Pulp and Paper Mills are Latest Craze in Lumber Districts of Northwest

The latest thing in rvood products inthe Pacific Northwest is pulp and paper, made from wood.

The newest industry in which the entire lumber industry of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia is taking a most active interest, is the building and operation of paper mills.

And the interest is being manifested in an absolute rush of lumbermen and lumber interests to engage in the paper making g'ame, using wood for raw materials.

There are now in active operation in Washington and Oregon fifteen pulp and paper mills that are using wood for theii raw mateiials. Seveial of these have been completed since the first of the present year. They are located at. St. Helens, Oregon City, Salem and Newberg, Oregon; and at Everett, Camas, Shelton, Vancouver, Anacortes, Edmonds, Olympia, Bellingham, Tacoma, and two at Port Angeles, Washington.

Some of these are simply pulp mills that sell their pulp to other paper mills, but most of them are_ modern pap-er manufacturing plants. They make everything from the finest writing paper to the coarsest and strongest wrappi-ng and commercill - paper, depending on what they -use for pulp. A huge ambunt of news print is being manufactured it these plants, and also a great amount of craft wrapping paper. They use the refuse from the mills,Fir, Hemlock, ind Spruce.- Spruce is, of course, the finer material, lnd makeJthe best paper. Hemlock comes next, an{is a better paper making material than Fir. But even Fir refuse makis-strong, and most practical and useful wrapping and commercial paper.

They suddenly discovered that wood made into paper shows a fine profit, while wood made into lumber may not show any. They further found that Hemlock made into paper is worth a whole lot more than Hemlock made into iumber, because Hemlock logs are low in price, and Hemlock paper is high in quality. Under present conditions it would hardly piy to manufacture the entire Fir-log int-o paper, but it-DOES pay to manufacture the entire Hemlock

Floyd Dernier Returns From San Diego Trip

Floyd Dernier, Lumbermen's Service Association, Los Angeles, has r'eturned from a week's busin-ess-trip to-San Diego. He reports that lumber conditions in the Southern pari of the stite are in satisfactory. condition.During his ibsence, Miss Eda Dernier, looked after the business affairs of their Los Angeles officer log, the logs costing less than Fir, and the paper being worth more than the paper made from Fir.

And. so. suddenly.we find a tremendous rush of interest in paper making from wood in the Northwest. Reports show that mills are in immediate contemplation at many places including Onalaska, Bellingham, Port Townsend, Aberdeen, Tacoma, Bucoda, and South Bend, Washington; and at Astoria, Medford, Marshfield, and Klamath Falls, Oregon.

New mills are under construction today at Hoquiam and Longview, Washington, and it is reported that the Weyerhauser interests are likewise considering a paper mill for Longview, where the Long-Bell interests are now constructing one.

In addition numerous of the present existing plants are enlarging their capacities. All the new plants under contemplation are connected with the lumber interests. There is fear expressed that if everyone rushes in and builds paper mills, that the paper market will go the way of the lumber market, and become overloaded.

However, it must be remembered that this country imports from foreign lands every year a huge amount of paper, and the rapid increase in paper production in this country would probably mean the shutting out of some of this foreign competition. It has been estimated by an expert that the wood wasted in the sawmills of Washington and Oregon every year would make more paper than the total importations of paper, if converted into pulp.

The paper and pulp situation is one of the brightest spots inthe lumber business'of the Northwest this year. It may be that some ofthe pressure may be taken from the lumber market during the next few years, by converting some of these logs into paper, rather than lumber. And, since Hemlock is shown to have great paper-making value, it may be that the Hemlock will cease to be the football of the western lumber industry, and take the place which its really fine qualities entitle it to.

Anyrvay, the pulp and paper situation has done something to give new hope to the lumber markets of the Northwest for the time being at least.

C. McNEVIN RETURNS FROM HONOLULU TRIP

P. C. McNevin, The Pacific Lumber Co., San Francisco, is back at his desk again after spending a month's vacation at Honolulu. On his arrival at Honolulu. he met Mrs. McNevin and daughter Lillian, rvho had been sojourning on the Islands.