, 1862-12-04

lIloM tut N. I. IImcE, 1Et 1nEt I
It is undoubtedly true that the high price
OF paper of all Kinds is due primarily to a
scarcity Of the material out of wnfc., It il
made. Cotton, which enters largely into the
manufacture OF paper, has been almost en-
tlftly cut oil from the markets of the world
and the war has also excluded the large guam
tlty o1 rope and other articles which were for
merl5 supplied from the Southern States for
Ire manu'scture OF paper. When the war
nrst broke out, the demand for books fell off
largely every r here, and the Southern market
tor paper OF all kinds was suddenly clnsed
Ihis caused an Immediate fall in price, and
paper was never before go cheap as during the
however, caused very many Of the mills to
stop, and checked the production in every
quarter. When the stock on hand Yas ey-
hsnstcd, and the absence Of the raw material
TOR its further manufacture began to be felt.
the inevitable result was rapid and very cor.
side1sble increase in price.
It ought to be known, however, that this
natural tendency was very greatly aided BIZ
combination OF the leading paEtr makers of
the country, who have Ee'zed upon the oppor-
tnnity to crush out small dealers and to en-
Ilcn themselves at the expense Of the public.
Ihesc men are no" actively engaged iu per-
tect1rg this combination, for tie purpose of
forcing prices to still higher point than they
lave ses reached. They met in this city il
September, and Organized ttTne Paper-
Makers Association Of the United States.''
"A1ca is governed tt Is number OF officers,
nine OF 9nom constitute quorum Tor the
sons, beirg majority, Therefore, have the
hight to dictate rules for the government Of
all the psper-makers Of the United States who
sha1 become members OF the association; and
they Acpe to make their machinery strong
enough to crush out ali who refuse to join
thcm. THEY claim the right to fix the prices
Of all Kinds OF paper, to regulate the time of
working OF the various pRper-mills, and gen
orally to control the business of making and
selling paper, without regard TO the laws of
supply, AID demand by which business of a1l
kinds is usually governea. And they have "a q
special standing committee Of seven, whose
duty it is to ''carry into effect all orders,
votes and resolSes Of the association and gov
e1nu1cnt.H
It is essy to sec what powerful engine for
the oppression OF the community, such an 49,
sccia1lcn: il the hands Of unprincipled men,
may easily become. While the price of paper,
frcm the scarcity Of rags, would undoubtedly
have largely increased, it could meyer have
been raised SO rapidly sud enormously as it
hae been within the past two months but for
the immediate interference Of this combina-
tlon. They have, by their action, direct aud
Indirect, moro than doubled the price Of print
ing paper, and trebled that OF other kinds,
Tie natural effect Of such measures will be to
diminish the consumption, and thus reduce
E1e p1lce- But The Paper Makers Association
expect to defeat the operation Of this natural
Law By diminishing the production In the same
ratio. They claim the right to put all the pa
per mills in the country, subject to their con
f1el, at work on half time, whenever they find
the price Of paper again falling Of.
We understand that 1.-THE goTernmentn Of
this association is to hold meeting in this
city Tomorrow, Tor the purpose Of perfectiug
Their machinery and Increasing the price OF pa.
per still further. Some persons who have the
most faith In the working of these schemes do
rot hesitate to predict that printing paper Will
sell st forty cents pound before the winter
is over. In the long run, as matter Of course,
euch arbitrary ard selfish combinations ruin
al but a few Of the strongest and wealthiest
members. But they have the power, mean
time, to inf2ict very serious injury upon the
community at large, and do it irreparable
dsmsge 10 The business which they assume to
protect.
We don't believe that cur Illinois paper ma
ke1s are parties to this infamous conspiracy
against the public good. It the combination
persist in their operations, newspaper md
book publishers must club together and build
paper mills Of their own, and never afterwards
purchase sheet from the sHindline cxtor-
tioEers.