Bisbee daily review., 1908-11-14
WHY CHINA IS
 NEEDING MORE
 COPPER TODAY
Coins Were Not Worth As Much As Metal and Millions Have Been Melted to Make Various Utensils.

ISHPEMING, Mich, Nov. 13.-Tns senior officer of local mining anu smelting corporation which is nego tiating with Chinese interests for tns sale of large tonnage of copper, thus summarizes the conditions as to copper and silver in China:
 China Is very short of brass coins. more especially of the coin callee cash. into which went most of the 60.- 900 tons of copper bought by China in this market a few years ago. When copper began to soar upward two years ago, European merchants al the treaty ports of China and at Hong Kong bought enormous quantA- ties of old copper and brass that was sent by shiploads to Europe. This went far toward forcing the final re- 1uction in the price of copper. Sin~e copper has declined from its high rvo- ord price, hundreds of millions of cash have been melted down in Chr na for the making of cooking utensils, bells and oether' articles needed TOT the replacement of products sold when copper was very high.
 The official Chinese cash con-anIs PISA grains of copper and 1856 grains of zinc One Mexican silver dollar is the equivalent of 972 cash, are valued at a Chinese tael, which is commonly 580 grains of silver 99S-1000 fine. In the form of newly minted brass cash, a trifle more than four pounds avoirdupois of copper and | two and three-fourths pounds of zinc, may be had or 8 Mexican silver dol | lar. At the prices of copper and zinc that have been ruling for ye-l | in Chinese metal markets makers of | brass ware effect a considerable saw I ing by melting down brass coins for utensils and bells and ornaments rather than by going into the market l or ingot copper and slabs of zinc. This condition has brought about the present copper scarcity with the re suit that the 19 hints of China are al most bare of electrolytic copper
 | ''To certain extent, like conditions have produced a scarcity of silver coins in number of populous prov inces of China. Enlarging demands for silver ornaments have resulted il the melting down of millions of for eign and Chinese silver coins Mil lions of Chinese use coins as talis mans. They also inter them with tht bc dies of hnsfolk. It is a common thing for the friends of a weIl-to-dC family to place from 50 to 200 silyel coins in the coffin of departed men, Her In that way a great deal oi silver coin goes out of circulation
 Among the poorer classes, the custom of burying a string of 100 or nlurG newly-minted brass coins in the gTavI of friend is universal. This ac counts for the d'sappearance within three years of the bulk of the 16,413, 100000 brass cash made in the mlnrs of China from American electroIytic copper, as reported officially by the Taotai of Shanghai.
 Silver is the money of account ant the medium of exchange in China Most of the silver so used is in the form of bullion, that is reckoned and ! transferred by Hangs, otherwise taels or ounces of silver. The metal is called by the Chinese 'wan-yin-sycee, meaning purest silver There are many kinds of taels, but in theory tht tael may be set down as meaning 5SC grains of silver of fineness ranging between $50 to 80. Most of the fina Dtl"Scn SllQGSc DdQKGrs and merchants are made in bars ol silver shaped like women's shoes. these weigh about 50 taels each, ana each banker and important merchant stamps these shoe-shaped Jumps wit! his name or with a motto which Is 3 recognized trade mark of the firm Many large dealers in these Jumps oi silver mark them with their names ol St"mn their notices in India ink. IT disputes about the fineness of ths Jumps of silver the matter is settled by reference to a native assayer whC is called the hong koo,' whose decis ion is final only within the bounds o his iurisdiction-hardly more than { circuit of 10 miles. All silver codn'
 hevord the treaty ports u China are chopped that is, eaci important banker and mercHanr stamps his firm name or trade mott, upon all coins that pass through hi: hands.
 The best mint in China is at Can ton, and was founded by Li-Hung Chang. The daily capacity Is 15O,OU, silver dollars and 3,000,444 cash. IT
 China banking is free, and the righ
 10 issue coined money is not conflnet to the imperial government, whicl