Evening star., 1944-01-16
Expected Surplus
In Newsprint 5hrinks
Sharply, WPB Reports
BY the Associated Press.

WiASA tlIC SONCll luiCllt Has an
nounced 1t would stockpile, has
dwindled away to few thousand
tons, the War Production Board
reported yesterday.
BY the time the first-quarter
needs of publishers have been met,
the surplus will total less than
$4,000 tons, and by the end of the
second quarter there will be 10000
tons. WPB said following Fridays
closed meeting with the Newspaper
Industry Advisory Committee.
These totals will have to suffice
for all newsprint tonnage granted
to publish@s on hardship" ap-
peals, estimated at 5000 or 5000
tons quarter, and for any emer-
gencies which may arise.
WPB's proposal to stockpile an es-
timated $4,000 tons monthly of
Canadian newsprint which Domin-
ion producers recently announced
they could furnish for the first half
Of 1943, in excess Of previous pro-
duction estimates, has aroused Wig
orous opposition from publishers.
Urging abandonment of the Stock
piling plan, the American News
paper Publishers Association asked
that newspapers be permitted to use
the extra paper as it became avail
able.
Must Repay Publishers.
WPB'S announcement said the
stockpile might better have been
called reserve inventory" since
some of it must be used to repay
certain publishers who released some
of their stocks to other papers last
Fall when mill production fell short
of permitted usage. Another $500
tons will provide paper for Leap
Year Day" on February 20, which
had not been taken into account
when newspapers quotas were set.
Total supplies in the first quarter
are estimated at $4,000 tons for
daily newspapers, from all sources.
Permitted consumption for the first
quarter, plus the Leap Year Day
allotment, will use up all but 49,
453 tons, WPB said. Twenty thou
sand tons then will go to repay, in
part, those large newspapers which
Loaned" newsprint last fall An
other $500 tons are considered ne
cessary to build up inventories in
areas where transportation is be-
coming uncertain. The remainder.
1888 tons, will have to take care
OF appeals and emergencies.
Much the same situation will pre-
vail in the second quarter, WPB
said, except that the surplus will
amount only to 10,602 tons. News
papers normally use more paper in
the second and fourth quarters than
in the other tWo).
In reply to expressions of fear
that Government stockpiling of
paper might lead to further control
over supplies, Harold Boeschen-
stein, acting director of WPBs
Forest Products Bureau, declared:
The United States does not pro-
pose to go into the newsprint busi-
ness. The only condition under
which the Government would buy
up ,newsprint, if available, would
be when the United States publish
ers could not buy it because of con-
sumption quotas or inventory
limits.
Mr.. Boeschenstein said he was
not yet prepared to give amplify-
ing details on how the Government
would proceed to build .up the
planned stockpile if it proved neces-
sary to do SO.
WPB disclosed also that the News
paper Advisory Committee had rec
commended that the Printing and
Publishing Division attempt to bring
about local agreements between pub
fishers of six-day newspapers and
seven-day papers competing in the
same city, to prevent the seven-day
publisher from diverting tonnage
from his Sunday issue to build up
the size of his daily issues and thus
place the six-day publishers at
disadvantage.
If such agreements cannot be
reached, the newspaper committee
recommended that WPB take ap-
propriate action" by formal order.
These other recommendations were
made to WPB:
That publishers supply the Print
ing and Publishing Division with
copies of their newsprint orders on
mills, from January of this year,
to keep WPB informed on orders ac-
tually placed.
Ask Supplement Aid.
That publishers be permitted to
calculate their inventory quotas on
the basis of the daily rate of al
lowed usage for the first six months
of 1914, rather than for the current
calendar quarter.
That the publishers who volun-
tarily reduced their inventories dur
ing the fourth quarter to make
newsprint available for others, be
permitted to replace their contribu-
tions, up to the limit allowed by the
inventory rules.
That publishers who wish to dis
tribute a planned Red Gross supple
ment be permitted to do so without
including the paper tonnage in their
quota consumption.
None of the recommendations has
been acted on by WPB.
February 20 was chosen for the
next meeting of the Advisory Com