Bisbee daily review., 1909-02-13
SHOULD TAKE PUBLIC INTO
 CONFIDENCE
pr. James Douglas Suggests Revival of the Copper Pro- ducers' Committee to Best Serve All interests

The following taken from an east ern inning journal is from the pen of iIr. James Douglas:
 The years statistics will probably show production Dat widely dIferSa. from that of 1901 The production ct the large mines in southern Arizona has been maintained quite up 10 the normal. The oniy producer in that region. including northern sonora, which has enlarged it's capacity, ana increased it's odtpat, is the Moctezuma Copper company. The concentrate made in the new mil, wnere the capacity is from f5e0 to POGO tons of ore per day. mere than double tho capacity of the old con centrating mill that is now out of commission, i shipped for metallurg- icai treatment to Douglas. Arizona.
 The Pilares mine of the Moctezuma company may be expected to continde turning out about 2,000.0GO pounds of copper per month. The smaller mines in the Moctezuma district have not yet recovered from the shock of the crisis, and have produced nothing dur ing she past year, and continue in a state of suspended animation.
 The GreeneCananea company. how ever, has resumed work under sucn improved conditions as to convert the old suspicion of failure into a practi- cal certainty of economic success The long period of suspension was the reverse of being a period of idleness. When york was resumed In Septem. Der. not orly was the old smelting plant rebuilt, upon the original site, but the general design of the furnaces and the methods of furnace treatment were so improved that on starting two-thirds of the old production was made with less than One-haif the old plant in operation,
 Steps have recently been taken to revive the copper producers commit tee, which for some years. under the secretaryship of the late John Stan. ton. served so useful a purpose. Grad ually the old-fashioned principle of se- crecy is being weakened. and public companies are being brought to recos- nize that. if the public endows them with certain corporate rights, they owe to the public certain corporate duties. and. among others, informa- tion as to the speed with which they are using up the national resources.
 To what extent they should diyulge their financial as well as their techni- cal operations is a matter upon which opinions necessarily differ. but nearly all have come 10 admit that their in- terests are best subserved by taking the public to some extent into their confidence. Prices. for instance, would be more justly regulated by the com mon sense of the mercantile world than by any combination of manufact- uring interests. If the actual facts ot production and consumption were known and believed.
 As it is, the stock of copper. so far as brokers can trace 1t. Is published: {: but no one supposes that the publish ed figures are absolutely correct, be- cause copper stored by spectators and the stock of crude material in the hands of the mills. is always q matter of uncertainty.
 During the summer before last, had the producers been aware that the de, mand for copper really fell of In the spring, they would not have gone on turning it out at maximum speed for some three months longer. during
 which period the mills were working
 Of the stocks they had undertaken tc | buy ct an exorbitanC pr1ce. To es cape such contingencies a system o
 contracting ahead would have to b, modified, and more perfect harmony of information established betUeeg
 miners. smelteTs. manufacturers ans
 the public.
 l This could not be done without th, creation of something that would bea
 d close resemblance 10 q trust" of th, most extreme description. and yet. |
 such system could be honestly ant thoroughly carried out. in all the grea branches of trade. 1t would eliminat, those sudden and wofuliy disastroui 1 shocks which every now and theI tend to shatter with earthquake vic lence the whole industrial system o
 modern society. If the committee, tC which reference has been made, can
 be reorgaEized and the result of the ! accurate information communicated
 to their statistician be made public one step, at any rate. will be taken toward the cOnsummation of an ideal bureau, which would act as a medium of perfectly reliable information be. tween those producing crude and high ] ly finished articles Of commerce and the public that consumes them.
 If the coming year. therefore. should prove that the motives. what ever they may he. that caused the sus- pension of the old committee. no long CT possess mems minds. and q new committee should be organized to com municate not only 10 the trade but likewise to the public the movement Of so important an article as copper. and If this be done without any ap- proach to a combination for govern ing the price. it will mark q distinct impulse in the public mind toward general confidence. IL is to be hoped that the large producers on both sides Of the Atlantic will cooperate.
 E.L~.-.. 41