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Show A. NEWSPAPER FAMINE' I BOAHCITV or PniNT PAPBR1 LBJ MAY UMNO IT ON. test Minrlscs of Ids MutsMal fronsl Ythleh II Is tsil Onailtsn opplf flfl of ITofMl l'utp Sliul OR Entirely feel jflj Ilia I'rvstnt. JH (From the Chicago Dally Inter-Ocean.)' r''B A terloua famine thrtutteue Iho paper jfljl Industry of tho United state. Varloun d fljj causes have conrplred to lessen the I jB product of the mills, while the demand, " Km for print paper nnd the other ordinary k: W grades Is unprecedented. K The conditions led to a secret meet- . I9J Ing ot tho leading paper manufacturer k of Iho United Stalest yesterday at th OM Oreat Northern hotel, to consider what JjH could be done to avert tbo famine MM threatened by Ihe shortage In wood VMH pulp, which, If It Is not relloved, will ' IIJ cause the vast paper mill of tho conn- HI try to shut down and cripple seriously every Industry which depends upon ths product of the ml Nearly nil ot the leading paper manufacturers ot ths , country wero present, and the principal, , toplo of Interest was n new fiber top tho manufacture nt piper, to tako the placo ot the wood libra now Ini such universal use. What tho new, fiber Is, the pair manufacturers would! not say. They averred that nt present Ihe process by which It Is manufacture ered Is In n crude stage, but they discussed dis-cussed It ns the only visible solution ot present difficulties, tlrmt Mek nt Slsl.rl.U "Not for twenty years has such a, serious condition confronted th inanu-faeturrra inanu-faeturrra of paper, and there Is great dangvr that wo may be farted to close our mills for lack of material," said A. D. Bchaoffer nt the Hartford City Pa-per Pa-per company, who presided over th meeting. "Various causes are responsible respon-sible for thi condition. The principal one Is that wood pulp, from which th lower grade of paper Is manufactured. Is so bard lo get that there Is a cons slant scramble for material. Hecent ' Inquiry ot tho pulp mills at Sault Bte, I Marls, tho largest pulp mills In ths j world, develops tho fact that there Is ! not a pound for sale there, and other ( milt aro ns hard pressed. Tbo rapid .' cutting of th forests ot tho lUstern, and middle Western stairs, and th ' stopping of ths supply from Canada, Is largely responsible fur the threatens ; ed famine. Added to ths scarcity of, timber I the recent mild weather. 1 which has made It Imposalblo to bring j tho pulp wood which bus been cut to , market. A largo part ot tho season's cut ot tho forests nt Wisconsin and Michigan, upon which the middle ' Western states depend for pulp wood, J Is now lying on the buro ground ami 1 cannot bo moved until snow comes. J Another great danger come In th j possibility of a heavy fall ot snow fol- I lowing this long dry season. A fall ot 3 eighteen Inches of snow would cover up the pulp wood already cut so that, It would bo next to Impossible to dig: J It out nnd float It down the river to the. . i-tntil. , , ! f "A great scarcity ot labor Inibe pln-s trie has also mad tbo movent! oi pulp wood to tbo mills slow.' Companies Com-panies cutting pulp wood have spent, thousands of dollars Importing roan) Into the pineries to cut putp wood: ' only to lose them when they got there Hoys nt eighteen and nineteen are bs Ing largely employed In tbo work. j "Canada hss been tho sourco of sup- ' ply for many of tho Kastern mills, but that source of supply has been euc off as the cutting of timber on crown , lands has been prohibited and the) province of Quebec makes tbo Importer pay 11,00 per cord duty.'wilrh makes the material too expensive Th ''axSllsflisi? solution we csn seo Is to adopt a in"'" ' fiber as a substitute for wood Cber That la she subject of discussion. W . have one In view, but I do not care td talk of that now. "Another dlltlculty which confronts n Eastern manufacturers la a lack ot water upon which they depend fop power. That, too. Is the result ot ths cutting away of Iho forests. The mills ( of tho middle West aro not embarrass-. j ed In this respect to th samo extent I as the Ksslern mills. 9 "Wo have not come together to form ' any combination or to raise price The demand naturally govern price. The sole object Is to avert a famine It possible, for a famine would hurt ths 1 producer a much the consumer," J, O. Hrockelhank, vice president anil (' Western manager ot the Manufacture j era' Paper rompany of New York, with I office In tho Itookery building, confirmed con-firmed the statements made by Wllllstn Bchaeffer concerning tho trnde, C.-sOlllon Is rloil. "If present conditions In tho pineries continue, thero wilt be a serious shorti sge of pulp wood In tho Woet unttll next fall," be said, "It has been simply sim-ply Impossible lo get tbo spruce, from, which wood pulp Is made, to market It grows In the swamps of the plnsrlts0 snd the winter has been aa open thati j It has been Impossible to haul It to tho I rivers, down whkb It Is floated to the 1 milts, as wagons would sink to tho f bubs In sand and water. Only eontln- I ued cold weather can relievo tbo condl- ' tlon." r Tbo stock ot paper now on hand Is extremely short Tbo export lrd,i which was large, hss been nbsndonsd ' entirely, nnd Iho Jobbers have very llttlo frco pspcr on hand. Tb mills have no tree paper nnd will see that they aro lu condition to meet contracts already made before they sell to any one else. There Is serious dinger that tbo mills may have to shut down entirely en-tirely for lack of pulp wood. Tbo greatest great-est dsnger to the trade Is likely to boi during March nnd April, nnd May, but! tbo famlno will continue until next) tall. " ' 7"-' "1 |