Greenwood daily commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1919-1926, 1920-04-17
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* WASHINGTON =
. NEWS LETTER !
= BY The Washington Star
+ Copyright 1920.
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DAILY NEWSPAPER SUPPLY. $
News Print Is Threatened-There Is
a Shortage And Bill Introduced
To Relieve Situation.

ly newspaper has become as much 8
part of the life of the citizen as his.
coffee and cereal for breakfast, or
whatever else his palate calls for.
And now the daily newspaper sup
ply is threatened. There Is q sl1ors
age Of news print paper, and prices
for it have soarded. This is due IN
part. to growing scarcity Of wood
pulp from which news print is manu-
factured.
The Senate committee on Agricul-I
ture has before it bill introduced by
Senator Poindexter of Washington,
which is designed to relieve the situa-
ton. The measure has the approval
of the Department of Agriculture and
the American Forestry Association,
the aim of which is to protect Amer
lean forests, and at the same time see
to it that they produce the lumber and
pulp wood needed by the country. This
measure authorizes the Secretary OF
Agriculture to make q survey of pulp
wood lands on the public domain and
to prepare plan for reforestation OF
pulp wood lands. 1t approprites ST.
100000 for these purposes.
The bill goes further than this. 1t
permits the secretary to make sur
vey of the classes and kinds of tim
| Der existing on the public domain,
| including the national forests. m
| dian and other reservations and on
private lands intermingled Herewith
which are suitable for pulp wood for
newsprint and for other forms OF pa
per.
In the opinion of the Department. OF
Agriculture, the measure offers the
first real opportunity to get at the
| fundamental causes of the difficulties
connected with paper production.
The importance of the United States
being on an independent basis so Tar
as newsprint production is concerned
can readily be grasped. First, there
| is the question Of price. If the coun-
try must depend upon foreign sources
of supply either for pulpwood or news
print, the American consumer-in the
4
will be at the mercy of the foreign
manufacturer so far as prices are con-
cerned.
I The American manufacturers of
paper, the newspapers and the read
ing public will be under the continu-
ed threat of an embargo by the for
!, eign nations In some parts of Can
ada all exports of woodpulp are pro-
hibited now, and there is said to be
;, danger of an embargo on all woodpulp
from Canada.
According to the best information
) obtainable, the fundamental difficulty
: with the newsprint supply in this
t country is to be found in such fact
ors as the over Capitalization of the
; industry in the northeast and lake
states, now being heavily overcut
: with little or no provision for CON
: tinued timber production, and the al,
e most total lack of development of the
4 industry in the West and in Southeast
n ern Alaska, where there are still large
supplies of timber eminently suitable
for newsprint manufacture.
The use of wood pulp for paper
manufacture is comparatively re
cent. The development in the United
) States and elsewhere has taken place
within the last fifty years. Befor'
o that time paper was ordinarily mad'
. from rags, various fibres, straw an.
, reed Wood pulp has displaced prac
tically all of these materials, except il
: the better grade of paper, which ar
still made of rags or special plan
-, fibres.
The importance of wood pulp in tn
=, manufacture of paper in the Unite
| States is indicated in the percentag
of paper manufactured from that ma
terial. In 1914, newsprint paper com
l. prised 26 per cent of all the pape
al produced in this country. But in 1910
m II it had dropped to % per cent Q
something over 6,50O,OO0 tons, Will
: sboards'' which also is made of woo
r. pulp, had leaped into first place, wit
st 80 per cent of the total paper produt
ton. sBoards" includes the coars
heavy cardboards used for cardboar
boxes, cartons, corrugated boxes, ct
Wrapping paper made up about II pt
81 cent of the total production in 1911
he II: book paper about Is per cent, wri
ing and building papers about 5 p
= = cent each, and all other classes togetl
!. er less than per cent
ThA +cfa1 American nrn13urfion
on woodpulp in 1918 was 3,313.861 tor
be The rApidity as wen as the regulari
1s. lin the increase Of newspr1nt consu1
lpil tiofSshould receive particular eonsi
lxtI eration = indicat tive .of fotxMe requil
snceo ding - - Departane