Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 75, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1916 — THE PAPER SHORTAGE [ARTICLE]

THE PAPER SHORTAGE

That large consumers of paper have reached the point where a rigid .program of paper economy must be adopted is evident from a series of inquiries conducted by a representative of the New York Times, and from reports coming from various parts of the country. In New York the large department stores and mail order houses have discovered that in the past they have used more paper than necessary. They seem to believe that the prevailing high prices are due partly to war conditions, but principally to natural exhaustion of the paper-making material available in this country and Canada. Twenty years ago some definite program of conservation should have been adopted, but it was not. The result was a reckless disregard for the future. The public came to look on paper as an inexpensive nuisance, which cluttered up the -house and had to be burned. The department stores used wrapping paper extravagantly, never considering its cost, because it was cheap, and they thought the public wanted its packages wrapped generously. The awakening came when some of the larger department stores found their paper bills increasing by from $50,000 to SIOO,OOO a year. Many of the stores began to economize by using paper of lighter weight. Then investigation revealed that packages were wrapped too generously. Vast quantities of tissue paper were used for stuffing garments so they would retain their shape. The garments were then wrapped in tissue paper, placed in a cardboard box, wrapped in two pieces of strong wrapping paper and tied with string. At first it was feared that if the department stores economized on paper their customers would think they w’ere cheap and would go to other stores. Experiment showed that the public cared not for the paper but for what it bought. Much of the tissue paper stuffing was dispensed with, and the boxes were not wrapped. Some of the larger department stores in New York were using about 300 tons of wrapping paper each a year. A little more than a year ago this could be bought for from SSO to SBO a ton. It now costs from $l7O to SIBO a ton. Each store was using about 10,000 reams of tissue paper which has advanced from about 35 cents a ream to $1.30 a ream for first quality, and for inferior qualities in proportion. By the economies introduced, they hope to keep their paper bill about where it was before the war. The mail order houses have likewise been forced to economize. The largest mail order house in the world, a Chicago concern, uses about twenty tons of paper every year in its catalog. It has been estimated that, including all kinds of paper used by this company, its paper bill next year will be sl,000,000 more than it was last year. Another large mail order house found that a great deal of wrap-

ping paper was used for protecting orders while they were being transferred from various departments to the shipping room. This was eliminated by the employment of canvas bags. All mail order houses have reduced their catalogs in size, cut out many of the color plates which require a finer grade of paper, and reduced the circulation by weeding out persons on the mailing list who do not buy. A Chicago department store tried delivering goods in paper board boxes built something like suit cases, leaving the goods and returning the boxes to the store, but in the case of persons who were not at home this proved expensive when tried in New r York, and was abandoned. This movement among users of large quantities of paper indicates a serious shortage. It is felt by the newspapers, for the price of print paper has more than doubled, and many small papers are threatened with suspension. Three cents a pound used to be regarded as a high price for ordinary news print paper. Some papers are now forced to pay 10 cents a pound, and very little is to be had for less than 5 cents, even in large quantities. These conditions can be helped by the conservation of all kinds of waste paper, particularly in homes, where it may be sold, under present conditions, at a price that repays the trouble of collecting it.— Exchange.