Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1919-11-27
PRINT PAPER HIGH
Threatened by High
Prices and Some Suspend.

j III utN oDdptio VI tHt tothsiy w
facing the most serious situation in
the history of journalism. The price
of print paper has increased to such
an extent and there is such an APP
parent scarcity that many papers
have already been forced to suspend.
| For the past year, the suspensions
have averaged about so per month.
1t is very evident that something
must be done TO relieve the situation
or else the smaller villages will be
without a newspaper. 1t is only a
few years since good white print was
selling at $2.35 per hundred pounds
and the following quotations from the
Publishers Auxiliary of November 10,
shows the situation newspaper men
are facing at the present time with
no relief in sight
NEW YORK.-Thirteen cents a
pound, f. o. b. mill, was asked for
print paper here during this week..
The price was for ear load lots, and
was made to one of the largest pur-
chasers of sheet print in the country
The mill refused to make a price Of
anything less than thirteen cents.
"CHICAGO.-It is reliably report
ed here that one of the large daily
papers of the city has made an offer
of ten cents a pound for 1000 tons
of roll print, and has not found a
mill that will take the order. The
Chicago papers are being forced to
omit large amount of advertising
from every issue because of the
shortage of print paper.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES of
inability to secure print paper are
pouring into government Offices here.
! Newspapers are reporting prices as
high as twelve cents being asked for
print paper, and when orders are
placed at these prices it is possible
to secure only very small quantities.
not nearly enough to meet their
needs.
"OMAHA.-One of the largest
wholesale paper dealers of the coun-
try reports print paper prices going
upward every day, with raise of
more than 81 hundred. Many mills
are refusing TO accept orders at any
price, and a forced suspension Of
many papers is looked for as there
is no prospect of any relief in the
immediate future.
"In 1914 and 1915 the daily papers
of New York and Chicago were buy
ing print at two cents or less deliv-
cred at their press rooms. During
1915 the price began TO jump rapidly
and for 1916 many of the papers had
to contract at prices varying from
three TO three and one-half cents f.
o. b. mill. To some of the New York
papers this meant an increased cost
per year of from one to two million
dollars, and forced an increase in the
SUBSCRIPTION price"
1t is not possible today to say at
what price any publisher can buy
print paper. Mill quotations on roll
print range all the way from 7 to
Is cents, and as sheet print takes
differential of about one half cent
pound above the roll price it is a safe
guess to predict that no publisher
could place an order for a carload of
sheet print at less than seven and
one half cents, f. o. b. mill, and that
an eight cent price would be very
much below the general average.
1t is doubtful if all publishers real
ize just what eight cent paper means
to the weekly newspaper Here are
few figures, each based on the cost
of 100 sheets of standard news print
paper:
At cents pound the publisher
of a five column, eight page, news
paper pays Ga cents for 100 sheets.
At cents a pound the publisher of
six column, eight page, newspaper
pays 80 cents for 100 sheets.
AT eight cents a pound the publish
err of seven column, six length,
for 100 sheets.
At cents pound the publisher
of a seven column, seven length,
eight page. newspaper pays 81 .02 for
100 sheets.
At cents a pound the publisher
of an eight column, seven length,
eight page, newspaper pays S1.15 for
' lOO SIttlS.
At S cents a pound the publisher
for an eight column, eight length,
eight page, newspaper pays SIPS for
100 sheets.
And remember that eight cents a
pound is today practically the min
imum price that can be expected at
the mill, and to this must be added
freight and drayage charges, which
in the great majority Of cases would
bring the price to better than 10
cents a pound.
To be sure there may be the ex-
ceptional case where a publisher will
find it possible to pick up job lot
from a jobbing house where the deal
err is willing to sell--as many of
them have been doing-on the basis
of the cost to them at the time their
present stock was purchased, and not
at the price they will have to pay
to replace their present stock. In
such cases the price may range from
seven cents up. Such opportunities,
howovar uill no vary rare and any