Daily Kennebec journal., 1899-09-12
STATE HOUSE.
Maine Now Leads in the Pulp
Producing States.
She Has Gained the Lead Once Held by
New York.
More Facts Regarding the Pulp Trade and
Other Capitol Matters.

/ Is being conducted by Commissioner Ma: :
thews of the bureau of labor and indus
trial statistics, promises to be one of the
most interesting things and of more gen
eral interest than anything that has been
attempted in the State for a long time. 1t
is receiving 50 much attention that it al
ready shows how greatly interested the
pulp and paper trade as well as the lum :
ber trade are in the work.
State Librarian Carver says he is re
ceiving calls from people in this State and
| outside it. asking for something that con-
tainS reference to the matter and he has
to refer them to the forthcoming report
and also to the report of the department
of 1895 that had an article on the subject.
The investigation of that year. however,
was not so full as the present one will be
when it is completed. This notice that is
being received of the work coming
through the State library is but one Of
the manners in which the interest is be-
ing manifested.
Commissioner Matthews is also receiv-
ing quite a number of inquiries. He Is
| among other things receiving inquiries
from the trade journals who are anxious
to see what the Maine experts will say of
the business and also of the possible ex
haustion of the supply.
The special agent of the department
who is under Mr.. Matthews supervision
conducting the investigation. Mr.. Francis
Wiggin of Bangor, was at the State
House. Monday forenoon, talking over
the matter. He left in the afternoon for
a trip through Somerset county TO visit
the immense plants at Solon. Madison
and Skowhegan. He will then go direct
To Mllinocket where the Great Northern
Paper Co is erecting its mills which will
cost somewhere in the vicinity of three
and one half millions of dollars.
when | have visited these four
plants" said Mr.. Wiggin to the Journal.
Il will have completed my visit to all
the different mills of Maine. including ev
eryone where there is pulp and paper
manufactured"
He was over in the eastern part of the
State. last week. visiting the mills at
Riley ana in that section.
What are the results Of your investi.
gations?" asked the Journal. Il suppose
You find that the business has increased
much in the past four years since the
date of the last investigation"
Yes, I find it is getting to be larger
than we would naturally suppose" was
the response. 1T is double what it was
in 1895"
I'VE believe" said Commissioner Mat
thews. that when the returns are all in,
We will suddenly find ourselves on the
top notch of pulp manufacturing states
of the Union. The state of New York
last accounts was in the lead with Maine
a close second. Michigan is the fourth in
| the list. New York is doing nothing IN
| the way of new mills just now, and with
| the immense Millnocket plant it will, |
| believe, place us in the lead of the pulp
| manufacturing states of the Union
Has Maine the best facilities of the
manufacturer
NO. New York has an area in the Ad-
irondack region that is larger than the
| part of the State of Maine that is spruce
producing. Wisconsin and Michigan have
a large supply of spruce. In the case of
Michigan though, | believe, it is becoming
exhausted as the whole of their lumber
regions are being.
| Then will not Michigan give some val
liable points to Maine on the exhaustion
question:" asked a man present.
II shall write to Commissioner Cox on
that subject" said the commissioner.
| what he will have to say will of course
be Of great value to US. They have
passed through their great pulp and pa
per well as the lumber days and they can
advise us how to profit by their mis-
| takes"
Mr.. Wiggin says he finds there are three
mills in the State where they are using
poplar wood in place of spruce for the
| "a nf ha ", nra
of these concerns. the S. ID. Warren co.
Iof Westbrook. furnishes the book paper
on which Harper's and the Century Mag
| azines are published. 1t is found that
the poplar pulp makes paper of better
quality. This will be used in the report.
| The question of the supply and the
length of time it will last is Of course the
vital one 1t is pointed out that while all
| the other sorts of wood when stripped
from the land fail to grow, but the
| growth turns to some other sort, spruce
reproduces. 1t has been suggested that
by learning the number of acres of the
spruce land and the yield it can be
learned how long the present supply will
last. but that is said to be unpracticable
An authority on the subject says that
with the mills Of the State using 600 900 900
let OF spruce Il year, the supply cdillol
| become exhausted in case each acre of
spruce producing land yields GO feet of
spruce each year.
| All those men of the State who are in
any manner posted on the subject, be
they for the pulp mills or against them
will be interviewed and a conservative es-
innate made of the exhaustion question.
one of the arguments that is pointed
out by the friends and believers in the
pulp mills. is the fact that the mills with
the millions that are being invested in
the plants will not wish to see the supply
cut off in few years any more than the
other people, as it will render the millions
| of property valueess.
j. The work is becoming more and more
. | interesting to those concerned they
| progress and it is safe to assume thai
they will compile something on it that
will be worth ones while TO read and
study.
They received some new books at the
State library. Monday, of the historical