The Portland daily press., 1897-12-24
IN. Y. Post. }

Paper makers are beginning to dlsured-
it the doubts about the durability of their
modern product. 81 ind" said one Of
them in Reade street yesterday, that
from the beginning of paper making neo-
pie have questioned its lasting qualities
Yet the old italian and German papers
have endured to this day; and, although
we have used new processes and materials
in the last fifteen or twenty years, we
know Of nothing which really makes
the durability of present papers probla-
NAUTICAL" Recently, in England, a COM
mission WAS appointed to finally report
upon the question, after using all means
of investigation and applying all possible
tests.
OF course, the interest in this question
has been owing to the other question in
volved Was printing soon to be de-
priyed of its character as the art pre-
servativel" 1t was feared that wood
could not, as well as rags, Withstand the
Influence Of air and time, especially after
chemicals had been used in turning it
into paper. But in this country wood has
years, and is more and more esteemed.
In Germany it has served during longer
period-sinoe Keller discovered that
wasps made their nests of a stuff woven
from wood f1bres, and Voelter invented
machine that would reduce wood to an
elementary state as well as wasp could
% IT,
Better paper is made today in America
tAan ever before anywhere, and for books
II Is unnecessary to use the ground wood.
Wo9d papers are of two kinds: ground
AID chemically prepared. Ground wood
paper is brittle, the grinding being fatal
to the fibre, and, as it discolors quickly,
is used only for newspapers and books
rot meant to last. OF the chemically
prepared, there are two varieties-the SUI
phite and the soda. These chemicals sep
arate the wood into fibre, and the soda.
though manufacturers are not SO sure re-
garding sulphite, produces lasting arti-
Gle. Nearly all New York newspapers
use ground-wood paper; that Of the Even
ing Post, however, Is only 10 per cent,
ground-wood, the remainder sulphite
fibre. Lately an atwood serviceable
book. magazine and lithographiD paper
has been produced, with mixture of
soda and sulphite. 1t isn't as tough as
though made partly of rags. for wood
fibres at best are straight, and lie almost
parallel, instead of INTERVIEWING, as lin
en- or cotton fibres will do.
Rags are chiefly used now for writing
and bond papers. Old linen rags and
new cotton clippings sized with animal
glue combine In the finest papers known,
and they are made not by hand, but by
machine. New England turns out most of
the fine papers; Niagara Falls, Glens
Falls, valley in Wisconsin, points near
the Maine rivers-places to which spruce
timber can be easily transported, and
from which the finished product can be
shipped in many direcGiops-are famous
for wood papers. The largest paper ma
chine in the world is said to be in Schuyr
lerville, this State, and the smallest in
Newark, n. j.; the one, If erected in a
straight line, as is the custom, measur.
ing 275 feet in length. and the other, used
for getting out samples, being only thir-
teen feet-even toy paper-1nachine be-
ing considerable monster as machines
CO. Notwithstanding the increase of fine
papers, imports of rags are comparatively
small Russian linen rags have almost
stopped coming; Catania and Trieste,
Salonicf and Constantinople have ceased
to furnish any rags, though twenty years
ago they sent here thousands Of tons. 1t
must have been observed by everybody
that the business of rag collecting has
fallen of at home, and thereby we have
all but lost two rather picturesque feat
ures of our country and cfty roads-the
tin peddler's cart, and the Irish hand
cart ragman. with his string of bells.
In spite Of the size and aIacrity Of the
present prediction, one OF the problems
of papermakers is how to increase the
output. Not long ago the staff of paper
machinery firm we're called to the office
of the senior partner, who reminded them
that years ago he had urged them to try
to get out a machine that would make 300
feet of paper a minutei that later he had
appealed to them for machine with a
capacity of 500 feet a minute; thatInow a
speed Of 512 feet had been achieved. and
maintained day after day and week after
week; and he ended by saying thas the
new century must find paper machines