The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-11-27
Plenty of Cheap Copper.

The present price is about thirteen cents
; pound. The old price, few years
years ago, was eighteen to twenty cents,
and during the war it went up to fifty
cents. Curiously enough. as the price
Of copper has gone down, the uses of it
have increased, and hundreds Of things
are now made of copper that were form
eriy made of cheaper metals, or not
made at all. Who has not noticed the
sudden increase of articles made OF
brass-the beautiful plaques on which the
ladies paint, the tons of chandeliers,
gas fixtures, frames and thousands OF
other things-all resulting from cheap
copper, for brass is two-thirds copper
and one-third spelter or zinc?
SLOW do You account for all of this?"
was asked of manufacturer.
81 do not know exactly how to &C.
count for it." he said, ..but it is fact.
Here is copper teakettle, such as l
used to pay 1925 to $3.50 to import. /
can now sell it for 20 cents and make
profit. The home manufacture has in
creased enormously. Thousands OF
workmen are employed who are new at
the business Processes of manufacture
have improved. We are learning how to
make things to better advantage. We
can export instead of import. l do not
think the tariff has had much to do with
it. Here are seamless edge, planishcd
copper teakettles, extra heavy, spun
from the bottom up 10 the breast,
making a body of great strength /
sell them to the trade at S27 a dozen.
1t was not long ago that one of them
indeed, one not so good as one of these
would cost almost the price of a dozen.
For few cents more we sell them
nickel plated. They are used as orna-
ments for parlor stoves sometimes.
Here are urns, lumber warmers, cuspi-
dores, jewelry boxes, brass mats,
umbrella stands, hat racks, stevepipe
collars, stove legs, stove platforms, and
lots of things that could not have been
made few years ago, owing to the
high price of copper. Now they are be-
coming articles of everyday use"
In another store were more than
sixty varieties of brass plaques ini-
tating hammered work, at prices vary
ing from $3.50 dozen to S25 dozen.
This is comparatively a new business.
In another store were copper bath tubs
of half a dozen patterns, basins,
closet pans, boilers, pipes, and copper
balls for water tanks. Walking up
Fulton street among the wire stores,
there were copper and brass cages,
wire cloth, and other copper utensils
sparkling in the sun.
How do you account for the boom
in the copper and brass business?'
Easily enough: we can buy cheaper. "
''What makes it cheaper?'
1.-The coming in of Arizona and other
Western copper to compete with Lake
Superior copper. The price has kept
going down but the demand for copper
has kept pace with it. New uses are
made for it every day. Formerly the
lake copper people had it all their own
way. They would calmly announce the
price of copper for the year, and all We
would have to do would be to pay it.
But now il is quite different. The Ari-
IONA copper is not quite so good, but it
answers just as well for many purposes.
and keeps the price down The lake
copper is about half cent to a cent
dearer, but the monopoly has gone.
The old high tariff on copper. from
which fortunes were made, is no longer
of any account We not only take nc
account OF foreign copper. but we are
now exporting plenty of it and plenty
of manufactured goods"
There Is a very considerable village
at Ansonis- Conn, that has grown out
of the manufactures of brass and cop
Il
q. Phelps. aud an the office of the com.
pany in Cliff Street thousand copper
and brass products may be seen. from
the crude copper in ingots to the deli |
cate chandeliers and lamps that initiate |
if not excel. the finest French importa- |
tons. There are tons upon tons of cop |
per and brass in sheets, ready to be sold |
to manufacturers. There are copper |
and brass nails and tacks. and weights. |
gougs, rods, wash basins, wire cloth |
printers rules, about sixty varieties OF |
sheet brass and as many varieties OF |
wire, sheathing. bolts, riyets. kettles.
seamless brass and copper tubing
boiler fiues, ferrules. gas fixtures.
chandeliers, and thousand knick-
knacks.
Inc ialliu ptVSftSs % titctTlcil III
ventions has required an immense con-
sumption of brass and copper for cleo
trical machinery, 1t has been found
out that copper wire has many qualities
that make it desirable for telegraph,
lightning, and telephone lines, TO,
which. during the high price of copper,
it could not be used. Now the copper
wire trade is enormous and constantly
growing, and the varieties manufac.
tured are many and curious Tons upon
tons of these varieties of wire are kept
in stock. though only shor; time age
Immense quantities of brass and copper
are used in house hardware. water fix.
lures, railroad supplies. clocks, and
fancy goods where other and cheaper
metals were formerly made to do, all
20. bar l., al