Arizona republican., 1907-09-26
COPPER SITUATION
 REVIEWED LOCALLY
The Present Furry Due to Neither overproduction nor Copper War But is a Natural and Desirable Re- action,

Probably the subject of most vital
 interest to Arizona fin an industrial way. at the present time, is the cop per situation. Will the slump in the
 price of the metal continue until all
 the mines are closed down and thou sands are out of work, to say nothing Of the stopping of dividends to the op- orators and the curtailment of eXplo- ration; is the present condition a mere furry caused by manipulation, or is it a natural reaction that shall restore the copper industry to normal condi- tions and make for more continuous prosperity? These are the views held by different groups of critics. The latest mentioned phase is the optimis- tic one and receives the endorsemen of many men who should be in a posi- tiOn to judge if statements in the press are to be relied upon. J. c. Erman. who is just now stopping in Phoenix. and who has been interested for a long time in copper mines in Pinal county. has followed the copper situ- ation pretty closely for a number of years, and has given it special study since the present conditions have aris- en. Following is given his view of ihe situation:
 The recent and almost unprece- dented slump in the price of copper from its high price of 25.175 cents per pound. the average price of lake for last January to 15 cents per pound on last Saturday, has given the pessimists q chance to predict calamities of all sorts to the indurtry in general It has also given room for various ru
 mors of fights for control of various properties throughout the country. an example of which is the rlimof to be heard on the street now about the Amalgamated being on the bear side of the market, to secure control of the Calumet and Hecla property in Michi- gan. That there is nothing to be ap- prehended in the calamity line and that there is no war on between any of the big operators, is equally patent to all thoroughly conversant with con- ditiOns as they are now. The sole req son for the present lower price of the metal is that it has been too high causing many of the largest consum- CTS not only to reduce their consump- ton. but in many instances to stop using the metal entirely. The cause is not, as many hold, that the produc- tion has increased faster than the de- mand. On the contrary. consumption has increased much faster than pro- duction and will continue to do so un- der normal conditions with copper at IS cents a pound or less. The worlds production in 1897 was 399.730 long tons of which the United States pro- duced 210.060 long tons. This was in- creased at an irregular rate until in 1906 the. worlds production reached 711.675 long tons, an increase in nine years of IS per cent. the United States producing in that year 40s,475 long per cent. IL might be remarked in l passing. that the production of this | territory increased in that period of time from S1.530,735 pounds of blister copper in 1897 to 263, 200. 900 pounds in i 1896, or about 197 per cent. Thus it | will be seen that although the increase | in this territory was immense in nine | years the increase in the world as whole was not nearly as fast. and in fact in some countries. it actually de- creased. as in Africa for instance where it fell from TAO long tons in 1897 to 69S0 long tons in 1906. and in other countries it remained about sta as for instance in Europe with a production of S9,S55 long tons in 1897. and but 91 .995 long tons in 1906
 Many authorities on the copper mar ket regard the present slump in the price of the metal as rather a sign of