The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-01-31
Pmag;ng the Press
don c. seitz in the February North American
Review)

(Don c. seitz in the February North American
Revew)
The $4,000 newspapers and periodicals published
in the United States facing not only complete
extinction of profits but in many confscatory
losses through the concentrated action of print
manufacturers imposing upon them a tax Of approx
mately s45.ooo.O0O year. The harvests reaped
by the makers of semi manufactured material find
nowhere richer or more undeserved rake off than
in this raid on the printing trade After two langud
years OF moderate demand and reasonable prices
the print manufacturers, taking a leaf from the
iron, steel, copper and chemical industries decided
to suffer amazement at their own moderation,
and following the annual convention of the Ameri-
can Paper and Pulp association held in New York,
February a. 1916, began of the most effective
price-lifting movements in our history
| The book and jobbing houses being safely cor
nered it remained to handle" the newspapers This
| was hardly difficult a task as the earlier per-
Torrance, though the load was hea vier and handi-
capped by the fact that practically all roll paper
such as dalies is provided under contract The
| first warning came when excess demand for paper
above contracted quantities called for because
OF the expansion of business in the spring of 1916
The news manufacturers were little slower than
ther brethren in the book and maya bra nch in
pe1ectlng their organization, but when completed
1t operated with perfection that now promises to
impoverish the great industry dependent upon it.
| Suddenly publishers who were short found that
paper could be had only of jobbers and that these
required VIZ per ton for paper usually sold at s45
1h's was accepted as necessity and as n tcmpor.
airy pinch Soon $50 per ton the price and then
Ti"o' IN some instances of peculiar atrocity $3.50
and even $40 per ton was demanded and received
Inc smaller and poorer the consumer, as usual in
| this world, the higher the price and the more 3D.
Pfess'e the conditions, for top of these savage
increases came the curtailment of credits and in
| many instances a policy of payment delivery
Ordinarily where in the past such combinations
were formed, when not broken legally thew went
TO pieces under the competition of the mills making
| manila or other craft" papers which wou,d firm
their machinery to news making when prices rose
But, Tor the first time in the history of the trade
| 'heSc grades joined the procession upward going
from 3fa to cents per pound. with the effect that
considerable tonnage of news machinery went on
the coarser product. thus curailing SUNNY soo, 70
be sufficiently scant if all the wheels We're ,urnn,
on ITS behalf. Writing paper followed suit swiftly
doubling and sometimes trebng in cost to the con-
sumner.
me basic excuse for the rise in prices OF GRADES
OUTSIDE OF news was the shortage of sulphitc min
caused by the extinction of the German and tb:
shortening of the Scandinavian sunnlv NM, ,,;,
many book, manila and writing mills relied oi,bo,
as n complete resource, or as a check uron tho
american producers. Suphitc which costs about
vs. per ton to make rose abruptly to 800 ncr ton
IN some cases more The expense of m,nufoc
turing the article did not increase The su,nbur
''oio'S' controlled by Standard Oil interests did
'o' raise It's price. Most of the sulpbe producors
were covered in their wood lime and co, M.
puS' ana quick advantage was taken of this and ooo
per cent profits secured
'he reason why the combination of news nr;nt
h'llis delayed getting into COMPLETE onero,ior ,ro
because OF the time taken in "oreanizinp, the
Canadian competition. This was dono b, ,ou.,,.,
the canadian Export Association" TO which one
o''''S from America were referred IVY the mills
III 'n's way secret deals were prevented and tb
SITUATION controlled. One western puhlishor ,ros On
''i'u IN the morning that his mill could no ,onsor
supply h'm In the afternoon an agent of tho ,s-
Soe'ton called to take hisorder at a price ~ ,ho,.
20 per ton above the figure he had been n,v,,o
IN the states the combination worked nc roo., 49,.
win rousher methods. Each mill was sold ont.
""'h asked to compete or to give a price rh,.
us p0osaaaas % choice Of accepting the figure