AmMJa°rcrh,^.rm-}  Methyl  Alcohol.  105 
For  this  reason  the  alcohols  in  the  crude  state,  that  is,  as  they  are 
first  formed  and  distilled,  are  more  toxic  than  when  they  have  been 
subjected  to  a  process  of  purification.  This  point  has  already  been 
brought  out  in  the  case  of  ethyl  alcohol. 
That  well  -  known  beverage,  namely,  whiskey,  which  consists 
largely  of  ethyl  alcohol,  is  believed  and  in  fact  has  been  demon- 
strated to  have  far  more  toxicity  when  first  distilled  and  when  it 
probably  has  considerable  quantities  of  aldehyde  and  furfurals  and 
other  bodies  than  it  has  after  it  has  been  stored  in  wood  for  several 
years  and  these  compounds  have  had  an  opportunity  to  become  oxi- 
dized into  harmless  and  even  beneficial  ethereal  compounds.  The 
physician  and  pharmacist  should  not  forget,  however,  that  the  alco- 
hols as  a  rule  are  toxic,  and  doubtless  some  of  them,  like  methyl 
alcohol,  much  more  so  than  others,  like  ethyl  alcohol.  Their  use, 
therefore,  should  be  under  careful  supervision. 
Whatever  our  opinion  of  the  internal  revenue  laws  may  be,  we 
must  at  least  admit  that  in  the  careful  supervision  which  they  exer- 
cise over  the  manufacture  of  distilled  spirits,  they  are  highly  bene- 
ficial from  a  hygienic  point  of  view,  since  they  give  to  the  consumer 
accurate  information  relating  to  the  materials  used  and  the  age  of 
the  product. 
While  it  is  not  probable  that  the  amount  of  money  which  could 
be  raised  by  tax  on  the  manufacture  of  wood  alcohol  would  be  a 
very  considerable  sum,  it  seems  to  me  it  would  be  the  part  of  wis- 
dom to  lay  a  small  tax  on  wood  alcohol,  both  in  its  manufacture 
and  subsequent  sale,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  over  it  the  same 
legislative  supervision  which  now  attaches  to  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  ethyl  alcohol,  and  which  supervision  should  extend,  as  it 
ought  to  extend  in  the  case  of  ethyl  alcohol,  to  all  remedies  and 
beverages  made  therefrom.  It  seems  to  me  there  can  be  no  excuse 
for  removing  the  restrictions  in  the  trade  from  alcohol  when  any- 
body wants  to  use  it  and  call  it  by  a  medical  name.  All  medicines 
and  remedies  containing  alcohol,  which  are  not  official,  should  be 
subjected  to  the  same  regulations  in  manufacture  and  sale  as  the 
corresponding  quantity  of  alcohol  sold  as  such. 
The  flooding  of  our  country  with  various  medicines  in  which  alco- 
hol constitutes  the  chief  valuable  constituent  without  control,  with- 
out notification  and  without  the  knowledge  of  the  consumer,  is  a 
practice  that  merits  condemnation  whether  that  alcohol  be  ethyl  or 
