The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-30
PRICE OF PAPER.
The Publishers Everywhere Are
Directing to the Raise.

Subscription Rates Will Have to Be
Raised to Meet the New Conditions
in the Publishing Field.
The Fourth Estate says while. the
cutlery of publishers against the high
prices Of paper is practically uni
~versal the defenders of the present
tariff deny that the repeal Of the
duty on pulp would mend matters.
But upon the whole the feeling
against the paper trust" is intensely
bitter and krows more and more 40
as the subejt is talked over The
statement that the paper mills are
run at a small profit, despite the rise
in prices, is generally laughed at.
The widespread dissatisfaction
among publishers cropped out re-
Gently at a meeting of the Western
Pennsylvania Associated Dalies at
the Hotel Lincoln, Pittsbtrg. o.
tensibly the meeting was called to
complete the organization of the as
ISOLATION, but all routine work was
forgotten when the paper question
came up
The one fact of vital interest
brought out was that the paper
trust" has raised the price of paper
from 50 a hundred to $3.50 and
$3.50 a hundred, and Is even re-
fusing any quotation on future de-
livery orders. It was charged that
the trust has contracted for the en-
tire product of 10000 tons of the
Canadian mills at a uniform price of
$3.50 a hundred, of which 1t pays
a duty of 80 cents a hundred, max
ing a handsome profit on the trans
action. The consumers represented
at the meeting said that If the duty
were removed they could import
their paper from Norway or Sweden
and ave money.
The New York Evening Post says
the increased cost of paper and the
general situation are worrying the
newspapers that are using wood-pulp
paper. AS already shown, the cost
has gone up tremendously and,
what is more, the supply is by no
means as abundant. White paper is
now costing $13 more per ton now
than a few months ago. and the end
is not yet.
The Post sees great danger to the
press unless the people come to the
.lrescue Of tbs papers and p~atronize
them at a higher subscription rate.
The whole country will suffer If an
unnatural rise In the cost of news
paper living should either restrict
freedom of utterance or force the
press into the hands Of a few capt.
talists willing for n reason or
another to accept a low profit, or
none at all,
The New York Commercial says
"this is a matter that comes vitality
home to the millions upon millions
of newspaper readers in the United
States-people who in recent years
have seen the price of every other
article that enters into the cost of
living steadily advancing while their
newspapers alone have been unchang-
ed in price or have actually declined;
for unless this steady rise in the
price of paper is speedily checked
through one agency or another, the
prices of newspapers must be ma
terially advanced sooner or later.
"It is an open question whether
the cost Of some trust" controlled
products-like mineral oil, for in
stance-would have been higher
had these industries been conducted
without any combinations; the chief
indictment against these Combines
is the sitting of competition,
killing off the, smaller producers;
but the exactions Of the paper
trust" threaten to put up prices on
a product conusmed by five-sixth of
the population"
The Patterson Call says chose
who have studied the subject deep
ly say that the importation Of all the
paper and material that Canada
could produce would not materially
affect. the price . The demand for
paper is 80 great that the price will
remain high, without doubt, in the
opinion of experts The real remedy
will be in the direction of inventing
some new method of making paper,
and If reports be true, some en-
c~ouraging prospects for that achieve
ment are in sight 1t ought to be
possible to find some material out
of which paper is made that can be
raised by cultivation, instead of hav-
ing to depend on spruce trees, over
which man has comparatively little
control.
The Louisville Courier-Journal