The copper era., 1910-12-16
MINING MEN ARE
 VISITORS IN CITY
Manager Walter Douglas gays
 Better Outlook for Copper
BUTTE MEN. INSPECT GOLD BAR
Miners Are in the Hills Doing Annual Assessment Work Arizona Copper Breaks the Record for Pro-
 ductiOn Last Month.

Rock Island to represent the Phelps
 Dodge interests, arrived in Morenci
 Tuesday evening and spent Wednes-
 day in going over the properties of
 the Detroit Copper Company in com
 pany with Supt. Mills. The party
 was in Clifton for a brief time We'd
 nesday evening and left on special
 for the east at p. ID.
 MT. Douglas is optimistic regarding
 the copper situation to the effect that
 the industry was getting into better shape than it has been for several years. While there is no advance in the metal price to attract attention, still it is steady at figure slightly above that of last month. Since MT. Douglas returned from the east he [ has visited Globe and Nacozari and also made hurried trip to Phoenix and went oyer the Arizona Eastern railroad as far as Winkleman. On this itinerary he was accompanied by James Mclean, heavily interested in the Phelps Dodge company and rep
 
 new board of directors of the Rock Island railroad system, and Senator Agnew of New York city, a Phelps Dodge director.
 WALKER s OPINION.
 Charles Walker, of the Boston Commercial, recognized authority on the metal market and copper share market, has the following com nent to make on the situation this week:
 Copper is frmer. Lake is 13 to I3! cents and electrolytic is 125 to l3 cents a pound. The price of the metal has held very strong through cut the recent period of declining copper share values. This fact is mentioned because it is unusual. Heretofore every bad break in the coppers has been reflected sympa- thetically in the metal market. Just at present consumers both at home and abroad seem to feel that metal prices are more likely to advance than to decline, aud they are buying to cover Februafy and March re- quirements. The foreign demand for copper continues strong.
 The Copper Producers statement issued yesterday, covering the month | of November, showed a further de- l crease of 8,872,S45 pounds in the American surplus. This, together 1. With the decrease of $4,91O,lf0 ! pounds in the foreign visible supply, ] makes the total reduction in the ] worlds surplus during November 13, ] TSP, 1885 pounds This is only slightly | below the average decrease, about | 15,OOO,OOO pounds monthly, which has been going on since July l.
 The November production and i'm ports shows Considerable decrease as l but this was slightly more than balanced by falling of of 7,O12, l8O pounds in domestic deliver ies, and 762, 2,596 pounds in exports November was a 3O-day month. com pairing with October's 3l days, this in part the reduced fig ures all around.
 The continuing decrease in the worlds accumulated copper means higher metal prices in the not very distant future. The surplus, which stood at 401 100000 pounds July 1 this year, had declined to 323, ,5S9, ,OG9 pounds Dec. 1. During the coming six months the shrinkage should be much more pronounced even than in the immediate past. The metal sit uation is improving as rapidly as could reasonably be expected.
 The weakness of the general mar ket and the extremely disappointing statement issued by the Utah Con solidated management pracipitated free selling of Coppers and caused them to decline sharply this week. The Utah Consolidated incident has done more to discredit copper stocks in the public mind than anything that has happened previously. Some how the public is always willing to take the chance of unfavorable re- suits from exploratory and develop ment work; but the disappearance, without satisfactory explanation, of S00,OOO tons of ore, previously de- clared to be blocked out, creates a new situation which in a time like the present tends to shatter the little public confidence that remains.
 Even such incidents as that referred | to will not prevent shrewd and far seeing speculative interests from buy ing coppers at their present tow level l of prices. Fortunately the market | was very well liquidated so far as margined speculative accounts were i concerned, and those holders having ! their stocks paid for were obliged 10 . sell. The metal situation is improv- ] ing very rapidly and it is known that the largest producing interests are working together to further strength . en it. Within six months or a year the recent uutavorable develOpm will have been forgotten, and with a