Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-08-18
LARGE PAPER
MILES HERE
Gil VanderC0Ok Writes for the
Sentinel OF Paper Manu-
featuring.
ABOUT $500, 900 is IN
VESTED In PAPER MILLS
Enormous Water Power Of Wis
consin River Employed in
the Industry.

In paper making Wisconsin ranks
third in the list of states, the produc-
tion of New York and Maine alone
being greater This production will
be materially increased during the
next year, as number of large mills
are nearing completion. In addition
to the enormous plant here, the new
mill at Rhinelander also will be in
operation this fall and plans have
been made to utilize the immense
power of the Chippewa river at Jim's
Falls. 1t also is claimed that new
mill will be built on the Wisconsin
river at MOSinee. The segregation of
this industry at all water power points
along the Wisconsin river, command
ing an enormous investment of capital
has occurred within the past eight
years, anG marks an important change
in industrial conditions.
Will the completion of the new
dam here every water power on the
Wisconsin river, inclusive of Port
Edwards on the south and Stevens
Point on the north. will be utilized by
the paper mills.
Six Large Mills in Operation Now.
The large mills are in operation now.
The Nekoosa Paper company, at
Nekoosa, has daily capacity of fifty
tons of print paper and thirty tons of
book paper. This is the largest mill
in this section. The John Edwards
Manufacturing company at Port
Edwards has capacity of fifty tons
of print; the Centralia Pulp and Water
Power company, a daily capacity Of
twenty five tons, and the Grand
Rapids Pulp and Paper company, at
Biron, four miles north Of here, daily
produces thirty tons of print. The
Plover Paper company, near Stevens
Point, has an equipment for both
print and book paper, while the mill
of the Wisconsin Pulp and Paper
company, at Stevens Point, has a
capacity of forty tons Of print paper
daily, The two last named mills are
owned principally by George A.
Whiting of Neenah. The new plant
of the Consolidated Water Power and
Paper company here, now nearing
completion, will have a capacity of
over fifty tons daily,
The enormous power required to
operate these mills may be appreciat-
ed when it is stated that at NekoOSa
there is 5000 horse power at Port
Edwards, 5000: at Centralia, 5000; at
Grand Rapids, 5000; at Bron, 5000;
at Plover, 1000, and at Stevens Point,
1900, aggregating 81 800 horse power
utilized by this industry at the diff
ferent points named. With the ex-
ception of the power created here by
the new dam the different mills use
all the power they can command.
Grand Rapids Will Have Surplus.
Here there will be a surplus of about
1900 horse power which will be cleo
trically transmitted to different in
dustries. In addition to the enormous
power used by the different mills,
steam equipments have been added to
run the paper making machines. each
machine requiring 800 horsepower.
The necessity for the use of this
power to such an extent becomes ap.
parent when it is stated that it re-
quires eighty horsepower and twenty
four hours of time to convert the wood
necessary into ton Of pulp.
1t is estimated that, at the points
named, approximately s4,500,0 900 are
invested IN the paper mill business
These mills have an approximate
daily capacity of 250 tons of print
paper, production representing g
trainload of twenty cars for every day
in the year. The enormous amount
of raw material used is evidenced by
the amount of pulp wood consumed
The Nekoosa mills use $4,000 cords Of
spruce and $4,000 cords of nemlocl
yearly. This is the only mill in this
section using hemlock. The Port
Edwards mill uses $4,000 cords O.
spruce, the Centralia 5000, the Crane
Rapids 5000. and the Whiting mills
$4,000. The new mill here will US,
$4,000 cords. This makes a total O
approximately $4,000 cords of wooC
manufactured into paper each year b,
the mills along the Wisconsin river il
this section of the state, and alon,
represents cost of over a half mill
ion dollars. To transport this wooC
to the different mills necessitateS th,
services of 5000 cars, or $50 trains O.
20 cars each. The chemicals required
the fuel consumed, and other incident
ais of paper making show the require
mentS Of the business as regards mos
favorable consideration from trans
portation lines.
Canada Will Be Base of Shipping.
Nearly all the pulp wood comes from
portborp WISCONSIN, Mippocoto on,