Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1884-05-15
Tons Of Old Paper.
from the New York Mail and E,pres,

The amount of paper stock consumed
daily in the publication OF newspapers
and journals in this city is almost in
credible. It is estimated that about
two hundred and twenty-five daily,
weekly and monthly publications are
issued, which have an aggregate circu-
lation Of over a million sheets q day.
and which weigh about 100, 900 pounds.
The greater portion of this paper soon
becomes worthless, ,and is either thrown
away or burned or collected to send to
the paper mill. A reporter recently
visited Mr.. j. @. Stockwellfor the pur.
pose of getting few facts concerning
the use and misuse of paper and paper
stock. 81 started in this business" I"
said Mr.. Stockwell, rabout tfiirty.four
years ago, since which time there has
been great changes In the trade. Then
l used to buy on IN average about q
ton of paper stock q week; now [ am
buying twelve tons day. Then there
were only few dealers, now we are q
hundred. Much of our stock is OBJ.
tanned from banks and merchants who
have failed. Letters, political and Law
documents, commercial and account
books, Representing years of business,
months of litigation and millions of dol.
lars ut last come to our old paper
morgue. The amount Of material that
arrives here in one year in the shape OF
patent Office reports is surprising. Huge
masses of these handsomely bound vol.
umes are iammed into the bales with
battered show bills, and purchased at SO
many cents a pound"
"Then the ragpickers do not furnish
you any amount of pnper stock?n
s'Noneat all; there Is no market for
refuse stock of this kid. Some idea
may be had of the growth of our busi-
ness when / tell you that in 1888 carts
went through Boston and the vicinity
collecting rags for which q cents q
pound was paid, while they now bring
but one cent pound. In 1850 one cent
q pound was paid for miscellaneous pa.
per stock, but the price gradually rose
until during the war the scarcity of pa
per brought the price up to ten cents O
pound.
sDo you not often find valuable and
important documents?"
"We do not make it o rule to look fol
valuables Of any kind. Still we often
come across them. Some years ago l
found the first record of the Continental
Congress-, which is now in the library at
Washington. Then 1 found the old
parchment deed by which the land,
which now comprises the town of Schen.
ectady, was ce. ed to the whites by the
Indians. That was sold. Checks fol
large amounts have sometimes been
found and restored to their owners. We
find more amusement in our business
thar, articles Of value; for instance, i'm.
mediately after the war I advertised
| would buy up Confederate bonds.
Great comfort was drawn from this ad
yertisement by many of the holders ol
these bonds, and innumerable applica.
tions were made to us for the purchase
of precious documents. You can imag.
inc. the chagrin of the would.be sellers
when they discovered that, although
purchased Confederate bonds, it was by
| weight rather than at theiI face value.
"What is the most money, Mr.. Stock.
| we'll, you ever paid at one time for ole
paper stock?"
Nineteen hundred dollars. This
was to Wall Street banking house fol
matter which had been accumulating
for period Of fifty years."