Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-03-18
LOOKING TO future
IN PAPER INDUSTRY
Conditions in Past Year Have
Become Serious Domes-
tic Problem.
HOUSTON MAKES REPORT
Shows How Resources Can Be
Developed to Relieve
Acute Shortage.


ton. to-day issued the following state.
ment:
Conditions in tho pa,er Industry
have constituted one OF the most seri-
GUS of our domestic problems during
the last year.
"1n 1914. We used about 5000 tons OF
n"wsprint "v~ry dav. Our present use
has reached 5000 tons n day, and the
demand appears TO be increasing at
tho rate of IN per cent a year. material
" faster than thc increase in popula-
ton. To supply our presses with news
print requires annually about 5000. 900
cords Of pulp wood. To meet our re-
puir"ments for magazine and book
paper. stationery and business papers
or NIL forrIS. wranpinC papers. wall
papers. err hoard. fiber board and the
like. 100000 cords more of pulp wood
arc consumed annually. Production
barely KEGS pace with this consump-
ton. For Instance, the estimated de-
mand 70: ncwSprint for the hrst six
months Of 1917 is SSs 900 tons. Against
this Is placed an estimated supply OF
930. 400 TORS
DtiPEEDESCE UPON FOREIGN
SUPPLIES UNNECESSARY
AS If this close balance was not
peril enough. there is tho added fact
that the United States depends upon
Canada for third of it's newsprint
paper. either in the form OF finished
product or raw material. This pro-
portion Is increasing rapidly. The
pressure of economic conditions and
lack of foresight in cutting the forests
have so depleted the available private
supply Of pulp woods In many af the
paper misunderstanding States that there
is not enough left to last more than
| ten or fifteen years, AS consequence,
Canada is more and more called upon
| for pulp woods. and American manu-
facturers are showing an increasing
disposition to slip the border
into tho virgin forests of the Dominion.
1T is this condition Of dependence
that should be ended. Changes. In
Canadian policy might at any time cut
OF our newspapers from this source OF
supply OF make It available only at ex-
! cessive cost On the other hand. our
own forest resources are ample to meet
| all the papcr requirements of the coun-
try. Aside from the waste materials
produced in tho manufacture Of lumber
and the possible growth on 65.00O,000
nr 10000 900 acres of cut-over forest
lands in the Northern States. the pub
| iicly owned national forests contain
tire paper needs OF the United States
! for tho next eighty years. Cut intelli-
! gently. II constitutes virtually an in.
eNhaustible supply for all time.
RAW MATERIALS
AVAILABLE IN WEST
The Forest Service has estimated
the pulp wood in the national forests
Mt 100000, 100000 feet This means $780,
100000 cords. and for all pnpar of all
] kinds we use but 100000 cords year.
There are other large supplies OF pulp
wood on privately owned lands in the
West. These Western raw materials
are much cheaper than the woods now
used by paper mills in the Northeast
/ While pulp-wood Stumpage in the
Northern states costs from $3.50 to IS
per cord standing in the forest. first
class Western timbcrs are available at
prices ranging from % cents to $3.50
per cord. 'LonS-distance transportation
and tho large Investments tied up in
paper plants necessarily will retard the
westward expansion or migration OF
this industry; but unquestionably IL
should AFFORD one means Of increasing
the production of paper to keep pace
with current demands.
THE TWO WESTERN
PAPER WOOD RELTs
From the standpoint Of geographic
cal location ana transportation TO the
bulk OF the paper uses in the Central
and Eastern states. the Western paper
woods fall into two broad belts. The
first is available To tidcwater shipments
from the Pacific Coast. lying princl-
pally OF the west slope OF the Cascade
Mountains. in Oregon and Washington.
| including vast areas tributary to Puget
inc ,In
board in s"uthcasterly Alaska. There
are 10000. 100000 feet OF spruce and
hemlock in the national forest OF Alas
! ditions Az to abundant forest Of paper
making woods. water power and direct
idcwatcr transportation duplicate those
! Of Norway, the leading country OF the
world in it's paper industry. 1t is a
safe prediction that in the last analy-
sis the value OF Alaska 70 the United
States rs source OF paper will be
! found to exceed the value of any other
Of her numerous resources, coal, min
erals or fisheries.
The second timber belt OF western
paper woods extends through tho
! Northern Rocky Mountains from the
Canadian line into Colorado and Utah.
/ This belt shut off from water trans
p"rtatton. can hardly be considered a
practical source OF supply Of paper for
! the Eastern S.ates: but Is log ical
storehousc of raw materials for the
1 paper requirements OF the Mississippi
: Valley. The Rocky Mountains contain
a number OF excellent paper woods and.
! with proper development. should sup
| ply both the papei required for local
consumption. and that necessary to re.
place the diminishing supplies of the
Lake States for the needs OF the Mid
die West.
Extending the supply OF raw ma
terials by determining the paper-mak-
ing qualities OF new woods is an Inn
portant factor in the problem.
"Almost equal in Importance TO the
timber OF the Pacific coast belt and the
Rocky Mountain belt are the publicly
owned water powers. "a second pri-
~ H(Continued1 on Twelfth Pagc.)