The Washington times., 1901-12-09
NEW COPPER
SHELL GAME.
Standard Oil Interests Hold
the Layout
WORLD TRYING TO LOCATE THE PEA,
Coming Week Likely to Be History
Making, Though Few Hazard Pre-
dictions as to What Develop
ments Viii Be.

NEW YORK, Dec. S.-The coming week
may see the making OF history IN Wall
Street The situation is ! wcnd, d,rfully
Interesting one. dominated by another Of
the gigantic games Of baltledOre and
shuttlecook that the billionaircs play
with their corporations and their securi-
ties, with markets. and with investors
and spectators.
In many ways this vast Copper Elu;a
is as important to the world as the North
ern Pacific fight of last spring 1t viii
demonstrate whether the Rockefellers
control the copper market as they do the
oil market. 1t will demonstrate the
power and some of the methods Of the
trust" It may lead. for this latter
reason, to early legal action against the
Arnalgamated Company. II may be the
factor that viii cause an early passage Of
new legislation by the present Congress
TO force the trusts to publicity, and to
restrict their power.
In the stock market, it may bring on
another panic. II has already caused the
loss of millions and hundreds Of millions
Features of the Game.
Unfortunately fer the average investor
and speculator even the man OF millions
not in the inner Copper ring, the history
that is to be made this week is not likely
TO be written for a long time TO come.
The Copper garue is SHE'LL game, Of now
you see il and now you don't. The thing
that you think you see Is extremely likely
TO be something entirely different. The
Copper ring manipulates the shells and
the public tries TO locate the pea.
Nothing of Real Facts Known.
Almost nothing is really known regard
ing the situation a! present. Ii is not
known if the Amaleamated Company has
a vast quantity Of copper on its hands.
and is still attempting to control the
market and hold up the price, or II 1t
has sold the larger part Of its stock on
hand at cut under the market arice.
1t is not known If the Standard OIL people
are really playing a losing game or II
they are breaking the copper market and
breaking Amalgamated Copper for pur-
pose-for the purpose OF gaining an even
frner and more complete grip on the sit
vation.
One Of the minor matters that is not
known is the position OF Mr.. Lawson,
who may be losing millions or who may
be acting as a stoolpigeon for the Stand
ard OIL forces.
Because of the blind pool character of
the Amalgamsted Company and because
OF the secretiveness that surrounds all
the moves OF the Copper ring. the public
may only watch the surface Indications,
and naturally is usually wrong in its de-
ductions. Whether Amalzamated tum-
bles further this week or recovers the
public viii not be much the wiser Wheth-
er the dividend on the stock remains the
same or is cut TO per cent or is passed
entirely, the public viii be able 10 guess
only at what the cause OF the directors
action may be.
May support the General Market.
This is pretty good argument against
speculatins in Amalgamated Copper 1t
is also a strong argument for the theory
that the general market will not be al
lowed TO sympathize too much with Cop
per. There was strong feeling in the
street yesterday-held byimportant fnan-
cial interests. as well as by professional
speculators-that the Copper game has
gone too far and that the general market
should be protected from the sympathetic
panic which at one time seemed not very
far away. This feeling led TO good sup
porting orders in many parts OF the list
1t will lead TO additional support this
week.
Chnry of Predictions.
No one seems willing 10 make predic-
tions regarding today's market. but many
conservative people believe that the gen
eral list viii not suffer more than tenn
porary sharp decline at most. 1t is eu-
tirely possible that strong and concerted
support of the market may show itself at
the opening.
There is no reason why reduction In
copper metal and a tumble in the price
OF Amalgamated should decrease the in
trinsic worth OF good railway stock and
the securities OF Industrial concerns
which are transacting large business on
q profitable basis. II IL were not for the
representative names connected with the
management OF Amslgamated the stock
market would long ago have cut loose
from its baneful effect. and the good
stocks would be quoted according TO their
real merit.