Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-05-29
TWO REPORTS ON PAPER PROBE
Majority and Minority Look at Situation
In Different Lights==Question May
Not Be Acted on This Session.
PAPER AND PULP REPORT.

| Washington, May 2S.-The special
committee of six members of the House
appointed upon complaint of the Ameri-
can Newspaper Publishers association.
to investigate the wood pulp and print
paper situation in relation to the tariff
and with regard to an alleged conspir-
acy in restraint of trade, today SUBJ
mitted a majority and a minority re-
port
The majority report which is signed
by Representatives Man of Illinois.
Miller CT Kansas. Stafford Of Wiscon-
sin and Bannon of Ohio. is a prelimna-
ry report and recommends that no leg
islation affecting wood pulp and print
paper be enacted until the committee
has further investigated and reported.
The minority report, which is signed
by Representatives Sims Of Tennessee
and Ryan of New York, recommends
the passage Of the, Stevens bill to
place wood pulp and print paper on
| the free list
| The majority report is summed up
in the following words:
| CAS- the present price of paper would
not to any considerable degree be i'm
mediately affected by the repeal of the
tariff, and s,s the passage Of the Stew
ems bill in it's present form might spell
(! ruin to the paper industry and ruin
ously high prices for paper in the near
future. your committee believes it the
part of wisdom before making recon-
mendations for positive legislation to
await until it's investigation has been
completed and thoroughly digested."
I l:ox ix,x1
est, attention and care from April Is,
to May IT. says the report. ito the
| witness 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 Mr..
John Norris, who appeared as the spe-
cial representative of that association.
Every opportunity has been given to
| the newspaper publishers to present
evidence before the committee, though
not all of the publishers who offered to
appear or whom the committee would
like to hear have yet been examined"
The report saws that the tabulation
of returned schedules of newspapers by
the census Office covers but few of the
Metropolitan dalies, which are the
heavy consumers.
| From these returns the average
price at present, including in many
cases freight charges to 919 newspapers
is $3S6 per hundred; that of these, 361
using paper in rolls have an average
price of 1854, and 558 have an average
of 1907 for paper in sheets. 1t seems
| probable that publishers paying high
prices most readily responded to the
inquiries of the committee" The re-
port continues:
while there appears to have been
complaint on the part Of the paper
manufacturers that the selling price
of paper for 1906 was too low to be fair
ly remunerative, yet we are inclined
to think it will 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 effect OH
new contracts appears to be unques-
toned
| AS to the charge of the existence Of a
combination in restraint of trade, the
report says:
1.-THE evidence before the committee
so far fails to prove any combination
Of print paper manufacturers to adj
vance prices, or otherwise in restraint
Of trade. but considerable evidence was
| CONTINUED on Page Twelve.)