The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1920-02-06
PAPER FAMINE
VERY EVIDENT
ESTIMATED PULP WOOD SUP
PLY IN LAKE STATES GOOD
FOR 1S YEARS.

practically exhausted their supplies
of spruce, hemlock and fir-the
principal woods from which the paper
on which newspapers are printed is
made.
The department further states that
the annual cutting in the Lake states
is 3,O3O,OO0 cords, and if continued
will exhaust the supply in this region
in IS years. Further commenting
on the situation the department says:
Even if the countrys hemlock,
spruce, and fir resources, including
the vast forests of far off Alaska, are
Jumped together, the supply of these
woods will be sufficient to meet the
lumber and paper demands for less
than three-fourths of century, as
Stunning that the present rate of cut
ting continues. At first glance it
might seem that national supply for
three-fourths of a century makes it
unnecessary to worry over the lum-
Der question for some time. But, as
already stated, 95 per cent of the
pulp and paper mills are located in
the East; these are very expensive
establishments, often costing millions
of dollars, and can not be moved con-
veniently to new locations, nor can
wood be shipped to them economical
ly from great distances. Consequent
ly talk of utilizing the faroff reserves
is impracticable unless the present
mills are to be strapped and new ones
built near the source of supply.
Up to 10 years ago the United
States was self-supporting with re-
gard to newsprint, but within the
last decade the consumption has ex-
ceeded home production and prom
Uses to do so increasingly. In view
of this situation two alternatives pre-
sent themselves, according to Forest
Service experts and representatives
of large wood-using industries. The
country must depend increasingly up
on Canada, eventually abandoning
many of it's own mills, or the Nations
policy with regard to its private for
ests must be radically changed. Can
ada now has 80 paper and pulp mills
which produce approximately 2,100
tons of paper day, of which 80 per
cent is available for export. Of all
supplies of paper, wood and pulp used
by the United States about one-third
now comes from Canada.
Available Supply in National Forests
While the supplies of pulp wood in
Alaska and the Northwest are very
great, only about 5 per cent of the
mills are located in these regions.
So long as publishers can obtain Can
adam paper more cheaply than they
can get it from the West, it is expect
ed that they will buy from Canada
Nevertheless, there are several fac
tors which should gradually bring |
western paper into competition with |
the eastern Canadian product, ac-
cording to forest experts. There are
quantities of wood in the West avail |
able at stumpage prices much less
than in the Northeast. Much of this |
wood is on the National Forests, and,
therefore, is available without the |
carrying charges that must be figured |
against large investments in land. |
Furthermore, the yield per acre is |
much greater in the West than in the
eastern Canadian forests, and there
are large water powers available in
the West. Certain disadvantages, |
such as high wages and high freight |
charges, must be recognized in con-
sidering the supplies in the West, but |
it is believed that these do not coun-
teract the advantages.
Must Adopt Permanent Policy.
The Forest Service points out, how
ever, that whether paper interests
rely increasingly upon Canada, or in
creased use of our western resources,
in either case these are temporary |
expedients. In the long run the
country must solve the paper prob
lem on the basis of permanent wood |
supply. To this end it is urged that |
the mill waste be utilized for paper
making and that the forests of this |
country be regenerated and admin
istered on more productive basis.
Mill waste, including slabs and
edgings, is well adapted for paper
making by one of the three chemical
processes now commonly employed.
But only about per cent of the wood |
used for pulp is mill waste, and this is
evidently a very small portion of all
the slab and edgings from spruce,
fir and hemlock now being made into
lumber. Here, undoubtedly, is big
field for development, as it is esti-
mated that there must be an annual
waste of 100000 cords of these
species alone.
Even more important than the
utilization of mill waste is the re-
generation of the forests for the per-
petuation of the paper industry of
the United States. The policy or
wastefully cutting the forests and
making little provision for future
growth must be abandoned speedily,
say forest experts. In the future,
operations should be so conducted as
to secure increasing reproduction of
trees valuable for lumber and pulp.
Fortunately such species as fir and
poplar are prolific seeders and may
be reproduced naturally. Spruce