The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-07-05

The supply of copper available il
the free market is also diminished by
the considerable quantities that are
supplied to consumers at averag,
price, which is subtraction in addi-
ton to what is taken away by the
foreign governments at fixed price
In so far as the average price con-
tracts are concerned, the situation in
copper is the same as in lead, except
that they are not so extensive. How
ever the effect on the market is the
same whether a large part of the sup
ply be removed by a contract AT u iiX-
ed price or by contract at vary
ing price, but in the former the diff
! ference between the contract price
and the price for uncontrolled sup
plies may be greater.
| These explanations of things that
have happened and are now happen
ing, are simply another way of say
ing that the law of supply and de-
mand prevails as it always has and
always will Mr.. Baker and Mr.. Dan
iels may put feathers in their caps,
but they will be nothing but feathers
of political claptrap, In the long run
the government and the people can
not do any better than purchase their
supplies at the market price. If the
ing as to eliminate competition among
its own departments, thus removing
appearances of more demand than
there is. it will have done about all
even as late as last week we saw the
Frankford arsenal on sits own hook
asking for tenders of lead while Mr.
Baruch was negotiating With the lead
committee for large supply for the
government. Why such thing Should
be permitted is to be accounted for
only by mental chaos in Washington
In our considerations heretofore in
this article, we have assumed that it
was only a question of buying by the
American government for it's own
purposes and buying by domestic con-
sumers, The more cheaply the gov
eminent buys the more dearly will the
other consumers have to pay But
there are practically other factors of
major importance. What of the needs
Of our allies? Will Mr.. Baker or Mr..
Daniels buy cheaply for our own ar,
my and navy and leave it to our al
lies to buy in competition with dom
este consumers? Or will they buy
for our allies on the same terms as
for ourselves and cause domestic con-
sumers to pay even higher prices?
How then are our allies going to dis,
tinguish between military consump-
ton and commercial consumption?
Are we going to provide Great Britain
with cheap lead for her export trade
while American manufacturers COM
peting in the same markets can only
have dear lead?
Washington meets economic argu-
ments by saying that if necessary il
will establish maximum prices. Sup
pose it does and there is not enough
lead for everybody, who is going to
say what consumers shall have it and
what shah not? The trouble is that
the lead supply is insufficient As to
copper supply there is not such ar
acuteness. Let the markets alone ana
natural factors will say who shall
have the supplies and who shall not
that is, they will go to the highes,
| bidders, and the time will come when
unnecessary consumption will have
strangled itself and when increasing
production will have ameliorated the
situation on the other hand. The his
tory of zinc since the beginning of
1915 affords a perfect picture of the
operation Of the natural law. The
supply of zine has now become plen-
tiful and in that industry there Is nc
such excitement as there sis in lead
and copper about what the govern
ment is going to do. .