Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1900-03-15
A NEWSPAPER FAMINE
SCARCITY OF PRINT PAPER
MAY BRING 1T ON.
Great Shortage of the Material from
Which 1t Ia Made-Canadian Supply
OF Wood Pulp Shut on Entirely for
the Present.


for print paper and the ether ordinary
grades is unprecedented.
The conditions led to a secret meet
Ing of the leading paper manufacturers
of the United States yesterday at the
Great Northern hotel, to consider what
could be done to avert the famine
threatened by the shortage in wood
pulp, which, if it Is not relieved, will
cause the vast paper mills of the colln-
try TO shut down and cripple seriously
every industry which depends upon the
product of the mills. Nearly all CT
the leading paper manufacturers OF tn
country were present, and the principal
topic OF interest was new fiber for
the manufacture of paper to take the
place of the wood fibre now in
such universal use. What the new
fiber is, the paper manufacturers would
not say. They averred that at present
the process by which 1t is manufactur-
cred is in a crude stage, but they dis
cussed it as the only visible solution
Of present difficulties.
Great Lack OF Material.
Not for twenty years has such q
serious condition confronted the manu-.
facturers of paper. and there is great
danger that we may be forced to close
our mills for lack of material" said A
ID. Schaeffer of the Hartford City Pa
per company. who presided over the
meeting. Various causes are respon-
sible for this condition. The principal
one is that wood pulp, from which the
lower grades of paper is manufactured
IS SO hard to get that there is a con-
slant scramble for material. Recent
inquiry OF the pulp mills at Sault Ste
Marie, the largest pulp mills in the
world develops the fact that there is
not pound for sale there. and other
mills are as hard pressed. The rapid
cutting of the forests of the Eastern
and middle Western states, and the
stopping OF the supply from Canada
is largely responsible for the threaten.
ed famlnes Added to the scarcity or
timber is the recent mild weather.
which has made it impossible to bring
the pulp wood which has been cut to
market A large part of the seasons
cut of the forests of Wisconsin and
Michigan, upon which the middle
Western states depend for pulp wood.
is now lying on the bare ground and
cannot be moved until snow comes
Another great danger comes in the
possibility of heavy fall of snow fol-
lowing this long dry season. A fall Of
eighteen inches Of snow would cover
up the pulp wood already cut so that
it would be next to impossible to dig
1t out and float it down the river to the
mills.
Labor Also Scarce.
"A great scarcity of labor in the pin
cries has also made the movement of
pulp wood to the mills slow. Com
panios cutting pulp wood have spent
thousands Of dollars importing men
into the pineries to cut pulp wood
only to lose them when they got there.
Boys of eighteen and nineteen are be-
ing largely employed in the work
Canada has been the source OF sup
ply for many of the Eastern mills,
out that source OF supply has been cut
off as the cutting of timber on crown
lands has been prohibited and the
province of Quebec makes the importer
pay $3.50 per cord duty, which makes
the material too expensive. The only
solution we can see is to adopt new
fiber as a substitute for wood fiber.
That is the subject of discussion. We
have one in view but ! do not care to
talk Of that now.
Another difficulty which confronts
Eastern manufacturers is a lack OF
water upon which they depend for
power. That, too, is the result OF the
of the middle West are not embarrass-
Ell in this respect to the same extent
as the Eastern mills.
I'VE have not come together to form
any combination or to raise prices.
The demand naturally governs prices.
The sole object is to avert a famine If
possible, for famine would hurt the
producer as much as the consumer"
J. c. Brockelbank. vice president and
Western manager of the Manufacture
ers' Paper company Of New York, with
Offices in the Rookery building, con-
firmed the statements made by William
Schaeffer concerning the trade.
Condition Is Serious.
If present conditions in the plneries
continue, there will be a serious short
age of pulp wood in the West until
next fall" he said. 1T has been SIM
ply impossible to get the spruce, from
which wood pulp is made. to market.
It grows in the swamps of the pineries,
and the winter has been SO open that
1t has been impossible to haul it to the
rivers, down which it is floated to the
mills. as wagons would sink to the
hubs in mud and water. Only contin-
ued cold weather can relieve the condi-
ton"
The stock OF paper now on hand is
extremely short. The export trade,
which was large. has been abandoned
entirely. and the jobbers have very
little free paper on hand. The mills
have no free paper and will see that
they are in condition to meet contracts
already made before they sell to any
one else. There is serious danger that
the mills may have to shut down en-
tirely for lack of pulp wood The great
est danger to the trade is likely to be
during March and April, and May. but
the famine will continue until next
fall
Divorce Luxury.
In the state of New Jersey divor ,e is
a luxury. The New Jersey Legal Aid
society says so. 1t has just given out
this oninion in answer to numer0u, ap-