The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-05-13
PUBLISHERS Ask RELIEF.
WANT WOOD PULP AND PApEI,
PUT ON THE FREE LIST.

crease i'm Expenditures.
washington, May 6.-The house
committee inquiring in the question
or wood pulp and print paper heard
the statements of the publishers and
managers OF newspapers today, as to
the increase in the price Of print pa
per. They all told practically the
same story, that the price of paper
had been raised from year to year
and they practically were unanimous
In asking for the passage of the Ste
venson bill removing the duty on
wood pulp and print paper.
John Norris, the representative
OF the American Newspaper Publish
ers' association. informed the COM
mittee that all the association asks
OF congress is the repal Of the duty
on mechanically ground wood pulp
and on print paper valued at not over
centsta pound. The question of the
tariff on the finer grades of paper he
said, was not under consideration.
The reason congress should make
exceptions for newspapers at this
time" said Mr.. Norris, "is that the
price Of newspaper is like the price
OF postage stampsLit is fixed and
cannot be altered to suit the varying
conditions of the market"
Chairman Mann: "It does not make
any difference about the scent paper
or the 3-cent paper, for that matter.
The ordinary price being from 1 cent
to 5 cents per copy, and the usual
price being 1 cent to cents and I
presume the most common price be-
ing 1 cent, there is 20 way of increas-
ing, to slight degree, or a small per-
centage, the daily price of the paper;
you cannot increase 1-cent paper
without making it 2-cent paper as
far as the street price is concerned.
OF course you; can make a distinction
In the price 1t is sold to the newsboy
or the price it is sold by the, week.
but as far as the street price is con-
cerned there is no difference. There
Is no amount between 1 cent and 2
cents; 1t is one or two. Hence, you
cannot add the cost Of the paper. Is
that correct?"
"That is correct" replied Mr.. Nor
ris. We could not present q better
statement than you have made for
u.s."
Newspapers Different.
"Of dourse." continued Mr.. Mann,
that Is the side Of the case as 1t
seems to me; that may be. do not
say that 1t is. We may difrerentiate
it from almost any other matter. We
have had the boot and shoe proposi.
ton up. The shoemakers want free
hides. in the main. as I take It, be-
cause large number of them are
selling a particular quality OF shoe at
an advertised price which they could
not conveniently change. but here is
l
probably represents in the neighbor-
hood Of one-half the selling price of
the paper; in some cases probably
more than that, and some cases less,
and where you cannot make a slight
increase and where q considerable in
crease In cost is very difficult to meet
in the increase Of the selling price,
fth is something which you claim
differentiates the publication Of the
ordinary newspaper from any other
line OF production"
Precisely" replied Mr.. Norris.
portion of Mr.. Norris testimony
which excited particular interest
among the committee was that which
related to the price of pulp wood sent
from Canada. He declared that in
stead of there having been an in
crease In the price. as had been claim
ed, there, actually was decrease, the
price in 1905 having been $4.3S per
ton as against $437 in 1907. Mr..
Norris pointed out that these figures
were quite different from reports of
$40 and $12 per cord for wood at
Canadian points.
| Frederick M Messler Of the Ashe-
vile On. c. Gazette-News was one of
the publishers who testified today.
He stated that in 1905 his company
had a contract for $2.02 per 100
pounds at the mills or $2.45 deliver
ed at the freight depot in Asheville.
In 1906 the contract called for a price
Of $3.50 t. o. b. Asheville. In 1907
the Gazette-News made a contract to
run from January 1, 1908, to January
1, 1909, for $500 f. o. b. or $2.57 at
the mills.