10 BULLETIN 182, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



alcohol was of the required strength and that it could be had at a 

 stable price. 



Much has been accomplished in this way, and they do not assume 

 too much who claim that what has been attained is due in the first 

 instance to the Central Association and its technical division. But 

 this activity, imi^ortant and fruitful of results as it has been, could 

 not have proved satisfactory without such a reduction in the price 

 of alcohol as would allow it to compete with petroleum. Its sale 

 at a price equal to that obtained for beverage alcohol was, therefore, 

 not expedient; and a differentiation in the disposal of the product, 

 according to the use to be made of it, had to be established. Inas- 

 much as it could not be assumed that any individual would dispose 

 of his products except at the highest price attainable, such a differ- 

 entiation could be accomplished only by an organization which, like 

 the existing dealers' trust (Verwertungsunternehmen), could control 

 the sale of the bulk of the alcohol produced. A large organization 

 which exercises such control can do this, because the loss resulting 

 from the sale of industrial alcohol at a lower price can be made up 

 by the higher price at which alcohol consumed as a beverage is 

 disposed of. Yet it was because of this differentiation in price be- 

 tween alcohol sold for technical purposes and alcohol used for 

 beverage purposes that those who remained outside the Distillers' 

 Society (Verband) enjoyed certain advantages. For example, they 

 did not have to contribute to the sacrifices made on behalf of the 

 alcohol consumed for industrial purposes. That such a situation 

 should become a source of unpleasantness was but natural. 



SUCCESS OF THE CENTRAL ASSOCIATION. 



The striking success with which the activity of the Central Asso- 

 ciation has been crowned becomes apparent from a few statistical 

 data. In 1898-99, the year in which the Central Association was 

 organized, the consumption of alcohol for technical purposes 

 amounted to 23,511,575 gallons (89,000.000 liters). During the first 

 year of the existence of the association it rose to 26,153,325 gallons 

 '(99,000,000 liters), and by 1905-6 it had risen to 39,097,900 gallons 

 (148,000,000 liters). The increase, no doubt, would have been 

 much greater had it not been for the fact that the association had 

 to pass through two crises: (1) In 1901-2, when the development 

 of the technical consumption had to overcome the serious obstacle 

 of the removal of the distillation tax, and (2) in 1904-5 when, in 

 consequence of the failure of the potato crop, the retail price for 

 denatured alcohol had to be increased. Nevertheless, in spite of the 

 increased use of industrial alcohol, it became exceedingly difficult 

 to establish an equilibrium between production and consumption 



