Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-07-03
Conditions Different Now From
II Years Ago When
CORNER WAS FORMED
Price Will Not be Advanced to q
Point Which Will Limit
Consumption.

4 New York dispatch to the Boston
News Bureau says:
Ihe opinion appears to be generally
held IN England that the advance in the
price OF copper during the past seven
months IS artificial. resembling tina
which was engineered by Mr.. Secretan in
1879, and, therefore. that the copper
market is fated to collapse, just as the
Secretan corner did in 1883, when the
price of copper slumped in a few days
from 1Sc to 101ac., although it afterwards
rallied, and the range for 1890 was 40
17os. During the next eight years the
lowest point was SOS, in 1894, and the
price was never above 1880 until De-
cember, 1898, when the final quotation
for the year was 1929. In 1899 Upper
has advanced to 19.S7hc in April and
May, and has since declined to 1Sc.
An extended inquiry among consumers
of copper in this city and Boston shows
that the British view of the underlying
causes of the strength CT the market is
not entertained by them. 1t is explain
ed that the Secretan corner Of 1887 was an
attempt to buy the entire worlds pro-
duction. and the advance in the price
from 10 to 1Sc per pound then was purely
fictitious. There had been no great in
crease in the consumption of copper prior
to the formation of the syndicate, but
electrical engineering was beginning to
develop. and one motive that inspired the
corner was 20 profit by the future re-
quirements of this growing industry.
Hence it IS said that Mr.. Secretan was
right in his foresight, but his action
vas premature.
The managers of the Secretan syndi-
cate, it is claimed, underestimate the
stock Of copper in existence at the time
when they began operations, as well as
the productive capacity of the mines
while their expectations of the consum-
ing demand We're exaggerated. Con-
sumption at that tine was checked by the
sharp advance in prices, and stocks hith-
erto invisible were thrown upon the mar
ket, which the syndicate was compelled
to buy. Production was also stimulated
everywhere, and the surplus, which the
syndicate was compelled to carry, finally
made a burden too heavy to be borne,
and the syndicate had to drop It.
The situation now differs widely from
that of 1877. The production of copper
in the United States in 1887 was 81, OF
tons: in 1883 it was 101 ,054 tons; in 1889
Q 1,229 tons. In 1898 the production of the
United States was 235, 100 sons, the net
foreign imports Gree of duty Were 14.114
tons. The home consumption in 1898 is
estimated at la 900 tons, and the exports
of domestic Upper were 13i,3S7 tons
making a total of 2iS, 3S1 tons, lea wing or
Dec. 81 an apparent stock on hand of
that years production and imports of
only 300 tons, While the average rate of
consum otlon was 2.192 tons per week
The advance IN the price was the nat
ural sequence Of the discovery hat the
demand was in excess of the supply.
TO what extent production Wln be ST..
mulated by the higher price Of copper is
unknown. The output of the American
mines increased from S1,017 tons in 1851
to 10l .054 in 1883, but this gain was nearly
all made from mines already opened
and in operation. 1t takes a year or two
to open any good mines, and it is be.
lieved in the trade tht production canno,
grow faster than consumption.
Dealers in copper and consumers in
Great Britain believe that the price OF
Upper will decline still further and tina
the price here will fall in accordance with
their market.
The belief among the consumers of cop