Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1914-08-19
MAINE PAPER MILLS.
President of Great Northern Replies
to Senator johnson.


Garrett Schenck, Of Miliinocket and
Boston, president of the Great Northern
Paper Co., in an interview with repre-
sentatives of the press, made clear the
pulp and paper situation which has grown
up under the Underwood Simmons free
trade law and, incidentally, let some OF
the wind out of United States Senator
Johnson's free trade speech before the
democratic convention at Portland last
spring.
'sLet me quote the report of Senator
Johnson's Speech" said Mr.. Schenck in
opening. 'sThe part take exceptions to is
right here:
we made slight reduction in the duties
upon print paper costing about two and
one-half cents per pound, a reduction from
is to IL per cent. upon the products of your
great mile in the neighboring city of West
brook. We reduced the duty from IS to rs
per cent. upon wrapping paper, but nobody
who knows the conditions surrounding the
mills that make this paper, like the splendid
mills of the Hollingsworth & Whitney Com
pany in this city, believes that we have left
them inadequate protection. But that no in
furious results have followed let the whirring
wheels Of the great mills at Millinocket,
where stands one of the largest mills for the
manufacture of paper of this class of paper,
attest.
ssSenator Johnson has made statement
about wrapping paper and cited the ap-
parent prosperity of the Millinocket mills
as in proof of his assertion. He knows
that the Millinocket mills, owned and op-
Grated by the Great Northern Paper Co.,
make nothing but the paper on which
newspapers are printed. That mill is not
running because it is making money. A
paper mill must run, once it is started,
until it goes into the hands of the sheriff,
or the depreciation and other charges will
soon eat it up.
ssThe facts are that section of the
reciprocity act admitted free paper from
Canada, and as result OF that, COMPETE
tion was had with paper made from pulp
wood cut on fee lands, i. e., lands the title
of which was vested in private owners or
corporations. Now under free trade the
news print paper manufacturers must
meet competition not only from the Cana
dian fee lands but also from the Crown
lands and paper from Sweden, Norway
and Denmark. The crown lands feature is
a vital one. The Canadian paper COM
panies pay 5000 per year as a sort of lease
for million acres of this land and 40
cents a cord for each cord of pulp wood
taken off.
ITO understand what competition
means in Maine one should consider that
it costs but little il any more to freight
Canadian paper to New York than it does
from Maine. A tax of four mills, the
State tax, on million acres of pulp land
on the valuation of % per acre would be
ga, 900. Add to that the extra expense of
driving to the mill in this State and
handling three eight-hour tours per day
at American wages, and you have the
reason why competition with Canada and
also with Northern European countries is
making the Maine paper manufacturers
exceedingly anxious.
''One Of the men who haslbeen most in
strumental in developing northern Maine
for the paper making industry, a moving
spirit in the development of Rumford
Falls and Millinocket, has made the state
ment that it is impossible to interest CAPT
tai in the further development Of north
ern Maine natural resources, SO far as
paper making is concerned until the tariff
has been restored on print paper. He is
also authority for the statement that while
Maine mills at present are strong finan-
cially because Of the fsr-sighted policy that
hos hoop foIloued NJ ,,utf;pe v>ro nj; =, n
the net earnings back into the plant, three
mills of northern New York have lately
called together their creditors and are at
the present time practically in the hands
OF receivers. Many other mills in which
The investors have demanded something
like a substantial return for the use of
their money are face to face with condi-
tions similar to those which have over
whelmed the New York mills.
zone Of the most potent arguments
against the policy Of free print paper is
the fact that before it was had Canada
manufactured approximately 400 tons per
day; now they are putting out 100 tons,
and mills capable of producing 400 tons
additional will be in operation and clam
oring for a share of the good thing on this
side of the line, within few weeks.
johnson, in his speech before the
democratic convention, made some state
ments and omitted to make some state
ments which should receive sharp atten-
ton. For instance; he says that only a
slight reduction was made in print paper
over 1-2 cents per pound, but he side
steps and says nothing about the demo-
cratic Congressiputting news print paper
and pulp unders2 1-2 cents pound on the
free list. Either he is ignorant of what
his party did, or. he is wilfully emitting
this very important fact from his state
ment.
johnson, in his capacity as senator
from Maine, was in just as strong a posi-
ton to help his State as was Senator Hale
while he wasi representing the State OF
Maine; and yet, no one believes that Hale
would have quietly sat by and allowed his
State To be injured without a strenuous