Arizona republican., 1902-07-24

1 Chronicle has consistently held to the theory that the great decline in the price oi copper last year was the direct result of the trusts unwise efforts to maintain prices at an artificially high level, and it returns to the subject as follows:
 'Fhe way of the transgressor is hard and this applies as well to corpora tions as to individuals, and to those who vio- late economic laws as to those who violate moral laws. In two separate industries an erroneous and fatuous policy was pursued last year-in sharp contrast with the enlightened course followed by the United States Steel corporation-and in each the concern chiefly responsible for the mistake is now finding it no easy matter to re- cover from the effects of its mistaken policy. We have reference to the salt industry and to the copper industry. In the first the National Salt company sought to establish a monopoly and to hold prices at an artificially high level: in the other. the Amalgamated Copper company for a long time kept the quo- tation for copper at an arbitrary point, thereby checking the foreign pur- chases of the metal and making this country the dumping ground for for cign supplies. until finally the ineyit- able collapse came.
 'The situation is far from encourag- ing at tha moment. The Amalgamated company has just declared it's quar- terly dividend and made the amount the same as on the last occasion-that is one-haf of 1 per cent. A year ago the company. as is well known, was paying per cent quarterly. or s per cent per annum. MT. John Stanton this week published the copper statis- tics for the month of June, and it is l ather noteworthy that the domestic consumption shows further increase while 1t the same time the exports are | found to have been much smaller than | in other recent months. Doubtless it | was rather too much to expect that these exports could be maintained at the extreme high level recently
 reached. On the other hand, the con- tiiiued increase in domestic production
 is ratnCr surprise. When the break
 in copper occurred six months ago. it
 was very confidently asserted that many of the copper mines could not
 profitably produce copper at II or F
 cents per pound, yet the monthly out | put is growing larger rather than smaller.
 | For the six months ended June 30.
 1902, the amount of American copper
 cmaining for home consumption, after
 deducting the exports. was only AZ, 4SS | tons, against no less than S3, ,367 tons in
 the first six months of 1901 This
 shows that as a result of the abandon
 ment of the old mistaken policy things
 are now getting into a satisfactory | shape. If. as is claimed, there is very little or no profit in producing copper
 at present prices, We may be sure that | q readjustment will occur before long, | 1lcw economies and new methods of production having that end in view
 will be adopted. and possibly also wages may have to be lowered, these
 having gone up while the price of cop per was being maintained at arbitrar- | fly high figures. The mines that are
 not favorably situated will have to close up. On the other hand there is | the certainty that consumption of cop per will steadily increase under the
 tower and more normal range of prices
 new prcvailing.'
 | So far as Arizona is concerned. she
 can produce copper cheaper than any
 other section Of the country, and if lritts are r3aintained at their present level the industry in this territory will
 relnan in fiourisfing condition.