Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1916-09-22
CLAIM THE
TRUST RAISED PRICE
The PAPER MANUFACTURERS
DENY THAT A COMBINE
WAS FORMED.
PROOF MAY BE SUBMITTED
Publishers View Situation With Gen.
uine Acknowledgements Face
Failure Unless Increases
Checked Early.

Observation-Disclosures that the price
OF news print paper has been forced
exorhitantly by a combination Of man
ufacturers were made by publishers
and denied by representatives Of the
manufacturers at a hearing which con
Guided an exhaustive inquiry into the
subject by the Federal Trade Commits.
sion.
Frank p. Glass. of birmingham, vice
president of the American Newspa
per Publishers Association, told the
commission he was morally con.
yinced' there was collision among the
manufacturers and expected to be able
by October / to present legal proof
Of It
7. r. Dodge, president Of the Inter.
national Paper Company, declared high
prices were due to an enormous in
crease in demand, and insisted that
the manufacturers were not making Il
fair return on their capital.
The commission undertook the in.
vestigatiOn under direction Of "A con-
gressiOnal resolution and will begin
work Immediately drafting a report to
be submitted ut the earliest possible
moment.
other Witnesses at the hearing in.
cluded j, IT, Horbey, chairman of the
white paper committee Of the National
Editorial Association, and representa-.
tiyes Of the Pennsylvania Associated
Dailies; +. r. Stoll. manager Of the
Pittsburg Publishers Association; G.
n. Andrews Of the Easton, Pa, Free
Press: W. l.. Washington of the Cam.
den, n. J.. Courier, Charles b. Spatz
OF the Boyertown, Pa, Weekly, and
George +. Steele, secretary, and Tim
othy A. Ansberry, counsel for the
News Print Manufacturers AssoCia-
ton.
Mr.. Glass said his associates viewed
the situation with extreme alarm and
had recommended rctrenchment in
consumption by smaller editions, abol.
fishing returns and circulation activity. |
Increases of 20 to 35 per cent on
contracts and sometimes 100 per cent
on emergency orders, he declared, had
destroyed the profits Of most newspa.
pers, and already had driven some to
the wall.
One western paper, he said. reported
an increased paper cost of $3.50, 600 an.
nually. He claimed it was almost i'm
possible for a publisher to get quota
lions except from the mill he usually
dealt with.
Mr.. Ierbey charged favoritism in
the sale of paper, and declared pres.
ent prices vary widely according to
the within of the manufacturer, the dis
.crepancy running from two to six
cents a pound, He added that while
some publishers a hardly buy paper
for cash even at e~xorbitant rates, 9th
ers have made two and three.year con
tracts at favored terms.
He thought It apparent that manu-
facturcrs had united to force publish.
ers to deal only with the mill they
were accustomed to p~atronize, and
that any further increase beyond five
per cent would force many of the
smaller papers under 10000 circula
ton into bankruptcy
In defense Of the manufacturers. Mr..
Dodge explained that $1,000 GOO worth
Of paper was held in stock by his
company as a necessary safeguard for
contracts in hand. hut said the reserve
had been depleted from $1,000 tons to
100 in order to afford relief and that
all new orders, including contracts for
nearly 100000 tons from abroad. had
been refused,
The great difficulty, he said. was
that a very sudden and unexpected de
nand, increasing the country's paper
consumption over 20 per cent in the
past year, had entirely outrun the
available supply.
Moreover, nearly every item of OK
pcnse in manufacture had been in.
creased, and the import of timber
bought in Canada for manufacture had
been forbidden by Canadian authori.
ties shortly after the American duty
on Canadian paper was removed.
No new mills had been built In the
past year, he said, as il was impossi.
BILE to make a fair return on capital.