Bisbee daily review., 1912-02-17
WALKER LOOKS FOR PRICE OF
 COPPlR ID BE SENT H|CHER

enough copper to supply. for any con siderable length of time. tho enormous demand which exists at low prices. There is no instance ID the history Of the trade. output has any more than temporarily checked an advancing tendency in the price of the metal. Extreme de olines in the price of copper have al- ways followed periods in which it has sold so high as to discourage largely, 1t not prohibit, it's general use Low prices for copper have been traceabl al all tunes 10 this cause and to bus mess depression. when 1t has been more or less general all over the world
 Demand Exceeds Supply Whenever long continued cheapness has popularized the use of copper it has never failed to lead up to pro- hibltlye prices ultimately. The eXpla- nation ls that there never has been enough copper to supply, for any con siderable length of time, the enormous demand which low price creates. If all the copper the world would con. sume could be supplied for 10 consecu- tive years at F cents a pound the cou- sumption would not simply double, t would multiply.
 With 30 or more men selling copper directly 10 several hundred consumers, no two of whom have any understand ing or agreement as to what price shall be asked or paid from day to day or week to week, fluctuations are unavoidable and to be expected Sup ply and demand. however, never faii 10 determine the general tendency of prices. For a year or two past the demand has been gradually oyertaking the supply, and during the coming six or eight months these two factors may travel hand in hand; but within year or two demand will be far in the lead and prices viii be tending again toward the prohibitive point
 What has been said does not neces- sarily imply that ali coming advances in the price Of copper will necessarily be followed by periods Of extreme de- pression. It is to De anticipated rather that the future of copper will be like the past of tin.
 The worlds known resources Of tin are rapidly being exhausted, and for many years the demand has exceeded the supply. Prior 10 1899, going back to 1850 when tin sold around r Or IS cenJs, the highest price it reached was S7 I-i cents a pound in 1888, and it declined as low as 12 5-S cents in 1896. The average price of tin during the 1y years. 1880 to 1SgS inclusive, was I3 o-S cents, anu the lowest aver age price for any one year since 1898 was 2G I-S cents in 1901.
 The average price of tin during tls uo y-aa-- bs- haqu a fo1rs 1pnrc and at present the market price is 42 cents, W hich compares with high rec ards of 4Sl-2 cents last year and 30 cents in 1906. From 1901 to 1910 the worlds output of tin increased only 20 I-2 per cent. end in the same period copper production increased 7g per cent. The so-calied tin syndicate does not control production: it buys and sells practically the entire supply There is the best possible reason for the belief that the percentage of in. crease in the worlds copper produc- ton will decline from decade 10 decade in the future ConsUmptiye demand, however, should. grow even more Tal- idly than it has in the past, due to the more general dependence of the public on electricity for lighting power. z,
 
 garment will be cut to suit the cloth. as in the case of tin; the price Of copper advancing until it's use in building construction and many othe~ fields IS discouraged leaving the en- tire output for lFe electrical in- dustry, which will require it event ually.
 That the average price of copper will be higher than it has iE the pas- IS as certain as anything in the future can be; but what the price will aver age depends upon supply and demand and the competition of other metals. ] My personal investigation of the ' sources Of supply enables me 10 de- clare with every assurance that suitl- cient number Of new mines are not being developed and equipped to take care of the assured growth of consuhp ton during the coming five years at anything like the current price level of the metal.