NEWSPAPER FAMINE

Waikato Times, Volume 92, Issue 14255, 5 January 1920, Page 4

NEWSPAPER FAMINE

TREMENDOUS WORLD SHORTAGE THREATENED EXPORT STOPPAGE NEW ZEALAND'S SERIOUS POSITION The printing world is experiencing an acute paper famine which is seriously hampering the trade. A few days ago the cables announced the startling fact that America had only thirty-five days' supply, and that certain shipments of news print to the States from Canada, had been seized by the Government of the latter country. The demand is far greater than the supply, and in America the newspaper companies have actually been using, latterly, ten per cent more than the mills are capable of producing. One of the chief causes of the shortage is the abnormal growth of the existing newspapers in America, forced up by the fact that the American people realise the tremendous value of newspaper advertising over other forms, and the papers have gone on increasing and increasing to accommodate the ever-growing demand for space. The great paper shortage has, however, had a somewhat adverse elfcct. Recently, a big conference of newspaper proprie- i tors was held in New York, when it was decided to reduce the consumption 30 per cent, to arbitrarily reduce the volume of business by the same amount, and to increase the advertising rates in like proportion. The United States authorities are, in fact, considering a Bill to prohibit, for at least one year, the export of paper from America. This is regarded as a necessary step towards saving the smaller newspapers, which have spent large sums in building up their plants and subscription lists from bankruptcy. The conference generally regarded it as necessary to limit the advertising, and agreed that no newspaper should enter into a rear!v eo-ntract at a fixed rate, but should have a monthly or quarterly adjustment rate. New Zealand almost entirely depends for its supplies upon America and Canada, and if the threatened embargo is put on, then the position will be disastrous for the newspapers of the Dominion. Advices received from our London agents state that many of the British mills have closed their books to further orders, while the following from our American house goes to show that the position in the United States and Canada is even worse than in Britain. "The paper situation is anything but encouraging in this country and in Canada, and more particularly is this felt in news print. It has reached a price which is unprecedented in the history *>f the paper trade and scarce that even at the present high price it is likely to', increase further within a very short t'ime. Many of the big newspapers are already using ground wood news, and glad .to get it, but there is only a limited .quantity made in Canada" and the United States, and the Press will shortly be up against actual want. ' , s ~ n . "The big suppliers of news'print who are under contract to supply, to publishers are unable to'do so, in consequence of the shortage of' labour and raw materials.

"The opinion of the news print experts is that the situation will be much moro serious than, it is at present, and that is bad enough." A meeting of the members of the New Zealand Newspaper. Proprietors' Associatiop will be Held in Auckland this week to consider the position.