Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1888-02-03
SOME FACTS ABOUT RAGS.
The Foreign and Domestic supply
How aud Where Collected

. ho hnu
How and Where Collected.
Says New York special to The Chicogo
/ Times: The United States consumes more
paper than any other country in the world.
The domestic supply Of paper stock Is INSULT.
Client 10 meet the demand. Fully 80 per cent.
OF the material used In the manufacture OF
paper II 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 It's quota 10 the gen.
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 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 It consists OF, and
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, and other
large cities. An army OF rag pickers, mum
bering thousands, are daily al work, collecting
from careful housekeepers, ash barrels, aud
street cutters, old newspapers and rags which
tley sell 10 mddlcmen These again sell
them TO The Wholesale dealers, they in turn
dispose OF them TO the pa permits.
There are about 100 paper mills in this
country depending partly upon this horde OF
b'ggariy wretches who infest our cities bag
and hook in hand, endeavoring TO exc out an
existence American rags, however are not
held IN az high esteem as those that are i'm
p'rted. The inn orts OF rags, iute, thread
rope, hemp, wood pulp and other materials
included under the general heading Of paper
stock amounted IN the year 1857 to 81, 50, 90
The most valuable cargo arrived in this
rort during that period was valued at so. OlO
The average valuation OF n cargo runs from
S@.OJO TO $4,000 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 In Great Britain and GER
many. These rags arc clean, and are com
posed OF the finest fiber. They rank "a 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
Egyptian desert and are always intltratcd
with sand and dust. They are OF the best
quality, but the necessity ~ cleaning renders
them expensive, and con~equenty lowers their
grade IN the market. The rags imported from
Turkey and Italy are alwa,s hlthv, and re-
qulre CAREFUL cleaning before being it for use.
cargo OF paper stock from these countries Ia
usually held ~ quarantine until the qusran-
tine commissioners have fumgated IT, This
expense must be born by The importer and Is
a considerable Item Paper stock from Japan
and China Is held In gh esteem. II con. SIS
FIR the most part OF clippings aud shaylngs Of
material at first hand, coming from the Japan
ese and Chinese tailoring establishments aud
Is always clean
South American paper stock consists mostly
OF Jute hemp oakum, and materials used in
the wrapping OF goods. Besides the other
materials elias, fed As 'pa per stock" large
quantity Of wool pulp is annually imported TO
be used IN the manufacture OF PAPER II is
made from the wood OF the spruce, pine, and
poplar trees, pulp from the latter being highly
esteemed because OF IFS peculiar whlteue,s
and tcnacity OF fiber Although "woDi pul ~
Is manufactured In this country 10 consider
abe extent, the industry has not arrived at
that stage OF development which enables IL 10
supply the demand. Consequently nOtwlth.
sanding protective tar ~ of 10 per cent. al
yalorem on the raw material aud - per cent.
on that VIII ch is classified as chemical wood
pulp, large quantities are imported from Nor
way aud sweden 10 mix with other material
In the manufacture Of paper. The presence
OF wood pulp in paper can be ascertaned bY
the application OF nitric acid TO the mater w..
IL wood pulp is a part Of the composition the
perfectly imperyious TO the action OF the acid.
In consequence OF the demand for paper
stock in this country the squalid classes Of re.
mote countries engage large In the rag pick
Ing business. The Mohammedans, who in
the lower walks Of ! f. are perhaps the poor
est leople in the world, have engaged more
largely than any other race in the business OF
professional rag picking.
Tourists in Turkey have remarked the pltiable
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
10 read; therefore when they chance 10 pick
up piece Of rag or paper VIII ca contains
writing or The semb ance Of writing, they re-
ligiOusly put Il in safe corner OF their
homes, for fear il should be Inscribed
with some passage from the Kor n.
There are in all these countries, where pa
per stock is collected, a number OF shrewd
Jews who act as middlemen. Pruurous, con
tent To live on almost nothing, they horde up
rags, etc, In hugh warehous aud sell them
i'm Cargoes 10 American importers The busi-
ness l. a curious one; the foreign Jews keep
track Of the demand in such close and call
culatng way that they have succeeded in es
tablishing rccoguize 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. II is not probable that
the imports OF paper stock viii diminish In
the future, for the reason that paper stock
once re iucrd into the form OF pulp detcriOr-
ates every time the process Is repeated. II
gradually deteriora,es into the lowest
& ade Of paper, and finally loses all hOrous
quality.
Famous Jockeys Will.
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