Hundreds of the best chemical men on the continent, technical experts from pulp and paper mills, college men from all the great universities, and others interested in the spread of technical and chemical knowledge, gathered in New York and gave their best. Men who had experimented for years in the quiet of their own laboratories, made public the results of their patient research work. Technical experts and college men vied with practical mill men in revealing the things which they had found to be of benefit in the working out of the manufacturing problems of the day. There were no secrets, the cards were laid on the table, and men who found a certain line of work, or policy, or experiments beneficial, frankly and freely made public the result of their findings.
The chemists felt that it was “up to them” to make this continent independent of Germany in chemical research. The result of their two years of effort were simply beyond belief; even the chemists themselves were surprised at the wonderful progress that had been made in supplying dye-stuffs and other chemicals that were formerly obtained from Germany. If the war should continue another year, this continent will be practically independent of the foreign dye-maker.
In much the same way, satisfactory progress was made in connection with the technical work of the Pulp and Paper Association. The papers read, the discussions carried on, and the conclusions reached, marked further progress in the work of the Association, and made it more than ever apparent that the technical man is an increasingly important factor in the modern paper mill. A number of the papers read at the gathering appear in this issue of the Pulp and Paper Magazine.
PRODUCTION AND SHIPMENTS.
The last weekly letter on production and shipment was sent out by the News-Print Manufacturers Association on October 7th.
The report from the Western Territory for the week ending October 7th shows production equivalent to 107.1%, and shipments equivalent to 103.8% of maximum production capacity.
The report from the Canadian Territory for the same week shows production equivalent to 100.1%, and shipments equivalent to 97.2% of maximum productive capacity.
A number of the mills have been running on other grades of papers, and in the case of one large Canadian mill, low water has caused low production.
There has been an increase in inventory during the week in question of 476 cents. It will, of course, be understood that this increase is not surprising, as it is impossible to maintain inventories at the same low figures reported last week.