Weekly Arizona journal-miner., 1907-01-02

has been proven, and the history of the industry furnishes eloquent tcsti. mony to the fact that some of the most important groups will persist in main taining their independence of action whatever the temptation may be. Therefore, no trust, no community of interest. has anything to do with the great advance in copper during the past year.
 The tariff has nothing whatever to do with prices, since copper is on the free list. There flows in and ont of this country. without let or hindrance. m cnormous amount of copper in the form of furnace products and of ore, adding greatly to the importance and magni. tudc of our smclting and refining in dustry.
 Costs of production, although they have risen somewhat. have no bearing on the market advance, because n great part of the metal which the mines yield is being put down, in crushed | form. in the markets of the world at a | cost which is less than half of the eur rent selling price. Indeed, 1t Is sus- ccptiblc of proof. from the annual re- ports of the mining companies, that | fully 9j per cent of the copper made | in the United States could he sold with. out loss at n cents Il pound. | The rise in copper. therefore. has not been due to any manipulation of trusts, sheltered behind n tariff, which is the favoritc method of explaining how the poor consumer is robbed. It has not been due to any material advance in costs, which, while it may not at times hc immediately reflected in selling prices, must in the long run shape them when they involve losses.
 IL has been due solely to m extra. ordinary demand which has not been checked by adding fully 50 per cent to what might be regarded as the nor nal price of 14 to 15 cents. That the requirement has not been adversely af. fcctcd by what might bc regarded as n famine price is another blow nt such cherished economic theories.
 Another astonishing fact, on the sur. face, is that production has not been rapidly and strongly stimulated by the exceedingly tempting profits which copper mining is now enjoying. IL would appear natural that the managers of mines would go out of their way to get out the richer part of their properties in order to realize as much ns possibl, of the big returns obtainablc.
 It is possible that some of them may be doing so, hut the majority seem (, prefer to work their mines systematic ally as before. Some, it is known, ar, actually taking out lcancr ore bccaus, it pays good profit in times like these while it could not bc treated to advant age when selling prices are nearer th, , normal.
 But after all, the principal reasor
 why output has not responded more rapidly to an enormously enlarged con sumption is that 1t takes long time } to carry out plans for enlargement m, to develop new properties. The question oi securing funds for them, SO often , serious stumbling block, need not b' : considered in these hey,hys of pros pcrity.
 But even with unlimited resources th, modern mining property, with it's un dcrground work, it's surface improve mcnts, its concentrating, smclting an, : converting plants, needs time. Prac tlcally all the new producers and yer, many of the old ones are low grad, propositions. With their l and ? pc, cent ores it takes m enormous tonnage and corresponding development m, equipment tn order to make any apprc enable impression upon the supply oi metal.
 I