New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1896-12-30

is THE 2 PER AGE?
SINCE PULP CAME INTO USE There
HAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES.
Psper Is Taking the Placo OF WOOD, Stone
and Iron-It Il Now nIads Absolutely
Fireproof Shirt Bosonns That Cont
Have to BE Washed.
Without steam and railways modern
society would undoubtedly exist. But
what state Of intellectual darkness
would be that Of civilized mankind
without paper and the secret Of its man
ufacturel For many years the rag met
all demands Of the paper industry. The
increasing diversity Of uses to which
paper and paper pulp have been put in
the last decade have made it necessary
for manufacturers to cast about for more
effective elementary substances. Boots,
money, boats, gas pipes, impermeable
casks, toys, bottles, pipes, floors, doors,
ceilings, architectural ornaments, roof
ing, chimneys and even complete fire.
proof houses are now made of paper.
Many claim that it will eventually sup
plant wood, for it will neither crack
nor warp. 1t can be triturated, put I'M
| der great pressure and subjected to GER
tain chemical treatment and will then
take high polish and will resist the eff
fects Of fire better than any other ma
terial known. Paper is gradually sup
planting metal in certain lines. Loco
motive wheels have been made of it for
several years, and even rails for rail-
roads. The next progressive step will be
to use it for the manufacture of ord
nance, which is not by any means a re-
| mote possibility. Paper has largely tax
en- the place of linen. We have paper
collars and cuffs and blankets. An in
genious inventor has devised paper
shirt bosoms, which can be torn off like
| the pages from calendar, thus enabling
the wearer to have clean shirt front
as often as he desires. It is only mat
ter Of time before cloths, dressing gowns
| and entire suits Of clothes will he made
from paper. The soldiers of the Japanese
army wore paper trousers and jerseys
during their famous winter campaign.
Wood pulp is the most effective sub
stitute for rags in the manufacture of
paper. Nearly every species Of wood can
be used. Some kinds yield more than
others. More pulp can be got from will
low and chestnut than from walnut.
Different woods give various qualities
and effects. Aspen will yield a very
white paper, but defective in solidity,
and is therefore mixed with fir This
latter wood is most generally used. 1t
was first imported from the Black forest,
in Germany. The chief supply is now
obtained in Norway and Finland, in the
form of planks Or poles, never exceeding
3 feet or inches
For the last half century the world 8
production of paper has increased ten
fold. In 1850 it was 221. 200 metric
tons. The latest recent estimate was
2, 100000 metric tons. The European
manufacturers are suffering from a glut
in production. The price of paper has
fallen one. third, while wages have dou-
bled. The European plants are not SC
progressive as those in this country.
They depend too much upon manual la
Dor. In the United States the manufac-
turers have substituted machinery fol-
hand work, and as a result of the de.
crease in the number of their employees
are enabled to pay high wages.
Attention has recently been called tC
the utility of a little known species OF
paper called the boabab, or Ansonia.
| 1t is made from the wood of the boabat
| tree, which is native of west Africa,
and is known there as the monkey
bread tree It is found in Abyssinia,
Senegal and south of Coyo river. 1t is
of low growth and has very thick
! trunk. While it rarely attains height
Of 25 feet, the trunk is usually 20 to %
| feet in diameter. The branches are pen.
| dulous and bear an edible fruit. The in.
| ner bark of this tree is very fibrous. II
is used for making superior wrapper pa.
| pers, which have great te,:acity. When
the inner bark is stripped from the tree,
a fresh growth supplants that taken
away, and in couple of years the tree
is again in normal condition. The bark
is peeled off but once in four years.
The latest addition to the paper in
dustry is sanitary note paper which
is claimed to be germproof. It has long
been known that letters frequently
spread infectious diseases by means Of
the germs that contaminate the paper.
An English firm has produced a paper
which is impregnated with All antiseptie
substance which kills all germs that
may come in contact with the paper. II
this paper proves to be what the proprie.
tors claim, it is certainly meritorious
| invention and will become generally
used by hospitals and during the rage OF
future epidemics.
Chinese and Japanese papers have
long been noted for their quality. It has
recently been ascertained, however, that
even finer grades are produced in Korea.
One eminent authority states that t..the
Korean paper excels the very best that