New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-06-09
MORE AND CHEAPER PAPER
NEW MATERIAL UTILIZED.
SUCCESSFUL EXPERIMENTS WITH BAGAssE WOOD
STRAW AND OTHER FIBREs.

bas created n stir In several quarters. The sugar
planters of Louisiana, who have burned this hitherto
worthless stuff to get rid Oft, now see possiohty
of making money out of it, and few enthusiast ats
reckon that il will be nearly profitable as the sugar
CROP Southern capital new opening Tor invest
ment in the manufacture of bagasse. Paper buyers III
the South look forward to emancipation from Northern
mills and heavy transportation charges on their pnF
chases Northern manufacturers, who have long anu
eagerly been studying how to make paper more
cbconIv will give this development close attention,
and think of several ways in which it may affect thc
trade. And finally consumers of paper generally will
be alert to the suggestion here afforded that that article
may become cheaper and more abundant. Within
generation the of producing paper has been greatly
lcssened and the quantity produced enormously III
creased by the discovery of economical ways to use
pew fbres as material for tins commodity For SIX
centuries and half after Europe adopted paper rom
the Chinese substitute for papyrnS OF pafclicu;,
il was not deemed practichbe To use hN',Iis ~
making il hut cotton and linen rags. III was Known
more than a hundred years ago that wood, straw oi
other such growths contained suitable hDre lor Pali
but the difficulty has been to lind cheap way o. stPl-
rrtinr the resin silicon and other impurities from 50
that The fibre would felt together readily INTO WhU'
pliable web. Countless experiments have Dceh h'ie III
this direction. and are being made secretly iodhy
wonderful stimulus having been given few years ago
by the invention of "wood pulp 'Iouha Oh . re-
volving stone spruce and poplar are reduced 10 Ii
in which, with only slight addition OF rags exc'leh'
nevIacr is made From 30 to 81 per cent Of ordin-
ory pcvspoucr il ground wood BY chemical pro,
"aSs co,sitiur of baths in superheatcd steam and
alkali under high pressure IN boilers the ccluio'e
sue in wood can be freed OF all impurities ana lac
available for the finest book and wnns paper III 'ne
paper industry Of the world alteady almost as
much wood pulp is used rags and the use OF the
former Is rapidly developing
VAEIaTY or EXPERIMENTS.
Straw was for a time made into newspaper; and now
inventive genius hard at work trying TO find cheap
ii, 10 I1,p Ter
mans have at last discovered the secret how
ever which they closely guard 1t is less than score
of wears since ute butts adopted as material Tor
making papcr: and now nearly all of the sOc1lled
MANILA paper is manufactured from this fibre thereby
ricl:lv charging the vGlWuc of available material IL
/ claimed that an cncrprisng Massachusetts Yankee
has discovered an inexpensive way 0i converting I'e
into fine writing paper but be careful not 10 Ipar
much information regarding 1t. Palmetto mas Dftn me
subject of experiment for ten years III Florida with NE
hope of chcaIy utilizing II i'll this industry As yer
not more than one mill Is using that hbrc. Seyefal
establishments III Virginia ana Norm Oa'onha' now
ever are having fair III making roofing paper
ont of reeds of other substances have ais6 been
tried but without satisfactory results 80 far - IL yei
1t appears from statements in the Ncw-Orleans jour
mails that the practiclbility of making good paper
cheaply out of bngassc has recently been established
Five thousand pounds produced from ti material
in Canada, q few DAYS ago, and sent to New.
Orleans for exhibition. THE iicayunc was printed
on it, and il could hardly b" distinguished BY an IN
uracccd eve from that which TIE Tribune uses Ii
is perhaps more crisp glossy and darker. he manu-
fscWcr who made II certics to the Louisiana flhfe
Working Company that bHgas>c paper can be pro-
duced les than enical wood paper, and On
properly constructed mill il viii make better sheet
for the money than amy paper mill III thc United states
can make from other maternal Not beng a. cheap rs
ground wood baIaa-c pulp u not nbelY, III the I'M
mediate future, to he used much IN making news
paper. But il may prove Formidable competitor oi
chemical wood fibre and fine rags in ty manufacture
Of book and writing papers. The champions OF b"gasSe
claim that il can also be wrought into heavy wrapping,
limo raw rs
Just named and into ub- bGchc>, barrels dishes ana
cap5oard'.
WoNDTRFUI GROWTH or TIE INDUSTRY,
There has been wonderful growth in paperaahng
in the United States within a ieT years, which Ia,
resulted in making the product much cheaper than
wa. before. This is partly due to improvements in
machinery which run the fabric ont four times
rapidv ~ fifteen or twenty years ago. And j. partly
due 90 the increase in he Volume ana the ch'arehng
of the cost, Of material Wood pap has forced tn
price Of rags down a,toni-hin@v. "ChcWical ibrc
kc.,s the Choicc rag, which compete with II N fin"
book and writing paper, down cl1se 10 ) cent?
pound. and % ground wood depif'se' the grade
which enters into newspaper To near cents IN SPl'
eff this, the supply o. rags increase instead o. din-
i.hiug was prolha.icd would be The cast Europe,
Asia Minor and Egypt now have a larger excess than
ever 10 send us For the four years ending june 30,
1879 The imports Of rag amountod 10 Tlo3OO,OOO;
for the next four, $lN,uOO,0oO The collection and
suppl, Of domestic rag, also increases steadily.
Ba.a-se may exert still further influence in this di-
rcclion. Soda ash an important element IL making
I NADER. cheaper Than ever Dciult' anu ii tur
tariff is taken OIL The price will bc further reduced
one marked eject of the recent growth IN America
manufacture Of paper j. that We have practically
ceascd to buy hi. commodity abroad, and, instead,
sell large quantity in other countries. The value of
/ paper Imported into tn" United States IN 1913 was
! IT:lS 3yG: in 1ST7 $685. In 1869 we exported
uapor valued AT SHIT in 1883 ~ ,5-9,9OS. This
change j. due in measure to our ability tn make BET
ter paper The choicest ald-mos fameu, stationery in
Europe can be matched, if not surpassed, by American
Never in The history Of the country was paper rs
cheap j. now and the prospect Is that prices will
20 lower rather than higher. Quotations were nearly
a. low in 1875 and 1879 but he paper trade wa, all
| normally dull them other business was also de
pressed; and The finances of the country were an
reasonably expected. Now, however, general trade II
active prosperous II would he but for the
recent tariff agitation, is nevertheless on sound basis
Credit Is good, and no serious currency questions us
tWb business. The paper trade Is said by good Judges
be lively and healthy to-day than some other
branches of domestic commerce The cost Of produc-
ton il lower now than five years ago. No natural
causes, therefore, are likely to raise prices.
A PROFIT IN LARGE PRODUCTION.
a dealer was recently asked if he thought such
boom 5" in paper that of 1850 possible.
lie answered, mo; and Heaven save us from an
other! 1t was short spasmodic, unnatural, ruinous
Paper1nakers were scared, feared they would get
left, bought rags and other stock at inflated prices,
aud then suffered loss from the sudden decline 1t was
a bitter experience"
Another dealer was asked about the manufacturers
combining 10 put prices up. He said decisivey:
Such talk will never amount TO anything. The
agreement would never be kept Some Of them wonld
be sure TO ndcrbd their rivals, and break the ar
rangemcnt all down There are too many paper
makers for a combination. Every manufactured i. |
willing and anxious that his neghbor shall reduce his
production; but he runs his own mill for all it's
worth"
a third man, long and prominently connected with
the industry, said Unlike some other mills those
that make paper must be to their capacity
to yield any profit Mr.. Smith say, has a mill Of tive
tons capacity daily. His contracts with newspaper
publishers call for four day, at 500 a ton.
with the same outlay for labor, and with the same
water power practically he make another ton Of
paper That cost, HIM less than the other pro-
duet and that is where he gets his profit lie sell
hi. surplus nj $50 or less ton and yet he better off
than il he had not made it. Hence the shrewdest
papcr-nakers produce every pound their mills will
Weld. There is no OvcT-pr0duciiOn Dealers are not