The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1909-11-17
THE COPPER COMBINATION.

| The chaotic, disOrganzed and de-
moralized situation in the copper met
al market has long called for just such
an organization Of copper interests as
now seems to be in process Of forma-
( ton under the ceft manipulation Of
! the Morgan interests, comments the
Duluth Herald. In a measure. this is
going 10 be copper trust" and
while that name will make some re-
formers see red, their number is not
so great as it was a few years ago.
II is becoming rather clear. nowadays.
that it is futile TO attempt TO prevent
combinations of this character, that to
accomplish their prevention would be
to deprive society OF very valuable
economies, and that the thing to do is
not to defeat them. but TO direct and
control them in the public interests so
that they shall remain servants Of
the people and not become the peoples
masters.
While holders of copper stocks viii
see i'm this combination a move for
their benefit, they are not the only
benefciaries. In recent years the cop
per metal has huctuated wildly Sub
ject to manipulation for speculative
purposes, with almost no restraint
whatever upon production. it has gone
from 10 cents pound to Is cents,
back To Il cents. then up to 26 cents,
topping from this too giddy height To
less than half as high because it could
not maintain this wildly speculative
altitude. Users OF copper metal have
not known. from one month 20 another
what prices to figure on. When times
were good and they needed copper,
copper was too high. When times
were bad and they dared not venture
investments, the copper metal was too
low, and copper stocks collapsed in a
panic. Either the metal user or the
stakeholder was getting the worst Of
il most Of the time and the public was
being injured more or less whichever
was ahead.
Whatever the nature of the coming
combination, it will undoubtedly put
some semblance of order into the cop
per metal market. Natural conditions,
in a measure will safeguard the public
though as in all such cases il is the
duty Of society to see through it's laws
and It's governments, that these pow
erful corporations are honestly man
aged with due regard to the public
interests. But. as we have stated,
natural conditions will automatically
safeguard the public interests to
certain extent. The proposed combin-
alton does not. manifestly, include all
Of the important copper producing in
tcrests. Two of the largest, the Calu-
met & Hecla and the Phelps Dodge
interests, are taking no part i'm the
negotiations, and there are other con-
siderable interests that apparently
prefer to go it alone. Thus, as in the !
case OF the Steel corporation, large
and powerful independent interests |
will remain in a position to act as n
safety device to prevent abuse OF the |
power created by the proposed COM
hination.
But there is no present danger, at |
least, Of any such attempt. 1t seems
clear enough that the price OF the |
metal is unduly low, and it is abso
utely certain that SO long as it is |
subject to the wild fluctuations of re-
cent years it will give rise to demon
llization not only in the copper metal
md copper stock trade. but i'm every !
industry associated directly or indi-
'ectly with the copper market; and the
growing use Of electrical power, in
which copper is largely used. is max
ng tina tfleld widep every year.
If the new combination can produce
4 stable and just condition in the cop
per metal market. IL will be doing n
arge public service, even If it should
eel compelled arbitrarily to fix the
price OF copper metal; always provid-
ng, OF course that the price fixed is
'air. And II IT isn't fair, conditions
ire such that defeat Is inevitable.