Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-10-15

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15.-When
you pay two dollars or more for a
book hat would have cost you but a
dollar or a dollar and a half five
years ago, and when you pay twen-
ty-tive cents for a magazine that
used to cost you fifteen cents. and
when even your old reliable daily
paper goes up from one to two
cents, you may place a large part OF
the blame on the American spirit
Of reckless waste, as exemplified in
the ruthless cutting of forests to
make paper pulp.
American business, complacent
about it's world-beating efficiency,
actually exhibits many cases of
recklessnesS hardly less creditable
than that of the nan who climbs
out on a long limb and then saws
it off between himself and the
trunk. The paper manufacturers OF
the United States are now out on
such a long limb. Ninety-five per
cent. of the mills which make our
news print paper are located in New
England. New York and the Lake
states. Each of these establishments,
we are told, represents capital value
of from three to five million dollars.
And each of them faces the sad
TACT that Int lOICSl5 upOH III IL
has been depending for a supply of
pulp wood available in the West and
in Alaska, but the mills, with a few
exceptions, are in the East. Hence
the facts that the United States is
becoming each year more depend
ent upon i~mportations for its paper
supply, and that during the war
there was a paper famine which
drove useful publications into bank
ruptcy. and boosted the price of
everything we read.
Such a situation would be inevi-
table in time of war If we had not
an adequate supply Of pulp wood in
this country. But we have the pulp
wood in great quantities. The whole
trouble is hat the woods in the
neighborhood of the mills have been
exhausted by reckless cutting, and
new mills have lot yet been es-
tablished in the West where there
is plenty of wood. In this situation,
the publishers are showing an in
creasing tendency to take the mat
ter of paper manufacture into their
own hands. Several large papers
own their own mills. A large num-
Der of smaller concerns are band
ed together to buy their paper CO.
operatively, and may ultimately
make 1t that way. A southern news
paper recently printed an edition on
paper made of southern scrub pine,
which had been especially ground
for this purpose. The resultant
paper was not of high grade, but
it served the purpose and showed
hat the South is not dependent
upon either northern Or western
woods. The development of a spe-
cial process for grinding and pulp
ing the southern woods would
greatly improve the paper made
from them.
Need Independent Supply.
1t is especially undesirable to be
dependent upon other countries Tor
a paper supply. Not only is war or
embargo likely to cut it off. but a
paper supply should be free from
any faint of political control, in the
interests of complete freedom OF the
press.
In this situation some urge a high
tariff on paper and pulp so that the
industry in this country may build
itself up to the point where I'M
ports are unnecessary. Others say
that this is economically unsound
and unjust. With enormous sup
/ plies of pulp wood at his disposal
the American paper maker, they
say, should be able to compete sue
| cessfully with the foreign paper
maker, who has smaller resources
for the most part, n has ocean
| freights to pay in addition. To pro-
tect the American industry with q
tariff, they urge, is merely to en-
! courage the American manufacturer
I in his wasteful habits and make the
publisher and the public pay tht
bill.
At present large imports OF pa
per are coming in from Germany
| and are said to be selling for aoou'
what IL costs the American mllls te
produce the same grade OF paper
/ This is partly due to the rate OF ex'
change-a temporary advantage q
the German manufacturer, whlcI
will in time disappear. But II is
lesson in conservation which Amer
lea should take to heart that Ger
many. a small and thickly settled
country. is able to send large qaun'
titles of paper to this country an
undersell the domestic producers.
Germany can do this because sh'
conserves her forests. n Ger
mans are the best foresters In tn'
world. They would no more cut {
forest down to the last tree thai
they would shoot a herd of valua
BILE dairy cattle. The forests from
which they are now taking pull
wood, to the sorrow of American
h-a~ h~Az uiaidinG a