three to four hours each day annu- 
 ally; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used 
 as a solvent, is as follows : Eyes poor ; throat dry, with hacking cough. 
 
 Frank Jackson. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] "William C. Swift, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbttey, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Alfred Stevens, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 68 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about forty-five years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used a solvent for shellac six years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about forty 
 days and a good many parts of days annually ; that his present con- 
 dition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : 
 It has caused temporary blindness and impossible to go out nights 
 without danger; general sickness and disability. 
 
 Alfred Stevens. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 30th day of January, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danburt, February 3, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Edward E.. Fay, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 28 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about one year; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac one year ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about two 
 days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol 
 being used as a solvent, is as follows : Weak eyes, nose and throat seem 
 dry. 
 
 Edward E. Fat. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 3d day of February, 1906. 
 
 Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, February 3, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 Charles W. Lee, jr., being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he 
 is 35 years of age; that he has- been employed in hat-stiffening 
 department for about eighteen years; tliat during this period wood 
 
364 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac about ten years; that on 
 account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for 
 work for about ten to fifteen days and about fifteen parts of days 
 annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being 
 used as a solvent, is as follows : Affects eyes, nose, throat, and stom- 
 ach; dry cough; dull sickening headache; can't see to read after 
 working 
 
 Chas W. Lee, Jr. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 3d day of February, 1906. 
 [sEAL.J Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbtjry, February 3, 1906. 
 State or Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss: 
 
 James A. Burke, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 24 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about five years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac five years; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 fifteen days and twelve to fifteen parts of days arinually; that his 
 present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is 
 as follows: Trouble with nose, eyes, throat, and chest, like a con- 
 tinued cold in the head. 
 
 James A. Burke. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 3d day of February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, February 3, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : ' 
 
 C. E. White, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 55 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about thirty-three years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac ten to twelve years ; that on ac- 
 count of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for 
 work for about twelve to twenty parts of days annually; that his 
 present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is 
 as follows: Poor eyesight, throat trouble; was laid up about three 
 weeks during August, 1905; kidney trouble and sugar diabetes; 
 swelling of legs and feet. 
 
 C. E. White. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 3d day of February, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, February 3, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Jacob Prowitcki, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 
 35 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about six years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac six years; that on account of the 
 
FKEE ALCOHOL. 365 
 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 twelve days and twenty to thirty parts of days annually ; that his 
 present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as 
 follows : Unable to read after work, headaches, and general effects of 
 a cold. 
 
 Jacob Poeeotski. 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 3d day of February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Frederick A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Jantjaey 31, 1906. 
 State or New York, County of Kings., ss: 
 
 Frank E. Wilcox, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 48 years of age; that he was employed m hat stiffening for about 
 twenty years ; that during this period wood alcohol has been used as 
 a solvent for shellac twelve years; that on account of the effects of 
 wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about three 
 months during the year 1894, at which time he was blind; that his 
 present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is 
 as follows : Both eyes weak, left eye never fully restored to its prior 
 condition ; is not now working at that branch of the business ; gave 
 it up to act as foreman in 1897. 
 
 Frank E. Wilcox. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 31st day January, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] Chas. E. Keator, 
 
 Notary Puhlic, No. 7^, Kings County. 
 
 January 31, 1906. 
 State of New York, County of Kings, ss: 
 
 John J. McDonald, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he 
 is 33 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening de- 
 partment for about seven years ; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac seven years ; that his present 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows: Itchy rash on back of hands, and in very cold weather face 
 itches ; also headache occasionally. 
 
 John J. McDonald. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 31st day January, 1906. 
 [SEAL.J Chas. E. Keator, 
 
 Notary Public, No. 72, Kings County. 
 
 January 31, 1906. 
 State of New York, County of Kings, ss : 
 
 John Osborne, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 37 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about eighteen years; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that his present condi- 
 tion, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: 
 Occasional headaches and inflamed eyes. 
 
 Joseph Osborne. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 31st day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Chas. E. Keator, 
 
 Notary Public No. 72, Kings County. 
 
366 fkee alcohol. 
 
 January 31, 1906. 
 State of New York, County of Kings, ss: 
 
 Minden E. Connor, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he 
 is 23 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening de- 
 partment for about three years ; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac three years; that his present 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows : On damp days eyes are blurred and very weak, and hands itch. 
 
 Minden E. Connob. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 31st day of January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Chas. E. Keatok, 
 
 Notary Public No. 72, Kings County. 
 
 January 31, 1906. 
 State of New York, County of Kings, ss: 
 
 James V. Schenck, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 35 years of age; that he has been employed, in hat-stiffening depart- 
 !nent for about seventeen years ; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac ten years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 two weeks at one time and a day or two occasionally ; that his present 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows: Arms and hands and eyes considerably irritated, notwithstand- 
 ing the use of rubber gloves. 
 
 James V. Schenck. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 31st day January, 1906. 
 [seal.] Chas. E. Keator, 
 
 Notary Public, No. 72. 
 
 February 1, 1906. 
 State OF New York, County of Kings, ss: 
 
 F. B. Webb, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 38 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about ten years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac ten years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about six days 
 and also parts of days annually; that his present condition, caused 
 by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Generally 
 first class, except my eyes, which I protect from bright lights at night 
 with dark glasses. 
 
 Frank B. Wjibb. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day of February, 1906. 
 
 James M. W. Etsman, 
 Commissioner of Deeds for New York Cityt 
 
 February 1, 1906. 
 State of New York, County of Kings, ss: 
 
 John Wilde, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 56 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about twenty-five years; that during this period, wood alcohol 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 367 
 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac eighteen years ; .that his present 
 condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as fol- 
 lows : It certainly does affect eyes in closed room or in damp weather. 
 
 John Wilde. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day of February, 1906. 
 
 James M. W. Etsman, 
 Commissioner of Deeds for New York City. 
 
 Febetjaex 1, 1906. 
 State of New York, County of Kings, ss : 
 
 E. J. AVood, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 29 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about thirteen years ; that during this period, wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac thirteen years; that on account of 
 the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work at 
 intervals dependent on atmospheric conditions; that his present con- 
 dition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : 
 That he is unable to stand a strong light at night without extreme 
 inflammation of the eyes. 
 
 Edson J. Wood. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day of February, 1906. 
 
 James M. W. Etsman, 
 Commissioner of Deeds for New York City. 
 
 Bethel, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Wm. W. Stone, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 65 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat stiffening, wood-alco- 
 hol department, for about thirteen years; have stiffened hats since 
 1865 — off and on; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac thirteen years; that often two or three 
 days in week could not work all day on account of the effects of wood 
 alcohol ; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used 
 as a solvent, is as follows Has had to give up stiffening entirely, hav- 
 ing been so he could do no work in the factory for eight months on ac- 
 count of the effects of wood alcohol on his eyes, head, and whole 
 nervous system. 
 
 Wm. W. Stone. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this January 30, 1906. 
 [seal.] Charles Bailey, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbuey, January 30, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 Walter J. Stone, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 
 43 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening depart- 
 ment for about seven years ; that during this period wood alcohol has 
 been used as a solvent for shellac three years ; that on account of the 
 effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about 
 
368 FREE AliCOHOL. 
 
 five parts of days annually; that his present condition, caused by 
 wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows: Eyesight is 
 affected ; also the nerves are weakened very much. 
 
 Walter J. Stone. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this January 30, 1906. 
 [SEAL.J Charles Bailet, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, February S, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fair-field, ss: 
 
 Seth S. Eeed, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 49- 
 jears of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about six years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac six years ; that on account of the effects of 
 wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about ten to 
 twenty parts of days annually ; that his present condition, caused by 
 wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Nervous exhaus- 
 tion and gastritis; confined to house since January 15, 1906. 
 
 Seth S. Reed. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 3d day oi February, 1906. 
 [sEAL.J Frederick. A. Knapp, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 Danbury, January 31, 1906. 
 National Hat Company : 
 
 Doctor Sunderland was to my house at 5 p. m. to-day and filled out 
 this form, and I am not able to go to a notary public, so I can not fill 
 it out any more. 
 
 S. S. Reed. 
 
 [J. Rummell & Co., felt hats, Pennington, Dawson and Johnson streets.] 
 
 Newark, N. J., February 1, 1906. 
 Mr. Charles H. Merrill, 
 
 Danbury, Conn. 
 Dear Sir: We have your favor of yesterday, and as requested 
 inclose herewith our replies to your inquiries relating to wood alcohol, 
 forwarded to' us several days ago. 
 
 We also inclose affidavits relating to the health of our employees 
 T^ho handle this material. 
 
 Very respectfully, J. Rummell & Co. 
 
 February 1, 1906. 
 State of New Jersey, County of Essex, ss : 
 
 John W. Booth, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 44 
 years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 ior about thirty years, fifteen of which in England ; that during this 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 369 
 
 period wood alcohol has been,used as a solvent for shellac fifteen years 
 in this country ; that on account of the effects of wood alcohol he has 
 been able to work about four or five hours at a time, and then only in 
 clear weather ; if the atmosphere is heavy he can not work above one 
 and one-half to two hours at a time ; that his present condition, caused 
 by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : That in spite of 
 the care used as mentioned above, his eyes frequently smart and tear 
 so severely as to cause him to be unable to stand any light. 
 
 John W. Booth. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 1st day of February, 1 906. 
 
 [SEAL.J . ChAS. B. DuNOxVN, 
 
 Notary Public, of New Jersey. 
 
 Febkuart 1, 1906. 
 State, or New Jersey, County of Essex, ss : 
 
 William Pilcher, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 32 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about five years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac five years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been able to work about three or four hours per 
 day only, and then only if the weather was clear ; if the atmosphere 
 is heavy he can not work above one to one and one-half hours at a 
 time ; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as 
 a solvent, is as follows: That in spite of the care used as mentioned 
 above, his eyes frequently smart and tear so severely as to cause him to 
 be unable to stand any light. 
 
 William Pilcher. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 1st day of February, 1906. 
 
 [SEAL.J ChAS. B. DiTNCANf, 
 
 Notary Public, of New Jersey. 
 
 South Norwalk;, February 1, 1906. 
 
 State of Connecticut, County of Fairfield, ss : 
 
 F. E. Andrews, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 
 44 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat stiffening depart- 
 ment for about twenty -five years; that during this period wood 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac fourteen years; that 
 on account of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated 
 for work for about forty days and thirty parts of days annually; 
 that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol being used as a 
 solvent, is as follows : Good now, but had to quit the stiffening busi- 
 ness for two years to regain his health. 
 
 F. E. Andrews. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 1st day of February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Christian Swaetz, 
 
 Com/missioner Superior Court, Fairfield County. 
 
 11058—06 24 
 
370 FBEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 South Nokwalk, .Conn., February 1, 1906. 
 Mr. Charles H. Meeeitt, Chairman, 
 
 0. H. Merritt <& Sons, Danbury, Conn. 
 Dear Sir : Inclosed please find statement of the Volk Hat Com- 
 pany, and sworn statement of our stiffener, Mr. Andrews, which we 
 trust is correctly filled out. 
 
 We regret to say that it will be impossible for any of our firm to 
 be present at the hearing, but we will write a personal letter to our 
 Congressman, Hon. E. J. Hill. 
 
 Yours, very truly. The Yolk Hat Company, 
 
 C. SwARTZ, President. 
 
 New Miltord, Conn., February 3, 1906. 
 Mr. C. H. Merritt, 
 
 Danbury, Conn. 
 Dear Sir: In the absence of my brother I forward the inclosed 
 affidavits, which I trust will add to the volume of testimony which 
 will be brought to bear upon the Congressional committee. 
 Very truly, yours, 
 
 S. S. Green. 
 
 New Milford, February 2, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Litchfield, ss: 
 
 John W. Coleman, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 
 forty -five years of age; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening 
 department for about twenty years; that during this period wood 
 alcohol has been used as a solvent for shellac fifteen years; that, on 
 account of the effects of wood alcohol, he has been incapacitated for 
 work for about twenty days annually; that his present condition, 
 caused by wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Weak 
 eyes, poor eyesight; loss of hair. 
 
 John W. Coleman. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day of February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Joseph H. Nettleton, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 New Milford, February £, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Litchfield, ss: 
 
 Frank Beach, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is 18 
 years of age; that he nas been employed in hat stiffening department 
 for about two years ; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac two years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about thirty 
 days annually. 
 
 Frank Beach. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day February, 1906. 
 
 [seal.] Joseph H. Nettleton, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 371 
 
 New Milfoed, February £, 1906. 
 State of Conitecticut, County of Litchfield, ss: 
 
 Martin J. McMahon, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he 
 is 30 years of age; that he has been employed in hat stiffening depart- 
 ment for about fourteen years; that during this period wood alcohol 
 has been used as a solvent for shellac twelve years; that on account 
 of the effects of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for 
 about twenty days annually; that his present condition, caused by 
 wood alcohol being used as a solvent, is as follows : Weak eyes ; poor 
 sight. 
 
 Martin McMahon. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Joseph H. Nettleton, 
 
 Notary Publie. 
 
 New Milfoed, February £, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Litchfield, ss: 
 
 George Plumb, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 28 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about five years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac five years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about twenty 
 days, annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol 
 being used as a solvent, is as follows : Weak eyes ; poor eye sight. 
 
 Geo. Plumb. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day of February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Joseph H. Nettleton, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 New Milfoed, February 2, 1906. 
 State of Connecticut, County of Litchfield, ss: 
 
 Henrv L. Booth, being duly sworn, deposes and says : That he is 45 
 years of age ; that he has been employed in hat-stiffening department 
 for about ten years; that during this period wood alcohol has been 
 used as a solvent for shellac ten years ; that on account of the effects 
 of wood alcohol he has been incapacitated for work for about twenty 
 days annually; that his present condition, caused by wood alcohol 
 bemg used as a solvent, is as follows: Weak eyes; poor eye sight. 
 
 Henry L. Booth. 
 
 Signed and sworn to before me this 2d day of February, 1906. 
 [seal.] Joseph H. NEiTL^jroN, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
372 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 "A." 
 
 XVIII. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS OF HAT MANUFACTURERS. 
 
 [See page T6.] 
 
 CEOFUT & KNAPP COMPANT. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of fire years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $24,025. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1906. $27,175. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $7,994. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 Half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? We are 
 compelled to use it on account of the price, although much inferior. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. One man was obliged to give up work 
 entirely, owing to the effect on his eyes ; several laid off temporarily 
 for the same reason. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent ? Not materially, as new employees were substi- 
 tuted for those disabled. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 NEW MILrOED HAT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the period of five years 
 ending December 31, 1900. Unable to determine because of destruc- 
 tion of plant by fire. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. $37,762.97. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $9,881.76. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it will cut shellac and costs less money than grain alcohol 
 under present tax. 
 
PKEE ALCOHOL. 373 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. It affects the eyesight of every man 
 in the department. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? It has necessitated the stopping of work by 
 some men for days at a time, until the effects of the poison were 
 removed. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol? Have never used it. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Our stiffener has used it in other places and says it will. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 I don't see why it should. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 THE GUYEE HAT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900? $18,000. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905? $25,000. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $9,025. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 Two quarts. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it is cheaper; not margin enough to allow grain alcohol. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? To some extent. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. One of our men has just died whose 
 health was undoubtedly injured by the fumes. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of 
 wood alcohol on employees ? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Very little. It would have been more had 
 we not spent money and taken extra pains to draw fumes away. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry, lead 
 to frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States ? Not that we know of. 
 
374 FBEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 FKANK SHOBLE & CX>. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900? $26,50416. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905 ? $24,789.45. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31,1905? $5,319.95. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 About one-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? The 
 cost of grain alcohol prevents our using it. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? It is painful to the eyes of the employees and also 
 mjurious to their health. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? 
 
 9. To what extent? Our hat stiffeners are not able to work full 
 time. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 
 16. Would the use of free, alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats? We are compelled to use wood alcohol to meet 
 the competition on the other side, who, we understand, make hats 
 with free grain alcohol. Free alcohol, we think, would help to 
 encourage export trade. 
 
 NATIONAL HAT COMPANT. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of -wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $32,350.01. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $9,289.61. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 0.52 (t^^V gallon). 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? On 
 account of difference in price. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of, 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
FEEB ALCOHOL. 375 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Seth Reed, employed handling hats 
 after stiffening from July, 1904, to January 15, 1906, obliged to give 
 up position and is still unable to do any kind of work. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Men obliged to stop work sometimes for a 
 day, and frequently for parts of days. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? No record. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 No record ; but stiffeners say yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? 
 
 HA WES, VON GAL COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. No record. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years end- 
 ing December 31, 1905. $33,848. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $9,150. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half to three- fourths gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it is so much cheaper. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 7. Speci:fy particular cases. Theodore Dobbs had to give up for 
 good, also fienry Maggersuppe, Benjamin Arnold, and Harold Ste- 
 vens. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? An average stoppage in stiffening of one day 
 per week. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? Very little. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? $20. 
 
 12. WiU grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol? I think so. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 
 alcohol? Yes. „..,,. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead 
 to frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
376 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 DAVm HIGSON & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. About $15,000. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of three years end- 
 ing December 31, 1905. $11,112.38. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $2,742.55. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 
 6. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it is too expensive to use, on account of tariff, and have to use 
 wood alcohol as a substitute; but would much prefer grain alcohol, 
 both for the benefit of hats and help. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employes ? Yes. 
 
 • 7. Specify particular cases. A number of times our men have been 
 obliged to leave their work and go home unable to see, being blinded 
 by the fumes ; have also had men who had to quit entirely, unable to 
 stand the fumes arising from wood alcohol. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? As quoted above, our men leaving work 
 caused us much delay and considerable expense. 
 
 ,10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol ? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol prodtice better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 From my own personal experience as a manufacturer of hats in 
 England, as well as this country, methylated spirits as used in Eng- 
 land is far superior and more healthful in every way than wood alco- 
 hol as used in this country. 
 
 BETHEL MANUFACTTJEING COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. From time of starting m business, October 1, 1901, to De- 
 cember 31, 1905, $19,448.17. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $6,147.54. 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 377 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 5. Wlij' do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Grain 
 alcohol is too expensive. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? It has. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. In the cases of Louis F. Megnerey, 
 William Slade, Frank Euvrard, and Eli Judson. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? It has. 
 
 9. To what extent? We have frequently had our men out from 
 one to three days at a time. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? No. 
 
 12. WiU grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? In our opinion, yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 It will. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 Can see no reason why it should. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats ? 
 
 THE CONNETT HAT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Co't of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 Decern bei 31, 1900. No record. * 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used bv you for period of five years ending 
 December al, 1905. $23,313.51. " 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used bv you for the vear ending Decem- 
 ber 31, 1905. $7,482. 
 
 4. Wliat is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it is cheaper; the price of grain alcohol makes it prohibitive. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Very much so. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Mr. Byron S. Brooks, can't work at 
 all; Art Collins, B. Cooper, Geo. Keeler, Jesse Neal. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Many times. 
 
 9. To what extent? Our people have been unable to work for 
 several days at a time, which causes inconvenience and loss. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce belter results than wood alcohol? 
 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 
 alcohol? Yes. 
 
378 FEEB ALCOHOL. 
 
 15. "Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead 
 to frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats? Yes. 
 
 HOTT, WOLTHAUSEN COEPOKATION. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of three years end- 
 ing December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. $12,274.51. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $5,448.19. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 .566. 
 
 6. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause of large difference in price. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 7. Speciify particular cases. It happens often in our factory that 
 men are obliged to stop work and go home, being almost totally blind 
 for a time. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? In busy season orders are often held back by 
 men — unable to work — ^which means loss to ourselves and customers. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 FEDERAL HAT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 260 barrels. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 31, 
 1905. $8,638.40. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $1,742.60. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen ? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? On 
 account of its being prohibitory to use grain. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 379 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. One stiff ener lost eyesight and it has 
 injured numbers of their hands. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent ? Lost several days. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? Yes. 
 
 13. AYill grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry, lead 
 to frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 THE DANBITKT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years 
 ending December 31, 1900. None ; not in business. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. $42,505.98. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $14,500. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? Cheaper ; 
 costs less. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 • 7. Specify particular cases. 
 
 William K. Woolard, Danbury, Conn., states that he has been seri- 
 ously afflicted hj the use of wood alcohol, causing temporary blindness 
 at times, he having been compelled to stay in a dark room and under 
 the doctor's care until partial recovery was eompleted. It has also had 
 a very bad effect on his general health and a loss of labor a number of 
 times. 
 
 Martin Quinn, Danbury, Conn., states that the use of wood alcohol 
 has caused a very serious ailment of his ejres, being obliged frequently 
 to stay in a dark room to get relief. He is constantly under the doc- 
 tor's care and treatment. It has also affected his general health. 
 
 Albert Stevens, Bethel, Conn., states that he considers it a crime 
 on the part of the Government to refuse the request of the manufac- 
 turers of hats for free grain alcohol. Wood alcohol as used at the 
 present time has caused him such a serious ailment of the eyes and 
 general health that his doctor (Doctor English, Bethel, Conn.) , under 
 whose care he is constantly, tells hint that sooner or later he will have 
 to discontinue work on account of it. It has caused him such a weak- 
 ness of the eyes and loss of sight that he is unable to go out of the 
 house at night without danger. 
 
380 PBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 George Burt, Danbury, Conn., also states that it has caused his 
 eyes to be very badly afflicted, together with a general sickness and 
 loss of appetite. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? It has. 
 
 9. To what extent ? A loss of their labor and a stoppage of work a 
 number of times on that account, causing a decrease in production. 
 Impossible to state just how much, as no records have .been taken. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats, per dozen, than wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes ; even if we had to pay a little more than wood alcohol. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry, lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 SAMUEL MITNDHEIM COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years end- 
 ing December 31, 1900? $21,000. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905? 
 
 3. Cost of wjood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31,1905? $5,000. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen ? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? On 
 account of price. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Not that I know of. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? No. 
 
 9. To what extent? 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Never tried it. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Never tried it. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Think so. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 381 
 
 A. A. HODSHOK & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900? $10,000. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31,1905? JJ f 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year endine December 
 31,1905? $3,750. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon per dozen hats. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause wood alcohol is cheaper ; could not use gram alcohol and meet 
 competition. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? It has. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Can give no better case than my own, 
 as I was a stiffener before going into business, and had to stop work 
 on account of injury to my eyes a great many times. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Have never kept an account of the matter. 
 It has delayed the product at times when the stiffener has been unable 
 to work. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Have not tried the experiment. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 We believe it would. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Surely. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 Do not see how it would. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats? We believe we could make better hats out 
 of the same fur, and that should be a stimulus to trade. 
 
 SIMON & KEANE. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. None. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $575.80. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? The 
 internal-revenue tax on grain alcohol of $2.07 per gallon makes it 
 prohibitive to use. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
382 FKEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Our stiffener was incapacitated sev- 
 eral times from the toxic fumes of wood alcohol so that he required 
 medical treatment. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent ? Every now and then for a day or two. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? None. 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? No. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes; hats stiffened with grain alcohol are a grade better in quality. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead 
 to frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats? Yes. 
 
 MILLAED HAT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol use by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. $17,048.25. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $16,884.14. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $3,885.90. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 Six-tenths gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use- wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause of the difference in price, owing to existing conditions. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 7. Specijfy particular cases. Stiffeners will answer this in person. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of, effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? For a day or two at a time at least three or 
 four times a season. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? None. 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? Think not. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Believe it will. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituteed for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 Do not think so. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats ? Possibly. 
 
PBEB ALCOHOL. 383 
 
 S. A. G. HAT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 31, 
 1905. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you. From September 1, 1903, to 
 December 1, 1905, $13,542.34. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen ? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? Obliged 
 to on account of price of grain alcohol. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol ? Do not know. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituteed for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats ? 
 
 H. m'lachlan & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $25,592.17. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $7,338.82. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 
 6. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? Obliged 
 to on account of price of grain alcohol. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Do not know. ■, , , , « 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes • could employ a better class of labor on this work if grain alco- 
 hol was used. 
 
384 PBEB AliCOHOL. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 
 States? No. 
 
 JOHN W. GREEN & SONS (iNC.) 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. November 1, 1897, to December 31, 1900, $34,165. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. $46,200. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $12,426. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 6. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? 
 Cheaper. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Everyone who works in the room 
 where the alcohol is used has trouble with their eyes ; some are unable 
 to see at all after the day's work, and many have been compelled to 
 give up the work. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of efPect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Men have been unable to work fuU time and 
 the output is thus decreased. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 BELTAIRE BROTHERS & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five vears ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $25,600. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31,1905. $5,600. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it is cheaper than taxed grain alcohol. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 385 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 T. Specify particular cases. Wm. Stone, Bethel, Conn.; within 
 three years eyes and nervous system so affected could not resume any 
 employment for eight months. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? The interruptions occur at various times 
 during the year, occasioned by employees being affected by using 
 wood alcohol and not being able to work for days at a time. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in vfdue per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen, more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol? We should think not. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 We believe it will. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats? We think so. 
 
 PRICE & VOGT. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. Unable to state, as for two years we purchased 
 bodies. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $2,697.32 (one year) . 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 Two-thirds gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? Cheaper. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Very bad on the eyesight. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? 
 
 9. To what extent ? To such an extent that we are obliged to have 
 this work done in a separate part of the building. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? Never used it. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol ? 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 Not to our knowledge. 
 
 11058—06 25 
 
386 TEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats? 
 
 E. A. MALLOET & SONS. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. $12,504.90. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $17,954.21. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $4,475.47. 
 
 4. ^Tiat is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause the price of grain alcohol is prohibitive. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. William Phillips, George Shei'wood, 
 Cyril Wilkins, Frank Jackson, Charles Sherwood, Gus Gustaftson, 
 Albert Lane. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Business has to be suspended frequently in 
 the department where the wood alcohol is used, as employees are 
 unable to work. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead 
 to frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of -hats? Yes. 
 
 THE BARDT-UNTIEDT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of two years end- 
 ing December 31, 1900. $9,382.90. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years end- 
 ing December 31, 1905. $23,762.03. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $3,806.76. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it is cheaper. Grain alcohol would make the hats cost too much. 
 
 6^ Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. One man broken down, made almost 
 blind ; had to give up and went West. Another man, William Grun- 
 shaw, broken down in health and eyes almost ruined. 
 
FKEE ALCOHOL. 387 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of 
 wood alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Men having eyes and stomach affected. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Decidedly better. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for 
 wood alcohol? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 JXTDD & DUNNING HAT COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900? $9,000. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905 ? One year, $1,820. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905 ? One year, $1,820. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 Varies from 1 quart to 2 quarts. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? On 
 account of price only. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Our stiffener has been obliged to stop 
 work and go home many times; generally lost a day at a time of 
 greatly inflamed eyes, causing temporary blindness. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? By answer in No. 7. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? None. 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Yes ; I think so. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Much better. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? At once. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 Absolutely, no. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 JOHN B. STETSON COMPANY. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900? $28,075.41. 
 
388 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905? $51,552.43. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31,1905? $17,783.29. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 Somewhat less than a gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? 
 Cheaper. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Many cases of injured eyes; frequent 
 stomach illness; some have been compelled to give up this work 
 entirely. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Not as a whole, but 
 
 9. To what extent ? To the extent of work people being laid off at 
 times owing to conditions resulting from the fumes. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per gallon than wood 
 alcohol ? Do not know. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Do not know. 
 
 ,14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Do not know. 
 
 J. RtTMMELL & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900? $9,034.25. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905? $5,896.84. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31,1905? $1,964.75. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 About one-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? On 
 account of its cheaper cost. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Somewhat. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. One man engaged as assistant to 
 stiffener was obliged to give it up after a few days' trial, being unable 
 to stand the fumes. Our regular stiffener frequently has smarting 
 sensations in the eyes, causing them to tear badly. 
 
 8. Has your busmess been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Not to any extent. 
 
 9. To what extent? 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 389 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol? Don't know. 
 
 -„^^- ^^^1 grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 ^'ithout question. 
 1^ 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 
 alcohol? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 In our estimation, no. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 EDWIN SHORT HAT CO. (iNC). 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900? $17,746.37. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905? $17,493.09. 
 
 '3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1906? $5,494.25. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 About 2 quarts. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? Owing 
 to the extreme high cost of grain alcohol. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees ? Yes ; particularly the eyes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. During the last year one man was 
 compelled to give up working in it altogether. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? It has. 
 
 9. To what extent? Some of the men would have to stop for a 
 day or two and quite often for a part of a day. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol? About the same. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Increasing. 
 
 R. DTJNLAP & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31,1900? $57,375. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 31, 
 
 1905? 
 
 3 Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31,1905? $14,250. 
 
390 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 About five-eighths gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause it is cheaper. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health 
 your employees ? It has. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. It made one man blind for a period of 
 3 months, from which he has never fully recovered, and injured arms, 
 hands, and considerably irritated the eyes of other workmen. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? No. 
 
 9. To what extent? 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? We think not. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 We think not. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead 
 to frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? We think not. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats? It would enable the domestic manufacturer 
 to compete more efficiently with the foreign manufacturer. 
 
 Methylated spirits at the price it is sold for in England, which 
 country is the strongest competitor of the United States in the hat 
 line, would enable Dunlap & Co. to save about 70 cents per dozen, 
 which is very large for one item of cost. We have not heard just 
 what methylated spirits is quoted at in England lately, but a few 
 years ago a manufacturer in Carlisle, England, incidently stated 
 in one of his letters that he was then paying about 30 cents per 
 gallon, " carriage paid." The wood alcohol used by Dunlap & Co. 
 IS listed at $1.50 per gallon, which at the rate of five-eighths of a 
 gallon per dozen shows a saving to the English manutacturer of 
 over 70 cents per dozen. 
 
 JAMBS MARSHALL & BEOS. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years, 
 ending December 31, 1900 ? 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905? 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the vear ending December 
 31,1905? $37,546. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? 
 Cheaper on account of heavy tax on grain alcohol. Is also non- 
 intoxicating. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? We think so — ^to some. 
 
FBEE AIjCOHOL. 391 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Affects the operatives' eyes to such 
 an extent they can work only a few hours at a time— that is, in cold 
 weather. In warm weather we have no trouble. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Have to work two sets of men, each set work- 
 ing only half a day, or on alternate days. In some cases have had to 
 shut down our entire stiffening room, reducing our production very 
 materially at the height of the season. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol? No. 
 
 11. How much per annum? None. 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? Do not think so. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 We think not, as far as the quality of the hat itself is concerned, but 
 certainly will as far as the health of the operatives is concerned. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol? Probably to some extent, if not wholly. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 We think that with the proper restrictions the United States would 
 suffer no loss through frauds. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats? Probably increase. 
 
 LEE HAT MANTJEACTTJEING COMPANT. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $52,941.19. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $14,377.29. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 One and three-fifths quarts (^ of gallon) . 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol mstead of grain alcohol? Grain 
 alcohol too expensive. • 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes; decidedly so. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Seven employees in stiffening depart- 
 ment at times have to discontinue work. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. . . , x- i 
 
 9. To what extent? At various times quantity in that particular 
 department reduced froni 25 to 50 per cent. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood aico- 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 
 We believe so. ... « , , , x-. . i j- j 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 
 alcohol? Without question. 
 
392 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States? 
 It should not. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats? Yes. 
 
 S. C. HOLLET & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 31, 
 1905. $29,117.42. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending Decembel- 
 31, 1905. $8,080.51. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 A trifle over one-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? Because 
 of the high price of grain alcohol. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. All stiffeners who have ever worked 
 for us have suffered from the use of wood alcohol. Some use cocaine 
 in their eyes to relieve pain. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? No stiffeners have been able to work a full 
 day on account of the effects of wood alcohol on their eyes. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood alco- 
 hol? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats ? No ; on account of the high price of our labor. 
 
 THE VOLK HAT CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by us for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $8,413.40. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by us for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1905. $8,413.40. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by us for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $1,766.48. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 6. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? It is 
 
 two-thirds cheaper, costing only about 70 cents per gallon, against 
 grain alcohol at $2.30 per gallon. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 393 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Our stiffener, F. E. Andrews, has 
 submitted sworn statement attached to this report. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect oi wood 
 alcohol on employees? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? We refer to sworn statement of our stiffener, 
 who uses wood alcohol for solving shellac. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? None. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum ? None. 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol? About the same quantity, but evaporates more quickly if 
 not careful. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United 
 States? No. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increasing 
 the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 South Noewalk, February 1, 1906. 
 
 JTIDD & CO. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31,1905. $1,710. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol ? JBecause 
 wood alcohol is cheaper. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Stiffeners have had to quit work on 
 account of the injurious effect upon the eyes. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Yes. 
 
 9. To what extent? Have several times had hats accumulate back 
 of the stiffeners, as they were unable to work on account of inflamed 
 eyes caused by wood-alcohol fumes. 
 
 iO. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results .than wood alcohol ? 
 We believe so. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol? Yes. 
 
394 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry, lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a, loss of revenue to the United States? 
 We think not. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? 
 
 MR. W. B. HUBBELL. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years end- 
 ing December 31, 1900 ? About $4,000. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905? 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905? 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen? 
 
 5. Why do you use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Be- 
 cause the tax on grain alcohol is prohibitive. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health 
 of your employees ? Very evident, as it is a poison. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of eflFect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? 
 
 9. To what extent? 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? I think so. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. " ^ . 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 Does not get any now, consequently could not lose any. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? 
 
 LAMSON & HUBBARD. 
 
 1. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period of five years ending 
 December 31, 1900. $5,807.32. 
 
 2. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for period ending December 
 31, 1905. $168. 
 
 3. Cost of wood alcohol used by you for the year ending December 
 31, 1905. $1,823.76. 
 
 4. What is the average quantity of wood alcohol used per dozen^ 
 About one-half gallon. 
 
 5. Why do use wood alcohol instead of grain alcohol? Because it 
 is cheaper. 
 
 6. Has the use of wood alcohol been detrimental to the health of 
 your employees? Yes. 
 
 7. Specify particular cases. Stiffener had to lay off on account of 
 the fumes. This is in the cold weather, when we have to close the 
 windows. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 395 
 
 8. Has your business been interrupted on account of effect of wood 
 alcohol on employees ? Not a great deal. 
 
 9. To what extent? To the extent of Qpening the windows and 
 clearing the room of the fumes. 
 
 10. Do you use any grain alcohol ? No. 
 
 11. How much in value per annum? 
 
 12. Will grain alcohol stiffen more hats per dozen than wood 
 alcohol ? Yes. 
 
 13. Will grain alcohol produce better results than wood alcohol? 
 Yes. 
 
 14. Would methylated spirits, free of tax, be substituted for wood 
 alcohol ? We do not know. 
 
 15. Would the use of alcohol, free of tax, in your industry lead to 
 frauds upon the Treasury and a loss of revenue to the United States ? 
 We do not think it would. 
 
 16. Would the use of free alcohol result in stimulating or increas- 
 ing the export of hats ? Yes. 
 
 XIX. CONSUMPTION OF UNTAXED INDUSTRIAL ALCOHOL IN 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 Fiscal year ending October 1— 
 
 Hectoliters 
 of pure or 
 absolute al- 
 cohol. 
 
 Quantities 
 expressed in 
 
 American 
 proof or tax- 
 able gallons. 
 
 1899-1900 
 
 1,047,417 
 1,161,326 
 1,114,230 
 1,289,123 
 1,394,607 
 
 55,303,617 
 61,318,012 
 58,831,844 
 68,066,694 
 73,635,249 
 
 190O 1901 
 
 1901-1902 
 
 1902-1903 . 
 
 1903-1904 
 
 
 The hectoliter is equal to 26.4 American wine gallons. In Germany 
 the unit of tax is a liter of pure or absolute alcohol , and therefore the 
 number of wine gallons of alcohol used for manufacturing and other 
 industrial purposes must be multiplied by 2 to express the quantity 
 in American proof gallons. 
 
 The quantity used during the fiscal year 1903-4 was equal to 
 40,763,429 wine gallons testing 94 per cent. 
 
 This alcohol was delivered free of tax under the following paragraph 
 of the first article of the German law relating to the taxation of dis- 
 tilled spirits: 
 
 " From this tax are exempted and not to be considered in determin- 
 ing the aforesaid annual quantity: 
 
 "1. Distilled spirits for export. 
 
 "2. Distilled spirits used for industrial purposes, manufacturing 
 vinegar, cleaning, heating, cooking, or illuminating, under such rules 
 and regulations as the Federal Council may prescribe. " 
 
 XX. EXTRACT FROM THE PAINTERS' MAGAZINE FOR DECEMBER, 1905. 
 
 [See page 90.] 
 THE WOOD ALCOHOL QUESTION. 
 
 A year ago The Painters' Magazine warned the trade of the danger- 
 ous character of wood alcohol, stating the fact, just beginning to be 
 recognized by physicians, that wood alcohol was not only poisonous 
 
396 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 when taken internally, but that its fumes when inhaled or absorbed 
 through the skin might produce partial or total blindness, from which 
 there was no hope of recovery. And this dangerous character of 
 wood alcohol is not removed by the processes of refining and deodor- 
 izing which have been perfected. In our July issue we published a 
 report of a case of blindness caused to a Chicago painter by using 
 wood alcohol for cleaning off old varnish from a floor in a closed room. 
 At that time we were criticized for publishing the letter from the 
 painter, one critic claiming that the painter must have taken it inter- 
 nally. In order that no injustice might be done to anyone, a special 
 representative of the Painters' Magazine called upon the physicians 
 in charge of the case, as well as upon the painter, and from them 
 obtained the following statements: 
 
 In regard to the rase of H. B. , I have interviewed him and found him almost totally 
 blind. He repeated to me his statement of the case exactly as in his letter to the 
 Painters' Magazine. He informed me that the room in which he used the wood 
 alcohol for cleaning the floor was of the size about 18 by 20 feet. He had the doors 
 of the room all closed, and used probably about one and a half gallons of wood 
 alcohol. Of course, he asserts positively that he has never drank wood alcohol. He 
 admitted that he had been accustomed to occasionally taking a glass of beer, but had 
 not drank to excess, and he points out that the idea that he should have recourse to 
 wood alcohol as a beverage is absurd, for it would be entirely unnecessary in his 
 case, as he had a good position which paid him $120 a month and board, so that he 
 could easily afford a better class of beverage. His employment was that of head 
 decorator at the Hotel Del Prado. The physicians, specialists, whom he consulted 
 were Dr. W. Franklin Coleman, 1109 Venetian Building, and Dr. John Franklin 
 Campbell, 100 State street, Chicago. 
 
 I have talked with Doctor Coleman, and he says that he regards Mr. B.'s statement 
 of the case as trustworthy and in strict accordance with the facts. Doctor Coleman 
 states that unquestionably atrophy of the optic nerve can be induced by inhalation 
 of wood-alcohol fumes. 
 
 This letter from our representative contained the following inclosures: 
 
 As there has been some question on the part of the manufacturers of wood alcohol 
 as to the certainty of poisonous symptoms arising from the inhalation of its fumes, I 
 would like to mention the following case, which should convince the producers that 
 the inhalation of wood-alcohol fumes, under proper conditions, will cause the same 
 toxic symptoms that are produced by taking it internally : 
 
 H. B. — Age 45 years; occupation, fresco painter and decorator. Good vision until 
 December, 1904, when he spent three hours in a closed room with methyl alcohol 
 covering the floor, in some places to the depth of one-half inch. Within a few hours 
 he exhibited all the symptoms of wood-alcohol poisoning. After a certain time he 
 recovered his normal condition, with the exception of his vision, which, in spite of 
 treatment, has grown worse instead of better. 
 
 There is no history of overindulgence in stimulants, nor is there any acquired or 
 hereditary taint to account for the sudden and permanent loss of vision other than 
 the wood-alcohol poisoning. 
 
 W. F. Coleman, M. D., 
 Professor of Ophthalmology, Post Graduate School of Chicago. 
 
 I desire to confirm the report of Dr. W. F. Coleman re the case of H. B., age 45; 
 occupation, decorator. In my opinion the loss of sight is the direct result of the 
 inhalation of the fumes of methyl alcohol. In view of the number of cases reported 
 by Dr. Casey A. Wood, of this city, and Dr. F. Buller, of Montreal, Canada, and of 
 the various reports that have recently been made since attention has been drawn to 
 this subject, I see no reason to doubt the fact that the sight may be sacrificed from 
 such a cause as that stated in the present case. 
 U» L: John F. Campbell, M. D. 
 
 A case that is now attracting widespread attention is that of Charles 
 L. Bedell, of Lynn, Mass. , a journeyman painter of that city, who has 
 been rendered totally blind by fumes arising from wood alcohol. 
 Mr. Bedell was treated at the Lynn Hospital, from which he was finally 
 
FEEE ALCOHOL. 397 
 
 discharjred as totally and incurablj- blind. We reprint the following 
 account of the case by Albert T. Hawes, M. D., attending physician 
 at the Lynn Hospital, from the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal : 
 
 On the morning of October 5, 1905, 0. B., age 53, a painter by occupation, began 
 the work of cleaning the paint from old furniture and applying shellac to the floors 
 of three rooms. He continued this work for three days, when he was obliged to 
 give it up on account of the sickness caused by the fumes of the wood alcohol which 
 he was using. 
 
 The patient was a strong, well-built man of sober and industrious habits. Used 
 tobacco rather constantly and had done so for years, smoking a pipe while at work. 
 His eyesight was good and only occasionally he used glasses for reading. Although 
 indulging moderately in alcoholic stimulants, he was fully aware of the dangers of 
 drinking wood alcohol. He had taken nothing of an alcoholic nature while at work 
 at this place, and during this time had had only one or two whiskies at night, which 
 he obtained and drank at a saloon. 
 
 He used wood alcohol to remove the old paint from the furniture and in mixing 
 his shellac. His work consisted in pouring a quantity of wood alcohol on the furni- 
 ture, rubbing it with a cloth and then applying more. None of the rooms in which 
 he was working was latter than 10 by 12 feet, and as a breeze was blowing through 
 the house he closed the doors and windows to prevent evaporation of the alcohol. 
 
 The first day, after being in the closed room for some hours, he began to suffer 
 from headache, nausea, a faint feeling, and some smarting of the eyes, but after being 
 in the open air he felt relieved and continued the work. 
 
 The second day he was in the closed room all day and suffered from the same 
 symptoms, and while walking home at nignt he noticed a slight blur before his 
 eyes, as if a veil were hanging in front of them. He went to his room to wash for 
 supper and felt so miserable that he sat down in his easy chair and slept until 10 
 o'clock p. m., and then went to bed without any supper. 
 
 The next morning he started to work, but was unable to do anything, and about 
 8.30 a. m. gave up and went home. The blur before his eyes had increased and the 
 symptoms of headache, nausea, and faintness were intense. His mind was confused 
 and he had no clear memory of what occurred. He lay down on his bed and about 
 noon a physician was summoned. Some relief was obtained, but during the follow- 
 ing night he became worse and was admitted to my service at the Lynn Hospital. 
 
 I saw the patient for the first time about 4 o'clock a. m. He was in a semicon- 
 scious condition and was able to talk, but speech was unintelligible. The tempera- 
 ture 100°, pulse 108, full and strong; respiration 20. The pupils were widely dilated 
 and irresponsive to Mght. Patient was extremely restless, turning from side to side 
 and resented any attempt at restraint. After a time he quieted down and obtained 
 some sleep. Urinary examination was negative. 
 
 At 9 o'clock the same morning his mind was perfectly clear, although his memory 
 was somewhat hazy concerning the events of the preceding night. He complained 
 only of some headache and his inability to see. He could, however, count the num- 
 ber" of persons in the room and could see a hand passed before his face. 
 
 Examination of the fundus by Doctor Jones showed some blurring of the disk of 
 right eve and contraction of the arteries in left eye. 
 
 The temperature for the first five days was somewhat irregular, 100° in the morn- 
 ing and between 102° and 103° at night. It then came down to normal, or prac- 
 tically normal, and remained there. The unpleasant symptoms rapidly cleared up, 
 although some headache remained for several days. 
 
 Treatment consisted of elimination by the kidneys and bowel and gradually increas- 
 ing doses of strychnia. A tolerance of strychnia was established and the patient was 
 taking 1/15 gr. four times a day without any toxic effect. 
 
 Fifteen days after admission examination of the fundus showed the conditions 
 practically unchanged. At this time there was no vision whatever. He could see 
 no shadow of objects passed before his eyes and could not tell in which part of the 
 room a window was located. The pupils had remained persistently dilated, and a 
 strong electric light held directly before the face caused no reaction of the pupils. 
 
 Mr. Bedell's case has been taken up by Local Union 111, of the 
 Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Painters of America, of 
 which he was a member. The union has actively engaged the atten- 
 tion of Senator Henry Cabot Lodg'e and Congressman Roberts, both 
 of whom have promised their aid m bringing the matter before Con- 
 gress, and in addition the union has mailed more than one thousand 
 
398 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 circulars to everj^ other local union of the Brotherhood, warning them 
 of the dangers of wood alcohol, and urging the members to refuse to 
 use it or shellac cut with wood alcohol. They also inclose a petition 
 to Congress, urging the passage of a bill making grain alcohol that 
 has been rendered unfit for drinking free of tax. 
 
 Any of our readers who may be interested in assisting the Brother- 
 hood in this matter can obtain full particulars and a copy of the peti- 
 tion to Congress by addressing J. W. Cotton, 160 Market street, 
 Lynn, Mass., the secretary of the local union. 
 
 Because there is such an insidious danger lurking in the use of wood 
 alcohol, a danger which may utterly destroy the e;^esight, leaving a 
 strong man helpless, we present the foregoing facts in detail. 
 
 XXI. LETTERS FILED BY J. W. COTTON. 
 
 [See page 91.] 
 
 Springfield, Mo. , Novemher 29, 1905. 
 J. W. Cotton, Searetary 111, 
 
 Lynn, Mass. 
 Dear Sir and Brother: Will say the course pursued in the circu- 
 lar which was adopted by the Connecticut valley conference at Spring- 
 field, Mass. , November 12, 1905, was heartly indorsed. It was a unani- 
 mous vote to accept the communication, and forward same to our 
 Senator, whose name is John Wilburn, Lexington, Mo. 
 
 Also there was a unanimous vote for the secretary to write an arti- 
 cle so as to make it just as impressive upon the Senate as possible. 
 We have been using colonial spirits in our shop for about two years. 
 We have noticed in several instances dizziness and even vomiting, but 
 we did not know what the cause was, but since reading this circular 
 we are convinced that it is the colonial spirits. Hoping and praying 
 this circular will have the desired effect, 1 remain, as ever, 
 Yours fraternally, 
 
 F. M. Bass, 
 Recording Secretary 375. 
 1018 East Atlantic Street, Spriiigfield, Mo. 
 
 Mr. J. W. Cotton, 
 
 Secretary L. U. No. Ill, Lynn, Mass. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother: Your circulars relative to the poisonous 
 effects of wood alcohol received. We believe it is a step in the right 
 direction, and your recommendations will be concurred in. We pro- 
 pose to get our two central bodies, viz, Building Trades Council and 
 Industrial Council, to assist us in making it effective as far as Kansas 
 City is concerned. Our delegates to convention, M. I. Hartman and 
 H. H. Small, also go instructed to do all in their power, with the end in 
 view that your circular calls for. 
 
 I can well testify to the deadly effects of the fumes of wood alcohol. 
 As far back as 1887 I had a big office building finished in California 
 red wood, calling for coat of white shellac. After using some fifty gal- 
 lons, was induced to try "Union" shellac, at a saving of about a dollar 
 a gallon, ten or twelve brushes going on the one floor; in less than 
 
PEEE ALCOHOL. 399 
 
 an hour all were completel}^ knocked out, and jou can rest assured I 
 was not lonff in shipping the infernal stuff back to where it came from. 
 Soon after that a boss painter in this city had a residence to do, about 
 sixteen miles from city, and word came that his men were boozing on 
 the alcohol sent for thinners. "I'll fix them," and it is said that he 
 took some wood alcohol down and mixed it with the other without a 
 caution ; at any rate two of the boys were found dead in the neighbor- 
 ing bush and the other dangerously sick. 
 
 Again, it is only about five years back that a millionaire brewer, to 
 save a dollar or so, got to shellacking the inside of his rats with shellac 
 mixed with wood alcohol; result, three poor painters were carried out 
 dead. This happened in ]\Iilwaukee, and was a tax on our general 
 brotherhood, for we did not have quite so much cash in hand then as 
 now. 
 
 Cases innumerable could be cited, and from my experience of eighteen 
 years ago, and finding out its poisonous qualities, although no harm 
 was done at the time, I have cut it out of everything as far as possible, 
 and have always talked and warned against the use of it. 
 
 You would confer a great favor if you could send me two or three 
 more copies. The only one I had I turned over to the delegates to 
 Memphis. 
 
 Trusting that I have not taken up too much of j^our time, 
 I remain, fraternally yours, 
 
 J. J. HUCKETT, 
 
 [sEAL.J Recording Secretary No. If.. 
 
 Mr. J. W. Cotton, 
 
 Seo'etary Local Union No. Ill, Lynn, Mass. 
 Dear Sir and Brother: Have received your communication and 
 resolution concerning making, through law, " denaturized " grain 
 alcohol taxless. 
 
 A timely action indeed to try to fi'ee our unfortunate brother 
 mechanics from the terrible effect caused by wood alcohol. Our hope 
 here is that it will meet an accomplished success. 
 
 The resolution is duly signed and sealed and mailed to this district's 
 Congressman. 
 
 Fraternally yours, N.Nelson, 
 
 Becording Secretary. 
 
 Chicago, Novemher S9, 1905. 
 Mr. J. ^A^ Cotton, 
 
 Secretary L. U., 111. 
 Dear Sir and Brother: Your petition and resolution in regard to 
 wood alcohol was received and concurred in, and our union sincerely 
 hope that legislation will be passed protecting our livelihood. 
 
 One of our members, John Granat, a few years ago was engaged to 
 shellac vats in Brandt's brewery. He worked, if 1 recollect right, 
 about ten hours, and ever since has been totally blind. His partner, 
 a member of L. U., 275, is little, if any, better. 
 With best wishes, I remain 
 
 Fraternally yours, 
 [seal.] M. Gilbertson, 
 
 Recording Secretary, 
 
 772 N. Artesian avenue. 
 
400 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Newport News, Va., Noveinbfir 23, 1905. 
 Mr. J. W. Cotton, Secretary. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother: Your petition, resolations, and data 
 relating to wood alcohol was read before our local and the same was 
 ordered indorsed and sent to our Representative in Congress from this 
 district, Hon. Harry Maynard of Portsmouth, Va. I nave been also 
 instructed to say that although it is generally known in the trade of 
 this vicinity that wood alcohol is very injurious to the eyes, yet we 
 have no positive data that we could furnish you on the subject. 
 
 Personally I have used it and have noted that 1 could not read at 
 night although I have remarkably strong eyes. 
 
 Wishing you success in your undertaking, and assuring you that you 
 have the hearty good will and support of 519. 
 I am, fraternally, 
 
 [seal.] R. B. Hickok, 
 
 Recording Secretwry. 
 
 Cincinnati, November 29, 1905. 
 Mr. J. W. Cotton, 
 
 Secretary, Lynn, Mass. 
 Dear Sir and Brother: 1 beg to inform you that this local con- 
 curs in the crusade you have started against wood alcohol and will do 
 all in our power to further the work. W. E. C. , one of the cases you 
 cite, is an honorary member of this L., having taken the disability 
 benefit; and we lost a member last April by death resulting from uge 
 of the same damnable fluid. 
 
 We have two Congressmen in this city. Kindly forward me two 
 sets of the papers so that I can reserve one set for tiling purposes. 
 1 am. 
 
 Yours, fraternallj', 
 [seal.] a. B. Cook, 
 
 Recording Sec^^etary, L. U. No. 
 
 November 20, 1905. 
 Bro. J. W. Cotton, Zynw, Mass. 
 
 Dear Sir: Your petition in relation to wood alcohol received, read, 
 and acted on, and will be forwarded to our Congressman, Hon. E. C. 
 Burleigh, at once. It is a mighty good move, and one every union 
 should take action on, for the devilish stuff is not fit for white men 
 to use. 
 
 Yours, fraternally, 
 
 J. A. Stevens, 
 Recording Secretary, Local 11^2, Bar Harhor, Me. 
 
 Superior, Wis., Deceml)er26, 1905. 
 Brotherhood, Greeting: 
 
 Your petition relating to wood alcohol was received and adopted last 
 meeting night in favor of grain alcohol, but, as there was none in our 
 little local that made any data, I will say for myself that I have been 
 using considerable of both, and wood alcohol is fair" for cheap work, 
 but if it comes to doing a good, first-class job I have alwavs found 
 that we have to get grain alcobol, no matter what it costs, as it is much 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 401 
 
 superior to wood alcohol, and I also know it is deadly poison, but, as 
 we have had no actions here from it, I can not say anything about that, 
 fraternally, j^ours, 
 
 Hans A. Nelson, Recording Secretary, 
 
 601 North Fifth Street. 
 
 ^liLWAUKEE, Wis. , December i, 1905. 
 J. W. Cotton, Secretary. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother: I wish to notify you that L. U. No. 222 
 have taken favorable action on your resolution relating to wood alcohol. 
 
 1 have forwarded same to Hon. Theo. Otjen, and believe that he will 
 do all in his power to help our cause along. 
 
 We have some cases of poisoning and at least one death in Milwau- 
 kee through the use of wood alcohol in shellacing beer vats, but I had 
 no data of same at hand, so I had to do without. 
 
 This same resolution, or something very similar, was presented by 
 a Social Democrat, namely. Brother Strehlow, assemblyman at Madi- 
 son, but was cut to pieces so bad that it is of no use to us. 
 
 By the way, that resolution had a clause in it prohibiting the sale 
 and use of wood alcohol, and that is one reason for its defeat. 
 Fraternally, yours, 
 
 C. A. Lund, 
 Recording Secretary. 
 
 Milwaukee, Wis., Decemler ^4., 1906. 
 Mr. J. W. Cotton. 
 
 Dear Sir and Brother: Your communication of November 20 was 
 taken up at the meeting of Local No. 1066 at its last meeting and a 
 committee appointed to draft proper resolutions and present the same 
 to our Congressmen for action. We will certainly try very hard to 
 stop the use of wood alcohol in our trade, as it interests our local prob- 
 ably more than most painter locals, we being composed of hard-wood 
 finishei's, and compelled to use more of this injurious fluid. The 
 painters of Milwaukee have had a bill before our State assembly pro- 
 hibiting the use or sale of wood-alcohol shellac in the State, but the 
 same was killed. Your resolution is the more proper way of getting 
 at the trouble — by taking off the tariff on grain alcohol used for such 
 purposes, which will take away an incentive for the use of the dangerous 
 poison. Hoping that this will be satisfactory, I remain. 
 Fraternally, 
 ' [seal.] Wm. C. Lang, Secretary. 
 
 La Fayette, Ind., January W., 1906. 
 Mr. J. W. Cotton, Lynn, Mass. 
 
 Dear Sir AND Brother: Yourfavorof January 6 was duly received, 
 and contents noted. 
 
 The clipping which I sent you was one published in the Chicago 
 paper, which I happened to run across at home among some old papers 
 which I was looking through for another article. My time is taken up 
 so much with other matters that the papers which come into my home 
 often never reach my eyes, but in case I run across any more matter 
 of that kind I will immediately send it to you. Before taking up the 
 position of chief clerk at headquarters in March, 1903, 1 worked for a 
 
 11058—06 26 
 
402 FBEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 firm in the city of Elgin, 111., who done an extensive business in wood 
 finishing, and made a specialty of hard-wood floors. While working 
 at the trade I have used a great deal of wood alcohol, and several times 
 have felt the bad effects of it. I remember one job in particular, which 
 I and several other members of the Elgin union worked upon, which 
 was a meat market, where a slight fire had occurred, badly blistering 
 the interior of the building, whose walls and ceilings were ceiled with 
 oak. 
 
 We were obliged to cut off all of the old varnish with remover, 
 which consists practically, as you know, of wood alcohol, wax, and 
 benzoin. None of us could scarcely eat our meals while using that 
 stuff, but the job came in the middle of January, when the mercury 
 stood seventeen below zero, and there was scarcely any other work in 
 sight; we were all glad to get most anything to do. I assure you, 
 however, that I do not care to go through an experience of that kind 
 again, and had I known at that time of the dangerousness to eyesight 
 by the use of wood alcohol 1 should have refused to be employed upon 
 that job. 
 
 Any information which I can furnish you with, or if I can render 
 any assistance in any way to the cause which you are espousing, I 
 shall be pleased to do so. 
 
 Fraternally, yours, W. C. Hall. 
 
 XXII. RESOLUTIONS OF THE NEW ENGLAND OPHTHALMOLOGICAL 
 
 SOCIETY. 
 
 [See page 92.] 
 
 At a meeting of the New England Ophthalmological Society, held 
 at the Massachusetts Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary on the 9th of 
 Januar}', 1906, it was voted that, 
 
 Whereas many mechanics have become blind from the use of wood 
 alcohol, and, 
 
 Whereas all European countries having large manufacturing 
 interests have exempted from taxation grain alcohol when rendered 
 unfit for drinking and used for mechanical purposes, 
 
 Resolved, That this society heartily approves of the bill which has 
 been introduced into the Fifty-ninth Congress to make such exemp- 
 tion, and urges all New England Representatives to do their utmost 
 to procure its enactment as a law. 
 
 XXIII. CREDENTIALS OF J. F. GRIMES FROM THE AMERICAN FEDERA- 
 TION OF LABOR. 
 
 Washington, D. C, January 2, 1906. 
 To ivhom it may concern : 
 
 This is to certify that Mr. James F. Grimes has been duly appointed 
 as a member of the legislative committee of the American Fe(feration 
 of Labor, and to represent it in all matters legislatively affecting the 
 interests of the wage-earners of America. 
 
 I bespeak for him the courtesy and consideration from all with 
 whom he may have business relations in regard to the above-mentioned 
 matter. 
 
 Very respectfully, _ Samuel Gompeks, 
 
 President American Federation of Labor. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 403 
 
 XXIV. STATEMENTS AS TO INJURY TO HEALTH FROM THE USE OF 
 
 WOOD ALCOHOL. 
 
 WOOD ALCOHOL VS. DENATURIZED GRAIN ALCOHOL. 
 
 Honored Sir: We beg to submit to you a few cases showing how 
 dangerous it is to use wood alcohol. In doing so we bespeak your 
 interest in securing the tax being taken off denaturized grain alcohol 
 and thus cause the grain alcohol to be cheaper than wood alcohol. 
 
 From Dr. W. McL. Ayres, Cincinnati, Ohio: W. E. C, aged 44, 
 painter (October, 1901), had been varnishing and shellacking the inside 
 of the closets in one of the large Cincinnati hotels. The shellac had 
 been cut by or dissolved in wood alcohol. While in one of the closets 
 he became dizzy, had an intense headache, and was forced to stop for 
 a time and get some fresh air. After this he returned to work, but 
 was again attacked by nausea, vomiting and headache, that forced him 
 to discontinue his work entirely for several days. At present he is 
 practically helpless and unable to do any work requiring the use of 
 his eyes. 
 
 From Dr. W. E. Driver, Norfolk, Va. : E. L. , male, white, aged 54, 
 consulted Doctor Driver on June 15, 1901. He gave the following 
 history: In August, 1894, after shellacking the benches and interiors 
 of several schoolhouses, he awakened in the morning of the second 
 night to find that he was totally blind. The diagnosis was optic nerve 
 atrophy from inhalation of wood alcohol. 
 
 From Dr. J. A. Lippincott, Pittsburg, Pa. : S. E. S. , aged 44, April 
 12, 1902, worked a whole day varnishing tanks in a brewery, using a 
 varnish which had been mixed with wood alcohol. In the evening 
 when he left his work— according to the statement of his physician, 
 Doctor Brock, of Waynesburg — he acted like an intoxicated man, and 
 two hours later went into a comatose condition, which lasted twenty- 
 four hours. When aroused the sight of the right eye was somewhat 
 impaired and that of the left eye was entirely gone. Doctor Brock, 
 in reply to a recent note, states that the vision of the left eye in time 
 failed entirely. He also states that soon after the poisoning he was 
 taken with left-sided pneumonia, from which recovery was never com- 
 plete. About six months ago tubercular trouble developed and ended 
 in death June 8, 1904. 
 
 From Dr. Nelson L. North, jr., Brooklyn, N. Y. : H. E. W., aged 
 48, was employed as a varnisher of closed beer vats. These vats 
 were badly, if at all, provided with ventilation, and wood alcohol 
 was employed to dissolve the shellac used in the varnish. While 
 engaged in this work he experienced the usual constitutional symp- 
 toms of methyl alcohol intoxication and he began to have foggy 
 vision. When seen in hospital by Doctor North central acuity had 
 fallen to 20/70 in each eye. Optic pappilse pale. Fortunately, in this 
 case prompt treatment was followed by improvement to almost normal 
 in either eye. 
 
 From Dr. Nelson L. North, jr., Brooklyn, N. Y. : A. H. S., aged 
 35, strong and healthy, weighed 190 pounds. He was employed as a 
 beer vat shellacker. During the winter of 1900-1901 he was engaged 
 in his employment of varnishing the interior of ill-ventilated vats with 
 shellac dissolved in wood alcohol. He began to suffer from loss of 
 eyesight, and when seen by Doctor North his vision was 10/200 and 
 
404 PEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 there was every indication of optic atrophj', the disks being very 
 white. Abstinence from work and long-continued treatment brought 
 about some amelioration of vision, but improvement of central sight 
 did not extend beyond 20/50. 
 
 From Dr. Norton L. Wilson, Elizabeth, N. J.: O. E. H., aged 42, 
 workman in the cabinet department of a large factory where Colum- 
 bian spirits were used in mixing shellac and other polishing mixtures. 
 His vision was reduced to 10 200. His disks were pale and the vessels 
 were small. Said he never drank wood alcohol to his knowledge. He 
 absorbed it through his hands, as he frequently bathed his hands in 
 Columbian spirits to "cut" the shellac. 
 
 From A. T. Hawes, A. M. M. D., and' Doctor Jones, Lynn, Mass., 
 October, 1905: C. L. B., painter, age 52, cleaning old furniture with 
 wood alcohol, and shellacking floors of three rooms with wood alcohol 
 shellac. Working three days. Totally blind fifteen days after. No 
 change. 
 
 As published in Painters' Magazine, July, 1906: H. Bradshaw, 106 
 FuUerton avenue, Chicago, states: "I have been a painter for over ten 
 years. I was scraping off a floor which needed revarnishing, and I 
 had to use wood alcohol to take it off easier. 1 got down on my knees 
 and had my face close to the floor. When I got through I felt kind 
 of dizzy, but 1 still went home. That was Saturday night, and Mon- 
 day morning I was totally blind. That happened December 10, 1904, 
 and I am still the same. I have tried the best specialist in Chicago, 
 and for a time 1 could see 9 inches, but after a while I went back to 
 nearly total blindness again. I had no idea wood alcohol would do 
 this or I should never have used it." 
 
 The following are extracts from letters sent from different parts of 
 the country in reply to circulars sent. The originals can be seen on 
 application to the committee. 
 
 -N'o. 1. — There was a unanimous vote for the secretary to write an 
 attache, so as to make it just as impressive upon the Senator as possi- 
 ble. We have been using colonial spirits in our shops for about two 
 years. We have noticed in several instances dizziness and even vomit- 
 ing, but we did not know what the cause was, but since reading this 
 circular we are convinced that it is the colonial spirits. 
 
 Hoping and praying this circular will have the desired effect. 
 
 No. 2. — I can well testify to the deadly effects of the fumes of wood 
 alcohol. As far back as 1887 I had a big office building finished in 
 California redwood, calling for coat of white shellac. After using 
 some 60 gallons, was induced to try " Union" shellac at a saving of 
 about a dollar a gallon, ten or twelve brushes going on the one floor, 
 nl less than an hour all were completely knocked out, and you can rest 
 assured I was not long in shipping the infernal stuff back to where it 
 came from. Soon after that a boss painter in this city had a residence 
 to do about 16 miles from city, and word came that his men were 
 boozing on the alcohol sent for thinners. " I'll fix them," and it is 
 said that he took some wood alcohol down and mixed it with the other 
 without a caution. At any rate, two of the boys were found dead in 
 the neighboring bush and the other dangerously sick. 
 
 Again, it is only about five years back that a millionaire brewer, to 
 save a dollar or so, got shellacking the inside of his vats with shellac 
 mixed with wood alcohol. Result, three poor painters were carried 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 405 
 
 out dead. This happened in Milwaukee and was a tax on the brother- 
 hood, for we did not have quite so much cash on hand then as now. 
 
 Cases innumerable could be cited from my experience of eighteen 
 years ago, and finding out its poisonous qualities. Although no harm 
 was done at the time, 1 have cut it out of everything as far as possible 
 and have always talked and warned against the use of it. 
 
 iVo. 3. — A timely action indeed, to ti"y to free our unfortunate brothers 
 from the terrible efi'ect caused by wood alcohol; our hope here is that 
 it will meet an accomplished success. 
 
 iVo. 4- — Our union sincerely hopes that legislation will be passed 
 protecting our livelihood. One of our members, John Granat, a few 
 years ago, was engaged to shellac vats in Brandt's brewery. He 
 worked, if 1 recollect right, about ten hours, and ever since has been 
 totally blind. His partner, a member of L. U. 275, is little, if any, 
 better. 
 
 Wo. 5. — I have been also instructed to say that although it is gener- 
 ally known in the trade of this vicinity that wood alcohol is very inju- 
 rious to the eyes, yet we have no positive data that we could furnish 
 you on the subject. Personally I have used it, and have noted that I 
 could not read at night, although I have remarkably strong eyes. 
 
 No. 6. — W. E. C, one of the cases you cite, is an honorary member 
 of this local, having taken the disability benefit, and we lost a mem- 
 ber last April bv death resulting from use of the same "damnable 
 fluid." 
 
 No. 7. — It is a mighty good move, and one every union should take 
 action on, for the "devilish stuff" is not fit for white men to use. 
 
 No. 8. — I will say for m5'self that I have used considerable of both, 
 and wood alcohol is fair for cheap work, but if it comes to doing a 
 
 food first-class job, I have always found that I have to get grain alco- 
 ol, no matter what it costs, as it is much superior to wood alcohol, 
 and I also know it is deadly poison. 
 
 No. 9. — We have some cases of poisoning and at least one death in 
 Milwaukee through the use of wood alcohol in shellacking beer vats, 
 but 1 had no data of same at hand, so I had to do without. 
 
 No. 10. — We will certainly try very hard to stop the use of wood 
 alcohol in our trade, as it interests our local probably more than most 
 painters' locals, we being composed of hard wood finishers, and com- 
 pelled to use more of this injurious fluid. The painters of Milwaukee 
 have had a bill before our State assembly prohibiting the use or sale 
 of wood alcohol shellac in the State, but the same was killed. Your 
 resolution is the more proper way of getting at the trouble, by taking 
 off the tariff on grain alcohol used for such purposes, which will take 
 away an incentive for the use of the dangerous poison. 
 
 No. 11. — I worked for a firm who did an extensive buisness in wood 
 finishing and made a specialty of hard-wood floors. While working at 
 the trade I have used a great deal of wood alcohol and several times 
 have felt the bad effects of it. I remember one job in particular which 
 I and several other members of the union worked upon, which was a 
 meat market, where a slight fire had occurred badly blistering the 
 interior of the building, whose walls and ceilings were sealed with oak. 
 We were obliged to cut off all the old varnish with remover, which 
 consists practically, as you know, of wood alcohol, wax, and benzoine. 
 We could scarcely eat our meals while using that stuff. The job came 
 
406 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 in the middle of January, when the mercury stood 17 below zero, and 
 there was scarcely any other work in sight, so we were all glad to get 
 most anything to" do. 1 assure you, however, that I do not care to go 
 through an experience of that kind again; and had I known at that 
 time of the dangerousness to the eyesight from the use of wood 
 alcohol I should have refused to work on that job. 
 Respectfully submitted. 
 
 M. Pkatt, Ghairmnn, 
 R. Weie, 
 
 C. S. TOKRIE, 
 
 W. S. Burton, 
 
 Uommittee. 
 J. W. Cotton, 
 
 Secretary, 160 Market street, Lynn, Mass. 
 Memiers of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and 
 Paperhangers of America, Local Union 111, Lynn, Mass. 
 
 Write your Senator and Congressman, asking him to support bill 
 No. 10071 introduced by Hon. E. W. Roberts, January 4, 1906. 
 
 XXV. LETTER OF H. J. HARWOOD ON USE OF ALCOHO]^ IN VARNISH. 
 
 Boston, Mass., Jawaary 29, 1906. 
 The Committee on Wats and Means, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Gentlemen: I beg to state that my business is contracting for seats 
 in colleges, halls, churches, and theaters, one piece of my work being 
 the chairs in the galleries of the House of Representatives, where your 
 honors meet. 
 
 That inasmuch as such seats get hard use and wear the best finish 
 for the woodwork is shellac, which can only be dissolved in alcohol. 
 Under the present tax the shellac varnish is too costly for anything 
 but the best and highest-priced work, while common work has to be 
 done with a varnish which is not nearly so durable and scratches eas- 
 ily. At the same time, I have many orders which can not properly be 
 executed in anything except shellac varnish, and I am obliged to use 
 it at a great burden to myself in cost. 
 
 With untaxed alcohol I should not only be relieved of the excessive 
 cost of work which must have alcohol shellac varnish, but also should 
 use it on more work to the great benefit of my customers and the 
 public. 
 
 I beg, therefore, to submit to your honorable committee — First. 
 That the greatest benefit in all furniture business from untaxed alcohol 
 will fall upon the general public in the immediate and extensive 
 increase throughout the country of the use of shellac varnish on furni- 
 ture of all kinds. 
 
 Second. That it will be a great relief to us makers of furniture to 
 have untaxed alcohol for use in shellac varnish on work where we must 
 use it, even at the present excessive cost. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 H. J. Haewood. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 407 
 
 XXVI. LETTER OF M. N. KLINE, ON COST OF ALCOHOL. 
 
 Philadelphia, March 5, 1906. 
 Hon. OERENo E. Payne, 
 
 Chah'man of the Committee on Ways and Means, 
 
 Washington, D. 0. 
 
 Dear Sir: At the hearings before the honorable Committee on 
 Ways and Means, February 20 and 21, an effort was made by the rep- 
 resentatives of the wood alcohol industry to convince the members of 
 the committee that untaxed denatured alcohol could not be sold in 
 commercial qualities for less than 35 or 40 cents per wine gallon, 
 testing 94 per cent. Some of the witnesses even asserted that, in the 
 event of such legislation by Congress, untaxed denatured alcohol could 
 not be profitably sold for less than 60 cents per gallon testing 94 per 
 cent. 
 
 As in my opinion it is very important that the facts as to the cost 
 of untaxed denatured alcohol should be clearly established, in view of 
 the fact that it must compete in price with gasoline and kerosene, 
 when intended for use as a motor fuel and for lighting and heating 
 purposes, I have made careful inquiry to that end, and would respect- 
 fuUj" submit for your consideration the following: 
 
 The records of a distillery located in Peoria, 111. , operated almost 
 continuously from January, 1896, to December, 1905, a period of ten 
 years, have been furnished me by the owners. These records show 
 that — 
 
 (a) The cost of production has fallen as low as 5.20 cents per proof 
 gallon, equal to 9.77 cents per wine gallon testing 94 per cent, or 9.36 
 cents per wine gallon testing 90 per cent. 
 
 (b) The average cost per proof gallon during the entire period of 
 ten years was 10.78 cents, equal to 20.26 cents per wine gallon 94 per 
 cent, or 19.40 cents per wine gallon testing 90 per cent. 
 
 (c) The average cost of corn during the entire period of ten years 
 covered by these records was 42.36 cents per bushel, and the average 
 yield from each bushel was 4.76 proof gallons. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing 1 am informed on reliable authority 
 that- 
 First. No well equipped distillery operated in the United States at 
 the present time produces on the average less than 4. 96 proof gallons 
 from one bushel of corn, and that quantity is frequently exceeded. 
 
 Second. All the alcohol produced at the present time in the United 
 States for beverage purposes, or for use in manufacturing perfumery, 
 flavoring extracts, etc., must be distilled from merchantable grain no 
 matter what the price of inferior material may be. 
 
 In the production of denatured alcohol the inferior materials, equal 
 in starch and sugar, would be used, and the cost correspondingly 
 lowered. It is not believed, however, that corn at reasonable prices 
 for distilling purposes will be superseded by other staple farm products. 
 Third. As denatured alcohol would be transported in metal pack- 
 ages, or in tank cars, which would remain in use for an indefinite 
 period, the cost for packages and cooperage under existing conditions 
 would be reduced to a minimum figure. 
 
 Fourth. As the price at which untaxed denatured alcohol would be 
 sold for light, heat, and power purposes will not be governed by the 
 extent of the competition or lack of competition among distillers, but 
 
408 FREE AliCOHOL. 
 
 by the prices at which kerosene and gasoline may be obtained by the 
 consumers, it necessarily follows that, having in view the enormous 
 markets which would be created by the proposed legislation, the dis- 
 tillers could afford to furnish their product at very small margin of 
 profit. 
 
 In considering whether untaxed denatured alcohol would success- 
 fully compete as to cost with kerosene and gasoline, it is important 
 that your attention should be asked to the statement submitted by 
 Prof. Elihu Thomson on alcohol as a motor fuel, which appears on 
 page 107 of the printed hearings. 
 
 Describing the experiments with a Deutz alcohol engine (imported 
 from Germany) carried on under his supervision by the General Elec- 
 tric Company, at Lynn, Mass., Professor Thomson said in part: 
 
 It may be mentioned here that our experiments developed the fact that alcohol ia 
 suitable as a motor fuel even when it contains as high percentage as 15 per cent of 
 water. 
 
 Alcohol containing 15 per cent of water would be 9 per cent less 
 than the average strength of alcohol sold for commercial purposes, or 
 85 per cent. 
 
 Assiiming that in such states as Iowa, the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, 
 and Minnesota, untaxed denatured alcohol would be pi'oduced on the 
 basis of corn costing not more than 35 cents per bushel, and that the 
 cost of distillation would be covered b}' the sale of the by-products for 
 feeding cattle (which is conceded to be the case), it is fair to estimate 
 that denatured alcohol, testing 85 per cent, could be sold in those 
 States at a ver}' fair profit in competition with kerosene and gasoline 
 as a motor fuel and for heating purposes. 
 
 When the question as to whether untaxed denatured alcohol would 
 successfully compete with kerosene as a lighting agent is considered, 
 its advantages are so great that it may be safely asserted that it would 
 eventually displace kerosene in the rural districts, even at the higher 
 cost of production alleged by the representatives of the wood alcohol 
 industry. 
 
 Mr. Stephens, the chemist of the Wood Products Company at the 
 hearing on February 20 (see p. 152), questioned the efficiency of 
 alcohol as a lighting agent, and alleged that the results of the test 
 made by the Electrical Testing Laboratories, of New York City, sub- 
 mitted at the hearing on February 7, by Mr. Herrick (see p. 28) 
 should not be accepted as proof of the relative efficiency of alcohol 
 and kerosene. Mr. Stephens said: 
 
 Now, I am not criticising the report of the Electrical Testing Laboratories. It is 
 probably true. But I do criticise those who have given it out and pretended it fairly 
 represented the relative efficiency of alcohol and kerosene when they knew very 
 well that the comparison was baaed on the use of a little, old, flat, wick, obsolete, 
 type of lamp, which was discarded years ago. 
 
 In order to conclusively demonstrate whether Mr. Herrick had, as 
 alleged by Mr. Stephens, deliberately misrepresented the facts as to 
 the relative efficiency of alcohol and" kerosene as a lighting agent, I 
 am informed that the Electrical Testing Laboratories were asked to 
 make a second test, comparing a thirty candlepower alcohol lamp 
 with a modern, circular wick kerosene lamp of thirty candlepower, 
 said to be the most efficient kerosene-burning lamp of that candle- 
 power on the market. 
 
FREE AliCOHOL. 409 
 
 The results obtained," which will be submitted to the honorable Com- 
 mittee on Ways and Means, are said to be as follows: 
 
 Alcohol lamp testing 30.5 candlepower required fourteen hours and 
 eleven minutes to consume one quart of denatured alcohol. 
 
 Kerosene lamp testing 30.3 candlepower required seven hours and 
 8. 8 minutes to consume one quart of kerosene. 
 
 If the official report of the Electrical Testing Laboratories shows 
 these figures to be correct, then it is clear that the certificate sub- 
 mitted by Mr. Herrick at the hearing of February 7 in no sense mis- 
 represented the relative efficiency of alcohol and kerosene. On the 
 contrary, this second test demonstrates that the first test made with a 
 flat wick lamp of 10 candlepower was more favorable to kerosene than 
 to alcohol, and that while Mr. Stephens may be well qualified to tes- 
 tify as to the relative efficiency of wood and ethyl alcohol in manufac- 
 turing-processes, he does not, to saj- the least, possess exact knowledge as 
 to the relative efficiency of ethyl alcohol and kerosene as lighting agents. 
 
 Since kerosene is now said to be selling from 18 to 22 cents per 
 gallon in man}- States, and since alcohol possesses many other advan- 
 tages over kerosene, it is evident that untaxed alcohol would success- 
 fulh' compete with kerosene for lighting purposes at 38 or 45 cents 
 per gallon. 
 
 Yours, very truly, M. N. Kline, 
 
 President. 
 
 XXVII.— INDUSTRIES USING ALCOHOL, COMPILED BY HON. W. C. 
 
 LOVERING. 
 
 [See page 290.] 
 
 The industrial uses of alcohol are large and widely extended, and in 
 all countries where it is tax free, and therefore cheap, it is used to an 
 enormous extent, and employment for hundreds of thousands of work- 
 men is found, in Avays not possible in this country where an internal- 
 revenue tax of $2.07 per gallon practically prohibits the use of grain 
 alcohol in all but a very few industries. 
 
 Outside of its uses for heat, light, and power there are innumerable 
 uses for it in our industrial manufactures. 
 
 There are articles commonly known as celluloid products which 
 enter into dailj' use, and which are largely imported from England, 
 France, and Germany, that we are unable to make on account of the 
 tax on grain alcohol. Most of these are made with the use of alcohol 
 and cotton. 
 
 With free grain alcohol these necessities would be met by home 
 manufacturers, and it would give great use for many thousand bales 
 of cotton and manj' thousand gallons of alcohol, and would give 
 employment to many thousands of workmen. 
 
 Artificial silk, which is also made of cotton and alcohol, is absolutely 
 shut out from our country. With tax-free alcohol it could be made 
 for 65 or 70 cents a pound, whereas with the tax it can not be made 
 for less than 13.76 a pound. This practically excludes it from use in 
 this country. 
 
 I will mention a few of the many articles that could be manufac- 
 tured with free alcohol that are not now" manufactured to any extent 
 in this country, and only then at a very high cost. 
 
 a See page 334. 
 
410 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Picture frames and moldings, artificial rubber, guildings and bronz- 
 ing, varnishes, transparent soap, ethyl analine dyes, and man}' other 
 dyes for silk, cotton, woolen, wall paper, and printers' ink, etc. ; pho- 
 tography in all its departments, fulminate of mercury — the explosive 
 material of percussion caps. 
 
 Nearly all of our fulminates are now imported from Canada. Fusil 
 oil, one of the most important solvents, is a byproduct of ethyl alcohol 
 distillation. At a cost of $1.60 per gallon its use is limited. With 
 tax-free alcohol the price would be about 25 cents per gallon. These 
 solvents are of special value in the manufacture of celluloid, artificial 
 leather, and in kindred industries, and the reduction in their cost 
 which would result f j-om tax-free alcohol would greatly stimulate these 
 industries. 
 
 In each one of these departments there is an infinite variety of prod- 
 ucts which it is estimated that with tax-free alcohol would give employ- 
 ment to over 300,000 workmen and an employment of capital to the 
 extent of 500 millions of dollars. 
 
 Another use to which tax-free alcohol would be put is that of cleans- 
 ing in all of the machine shops of the country, printing, and engraving 
 establishments, and every place where oil accumulates dirt. Benzine 
 is now used, but tax-free denaturized alcohol would be a better agent 
 and would come into general use for this purpose. 
 
 XXVIII.— EXTRACTS FEOM ENGLISH PAPERS CONCERNING DENATURED 
 
 ALCOHOL. 
 
 [See pages 136, 151,424.] 
 
 [Prom the Sun, London.] ^ 
 
 A NATIONAL DANGER — INCREASE IN METHYLATED SPIRIT DRINKING. 
 
 A matter upon which temperance reformers might with advantage 
 concentrate their efforts foi- a time, and one which must command the 
 attention of the legislature shortly, is the terrible increase of drinking 
 almost anything with spirit in it by those who have descended to the 
 lower levels of intemperance and poverty. 
 
 " It is now at a point," declared a scientist and medical man lately, 
 "at which it becomes a grave national danger, threatening even oiir 
 position as a civilized people." 
 
 The practice of indulging in this awful compound is becoming so 
 general in the city and the surrounding district as to induce the poison- 
 ing of those who would form the next generation of citizens. It is 
 also causing increased crimes, notably of a violent character. 
 
 Medical men holding public positions have become alarmed at the 
 hold the practice is obtaining in their districts. Apparently nothing 
 but absolute prohibition of the sale of this spirit, except in large quan- 
 tities, will meet the difiiculty, and temperance folk and students of 
 statistics of insanity will do well to urge more stringent enactments. 
 Trade unions should bring their enormous power to bear on the Gov- 
 ernment, for the evil has already become so great as to cause something 
 like panic among the ofBcials of the local labor organizations. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 411 
 
 [From the Aberdeen Evening Gazette, Aberdeen, England.] 
 A DEGKADING PRACTICE. 
 
 No more degrading practice is conceivable than the consumption of 
 methylated spirits as a beverage. That it is lamentably common is 
 only too well known to all who have any dealings with slum dwellers. 
 This fiery fluid, when consumed even in small quantities, is infinitely 
 more destructive, alike to the physical tissues and the moral sense, 
 than any amount even of doctored whisky. It very speedily brutalizes 
 a man to such an extent that he literally passes " beyond redemption." 
 
 [From The Daily Express, London, E. C] 
 CRIME AND METHYLATED SPIRITS. 
 
 The consumption of methylated spirits has become so general in 
 Londonderry districts that a member of the corporation brought the 
 matter forward at the meeting yesterday. He said the practice was 
 poisoning the rising generation, and was conducing to the increase of 
 crime. The attention of the police is to be drawn to the matter. 
 
 [From Blackburn Star.] 
 A DRINK PERIL. 
 
 The taking of methylated spirits is becoming quite common among 
 work people, and the danger is increased by the reason of the fact 
 that this drink is cheaper than the spirituous liquors that have for 
 generations been consumed, either for health considerations or merely 
 for friendship's sake. It is declared that an adult can get comfortably 
 drunk for a single copper over the fiery beverage, but the victim to 
 this method of seeking intoxication has to pay in other ways, for the 
 nervous system is soon shattered, while the digestive organs are ere 
 long unable to fulfill their functions, etc. It remains with the revenue 
 authorities to take such action as will efl'ectually suppress the abuse 
 which, if allowed free course, will certainly bring deadly harm to the 
 nation at large. 
 
 [From Irish News, Belfast, Ireland.] 
 METHYLATED SPIRIT DRINKING. 
 
 A few weeks ago Alderman Bell, when sentencing a couple of de- 
 fendants brought up in Derry police court for being drunk from 
 taking methylated spirits, drew attention to the increase of this per- 
 nicious habit in their city. The magistrate said he was personally 
 aware that the drinking of methylated spirits was assuming a serious 
 aspect in their midst, and he feared it would lead to loss of life or loss 
 of reason except matters mended, etc. 
 
 [From The Lancet, London.] 
 DRINKING OF METHYLATED SPIRIT. 
 
 Dr. Matthew Hay, in his annual report, draws attention to the grow- 
 ing use of methylated spirit as an intoxicant. It is not perhaps gen- 
 erally known that, with a view to enable persons engaged in certain 
 industries to obtain an alcohol spirit for industrial purposes at a rela- 
 tively small cost, the Government authorized the addition to alcohol of 
 petroleum oil, etc. , the mixture thus produced being practically free 
 from the duty imposed upon ordinary spirits. It was thought that if 
 
412 I'EEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 the spirit was thus rendered nauseous no one would be tempted to use 
 it as an intoxicant. But in Doctor Hay's experiences this addition has 
 failed in its object, and he thinks that the poorer and more degraded class 
 of drinkers are using the altered spirit as an intoxicant in an increas- 
 ing degree. He finds that the traffic in it is mainly in half-penny 
 and pennyworths, as much being procurable for a penny as would 
 be equivalent to two glasses of whisky. As an indication of the 
 extent to which the trade in methylated spirit is carried on, it may be 
 mentioned that as many as 70 men have been seen to enter a certain 
 grocery shop in the east end in less than two hours. Each is provided 
 with a bottle, and having procured the needed spirit, proceeds to a 
 neighboring water tap to dilute the spirit before drinking it. 
 
 XXIX. LETTER OF H. J. PIERCE, CONTAINING STATISTICS OF PRO- 
 DUCTION OF WOOD ALCOHOL IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 [See page 159.] 
 
 Wood Products Co., 
 Buffalo, N. Y., February '26, 1906. 
 
 Dear Sir: In obedience to your request made February 20, at the 
 hearing on tax-free alcohol, 1 am sending you the official German 
 Government statistics for the year 1903, and you will find upon pages 
 1285 and 1287 the figures giving the amount of denaturized spirit sold 
 in the German Empire for the year ended October 1, 1903, and the 
 purposes for which such denaturized alcohol was used. 
 
 While I have the translation of these figures, yet I would prefer 
 that you have them translated by some Government official translator. 
 In this connection I would say that the amount given on page 1285, in 
 the column headed "1. After complete denaturizing," "total 704,729 
 hectoliters," comprises the denaturized alcohol consumed for light, 
 heat, and power purposes. To figure hectoliters into American gallons, 
 multiply by 26.42. 
 
 As near as I can estimate, the amount of wood alcohol produced in 
 the United States during the years given below is as follows: 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 1890 1,000,000 
 
 1895 2,500,000 
 
 1900 4,800,000 
 
 1905 8,000,000 
 
 You also wish to know what the gross sales of the wood alcohol 
 industry were for 1905, covering charcoal, acetate of lime, and wood 
 alcohol. These figures I am compiling and will forward them to you 
 in a few days. 
 
 If there is any further information that I can give that would be of 
 use to you and the committee, please command me. 
 
 Thanking you for the courtesy extended by yourself and the mem- 
 bers of your committee to me and my associates during the hearing 
 on February 20 and 21, I remain. 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, Henry J. Pierce, 
 
 President. 
 Hon. Sereno E. Payne, 
 
 Chairman Ways and Means Committee, 
 
 House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 
 
FEBB ALCOHOL. 413 
 
 XXX. LETTER OF H. J. PIERCE, CONTAINING PRODUCTION OF CHAR- 
 COAL AND ITS BY-PRODUCTS IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1905. 
 
 [See page 159.] 
 
 Wood Products Company, 
 
 Buffalo N. Y., March 5, 1906. 
 Dear Sir: In obedience to your request, made at the tax-free alco 
 hoi hearings, held before your committee on February 20 and 21, 
 that we submit actual figures as to the production and value of wood 
 alcohol, acetate of lime, and charcoal produced during the year 1905, 
 would say that 1 have communicated with the different manufacturers, 
 and believe the following figures to be approximately correct: 
 
 Production of wood alcohol, acetate of lime, and charcoal for 1905. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Wood alcohol (the amount being gallons of 82 per cent crude produced and 
 
 value b€dng price realized for refined and crude product sold) gallons.. 
 
 Acetate of lime tons. . 
 
 Charcoal bushels.. 
 
 7, 800, 000 
 
 60, 000 
 
 46,028,017 
 
 $4,240,000 
 3,000,000 
 2, 789, 572 
 
 Total. 
 
 10, 029, 572 
 
 If your committee desires any further information in regard to our 
 industry, kindly advise me, and it shall be promptly furnished. 
 Yours, very respectfully, 
 
 Henry J. Pierce, President. 
 Hon. Seeeno E. Payne, 
 
 Chairman Ways and Means Committee, 
 
 House of Representatives, Washington D. C. 
 
 XXXI. COST OF MANUFACTURING SPIRITS FROM CORN IN A MODERN 
 DISTILLERY IN OHIO, OF CAPACITY 5,000 BUSHELS OR 24,500 PROOF 
 GALLONS DAILY. 
 
 [See page 196.] 
 
 Spirits distilled from grain (cost of production, with price of materials. 
 May, 1903): , ^ ^„ ^^ 
 
 Corn, per bushel (amount used 88 per cent by weight) $0. 45 
 
 Malt (34 pounds) (amount used 10 per cent by weight) 61 
 
 Oats (32 pounds) (amount used 1 per cent by weighty 385 
 
 Rye (56 pounds) (amount used 1 per cent by weight) 59 
 
 Coal, per ton ^- ^Q 
 
 Accounts, with cost per gallon: . nn-cn^ 
 
 Grain (due to fluctuations of price and losses from heatmg) ■^"'2„? 
 
 Coal 006505 
 
 ^^°DMlling 004272 
 
 Warehousing 002257 
 
 Repairs and extra 036462 
 
 Sice::;::;::::::::::::;::::::::::::::::::::::""":-;------ -000674 
 
 Expense, drayage, etc ^oa^ 
 
 Per proof gallon 175226 
 
 Sales feed .Q\^ 
 
 Net cost (per proof gallon of 50 per cent alcohol) 158789 
 
 Net cost, plus 1.9 (per full gallon of 95 per cent alcohol) 301699 
 
414 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 XXXII. EFFICIElSrOY OF ALCOHOL IN EXPLOSIVE MOTORS. 
 [See page 202.] 
 
 Andr^ Massenet, general manager of the American Panhard & 
 Leyessor Company, who is a close student of alcohol, says that motors 
 would have to be changed very materially to make them fitted for it. 
 
 "Personally, I am very much interested in this question," said Mr. 
 Massenet, "for when I was in the Panhard factory in Paris we made 
 many tests regarding alcohol to be used as an explosive power in the 
 gasoline motor. We have used alcohol in our racing cars in several 
 races which we won, among these being the Circuit du Nord. After 
 studying this question very carefully, we have decided not to continue 
 the use of this liquid.. 
 
 "In our testing shop we used three kinds of alcohol: First, carbu- 
 reted alcohol, 50 per cent — that is to say, alcohol and gasoline mixed 
 in equal quantities; second, the carbureted alcohol at 75 per cent — that 
 is, 76 parts of alcohol and 25 parts gasoline; third, pure alcohol. 
 With the 50 per cent alcohol we found it was necessary to open the 
 hole of the carbureter nozzle a little more to obtain more air and get 
 a combustible mixture. With this alcohol the carburetion was always 
 constant and the power at the brake a little lower than with gasoline. 
 With the 75 per cent alcohol we were obliged to open the spray nozzle 
 very much more, it requiring a temperature very much higher to start 
 the engine. The power was still less than with the 50 per cent mixture. 
 The pure alcohol required heat in excessive quantities, as it was impos- 
 sible to start the engine without putting some gasoline into the carbu- 
 reter. The hole in the spraj^ nozzle was double the size of that used 
 for gasoline and the power was ver}'^ much lower. 
 
 "In a general way we found that the power was always less with 
 alcohol than with gasoline. For instance, if you take an engine 
 developing 9 horsepower at the brake, with the 50 per cent alcohol it 
 would develop 8i and with pure alcohol 7i or 8 horsepower. 
 
 "We also found it necessary to carry very much more fuel with 
 alcohol than with gasoline. Again, the alcohol destroys the lubricant 
 principle of the oil, the motor requiring, therefore, much more lubri- 
 cation than with gasoline. Alcohol always contains a certain amount 
 of water, thereby rusting the cylinders and the valves, and if one is 
 not careful to put kerosene in the engine after stopping it, it will be 
 found very difficult to start the engine again on the following day. 
 Alcohol also contains a certain amount of dirt, even after it is passed 
 through a very fine strainer, and after a short time the carbureter 
 strainer becomes obstructed and the alcohol can not pass through. 
 
 "The inconvenience of temperature changes in the use of alcohol 
 was considerable. Some days when the air was very cold the alcohol, 
 instead of going to the cylinders as gas, would go through as a liquid. 
 We, however, remedied this trouble by giving a little more air direct 
 to the valves. Alcohol is harder to be gasified than gasoline, and with a 
 4-cj'linder engine one will always find that one cylinder is not working 
 as well as the other three. With the use of alcohol it is necessary to 
 have hot water around the inlet pipes, for, as stated, alcohol requires 
 a certain temperature to be vaporized. 
 
 "It has been said that alcohol has no odor. In this I do not agree. 
 I have always found it to have a very bad odor, sometimes worse than 
 
PEBE ALCOHOL. 415 
 
 gasoline, which, when there is good caihurization, will not smell at all. 
 If, as stated, the supply of gasoline is diminishing, alcohol can be used 
 as a motive power, but the motor must be changed and must be studied 
 especially for it. It is possible to use this fuel, and the Panhard's suc- 
 cess in various races with it proves its efficiency." 
 
 XXXIII. PETITION OF THE PAINT GRINDERS' ASSOCIATION OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 [See page 215.] 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa., February 19, 1906. 
 The Chairman and Gentlemen 
 
 OF the Wats and Means Committee, 
 
 House of Representatives, Washi7igtofi., D. C. 
 
 The undersigned, the pi-esident of the Paint Grinders' Association 
 of the United States, a body composed of the largest producers of 
 paint, and representing a very large industry in paints, varnishes, etc., 
 not being able to appear in person, would respectfully protest against 
 the passage of H. R. 7079, providing for tax free denaturized alcohol. 
 
 While not having an}^ estimates of the probable consumption, etc., 
 to present to j'ou, the same, no doubt, being at your service through the 
 internal-revenue department, we sincerely believe that the passage of 
 such a measure would result, notwithstanding such statistics as may 
 have been presented from the other side, in a greatly decreased revenue 
 to the United States Government, as would only be discovered after 
 the bill had become a law. 
 
 Great stress has been laid upon the fact that it is a measure which 
 would promote the agricultural interests of the country, overlooking 
 the fact that other large agricultural interests would suffer through, 
 the substitution of this tax-free article. An approximate estimate of 
 the decrease in the consumption of turpentine produced from the pine 
 trees of the South by a substitution of this cheapened alcoholic prod- 
 uct represents- more than one-half of the entire present supply of that 
 article. 
 
 The same may be said in regard to the use of linseed oil, made from 
 the flaxseed grown in our Northwestern States, and as has been proven 
 b}' the advocates of the measure would largely substitute many of the 
 petroleum products from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, and California. 
 The denuding of the forests has also been made an issue on account of 
 the consumption of methylated or wood spirits, an item bearing but 
 little comparison to the destruction that is going on in providing wood 
 pulp in the production of paper. 
 
 As to the practice of other governments, we are all familiar with the 
 recognized greater surveillance and espionage prevailing in other 
 countries on the part of their governments over the people, manufac- 
 turers, etc. , and it is much easier for them to provide remedies and 
 prevent by police control the illicit recovery of the ethyl alcohol from 
 the denaturized spirits. There may not at present exist any economi- 
 cal processes for effecting this result, but as is well known the crea- 
 tion of a demand in any line of commercial or scientific pursuit is quickly 
 supplied in the present age of advanced scientific knowledge. 
 
416 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 As for it being an advantage in the exports of any articles where 
 American products are brought in competition with those of other 
 countries enjoying (?) tax-free alcohol, the same results can be easily 
 arrived at by the passage of the act introduced before your honorable 
 body, known as the Lovering bill. 
 
 From the standpoint of public morals, an object lesson can be drawn 
 from the reports almost daily appearing in the newpapers, wherein 
 wood alcohol or methylated spirits has been used as a beverage. If 
 these occurrences are so frequent and victims of inordinate appetite 
 will resort to such practices, the result, when the risk is so greatly 
 lessened by the addition of but a small percentage of methylated spirits, 
 would be out of all proportion to any advantages that might be derived 
 commercially. 
 
 For these reasons we are opposed to the passage of the measure 
 proposed. 
 
 Feed. G. Elliott, 
 President Paint Grindefri Association of the United States. 
 
 Office 3^8 Pace street, Philade'jphia. 
 
 XXXIV. LETTER OF LOUIS L. DKAKE ON PRODUCTION OF VARNISH 
 IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 New York, February 27, 1906. 
 
 Re denaturized alcohol hearings. 
 
 Hon. Sekeno E. Payne, 
 
 Chairman Ways and Means Committee, 
 
 House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Sir: At the time I addressed your committee on this subject Febru- 
 ary 20 you asked: First. How many gallons of varnish were sold 
 annually? Second. What proportion shellac varnish? 
 
 To the first question 1 could not make a direct answer, but after 
 consulting several leading manufacturers I am advised that the total 
 output of varnish last year was something in excess of 25,000,000 gal- 
 lons, but doubtless you have ascertained the exact amount from the 
 Census Bureau. 
 
 My answer to the second question was that not 30 per cent of the 
 output was shellac varnish. I knew at the time even this amount 
 would be excessive, but desired to be conservative in my estimate. 
 The opinion I have been able to get on this subject puts the total out- 
 put to-day at less then 6 per cent. Thus over 95 per cent of the total 
 output of varnish manufactured in this country is now made on a basis 
 other than shellac cut with alcohol. 
 
 Very respectfully, Louis L. Drake, 
 
 Seoretwry. 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. 417 
 
 XXXV.— LETTER FEOM JOHN LUCAS & CO. AGAINST THE BILL. 
 
 Philadelphia, Janua-i'y SI, 1906. 
 Chairman Ways and Means Committee, 
 
 House of Represe)itatives, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir: Permit us to respectfully protest against the passage of 
 H. R. 7079, or any measure providing tax-free denaturized alcohol. 
 While there may be considerable to be said in favor of such a measure, 
 we firmly believe that the other side of the question presents obsta- 
 cles of far greater moment than any advantage that the general public 
 might derive from such legislation. 
 
 From the standpoint of manufacturing interests which we repre- 
 sent, there are many substitutes for alcohol in other farm products 
 like linseed oil made from flaxseed, turpentine derived from the pine 
 trees of the South, petroleum naphtha, wood or methyl alcohol, etc., 
 which are in ample supph , and which really aflfect a larger number of 
 interests than would be benefited by the tax-free alcohol. 
 
 From the side of public morals, the fact of denaturizing the ethyl 
 alcohol would not in our estimation have the effect expected — i. e., to 
 prevent its use as a beverage. Numerous instances are daily quoted 
 in the public prints of the physical injury, blindness, or death result- 
 ing from the innocent or intentional use of the proposed denaturizing 
 material, methyl alcohol, as a beverage; also the use of some of the 
 other denaturizing materials like petroleum naphthas, the fumes from 
 which are resorted to by many to produce intoxication. If these 
 denaturizers are now used in their native or raw state, the addition of 
 a small percentage would not act to prevent the use of ethyl alcohol so 
 denaturized; in fact, the lessened risk to those addicted to the use of 
 stimulants, from the small percentage of the denaturizer present and 
 the cheapening of the stimulant by removal of the tax, would tempt 
 the victims to greater excesses. 
 
 Considering the public interests from the revenue standpoint, it 
 would result in — 
 
 {a) Lessened revenue by reason of the reduced consumption of the 
 taxed article; 
 
 {b) And by the opportunities for fraudulent practices by redistilla- 
 tion or fractional distillation, enabling those who wish to evade the 
 tax to recover the ethyl alcohol almost free from the denaturized 
 material, increase the growth of another criminal class with which the 
 Government would have to contend by additional police expenditures. 
 Yours, truly, 
 
 John Lucas & Co. 
 
 XXXVL— LETTER AND ARGUMENT OF GEORGE E. BRIGGS AGAINST 
 
 THE BILL. 
 
 Pittsburg, Pa., January 26, 1906. 
 Hon. Serexo E. Payne, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 Dear Sir: Your valued favor of late date received and we note 
 same. Regarding the Calderhead bill, I do not believe it would be 
 practical, as the Government would not actually use poison to denat- 
 uralize it (alcohol). It would be diluted with water or some prepara- 
 11058—06 27 
 
418 PEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 tion to give it a bad taste, but would not prevent its being used for 
 beverage purposes, but would form in that case a cheap base for a 
 preparation of cheap beverages or moonshine whisky. Large quan- 
 tities of methylated spirits are consumed for beverage purposes in 
 Canada, England, and Russia. If the alcohol was made absolutely 
 undrinkable, it would be highly dangerous and largely unfitted for 
 other or commercial purposes. The liquor dealers favor this bill, as 
 it would be the means of establishing a large number of small dis- 
 tilleries, which would add to the expense of the Government in safe- 
 guarding ttteir production, and reduce the revenue at the same time. 
 We could very well afiord to abolish the revenue if we could at the 
 same time abolish and do away with the cost of crime growing out of 
 consumption of liquor for beverage purposes. 
 
 We trust you will carefully note the data inclosed, and will act 
 wisely for the best interest of the people. 
 
 Yours, truly, Geo. E. Briggs. 
 
 FREE ALCOHOL A GRAVE DANGER. 
 
 A strong effort will be made during the present session of Congress 
 to remove the internal-revenue tax from grain alcohol, when used for 
 manufacturing and mechanical purposes. Of course, such alcohol is 
 supposed in some way to be rendered unfit for drinking use. A bill 
 of this kind would be most serious and far-reaching in its effect. The 
 Government will not dare to add actual poison to this alcohol for fear 
 of fatal consequences. 
 
 There are hundreds of thousands of people in this country with 
 whom the craving for strong drink is almost a disease, and who now 
 satisfy this craving in prohibition localities by drinking extract of 
 Jamaica ginger, flavoring extracts, bay rum, witch-hazel, bitters, and 
 patent medicines composed principally of alcohol, and this class would 
 hail with joy the universal sale and use of tax-free grain alcohol 
 having a bad taste, but in no way injured as an intoxicant. With free 
 grain alcohol simply having a bad taste, the drinker can obtain a good 
 tipple for a penny, and a three days' jag for 6 cents, and the result of 
 an enactment of the proposed legislation would be appalling. 
 
 Canada has tried free alcohol for manufacturing purposes, but on 
 account of the immense quantitj^ that was drank and the loss in 
 revenue, was obliged to give it up. England has found it a most 
 difficult law to enforce, and that it nas resulted in a large increase in 
 drunkenness. 
 
 Our temperance people have good reason to feel alarmed and our 
 legislators should go slow in advocating a measure which carries with 
 it such possibilities for harm. 
 
 SOME ARGUMENTS AGAINST "FREE ALCOHOL." 
 
 The principal arguments advocated by those who favor the removal 
 of the present government tax on alcohol are that it will benefit many 
 lines of industry; the manufacture of certain articles and products 
 that require grain alcohol in the process of manufacture; that it will 
 
FBEE ALCOHOL. 419 
 
 benefit some of the arts and industries that use alcohol as a component 
 part of the materials they use in the manufacture of their respective 
 products. A strong argument is also put forth that the proposed 
 removal of the tax would benefit the large farmers of the West and 
 Southwest, for the reason that it would enable them to run their farm 
 machinery with alcohol at much less cost than at present; that it would 
 enable the poor to have a source of obtaining heat and light at a much 
 less cost than oil or gasoline; that the owners of automobiles would be 
 able to run their machines at a less cost than at present. 
 
 Now, as to the first argument, the use of alcohol in the arts, trades, 
 and industries. It is a fact that about 70 per cent of the alcohol used 
 for commercial purposes other than that used in liquors, patent medi- 
 cines, etc., must be in a pure state — that is, free from any foreign sub- 
 stance that would or could be added so as to comply with the law 
 requiring alcohol used for such purposes to be " denaturalized." This 
 eflfectually eliminates the argument in favor of the arts and industries. 
 As to the other 30 per cent, and this brings up the question of "denat- 
 uralization," one of the bills now before the Committee on Ways and 
 Means, having for its object "free alcohol," has the following proviso: 
 
 Sec. 1. That ou and after the passage of this act no internal-revenue tax shall be 
 levied or collected on ethyl (grain) alcohol of domestic production which has been 
 rendered undrinkable or unfit for use as a beverage prior to withdrawal from dis- 
 tillery bonded warehouse. 
 
 What substance can the Government add to the alcohol to comply 
 with the law that would not be absolutely harmless, or that could not 
 be overcome by unscrupulous dealers, or by those who desired to 
 have the pure alcohol to satisfy their innate craving for the stimulant. 
 The Government dare not add a poison, for the awful results of this 
 would be appalling; or, if wood alcohol be added, a simple distillation 
 will produce almost pure alcohol; if bone oil, turpentine, or other 
 similar substance be used, a simple chemical process would give the 
 same results. Thus, to benefit about 30 per cent of the manufactures 
 and trades that could use denaturalized alcohol, the gates are thrown 
 wide open to those unfortunates, whose number in our States are 
 growing constantly larger, who are addicted to the use of alcohol as a 
 stimulant. Dishonest manufacturers and traders could easily evade 
 the law. Should the law become effective, any person could easily 
 obtain, at a small cost, all the denaturalized alcohol he wanted by 
 simply representing that he desired to use the same for the mixing of 
 paints, the cleaning of fabrics, to run an engine, or an automobile and 
 the like, and when once obtained we can easily see to what evil uses 
 the same could be put. 
 
 One of the greatest evils to our Christian civilization is the constant 
 increase in the number of persons addicted to the drug habit — those 
 unfortunates who have reached that stage where the ordinary stimu- 
 lants, such as beer, whisky, etc., are not strong enough to satisfy their 
 desires, and who naturally turn to alcohol, opium, and the like. Alcohol 
 is the natural stimulant that those who lack money turn to, and the 
 papers of our large cities are daily reporting the arrest of those who 
 have been found under the influence of an alcohol jag. Our own expe- 
 rience convinces us beyond doubt that those who daily on our streets 
 beg for a nickel or a dime, under the plea of wanting something to eat, 
 when they get any money, go to the nearest place where they can get 
 alcohol. Further, by placing alcohol in wide use among the men who 
 
420 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 would be employed in the various industries a temptation would be 
 placed in their way that would undoubtedly result in evil. 
 
 It may be argued that the bill provides for a penalty for in any way 
 changing the product. The Government has stringent laws against 
 counterfeiting, yet counterfeiting goes along; against illegal liquor 
 distilling, yet gallons and gallons of whisky are distilled illegally. 
 Even if the Government increased their revenue force 10 per cent the 
 officers could not detect one-third of the violations. 
 
 Our great alien element would in particular be susceptible to this 
 violation of the law, as they look upon Government restriction on the 
 sale of liquors or its manufacture as a hardship, and as a consequence, 
 take advantage of every opportunity to evade the same. Among this 
 element the use of strong stimulants is very common, and a splendid 
 fi^eld would be opened to place denaturalized alcohol diluted with water 
 or some other liquid to render it palatable on sale by violators of the 
 law in place of the cheap white whisky and wines which this element 
 usually indulge in. Many other instances might be cited of the evil 
 effects resulting from the proposed legislation, such as the cheapening 
 of patent medicines, bitters, and other nostrums which recent exposure 
 has shown to be a menace to decent society. 
 
 Aside from the foregoing argument against the proposed bill which 
 looks wholly to the human interest, wnich, after all, should be the 
 principal end which the Government and our legislators should seek to 
 promote, there is this serious factor to be considered from a political 
 and economical standpoint, and that is, the loss to the Federal Govern- 
 ment of an enormous revenue. The present source of revenue is not 
 adequate to provide many needed improvements, such as improved 
 roads, waterways, etc., and if it were to lose the revenue from this 
 source it would have to make up for this loss by taxing other com- 
 modities, and necessary and legitimate productions would have to pay 
 the penalty of "free alcohol." 
 
 In addition, the already great army of revenue officers would have 
 to be increased — to what extent would depend upon the number of 
 places using denaturalized alcohol in manufacturing — as each plant 
 would need an inspector. And the burden of this increase in revenue- 
 service men— from what source is it to be paid? By a tax on food 
 stuffs. 
 
 The argument is put forth that the proposed bill would aid the 
 farmer to run his machinery; would afford the poor a cheaper source 
 of heat and light; relieve the Kansas farmer from the Standard oil 
 trust, the coal trust, etc. At this point, may the question be asked, 
 Would there not, in event of the bill becoming a law, an "alcohol 
 trust" be organized that would control the entire or almost the entire 
 output of grain alcohol in the country, and would not this trust sell 
 the product at about the same price as it sells to-day with the tax upon 
 it, and pocket as a profit the very tax which the Government had so 
 kindly waived its right to ? 
 
 While we do not deny that the proposed bill would benefit certain 
 lines of industry, yet we firmly believe that the possibilities of evil are 
 too great that so little good should be purchased at so great a price. 
 
 One suspicious feature about the agitation in favor of the passage 
 of the proposed bill is that it emanates from a, source that will greatly 
 benefit by the passage of the act — that is, the liquor interests of the 
 country, and more especially the gigantic "whisky trust," which seems 
 
FEEE AI^COHOL. 421 
 
 to be back of this legislation with its money and its influence, and which 
 is maintaining an active lobbj' at Washington to free alcohol from any 
 tax so that they may reap a large profit thereby. 
 
 That great gain would result to the whisky trust is very evident even 
 from a brief study of the situation. The whisky element, or the so- 
 called manufacturers' element, do not ask for a reduction of the tax 
 on whisky, viz, all they want is free alcohol. Why ? Because alcohol 
 is the base of all their drinks, and when once it is cheapened, whisky 
 can be manufactured at one-tenth the present cost, but it will be sold 
 at the same old price, or nearly so, and the gain will be to the already 
 rich and powerful whisky trust. 
 
 This fact, that the liquor interests are urging these measures, goes 
 without dispute, for the reason that the principal liquor journals 
 throughout the United States are, by news articles and editorials, urg- 
 ing the passage of this bill and calling upon the members of the House 
 of Representatives and the Senate to pass the proposed legislation. 
 This fact, more than any other, should be sufficient to awaken the tem- 
 perance advocates to a realization of their full duty, and they should 
 be as active in their efforts to defeat this bill as the liquor element is 
 to have it passed. 
 
 XXXVII.— RESOLUTIONS OF BUFFALO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 
 
 [See page 220.] 
 
 Whereas several bills have been introduced and are now before 
 Congress providing for tax-free alcohol for use in the arts, and for 
 the purpose of manufacture, heat, light, and motor fuel, and 
 
 Whereas large sums of money have been invested in establishments 
 engaged in the distillation of wood for the charcoal used in the manu- 
 facture of charcoal pig iron, with its by-products of acetate of lime, 
 used in the manufacture of white-lead colors, and other articles and 
 of crude wood alcohol, which by the expenditure of large sums in 
 chemical research, is now distilled so as to be and is a commercial 
 product used in manufacturing establishments as a substitute for 
 grain or ethyl alcohol, and the use of which is being greatly extended 
 in the arts and manufactures; and 
 
 Whereas the city of Buffalo is vitally aflfected by the proposed leg- 
 islation, in that one of its largest and most prominent industries is 
 engaged in the distillation of crude wood alcohol, which was attracted 
 to our city by its central location to the charcoal plants of New York, 
 Pennsylvania, Michigan, and other States, and its unsurpassed rail and 
 water transportation facilities for receiving the raw material and the 
 distribution of the manufactured product; this industry being the 
 largest consumer of water from our cit}' plant and one of the largest 
 receivers and distributors of freight; and 
 
 Whereas other industries of our city have been materially benefited 
 by the growth of the wood-alcohol industry, by the increased demand 
 for macninery and utensils used in the distillation of wood and the man- 
 ufacture of its by-products for commercial purposes; and 
 
 Believing that the enactment into law of the proposed legislation 
 would compel one of our industries to discontinue and materially efi'ect 
 others allied therewith, causing severe financial loss to many of our 
 citizens who have made investment therein; and 
 
422 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Believing, further, that the experience of other countries, where 
 tax-free alcohol is permitted, would follow in this, namely, the 
 increased use of such alcohol as a beverage, a loss of revenue, and an 
 increased expense to the Government for the regulation of grain 
 alcohol in the arts and manufactures; therefore, be it 
 
 Besolved, That the Chamber of Commerce of Buffalo respectfully 
 protests against the enactment of legislation for tax-free alcohol, and 
 strongly urges upon Congress the continuance of the policy of this 
 Government to foster and develop legitimate industi'ies that contribute 
 to the welfare and growth of the country; and be it further 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to Congress, 
 and that the Secretary be authorized and directed to appear in oppo- 
 sition to such legislation. 
 
 Attest: Andrew Mason, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 Buffalo, N. Y"., February 15, 1906. 
 
 XXXVIII. LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENSUS, INCLOSING 
 STATEMENT OF PRODUCTION OF WOOD ALCOHOL FOR 1904. 
 
 [See page 37.] 
 
 Washington, Februa/ry 6, 1906. 
 Hon. Ebenezek J. Hill, 
 
 Souse of Representatives, Washington, D. C. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Hill: In compliance with your request, I take pleas- 
 ure in sending you the inclosed statement showing the production of 
 wood alcohol. These statistics were collected in connection with the 
 census of manufactures of 1905, which covers the calendar year end- 
 ing December 31, 1904. 
 
 The statement is confined to establishments reported as engaged in 
 the production of wood alcohol. While it therefore may be accepted 
 as showing the total production of wood alcohol, it does not neces- 
 sarily show the production of acetate of lime and charcoal, as other 
 establishments may have been engaged in the manufacture of these 
 products. The figures are preliminary^ and subject to such correction 
 as may be found necessary upon a further examination of the schedules. 
 
 I also inclose a copy of the report of the census of 1890, on the con- 
 sumption of distilled spirits in the arts, manufactures, and medicines. 
 This is the last report on this subject that has been compiled by the 
 Census Office. 
 
 These papers will be handed you by Prof. Charles E. Munroe, who 
 will give such further explanation as may be necessary. 
 Very truly, 
 
 S. N. D. North, Director. 
 
il'BEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 423 
 
 Manufacture of wood alcohol and by-products, census of 1905. 
 [The data covers the calendar year ending December 31, 1904.] 
 
 
 United 
 States, 1904. 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 Penns.vlva- 
 nia. 
 
 All other 
 States. <J 
 
 Wood alcohol: 
 
 Gallons 
 
 12,493,212 
 $6,624,486 
 
 120,490,667 
 $1,521,733 
 
 27,183,635 
 $1,465,544 
 
 2,568,668 
 $1, 196, 872 
 
 25,266,551 
 'S154, 355 
 
 2,490,827 
 $149, 552 
 
 3,880,680 
 $1,214,284 
 
 71, 421, 469 
 $1,028,661 
 
 17, 188, 648 
 $826,912 
 
 6,043,864 
 $3,213,330 
 
 23,802,647 
 $338,817 
 
 7, 604, 160 
 $479,080 
 
 Value 
 
 Acetate of lime: 
 
 Pounds 
 
 Value 
 
 Charcoal: 
 
 Value 
 
 
 "Includes establishments distributed as follows: Connecticut, 1; Kentucky, 1; Massachusetts, 1; 
 Missouri, 1; New York, 32; South Carolina, 1; Vermont, 2; Wisconsin, 1. 
 
 Wood distillation — crude. 
 
 CRUDE ALCOHOL. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 Value per 
 gallon. 
 
 Total 
 value. 
 
 1880 
 
 11139,161 
 1,116,075 
 4, 945, 963 
 
 6 $0.62 
 . 617 
 .3998 
 
 $86,274 
 
 688,764 
 
 1,976,986 
 
 1890 
 
 1900 
 
 
 a Calculated from assumed unit value. 
 
 ACETATE OF LIME. 
 
 & Assumed unit value. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Value per 
 ton. 
 
 Total 
 value. 
 
 1880 
 
 3,297 
 13,389 
 43,413 
 
 $47.61 
 23.66 
 22.60 
 
 $166,892 
 315, 430 
 981,286 
 
 1890 
 
 1900 
 
 
 
 CHARCOAL. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Bushels. 
 
 Value per 
 bushel. 
 
 Total 
 value. 
 
 1880 
 
 
 
 $31,770 
 
 1890 : 
 
 
 
 1900 
 
 17, 154, 302 
 
 $0. 0424 
 
 726, 672 
 
 
 
 RATIO OF ACETATE OF LIME TO WOOD ALCOHOL. 
 
 Year. 
 
 1880 
 
 1890 
 
 1900 1- 
 
 a Using estimated quantity of alcohol shown above. 
 PERCENTAGE VALUE OF PRODUCTS, 1900. 
 
 Acetate 
 of lime. 
 
 Pounds. 
 "47.4 
 24 
 18 
 
 Alcohol. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 Kind of product. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 
 $1,976,986 
 981,286 
 796,672 
 
 62.65 
 
 
 26.13 
 
 
 21.22 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 3,754,944 
 
 100. 00 
 
 
 
424 FEEE ALCOHOL. 
 
 XXXIX. LETTERS ABOUT DRUNKENNESS FROM DENATURED ALCOHOL 
 
 IN EUROPE. 
 
 [See pages 136, 151, 410.] 
 
 Lauebl, Md., Ma/rch IJf, 1906. 
 Dear Friend: A few weeks ago the wood-alcohol trust began 
 circulating, through a Pittsburg detective agency, stories of the 
 deplorable results of the tax-free, denatured alcohol system in England. 
 It was stated that the topers were drinking it because it was 'cheap, 
 that great drunkenness ensued, and that, as a result, the temperance 
 people of England were opposed to the law. I at once wrote Secre- 
 tary Williams, of the United Kingdom Alliance, the strongest and 
 most influential temperance organization in Europe, asking him if 
 these statements of the wood-alcohol trust were true. I have just 
 received the inclosed cablegram, almost fiercely denying the fake: 
 
 London, March 14- 
 Johnson, Laurel, Md.: 
 
 Allegations of drunkenness and temperance parties' attitude absolutely baseless. 
 Barely on^ case published yearly. 
 
 Williams. 
 
 I am sending you this for your information. The story received 
 some credence because it was circulated by a Pittsburg clergyman, but 
 who had been duped by the detectives employed by the wood-alcohol 
 trust. 
 
 Fraternally, 
 
 W. E. Johnson. 
 
 Broad Sanctuary Chambers, 20 Tothill Street, 
 
 Westminster, S. W., March 9, 1906. 
 Dear Mr. Johnson: In reply to your letter just at hand, I may say 
 that there is no duty levied by our Government on methylated spirits, 
 which are supposed to be undrinkable. As a matter of fact, they are 
 sometimes drunk by seasoned drunkards, but the reports to which you 
 refer, which intimate that a considerable amount of drunkenness is 
 thus caused, are entirely fallacious. I have never yet heard of a single 
 case in our London police courts where it came out in evidence that 
 a man or woman convicted for drunkenness became drunk on methyl- 
 ated spirits. I have read occasionally of some districts where, on 
 account of its cheapness, such spirit is consumed, but this form of the 
 alcoholic evil is very limited and does not bulge out in any public 
 prominence. 
 
 Sincerely, yours, 
 
 Dawson Burns. 
 E. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 National Temperance League, 
 
 Paternoster House, 
 London, E. C, March 12, 1906. 
 Dear Mr. Johnson: I am much interested in your letter of Febru- 
 ary 24 and hasten to reply to the points you raise regarding methylated 
 spirits. Methylated spirit consists, in the United Kingdom, of 90 per 
 
FREE ALCOHOL. ~ 425 
 
 cent ethyl alcohol, rendered unfit for drinking purposes by the addi- 
 tion of 10 per cent of wood spirit (methyl alcohol) and three-eighths per 
 cent of mineral naphtha. This spirit, under certain restrictions (quan- 
 tity, storage, etc.), is sold duty free for burning, varnish making, and 
 for manufacturing purposes. If the mineral naphtha is omitted, then 
 the excise impose further restrictions, the object being to render the 
 liquid unfit for consumption as a beverage. 
 
 The presence of the minei-al naphtha is easily proved by the addi- 
 tion of a few drops of the methylated spirit to water, when if the 
 naphtha is absent nothing is observed, but if the naphtha is present 
 the water becomes turbid. The presence of the naphtha has prevented 
 the drinking of the methylated spirit excepting in some few rare and 
 degraded cases. The fact that methylated spirit is free from duty has 
 not in the slightest degree militated against temperance reform. As 
 a matter of fact, the two things do not in this country come at all into 
 conflict one with the other. 
 
 Yours, very truly, John T. Rae, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 W. E. Johnson, Esq. 
 
 International Independent Okdee of Good Templars, 
 
 International Electoral Superintendent's Office, 
 
 Temperance Institute., Neiocastle-on-Tyne, March 10., 1906. 
 
 Dear Mr. Johnson: Glad to hear from you again, and hope you 
 are well. 
 
 You may assure your friends that the methylated spirits don't 
 trouble us here; it is all buncombe that -'the cheap methylated spirits 
 have played havoc with the temperance reform" in England. I never 
 heard of a person being charged with drunkenness from any such spirits. 
 I should like to see ,the cuttings from the papers you name, but I 
 should saj' it is all a system of falsehood. 
 
 In England the same class of people declare that prohibition is a 
 huge failure in America, and thus they try and set oflf one country 
 against another so far as temperance reform is concerned. My policy 
 is always to disbelieve these reports until I get some very direct and 
 reliable information. 
 
 Kind regards. 
 
 Yours, very truly. Gut Haylek. 
 
 Lausanne March W, 1906. 
 Mr. William E. Johnson, 
 
 Laurel, Md. 
 
 Dear Mr. Johnson: I have just received your letter of February 26, 
 about the havoc the tax-free methylated or, better, denatured spirits 
 would have caused in Switzerland. 
 
 I don't know which are the English papers in which the question is 
 made notice of. What is sure is that we have no notion of it in Switzer- 
 land. I have never, never heard mentioned that the denatured spirits 
 were, on any appreciable extent, drank, and that this feature of our 
 monopoly law would have increased drunkenness. 
 
 The situation is the following: 
 
426 FREE ALCOHOL. 
 
 The Swiss Federal Government regulates the quantity of alcohol to 
 be distilled; it rectifies the alcohol to be drank, and sells it to whole- 
 sale liquor dealers at a high price. It denatures the alcohol destined 
 for industrial purposes and sells it at cost price, directly, in quantities 
 of at least 160 liters at the same time to bona fide manufacturers. The 
 proceeding of selling "en gros" excludes completely the possibility 
 of drinking, on a great scale, the denatured spirit. It is possible that 
 an old drunkard, employed in a firm where denatured alcohol is used, 
 steals a bottle of denatured spirit, but these are only exceptional 
 cases. The control exerted by the Federal Government and the can- 
 tons is very strict; and fraud is almost impossible. This feature of our 
 monopoly — selling of denatured spirit for industrial purposes at a cost 
 price — is -regarded by all temperance people as an excellent one, and 
 we don't lose an occasion for pressing the utilization of alcohol for 
 industrial purposes. It is its only legitimate use. 
 
 I remain at any time at your disposal. 
 Yours, faithfully. 
 
 Dr. R. Hercod. 
 
 XL. LETTER FROM F. W. THURSTON & CO. IN OPPOSITION TO THE 
 
 REMOVAL OF TAX. 
 
 Chicago, Felruary H, 1906. 
 Hon. Henry S. Boutell, M. C, 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Dear Sir: We have your favor of the 25th ultimo, and, as suggested 
 by you, are willing to justify position taken, to go a little more into 
 detail in our opposition to House bill No. 7079, for the removal of tax 
 on alcohol. As stated before, we are unalterably opposed to the meas- 
 ure, and for the following reasons: 
 
 It is a well-known fact with manufacturers of shellac varnish and 
 other preparations where grain alcohol is used as a solvent or as a com- 
 ponent part, that employei's or others in authority are obliged in many 
 cases to be present and oversee manufacture to prevent workmen from 
 drinking the alcohol or appropriating it for their use for similar pur- 
 
 Eose at a more convenient time. Manufacturers of goods also who 
 uy grain alcohol shellac varnish for mechanical purposes request, 
 in many cases, that it be made the proper consistency, so that it will 
 not require the keeping of alcohol for thinning down or reducing pur- 
 poses. Their reason is their fear it will be drunk by the workmen. 
 Not only this, the dealer in many cases, to safeguard his grain alcohol, 
 has to keep it under lock and key for fear of its abstraction for drink- 
 ing purposes. 
 
 High license has been proved to be better than prohibition, as it 
 diminished the number of saloons and makes it inconvenient for men 
 to drink. Unquestionably many cases of habitual drunkenness have 
 been caused by the convenience of liquor. The use of denaturized 
 alcohol would be much like making a saloon of almost every factory, 
 in which each workman would be a self-constituted bartender and be 
 drinking alcohol for "mechanical purposes only." Every workman 
 knows, or would know, the per cent of wood alcohol or other articles 
 used in denaturizing the alcohol, and that this combined with half 
 
I'KEE ALCOHOL. 427 
 
 water, although it would change the taste a little, would produce the 
 desired result, or much the same as that produced by drinking what is 
 known as cheap whisky. It would seem to us that industrial alcohol 
 in the hands of every workman, even though considered unfit for use 
 as a beverage, would cause an immense amount of the drinking of the 
 equivalent of cheap whisky and lead to crime. It is simply putting in 
 one hand the financial advantage to come to a select few as against, in 
 the other hand, the great demoralizing influence upon humanity. 
 
 It is possible that a few manufacturers would find their profits 
 largely augmented by free alcohol, but these are now using alcohol on 
 which tax is paid, and consequently the loss of revenue arising from 
 helping this select few would have to be made up in other directions 
 and the burden laid upon those who could not so well aiford it. We 
 understand, of course, that manufacturers who are now using substi- 
 tutes for alcohol, like wood alcohol, etc., would be benefited to a small 
 extent, as thej- are now paying 70 cents for a good quality of refined 
 wood alcohol, whereas they might be able to purchase grain alcohol 
 for 35 or 40 cents per gallon. But we can not see how the public at large 
 would be benefited at all, and only the manufacturers of furniture, 
 hats, picture moldings, etc. , and the number is too small and insignifi- 
 cant in comparison to be taken into consideration. 
 
 Further, as we look at the matter, every gallon of cheap alcohol 
 would displace either a gallon of tax-paid spirits or a gallon of some 
 other solvent, like turpentine, wood alcohol, naphtha, linseed oil, etc., 
 in the production of which the country is, perhaps, more benefited 
 than from a like amount of alcohol. Why benefit one industry at the 
 expense of so many others and with no general public good? It is 
 impossible for us to figure out how the farmer would gain by the 
 making of cheap alcohol. It certainly pays to make sugar of cane and 
 sugar of beets, and, as to the price of potatoes, they have never been 
 low enough in any section of the country to enable alcohol to be made 
 from them in competition with corn. 
 
 The price at which corn must be sold in order to get alcohol at any- 
 thing like the figure mentioned by advocates of free alcohol will not 
 appeal to the farmers. It will pay far better to put it into pork. 
 
 If you will add the suggestions above, and make them a part of our 
 protest to House bill referred to, we will consider that you are, 
 although perhaps unconsciously, doing the public a great service. We 
 have the honor to remain, dear sir, 
 
 Very truly, yours, F .W. Thurston & Co. 
 
LIST OF WITNESSES IN THE ORDER OF THEIR APPEARANCE. 
 Wednesday, February 7, 1906. 
 
 MOKNING SESSION. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture 5 
 
 Hon. John W. Yerkes, Commissioner of Internal Revenue 7 
 
 Hon. Nahum Batcheldor, master National Grange of the Patrons of Industry. 20 
 
 Mr. H. Paul Mehlin, president National Piano Manufacturers of America 24 
 
 Mr. Rufus K. Herrick, American Chemical Society; Society of Chemical 
 
 Industry 27 
 
 Prof. Charles E. Munroe, Census Bureau, Department of Commerce and Labor. 38 
 
 Thursday, February 8, 1906. j 
 
 MORNING SESSION. 
 
 Mr. Mahlon N. Kline, Philadelphia Trade League 47 
 
 Hon. Augustus P. Gardner, Representative from Massachusetts 58 
 
 Mr. James S. Capen, Detroit Chamber of Commerce 59 
 
 Mr. Frederick S. Ingram, Detroit Chamber of Commerce; Michigan State 
 
 Grange 61 
 
 Mr. E. A. Magnin, Chardounet Artificial Silk Company 68 
 
 afteknoon2session. 
 
 Hon. Ebenezer J. Hill, Representative from Connecticut 72 
 
 Mr. William E. Murphy, Associated Chair Manufacturers of New York 72 
 
 Mr. Charles H. Merritt, Hat Manufacturers' Association, Danbury, Conn 73 
 
 Mr. Edward J. Von Gal, Hat Manufacturers' Association, Danbury, Conn 81 
 
 Mr. S. C. Holly, Hat Manufacturers' Association, Danbury, Conn 84 
 
 Mr. C. A. Mallory, Hat Manufacturers' Association, Danbury, Conn 84 
 
 Mr. Louis F. Mignery, Danbury, Conn 84 
 
 Mr. C. E. White, Danbury, Conn 85 
 
 Mr. A. N. Abbe, American Hardware Conipany 86 
 
 Mr. Monson Pratt, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers 
 
 of America 88 
 
 Mr. Charles Bedell, Lynn, Mass 89 
 
 Mr. J. W. Cotton, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers 
 
 of America 90 
 
 Mr. Richard Weir, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers 
 
 of America 93 
 
 Mr. C. S. Torrey, Lynn, Mass 94 
 
 Mr. W. S. Burton, Lynn, Mass 95 
 
 Mr. James F. Grimes, American Confederation of Labor 95 
 
 Mr. Leonard B. Goebbels, Otto Gas Engine Works, Philadelphia, Pa 96 
 
 Mr. H. S. Miner, Welsbach Light Company 100 
 
 Mr. J. C. Wames, International Harvester Company, Chicago, 111 101 
 
 Hon. Ernest W. Roberts, Representative from Massachusetts 105 
 
 429 
 
430 INDEX. 
 
 Friday, February 9, 1906. 
 
 MORNING SESSION. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, Chief Bureau of Chemiatry, Department of Agriculture. Ill 
 
 Tuesday, February SO, 1906. 
 
 MOHNINQ SESSION. 
 
 Mr. Henry J. Pierce, Wood Products Company, Buffalo, N. Y 129 
 
 Mr. Edgar B. Stevens, Wood Products Company, Buffalo, N. Y 146 
 
 AFTERNOON SESSION. 
 
 Mr. Austin Farrell, Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, Marquette, Mich 160 
 
 Mr. N. B. Bubb, President Manufacturers' Charcoal Company, Williams- 
 port, Pa 168 
 
 Mr. W. G. Sharp, Ashland Iron and Steel Company, Ashland, Wis 170 
 
 Mr. William S. Gray, commission merchant. New York, N. Y 183 
 
 Mr. W. E. Lummus, Commonwealth Manufacturing Company, Boston, Mass. 191 
 Mr. Louis L. Drake, secretary National Paint, Oil, and Varnish Association, 
 
 New York, N. Y 205 
 
 Wednesday, February SI, 1906. 
 
 MORNING SESSION. 
 
 Mr. Robert McClain, Grasselli Chemical Company, New York, N. Y 217 
 
 Mr. F. Howard Mason, Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo, N. Y 220 
 
 Mr. George Clapperton, Grand Eapids, Mich 221 
 
 AFTERNOON SESSION. 
 
 Mr. George Clapperton (continued) 237 
 
 Prof. C. E. Munroe, Census Bureau, Department of Commerce and Labor 249 
 
 Mr. C. J. Zuitheo, Department of Agriculture 255 
 
 Mr. William S. Gray, commission merchant. New York City 266 
 
 Friday, March S, 1906. 
 
 MORNING SESSION. 
 
 Hon. Thomas F. Marshall, Representative from North Dakota 269 
 
 Dr. Harvey W. Wiley, chief, Bureau of Chemistry, Department of Agriculture. 276 
 
 Hon. Victor Mundock, Representative from Kansas 279 
 
 Hon. Halvor Steenerson, Representative from Minnesota 282 
 
 Hon. Rockwood Hoar, Representative from Massachusetts 283 
 
 Hon. Wesley L. Jones, Representative from Washington 285 
 
 Mr. William E. Johnson, Laurel, Md 285 
 
 Hon. William A. Calderhead, Representative from Kansas 287 
 
 Hon. William C. Lovering, Representative from Massachusetts 289 
 
 Hon. William A. Calderhead, Representative from Kansas 290 
 
 AFTERNOON SESSION. 
 
 Hon. Leslie M. Shaw, Secretary of the Treasury 291 
 
 Hon. Andrew J. Volstead, Representative from Minnesota 298 
 
 Dr. Casey A. Wood, professor. University of Illinois 305 
 
 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF WITNESSES. 
 
 POK REMOVAL OP TAX. 
 
 Abbe, Mr. A. N., American Hardware Company 86 
 
 Batchelder, Hon. Nahum, Masterof National Grangeof the Patrons of Industry. 20 
 
 Bedell, Mr. Charles, Lynn, Mass 89 
 
 Burton, Mr. W. S., Lynn, Mass 95 
 
 Capen, Mr. James S., Chamber of Commerce, Detroit, Mich. 59 
 
INDEX. 431 
 
 Page. 
 
 Calderhead, Hon. William A. , Representative from Kansas 287, 290 
 
 Cotton, Mr. J. W., Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers of 
 
 America 90 
 
 Gardner, Hon. Augustus P. , Representative from Massachusetts 58 
 
 Goebbels, Mr. Leonard B. , Otto Gas Engine Works, Philadelphia, Pa 96 
 
 Grimes, Mr. James F. , American Federation of Labor 95 
 
 Herrick, Mr. Rufus K., American Chemical Society; Society of Chemical In- 
 dustry 27 
 
 Hill, Hon. Ebenezer J. , Representative from Connecticut 72 
 
 Hoar, Hon. Rockwood, Representative from Massachusetts 283 
 
 Holly, Mr. S. C, Hat Manufacturers' Association, Danbury, Conn 84 
 
 Ingram, Mr. Frederick S., Chamber of Commerce, Detroit; Michigan State 
 
 Grange 61 
 
 Johnson, Mr. William E., Laurel, Md 285 
 
 Jones, Hon. Wesley L. , Representative from Washington 285 
 
 Kline, Mr. Mahlon N., Philadelphia Trade League 47 
 
 Lovering, Hon. William C, Representative from Massachusetts 289 
 
 Magnin, Mr. E. A. , Chardonnet Artificial Silk Company 68 
 
 Mallory, Mr. C. A., Hat Manufacturers' Association, Danbury, Conn 84 
 
 Marshall, Hon. Thomas F., Representative from North Dakota 269 
 
 Mehlin, Mr. H. Paul, president National Piano Manufacturers of America 24 
 
 Merritt, Mr. Charles H., Hat Manufacturers' Association of America 73 
 
 Mignery, Mr. Louis F., Danbury, Conn 84 
 
 Miner, Mr. H. S., Welsbach Light Company 100 
 
 Munroe, Prof. Charles E., Census Bureau 38, 249 
 
 Murdock, Hon. Victor, Representative from Kansas 279 
 
 Murphy, Mr. William E., Associated Chair Manufacturers, New York, N. Y. 72 
 Ptatt, Mr. Monson, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers 
 
 of America 88 
 
 Roberts, Hon. Ernest W. , Representative from Massachusetts 105 
 
 Shaw, Hon. Leslie M., Secretary of the Treasury 291 
 
 Steenerson, Hon. Halvor, Representative from Minnesota 282 
 
 Torrey, Mr. C. S., Lynn, Mass '. 1 94 
 
 Volstead, Hon. Andrew J. , Representative from Minnesota 298 
 
 Von Gal, Mr. Edward J., Hat Manufacturers' Association, Danbury, Conn... 81 
 
 Warnes, Mr. J. C. , International Harvester Company, Chicago, 111 101 
 
 Weir, Mr. Richard, Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paper Hangers 
 
 of America 93 
 
 White, Mr. C. E., Danbury, Conn 85 
 
 Wiley, Dr. Harvey W., Bureau of Chemistry, Department of Agriculture .. 111,276 
 
 Wilson, Hon. James, Secretary of Agriculture 5 
 
 Wood, Dr. Casey A. , professor. University of Illinois 305 
 
 Yerkes, Hon. John W., Commissioner of Internal Revenue 7 
 
 Zintheo, Mr. C. J., Department of Agriculture 255 
 
 AGAINST REMOVAL OF TAX. 
 
 Bubb, Mr. N. B., president Manufacturers' Charcoal Company, Williamsport, 
 
 Pa 168 
 
 Clafferton, Mr. George, Grand Rapids, Mich 221 
 
 Drake, Mr. Louis L., secretary National Paint, Oil, and Varnish Association, 
 
 New York, N. Y 205 
 
 Farrell, Mr. Austin, Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company, Marquette, Mich 160 
 
 Gray, Mr. William S., commission merchant. New York, N. Y 183, 266 
 
 Lummus, Mr. W. E., Commonwealth Manufacturing Company, Boston, Mass. 191 
 
 Mason, Mr. F. Howard, Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo, N. Y 220 
 
 McClain, Mr. Robert, Grasselli Chemical Company, New York, N. Y 217 
 
 Pierce, Mr. Henry J. , Wood Products Company, Buffalo, N. Y 129 
 
 Sharp, Mr. W. G.', Ashland Iron and Steel Company, Ashland, Wis . 170 
 
 Stevens, Mr. Edgar B., Wood Products Company, Buffalo, N. Y 146 
 
 LIST OF DOCUMENTS IN APPENDIX. 
 
 I. Bills under consideration : 
 
 A. H. R. 109, Roberts bill 309 
 
 B. H. R. Ill, Lovering bill 310 
 
 C. H. R. 430, Hill bill 310 
 
 D. H. R. 7079, Calderhead bill 310 
 
432 INDEX. 
 
 I. Bills under consideration — Continued. Page. 
 
 E. H. R. 8430, Jones bill 311 
 
 F. H. R. 10071, Roberts bill 311 
 
 G. H. R. 12075, Marshall bill 312 
 
 H. H. R. 13855, Volstead bill 313 
 
 II. Letter of 0. J. Zinther, with statistics of production of alcohol in 
 
 Germany and comparison with production in the United States. 316 
 
 III. Statistics of production of alcohol in Germany and in the United 
 
 States 316 
 
 IV. Paper on denatured alcohol, by A. von Schelle 318 
 
 V. Credentials of Rufus K. Herrick 333 
 
 VI. Report of test of alcohol and oil lamps by electrical testing labora- 
 tories 334 
 
 VII. Report of second test of alcohol and oil lamps by electrical testing 
 
 laboratories, with explanatory letter 334 
 
 VIII. Formulae of samples of alcohol exhibited by Rufus K. Herrick.. 336 
 
 IX. Letter of A. von Schelle, presented by Rufus K. Herrick 336 
 
 X. Letter as to price of Lion D'Orr 338 
 
 XI. Test of Lion D'Orr, by Henry J. Williams 338 
 
 XII. Memorandum respecting the consumption of untaxed alcohol in 
 
 Great Britain for industrial purposes 339 
 
 XIII. Resolutions of Detroit Chamber of Commerce 340 
 
 XIV. Alcohol motors and pumpa in Cuba 341 
 
 XV. Credentials of F. F. Ingram from Michigan State Grange 341 
 
 XVI. Physician's statement of injuries from using wood alcohol 342 
 
 XVII. Affidavits of employees as to injury from using wood alcohol 348 
 
 XVIII. Questions and answers of hat manufacturers 372 
 
 XIX. Consumption of untaxed industrial alcohol in Germany 395 
 
 XX. Extract from the Painters' Magazine for December, 1905 395 
 
 XXL Letters filed by J. W. Colton 398 
 
 XXII. Resolutions of the New England Opthalmological Society 402 
 
 XXIII. Credentialsof J. F. Grimes from the American Federation of Labor. 402 
 
 XXIV. Statement as to injury to health from the use of wood alcohol. . . 403 
 XXV. Letter of H.J. Hardwood on use of alcohol in varnish 406 
 
 XXVI. Letter of M. N. Kline on cost of alcohol 407 
 
 XXVII. Industries using alcohol, compiled by Hon. W. C. Lovering 409 
 
 XXVIII. Extracts from English papers concerning denatured alcohol 410 
 
 XXIX. Letter of H. J. Pierce containing statistics of production of wood 
 
 alcohol in United States 412 
 
 XXX. Letter of H. J. Pierce containing production of charcoal and its 
 
 by-products in the United States in 1905 413 
 
 XXXI. Cost of manufacturing spirits from corn, submitted by W. E. 
 
 Lummers 413 
 
 XXXII. Efficiency of alcohol in explosive motors 414 
 
 XXXIII. Petition of the Paint Grinders' Association of the United States. . 415 
 
 XXXIV. Letter of Louis L. Drake on production of varnish in the United 
 
 States 416 
 
 XXXV. Letter from John Lucas & Co. against the bills 417 
 
 XXXVI. Letter and argument of George E. Briggs against the bills 417 
 
 XXXVII. Resolutions of Buffalo Chamber of Commerce 421 
 
 XXXVIII. Letter from the Director of the Census, inclosing statement of 
 
 production of wood alcohol for 1904 422 
 
 XXXIX. Letters about drunkenness from denatured alcohol in Europe . . . 424 
 XL. Letter from F. W. Thurston & Co., in opposition to the removal 
 
 of tax ." 426 
 
SUBJECT INDEX OF HEARINGS. 
 
 A. 
 
 Acetate of lime: Page. 
 
 Export of, in 1905 183 
 
 Production of 38,40,41,131,227 
 
 Products manufactured from 131,203 
 
 Value of 38,40,41 
 
 See also Acid, acetic. 
 
 Acid, acetic: 
 
 Uses of, in manufacturing 217, 218, 319, 220 
 
 Value of 219,220 
 
 Acid, formic, production of 219 
 
 Agriculture: 
 
 Department of — 
 
 See Statement of Wiley 111-127, 276-279 
 
 See also Statement of Wilson 5-7 
 
 Secretary of, criticism of letter of 235, 236, 237, 238 
 
 Aniline colors and dyes, consumption of 49 
 
 American Chemical Society: 
 
 See Statement of Herrick 27-38 
 
 See also Statement of Wiley 111-127,276-279 
 
 American Hardware Company: 
 
 See Statement of Abbe 86-88 
 
 Amyl alcohol. See Fusel oil. 
 
 Antrim Iron Company: 
 
 See Statement of Farrell 160-168 
 
 Argentine Republic, alcohol laws of ^ 24 
 
 Artificial silk. See Silk, artificial. 
 
 Ashland Iron and Steel Company: 
 
 See Statement of Sharp 170-183 
 
 Associated Chair Manufacturers of New York: 
 
 See Statement of Murphy 72-73 
 
 Austria-Hungarj', alcohol laws of 24 
 
 B, 
 
 Beds, brass, use of fusel oil in manufacture of 50 
 
 See also Fusel Oil. 
 
 Beets, sugar, as a source of alcohol 5, 6, 67 
 
 Belgium: 
 
 Alcohol laws of - 14,24 
 
 Consumption of denatured alcohol in 263 
 
 Berry Brothers, letter of, on effect of legislation on varnish industry 178, 207 
 
 Boyne City Chemical Company, The: 
 
 See Statement of Clapperton 221,248 
 
 Brazil, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 Buffalo Chamber of Commerce: 
 
 See Statement of Mason 220-221 
 
 Bureau of the Census. See Census Bureau. 
 
 C. 
 
 Calderhead bill, H. E. 7079, discussion of 8,288 
 
 Canada, alcohol laws of 147 
 
 Cavassa plant as a source of alcohol 5 
 
 Celluloid, use of alcohol in manufacture of 50, 289 
 
 11058—06 28 433 
 
434 INDEX. 
 
 Census Bureau: Tage. 
 
 Estimate of, of production of wood alcohol 9, 12, 13 
 
 Method of obtaining statistics by 249-254 
 
 Report of, on wood distillation industry 38-45, 249-254 
 
 See also Statement of Munroe 38, 249 
 
 Chairs, use of alcohol in manufacture of 72, 73 
 
 See also Varnish. 
 
 Charcoal: 
 
 Cost of production of 39, 41, 181 
 
 Industry of producing 168, 169, 170 
 
 Price of 230,2.31 
 
 Process of manufacturing 181 
 
 Production of 38,39,41,227 
 
 Products manufactured from 203 
 
 See also under Census Bureau. 
 
 Charcoal iron: 
 
 Cost of production of 163,165,166,167,175,176 
 
 Industry of producing 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 172, 175, 18P 
 
 Chardonnet Artificial Silk Company: 
 
 See Statement of Magnin ■. 68-71 
 
 Chemicals, organic. See Organic chemicals. 
 
 Chile, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 Cleaning agent, use of alcohol as a 290 
 
 Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company: 
 
 See Statement of Farrell 160-168 
 
 Coal, supply of 5, 7 
 
 Coal mines, location of, in Michigan 224 
 
 Cobbs and Mitchell: 
 
 See Statement of Clapperton 221-248 
 
 Colors, aniline. See Aniline colors and dyes. 
 
 Columbian spirits, use of, as denaturing material 13 
 
 Commonwealth Manufacturing Company: 
 
 See Statement of Lummus 191-205 
 
 Consumption — 
 
 Of denatured alcohol — 
 
 Amount of, in foreign countries 10 
 
 Estimate of, under proposed law 19, 23, 155, 156, 187, 188 
 
 Of grain alcohol, in United States * 6 
 
 See also Foreign countries. 
 
 Corn, production of alcohol from 6, 21, 235, 236, 237, 270, 279, 280 
 
 Cornstalks, production of alcohol from 5, 67, 277, 278, 279 
 
 Cost— 
 
 Of denatured alcohol 10, 11, 153, 154, 196, 197, 198 
 
 Of grain alcohol 36,74,75,203,204 
 
 Of renatured alcohol 12 
 
 Of supervision under proposed law 8, 12, 15 
 
 Of wood alcohol 35, 37 
 
 See also Supervision. 
 
 Cotton, use of alcohol in manufacture of 68, 69, 70, 71, 289, 290 
 
 See also Silk, artificial. 
 
 Cuba: 
 
 Alcohol laws of 24 
 
 Use of alcohol in 22, 63 
 
 Cummer, Diggins & Co. 
 
 See Statement of Clapperton 221-248 
 
 D. 
 
 Denatured alcohol: 
 
 Price of — 
 
 In foreign countries 27, 153, 154 
 
 In United States, estimate of 178, 179, 183 
 
 Production of— 
 
 In Germany 200 
 
 In United States, estimate of 221, 297, 298 
 
INDEX. . 435 
 
 Denaturing material: 
 
 Suggestions of, by — Page. 
 
 Herrick 32,33,336 
 
 Munroe 44 
 
 Pierce .'].'!.".' .'!!"!!!!!!!!!.'"i42, 143 
 
 Volstead 302,304,305 
 
 Wiley 115,116,117,118,126 
 
 Yerkes 11,13,17 
 
 Zmtheo ' 262, 263 
 
 See also PoUacsek. 
 Detroit Chamber of Commerce: 
 
 See Statement of Capen 59-61 
 
 See also Statement of Ingram 61-68 
 
 Distilleries : 
 
 Capacity of 19,66,67,199 
 
 Cooperative 21 
 
 Regulations for 156 
 
 Dyes. See Aniline colors and dyes. 
 
 E. 
 
 Electrical apparatus, use of alcohol in manufacture of 49 
 
 Elk Kapids Iron Company: 
 
 See Statement of Farrell 160-168 
 
 Engines, internal combustion. See Motors. 
 
 England: 
 
 Alcohol, laws of 14,15,23,29,30,148,158,185 
 
 Price of alcohol in 10, 240 
 
 Use of alcohol in 10,14,23,185 
 
 Ether, use of alcohol in manufacture of 50, 118, 187 
 
 Ethyl alcohol. See Grain alcohol. 
 
 Ethyl chloride, method of manufacture of 126 
 
 F. 
 
 Foreign countries: 
 
 Alcohol laws of 130,131,132 
 
 Use of alcohol in 63 
 
 See also under names of countries. 
 
 Formaldehyde, use of alcohol in manufacture of 44 
 
 Formic acid. See Acid, formic. 
 
 France: 
 
 Alcohol laws of 14,15,149,186 
 
 Use of alcohol in 22,24,68,69,70,71 
 
 Fraud: 
 
 Chances for, under proposed legislation 15, 18, 54, 55, 209, 211, 222 
 
 Experience as to, in foreign countries 10, 13, 16 
 
 Provisions against, proposed 7,8, 293, 294 
 
 Fuel, use of alcohol for 22,23,122 
 
 Fulminate of mercury, use of alcohol in manufacturing 42, 43, 50, 185 
 
 Furniture. See Varnish. 
 
 Fusel oil : 
 
 Description of 120 
 
 Hardware, used in manufacture of 86, 87, 88 
 
 Price of 87 
 
 Production of 87 
 
 G. 
 
 Gasoline: 
 
 Consumption of, in United States 22 
 
 Efficiency of, compared with alcohol 64 
 
 Insurance rates to users of 68 
 
436 . INDEX. 
 
 Gasoline — Continued. 
 
 Price of, in— ^^^ 
 
 Kansas ^90 
 
 Minnesota 300 
 
 Various places 257, 271 
 
 Supply of, in United States 22 
 
 Germany: 
 
 Consumption of alcohol in 10, 14, 132, 133, 255, 256, 258, 262 
 
 Laws for use of alcohol in 30,31,149,150,186,266 
 
 Price of alcohol in 10, 262 
 
 Price of kerosene in 260 
 
 Use of alcohol in 22,23,63,240,256,257,264,265 
 
 See also under Mason. 
 Grain alcohol: 
 
 Consumption of, in United States 8, 9, 10, 51 
 
 Description of 120 
 
 Grasselli Chemical Company: 
 
 See Statement of McClain 217-220 
 
 H. 
 
 Hardware, use of fusel oil in manufacture of 50 
 
 Hat Manufacturers' Association: 
 
 See Statement of Merritt 73-81 
 
 Also Statement of Von Gal 81-84 
 
 Also other statements 84-86 
 
 Hats: 
 
 Denaturing material suitable for manufacture of 14 
 
 Method of manufacture of 73,74,82,83 
 
 Price of, method of fixing 134,135 
 
 Use of alcohol in manufacture of 49, 58, 135 
 
 Health, effect of use of wood alcohol on 26, 35, 59, 75-78, 81-86, 89-95, 109, 113, 
 
 116, 117, 130, 151, 154, 155, 162, 163, 169, 173, 174, 186, 304-306 
 
 Hill bill, H. R. 430, discussion of 8 
 
 Holland, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 Hungary, Austria-. See Austria-Hungary. 
 
 I. 
 
 Illinois, University of: 
 
 See Statement of Wood 305-307 
 
 Importations of denatured alcohol 17 
 
 Incandescent mantles, use of alcohol in manufacture of 50, 100, 101 
 
 Internal-combustion engines. See Motors. 
 
 Internal-revenue taxes: 
 
 Amount of, at present time 19 
 
 History of, in United States 222, 282, 287 
 
 Reduction of, to 70 cents proposed • 185 
 
 Theory of 238,239,244,245 
 
 International Harvester Company: 
 
 See Statement of Warnes 101-105 
 
 Iron, charcoal. See Charcoal iron. 
 
 Italy, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 J. 
 Jones bill, H. R. 8430, discussion of 8 
 
 K. 
 Kerosene: 
 Price of — 
 
 Generally 271 
 
 In Kansas 290 
 
 In Minnesota 300 
 
 See also under Germany. 
 
INDEX. 437 
 
 L. 
 Lamp, alcohol: Page. 
 
 Exhibition of 27, 115 
 
 Invention of 20 
 
 Test of, compared with kerosene lamp — 
 
 Discussion of 152, 153 
 
 Report of 28,152,153,334 
 
 Uses of 264, 290 
 
 Light: 
 
 Relative cost of alcohol and kerosene for 20, 28, 334 
 
 Relative efficiency of alcohol and kerosene for 20, 28, 334 
 
 Use of alcohol for 115, 117, 152 
 
 See also under Lamp. 
 Lime, acetate of. See Acetate of lime. 
 
 Lucas, John, & Co., protest of, against proposed legislation 209 
 
 Lumber lands, price of, in Michigan 232, 233 
 
 M. 
 
 Mantels, incandescent. See Incandescent mantels. 
 Manufacturers' Charcoal Company: 
 
 See statement of Bubb 168-170 
 
 Mason, Hon. Frank H., United Statesconsul, report of, on alcohol in Germany. 23,258 
 Medicinal purposes: 
 Use of alcohol for — 
 
 In Germany 15 
 
 In United States 19 
 
 Under proposed legislation 15, 16, 18, 55, 56, 57 
 
 Mehlin, H. Paul, statement of, criticised 208 
 
 Members of Committee on Ways and Means, presence of, at hearings 5, 47, 
 
 72, 111, 129, 160, 217, 237, 269, 291 
 Mercury, fulminate of. See Fulminate of mercury. 
 Methyl alcohol. See Wood alcohol. 
 
 Mexico, use of alcohol in 22 
 
 Michigan, wool-alcohol industry in 159 
 
 Michigan State Grange: 
 
 See Statement of Ingram 61-68 
 
 Minnesota, condition of agriculture in 282, 283 
 
 Mitchell Brothers Company, The: 
 
 See Statement of Clapperton 221-248 
 
 Molasses as a source of alcohol 5, 6 
 
 Motors, use of alcohol in 20-22, 
 
 58-61, 96-108, 117, 118, 133, 154, 179, 201, 202, 256-259, 264-267, 290 
 See also Thomson. 
 
 N. 
 
 National Grange, Patrons of Industry: 
 
 See Statement of Batchelder 20-24 
 
 National Paint, Oil, and Varnish Association: 
 
 See Statement of Drake 205-215 
 
 National Piano Manufacturers' Asssociation : 
 
 See Statement of Mehlin 24-27 
 
 National Wholesale Druggists' Association: 
 
 See Statement of Kline 47-58 
 
 Norway, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 O. 
 Oil, fusel. See Fusel oil. 
 
 Organic chemicals, use of alcohol with 51 
 
 Otto Gas Engine Company: „„ ,„„ 
 
 See Statement of Goebbells 96-100 
 
 P. 
 
 Patrons of Industry, National Grange of. See National Grange, Patrons of 
 
 Industry. 
 Peru, alcohol laws of ^4 
 
438 INDEX. 
 
 Philadelphia Trade League: ^°'^^' 
 
 See Statement of Kline 47-58 
 
 Photographic materials, use of alcohol in manufacture of 50 
 
 Pianos: 
 
 Industry of, in United States 24 
 
 Use of alcohol in manufacture of - - 25, 26, 108, 208 
 
 Pollacsek, Emile, patented formula of, of denatured alcohol 32 
 
 Portugal, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 Potatoes: 
 
 Amount of alcohol produced from 6 
 
 Production of alcohol from 5,6,149,235,236 
 
 See also, Sweet potatoes. 
 
 Powder, smokeless, use of alcohol in manufacture of 14, 49, 64, 119 
 
 Prices: 
 
 Of agricultural products, regulation of 23 
 
 Of denatured alcohol, under proposed legislation 269, 270, 280, 281 
 
 "Proof," meaning of term 120,121,153,154 
 
 Purification of denatured alcohol -. 33 
 
 E. 
 
 Rebate of tax, claims for under Wilson bill 9, 10 
 
 Recovery of pure from denatured alcohol 12, 
 
 14, 17, 18, 53, 54, 111, 112, 113, 117, 118, 138, 139, 150, 152, 228 
 Regulations. See Supervision. 
 Renaturing. See Recovery. 
 
 Revenue, estimated loss of, under proposed legislation 8, 9, 
 
 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 24, 25, 51, 58, 142, 222, 291, 292 
 
 Safety of alcohol as compared with gasoline 22 
 
 Samples: 
 
 Of alcohol, exhibit of 31,33,115,116,119 
 
 Of artificial silk, exhibit of 69,70,71 
 
 Shellac, use of in manufacture of hats 73,74 
 
 See also Varnish. 
 
 Shoes, use of alcohol in manufacture of 58 
 
 Silk, artificial, use of alcohol in manufacture of 68, 69, 70, 71, 289 
 
 Smokeless powder. See Powder, smokeless. 
 
 Soap, transparent, use of alcohol in manufacture of 49 
 
 Society of Chemical Industry: 
 
 See statement of Herrick 27-38 
 
 Solidified alcohol, exhibit of 119 
 
 Solvents, use of alcohol in manufacture of 184 
 
 Spirits, Columbian. See Columbian spirits. 
 
 Stoves, use of alcohol in 264 
 
 Sulphuric ether. See Ether. 
 
 Supervision: 
 
 Cost of 8,12,80,83,291,292 
 
 Regulations for 8, 11, 15, 19, 113, 135, 148, 273, 274, 276, 293, 303, 304 
 
 Tax to pay for 8, 15, 16, 17, 272, 280, 288, 292, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 302 
 
 Sweden, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 Sweet potatoes: 
 
 Amount of alcohol produced from ; 6 
 
 As a source of alcohol 5, 6, 125 
 
 Sweet wines, use of alcohol in fortifying 16, 52 
 
 Switzerland, alcohol laws of 14, 24 
 
 Taxes, internal revenue. See Internal-revenue taxes. 
 
 Temperance, effect of proposed legislation on cause of 109, 
 
 114, 136, 137, 141, 142, 151, 177, 284, 285, 286, 287 
 Thomson, Prof. Elihu, paper of, on alcohol as a motor fuel „ . 22, 105-108 
 
INDEX. 439 
 
 Transparent soap. See Soap, transparent. 
 
 Treasury, Secretary of the: Page. 
 
 See Statement of Shaw 291-298 
 
 U. 
 
 United States, alcohol used by Government of, free of tax 14, 16 
 
 University of Illinois. See Illinois, Universitv of. 
 
 Van Schelle, A. , paper of, on denatured alcohol 33, 336 
 
 Varnish : 
 
 Exportation of 209 
 
 Industry of manufacturing — 
 
 Effect of proposed legislation on 178 
 
 History of 206, 207 
 
 Use of alcohol in 14, 25, 49, 183, 210, 212 
 
 Price of, under proposed legislation 190 
 
 Venezuela, alcohol laws of 24 
 
 Vinegar, use of alcohol in manufacture of 52 
 
 W. 
 
 Welsbach Light Company: 
 
 See Statement of Miner 100-101 
 
 Wilson bill, provision of, for removal of tax from alcohol ^ 9 
 
 Wines, sweet. See Sweet wines. 
 
 Wood alcohol: 
 
 Consumption of, in United States 20 
 
 Description of 120 
 
 Distillation from, of pure alcohol 192, 193, 194, 195, 200, 201 
 
 Effect of proposed legislation on manufacture of 157, 188 
 
 Exports of .■ 183 
 
 History of manufacture of 129, 130 
 
 Injurious quahties of 123, 304, 305, 306 
 
 Michigan, manufacture of , in 62, 65, 225-230, 2,32, 233 
 
 Price of 137,138,139,140,157,158,181,182,183 
 
 Process of manufacture of 40, 41 
 
 Production of — 
 
 Amount of 38-42,44,78,79,140,145,177,227,244 
 
 Cost of 25, 26, 27, 38, 39, 41, 44, 45, 81, 83, 123, 144, 231, 232 
 
 Substitute for grain alcohol 9 
 
 Use of, for denaturing 13, 143 
 
 Uses of, various 20, 48, 146 
 
 Word Products Company: 
 
 See Statement of Pierce 129-147 
 
 See also Statement of Stevens 147-159 
 
 Y. 
 Yams as a source of alcohol 5, 6 
 
 o 
 

 '^^'^ - 
 
 > > ^ 
 
 , >> > 
 
 >> > 
 
 ^ ^ ^^ 
 
 
 .:> y> >:> 
 > » » » } 
 
 ■ ■» J > > 
 
 m 
 
 i> » • 
 
 OP" ^ 
 
 5 5^ 
 
 5^ 
 
 
 
 • »> :> > > 
 
 
 
 > -» ) 
 
 ^^ 
 
 3^ J> ; 
 
 • >>>,;>' - ' 
 
 
 • > > -5 
 
 
 > ^^ 
 
 > > /ii».^i 
 
 > >» > 
 
 -> > so 
 
 -> > ». 
 
 > > > 
 
 > > ->