The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1916-11-07
NEWSPAPER SOARING
Federal Trade Commission, Aiming
To Get AT High Cost OF Paper, To
Conduct Public Hearings.

LII q recent statement duuOuIlCluS
virtual completion of its investiga-
ton of news print paper prices the
Federal Trade Commission declares
that during theS first half CT this
year, when prices already were soar
ing to unprecedented figures, the av-
erage cost of producing news print
paper in domestic mills was less than
$165 per 100 pounds, or below the
average cost in the past three years.
The commission announces that
before issuing its report public hear
ings will be conducted and manufac-
turers, publishers and others inter-
ested given an opportunity to ap-
pear. No date is set for the hear
ings, but the report is said to be
ready to send to the press in the
near future.
Certain facts developed by the in
quiry are made public now, because
most of the publishers contracts for
paper are about to expire. Contract
| prices rose this year from less than
50 per 100 to So and $3.50, and on
current market purchases the pub
fishers have paid 81 or more for pa
per bought in the same way prior to
January 1 for between So and SO.
The statement, in part, follows:
@The price advance in news print
paper which occasioned this investi-
/ CATION began early in 1916, and has
continued down to the present. Most
news print paper, probably about so
per cent, is sold on contract for
periods of a year or more Before
the price advance began CONTRACT
, nrint
| generally less than 50 per 100
pounds. f. OBJ. mill. During the first
half of 1916 contract prices for
large quantities in some instances
went as high as So per LOO pounds.
and since July /, 1916, have run as
high as $3.50. Most of the con-
tracts now in operation will expire
within three or four months.
ION current market purchases
newspaper publishers have been pay
ing manufacturers and jobbefs very
much higher prices. Before Janu-
ary 1, 1916, current market prices
ranged generally between So and SO
per 100 pounds, delivered. depend
| ing on quantity, freight and other
circumstances; but since that time
| they have gone up as high as Sc or
|
/ able volume of business, and even
higher in exceptional instances.
"The average price received by
domestic manufacturers of news
| print paper did not advance in any
thing like the degree that current
| market prices advanced, because
most of the paper was sold under
contracts previously made. On the
average, the actual net receipts of
/ domestic manufacture for news print
paper were lesssthan 50 per 100
| pounds during the first half of 1916.
! "The average cost of manufacture
of news print paper in domestic mills
was less than So 8 per ton, or $1.6h
per 100 pounds during the first hall
fSss6fsTg S Sssn s' s5sf 5sas y shssta 81 and nd 5 5
the costs as revised by the account
: ants of the commission. Further
I more, these average costs wer
]. slightly lower than the average cost
: in any year from 1913 to 1915.
I Though the average cost declin
E ed in the first half of 1916. the maj
ket prices of some of the material
of manufacture advanced and wer
unusually high.
e 1T should be noted that the mos
: important materials which advance
. in price, sulphite and groundwork
: were produced by most of the seAee
| manufacturers without an IL
: in cost, and not bought at m
: prices, while some other manufA
turers were protected against the in
crease in prices by contracts. Som
j of the other materials which wer
: very small factors in the total cost
Certain economics were also prac
, ticed in the use of expensive ma
terials.
:. ''It is generally claimed in tn,
trade that costs in the future will in
crease particularly on account of tn,
scarcity of labor in the Canadian
woods, and the consequent increas'
in labor cost of bringing logs to tht
mills. This is necessarily matte,
of prediction concerning which tht
commission expresses no opinion,
THE quantity of news print paper
produced by domestic manufacturers
in the first half of 1916 was some
what greater than in any preceding
year since the middle of 1913. The
! increase in production was accom-
plished by running the mills to full
capacity. Recently most mills have
been operated "a hours per day fol
six days per week.
1.-The quantity of news print pa
per imported, which came chiefly
from Canada, equaled about one
third of the domestic production and
showed a great increase in the first
half of 1916. The quantity exported
also increased during this period
though the exports were small com
pared with imports. The prices
however, offered by foreign buyers
were high.
'.The stocks of news print paper
which are very small in comparison
with the production, not only de.
clined during the first half of 1916
| but were also lower than at any time
during the year 1915.
"As there was large increase il
production and imports, accompanied
by a decline in stocks, while there
was only a small tonnage exported
it is evident that there was decid
ed increase in consumption during
the first half of 1916.
An increase in the demand fo
news print paper is also indicated b.
the fact that the sworn statement
respecting the circulation of news
papers made to the Postoffice De
partment generally show larger is
sues by the leading newspapers, AM
by the fact that the number of page
of the larger newspapers have YER
| generally increased on account o
large increases in advertising an
news matter.
Before the recent price advanc
certain other grades of paper wer
showing higher profits per ton thal
news print paper, and there was
tendency to change from this grad
to other grades. This movemen
seems to have been checked for tn
present by the high prices of new
print paper. Furthermore, it
stated that before the end of thi
year four new machines, two in thi
country and two in Canada with a,
aggregate daily capacity of abou
$50 tons. will begin operations OF
news print paper. Other projecte
or pending Developments will appar
emily require somewhat lOnge
| f0 auoiIohIn