EUROPE: FRANCE. 87 



mation concerning production and consumption would be obviously 

 impossible without visiting that place. I have been able to learn that 

 in that Department there are 22 important establishments engaged in 

 the manufacture of paper. The mills in the canton of Annonay, 

 known under the names of the establishments of Vidalon, Pupil, 

 Faya, Marmaty, Saint-Marcel-les-Annonay, Grosberty, and Pont-de- 

 la-Pierre, manufacture every year 3,500,000 kilograms (7,716,100 

 pounds) of all sorts of paper, representing a value of about $974,650. 

 The motive force employed amounts to 2,910 horsepower, and the 

 number of employees is about 2,664. The Pont-d'Aubanas mill and 

 the " Papeterie Verny, " at Malpas, produce annually 1,400,000 kilo- 

 grams (3,086,440 pounds) of paper, worth $202, 650, and the straw- 

 paper mill at Nieigles gives work to 2,000 operatives and produces 

 stock worth $1,158,000 annually. 



My correspondents at Annonay write that as their mill uses only 

 rag stock of domestic origin, they can say nothing as to the possi- 

 bility of an opening for American pulp in that market. They sug- 

 gest that as the headquarters of the syndicate is 117 boulevard St. 

 Germain, Paris, information can be obtained there more readily than 

 of any particular Annonay manufacturer, as at Paris every branch of 

 the subject may be inqui: ed into. The operatives at Annonay are 

 paid 2.50 to 4 francs (48 to 77 cents) per day. My informants are 

 Johannot & Co. They also advise reference to the Annuaire de la 

 Papeterie Universelle, published by Picard, 82 rue Bonaparte, Paris. 

 This work is said to contain all facts of any importance respecting 

 the paper trade. 



The freight rate between Annonay and Marseilles on paper is 

 36.50 francs ($7.04) per 1,000 kilograms (2,204.6 pounds). The rate 

 by shipping in carload lots of at least 5,000 kilograms (11,023 pounds) 

 is 25. 15 francs ($4.85) per 1,000 kilograms. Rates are not quoted on 

 pulp or other raw materials. In spite of the vast amount of busi- 

 ness transacted at Marseilles, the land traffic is all carried by one 

 railway company. 



As I stated in the beginning, it is impossible to answer categoric- 

 ally all the questions asked in the Department's circular, as Mar- 

 seilles is not especially interested in the paper trade, and the one 

 point in the district that is interested lies a day's journey from this 



city. 



ROBERT P. SKINNER, 



MARSEILLES, January 14, 1899. Consul. 



