NEWS PRINT PRICES FOR THE YEAR 1918.
INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY WILL TRY NOT TO EXCEED 3.10—BUT IT CANNOT SAY DEFINITELY.
An official of the International Paper Company on October 19 gave The Fourth Estate the first authorized interview to be published on the probabilities of that company's paper prices for the year 1918. He said>
"I believe, in view of the marked reduction in waste and other economies introduced by publishers, and the fact that all news mills are being pushed to the limit, there is little reason to fear a shortage of paper.
'Al to tilt price for 1 9 IS there are (oo many unceruintir« as to wood, coal, labor and other cost* lu admit of a price bcinn fixed for tba year 1SI8 at this time. "Tb« CMt o( everytbiDg involved in mmofMHiK k wwMatIr increas- img ami tike iacmw mrnimiet. "In Carii^da i» bis twrn offici;>Ily dtierinint 'i i^iilim im.jh:!; the c<'8t to inanufacttirr is amtroxi- inaiely three cents, and in the United Slates it has been oi&cially declared that Dcm prim paper in die United Stalcf nets die nanufecturer on an •veragc $4 SO per ton more thrin in Canada. "Mcvcrtlitltn Iht Iniemalional fuftr Comfrntf «tH mdtmtr te mioid «ny miimne» m iu prict «/ 9SM ftr Ut Ufh Watf rott ntmt m Fiipcr (" miptiiiy nn October 19 RJivc -!)•■■. 1 iiiU i vi. w to ]r.ib1ishcJ on tlic
- iJiic<;> firf llic ><;ar 1U18. He iiiiil
] fiMUKtify al Ihf milts, "It will be noted that on May I. ItU, an screed scheifaile ol UBinn labor waxes was put Into force by ihe I. P. Company for a period oi two years. "Xf.twith'.-.tnfiinir this fact, there hi"' b. 1-11 -wi. inrr(:ift-9 in the wage scale made by the I. P. Company liaee thai date. "n* lait increase made goes iota tdrot tnmnTTow. O, (ob«r 21. and aisii ij^i- tn :i[.:ir.j.:ii.itcly a yearly increaw in labcir cost of $7j(l.(NMt with the further additiim of aMirox- imalrly I'U.UOO growioc Out ol the 10 per e«Mt beaaa wUck die I. P Company eilll eoBtfatiaa to ile oper- atives. 'This latter Increase in the labor cost of the I. P. Company is prac- tically e<iuivaleni to an increase of $1.(13 per ton in labor cost alone. "It liuiy t.i; filrtnci ni;fc.l lll.H x- krr-rnr.K willi ?,I.iy 1 lI'MI. ii^- cludiog the increase which goes into tKm OcMber 91. the aeale .ol «a«ea ie iflCfMsed M nay not be yet THE NORTHCLIFFE PAPER IN U.S. A.X.PA. ENTERPRISE PROVES A lllc; SLCCKSS— M INTVRK TELLS OF INfiPECTFnv 'ITlC operation of the [<.L[icr 1:1111:1 of (he Angla-Ncwfoiwdland Devclo]mient Cmapaqr. M, M Gwti Fall(» New- fomdhnd in (he Snieicete of the American News^ajwr Publishers As- sociation, may now, after two and one half m^inths, be carefully Jiidircd an its merits. Six different cargoes of paper have been landed in the Uaited Stalea and ship)>c'l til practically every state in Ihc t_inion. This p,i{ier has now been n<rd by HIMI i.r KNI publishers, and the pnprr ntarket, imfler the strain of this .-idrlitional tonniijrc and the manner in vthicii it was placed, has been main- tained «o(l. All ttien of tU* paper praise in the hlBhrsi term.i the efTorlB of the paper C' limiitiec of the Newspaper Pul>lish- ers .Association in hrinainu tonnage into the market and siipplyirm a pa- per which they my is of a superior quality, not equllcd tgr aay anil in the United Slater A. C Mclnlyre, spcci.il representa- tive "f the ..N P.A. paper commit- Icf. who has just returned from a trip of ;i month and a half to Canada and the NewfouDdlaod will, said to Thf FotniTM Earan jroterday: 'Tbe nilit at Grand Falls are ttn> d'nibtcdly the finest ex.imple of scien- tific jiapcr manuf.icitire in the North Americaa conlineal. 'Hie organixa- lien tahlcfc Lord Northcliffe has in Newfottadland reprceenti the maxi- mum of rf1i--eney in l^-lj-er n-.iniifac- ture on tin-* ^ii3c ih^- Atl.in'ii:, and showed remaikabie genius in mcetinn the pnibleins of ntamifactliriM good paper cheaply under such diAciut con- ditions as are found in the colony of Newfoundland. "The mills are now oj>erating to xreatcr capai' t) •h:Ti ever before. The sius of p.'iper being manufac- tured for the Amefican Kewspaper PtdiHaterB Aewidation are fitlinx the m.ichines out to the last inch «if trim, giving a machine «-iiu?;rn,v nt . i r be- fore attained on Fngl>!.h •. irf "The paper being m.'i- :k!-r In l^rd Nurtbeliflc's staff stands .it ihe •op «f lk« Hit M qtulity an<I low maauflMtlirlnr cost tn the North Amerlc.in cint'teiw litis i-.iill is appare;ii'v nMr to nian.it.ir-nrc [..tper under iiresent difficult ronditions at less than the cost of Canadian mills, according to their reports to Com- missioner Pringle. brought out in the recent investigation — tbis in spite of h'. f.ort tl'-'.r f tiPfs :iti< t:.xrs 'n tlif I'l.iit'l i>: SVu foiinill.Tn:' .lt tn fxttiin ot btn^^Mt t.tA.e^ in C an^kliL, to tltc ex- tent of at le.ist $.1 a Ion. "It is notewortliy that the greatest publislieni' paper mill in the world, which this Is, it also the greatest mill from a manufacturing point of view of mills manufacturing under approxi- mately similar canditioos. "Tkia taill caiilp sivea the lie to tlMife wko woidd chin tkat ptMish- ers cannot build and operate paper mills successfully. (CoMtMiwid M A^iaeiceaM Pngt.} TRADE COMMISSION SOLE PAP ER PROTECTI ON. MEASURES TO PROTECT PUBLISHERS DURING CONGRESS' RECESS— CHANCE FOR CONSUMERS' RELIEF. ihcrc will be no fjilse alamu on pew» print tupitly tbis winter — fui re|ictiiion of the aarrn and atupadce of « year a^D— if the Petleial Tridc Coimiussion can prevent iL '! is the real significance ot tlic latcil action oti the part of the 1 ru<I' < "inmission whereby, as reported exclusively in the li>t lw4> iss ic* oi TllK FoL-RTH (•"•■■T'.Tt: rtili!-<.hrf=i hitvc 1., i n it .'ile.! to fall into line with paper manu!;icuii':ts. j.ihlxr- .m.l il< iln-. k;-; the Truilc Coninii«.sion infornic! ;it Ircqu^ii: iiiilj ..lU as lu tin; oiUie of their pap>-r stocks. I.«<>king over the scene, after liie excilment bad subsided Inst spring, the I'ederal oflicials became ihoroivihly coBviBced titat the panic into which Dcwepaper publishers were thrown was a manufactured or at least a con- tagious panic. It will be rcBtembcrcd that reports teeta gpread b eo a d eMi irf » larious ihortaie of paper loppl^ aot only at the mills, and in the warehouses at distributing centers, but also in the storerooms of such puUiabcn a« were known to make a practice of aioring surplus oewtprint. WithoBi Itepping to investigate — indeed Ihcy kad no facilities for con- ftiicting a comprehensive dependable
- n . c^tigalion — newspaper publishers
rushed into ibe op«o market and bid agaiaat one aBotker with the result that prieea meaaled to liatearraated heights on meb eigppliea ea vcrc adroitly doled oot ta tke daiaonnn buyers. The Federal Trade Commission is detcriinined that nothing of th.-it kind shall occur again. If it cannot do anything else, for the time being, to insure the free play of the norn^s! l-^w of supply and demand in thr nr.vs print industry, the Trade Commission CBB at ieaat prcveat alanipedea based on nnwarraated fears. To that end tke aearcbinK liitht of continuous puHleily b to tie turned on the print paper trade at all angles. When its all-embracing reporting system — ciimpulsory under heavy penalties — is in .full working order as it will be before snow flies, the T rade CnmiajiaMM will ^ have at all simex a d>nni*(o4ate {aventorr of paper stocks. No manufitclurer can sl.ly lilr nii a big surplus without the Cnmmiaxinn knowinc it, Similarly (he reserve itocks in the hands of prodiKers cannot he- Ai- l»1eted seriously without the I r.irral l/ystan<ler having due wanring of an impending abortagei If OdC ia aetuatly threatened of all, no selfiih interest can. I'V ^jireading pessimistic reports or by rriiKiinirtp" ; mrtiously silent in the face i f :lu- nniciir inquiries of publishers, convey the impression that a grave situation threatens. Al-L CA«nS OW T1I-' T>!;r.l-. However, this plan of tl-.r Tr.ailn Commission to compel all hands to lay their cards on the talde will not be one-sided in its workings. The effect will be |o net only lay bare tn a considerable evient tn the trade poUdM of paper prodiiccra md die- tributors, but likewise to tell I.iles out of school with reference to any pul»lishcr who thinks solely oi his own welfare rather than ot Ike Creal- est good to the greatCtt Bimker la the publishing industry. That is to say if a publisher sud- dftilv •.inrlfnukes to store ntrwsprint Khun he '.iii> never previously put a*j,y siutk, li he seems disposed to place more paper in reserve th.in might be accounted a reasonable margin of ftty, >i it' hr is inclined to go int.t .1 iiri .u.i? ii'.nrkct for the purpose of increasing an already Urge reserve, the t»M wuM fee w ll ei it wd in his report to die Trade Comauatioa and the latter will have a powerful weapon at hand io its privilege to ni ikf ; .iblic the facts in these reports i( thr interests involved do not ilo what the (^ommiaaiun deems the right thing. The wkele aehene la oot, in lit basic idea, reot>ition,ry nor is it original with tl.-j fr.iJc iromnissi.-n. It is indeed, merely an adaptation of the storage reportioc ayitem tanonw •ited some time aiBee by the Bureau of Markets of the United States De- partment of Agriculture. The Utter operates to prevent the tuanipulatinn of poultry, l irii r :in I piices by means of rumors that the supply of ibeea cdiblea i> eold atorafa ia all but rcaekiog the vatiithhi( poteL On the »firae formula, the news- print rrp ris lu the Trade Commission wilt forestall any needless alarm* to the eRTect that paper stocka Bt die mills arc dangerously low. TaAae eoMinaiNir amc psotkctiom. Whatever of relief the Tr.ide Com- miuion may accomplish for newsprint consigners by this new policy of "pitiless puUicily, it is obvious that the effort is to be comiutnded because the Trade CommiHSion Dliat atatid, for the next three moMkk aa the only hope of relief fur paper users. Congress has adjourned until early DeceniViT nii'l, if p.a8t pcrformancf* arc ..'i:. kir l'-. little will l>e ac- complished in a legislative way in the interval bettaeea dw aaa cm Ming of the natiOMtt la^Utitre and (he lioli- r??iv recess. .:i.it iricans that for all the punch in that report On Governnteat control a il retnilatiun of the print POper industry submitted by Senator Smilb on the eve of adiourninent, it will prnhalily lie at le,tst ninety days before C.nngrexs can lie induced to give c;vr to the publishers' tale of woe iinUHS (CenlMn<d «• TUrtit-fillh Digitized by Google
