The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-26
Copper.

The attention Of the business world
on both sides Of the Atlantic is e~ngrossed
Just now with the great struggle IN the
American copper market Other inter
eats besides those Of copper are at stake.
and the result will be- momentous II Is
watched for with absorbed attention.
We have frequently alluded TO the
great change that has recently come
over the entire copper-producing and
manufacturing business Up 10 about
ten years ago copper was used for com
paratively few purposes, these being
chiefly the manufacture Of cooking
utensils and household furnishings, and
for familiar USES in the arts and in ship
building But the application Of eiec-
trici,y to lighting and motive power
opened practically a new hemisphere
In the copper world The demand for
copper enormously increased. and II
was then realized that the supply Of
the metal was. in n sense, limited. Many
copper mines are in parts Of the world
where they can hardly be worked profit
ably. and the business Of producing
and refining copper Ia extremely e1-
pensive and difficult Of inception. Copper
has much more than doubled in price
in the last four years. but It's product. a
has increased hut little, the rate of
yearly increase being ls-s than 10 per
cent.
The London market for copper has
always established the worlds prices
for the staple Two years ago, when
the new demand for the article became
acute, the London merchants refused
To recognize the stable character Of the
movement and declared that Al was due
simply to the operations Of an American
pool. The Amalgamated Copper Com
pany had inst been formed In his
country and foreigners declared that the
Americans had started n syndicate to
corner copper just as the Frenchman
SECrETAN had done some years ago; and
they predicted the same disastrous
results for the Amalgamated company
ss attended tho efforts Of VI SECRFTAN
Copper in England IL "A speculative
commodity. as Il - not here, and the
London dealers in i, attempted To depress
tho price by speculative contracts for
the decline. In this and in the general
position assumed by them regarding
the character Of the copper market
they were signally wrong, and Lon
don lost it, place as tho arbitcr
Of the worlds selling price Of copper.
The British merchants were forced TO
buy in Mt grcnt loss the copper
which they had agres-i Ia deliver and
which they did not possess AZ the time
they made the contracts. There was
an immense development of copper
manufacturing in Germany a. in this
country. Copper was sold ~ fast a.
IL could be mined. and there was no sur
plus stock Of copper in the world Con-
sumers everywhere bought II ~ fast rs
they could ge, IL and were willing tn pay
almos, any price for II.
But il now begins 20 look as though
this state Of affairs had changed. An
industrial reaction has set in all over
Europe. and, in more than in any other
country. in Germany. which has been the
chief European Of copper.
and where the construction OF electrical
workshop~ has amounted TO a positive
craze. The financial and industrial mis-
fortune that has overtakcn Germany
h grave, 4 large proportion Of the
electrical companies which were formed
there have been ruined: at any rate.
Germany has retired from the copper
market ~ a buyer. England has
virtually done the same, The net result
Of IL all h - far ~ copper interests In this
country are concerned Is that the exports
of American copper for the hrst eight
months az this year are only about
half wha, they were last year being.
IN exact figures, ss,osi tone. ss against
lis.fIs n In 1900. Comparing those
figures with those 81 American cop
per production and with the statistics
- copper imports, q Is evident that
there must have been either consumed
90 ssxumulaird In this country for the
first ~,sh, months az the present year.
N. as tons 81 copper. A. against ~ 7Sf
tan~ for thS ssmilnr p~pod An INN