The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-07-17
MORE MONEY FOR THE SOUTH
1t Has Been Demonstrated That All
Kinds OF Paper, Alcohol. Nitrogen.
and Material for Gun Cotton and
SmokeIess Powder Can be Manufac-
tured Out OF Cotton Stalks.

The manufacture Of paper from the
fiber Of the cotton stalk is one OF the
latest and most interesting inventions
Of the new century. For many years
expert inventors have been busilly en-
Gagged EXPERIMENTING with the cotton
stalk. and now it appears from recent
Developments that their labors and ex-
p~erditures Of money are to be reward
ed with signal and striking success.
Not only have these investigations
passed the experimental stage, but they
are rapidly being shaped to be placed
into practical operation. II has been
unQuestionably demonstrated that all
grades Of paper, from the best
form Of linen grade I the lowest, can
be manufactured from cotton stalks.
In addition TO this, q variety Of by
products, such as alcohol. nitrogen,
material for gun cotton and smokelesS
powder can also be secured in paying
quantities. The time is not now far
distant when paper plants equipped
| with all madern machinery and de-
| vices for making paper and the utili-
zation to the other by-products re-
ferred 10 will be built and placed
in operation throughout the cotton
growing states of the south. The es-
establishment of these mills for the
manufacture of paper from cotton
stalks will at one develop a new
industry of quite enormous proper
! +;@~r o-I irc+i+,tn Tho ALIENATION of
a waste product which at the present
time has comparatively little or no
value. 1t will prove the entering
wedge Of checking the present increaS-
ing cost Of paper which is becoming
such a burden upon the newspaper il
dustry of the country.
1t is estimated that on an area of
land producing a bale of cotton at
least one ton of stalks can be gather
ed. Upon this basis of calculation
this new industry can annually depend
upon from 100000 to T.
OOO, 900 IONS of raw material. This
will not only furnish necessary sup
plies to meet all home demands: but
also permit of the expert OF pulp or
of the export of pulp or finished pro-
ducts to foreign countries. At the
present time Their is approximately
, S2S7. 600. 600 invested in paper mills ii
the United States. with but few plants
located in the south. The bulk Of the
material going into the manufacture
of paper at h present time is spruce
pine, and which is annually becoming
more expensive in the depletion of the
foresas and the high price which such
timber commands in the markets fol
other uses. The utilization Of a waste
product such as the cotton stalk, man
ufactured into commercial paper, viii
be a boon Of inestimable value to the
whole country.
The practical effect of this new in
vention will be to increase the present
value of the sOnth'S cotton crop nearly
500, 600, 900 annually. The growers vii
be amply paid for the expense OF re-
moving the stalks from their fields anC
delivery to the paper plants, and il
addition thereto receive a profit or
this product of their labor. In the
southwestern section of the cotton bel,
the new industry will especially be OF
value and a blessing. With the re-
mOval of the cotton stalks from tho
fields in the early fall the death knel
of the boil weevil will be sounded and
it's present devastating influences re-
duced to a minimum. So that from
every standpoint the speedy develop
ment and extension OF this new IN
dustry will be welcomed in all sec
tons of the cotton belt. Paper man
ufactured from the cotton stalk IS OF
the strongest texture and softest TN
ish. 1t is reported that severa.
plants Will be erected during the next
few months in certain sections Of the
south which will be in full operation
by January |, Observation-Disclosures
Record.