Pulp and Paper Magazine, Vol. XIII, No. 20, October 15, 1916: A Semi-Monthly Magazine Devoted to the Science and Practice of the Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Industry with an Up-to-date Review of Conditions in the Allied Trades

In Short

Published in October 1916, this issue of the trade journal Pulp and Paper Magazine captures the Canadian and American paper industries undergoing severe wartime stress and rapid transformation. Facing critical shortages of European imports, skyrocketing raw material costs, and an urgent demand for newsprint, the trade gathers through trade associations and technical committees to adapt. The publication details chemical advancements in paper sizing, market price spikes across raw materials, and high-stakes negotiations between newspaper publishers and mill operators. It stands as a vivid documentary record of industrial survival, technical modernization, and economic strain during the First World War.

The Story

The volume opens with a major announcement reflecting the rapid growth of the paper industry: the Pulp and Paper Magazine will expand from a semi-monthly publication into a weekly trade journal starting in January 1917. This structural shift highlights the central role the publication has built as the official organ of the Technical Section of the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association. A report on a recent joint gathering in New York hosted by the American Chemical Society underscores a spirit of unprecedented industry collaboration. Chemical researchers, university scholars, and mill managers pool their laboratory discoveries to eliminate reliance on German exports, making rapid progress toward domestic self-sufficiency in dyes and essential chemicals.

Beyond technical collaboration, the publication details the intense economic friction between paper manufacturers and print consumers. Soaring costs for coal, labor, pulpwood, and machinery drive newsprint prices sharply upward, prompting vocal protests from newspaper publishers who demand government interventions. A detailed financial breakdown demonstrates how rising costs for raw inputs—such as ground wood and sulphite pulp—force paper mills to charge significantly higher prices just to maintain a operating profit. Meanwhile, Canadian mill operators face lucrative offers from American buyers prepared to purchase entire outputs at premium rates, though Canadian suppliers endeavor to protect domestic clients. A high-stakes delegation of newspaper publishers and paper makers travels to Ottawa to meet with Canada's Minister of Finance, Sir Thomas White, to negotiate price caps and secure essential newsprint supplies.

Alongside national market tensions, the journal tracks the physical and material conditions of forest management and mill operations. It reviews the feasibility of insuring standing timber against fire damage, citing success across millions of acres supervised by protective timberland associations. Practical research papers address technical efficiency, such as utilizing sawmill waste and baled chips, improving log measurement scales, and analyzing the chemical reactions of rosin size solutions in paper beaters. The issue closes with comprehensive market reports tracking inflated prices for rags, waste paper, and finished papers, capturing an industry pushing its manufacturing capacity to the limit while navigating a volatile wartime economy.

How It Unfolds

Expanding the trade organ The publishers announce the magazine's transition from a semi-monthly to a weekly format, celebrating the growth of Canadian paper manufacturing and the creation of supporting institutions like the Forest Products Laboratory at McGill University.

Collaborating in New York A massive convention of the American Chemical Society brings together industrial chemists, university researchers, and mill practitioners who openly share research to overcome the loss of German dyestuffs and chemical imports.

Navigating economic friction Rising prices for ground wood, sulphite pulp, and labor push paper prices upward, provoking bitter complaints from newspaper publishers and prompting detailed cost breakdowns from converting mills operating on tight margins.

Managing raw resources Forestry experts and engineers present strategies to prevent timber losses, evaluate standing timber fire insurance, and optimize pulpwood production through the use of sawmill waste, log scales, and baled wood chips.

Negotiating at the capital Canadian publishers and paper manufacturers convene with government officials in Ottawa to establish equitable pricing and supply guarantees for domestic newsprint, warding off severe paper shortages.

Tracking the raw market Market reports detail skyrocketing prices and supply deficits for essential paper-making components, including waste paper, rope, and rag stock, alongside localized trade reports and mill equipment upgrades.

The People

A. G. McIntyre The former magazine editor and former Superintendent of the Forest Products Laboratories of Canada takes on a prominent leadership role as special representative for the Paper Committee of the American Newspaper Publishers' Association. Seeking to relieve the acute newsprint shortage, McIntyre urges newspaper publishers to practice rigid paper economies while encouraging manufacturers to run mills at full capacity with fair margins instead of prioritizing export profits.

J. A. DeCew A paper chemistry expert who presents technical research on the physical and chemical behavior of rosin size solutions. DeCew aims to clarify trade terminology surrounding "free rosin" and demonstrates how sulphate of alumina produces colloidal precipitates that maximize water repellency and covering power during paper manufacturing.

Prof. P. S. Lovejoy A forestry researcher from the University of Michigan who addresses the future of pulpwood supplies. Lovejoy advocates for long-term forest management by corporations, urging less severe competition and greater industry cooperation to overcome fire hazards and heavy taxation.

Sir Thomas White The Canadian Minister of Finance who meets with joint deputations of newspaper publishers and pulp and paper manufacturers in Ottawa. White serves as the government authority overseeing attempts to negotiate voluntary price agreements before federal price controls are imposed.

In Its Own Voice

"The chemists felt that it was 'up to them' to make this continent independent of Germany in chemical research."

This statement highlights the nationalistic drive among industrial researchers attending the New York chemical convention to replace imported European dyes and chemicals.

"Just as soon as the price of news-print paper advances, no matter how little, the newspaper publishers promptly outdo the Prophet Jeremiah with their lamentations and demand an immediate investigation on the part of the government."

An editorial commentary dryly framing the sharp conflict between paper manufacturers facing high raw material costs and press publishers resisting price hikes.

"Consumers must practise rigid economies, making all papers non-returnable; eliminating press room wastes and all avoidable consumption of paper."

A direct quote from A. G. McIntyre detailing the immediate conservation steps required by publishers to survive the severe wartime newsprint shortage.

What It's Really About

The issue centers on the tension between wartime resource scarcity and industrial modernization. As traditional trade routes and raw material supplies are disrupted by the First World War, the paper industry is forced to replace informal, empirical traditions with rigorous chemical science and systematic forestry management. At the same time, the text explores the collision between free-market pricing and public necessity. When newsprint costs rise, the private interests of paper manufacturers come into direct conflict with press publishers who view affordable paper as a public necessity. Through technical papers, market analyses, and committee reports, the volume argues that long-term industrial stability requires technical transparency, corporate cooperation, and standardized resource management rather than cutthroat competition.

Why Read It Today

This issue provides an authentic historical window into early 20th-century industrial technology and economic mobilization during wartime. Readers who enjoy primary historical documents, industrial history, or the technical heritage of manufacturing will find its detailed market tables, mill updates, and scientific papers engaging. It offers a rare, unvarnished look at how real-time supply chain disruptions were handled long before modern computing or global telecommunications.

Reading the collection requires navigating dense trade terminology, chemical descriptions, and financial figures specific to 1916. The prose shifts rapidly from formal technical lectures on rosin precipitates to brief local news snippets about mill machinery, corporate charters, and market commodity prices. However, these period details provide a grounded, authentic atmosphere that vividly conveys the day-to-day realities of an industry under pressure. Readers gain a genuine appreciation for the complex labor, chemistry, and forest management required to produce everyday paper products during a critical moment in modern history.