Bisbee daily review., 1908-11-28
CLARK SAYS COPPER WILL
SOON REACH SIXTEEN CENTS

BUTTE. Mont, Nov. 2T.-W. A.
Clark, former United States senator
from Montana, owner of the ea1
Pedro railroad, and the United Verde.
the Original. and other copper mines
has been In Butte for several days
He says be looks for Is or Is cent
copper market very soon, and he re-
peats what be said a year ago that
copper producers would never again
commit the folly If allowing metal
prices TO 90 20 unreasonable figures.
1T would be great misfortune to
allow copper to go to any extreme
figure" he said AT Is. or 16 cents
domestic consumption can be depend
ed upon for a steady demand, and
our foreign market, which is new
good, will hold good The European
stocks of conner in sight are less
than 100,000.0o0 pounds, not more
than a months supply; but the home
consumption is not much more than
40 per cent of normal, while the pres
ent production Is about 80 per cent OF
the normal, taking 1907 as q basis.
American dealers have no large
surplus on hand, and as business con
ditions improve they win be Ina the
market for larger Purchases. We are
not likely to repeat the blunder OF
1907 and have copper 20 to abnormal
ly high figures, with a certainty that
a reaction would follow and democrat
lie the copper business. look for a
good, steady market around is cents
and the producers can make money
at that"
Senator Clark, speaking Of politics
and general business conditions, says
he believes that Judge Taft will be
conservative and give a good admin
istration as president. Whether ne
is controlled by Roosevelt or not will
have much TO do with the good or
evil his administration may do, ana
in the east it is believed he will be
much less radical than Roosevelt In
any event the business interests OF
the country have confidence in the
future, and have gotten over the IN
certainty that always prevails in the
excitement of presidential cam
paign. and they VIII begin to branch
out In new undertakings with more
confidence.
although the outlook is cheerful,
| am not sanguine of any immediate
and violent upturn In financial affairs
such as some politicians predicted
would follow the election of Taft. The
stock market has been supported Tor
a while by large financial interests,
but they are likely now to let the
market take its natural course WIN
out any artificial stimulus. Recovery,
to be permanent, VIII have to be SLOW
zone thing that prevents any sud
den wave of prosperity is the inabil-
ity and unwillingness of the railroads
to attempt extensions or improve
ments on any large scale. They are
still suffering from the epidemic OF
hostility TO them which began at the
head Of the nation and spread
through the state legislatures until
the railroads found themselves up
against legislation that crippled them
seriously, discredlted their securities
so they could not ger new capital for
important improvements. and COM
PEELED them to curtall any new outlay
until more favorable conditions re-
turned. They have been able to carry
on their business all right, but a
good many Of them have had to re-
sort to extreme economy in order 70
meet reductions Of revenue imposed
bv unreasonable legislation. OF course
this reacts on the people, and they
suffer with the railroads; but mean
while there is no thought Of new
building"
Senator Clark's assertion that cop
per producers were not likely to re-
peat "the binder Jf 1907 and permit
copper to go to abnormally high ng.
ures, recalls his statement made at
the beginning of the panic when cop
per began its rapid descent from 26
cents. At that time he spoke as one
having authority, and it was recog-
nized that he was speaking for pro-
ducers generally when he declared
that the price of copper would never
again be permitted to go above 15 Il
Is cents, and that the small opera
tors would find it impossible to CON-