The Portland daily press., 1862-11-22
Waste Paper and Paper Rags.

Waste Paper and Paper Rags.
When we state the fact that printing paper,
such as we use for the Press, which cost us
nine and a half cents per pound when we es-
tablished this paper, now the asking price is
twenty cents per pound, our readers viii par
don us if this article does "smell of the shop;"
but we will try to make it point moral"
which shall enure to their benefit as well as
the printers.
In answer to the question which almost ev
cry one asks, "what makes papers so high?"
we will state that there are several causes, all
of them directly or indirectly growing out of
this rebellion of King Cotton, the father Of
old rags.
First, there is the high price ofcotton, which
affects the prices ofall cotton fabrics. Secondly,
this high cost of cotton has lead parties to con-
vert white rags into cotton shoddy which is
worth about thirty cents per pound for manu-
featuring cotton batting, &C., and carried up
white rags to u and IA cents per pound, in
large lots.
Again. last year all over the country loud
calls were made by the Sanitary Commission
for old cotton sheets, &C., for bandages for
our wounded soldiers. More than one hum
dred tons of old sheets, shirts. &c, have been
sent from Maine through Portland, for this
purpose. This has taken so much from the
rag bags all over this State, and throughout
the loyal States the same course has extend
ed.
Then, again, the higher prices of cotton is
leading many to wear their old clothes longer
than usual, and this keeps back the prompt
supply OF the rag bag.
A considerable portion of the rags used by
our American paper makers, are imported. In
the year ending Juue 80, 1857, there were thir-
ty-four million, five hundred and eighty thou
sand and eighty pounds of rags imported into
the United States, valued at one million, four
hundred and forty-eight thousand dollars
Linen rags are principally imported from Ger
many, Great Britain, Italy, Sicily, and Trieste;
their export is prohibited from Holland, Bel
gium, France, Spain, and Portugal.
The high price of exchange has kept back
foreign rags, and the same causes that have
operated here to create scarcity of cotton
rags, will also produce the same effect in Eu-
rope, and the price of linen rags be thereby
enhanced abroad.
The consumption Of paper in the United
States has been about equal to that of France
and England. The number Of mills in Great
Britain and Ireland, in 1858, were $50, con-
suming POI, 100000 pounds of rags. France
consumes annually 235, 100000 pounds of rags.
In the United States there are 750paper mills,
which CONSUMES annually 405, 600, 900 pounds of
rags. The Uuited States therefore consume
annually 1870 pounds of paper per head,
while Great Britain and France combined con-
sumo only four and fifty-fve one hundredths
pound per capita.
In the year 1856 the United States exported
paper and stationery of domestic manufac-
ture, to the amount of s203,lI3; and our im-
ports of foreign writing paper that year were
$272.0l0; we also imported of paper hangings
$22S,577.
Many substitutes for rags will no doubt ere
long be introduced; bass wood is now used in
Maine and G9p@op RaRsEs Rbaah afhe pHvs Bark kasl q
trees, &c.
Already an ingenious Yankee has got up
machine by which he discharges the ink from
old newspapers, re-bleaches the paper, and
turns out pretty good article of printing pa
per.
The moral we would point from all this, is,
TO advise any reader not to waste his old pa
per. Heretofore the good housewife has al
ways kept her rag-bag; now let every shop
man and dealer keep paper basket. Save
the bits Of paper; burn none, and sweep none
into the street. As the little rivulets all COM
bined form the river; so these little bundles
of rags, or pieces OF paper. if carefully saved,
viii by and by form supply Of material that
shall lessen the price Of paper, and keep its
consumption, as it has been in the United
States, larger per capita than in any other
country; for it is upon the information dis
seminated through this paper in the free and
loyal States, that our government rests its
preservation and defence.