Evening star., 1915-02-28

wv next year &c; Germany suffers or or
will suffer a copper shoEtage e
sufficiently acute to impair the eff
cheney of her armies is matter of
conjecture and speculation. The inn
portance of copper i'll military opera
ticns is clearly understood by all per-
sons familiar with military armament
and has come to be quite plainly com
pretended by non-military readers
Copper enters into the manufactory Of
ammunition for small arms and can
non. 1t is the chic component in the
cases of rifle cartridges and machine
gun cartridges and also in the cases of
the fixed made-up ammunition for
held artillery.
The accuracy og shell and shrapnel
depend largely on the heavy conner
rotating band on those projectiles and
copper is one of the metals entering
into the bullets that are fired from
rifles and machine guns. Persons win
any mechanical knowledge understand
the Importance OF copper in automobile
buIldlnG. railroad equipment and in
Shfpbuilding. Germanv'S demands ON
her railroad and automob,Ie transport
nave been severe. She has no doubt
already been compelled to make a
considerable renewal of this equip
Inent and as the war lengthens must
ploEiue Immense quantities OF
equipment.
The allies were prompt to recognize
the vital importance of copper in war
and declared it contraband with the
result that the now of copper to Ger
many from the United States was cur
tailed If not cut off There were ad-
vices that copper was reaching Ger
many from such neutral countries as
italy. Denmark and Holland, and Great
Britain took all precautions within her
to StOD this Sunniv
is that though there may be copper
shortage or copper famine in Ger
many, there may not be such a short
age as to impair military efficiency
There must be great masses of copper
used in Germany in peaceful industry
that can be made available for ainrnu-
milton and other military needs
-
Il has been reported on what appears
to be credible authority that at a meet
ing of German metallurgists ct Dussel-
dorf one of them said that the lack OF
copper, nickel, zinc, aluminium, bronze
and lead was becoming q more serious
problem every day He suggested that
these metals shoaId be cofnmandeered
by the military authorities not only in
Germany. but also in Belgium and in
the French territory occupied by the
'eFiHdil tIe Ordinary brass
watertap to the copper church roof
Copper has been imported by Ger
many in vast quantities since German
manufactures began to play so impress
sive a part in the industries of the
world. When war broke out Germany
was the second largest consumer of
copper in the world. the United States
being first and England third The
consumption of copper by England was
roughly one-thrd less than its con-
sumption by Germany. In 1902 the
amount used in the industries OF Ger
many was 100000 tons; the total rose
to 100000 tons in 1912, and of that
great amount only one-tenth was pro-
duced at home. OF the nine-tenths of
imported copper. fourteen tfteenths
came from the United States, the other
fifteenth from England and Australia
The production of copper in the Unit
ed StatAS has had a magical growth.
In 1850 the production was $50 tons
in 1850 IL had risen to 1900 tons in
1900 to 270.5Ss tons, and in 1914 to $685.
~ tons
Available statistics showing the pro-