The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-09-03
OLD ROPES MADE OVER
Into Light Grade Wrapping-P Paper and
Grocers' Paper Bags.
lPittsburg CommerciatGazette.I

I
| IPittsburg Connerciat-G azetteI
"Everythiug which comes from an oil well
has USE WAS at enc time tho boastful re-
mark of petroleum producer The only
mistake he mai was that he did not include
everything used about an oil well. One of
| the most useful, WHOM It seems useless, is the
MANILA rope usei in the boring of the we'll.
| This is generally cable three inches in di-
! ametsr. Its strength is great, but on ac-
count of the immense weight Of the pits
bars, and jars used, tho ~;tDle is soon worn
out and laid asi..1. 1t is always full of
water, an9 by lying long exposed it is COM
ploteIy worthless. At this period n Pitts
burg dealer in old rope puts i'll an appear
auce. Although the cable is worthless to
the driller, it has q value of from l to TX
cents per pound to Ihs junk dealer This
dealer is either agent for some firm
which has its headquarters in Pittsburg or
| one of tho oil towns, or is in business for
| himself.
| The rope i, 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 ropo must be clear of
oil. Tho part of the rope which is down
rated, and when the oil fills the hole the rope
always becomes greasy. After the recep-
tion of the baled cable at the paper mill the
first part of the transforming process is to
clean, much rs possible, the oil away
from the rope This is done 10y steam, al
though the rope cleaned is never of such a
good quality as that which has never been
in the oil. As it has not the strength neces-
sary the pulp is mixed with wood, and the
made from if Is nSaI for liOhtar
grades of wrapping paper and the small
bags used by grocers. The method of manu-
facture is the same a that used in making
up" tho straw or wood. The stock is first
softened by means of steam and lime. 1t is
then taken to the grinders and from them to
the paper ma chine. The clean MANILA cable
is an article much sought for ana has even
become an article of export.
Not only is the oil-well drillers' refuse
lines usei but trade is carried on in the
MANILA rops used by rivermen. The head
quarters of the trade are in New York.
from which place the baled goods are dis
tributed all over the world. a well-known
dealer was interrogated concerning the size
of the trade. "You can get some idea of
the size of the business from the fact that
two tons of the clean rope will make one
ton of heavy paper. In our mill, when
running full, we use six tons of stock per
day. Ordinarily clean rope Is quoted 81
per 100. Now, however IN sympathy
with everything eIso it is down to 81 ~
The greasy rope ia worth but about one
half as much as the clean, as it is impossible
to ever make as good paper. even when
mixed with higher-priced stock The prin-
cipal supply comes from the deserted oil
towns of northwestern Pennsylvania The
usefulness of the cable is passed, and it is
bought cheap by the dealers, who bale it
and ship it in tons"
And thus it is that thousands of yards of
dirty, greasy rope that smell so loudly at
the petroleum derricks of upper Pennsyl-
vania, and which have unloosened the geys-
ers of oil for the worlds illumination, are
at last transformed into the neat little pa
per bag in which sugar, tea, coffee and flour
are brought to the breakfast table, or
wrapped about the packages OF dry goods
carried from every store IN PittGburg.