The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1908-03-06
FORMED A COMBINE.
Paper Manufacturers OF Three
States Merge.
MIR. Riddcr Exposes Double Dealing
Of Republican Congressional Com
mittee.
By WILLIS j. ABBOT.

NewSpaper owners in the United
| States were interested the other day in
the news from Appleton, Wis, that a
meeting had been held there Of the
print paper manufacturers of Wiscon-
sin. Minnesota and Michigan for the
purpose Of forming 4 merger OF their
plants. There used to be Il trust be-
tween the paper mills; then there was
a gentlemen's agreement; now 1t Is TO
be merger By whatever name 1t
may he described the purposes are the
/ same--the restriction of product, the
Iesscnng of labor cost and the increase
of prices to the consumer.
The action of the paper manufactlr-
ers Of these three states is OF interest
to the owner Of Il newspaper, for 1t Will
increase his expenses and decrease his
profits; to the newspaper worker IN
whatever department, for it will re-
duce wages and lessen opportunities
for employment; to the newspaper
reader, for already the eXactions of the
paper trust are forcing up the prices
| of newspapers al! over the United
States. Nor Is it only to metropolitan
newspapers that these considerations
apply. The country paper will suffer
Just rs much in proportion and per-
haps more from the trust as Will the
great city paper.
| There is a Washington end to this
story of the paper trust. l picked up
the other day the Official text book is
sued by the Republican congressional
committee in 1906. 1t happened that Il
| complaint which came to me SlDulta'
naously from two newspapers about
the heavy additional expense to which
they had been put by the paper trust
led me to wonder what the politics OF
the matter could be. And | read thls
in the campaign book concerning what
the Republican party had done for the
destruction of that trust. 1t referred
to case brought against the General
Paper company four years ago. This
is what it said:
The supreme court overruled the de-
| fendants' contentious. This decision
| practically disposed Of the paper trust
| defense for there was none on the merits
| and It submitted without further pro-
ceedngs. The trust Is now dissolved. the
benefits of free competition are being re-
ceived. and it Is reported on reliable au'
thority that news print and fiber paper
is now being supplied to the consumer al
the substantial reduction Of 30 per cent
If all of the ''facts" set forth in the
Republican campaign book are Of this
sort. that work must have been edited
by the famous Baron Munchausen. As
a newspaper publisher who has seen
his paper bills go up 30 per cent re-
marked to me after reading that para
srarh. "Thcy ought to have followed
the example of Artemus Ward and
printed at the end or it, ~. B.-This is
wrote sarkasticul.' y"
Publishers Versus Politicians.
Perhaps the best answer to this ride
ulous claim of the Republican congress
sional committee is made in bulletin
issued by AIr. Herman Ridder prcsl
dent of the American Newspaper Pub
lishers' association and editor Of the
New Yorker Staats-Zeitung. Mr.. Rid
der does not find that the paper trus,
has been demolished, nor does he re
port that the price Of print paper is
reduced. The latter statement will moi
come With q shock of surprise to pub
fishers who are paying for paper a
the prices now ruling. In brief, Mr.
Ridder says: THE effort to maintain
excessive news print prices Is contln
ucd in the face of considerable de-
clines in the prices Of raw materials
The programme thus far indicated pro
vides for running on part time and fol
adherence to combination prices upon
the calculation that the savings II
lower cost Of raw materials will offset
the losses due to running the mills on
part time. Thousands of paper makers
have been thrown out of employment
while this scheme Of embarrassed OF
scllly operation or complete suspen
sion is carried out"
There arc twelve bills of various
kinds introduced by different states
men intended to strike at the paper
trust by abolishinS the t;."ilf on wood
pulp or on paper. All are sleeping II
committee. Every one meets the open
or the covert opposition Of the Eepub
lican forces in the house. The claim is
made that free wood pulp would moi
correct the evil, but that thc evil IS due
to Il trust That puts the Republican
party on this particular issue nT
against this dilemma: First, if the high
price of paper is due to Il t"ust, why Is
this trust busting" administration un
able to destroy the trust: Second, II the
trust is due to the protection OF Its
product through the tariff, why does
this antitrust administration object tC
the material reduction or possibly the
complete abolition of that particular
tariff tax?
Newspaper publishers could not dc
better than to press these questions
upon the attention OF their senators
and representatives in congress.
The Promise of a Third Party.
One of the humors Of American poll
tics Is that no matter how many elect
oral tickets there may be in the field
every one except the Republican or the
Democratic ticket is described as the
third party. Nobody ever heard Of the
fourth or fifth or sixth party. Always