The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-08-10
PAPER PRICES ARE CLIMBING
Publishers Face Prospect OF Having 10
Pay From Is tos300 Per Cent Tore.

American newspapers are now con
frontej with an alarming increase in
the price of white paper. ranging from
p 20 50 per cent on contract orders
and from 100 to 800 per cent. on non
contract purchases from iobbers. Manu-
facturers. in explaining the Increase.
declare the nation faces a newspaper
famine due TO abnormal demand
created By European war conditions
and -have appealed to big news
print paper consumers to curtail paper
consumption in order 10 stave oil an
actual shortage The big metropolitan
dailies OF New York, in respons to this
appeal. have decided to reduce the SIZE
of their papers. Other newspapers
have raised advertising rates TO meet
the additional white paper cost.
These are some of the facts brought
out in the searching investigation which
the Federal Trade Commission, at the
request of the Senate, is making into
the rising cost of white paper. The
commission has its agents going over
the big newsprint paper manufacturers
to ascertain whether there has been an
increase in the cost Of production.
Newspaper publishers have been asked
to throw what light they can on the
situation.
The rise in the price of newsprint
paper began last January and has con-
tinued steadily ever since. The Inter
national Paper Company, which turns
out one-third of the supply in this
country. asserts that owing to an alb
normal demand from newspapers and
other consumers its reserve stock Of
print paper has dwindled from 10000
to 1000 tons During the summer
months, this company SAYS it devotes
its energies toward building up a big
reserve for the big increase in business
in the fall but the demand Is so great
that, though all its mills are working
at maximum capacity, its reserve is
steadily decreasing.
How the increase in price of white
paper affects the big publisher, the
country publisher and the manufac-
turcr was wildly portrayed before the
Federal Trade Commission last week,
when newspaper publishers We're asked
to lay before the commission what in
formation they had. Frank F. Glass,
vice president of the American News
paper Publishers Association, gave the
side of the big newspaper; j. H. Ter
hey, of Pottsyille, Pa, that of the
smaller newspapers, and President
Dodge of the International Paper Com
pany the troubles of the manufacturer.
Mr.. Glass. who represented $50 large
dailies consuming about one-third of
news print paper said publishers now
experience great difficulty in getting
extra tonnage at reasonable prices.
There has been a tendency to in
crease prices for many months. said
Mr.. Glass. Increases in contract
prices run from 25 to 35 per cent
There is great apprehension among
the publishers because of suggestions
and positive assertions of a scarcity,
which are backed with constantly ad-
vancing prices. was in New York a
few days ago and was told about a
publisher who had been asked to pay
d cents pound. The quotation was
accompanied by a notice that it would
hold good for only 48 hours. | have
begged the president of the organiza-
ton of paper mill operatives to in
crease production so as to accumulate
a surplus. The publishers are limiting
consumption and are preventing waste.
We don't know what is ahead of US.
Personally | have no complaint to make
either on account of supply or of prices