The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1896-02-11
GROWTH OF THE USE OF PAPER.
The output of the American Mills Is Nearly
Ten Thousand Tons a DAY.

1t is u curious and rather startling fact
that next to the articles entering into food
and clothing paper Is the most universally
used commodity in the world. 1t would
he an almost impossible task to find In
any civilized community n person or bust
ness concern that does not to n 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 con
sumption of paper. If this is as fair an
index as 1t seems upon reelection to be
reasonable, statistics prove the United
States to have distanccd all the other ma
tons of the world in the race of true de
vclopment. Perhaps no line of business
has had n moro remarkable growth in the
United States the past 10 years than the
paper making industry This is true in all
branches, but especially so in the line of
book and ncws print papers. The Ameri-
can people arc 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 dailics,
consisting Of from s to 10 pages, while 12
to 90 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 1, 800
tons. Just think of 1875 or so carloads of
newspapers mentally dcvoured each day in
this country The production of news
print is larger than any other grade. That
of book paper is probably as much as /, 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 as compiled by The Paper
Trade Journal. The gross daily capacity
of the paper mills of the United States in
operation during 1923 for all kinds and
grades of paper was estimated at about
10, 900 tons. OF this amount nearly $500
tons represented news print and book pa
per, 1880 tons wrapping paper $50 tons
strawboard, 450 tons writing paper and
almost 2, 400 tons of the various other
kinds and grades. The states which rank
first in the production 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, lne Brtttesb piptr using couutry
in the world. In foreign markets, how
ever, American paper is gaining firm
! footing.
The greatest consumption OF printing
paper is in the Sunday editions of the met
ropolitan dailics, which often require from
| 90 to 100 tons for single issue With the
rapidly increasing output prices have as
rapidly declined, until today a grade OF
news print paper worth 25 years ago IL
cents or II cents per pound is now sold
ut 2 4 cents to cents-a decline in price
unequaled in the history of any other in
| dustry.
This enormous decrease in the cost Of
paper is due especially to the introduction
of wood as paper stock. Today it is thu
principal material used in the manufac
ture of paper for all but the highest grade:
of book and writing. News print and moi
only ordinary but even very attractive
qualities of book paper are made entirel!
of wood Another means conducive t.
this phenomenal reduction of cost has beer
the improvement in methods of making
wood pulp. The perfection and create
efficiency attained in paper making ma
chinery, rendering much larger production
easily possible in a given time, have add
cd materially in this downward trend o
price -Philadelphia Times.