Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-11-15

Md T. Mills Of Scion vas in town.
TUESDAY. Mr.. Mills il the general nsns-
~, snd one of the principal owners Of de
Moosehesd Pulp and Paper Co.. which op-
.,stes the large ground pulp mill st Scion.
He VS. here TO commit viii his attorneys,
Bsksr, Baker Staples, in regard to suit
which thi. company has brought Against
Marx McPheters Of Shirley and Albert Al
len Of Wellington, for alleged breach Of
eou.r.c, in the failure to deliver logs.
Mr.. Mills 10 genial and popular man,
Who il also widely kno~n - ground pulp
mixer and expert. and ~ such . JoUEsAL
,.porter called upon him for an interview
on the situation in the market.
We are feeling veil. Our sales for
October are about equal TO those for both
Aazus, and September. We are making
30 tons Of pulp day, where year ago we
we're making so tons, and We have no
trouble in selling it. The prices are low
bet are about the same az last year. The
osper market generally Is duh and that
knocks out The pulp men, ~ there il less
demand for their product. As far a.
know ours IL the only mill in the State that
il running full. The other exceptions, IL
there are any, can only be small and unim-
pertain, mills. We started in 1891 and now
make more ground pulp for sale than any
Other mill IN the world.
We lead the country in another respect,
and that is in our shipments to Europe,
where ve are sending 800 tons month"
ITO Europe" echoed the reporter, ''but
I thought that pulp making started in Ger
many and that you couldn't compete with
those mills
Mr.. Mills laughed q jolly laugh. II
don, know what other mills can do but
do know that we can compete with the Ger
man, and beat EN-. We couldn't. though,
until the Mckinley bill was PASSED and had
been running. That put duty Of s2 30
on every ton of foreign ground pulp and
that shut ont the German pulp, Lots Of
their mills which are mostly small ones,
bad 10 shut down and that has made pulp
ship to Europe.
"Ha. the added duty put up the price Of
pulp in thi. country
Not cent. les actually sent it down.
Ground pulp is now selling at sl7 and sls
a ton, which Is 81 less than it was a year
ago and then it was less than what it was at
before the Mckinley hill came to our aid D"
But even with that how can you com
pete with the German cheap laborf'
because we've got better machines and
better men and get more out Of them, even
If We DO have to pay more. We grind four
tons in q hours on a machine where they
could only grind one, for instance.
Our machinery costs much more at the
start but it will run cheaper and more and
better work SO will our men. We pay
lsborers al 30 day when in Germany they
would get 50 cent. day, but it pays US as
we'll rs the men Understand, our machin-
cry IL better all through and in all depart
ments Here's another example Of it Our
vet machines take up six tons day where
their machines won't take up half as much.
How does American pulp compare with
that of European manufacture
We lead the world and American pulp
nov ranks ahead of even the best Nor
way.
And this is largely due to the present
tariff, you say"
Yes yes indeed. for the reasons have
told and then because 1t has cheapened
everything to US We don't have to pay so
much for our machinery and supplies as We
used To and We are only Just beginning
to feel its good effects. For
instance, Mr. Mills took out a
pencil and some paper and figured rapidly
Then he resumed Before that bill
passed. our feits for the wet machines cost
g. 90 apiece. and now, with the tariff on
WOOL in effect, We pay only $40 30 for bet
ter ones. There are lots of other things
that tell the same story, but we haven't
time to take them up. DO think. though.
orally throughout the country are well
satisfied with the present tariff and want no
change
is your mill the only one that ships
abroad
No. The one at Veazie has done some
exporting. and a mill at Berlin Falls,
We DO By far the most, though. We ship
BY rail to Portland and from there by YES
sci, We've got one now loading there for
Liverpool. We sell our pulp in England,
Wales and Scotland, where Germany has
had a monopoly of the market since the
Germans first began TO make pulp"
BY the way, what have you got to say
in regard 10 the question as TO whether the
pulp mills are an injury to the forestry in
teresss of the State"
In comparison with sawmilts. suppose
you mean" The reporter nodded snd Mr..
Mills IN his excitement started wslking up
AMI down the room. Immense injustice
ha. been done the pulp mills in that re-
spect, he SAID We don't take thu small
stuff as is charged. We have found that
to make good pulp We must have rs good.
if not better. logs than are used to make
lumber Here's some proof for you We
had . ,000 900 feet of logs last year. A
wellknown Kennebee lumbermsn, now a
director in the Log Driving Company, by
the way, and the general manager of one
OF the bet mills on the river, came to me
then and wanted to buy | 900, 600 feet, ran
dom, of our logs at SIS thou.and, to use
in msking clspbosrds. That doesn't sound
s II We had small stuff. does il! And We
are only one mill on the river. All are
alike on this point
Just then Mr. Mills was called away or
business and the reporter regretfully tool
his leave.