New-York tribune., 1901-02-17
PAPER MAKING TRADE.
ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF BUSINESS
WHICH HAS SO MUCH To DO
WITH MODERN PROGRESS.

hODEhN RophT<ss
When the achievements of the nineteenth CEN
fury are recorded the progress which was made
in the manufacture of paper should not be over
looked This necessary article Of commerce.
which has become one OF the most important In
the progress of the world. given TO man by
China. where for many years after it's manu-
facture had been improved In other lands IL was
still produced by the original methods The
Chinese about 95 A. ID. discovered the art Of
taking the fibres Of plants and rolling them into
sheets after they had been reduced 10 pulp
They used bamboo. rice straw. bark of the null
berry tree and rags. They also made paper from
a mixture of vegetable fibres reduced 10 pulp.
and hemp and silk The paper made by them
was a tough. strong article and il resembled
the papyrus which was In use in the other coun-
tries. Strong brown paper was made by the
Romans from the bark OF trees. and about 600
4. d. the Coreans made a good paper from the
bark OF the mulberry tree. But China was the
maker OF superior paper. and from that country
the art of paper making transmitted to the
Hindoos. Arabs and Persians. and later TO the
Moors. who made paper In Spain from linen.
cotton and hemp. Records show that paper
mill started in Italy about I'D and about
| half century later similar manufacturing
plant was started in Germany. II was another
half century before France had its own paper
mill. and England became a paper making coun-
try a small scale about the time that America
was discovered.
In America there paper made until
1890. when a little mill started at Philadel-
phia. but since that time the paper industry has
| been a feature I'm the manufacturing of this
| country The demand for the article grew with
the development OF the country; il became an
Indispensable commodity. and the handmade
| paper Of the early ages gave way To more
| easily produced. finer and handsOmer article
| But the principle which paper is made to-day
| is the same as that employed by the Chinese
ages ago.
PAPER MAKING MACHINES
| When in 1199 Louis Roberts invented
| chine in which paper could be made in con-
| tinuous piece It seemed TO the people who were
/ consumers of the article that the highest point
| in the art OF paper making had been reached
| But improvements have been made on the ma
| chine ever since that time. and the FOurdrinier
| paper machine Of this day is like the original
| only In principle The demand for paper and
the necessity for good product at a low cost
stimulated inventors to activity. and the result
was the substitution Of wood pulp for the old
paper ingredients. Wood soon became the main
factor in the paper making business. and the
article made from the fibre Is IN many respects
equal 10 any other paper. and the quality Is
being improved continually and the method
Of manufacture changed with view 10 making
the product better and less expensive
Civilization has created uses for paper.
and what was a luxury in the country where it
was first made has become In its improved
form an absolute necessity I'm every part Of the
community The habit OF correspondence has
multiplied with increasing rapidity under the
stimulus Of lower postal charges. Each succeed
ing lay makes the demands for newspapers
greater, hooks and pamphlets make tremendous
drains on the paper manufacturer. and these
outlets alone for the paper product would keep
many large plants busy. For newspapers the
amount of paper used last year was millions OF
tons In the book business the amount con-
sumed may be estimated by the fact that two
novels published in the United States last year
consumed in their manufacture 1.J00.OD pounds
OF paper But aside from this branch OF the
business there are other heavy drains the
product Of the paper maker. for there Is hardly
a branch Of trade that does not require paper.
and some of them u would be impossible 10 con-
duct without II. The demand has brought about
a rapid growth in the paper industry. an idea
OF which may be gained from the following fig
ures; The yearly output OF paper and allied
products in France has grown from 5000
tons in 1851 20 100000 tons In 1890 Great
Britain produced about $4,000 tons In the same
year. and the United States put about 100000
tons OF paper OF its own manufacture ON the
market more than three times much
Great Britain. As TO the consumption OF paper
| statistics show that In 1873 Germany led IN
Europe with l3 . pounds per capita. Next came
Belgium. with 11.2 pounds; Great Britain. with
| IL pounds and France consumed az the rate OF
1 pounds per capita. Germany has increased
| since then 10 about 2o pounds per capita while
IL is estimated that the United States uses 30
pounds OF paper a year to every inhabitant
| The figures show that the United States not only
consumes more paper than any other country
| in the world. but is now reaching out for the
| markets Of the world. The exports OF paper
| were insignificant a few years ago. but now
| amount 20 about s6,OOOOoo a year. and manu-
| facturers believe that within a few years the
| export OF pulp will amount 10 S15.OO0,0O0 or
| 500 900 600 yearly The exports Of 1895 amount
| ed 10 So 135O0O In 1899 this figure had grown
| to S5.41IG0
GAIN IN EXPORT TRADE.
| prominent manufacturer said:
The exports Of 1900 were comparatively large. but
they may be mHdt larger for the possibilities In
this direction very great The export business
market