Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-01

the present owners of the Butte & Boston
and the Arcadian coppe mines. lit is not
believed that either Of these companies
can produce any considerable amount of
copper but they make excellent s~pecula-
tive counters, and into them values can
be made to flow through a consolidation
scheme.
1t is declared tina the Calumet & Hecla
would be worth more than $50, 900 900 in
such a combination for its name alone,
but it is not believed that it can be had
for Any such purpose. Some people who
have studied the situation believe that
it may take five years to perfect the con-
troll of the worlds opp market through
copper mine ownership, and others who
have studied the situation believe the
ultimate result Will be a low copper
market. d.
Still others believe that the Standard
Oil alone does not possess money enough,
even if it's % multi-millionaires convert
their $400, 000, 900 of security values into
cash to control the Upper of the world,
either its production, it's use or its price.
Nevertheless, from limitations we have
from the Standard Oil sources, it does APP
pear as though Mr.. H. H. Rogers of the
Standard Oil company, was, in c%onjunc-
ton with the millions controlled by his
Standard Oil associates, about to take
upon his shoulder the task of Sisyphus,
to wit: The capitalization of the output
of American copper mines at 81 per pound
of copper.
In other words, a corporation is to be
formed with S5C0, coo. 600 capital to repre-
sent the production of 500, 000. 600 pounds
of copper per annum allowing that all the
great copper mines In the United States,
including Calumet & Hecla and Ana
conda, can be embraced in the comblna-
ton.
The actual cash prices predicted by the
Standard Oil men in this combination
for the leading copper shares, and prices
reasonably in sight if the copper move
ment continues for three months more as
three months in the past, mean nothing
less than $500, 0G0, coo of actual market
value for this Standard Oil copper trust.
To pay 6 per cent upon this valuation
means nothing less than 6 cents per
pound profit upon every pound of copper
mined.
The average selling price of copper the
last ten years has been under II cents
per pound.
Is it reasonable to suppose that a $780,
000,0 eco copper trust can long stand on
such a basis?
Let the public Watch Butte and,
above all, let the New England copper
share investor watch the tides of the
times! These figures are not set down
for the day or the hour, but for remem-
brance.
There have been combinations of capt.
tai before representing as much as $780,
O00. GEO., but they Ave never yet been
found invincible because of their size.
The late Calvin S. Brice said: Il do
not know of any men who have lost more
money in railroad investments than the
Standard Oil men,"
1t is we'll known that they nave been
the largest sufferers in Missouri, Kansas
& Texas, Atchison, Chicago & Northern
Pacific, etc. But this should be said to
their credit; they have stuck to their own
investments, whether good or bad, n
have not been manufacturers of securi-
ties for purposes of sale to the public.
They have been organizers of industry
and creators of values, and their invest
ment errors have been outside of oil n
the rOductS of oil.