Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-08
THE COPPER
COMBINATION
L L)nd0n Spectators Take no
Stock in It.
THINK THERE'LL BE SMASH
The Copper Shares Do Not Have Any
Attraction in the Old Country
.-General Trade.

New York, May S.-The Times London
financial correspondent cables: Our
money market has been easy all of this
week. We are between pinches and next
week rates will harden and the Bank OF
England will get three per cent on
million or two. Borrowers for the stock
exchange in good standing pay all the
way from l to 3ls per cent in the open
market, and the spectators whom they
supply will pay from four to 10 to 10 per
cent according to circumstances or the
markets. Essentially our banks continue
poor. They have no spare resources, and
the Bank of England also has not become
stronger scarcely any new gold reaching
it. But we do not heed these things when
a speculation mood is dominant.
Along certain lines the desire to gamble
was never stronger with us than now,
but we do not turn your way. Dealings
in American rails are most perfunctory
and torpid. Such special articles as cop
per and copper mine shares also have at
present no attraction for the small
spectators. All gambling is in the hands
of big people. chiefly French and Ameri-
can. The latter have bought most Of the
Anaconda shares that the British public
held and the former own most of the Rio
Tintos. Apart from these. speculation in
such shares Is modest in dimensions and
we are skeptical that a power like your
new Amalgamated Copper company will
hold up the market whether for metal or
shares.
Every week now sees two or three cop
per mines offered to the British public.
Some Of them will get to work and the
,4<&- C,;.. To-
Chile and Australia as well as Spain,
Germany and other countries will in
cl ease rapidly. Last years output Of
copper exceeded that of 1882 by at least
$50 per cent. The present years output
is almost sure to exceed 100000 tons. At
merely $3.50 per ton. this means f35, ,OOO,-
600. 1t is doubtful If the consumption
viii reach 100000 of new copper TO main
tain the present prices both in metal
and copper mine shares capital and
credit to the amount of G100,000,000 may
thus have to be found in 12 months time
and we do not think you can find 1t es-
pecially as the ROthschilds emphatically
dsclaim any share in the combination.
We therefore consider that your specu-
lators are coming in on top of the market
and some go as far as to say that the
Amalgamated Copper company was
merely formed for unloading purposes.
are curtailing their demands as much as
possible. Copper brokers therefore hold
tile view that your combination must
smash almost at once.
Our general trade continues remark
ably good, but in domestic lines more
than in foreign and we are still haunted
by fears of dearer money coming later
in the year. The present ease, indeed,
Is attributed much more to the inflow Of
American money representing the price
Of the Philippines and the payment for
your bonds which we still sell as fast as
you can take them. Great care, there
fore, is required to avert bad squeeze
in autumn and this danger, likewise,
your copper mOnopolsts seem to leave
out of account.
Germany remains as hard up as ever
for cash. BY new charter the capital
Of the imperial bank was raised to
E9,0O0,000 but this is no present help, as
the market is wrestling with more new
capitalizations than it can carry. SO con-
tinental bankers still warn me to look
out for squalls from Berlin. There is an
unusual amount Of German and French
bills in the London market at the present
moment.