The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-08

There Is probably more bullishness surrounding the copper stocks as a whole than any other class of securi- ties. The report of the Copper Pro ducers' association which will probabl be published next Tuesday. Is expected to show a further decrease in the vis- ible supply of copper. The general eX- pectation is that the decrease will amount to 100000 or 5,000,000 lbs. of copper, which will bring the visible sup ply of the metal In the United States down to very close to 40.000,00O lbs.-a supply of copper sufficient to last the present rate of consumption only about week or ten days. Exports of cop per during August were well up to those of previous months The Euro pean demand for the metal which slack ened off during July and August is now again in full swing and the indi- cations are that France and Germany will use up an enromous supply of American copper between now and the first of the new year, probably break ing all previous records in copper con- sumption. Production of copper is now going on at the rate of about 30.00O,- 900 lbs. month, which Is d new high record In this respect At tho rate that inquiries for the metal Were made during this week, it is evident that the , CODSuUnpllOn OI liit Itu VIII bp far ahead of the monthly production of 130, 100000 lbs. The metal sold free ly during the week at TEA cents a pound and practically every selling agency declares that within ten days the price must be advanced to IS cents pound. Meantime, the American Brass company. which is the heaviest user of copper in the United States, Is in the market for a very large supply. 1tb ba Electric company and the Nesting house company are reported to have only enough of the metal on hand to last them for a few weeks, so that they must soon appear as heavy purchasers. If the business revival, about which Wall street has heard great deal dur ing the last two or three months, hn- ally materializes in anything like the volume that has been predicted. 1t is quite evident that the copper produc- ing mines of the United States cannot turn out anywhere near enough copper
 in this electrical age to supply the de- mand, and the runaway copper metal market that has been suggested may become a reality. Certainly IS cents 0 pound is very high price for metal that has sold freely from 1907 until six or eight months ago at from 12h to IA cents pound and all of this in- crease in price goes directly into the profits of the copper producers, such as the Amalgamated Copper Co.,, Anacon- da and Utah Copper. The Anaconda Copper Go. directors will have q meet
 ing within few days and are ex- pected to increase the dividend to 75 cents a share quarterly, against 50 cents now being paid About 72 per cent of the authorized stock of the Ana conda Co. Is owned by the Amalga- mated Copper Co., so that the increase
 in the dividend will go directly into the treasury of the Amalgamated and will warrant the directors of the Amal- gamated in raising their dividend at their next meeting for dividend pur- poses These facts are the reasons for an almost universal bullishness in Wall street on the copper stocks. Specula- tors who are ramping bears on the railroad issues confess themselves to be quite enthusiastic bulls on the cop pers.
 The argument on the railroad issues is peculiar. It is admitted on all sides that the railroads are now making more money gross than for many years past and in some cases the net earn ings are increasing steadily. But the low price at which medium grade and even high grade bonds are selling is construed into an argument against the purchase of railroad stocks at this level. AnyDOdy can get all or the good bonds that he wants that will yield him from to F per cent on his in- vestment which is about the average yield of railroad stocks at current quo- tations. although some stocks yield little above 5H per cent The argu- ment takes the form of a question, which is: Why should anybody buy railroad stock yielding , per cent when he can buy bonds that will yield him per cent? The question contempla tes a fxity of railroad dividends under the present arrangement of fixing railroad freight rates. The Interstate Commerce commission shows a sturdy resistance to allowing railroads to increase their freight rates. Meanwhile everything that the railroad uses such as iron, steel. lumber and labor Is increasing in cost while the only thing that the rail- road has for sale is maintaining fixed value under the rulings of the Inter- state Commerce commission.
 This process if continued will of course, preclude any substantial in- crease in railroad dividends and if ad- vances in the cost of steel iron. lum- Der, labor and capital are carried far enough, may even result In some scat tering dividend reductions.
 The quFtion of capital or money sup
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