The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-12
HISTORY OF PAPER

In the United States there are 2472 daily newspapers, 16,269 weeklies and monthly and other publications bring up the total to 22.s06 There is one news paper in this country to every HOO people, and, to be sure, there is The Age Herald Junior
 It seems with this great number of newspapers and the use of paper for so many other things. it Is Interesting to know something of the history of this commodity-so necessary to us.
 More than HOO years ago. to be very accurate, in 751, Chinese force marched on Samarkand, which was then occupied by the Arabs, thinking to take the city, but the Arabs had an able general who held the city with we'll marshaled forces
 He not only repelled the Chinese forces, but captured many of the in vaders, whom he made prisoners.
 Lucky for him and for the world, among these prisoners he found many men who knew the art of paper malS ing.
 Te craft spread quickly throughout the Arabs dominion and after awhile paper was taken to Greece. The Greeks called it Greek parchment, as was told by Theophilus Presbyter, and we also find in Constantinople it was used for records of certain rules.
 However, only the paper was taken to Greece, and not the art of making it. The art was first introduced in the twelfth century by the Moors. As the Moors were holding great part of Spain in those days the industry grew very rapidly.
 The paper now made was very stout of substance and could stand a great deal of hard usage.
 After the fall of the Moors came a great change. The new conquerors were less skilled, so the industry deteriorated and less paper was made and the qual- ity was poor.
 The oldest known document on paper is deed of King Roger of Sicily, bear ing the date 1102. From Sicily paper making ultimately spread to Italy, and there it became a great industry From Italy 1t extended to France and Ger many. In 1297 Pace de Fabriano was making paper, in Italy, from rags and flax, and a short time afterwards regu- lar mills appeared in Padua and Ire viso. Ninety years or so later, the famous Stormer is setting up his paper mills in Nuremberg, and taking an oath, of truly awesome solemnity, from his men that they will keep secret his processes.
 We find the art reached England in 1495 and printing was done at the Caxton Press. The paper mill was at Hertfordshire and was kept by one John Tate. We also find g. license was issued by Queen Elizabeth to Master Spillman to make paper at Dartford.
 Sometime later. we find established the famous mills at Maidstone, where John Whatman turned out paper in 1760. The name of Whatman still stands for standards in fine pressed paper such as drawing paper.
 In 1799 came the machinery for the manufacture of paper at Bexmon in Hertfordshire. Fourdrinier, the in- ventor. first set up his plant, and from then the industry spread all over the country.
 Since 1860. the year of the repeal of duty on paper, the use of paper has been enormous.
 However in China, where paper was really invented, and is used for com modities more largely than any other place in the world, 1t is still held sacred. No scrap of paper is burned by an individual, but is collected and carried to some large square where special ceremonies are given before it is burned or destroyed