Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-12-20

Rags, once associated IN everyDOdys mind
only with squalor and meaDness have already
become power in the earth. They even aspire
TO the royal place made vacant by the dethrone
.ment Of cotton The world over. rags are rec
oguized az sustaining an important relationship
10 the interests OF commerce More than this.
they are found to be in peculiar sense identified
with the progress OF literature and popular en-
lightenment. An inadequate supply or an ex-
ofbitant price directly tends 10 deprive the
masses of the people OF their accustomed news
paper. and children Of their books. A tempo
rary desrth OF rags has therefore stirred no a
lively agitation, both in the United States and
10 Europe The demand mere is that Congress
shall permit DO delay in repeating the duties on
paper. hHd in Europe there Is a 4 deposition on
the part OF several OF the continental powers 10
remove from rags AL prohbiive export duties
Bs new con ventiea between France and Swift
zefani, IN the benefits oil which Englaud will
share. by virtue OF the most favored nation
clause, the French export duty will be reduced
from twelve to four francs per 100 kilogrammes.
and Belgium Is said - contemplate reducing the
export duty.to two francs.
Thus there H. prospect that eventually rich
harvest OF rags will be gathered on The continent,
from which the United States may profit, VI We
use appropriate means. The enormously ia
creased consumption Of paper in England, and
the dminution OF raw material in the United
States. have been attended with the same effect.
in the embarrassment of consumers In 1880
the whole circulation of newspapers in England
was only some 30 900 900 sheets, but according
To recent calculations. the annual circulation of
newspapers in London alone il nearly 2O5. 500. =
600 10 say nothing about millions of pages OF
monthly and weekly publications The attempt
TO relieve the rag market by establishing a sys
temstic collection of rags under the Iii ection OF
the London Rsgged School, aud the operations
of The chfonnier institution of France, made
no appreciable difference in the amount of
stock Results in some degree commensurate
with the crisis have been accomplished by the
use OF fibre from straw, wood. burk waste, &c
but 10 complete substitute is yet found for prime
white regs from cotton or linen.
American publishers seek to relieve themselves
from the dilemma in which they placed D.
reduction or abolition of the duty ON paper,
that the supply may adjust itself to the demand
At the great centres of consumption Accord
ingly committee propose To visit Washington
Immediately. in furtherance of this object. They
have already triel the experiment OF reducing
the size and quality OF their sheets, but an nd
vance of subscription rates to correspond with
the advance I'm cost ~ found TO be impracticable
Quite number Of newspapers here have al
ready persisted, aud the worst is yet 10 come A
leading western journal. noticing the fact that
paper has advanced from 500 cents per pound
before the war 70 24@27 cents now. declares
that the business OF newspaper publishing is
threatened with actual ruin. and says further
more:
We state a fact which can be corroborated by
all our brethren OF the press, when we say that
the entire profits Of the newspaper business Of
this country have been sacrificed The present wear
90 reluctance TO advance The price OF their
wares with the advance of the raw material We
DO not mean by chi, that none have made profit.
bat that The profits of the few have been more
than balanced by the losses OF the many"
Asthe general government is deriving no rev
enue from the 81 per cent. gold duty. no paper
being imported under tins restrcton the ques-
ton is narrowed down 10 this: Shall lax on
knowledge" be imposed any longer for the bene
ht of a small class ot manuiaclurersg Shall the
cause of education be hazarded. the ben6cent
Influence OF our common school system be neu
ira allied. and the blessings of a free press be-
thrown tway--ior nothlngl-New York Journal
ct Commerce