The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-10-15
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsi1LN, Director.
Washington, d. G.
THE PAPER SITUATION.

would have cost you but a dollar or a
dollar and half five years ago. and
when you pay 25 cents for a magazine
that used to cost you Is cents. and
when even your old reliable daily
paper goes up from 1 cent to 2 cents
you may place a large part of the
blame on the American spirit of reck-
less waste, as exemplified in the ruth
less cutting of forests to make paper
pulp.
American business, complacent
about its wOrld-beating efficiency ac-
tually exhibits many cases of reckless
ness hardly less creditab1e than that
of the man 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 Y Ork and the Lake
states. Each of these estab Iishments,
we are told, represents capital value of
from three to five million dollars.
And each Of them faces the sad fact
that the forests upon which it has been
depending for supply of pulp are
rapidly becoming depleted. There are
|enormo Gus quantities of pulp wood
available in the west and in Alaska,
but the mills, with few exceptions,
are in the east. Hence the facts that
the United States is becoming each
year more dependent upon importa-
tons for its paper supply, and that
during the war there was paper
famine which drove useful publica-
tons into bankruptcy, and boosted the
price of everything we read.
Such a situation would be inevitable
in time of war if we had not an ade-
quate supply of pulp wood in this
country. But we have the pulp wood
in great quantities. The whole trouble
is that the woods in the neighborhood
of the mills have been exhausted by
reckless cutting, and new mills have
not yet been established in the west
where there is plenty of wood. In this
situation, the publishers are showing
an increasing tendency to take the
matter of paper manufacture into their
own hands. Several large papers own
their own mills A large number of
smaller concerns are banded together
to buy their paper comparatively, and
may ultimately make it that way. A
southern newspaper recently printed
an edition on paper made of southern
scrub pine, which had been especially
ground for this purpose. The result
ant paper was not of high grade. but it
served the purpose and showed that
the south is not dependant upon either.
northern or western woods. The de-
velopment of a special process for
grinding and pu1pihg the Southern
woods would greatly improve the
paper made from them.
Need Independent Supply.
1t is especially undesirable to be de
pendent upon other countries for
paper supply. Not only is war or en-
barge 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 it.
self up to the point where imports are
unnecessary. Others say that this is
economically unsound and unjust
With enormous supplies of pulp wood
at his disposal, the American paper
maker, they say, should be able to
compete successfully with the foreign
sources for the most part, and has
ocean freights to pay in addition. To
protect the American industry with a
tariff, they urge, is merely to encour
age the American manufacturer in his
wastefuI habits and make the publish
er and the public pay the bill.
At present large imports of paper
are coming from Germany and are
said to be selling for about what IT
Ecosts the American mills to produce
the same grade of paper. This is partly
due to the rate of exchange tenn
ufacturer, which will in time disap-
pear. But it is a lesson in conserva-
ton which America should take to
heart, that Germany, a small and
| thick1y settled country, is able to send
| large quantities of paper to this coun-
try and undersell the domestic pro-
ducers-
Germany can do this because she
| conserves her forests. The Germans
are the best foresters in the world.
! They would no more cut forest down
to the last tree than they would Shoot
a herd of valuable dairy cattle. The
| forests from which they are now TAX
\ ing pulp wood, to the sorrow of
American manufacturers, have been
/ yielding regular supply of wood for
many generations. They are culti-
waited as any other crop is cultivated.
And they yield more wealth per acre
per year than any of our forests. Had
| the American paper makers practiced
a similar forestry on their holdings
in the lake states ana New England,
to fear foreign competition, according
| to expertrs il forestry.
Must Reforest.
AS it is, the only way to save the
| huge amounts invested in northeast
| ern paper mills is to reforest the sur
| rounding lands, these men say. They
J add that the supply of Canadian pulp,
/ Oh WHICH THESE are
! drawing, will not last nearly as long
as has been supposed, with paper con-
sumptions increasing every year. The
| Canadians conserve their supply of
pulp woods somewhat better than we
have done, but pulp wood as a crop
is of slow growth in Canada. 1t is
said that a piece of land which has
been cut over without destroying the
stand will be ready to cut for pulp
wood again in 40 years in Vermont
In Canada it would take 80 years for
the trees to reach the same size be-
cause of the shorter growing season
each year.
with paper is the great problem OF
industry. If you look closely at the
paper of which your daily is made you
will see that it has a family fluffy
surface. This is necessary in order
that the paper may absorb the ink al
the terrific speed with which a news
paper is printed. In order to have this