The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-05-29
PRINT PAPER
PRICES WILL
NOT GO LOWER
Republicans of Special Com
mittee Against Removal
of the Duty.
STEVENS BILL URGED
BY MINORITY MEMBERS
REPORTS NOT LIKELY TO BE
CONSIDERED AT THIS SEES
SION OF CONGRESS-.

washington, May 26.-Ine special
committee of six members of the house
appointed upon complaint of the Amer
lean Newspaper Publishers association
10 investigate the wood pulp and print
paper situation in. relation to the tariff
and with regard to an alleged conspira-
cy in restraint of trade, today submit
ted majority and a minority report
The majority report. which is signed
by Representatives Mann of Illinois,
Miller of Kansas. Stafford of Wiscon-
Sin and BannOn OF Ohio, is a prelim-
mary report. and recommends that no
AegislatiOn affecting wood pulp and
print paper be enacted until the COM
mittee has further Investigated and re-
ported.
The minority report. which is signed
by Representatives Sims of Tennessee
and Ryan of New York, recommends
passage of the Stevens bill TO place
wood pulp and print paper on the free
list.
Majority Report.
The majority report is summed up in
the following words:
AS the present price of paper would
not to any considerable degree be i'm
mediately affected by the repeal OF the
tafif, and as the passage of the Ste
Nens bill in its present form might spell
ruin TO the paper industry and ruin
ously high prices for paper i'm the near
. future, your committee believes II the
part OF wisdom before making recon-
mendatiOns for positive legislation to
await until its investigation has been
completed and thoroughly digeSted
The committee listened with inter
est, attention and care from April %
10 May II, says the report, 'to the wit
nesses appearing in behalf of the con-
tentions of the American Newspaper
Publishers association, and followed
with painstaking care the statements
made and evidence presented by John
Norris, who appeared as the special I
representative of that association. E,v-4
cry opportunity has been given to the I
newspaper publishers TO present evil I
dence before the committee though not I
all publishers who offered 10 appear. or
whom the committee would Ike 10 hear /
/. have yet been examined"
Present Prices.
The report says that the tabulation of
returned schedules of newspapers by /
the census Office covers but few OF the /
metropolitan dailieS which are the 1
heavy consumers. From these returns
klhe average price at present, including /
IN many cases freight charges, to 919 /
newspapers is $3.50 per hundred; that /
of those, 361 using paper in rolls have /
an average price Of 1874. and 55S have !
an average of $3.07 for paper in sheets. !
II seems probable that publish /
ers paying high prices most readily re /
sponded 10 the inquiries of the COM /
mittee."
The report continues:
while there appears to have been 1
complaint on the part Of the paper |
manufacturers that the selling price OF l
paper for 1906 was too low 10 be fairly /
remunerative, vet We are inclined 10 /
think IL was not until the summer of /
1907 that there was a general increase
in print paper prices. That a general /
increase was in fact put into contracts /
appears 10 be unquestioned."
Combination Not Proven.
As 10 the charge of the existence of a /
combination in restraint Of trade, the [
report says;
The evidence before the committee
SO far fails 10 prove any combination
of print paper manufacturers TO ad-
vance prices or otherwise in restraint
of trade, but considerable evidence was
presented which might excite suspicion
that such a combination had been made
and was in existence
Under the sub-head, Removal Of the
Tariff" the report, in part, says:
The question as to the removal of
the tariff on print paper and wood pulp
IS Intimately connected with the con-
servatiOn Of the forest resources of the
United States as we'll as its effect upon
the paper manufacturing industry and
the newspaper publishing industry. The
committee is not yet prepared 10 make
recommendation as To the permanent
policy o. the United States in regard t.
the duty on paper and pulp, except that
the committee is firmly Of the opinion
that the tariff on news print paper ana
on wood pulp should not be removed as
10 paper or pulp coming from any cOun-
try or place which prohibits the ex-
portatiOn of pulp wood or which !evies
any export duty on paper pulp or pulp
wood. or makes any higher charge in
any way upon wood and pulp or pulp I
wood intended for expectation 10 the
United States. II
The evidence taken SO far would
Continued on Page 2. II