Bisbee daily review., 1909-10-14
AMSTER SAYS
CURTAILMENT
IS DESIRABLE

Boston.-N. j. Amster. who has dc
voted much time and attention 70 The
copper situation, and has strongly al
yocated that the companies conserl
their resources in times of bushes
depression by restricting their output
of copper. says:
There is no question that there Is
a large accumulated surplus of copper
both in this country and abroad =
metal is now selling at IS cents per
pound or within IL cent per pound o.
the lowest price it struck during the
panic year SUN. in the face OF this
the price of copper shares is holdi :
firm, which would indicate that the
large copper interests of the country
are of the belief that we have seer
our low prices for the metal aud tina
there is a bright future ahead.
1T is noteworthy. however, that
Bessemer iron and other iron AMI
steel products are selling today with
in fraction of the high prices OBJ
tanned in the 1906 boom: that zinc is
$40 per ton higher, that lead is nearly
at its top price, and yet copper, so
closely affiliated with other metals ant
probably the most essential metal of
modern industrial developments, is
hanging around the panic price.
This more than ever illustrates III
necessity of graduated production
of copper based on the demand. 1;
need not necessarily be through pool
or combination to advance the pric
lof copper, but merely some mutual
agreement whereby the world will
only be given the copper they need
and no more
The success of such a plan is
well proven by the manner in which
the steel industry has been handled.
When periods Of depression arrive.
the production of iron and steel is re-
Istricted to the demand, the conse-
quence of which is that prices have
fecuperated very quickly with the re.
turn of prosperity and the steel com
panies this year will probably do the
largest business in their history and
show the largest profits. The same
has been the case with zinc and with
lead. Why not with copper?
AN obstacle to the regulation of
copper output has been the two OF
three low cost producers who claim
that they can produce copper and
make a good profit at the present
price. This argument, in my opinion
is unsound because these companies
are depicting their mines at a rapid
rate and only securing one-half of
the net profit they should get if the
production was regulated.
This country is the home of cope
production. All of the other countr.e
combined do not produce over 20 pei
cent of the worlds output. It be
hooyes this country therefore to look
toward preserving it's copper deposits
which 1t is not doing. There has beel
great agitation on the part of both
government and individuals toward
restricting the decreasing of the
country. but the useless waste of the
country's timber resources is no wors
than the useless waste of its copper
resources. You can plant neww tree
and in time secure another supply 0
timber, but you cannot plant copper
ores. and once copper comes out o
the ground, it is forever out.
Take, as an example, one of tht
large porphyry copper companies
whose property is estimated to con
tain 100000 tons of available ore
These deposits are in lenses and tn,
limits are absolutely known Til;
company is now mining at the rate
of 100000 tons of ore per annun
which means a life of only Is year
This particular property which r hay
in mind is unnecessarily depicting it
resources and the other mines are 1,
ing the same.
Il do not deny the fact that thes.
low grade prophyries are valuable
for they are; but why endeaver t.
] exhaust them in the quickest tim'
possible?