84 PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



other articles, their answer to inquiries is: "Tell me the prices for 

 which you will sell, and then we may give your people an order." 



An American importing firm is about to open in Lyons, and would 

 cheerfully take charge of the interests of our paper makers in this 



vicinity. 



JOHN C. COVERT, 



LYONS, January n, fpp. Consul. 



PROPOSED LAW GOVERNING PAPER MAKING IN FRANCE. 



I inclose translation of parts of a document brought to the atten- 

 tion of the French Government on the 24th instant concerning the 

 manufacture of paper. It is proposed, as will be seen from the draft 

 of the law given below, to establish a bureau which will practically 

 place that industry under Government control. It obliges all manu- 

 facturers of paper to place evidence in the paper itself of its quality 

 and origin. The objects of this act, as stated by its sponsors (seven 

 members of the Chamber of Deputies), is "to preserve from de- 

 struction our literary works and archives, and to protect the paper 

 industry." 



The authors of the measure make a long statement, from which 

 I translate and abridge the following: 



The greater part of the material entering into the manufacture of the paper used 

 by our Government and in private establishments changes with time, and if we are 

 not careful, in a century our printed works and our archives will have almost dis- 

 appeared, because pure rag paper (papier de pur chiffon) is becoming more and 

 more scarce; mixtures of alfa, pulp, etc., produce a quality of paper that time 

 turns yellow and becomes brittle. 



After citing the methods by which the presence of extraneous 

 substances can be detected in paper, the statement continues: 



All who are engaged in the different industries involved in the production of a 

 book have for some time noticed the bad quality of the paper now being produced. 

 A number of governments have adopted legislative measures for the protection of its 

 manufacture. The poor quality of paper has been pointed out by the chemists and 

 savants of different countries. The principal reasons for this state of things are: 



(1) The excessive use of substitutes in the manufacture of paper. 



(2) The habit of giving attention only to external appearance. 



(3) The growing competition among manufacturers. 



It is just to remark that, considering the enormous consumption of paper, the 

 materials originally entering into its manufacture linen rags, cotton, hemp, etc. 

 can not now be had in quantities sufficient for the demand. Manufacturers were 

 therefore compelled to procure substitutes. 



Unfortunately, as the fibers of those substitutes are shorter, they do not possess 

 the powers of resistance of the materials formerly employed. The best substitutes 

 now in use are the different forms of cellulose, derived from wood, straw, and alfa, 



