NATIONAL RECIPROCITY

CONVENTION.

Ta meeting of a special commit

AT

tee of the National Association of Manufacturers, in Philadelphia, October 19, the following call was issued for a national reciprocity convention to be held in Washington, November 19:

"In pursuance of a suggestion advanced by the National Association of Manufacturers at its annual convention in Detroit in June, 1901, and subsequent action by the executive committee of that association, arrangements have been made for the holding of a national reciprocity conference in Washington, November 19. The sole purpose of this conference is to discuss the expediency and practicability of the broader applications of the principles of the commercial reciprocity as a means of expanding foreign markets for American products, without sacrificing the interests of any of our industries. The object of this convention is to ascertain accurately the views of representative manufacturers on this subject and to formulate, if possible, some practical suggestions for such legislation or diplomatic negotiation as may be necessary to establish more intimate commercial relations between the United States and other nations. Your organization is invited to participate in this reciprocity conference by the appointment of delegates who must be named in accordance with this foregoing statement of purposes and accompanying rules to govern such appointments. This matter is of such vital importance to the entire business interests of the country that it is hoped that you will give your earnest aid in making this movement a success and to that end appoint as delegates men who are thoroughly interested in the matter and willing to attend the convention and participate in its deliberations.”

The rules which accompany the call provide that organizations with a membership of one hundred or less shall be entitled to appoint five delegates and five

alternates. For each additional one hundred members up to five hundred one additional delegate may be appointed. Organizations having over five hundred members may appoint ten delegates and ten alternates. Only those actively engaged as principals or executive officers in a manufacturing firm or corporation shall be eligible as delegates. Agents, attorneys or those engaged in purely mercantile or professional pursuits will not be recognized as delegates or alternates. The committee did not decide just what organizations should be invited to appoint delegates, but after the consideration of a list prepared for this purpose the entire matter was referred to the officers of the association. The National Association of manufacturers will be represented in the convention by its general officers and vice presidents and delegates to be named from each state on the basis of membership of the association in those states in the same manner as specified for the appointment of delegates by organizations.

THE GERMAN TARIFF.

[The Manufacturer.]

Manufacturers who are fearful that the proposed new German tariff, by reason of the high duties which it imposes upon machinery, will cut them off from the profitable German market, may still find a ray of hope in the situation.

In the first place it will be two years before the tariff goes into effect, and in the second place it has not yet been accepted by the German Parliament. It is more than likely that the differences of opinion between the Liberals in that Parliament and the Agrarians will lead to substantial reductions from the proposed schedules.

Should no changes be made by the Parliament, however, in the tariff as now mapped out, our manufacturers can fall back upon the comforting assurance of a prominent German machinery importer, to the effect that the greater efficiency of American machines will insure their continued sale abroad even with an increased cost.

growth in the paper industry, an idea of which may be gained from the following figures: The yearly output of paper and allied products in France has grown from 42,000 tons in 1851 to 400,000 tons in 1899. Great Britain produced about 800,000 tons in the same year, and the United States put about 2,500,000 tons of paper of its own manufacture on the market, more than three times as much as Great Britain. As to the consumption of paper, statistics show that in 1873 Germany led in Europe with 13.2 pounds per capita. Next came Belgium, with 11.2 pounds; Great Britain, with 11 pounds, and France consumed at the rate of 7 pounds per capita. Germany has increased since then to about 20 pounds per capita, while it is estimated that the United States uses 50 pounds of paper a year to every inhabitant.

The exports of paper were insignificant a few years ago, but now amount to over $7,000,000 a year. In the last fiscal year the exports were (including paper hangings) $7,439,001, a gain of $1,223,168 over the previous fiscal year.

While this great increase in the paper producing industry has been going on, the efforts to improve the product have never been relaxed. This was made necessary by the consumers, who demanded improved goods and threatened to procure them abroad if the home market could not furnish them. The art of printing could never have reached the present state of perfection if the paper trade had not responded to the

demands for higher grades and better qualities of paper.

From advance statistics of the census of 1900 the growth of our pulp and paper manufacturing can be exactly stated. June 1 last year there were 763 pulp and paper mills in operation in the United States, with 28 idle mills, not including plants burned down or dismantled. At the same time in 1890 there were only 649 mills in operation. This is an increase of 17.6 per cent in the number of mills for the past ten years. Owing to the great size of the mills built latterly and the enlarged capacity of the older mills, the production has increased in a much greater proportion, being 61 per cent more than in 1890. The total value of the plants has increased in a still greater ratio. There is now about $167,000,000 invested in paper manufacturing in this country against $90,000,000 ten years ago.

Thirty-six mills are under the management and control of one large corporation, the International Paper Company, which has large holdings of woodlands and water power, and although the output of this concern is enormous it holds no monopoly of the trade and has competitors in many states. Its authorized capital stock is $45,000,000, divided as follows: $25,000,000 preferred, cumulative 6 per cent per annum, and $20,000,000 common, of which there has been issued $17,000,000 common and $22,406,700 preferred. In his last annual report Hugh J. Chisholm, the president of the company, said:

It never was the intent of the company to create a monopoly in the business of manufacturing newspaper, but rather that it could manufacture and distribute under one ownership the aggregate tonnage of all its mills cheaper than any of the mills, proportionately, when running as separate and independent plants-and this has been fully justified from the experience of last year.

The steady growth of the paper making industry and the use of trees to furnish raw material have caused much discussion, and it has even been urged that if the drain continues the forests of the United States will become exhausted. But manufacturers who have studied the problem maintain that the paper industry is not a menace to the forests. In an interesting article on that subject, Alexander C. Lawson says:

In reference to this question, there is no one kind of wood that is an exclusive article required for the manufacture of paper; in fact, practically all of the fibrous materials in the shape of wood can be used for this purpose. And realizing that over one-third of the whole surface of the United States, including the great American deserts and prairies, is covered with wood in some form, one can readily see the absurdity of thinking that the supply of raw material for the manufacture of paper could ever become exhausted. It should also be remembered that the consumption of wood for the manufacture of paper, as compared with other uses to which it is put, is a very small item.

Another important question often lost sight of is the fact that the size of the wood required for paper making brings it down to a point that makes it an easy commodity to ship from any and all parts of this country, so that distance has become annihilated in regard to the value of wood in one section of the country as against the other.

Then comes the great question of the future growth of timber, which is constant; it is simply a matter of calculation as to when timber becomes of sufficient value to warrant its cultivation for crop purposes; but this value must be much greater and labor much cheaper than it is to-day, before any conditions would arise making this question practically important.

There are few people outside of the paper business who thoroughly appreciate the importance of the article and who realize how difficult it would be to find a substitute for it in the commercial, artistic, literary or manufacturing worlds. The industry is not only a great consumer of raw materials, but it contributes largely to the support of allied industries, which employ great numbers of laborers. It is an important factor in the transportation interests of the country, it being estimated that this industry furnishes about 7,500,000 tons of freight a year. About 3,000,000 tons of coal are consumed by the paper manufacturing establishments each year, and the industry has greatly enhanced the value of water powers, has added to the value of timber lands by creating a permanent demand for wood, and it makes a market for hundreds of thousands of tons of rags which would otherwise be wasted. Inasmuch as the United States can supply all the raw material, the paper industry of the country could be independent and become one of the National industries and an additional factor toward making this country a great power in the industrial world.

Since this article was prepared an