The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-11-19
CONCERNING PAPER.
| International Company Replies to
Charges of Publishers.

New York, Nov. 19.-AIbert H Walk
| er, an attorney. presumably in the en-
| p1oy of the International Paper COM
pany, has addressed an open letter tC
Herman Ridder, president of the Amer
lean Newspaper Publishers association
In reply to certain statements made by
the latter concerning the company in
his speech before the trust conference
at Chicago recent.
First he writes to Mr.. Ridder,
you stated that the International Pa
per company has a capital of more
than $50, DOC, 900. The truth is its entire
capital is less than $4,000, 900, and more
than ST., 900 of that is common stock
which has not received a dollar of the
earnings of-the company in eight years.
: Second you stated that the. COM
pany cannot do more business because
it has not the money with which to do
it. But the truth is that the company
has more than $1,000, 900 cash on hand,
and nearly 81, 900 900 accounts and notes
receivable while it's accounts and notes
payable are less than $4,000, 900, leaving
about 100000 of cash assets above
cash liabilities, and the company is In
creasing its business all the while.
Denies Extortion.
Third, you said that the International
Paper company has subjected the pub
fishing business to a series of deliber-
ately planned schemes of extortion, the
first step Of which was accomplished in
the Dingley bill, so that publishers
could not buy paper elsewhere. But the
truth is that the tariff imposed upon
printing paper by the Dingley bill is
substantially the same as that which
was imposed by the Wilson bill of 1894.
Those two tariff rates are Identical
when applied to newspapers valued at
two cents per pound and though the
rate imposed by the Dingley bill is
slightly greater than that imposed by
the Wilson bill upon paper valued at
less or more than two cents per pound,
the difference between the two bills on
Dc forl,H
Moreover, the spruce wood from
which newspaper is made is on the free
list of the Dingley bill, as 1t was on
the free list of the Wilson bill, and also
upon the free list of the Mckinley bill
of 1890. And there Is but little white
newspaper made in foreign countries
which could be spared for the United
States and would come here, even If
white newspaper were on the free list.
No Combination of Paper Makers.
Fourth, you said that the next step
in your alleged series of deliberate
ly planned schemes of extortion con-
sisted in combinations among manu-
facturers of white newspaper, made
in defiance of the federal courts. But
the truth is that there are about fifty
different corporations engaged in
making white newspaper in the Unit
ed States, and there is no com b1nation
whatever between any two of them
The International Paper company is
simply the largest of those fifty cor
porations, but at least one of it's COM
petitors is manufacturing about four
hundred tons of white newspaper
every day, including all the paper up
on which are printed the New York
Herald and the New York World.
Its Investment in Machinery.
Fifth, you complained that the In
ternational Paper company has not
been investing its available funds in
new paper machines, as it ought to
have done. But the truth is that the
International Paper company has
lately installed in one room of it's
numerous mills, two gigantic paper
machines costing between one hun
dred and two hundred thousand dol
lars and each of which is now run
ming night and day and producing
every day more than forty tons of
continuous strips of white news
paper more than twelve feet wide, and
of the high quality necessary to run
without breaking on the high speed
modern presses.
1.-The company has been steadily In
creasing its production. The divf-
dends are only per cent on the pre-
ferred stock and but per cent on
annual business.