The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-03-31
by proper cooperation can be largely in

Dy proper COOpoTdUlOu Cdu Do largely LII
creased and made more remunerative.
Maine has no flow of natural gas, the
existence of coal in any quantity is still
undetermined, and of late it has not been
profitable to work our. iron mines; but
she has those materials which can be
made to contribute to the comfort and
enjoyment Of mankind. Here Isl granite
for the foundation or superstructtre,
more enduring than marble or bronze;
here is clay from which can be fash
ioned the brick or the tile; here is the
slate which shall cover the roof, and here
the lumber and the lime which shall fin
ish the. interior.
The men employed in these industries
will be largely increased as the quality OF
the materials we can show is made known
to the architect and builder.
AT this point we meet one of our limit
atations, the cost of getting the goods to
other markets, for we cannot consume
within our own limits all that we can
produce.
1t would seem that with the advantages
which we possess we ought to be able to
compete favorably as regards the pro-
ducts of our granite quarrieS, furnishing
the blocks cut into required dimensions
or polished into highest decoration.
When once loaded upon the cars, with
all the modern facilities for transporta-
ton, the enhanced cost of a few miles
extra haul ought not to outweigh the
beauty of color, the fineness of texture,
ank the freedom from stain which our
quarries afford. For the coarser purposes
near by the demand must be considerar
BILE.
The attention of the coun-
try has recently been called
to the facilities our state offers for
the manufacture of materials from our
woods. No industry has developed
more rapidly, and none promises better
! for the future than this.
Wood Pulp Has Increased in Demand
with wonderful rapidity. For time
there is possibility; nay, even proba-
bility that it's manufacture will be over
| done; but in the end Maine must receive
great and permanent benefit. Our ship
yards are, for the most part, deserted.
| Steam and iron have largely superseded
| wind and wood upon the ocean. But
| trees grow all the time, and woods once
| neglected for building or even for fire
| wood, now find an active demand for
| other purposes. The cords of wood
converted each day into tons OF pulp,
would astonish; but there is no purpose
| y
mand for paper increases. When the
number of papers printed each day and
the books and periodicals sent out each
week is considered, it would seem that
ours must be nation of readers, and
reading gives education. How many
girdles of paper would the yearly pro-
| duct of the press put around the earth
could it be made into continuous band
of three feet width? But why carry 100
tons of wood and water to the paper
mill, when what is desired is not the
water, only the so tons of wood confined
| therein? How close to the source OF
power everything now is crowded. There
are mills in this state in which the ma
chinery is harnessed almost to the very
wheels and through whose sluices runs
the river itself. With this tendency the
mill for the manufacture of paper must
be brought to the pulp, not the pulp car
ried to the mill, and this is evidently a
drift in our direction. The con-
version of our woods into paper
is only one of the protean forms which
the product of our forests can be made
to assume when science and invention
combine in united efforts. During the
wear Just passed it is said that some
three millions of dollars were put into
manufacturing enterprises in this state,
affording employment to some eight
thousand people. Probably large per-
centage OF this has been IN the industries
last named.
Here the question may be asked, But
what about the exhaustion of our
forests? There is small danger. The
growth is rapid and replaces in large
measure the consumption, and years
must elapse before any considerable inn
preston is made upon them. OF the
more than thirty-one thousand square
miles of territory, three thousand are
represented by our rivers, ponds and
lakes. Of the remaining twenty-elght
thousand, between fifteen and twenty
/, thousand are still covered with trees, an
area many times larger than the famous
Black Forest, and one in which two
states like Massachusetts, could be
hidden. s
OF the products of our soil for purposes
Of manufacture there is chance for
further development With hard and
stony soil competition with the fertile
lands of the West is severe. Certain
crops we cannot hope to produce at a
cost which will enable us to meet theil
prices. The vigor and quality of our
lands are their rivals in the production of
some things.
The Sweet Corn of Our State
is not equalled by that grown elsewhere.
The seed taken from Maine and planted
in warmer latitudes runs out in single
wear. The canning industry is already
firmly established and the business is
still growing. Aroostook, the garden OF
the state, has but just begun to show of
what it is capable. When communica-
ton is more direct, an increase of her
agricultural products may be confidently
looked for and the manufacture of starch
be largely increased.
Whether we can compete with the
West in the raising of sheep is not for
me to say, as have had no opportunity
to investigate, and the line is foreign to
that in which am usually engaged. But
are we aware of the importance and
magnitude of the woolen industry in
Maine? There are more than so estab-
lishments in the state. representing an
invested capital of some ten millions OF
dollars, and using six millions in value
. of materials every year. Would they
could be employed mostly on the pro-
duct of our own state.
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