10 BULLETIN 182, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
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, important 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 4 source of inpleasantness 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 26,153,825 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 
