Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1920-03-16
NEWS PRINT PAPER

The following is an address made
by r. S. Kellogg in the East recently:
This is most truly a paper age, and,
lin the United States at least, News
paper Age. The consumption of news
print paper has gone far beyond the
limits that would once have been pre-
dicted by the most enthusiastic advo-
cate of the newspaper as source of
popular information and education.
In 1880 we were able to get along with
8 pounds per capita of news print pa
per. By 1894 our requirements had
increased three-fold to pounds and
twenty-five years later, or in 1919, the
consumption of news print paper per
capita in the Dnited States was 33
pounds, or more than ten times what it
was thirty-nine years earlier.
Leaving all the other means of pub
licity out Of the question, the average
circulation of the daily newspapers
| in the United States is now some
27,000,000 copies,- or one for every FAM
| lily in the country, and large pro-
portion of these papers are not small
ones, either. There are something
| like 70 newspapers with daily cir
culation of 100000 copies or more
each. and for the past year these pa
pers have averaged about % pages on
week days, while the nmber of pages
in those publishing Sunday editions
has been over three times as great as
in the daily editions.
The production of news print paper
in the United States and Canada is a
common industry with common mar
kets. The total output last year was
2,1S3,00 tons and 900 of this total is
classified as standard news such as
is used by the daily papers. In the
form of sheets last years production
of news print in North America would
cover 10000 900 acres or belt the earth
so miles wide. In the form of STAN
dard 73' roll it would unwind 13 900
600 miles or little more than seven
years output at the same rate would
reach from the earth to the sun.
The annual increase in production
figured on a compound interest basis
has averaged SO Tor the last fifteen
years. In 1904 the production in the
United States, in round numbers, was
$4,000 tons and practically none in
Canada. In 1913 the production in the
United States slightly passed 1,300.-
900 tons and that in Canada amounted
TO $50 900 tons. Since 1913 there has
been little increase in the United
States output, but steadily ascend
ing production in Canada, which in
1919 passed 100000 tons, while the
production in the United States
amounted to 1,375,000 tons.
For the last six months the news
papers and trade journals have de-
voted much space to the discussion of
a so-called shortage in news print
supply, but there has been no short
age so far as production is concerned.
1t has been due entirely to greatly in
creased consumption The mills have
been producing more news print than
ever before in history and the string
ency in the market has come about
entirely through the efforts of the
publishers to use more paper than has
been produced. This, of course, has
been caused by the tremendous in
crease in advertising, while there has
been little decrease in circulation over
the high levels reached during the time
of great demand for news during the
war. During the past few months the
total stocks in the hands of newspaper
publishers or in transit to them have
averaged between 80 and 40 days sup
ply, as compared with more than SO
days supply during the summer of
1918 when the war was nearing cli-
max On the other hand, mill stocks
have been averaging only or A days
production, thus showing the absolute
necessity for an unbroken flow of pa
per from mill to publisher.
Notwithstanding an increase of 1885,
900 tons in news print production in
1919 over 1918, new machines to come
into operation in 1920 will, if all goes
we'll, turn out nearly 10000 tons of
paper while numerous other new ma
chimes are scheduled for 1921. If
plans now actually under way are con-
sumated, by this time in 1922 new ma
chimes and new plants not in existence
in 1919 will be in operation with a to-
tai capacity of 1900 tons per day.
This would seem to be ample to take
care of the requirements of the pub
fishers, but to predict consumption so
far in advance is hazardous.
Newspaper advertising in 1919 was
about 40% more in volume than in
1918, and it is starting off in 1920
some 1910 in excess of the amount
during the first part of 1919. Ad-
vertising experts insist that there is
a perfectly tremendous volume ahead
In fact, the enthusiastic publicity man
seems to be governed entirely by the
Slogan
EARLY to bed and early to rise
Work like hell and advertise"
If he has his way the demand for
news print will continue to press
closely upon the production.