3QO PAPER IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



Mexican ($192, 400).* It has a magnificent reservoir containing 44,- 

 200,000 gallons. The output of this mill per day is 90 piculs (12,000 

 pounds) of thin paper and about 13,000 pounds of thick paper. It 

 makes one quality of wood-pulp paper, which sells for $8 Mexican 

 ($3.84) for 133^3 pounds; two qualities of good-weight rag paper, 

 which sell from $12 to $13 Mexican ($5.77 to $6. 25) per 133^ pounds; 

 and one light-weight, red-lined quality of writing paper, from rags, 

 selling at from $13 to $16 Mexican ($6.25 to $7.70) per 133^3 pounds. 

 All Chinese papers are very porous, so as to absorb the india ink 

 that they use when writing and so do away with the use of blotting 

 paper. 



The Taishing Paper Manufacturing Company failed shortly after 

 its organization and was bought in for $125,000 Mexican ($60,125). 

 On that investment, the managers paid a dividend last year of 

 $60,000 Mexican ($28,860). Its paper is all made for export and is 

 sold along the entire China coast, in the Straits Settlements, and in 

 the Netherlands Indies. It enjoys a monopoly on this island, and 

 there will never be another mill built here, for the reason that all 

 the available watersheds are reserved by the colonial government. 

 However, it is possible that with the opening of the Kowloon penin- 

 sular extension, like enterprises may spring up across the bay. 



The bulk of the paper that is used in China is made by hand from 

 bamboo, and sells from $1.50 to $6. 50 Mexican (72 cents to $3. 13) 

 for i33/^ pounds. The process of manufacture is very simple. The 

 bamboo is put into a large vat in which caustic soda and chloride of 

 lime are mixed with the water. The solution is allowed to soak 

 until a scum rises to the surface. This scum is removed and is 

 rolled into paper by hand process. 



In answer to the inquiry as to what course the United States 

 should pursue to build up its export of paper to this district, I can 

 only reply, Make paper to match the bamboo paper that is manu- 

 factured in Canton, where the wages of an expert paper maker are 

 $10 per month. 



PAPER IN THE PHILIPPINES. 



In addition to the above, it has been suggested to me by Mr. 

 Franklin Brooks, proprietor of the American, of Manila, that it 

 might be well to enter into competition with the German paper 

 merchants who control the paper market in that city. Printing 

 paper weighing from 36 to 44 pounds per ream is now selling there 

 from $4.80 to $6.50 Mexican ($2.31 to $3.13) per ream, and for the 

 last six months the demand has been greater than the supply. This 

 paper is inferior to our American paper, especially the glazed. I 



*The Mexican dollar, July, 1899, was valued at 48.1 cents. 



