Tombstone epitaph., 1902-01-05
THE GREAT SLUMP
 IN COPPER
The Causes That Led to Its
 Sudden Decline
INDEPENDENTS DID IT.

A statement. which csrnes with it ,he suspicion of having received i,s in- s2iration in ,he offices of the Amslgs mated Copper company. has found its way into the columns sf ihe daily press. According 10 this ststemen, sll of the blame for the unsatisfactory con- dition ol the copper market during the last few modths lies with the inde- pendent concerns, by "indepsndens" meaning those outside the infiuenc4 of ths Amalgamated interest. We are not inclined to this view. IL is true that the outside interests re- ceived the benefit of tke high prices maintained by the Amalssmased com pany and kept under the umbrells'' ss long ss il was held up. This could hsrdly be designated as . policy of un- wisdom. As long as prices were up he'd the indep, nden.s were going ts sell all the copper for wkich they could find q market.
 h forming a judgment of the con ditions which have prevailed In the copper market i. must be remembe that the two principal 'ofenders" from the Amslgsmated viewpoint are the Calumet < Hecls and the Copper Queen, says the Engineering and Min iug Journal. |! must also be remem- bered that these two interests have never figured on Wall stree, as manip- Ulstors of the stock market. So It. tle interest Is taken by the ouoe.s ol Calumet 4 Hecla stock in the quota .ioas of the street that no attempt is made 10 "proteci" it from declining prIces. Stock having e par value oi S25 per share, and which is quoted at about $6JO Is apt to be fairly cafe in : vesiment, particularly when i, is con- sidered that tue original investnen, wAs a, about tSo-thirds the par value. None ol she Copper Queen nor any Of the Phelp.- Dodge properties are quotep on the stock exchanges. Such being the case u ls not surprising that these inter ssls were willing to take the benefit of what WAS coming their way. and il is also no, surprising that .h were not inclined Co enter into sny GefnIIe slliancs with the Amal- gamated people whose actions, to say the least, have not been above su.- pIcion.
 There is a very general impression sb.oid that there hss been slmething 2 0! an unholy alliance between the management m of the Amslgsmstei business and the stock market. lii. recognized that the inside" psrtie. have she power Q mAniplls.s the sock 10 suit their purposes, aud 1t i. strongly suspected that what hs, been lost by She accumulation nf copper in stock and recsnt fall in pricss has been 10 ore than male up by the profits on She street. 4 drop from Sl30 to SO per share on capitaliz .tion O! si5j 000, ,0Jo means 6 loss o' about sI00, ,0J),0O0. There may have been some prosu derived from selling out or ".hort" as higher price. Until she insiders Of Aaalgsmstei have purged themselves of the suspicious which have arisen abou. hem, it is of little use ,o try to throw the blame Of the recent dem oralis,tion upon
 ther.
 The fact shat, after the reduction Of she Amalgama.ed dividend and Q GU. of cents pound in the price Of cop per, She quotations began to rise, and sni are. ct the present writing, g points aoove the lowest Sure reached etIeagtnen..our conclu .iou..