El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-11-23
Wood Pulp Famine Spreads Through Frank G. Carpenter
World As Result of the Great War F%aE
Ships Transport Newn Is Repon
sible For Scarcity New Uses For Paper.


WASHINGTON. D. c, Nov. 23.-Thse
w whole world is in the throes
Of a paper famine. Every continent is
short Of news print, and the prices
are reaching the skies. In Italy they
have mounted 10 $3.50 a ton, and here
- the United States the open market
price Of news print is double what d
was at the outbreak Of the war. u
is so high in Europe that England
has cut down the size OF its news
papers and France has reduced It's
periodicals one half. For two days
OF the week the French dailies do not
use more than two pages each Itdly
is also cutting on paper, and in Hum
gary the use OF news print is limited
by law. Newspapers Of the hishesl
price may publish eight pages only
Those Of the next grade are per
mitted four pages, while those OF the
lowest price can publish only TWO
pages per issue. There has been a
material reduction in the size OF our
papers. and the government has Pun
all newspaper sales and subscriptions
upon a cash basis. No compliment
tary or gift copies can now be dis
tributed, and the padding OF clrcula-
tons is not permitted. The govern
as much paper as ii consumes in peace
times Roughly speaking It VIII
take this year one pound out Of every
100 pounds produced in the United
States and it is urging the people 10
save paper in every possible way.
Famine Dne to War.
This famine is largely due to the
war. It is impossible to snip paper /
from the United States and Canada /
10 Europe, and some Of the big Cana /
IL HaaH
dian mills which formerly suppHeo
the English periodicals are now send 4
ing their product 10 Us. This is SO I
OF the mills in Newfoundland belong /
ing 10 lord Northcliffe, which were /
established by him to make news 4
print for the London Times, Nail and /
others Of his periodicals he is not 1
able 10 get the paper over the ocean, I
and he shipped 100000 pounds into !
this country last year.
Another cause Of the famine is the 1
increased consumption OF news print /
all over the world. New papers are :
sBringing up in every locality. Japan /
is now printing almost as many perl 4
odicaIs as any western country OF
similar size China has its dailies,
and there has been great growth OF
newspapers in all parts OF the Tar
east South America is using more
and more paper, and 1t has now one
or two journals whose calculations
compare faTorably with those OF our
great city dailies. Australia has
more papers in proportion TO its pop
ul1tion than England, and the num-
Der Of periodicals in the United States
IS Increasing Taking the whole
world into account there are now pub
lished something like 10000 periOdi-
Gals and their total circulations are
billions Of copies in a year. We have
in the United States q dozen cities
the dailies Of each Of which have
more than q half million copies daily.
IN New York the daily copies issued
number almost 4,o00,0 900 and those Of
Philadelphia, Chicago and Boston
have each 100000 and upward. In
1914 the circulation OF the Boston
papers was 2,225, 600 copies per day,
and that city led Philadelphia ana
Chicago IN its daily output OF papers
New York is now issuing four daily
papers for every family in that city
What Figures Mean
Let US stop a moment and think
hat the above figures mean The
New York Times has figured that its
average circulation OF $4,000 would
make a strip Of paper about 1880
niles long. Using that average as the
INIT Of calculation the daily output
II Boston would require news print
anough 10 carpet a pathway the width
4 this page you are reading SSS0
niles long. The strip OF paper would /
each from Boston 20 Chicago, ana
m 20 san Francisco and across the ]
'aciflc ocean TO Shanghai. and up J
he Tangtse river to somewhere near
IankoW in China Turn II the other
way and = would go across the At
antic ocean to where our troops are
lighting in France. and from there 10 i
3erlin. where the kaiser is EteWing
n agony as to the outcome Of the
var. and on across Russia TO some
where in Siberia If you could bore
light through the earth from Boston
o the other side Of the globe this
lays output OF newspapers would !
more than carpet the tunnel to where +
{ came out on the other side some 7
where in Siam or further India. Z
But that IS the paper output OF only
ne city, ard propo-tionate demands are !
l1de day IN and day out all the year J
through in all the cities OF the United
tatcs. and for the 60. 900 periodicals !
cad by the world Tho paper used IS
ews print and It IS all made OF wood {
Clip OF one kind OF another. u
Wood pulp is needed for our weelzlies
TNN ~