86 PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



quoted the Moniteur de la Papeterie Francaise, Le Bulletin des 

 Papiers en Gros, Le Bulletin de la Papeterie, and other papers, de- 

 claring the impossibility of limiting production or of controlling the 

 quality of paper at present. He also quoted a number of scientific 

 writers, who stated the impossibility of maintaining durable records. 

 He quoted the Moniteur de la Papeterie Frangaise as asserting the 

 inability of "a man of the trade, even experienced," in many cases, 

 to determine the quality of paper or to estimate its cost by tearing 

 and examining it. In conclusion, he read the following project of 

 law: 



ARTICLE I. There is hereby created, in connection with the Chamber of Com- 

 mercepf Paris, a bureau of control of paper, destined for the preservation of public 

 or private documents. 



ART. II. No paper can be offered for sale unless it is supervised and bears in 

 its paste a precise indication of its composition and place of origin. 



JOHN C. COVERT, 

 LYONS, December 27, 1898. Consul. 



MARSEILLES. 



The questions propounded can not be answered satisfactorily 

 from Marseilles, for the reason that there is no local paper industry, 

 and the price of paper is not even quoted in the market journals. 

 The population of the city is 447,344, with a large percentage of 

 illiterates. The local consumption of paper is probably not greater 

 than that of any other community of the same size, as there are no 

 in ustries requiring it in unusual quantities. As the principal sea- 

 port of France, the amount of declared exports of paper is, of course, 

 large. In 1897, the imports amounted to 6,992 metric quintals (1,541,- 

 456 pounds), and the exportations for the same year were 99,280 

 metric quintals (21,887,269 pounds). The exports from Marseilles 

 to the United States, expressed in their declared value, have been 

 as follows, for fiscal years ending June 30: 



1898 $19, 198.46 



1897 30,728.75 



1896 , 28,518.85 



The papers exported to the United States include thin oiled paper, 

 material for photography, flat-book papers, pebble paper, colored 

 cover papers, in various weights and sizes. The papers exported 

 through this consulate all originate in the Department of Ardeche, 

 and are generally from the city of Annonay. To procure exact infor- 



