A GOOD SUGGESTION.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 April 1918, Page 3

A GOOD SUGGESTION.

FOR PAPER-MAKING.^ LONDON, February 15. A correspondent, who foresees plentiful supplies of straw—4,ooo,ooo tons over and above the normal quantity owing to the extra area devoted to the j growing of corn—suggests the possibility of delivering this straw, compressed into bales, at £1 per ton, to a pulping station to be boiled and bleached, a ml'con verted into pulp suitable for paper-making. ITe reckons that the capital required for one station would be about £51,000 (inclusive of building, plant, and machinery) for which 800 tons of straw per week could be treated. He adds:—“This would deal with 40,000 tons per annum, which i represents only 1 per qent of 4,000;t)00 j tons. Fifty stations as a minimum ! will be necessary in England. It is a matter in which farmers, newspaper . proprietors, and printers should be vitally interested, as the use of straw j will make our paper mills almost in- j dependent of the foreign supplies of ; wood pulp. There is very little time in* which to put down the necessary machinery before the next harvest. The present position of the paper supply is extremely unsatisfactory, owing to the . fact that wo depend upon foreign materials and shipping. It will be useless for the Prime Minister or the Food Controller to make speeches appealing to the public if the newspapers are unable to publish these speeches, owing to.the fact tha|. ,their reduced size and ; very expensive paper will only aecom- ; modate advertisements and war news.’’