, 1866-10-23
THE lsIkTCE OF PAPER.

becoming more direct and important.
THE 1RICE OF PAPER.
We publish elsewhere communication
from paper manufacturer, In reply to re-
cent article Of our own On the price Of paper.
The argument Of the writer consists Of two
points: Farsi, That paper manufacturing Is
about the poorest and least profitable busi.
ness in the country, even with the Internal
tax removed; Second, That the price of paper
cannot be reduced until the price of cheml-
Gals, which enter into the manufacture of
paper, Is reduced. To reduce the price of
chemicals he says elet the press encourage
the nanufacturc of chemicals In this coun-
Try"
As We arc not gagged in the manufacture
Of paper we arc not in q position 10 deny The
statcm ent that paper making is, on the
whole, an improbable business. We know
that the duty on imported paper is twenty
per cent In gold, that the same machinery
for making it is used in this country as in
other countries, and that the amount of
manual labor entering into the manufacture
Of paper is very small and iuconsidcrablc.
If with al' these conditions, paper making is
so little rcmuncratiye that the best
managed mills in the country
can only make six per cent profit,
there seems to be no good reason why the
publishers aud readers Of books and news
papers should pay twenty per cent in gold
OH all their purchases, to enable the paper
manufacturers to make six per cent In cur
rcnct- Tie twenty per cent import duty
takes effect On all the paper used, ns We have
previously shown; jet the paper manufac-
turers get return Of only six per cent on
their capital, which is probably less than
] SIX per cent on their actual sales. The dif
ference between what the people pay and
what the manufacturers get Is LOST, and this
shows that there Is something wrong souc-
where.
The remedy suggested BY our correspond
cnt for one Improbable trade is TO start
another one by the side Of it. The
manufacture Of chemicals can certainly
be carried on cheaper in foreign countries
than in this. The proof Of II lies in the fact
| that nobody thinks Of making them here, al
though there Is pretty stitt' import duty on
them. hercnaely proposed is so singular
that VIC do not know how to answer it, ex-
ccrt by stating it. If tue manufacture of
! chemicals is 60 inviting field, and the manu-
facturc Of paper so undesirable and untnrit-
iuE, Why docs not our correspondent sell his
paper mill and invest his capital IN 1abora-
to=y.
Our remedy for the high price Of paper is
| vt forth III the following circular ISSUED by
the Executive Committee Of the Western
Associated Press, On the "a Of April, 1866, to-
/ wit.
4.The United siatcz Revenue Commission, in
tEer official report. cSt1Ennte that reduction Of
neary S1G0 v(1,U90 1sum The present national lax
alton mar safely b. made. stisl leaslas s oao ycn
ke5 Snnnm 10 be applied 10 ths li4utdas!oa Of tle
e. Isvcnue will probably cxe,:sd tic wants Of the
Government bg 5 5e,U9 ,1N per annum. They
H. ;eIs e. lie ,se exa M xsn a ina
Submitted TINT when reduction Of taxes and rev.
cru" is contemplated, the barbarian tax IN kpow1-
sx nas ief by al o'c en-
s,9!e. oily n''dsr ihs pressure f q a great srcat
ES51 Esaa p ps paon. ne% hspRs Se ds to T.
elased ] tiom our % ttaiutes. Orc year ago the be-
neasc of kep;Ssscnta.ives, S BY se;y la.se Maj9ri
pint p4per, upon which lie Government was re-
ce:vins no fcrcnuc. The bill was defeated In the
senate, on the plea that 1t would be unfair to our
OVID manufacturers Of paper to repeal the import
datics while they were subjected to tax, and
TINT the Government could no, afford to dispense
ea IS Wen e a
Of the inloft duty 10 the standard Of the fnlernal
tax u cnld have Eiren the Government evcn more
tax-the import duties being payable in gold, and
tic cheapcuir@ Of tic article tnding. III Is always
tie case, 10 ircrease the consumption. The bill,
hoWsysr' Wa defeated, and nothing was subssl'
lis believed tina. If suitable eno-, is nov
made by the I"ess tue repeal rs 81 ell ths taxes or
conventions Of editors in Illinois and Iowa have
memorializcd Congress OIL the subject, and We
assured that al least ous uf the nine mcmbc.t
us tie Committee Of Ways md Mems arc in favo,
o. such repeal The amount ~ TT of revenue derived M
,9m ;e taS on ras!m s. u ;s ~ kinds au5ag 6 tae
amoans received during. the same year. from du
liss & On y sf'n!:ng H paper imported from abroad w
srisliy proi6Iory and has no o. reve1'e s1 ts sa
lures Ut all The au,osln, received from duties 0,
b!eaching por dere, soda ash, telling and wfr
Enu1e, which enter into the manufacture OF paper
puonitcd to m insignificant snm. The aggrcSot
%nu derived from I'll" taxes un lsnow1 lgc amount
10 about oilcscycnlitth Of III: which II IL p.o
jsctinn which lie against Ia1 Is valid asains
lhe ta1 on paper; IT'S IN unr'eatahle 'ax, 70
t .c an a, 81 It i On u
i,ely to ;hcss incnse. 1t is nnwi-c, for It tend
ID, thereby, poverty and crime. Furthermore
if Is Inl:s ces-aFy. ns las already bern shown.
.,; To hr'ns down % The p'ase Of PAPER t. ~ sumo :
:epeai she internal tas. tnses''cf with the inro1
ilcs o.. nil articles WHICH enter into The man;
iacturs at parcr; aud sess,n:, 70 repeal ~ iT
! PAPER mas!,C; will bc thrown 0pct 10 cnmp"t
sion- cc1.:'' aion- OF ofmann:actaress fu keep II
s l ~, ~ aess a a.,u ,ne nnl1f O.
| 1y Al ther can u Afforded. No l:jus1ce will II
donc to any c!ass. bnt nm incalcu1ahla b'essin
Will be ccnlcsrcd rpnn nli.
: II will be observed that the above ri,
proposes TO take o,r the duties o
. chemicals, as well as the duties q
l thH
sAc manufacturers an equal chance.
I is our firm, pclicf TINT under this arrang
r,ent tile paper manufacturers would NAL
c more money than they do now. Piper is
: bulky and expensive rticle to transport.
c mill in Wisconsin will turn out rs much as
+ mill in Belgium, and rs cheaply, TOO, II bot
d have an equal chance in buying the raw m
s tcrial. 1t is not likely that any considcrab
:, amount ofparcr would ever be importc
h though the price would be reduced to Il
d figure 1t which it could be imported.
C This is what NC shall come 10 sooner
:, later. We may hubble along few yc,
c with high taxes OH knowledge, which otl,
'r civilized nations have abolished with pa !.
Ee manufacturers starving in spite nf 4 hi
y tariff, though prosperous i'll every oti
.s country on tho globe and with books 4
re newspapers dcartr than they are in Englas
III France or Gcrn,any-but the people will l.
Is stand it forever.
ID -'---------
ty TIE MISSION Of 'rIl1. SOCTII.
a According to the Southern papers,
re South has ''lnst all Init her honor" Thf
n, mistake. Her mudcstv yet remains. ]
re Richmond EIcmintr, in its article on
or Constitutional Amendment, proves this c
rs cl,lsively. II las no idea of rltifying t
S. amendment; il knows that Nirgfnia will
nothing OF the sort. What, then, will
bis dos Why, according to this Richmond I
mt rhct, Sue will wait untN IT,
us dencc restores the South to
,se lofty position for which 1t
I've tendci, hcr-thc great leader in arts
mt sciences, aud the Gorernor Of thi* c'u's
OF "1t is impossible" VIC arc told, :" that Fl
,ot ilcncc could have endowed the South
ed people with such lofty and marked indivl
be ality, with qualities Of valor, devotion
,ut fidelity 10 MI the obligations Of patriot
nc, and citizenship, which have challenged
SIS. tribute of unsti1ted admiratfon from
in. world, without designing them us the ins
bic rncuts uf some greal and vital mission attn
the ,nen.'' OF course people SO tountif
,ny endowed with the heroic
INC ! lofty attributes, can have
60 ordinary place assigned to them; and
our reader viii not be surprised. therefore