The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-09-11
OLD ROPES MADE OVER


Into Light Grade WrappIng-Papsr and
Grocers' Paper Bags.
tPittsburg Commercials azette.l
Everything which comes from an oil well
has Q use" was at ono time the boastful re-
mark Of petroleum producer. The only
mistake he made was that be did not include
everything used about an oil we'll One Of
the most useful, when IL seems useless, Is the
MANILA rope used in the boring Of the well
This Is generally cable three inches In d.
ameter. Its strength Is great, but on ac-
count Of the immense weight Of the bits,
out and laid aside. 1t Is always full Of
pletsly worthless At this period o Pitts
burg dealer in old rope puts in an appear
ance. Although the cable L. worthless to
the drillsr, 1t has value OF from l to TX
cents per pound to the junk dealer. This
dealer Is either an agent for some firm
which has its headquarters In Pittsburg or
one Of the oil towns, or Is In business for
himself
The rope Is hauled away, baled, and then
becomes an article Of commerce. Its use is
now to form the basis Of the pulp from
which Is made the heavy MANILA paper used
In making four sacks or the heavier grades
Of wrapping paper. For these uses the cable
must be what the paper men call clean,
which means that the rope must be clear of
oil The part of the rope which Is down
nearest the kit Is always more or less satu-
rated, and when the oil fills the hole the rope
always becomes greasy. After the recep-
ton Of the baled cable at the paper-mill the
first part Of the transforming process Is to
clean, as much rs possible, the oil away
from the rope. This Is done by stsam, al
though the rope cleaned IL never Of such o
good quality as that which has never been
In the oil. As IL has not the strength nsces-
sary the pulp Is mixed with wood, and the
paper made from 1t Il used for lighter
grades Of wrapping paper and the small
bags used by grocers. The method Of manu-
facture II the same rs that used In making
up" tho straw or wood. The stock IL first
softened by means Of steam and lima. It Is
then taken to the grinders and from them to
the paper machine The clean MANILA cable
Il an article rnuch sought for, and has even
become an article Ut export ga
Not only 10 the oil well drillsrs' refuse
lines used, but trade Is carried on In the
MANILA rops used by rivermsn- The head
quarters Of the trade are in New York,
from which place the balsd goods are dis
tributsd all over the world. A well-known
dealer was interrogsted concerning the sig,
of the trade. "You csn get some idea OF
the size Of the business from the fsct that
two tons Of the clean rope will make one
ton Of heavy paper. In our mill, when
running full, VIC use six tons OF stock per
day. Ordinarily clean rope l. quoted 81
per 100. Now. however, in sympathy
with everything else it is down to sac
The greasy RIPE is worth but about one
half as much as the clean, as 1t is impossible
to ever make as COOL paper, even when
mixsl with higher-pricsd stock. The prin.
cipal supply comes from the deserted oil
towns Of northwestern Pennsylvania. The
usefulness of the cable is passed, and 1t is
bought cheap by the dealers, who bale 1t
and ship 1t In tons"
And thus It Is that thousands Of yards Of
dirty, greasy rope that smell so loudly at
the petroleum dcrricks Of upper Pennsyl.
vanis. and which have unloosensd the geys
ers Of oil for the W rld's illumination, are
at last transformed into the neat little pa
per bag In which sugar, tea, coffee and -four
are brought to the breakfast-table, or
wrapped about tn, packages OF dry goods
carried from every store in Pittsburg.