The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1894-08-25
The Paper We Make.
rrom the Phllaaelphia rImes.

1t is curious and rather startling fact
that, next to1he articles entering into food
and clothing, paper is the most universally
used commodity in the world. IL would
be an almost impossible task to find in any
civilized community person or business
concern that does not to greater or less
degree make use of paper in some of its
various FORMS Some philosopher has said
that the civilization and prosperity of
country may be measured by its eonsump-
ton of paper.
If this is as fair an index as seems upon
reflection to be reasonable, statistics prove
the United States to have distanced all the
other nations of the world in the race of
true development, Perhaps no line OF
business has had more remarkable growth
in the United States the last ten years than
the paper-making industry. This is true
in all branches, but especially so in the line
of book and news print paper. The Amer
lean people are nation of readers, and the
rapidly decreasing prices of books and
newspapers have greatly increased the con-
sumption of paper in these two lines.
One or two cents will purchase mass of
reading matter in the form of our great
daiies, consisting of from eight to sixteen
pages, while twelve to twenty cents will
purchase handsomely bound and attractive
books of standard and popular authors.
The daily output of news print paper in
the United States is about 200 to l 800
tons. Just think of 125 or $50 carloads
of newspaper mentally devoured each day
in this county! The production of news
print is larger than any other grade, That
of book paper is probably as much as l 900
tons and of writing 450 tons each daily.
1t will be interesting here to quote some
of the figures of the paper industry in the
United States. The gross daily capacity
of the paper mills of the United States in
operation during 1928 for all kinds
and grades of paper was estimated at about
10000 tons. OF this amount nearly $500 |
tons represented news print and book pa
per, 1900 tons wrapping paper, $50 tons
strawboard, $50 tons writing paper and
almost 2,400 tons of the various other
kinds and grades.
The States which rank first in the pro
duction of paper are New York, Maine,
Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania,
Ohio and Illinois. From these seven States
come nearly three-fourths of the entire
paper supply of the country. By far the
greater part of the vast output is consumed
in the United States, the greatest paper
using country in the world. In foreign
markets, however, American paper is gain
ing firm footing. The greatest consump-
ton of printing paper is in the Sunday
editions of the metropolitan dailies, which
often require from 60 to 100 tons for a
single issue.
With the rapidly increasing output prices
have as rapidly declined, until today Il grade
Of news print paper worth twenty five years
ago l3 cents or IA cents per pound is now
sold at ,. cents to 3 cents-a decline in
price unequalled in the history of any other
industry This enormous decrease in the
cost of paper is due especially to the intro
duction of wood as a paper stock. Today
it is the principal material used in the
manufacture of paper for all but the high
er grades of book and writing.
News print and not only ordinary but
even very attractive qualities of book paper
are made entirely of wood Another means
conducive to this phenomenal reduction of
cost has been the Improvement in methods
of making wood pulp. The perfection and
greater efficiency attained in paper-making
machinery, rendering much larger produc-
ton easily possible in a given time, have
added materially in this downward trend of
price.
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