338 MODERN PAPER-MAKING
The use of broke or waste paper that has been boiled gives opacity, owing to
the boiling having reduced the colour of the fibres.
The Durability and Storage of Paper.—In the hurry of modern paper-making
the durability of paper is a subject that few paper-makers seem to consider.
A hundred years ago paper-making was a slow, not to say leisurely, process,
when the result of the paper-makers' labour was a thing to be prized and taken
care of Books were carefully bound and treasured as lasting records, and
from first to last the art of paper-making and bookbinding was conducted
with the object of producing an enduring article.
With the advent of machinery this ideal began to change, not because of
the greater output that became possible, but because progress demanded that
output. The slow, old-fashioned methods and materials were too expensive,
and other and quicker methods, and cheaper and more abundant materials,
became necessary if paper-making was to keep up with the advance of science
and the general progress of the world. This inevitably meant poorer and less
durable products, but it was recognized that these were quite good enough for
what was required of them.
Now this idea has developed so far that no one troubles about paper further
than that it will fulfil the purpose of the moment, and that it can be obtained
at the lowest possible price consistent with that condition. The paper-maker
is now compelled to supply demands on that basis, and when we have com-
plaints from printers and stationers about the paper they receive, we feel
tempted to reply that they are getting no more and no less than they are
paying for.
Any of our Tine' mills can supply a paper that will last, under ordinary
conditions, for ever, but very few printers, for instance, would be willing to
pay a price that would enable the paper-maker to make that paper. The object
of the paper-maker is to supply the best he can for the price, and this best too
often falls short of the quality he would prefer to give.
There are, however, papers that are admittedly made for the moment.
They serve the purpose and are discarded. The principal paper of this class
is newsprint. All papers containing mechanical wood are short-lived. The
resin and natural impurities in the wood very quickly bring about the destruc-
tion of the paper, which turns brownish-yellow in colour, grows brittle and
ultimately is reduced to dust. Newsprint does not work weU on the printing
machine when newly made. It is aU the better for standing a few weeks to
absorb the normal humidity of the atmosphere, and to allow any electric charges
to pass away.
But within ten years after being used, newsprint generally is so much
deteriorated that it can scarcely be handled. It may be preserved by pasting