Weekly journal-miner., 1916-12-27

| O- NOPPN4 - ON'AS l in the manufacture of war munitions and war supplies of ;.ll kinds, but 1t is evident 10 any one who has made q
 study of the situation that very large
 supplies of the metal will be needed | for reconstruction Of the destroyed towns and cities and hamlets of Eu-
 rope. In the meantime, prosperity based on bountiful crops and a store l of gold never before known in this
 country means continuance of pros
 perity in the United States and the expansion of works of construction
 requiring copper metals, all of which
 means big demand.
 The ending of the war. whenever it comes, will undoubtedly mean a re- l adjustment Of business conditions, but in all probability this readjust- ment will come about gradually and not suddenly, and it will have been discounted when it does happen. There arc armies Of 15,000,0O0 or 20,- 100000 men at each others throats on the European battlefield. It is inn possible to conceive that these armies will be disbanded at one time. Even after the actual signing of peace it will unquestionably take months to disband these armies, because, if for no other reasons than economic ones, the respective countries could not properly take care of the immense number of men suddenly released from military operations and return them to ordinary pacific pursuits.
 Tn addition to this, 1t is certain that a large standing army will be main tained by the victorious in the terri tory of the vanquished, and until the very last it is certain that a certain amount of munitions will be manu factured. It is absolutely certain that war supplies other than munitions will be required until the very last soldier is sent back to his home.
 In the period of this gradual dis bandment of the armies the manufac- lures and industries of the distracted countries will resume their normal sway. The work of reconstruction will start and gradually increase in volume, and this work of rcconstruc- ton, it is believed, will call for as large if not larger quantities of cop per and other metals than were de manded for war munitions.
 In making this statement, 1t must be borne in mind that during the past 30 months the Central empires have been unable to secure their needed supplies of copper metal. Not only have they drawn on their actual stocks, but, according to all reports every available pound of copper has been converted into the manufacture of war materials. As stated on sew eral other occasions there Is posi- tive copper vacuum in Germany and Austria which must be filled the mo- ment the seas are open to the Ger man merchant marine.
 For these reasons, copper produc' 1 CTS view the future with equanimity l For these reasons, it is certain that | although the present extraordinary range of prices may not prevail after the war, much higher range of prices is assured than ever was hoped | for in the past by copper metal-min- ing interests.
 The moral of this argument is that the copper metal securies are among the safest of all the investments and are assured of many years of contin- nous prosperity.
 Quotations for copper metal at the end of the week were as follows: Prompt and December elcctrolytic, from 3434 to 35Hc, compared with 36H to 3534c the week before; carly January, 34H to 345Sc. against 5 to 3515c for the previous week; first quarter elcctrolytic at from 34 to 3415c, against 5 to 35Hc the previ- ous week: second quarter, 34A to '3Hc, against 331! to 34c; third quar- ter, BIZ to 32c, unchanged from the previous week; fourth quarter, 3l to ,1Hc, the same as in the previous week.
 Certainly, if copper can still be sold for delivery a year hence at 3l O 3lHc a pound, comparing with ore-war level of l3c, at a moment when an early European truce is sug- rested it must be palpable that the luration of the European war is not he one big factor in determining the uture market action of copper se- urities.
 ANOTHER ARIZONA II
 PIONEER IS GONE T