Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1888-02-04
SOME FACTS ABOUT RAGS.
The Foreign and domestic supply
How and Where Collected.

The Foreign and domestic supply
How and Where Collected.
Bays New York special 10 The Chicago
Times; The United States consumes mere
paper than any other country In the world.
The domestic supply Of paper stock is insult.
cieut 10 meet the demand. Fully 80 per cent.
Of the material used In the manufacture Of
paper is imported. Rags other than wooden
are brought from every quarter Of the world
Egypt, Japan, China, Great Britain, Ger.
many, France, Italy. Turkey, South America,
etc, each contributes its quota to the ger
eral aggregate. Far from diminishing as
time rolls on, the imports Of paper stock ma
terial, such as rags, jute, thread. and wood
pulp, are increasing each year. The United
States Is 3 country where the greatest waste
is displayed In the consumption OF paper.
New journals are started every day. The
bulk Of the paper manufactured IN our mills
is for newspaper purposes. How the paper
stock is collected, what II consists Of, aud
the channels through which It passes before
reaching the consumer is not generally
known.
The domestic paper stock Is collected mostly
In New York, Boston, Philadelphia, aud other
large cities. An army OF rag plckers num-
bering thousands are daily at work, collecting
from careful housekeepers, Rsh.barrels, and
street cutters, old newspapers and rags which
they sell TO middlemen. These again sell
them TO The wholesale dealers, they In turn
dispose OF them 10 the paper-mils.
There are about l,10J paper mills in this
country depending partly upon this horde Of
beggariy wretches who infest our cities, bag
and hook in hand, endeayorIng TO exc out an
existence. American rags, however, are not
held ia as high esteem as those that are I'M
ported. The imports OF rags. iute, thread,
rope, hemp. wood pulp and other materials
included under the general heading Of paper
stock amounted IN the year 1887 to "a, 81, 900.
The most valuable cargo arrived In this
tort during that period was valued at $50 900.
The average valuation OF cargo runs from
$2aO1O TO S30,000. Wooden rags are not i'm
ported. because the duty on them Is II cents
per pound. This Is more than the actual
worth OF the material The most valuable
paper stock is the linen waste that comes
from the linen mills 10 Great Britain and Ger
many. These rags are clean, and are com
posed Of the finest fiber. They rank as the
most valuable paper stock that is imported.
The rags that come from Europe are pecu-
liar IN their character They are in great
part taken from the mummies found IN the
EgyptisD desert. and are always infltrated
with sand aud dust. They are OF the best
quality, but the necessity OF cleaning renders
them expansive, and consequently lowers their
grade 10 The market. The rags imported from
Turkey and Italy are always filthy, and re-
qure CAREFUL cleaning before being At for use.
A cargo Of paper stock from these countries is
usuails held at quarantine until the quarAn-
tine commissioners have fumIgated II This
expense must be born by the importer, and is
a considerable item Paper stock from Japan
and China is held IN high esteem. II consists
1 the most part OF clippings and shavings Of
material At first hand, coming from The Japan
ese and Chinese tailoring establishments and
is always clean.
South American paper stock consists mostly
Of juie, hemp oakum, and materials used ia
the wrapping Of goods. Besides the other
materials classified as ''paper suOclf a large
quantity of wood pulp is annually imported to
be used in the manufacture OF paper. Ii ia
made from the wood Of the spruce, pine, and
POPLAR trees, pulp from the latter being highly
esteemed because of its peculiar whiteness
aud tenacity OF fiber Although 'HoOd pulp
Is manufactured in this country to n consider
NIB c extent, the industry has not arrived at
that stage OF development which enables II TO
supply the demand. Consequently, notWith.
standing protective tariff Of 10 per cent ad
vHlurcm on the raw material aud % per cent
on that which is classified as chemical wood
pulp, large quantities are imported from Nor
way and Sweden 70 mix with other material
in the manufacture of paper. The presence
The application OF nitric acid to the materia /
II wood pulp is part Of the composition the
pAp-r turns brown. Pure linen paper remains
perfectly impervious to the action Of the acid.
In consequence of the demand for paper
stock Ia this country the squalid classes of re-
mote countries engage largely in the rag-pick-
Ing business. The Mohammedans, who in
the lower walks Of life are perhaps the poor
est People in the world, have engaged more
largely than any other race in the business of
professional rag picking.
Tourists In Turkey have remarked the pitlable
squalor of these men, yet there is one pc
Gu lar superstition among them which is de-
serving of remark Most OF them are unable
70 read; therefore when they chance TO pick
up piece of rag or paper which contains
writing or the semb!anee of writing, they re-
ligiously put it In q safe corner OF their
homes, for fear Il should be inscribed
with some passage from the Koran.
There are in all these countries, where pa
per ctock is collected, a number OF shreWd
Jews who act as middlenen. Penurious, con.
tent to live on almost nothing, they horde up
rags, etc, In hugh warehouses aud sell them
in cargoes To American importers The busi-
ness is curious one; the foreign Jews keep
track Of tue demand In such close aud cal
tublishing a recognized market for foreign pa
Ter stock. They have likewise succeeded in
having recognized certain grades Of rags
which they have incorporated into a scale.
The American market forms the basis of these
meu's calculations 1t Is not probable that
the imports OF paper stock will diminish Ia
the future, for the reason that paper stock
once reduced into the form of pulp deterior-
Rtes every time the process is repeated. II
gradually deteriOra,es into the lowest
grade of paper, and finally loses all abrous
quality