The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-10-18
QUEER USES FOR NEWSPAPERS.
Old Copies of Daily Publications | Utilized in Many Curious Ways.

Philadelphia Public Ledger.
 New uses for old paper" remarked the Junkman. ''are being foune almost daily by the different trades and by peo- pie who have 8 little ingenious turn of mind. You don't see much waste paper thrown away nowadays. and when you consider the great amount that is daily accommodating, it seems remarkable. The penny papers are reeling of tons of pa- per every hour of the twenty-fouf. and everybody buys these, two or three a day, and throws them away after using them for half an hour or so. All this great quantity of paper must be de- stroyed or used. There are eager scav- engers of the city after every stray newspaper and bundle of wrapping pa per. If 1t were nos so the Street Clean ing Department would have to organise special corps of men just to collect newspapers and burn them.
 Most of the newspapers are gathered up and converted into marketable paper again, and sone go in with the rags to make various kinds of commercial mate rial; but outside of these two lines of industry the paper is made into different useful articles of a wonderful nature The newspapers are made of the spruce pulp. and by a steaming process they | can can be reconverted into a similar pulp again. This pulp is not so good as in the first instance and no one has yet found a way to make it possible to use 1t over again for newspaper work. How ever. 1t is chewed and steamed up. and it is then used for many other purposes. Wood pulp novelties, lead pencil holders paper weights and ash receivers are man. ufactured from thjs waste paper. There is an endless variety of things made from wood pulp, but not all of these can be obtained from printed waste paper. The wood pulp straws telegraph poles and kitchen hollow utensils cannot be made in this way; but paper floors and ceilings which are stained can be manufactured of the waste paper.
 "A paper floor Is a splendid thing for keeping out the cold, and also for mak- ing a clean. germ proof surface. The pa- per is ground and steamed, and then mix ed with some hardening paste, such as cement in a pulveriZed condition or plas- ter of paris. It is aplied to an ordinary | wooden floor when in the plastic condi- tion. When rolled and pressed Into po- sition until every crack is filled and the surface made perfectly smooth the re- suit is highly satisfactory. The paper and cement dry and harden, producing a finish that will stand we'll the action of water, heat and cold Such a surface will take we'll stain or paint.
 T deliver a good many tons of waste paper every week to a manufacturer of novelties. and I'm surprised at what he can do with 1t. He simply bolls the old newspapers with little steaming ap- paratus he has installed in his base ment store, and then he runs the pulp in moulds which he makes himself. These moulds are pressed by small handpress, worked by a screw and lever, and when dried the paper weight. ash receiver cigar holder, penholder or some other novelty Is hard and firm to the toucn. A little pairing off with a knife completes the article before the paint. enamel or gold leaf is applied. With brush and gold paint wonders can be made in a short time of the articles. Within a few hours after the old newspapers are de- livered to this man he turns them out for sale again in the shape of gold or silver novelties. He aspires to artistic work at times that is worth studying. He secures the moulds of cupids and lawns, which the plaster of paris man makes good statuettes out of his old newspapers. They are solid and have the advantage of weight over the plaster of paris products. You can actually play ball with some of these articles without breaking them. They are really inde- structible ornaments for the home and office.
 
 a store with kitchen and dining room utensils from old newspapers. He takes several wagon loads of old paper from me every week. These he boils up in his kitchen. which Is located back of his store. and after reducing them to a thick pulp, he adds some kind of paste of his own invention to give the mass sticky consistency. Then he proceeds to cast the pulp into moulds, which he bakes in a large oven. He has obtained iron moulds for a great variety of plates, l saucere, pans, cups and shallow dishes. When the paper pulp is pressed into l shape and taken from the mould the man applies a glazing enamel of his own in- vention which gives a rich finish or lus- | ter to the plates. Such plates make ex- cellent articles for kitchen use. and they are sold extensively by the man in his l store. He does not pretend to supply the trade. but merely makes them fol | his own store. His customers buy then right along and recommend them to oth CTS. so that he can usually dispose of al he can make. He is all the time invent