Why Paper is Dearer
In a letter to the members of the News-Print Manufacturers Association Mr. G. F. Steele ably refutes the charge that the recent advance in the price of paper were arbitrary measures.
The writer was unavoidably absent from New York when the monthly report of production and shipments for the month of August was sent out from this office on September 19th.
You have doubtless observed the decreased production in August as compared with the month of July. This was largely caused by the difficulties encountered by one of the large Canadian mills by a terrible forest fire, which decreased operations for several weeks. It will doubtless occur, however, to every one of our members that due to the terrific pressure which has been placed on the operation of the mills during the past eight months, that it is a great wonder that production keeps up to the present high point. Machines are running at a much greater speed then they were ever expected to run, and ordinary shut downs for repairs and replacements have not been made this summer. It is usually the custom for most news-print mills to shut down at the end of the summer before freezing weather occurs, to run their screening and tailings into wrappers. I do not know of a single mill which has indulged in this desirable practice this year, and in order to get a supply of wrappers for the coming six months it may be necessary for some mills to stop making news-print paper temporarily and run out their wrapper stock.
During the months of June, July and August in normal years production drops down materially, and stocks are accumulated for the great Fall demand. During the months of June, July and August of this year, instead of accumulating increased stocks, you doubtless have observed from the statement submitted to you that total stocks at hand at all points, including stocks on hand at mills, in transit, and at destination points, decreased 7,316 tons or 10.6 per cent.. It was thought by those who are best posted in the industry that stocks were at danger point on June 1st, and that unless these stocks could be replenished there would be grave danger of the necessity of some papers suspending publication temporarily because of the inability of the mills to get paper to them in time for their requirements during the coming Fall and Winter. During the three months of June 1st to September 1st, 1915, storage stocks increased as much as they have declined this year.
During the past few weeks the newspapers have been full of violent outcries, uttered by publishers, regarding the high price of news-print paper. There have come to my desk during a period of two weeks over 1,500 radical and abusive articles, making all sorts of baseless and unfounded charges against the manufacture of news-print paper. It is quite evident that these newspaper publishers are more scared than hurt up to this time, for owing to the peculiar nature of this business and the fact that the great bulk of the business is contracted for the calendar year in the fall months of the preceding year, it is the belief of those who are best posted in the industry that on the average the price of roll news-print paper which is sold on contract has not advanced up to this time more than 5% or $2.00 per ton. Many newspapers have taken advantage of the situation to raise subscription prices and to raise their advertising rates, when these same papers are paying no higher price for their supply of news-print paper than they were paying a year ago.
So much has been said about the price of news-print paper, and so little has been said about the rise in price of other commodities, that I have endeavored to make up a list gleaned from responsible commercial publications regarding the rise in other commodities.
Just as soon as the price of news-print paper advances, no matter how little, the newspaper publishers promptly outdo the Prophet Jeremiah with their lamentations and demand an immediate investigation on the part of the government. We do not see the same demand when the prices of other commodities advance.