The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-06-12
PULP AND PAPER.
Large Increase in Number Of
Logs Used.
Paper MIL Crew. WIN Ne Doubled Next
Year.
(Kennebec Journal.)

(Kennebec Journal.)
The pulp and paper mills OF Maine never
have been so heavily supplied with logs
rs they will be at this season. provided
all the drives get through, of which there
now seems to be no doubt. Not only was
the cut OF logs especially intended for pulp
very large, last winter, but an immense
quantity at first intended for sawmill
consumption has been purchased by one
of the pulp companies, 50 that the total
Of logs for pulp mill purposes, this year,
will be nearly IL not quite one-half Of the
total cut on the river.
1t is a difficult matter to estimate
closly. but lumbermen say that the stock,
this year, exclusive OF the saw logs
bought by pulp companies, Is twenty five
per cent larger than usual. The Great
Northern Paper Company, which Is erect
ing at Millinocket the largest paper mill
in the world, has cut 5000, 900 feet Of logs
on its own account, and purchased 81, 900, :
90 feet more, making total stock OF
10, COG, 900 feet. This includes large
quantity Of saw logs, bought, 1t is sup
pose I, on speculation, which would have
been sold had the spruce market held up
to he.high prices that prevailed in the
early spring. The bottom having dropped
out of the market, 1t is likely now that
the company will hold on to it's logs. In
addition to the Great Northern Com
pany's stock il is estimated that other
mills on the Penobscot will use 81, 00O, 100
feet of logs, making a total In the han dis
of the pulp and paper men OF about 20, :
GOO. 900 feet, or nearly one-hah of the total
cut of all kinds on the river. The same
conditions, practically, prevail on other
Maine rivers. On the kennebec, 1t Is es-
timated that z, 900, 600 feet of logs Will go
into pulp, and that Is rather more than
one-half of the total cut OF logs on that
river. On the Androscoggin, the pulp
industry is making rapid strides, and Is
now using up the larger part by far OF
all the logs cut ON that river. Some OF
the Aroostook logs will go into pulp In
New Brunswick, but no considerable
quantity. On the waters in Hancock
and Washington counties, there are as
yet no pulp mills, but considerable guam
titles OF pulp wood will be shipped by
rail from 1.-THE vicinity OF Machias to the
mills at Gardiner and Madison.
There are, at present, twenty eight
paper mills and thirty pulp mills, includ-
ing those now under construction, In
Maine. This places the state second In
paper, with a daily output Of ,S35 tons,
450 tons Of the paper being common news
paper. Next year ii Is expected the daily
output of pulp and paper will be about,
2, 500 tons, and Maine will be Mt the head
of the list. New York now is first,
Maine second, Wisconsin third, Massachu-
sets fourth, Pennsylvania fifth and Ohio
sixth, with New Hampshire, Vermont,
Illinois and Connecticut following in the
order named.
The pulp and paper mills in Maine rep
resent an investment of about ~, 0OO ,UOO,
and at present are employing about q, 0OC
hands, which number will be increased
daily, or about 5000, 600 annually, is
paid out in wages, and the consumption
of lumber, this year, will be about 2i5,
GOO, 600 feet, worth about s. 80. When the
plants now under construction shall have
begun operations the consumption of lum-
Der will be 350,0O0,000 feet, costing
about O., 600 annually. The value of
the output of pulp and paper is now
about $l7 900, 001 annually, and will be
increased, next year, to so, 900, 600. Three
of the smaller mills use poplar wood, all
the others spruce. The seven mills pro-
ducing newspaper are now turning out
955, 600 pounds daily, and the Great North
which will start next winter or before
then, will add at the beginning $50, 600
pounds IA day and its capacity eventually
will be increased to 425, 900 pounds a day.
Other mills now in course of construc-
ton or projected within year or two
will add still more to the output OF news
paper in the State.
The International Paper Company, at
its Rumford Falls plant, is making adj
ditions that will about double the capac-
ity for both pulp and paper, and is also
erecting for the Continental Paper Bag
Company mill that will cost 500, 600 Tor
more. The Hollingsworth e. Whitney
Company is completing new sulphite
pulp mill at It's plant in Winslow, and
the Great Northern Paper Company is
expanding 500, coo in charging the plant
at Madison, which it purchased from the
Manufacturing Investment Company.
This company also is erecting at Mill
nocket, seventy five miles north OF Ban
gor, an immense pulp and paper mill.
900 feet long by $50 feet wide, to cost
about a, coz, COO and to be ready for oper-
alton in January, 1901 The mill will en-
ploy 800 hands and turn out at first $50
tons OF newspaper daily, which capacity
will be increased before long to 425 tons
daily. j. Fred Webster OF Bangor and
Eben G. Webster of Orono are building a
pulp and paper mill at Old Town, to
cost s., GOO, 900.
Manufacturers Of paper and pulp say
that business is better than ever before
and that the prospects are bright for a
continuance of this condition. Prices
are high, especially on white newspaper,
and there seems to be a feeling that there
must be reduction soon, so rapid is the
increase in capacity Of the mills. AT
present the demand for logs for the pulp
mills has sent the price SO high that
there is no profit, or very little, in saw
ing, and the lumber trade suffers accord
ingly. The pulp men can afford to pay
more for logs than the sslwmill men, and
their demand fixes the price, which the
Eaw mill men must pay or 60 without
logs.