Part 4
When a man is “on his uppers” he is in a very serious condition for then his shoe soles have worn out and he has no money to buy more. This expression therefore carries with it the assumption that the uppers of our shoes wear better than the soles. It is a slang phrase of recent introduction: for can we not recall our boyhood days, and see those gorgeous patches on our Sunday best wax calf shoes, or our every day high boots--patches which were striking emblems of the cobbler’s art? Yes, the soles outwore the uppers then, but they had other less desirable qualities than durability. Hark back, and you can hear again that vibrant reverberation echoing upon the stillness of the Sabbath morn as the deacon, contribution box in hand, tip-toed up and down the aisle; every squeak of those blessed boots sounding like the droaning of a rusty saw in a hemlock log.
Times have changed, however, since those happy days. The Chemist has been busy, and his achievements in the leather industry have been revolutionary. In 1884, Augustus Schultz of New York City, who was not a tanner but a chemist, patented a process for tanning with chromium salts. As a result of this discovery, over ninety per cent. of the shoes worn throughout the world to-day are made with chrome-tanned upper leather. This chrome-tanned leather, which, we are proud to say was made commercially possible in America, is cheaper, more durable, easier to manufacture, holds its shape better, and, in every other respect, is superior to bark-tanned leather of former years. This is the reason why we do not wear patches on our shoe uppers to-day.
The sole leather of to-day, it is claimed, does not wear so well as that of former years. Possibly this may be the case, but still the statement is open to a question. Granted, however, that the sole leather of fifty years ago did wear somewhat longer, there are reasons why we should not care to return to its use. In place of the old style leather, which was a hard and as hard and as slippery as steel, we now have a leather which cuts well, looks well, and, above all else, feels well on the foot. Therefore, looking to our comfort as we do, we would never be satisfied with the shoes that grandpa used to wear.
The meeting of the American Chemical Society, which was held in New York City during the week of September 25 to 30, and the Exposition of Chemical Industries meeting there at the same time, makes us wonder if the chemist will soon be able to make the sole of a shoe wear as long as the upper. Something along this line may be forthcoming, as it is pretty well known in the trade that a sole leather can be produced by means of a so-called chrome combination tannage which will outwear bark-tanned leather three to one. To prove this point, a recent series of tests were made on twenty mail carriers and twenty policemen in New York City. On the right shoe of each was a sole made from a chrome combination, and on the left was the best oak sole obtainable. On the average, two oak soles wore through and the men were on the third before the chrome combination saw its finish.
With the price of leather constantly going up and the supply of hides not sufficient to meet the demand, the time is soon coming when we shall be forced to produce sole leather possessing a greater degree of wearing quality. We shall then have shoes on our feet which will be like the proverbial, “One Horse Shay”; for, when they do go, even the cobbler will not be able to find the pieces.
WORK OF THE BUREAU OF STANDARDS.
Reference is made in a recent issue of the “Scientific American” to the excellent work being done at the Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C. In relation to the pulp and paper laboratory presided over by Frederick C. Clark, a prominent member of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, the “Scientific American” says:
“Some time ago, the Government, realizing that we were cut off from supplies of rags and waste paper, which heretofore had been imported in large quantities, appealed to the public to save such refuse material and sell it to paper manufacturers. As a result of this appeal, a manufacturer of waxed paper asked the Department of Commerce whether any use could be made of clippings of his product. In the production of waxed paper sheets, this company is burdened with large quantities of clippings, which have been hauled away by the carload and destroyed. Owing to the association of the paraffin wax with the fiber of the paper, such clippings cannot be introduced into ordinary paper pulp.”
QUEBEC’S FOREST ECONOMY.
(Telegraph, St. John, N.B.).
Quebec, some years ago, established a provincial nursery, and this year, in addition to the young trees planted on Crown lands, the provincial nursery shipped 400,000 seedlings to pulp and paper companies which are reafforesting the lands they have cut over. The Laurentide company alone bought 250,000 of these young trees. A large number were sold to other pulp and paper companies, and to private individuals. The Perthius seignory alone bought 50,000 seedlings this year; and this is the sixth year in succession during which trees have been bought from the province for use in this seignory. With this example just over our provincial line fence, New Brunswick continues a policy of waste and neglect.
PAPER SHORTAGE SERIOUS IN NEW ZEALAND.
New Zealand paper shortage is interfering greatly with printing business and the government is limiting publications turned out by it. Because of difficulty in getting paper, managers of a number of publications talk of suspending.
Supplies of certain lines of paper, cardboards, pasteboards, etc., are almost impossible to obtain, and it seems unlikely that this condition will improve much until some time after the war, unless American or Canadian manufacturers are able to relieve the situation. Scarcity of envelopes is very marked, and it is almost impossible to obtain certain lines. One firm in Auckland took orders for 25,000,000 envelopes, but has been able to get orders accepted in the United States for only 15,000,000, and to date only 5,000,000 have been delivered.
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The output of pulp and paper from British Columbia last year was 50,307 tons of manufactured paper and 13,000 tons of sulphite pulp, valued at $3,200,000.
UNITED STATES NOTES
(Special to Pulp and Paper Magazine).
October 14, 1916.
Considerable interest was manifest in the New York paper circle during the past fortnight by the resignation from the International Paper Company of Arthur E. Wright. Mr. Wright has been connected with the International for many years. At one time he was Vice-President and Sales Manager, but several years ago he relinquished the former position to devote his entire time to the daily distribution of the company’s 1,500 tons of paper. Mr. Wright has been appointed Secretary of the Perkins-Goodwin Company at 33 West 42nd Street, New York, and has already assumed his new duties.
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Another addition to its mills is announced by the Union Bag & Paper Company. At the offices of the big concern in the Woolworth Building, New York, it was said last week it had been decided to build a plant at Hudson Falls, N.Y., for the manufacture of paper bags. The specifications call for a four story building, 100 by 400 feet. Work will be begun immediately and when completed it is expected to increase the company’s pay roll by approximately 400 people.
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Press dispatches from San Francisco, Cal., state that the Northwestern Compo Board Company, which, by the way, is a branch of the C. A. Smith Lumber Company, had negotiated with the Union Lumber Company to utilize its redwood refuse at Fort Bragg, Cal., for the manufacture of Compo board. It is also understood that work will be started immediately upon the erection of a suitable mill at that place.
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Hans Lagerlof, President of the Scandinavian Trading Company, with offices in the Produce Exchange Building, New York, has just returned from a protracted trip through Scandinavia. Mr. Lagerlof left the States last July, and relates some very interesting experiences during his sojourn in the war zone.
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After being idle for about six years, the old paper mills at Mount Holly Springs, Mass., will shortly resume operations. The Mount Holly Paper Mills, Inc., has been chartered in Massachusetts to take over the properties and good will of the old concern. The officers of the new corporation are: Frank Locke, President; H. T. Maynard, Vice-President and General Manager, and H. A. G. Locke, Treasurer. It is stated that the mills will be placed in operations as soon as repairs can be made and new necessary machinery installed.
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The Northwestern Paper Company, of Minneapolis, Minn., has amended its charter increasing its capital from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
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Quite a number of the leading paper jobbers exhibited at the third annual printing show at New York, September 30th to October 7th, where they demonstrated their various grades of papers to the printers of the country. This exhibition has always interested the paper jobbers very much, and it was said that this year’s show was attended by a greater number of people than ever before.
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The correspondent on the Pacific Coast of one of the leading trade journals states in a current dispatch that the Hawley Pulp and Paper Company is building a new pare mill at Oregon City, Ore. Orders have been placed for the machinery and excavation for a concrete foundation has begun. It is expected that the mill will be ready for operation about Spring time.
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It is understood on good authority that the Kalamazoo Paper Company, Kalamazoo, Mich., in order to have sufficient power to run its new coating plant, will increase its present power plant by the installation of a new 1,250 horsepower turbine engine. Other necessary additions will also be added which will make the company have one of the largest power plants in the state.
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The Delaware charters during the past fortnight listed the Roberts Sulphite Company. Objects of the new corporation are to deal in wood pulp and paper stock. The capital stock is placed at $2,500,000.
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Another large pulp corporation to be reported during the past fortnight is the Filer Fibre Company. This is a $300,000 concern. It proposes to engage in the manufacture of wood pulp at Manistee, Mich. It is understood that the concern, which is backed by E. G. Filer, will begin immediately the building of its mill, and be in operation sometime about the early spring.
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Fifty newspaper publishers of the State of Florida, convened at Jacksonville on October 6th and 7th to discuss the high cost of printing paper and consider the advisability of establishing a plant in Florida to manufacture paper from pulp of fibrous trees and bushes, particularly the palmetto. Investigations, it is said, have shown that fibrous materials are of better quality than the spruce pulp which is used by the mills in the north. Several specimens were shown at the meeting and those from the Florida trees showed more tensile strength than any of the other grades submitted. It was said that the Florida editors will endorse and promote any move that will bring about the establishment of a mill in that state.
NEW YORK MARKETS.
New York, N.Y., October 7, 1916.
The outlook in ground wood pulp is very discouraging, so far as the consumer is concerned. There is now a definite certainty that the market must continue to grow more acute and that the value of pulp will be on the ascendancy for some time. While there has been no material increase in the quotations reported for ground wood, since our last issue, these figures are beginning to represent nominal issues, for it is becoming rather difficult to negotiate for such supplies. Now, more than ever, does the prediction, made several months ago, that ground wood pulp would reach $40.00 per ton, seem plausible. From the grinders come reports that they have little to offer. They are working their mills to capacity fulfilling obligations which carry them through the balance of the year. Those mills which have surplus stocks are asking tophigh prices.
It is most unfortunate at this time, but it is understood that, in various parts of the country, the water conditions are very poor and that it is with difficulty many of the machines are being kept in operation. In fact, some of the mills have been shut down a good part of the time, owing to lack of water power. This is a very serious condition, because the demand has reached extraordinary proportions. Not only is there the usual call for ground wood, caused by the Fall business, but there is an added demand, stimulated by the shortage of sulphites and the rush of many mills to substitute, as far as possible, the ground wood pulp. Present quotations have already reached $30 per ton, f.o.b. mill.
Conditions in the sulphite markets seem to be growing worse, rather than showing any tendency to improve. Importations are very limited and it is apparent that the foreign producers are not at all very anxious to have much of their stock sent to his country. For, they say, the continent of Europe presents a much better paying field. It is understood that the Germans, the French, Italians, and the other countries which are able to get stock from Sweden are paying whatever is being asked--more than the current quotations in the United States. Domestic mills are working to capacity and the volume of imports from Canada has increased considerably, but the demand is of such proportions that it is impossible for the manufacturers to keep up with it. A great deal of interest is reported in the market, but mills still hesitate about paying the very high prices and are buying very cautiously, in the hope that the situation will improve in the near future. But indications are far from warranting such hopes. Bleached sulphite is to-day quoted--nominally--at as high as 9½c for foreign stock. Easy bleaching is going at about 6½c--whenever it can be had. Domestic unbleached is quoted at about 4c, but is also not available in large quantities. Foreign strong unbleached remains at about 5c to 5½c. Krafts are to-day practically unobtainable. The producers are consuming whatever they have not already contracted to sell, finding it more profitable to convert the pulp into paper. Reports have been heard of instances where manufacturers have not found it possible to live up to their obligations and have had to stop deliveries on contracts. The nominal price for kraft pulp is about 5¾c.
The rag market, as a whole, is very quiet. As the local dealers say, the situation is dependent on the action of roofing rags and, since these are inactive, the other grades are forced into a similar state. Reports from the roofing mills show that they are all working to capacity and that they have plenty of orders on hand. However, they are all pretty well stocked with rags and have no need to come into the market. It seems to be understood in the trade, from the way the buying is going on, that the manufacturers are conferring possibly once a week and are informing each other of the various amounts of stock which have been offered by dealers and of the prices which have been named. In this way it has been possible for them to keep tabs on the rag men and to keep the market from advancing. Because of the inactivity in roofing, thirds and blues, solid whites, and the other grades of old rags have not been moving very well, nor have they been bringing the prices which the dealers expected they would be bringing at this time of the year. A slight increase, however, was noted in the demand for No. 1 new white rags. In fact, one rumor had it that a large lot of these rags had been sold at 10c. It is known that a large writing manufacturer refused an offer at 9c and a little later wired an acceptance, but it was not taken.
Rope has been looming up strong within the past few weeks and the market is now verging the 6c mark. It is understood that there are lots of stocks in England, but these cannot be had because of the embargo so the domestic manufacturers find themselves facing a scarcity in this particular commodity. The demand is now improving and bids fair to continue so for some time.
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.
Mr. Sam Bartlett, who was working on this structure in the capacity of iron worker was caught between the falling structure and an 18″ 1. beam and was instantly killed. He was a resident of Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Careful examination of the steel was made after the accident and while a number of theories have been advanced to explain the failure nothing definite can be determined.
The collapse will not delay construction materially as the wreckage has been cleared away and new trusses are rapidly being built.
WHERE QUEBEC LEADS.
Not only does Quebec take effective measures against fire in her forest lands, but she takes effective measures to keep the forests in perpetuation, where they do not cover cultivable land. Quebec some years ago established a provincial nursery, and this year, in addition to the young trees planted on Crown lands, the provincial nursery shipped 400,000 seedlings to pulp and paper companies which are reafforesting the lands they have cut over. The Laurentide company alone bought 250,000 of these young trees. A large number were sold to other pulp and paper companies and to private individuals. The Perthius seignory alone bought 50,000 seedlings this year; and this is the sixth year in succession during which trees have been bought from the province for use in this seignory.--Hamilton Herald.
REGULATIONS RE WET PULP.
With regard to the importation of wet sulphite wood-pulp from Canada and the United States, according to a bulletin just issued by the Trade and Commerce Department, the British Royal Commission on Paper have decided that where they are satisfied that this pulp contains moisture in excess of the quantity contained in ordinary dry pulp, they will grant licenses for that excess up to, but not exceeding, 40 per cent. of the total weight, in the case of pulp arriving in the United Kingdom after August 7. The pulp must be imported on the ordinary licenses issued by the commission. The amount of moisture excess must be proved by the certificate of a competent chemist.
SHINGLES THAT WILL NOT BURN.
According to information in the hands of the West Coast Lumbermen’s Association, an Iowa pharmacist after seventeen months experimenting, has produced a liquid which makes wooden shingles absolutely fireproof. In a test of the new fireproofing liquid, made at the University of Iowa by the inventor, a block of wood one-half inch thick was saturated with the fireproofing and then placed in running water for twenty-four hours. After that it was thoroughly dried again and held for one hour over a Bunsen burner, which had a temperature of between 700 and 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, that being a much greater heat, it is said, than is developed in a conflagration. The wood was not burned and only charred very slightly at the point of the flame. The new compound is reported to be sufficiently low in cost to make it practical in connection with shingle manufacture, and when a shingle is saturated the moisture drys out, leaving an insoluble mineral fireproofing substance in the fibre cells of the wood, which cannot be washed out with water and is said absolutely to prevent combustion.
TO VISIT CANADA.
A special trade commission from Australia which will investigate overseas methods of manufacture and production, and conditions of employment, in timber, paper, iron and other industries will shortly come to Canada. The commission will be composed of experts, an equal number of representatives of capital and labor being arranged for. They will also visit the United States.
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Two new wet machines are being placed in the Foley pulp mill at Thorold and a new grinder has been installed in the Davey mill, which is connected with the Foley plant and will shortly be operated in conjunction with it.
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Waste hemlock tanbark remaining after tannin is extracted is being used by a number of mills in place of between 30% and 40% of expensive rag stock ordinarily used in making felt roofing.
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A. A. McDiarmid, has resigned his position as chief engineer on the Mattagami Pulp and Paper Co., Toronto, and is now engaged in special work at Sault Ste. Marie.
OUR PULP AND PAPER EXPORTS.