The waste paper market has been characterized with considerable activity during the past few weeks. The shortage of sulphite has stimulated buying considerably and everyone is in the market looking for stock. Hard white and soft white shavings, in particular, are in strong demand and are reaching a stage where they will be hard to obtain. They are quoted about as follows: hard white, 4¼c to 4¾c; soft white, 3 to 4c. The demand for ledger, magazine and book stock is fairly strong and will most likely increase in strength, if present indications are to be taken into account. Ledger stock is at 2¼c to 2½c; magazine, at 1¾c; krafts, at 3c; mixed papers, at 60c to 65c.
In the paper market, the acute situation remains unrelieved, nor is there any apparent sign of relief visible. This is true of all kinds of paper. The mills are all operating to capacity in the hope of catching up with orders, but this hope has been futile as will be realized when it is understood that some of the manufacturers are still working on orders received several months ago. Newsprint has been the miracle of the industry. Despite all of the schemes which have been published stating the many ways in which the newspapers were curtailing their consumption and saving paper, the demand is to-day as strong as it ever was. The mills are shipping more than 100 per cent. of their production—drawing from their reserve supplies, so that these have dwindled to a dangerous degree. It would be hard to name a real quotation for newsprint at the present time for the only lots to be had are not those in the hands of jobbers who are asking as much as they can get for their stock.
Wrapping papers are still very hard to get. It will be interesting to know that many of the large consumers of wrapping paper have reached the stage where they find they cannot stand the cost and are making price as follows: so much for an article unwrapped, and so much for an article wrapped.
R. W. JOLLY.
ROOF TRUSSES COLLAPSE AT PLANT OF ONTARIO PAPER COMPANY, LIMITED.
On the 19th of September six roof trusses on the new machine room building, which is under construction at the plant of the Ontario Paper Company, Thorold, collapsed.
The building when completed will have fourteen trusses and at the time of the accident six trusses had been erected with the exception of riveting them. Seventy-five per cent. of the rivet holes had been filled with proper bolts. The trusses were all tied together with purlins of 6″ × 8″ Long Leaf Yellow Pine.
When the six trusses were finished the guy line which held No. 1 truss was slacked off as it was felt that the steel work would support itself. When the guy line was loose the entire six trusses simply toppled over without any warning.