Arizona republican., 1917-09-03
6be MINES of ARIZONA

Council and other state organizations during the week from miners through out Arizona indicate general opposition to copper price fiXation by the gov ernment, or at least any reduction be- low 25 cents. The bulk of the opinion is that the metal occupies a position different from that of any other com modity with which the government has to deal and that it should be left to move under the law or supply and de- mand.
 Miners point to the fact in several communications that they alone suffer from declines in copper metal price, their wages being based upon the aver age selling figure of the metal during each month. The decline of the metal quotations from 30 cents to 27 cents, largely brought about through the prevalence of opinion during the last two months that the government would put the price to 25 cents or lower, has cost them around $1,000000 per month in Arizona, and decline below 25 cents will add another $1,000,00 per month to their loss.
 The assumption that the miners are the only losers by decline in the metal is not wholly correct. The taxpayers of the country at large must also stand a considerable loss, which they must make up from their own pocket books Every decline of one cent per pound in copper quotations means a loss of S5, 000,000 to the government from excess profits and income tax levied upon the copper producers. There is d further direct loss to the taxpayers of Arizona and of most of the ,tner copper pro- S+a d state taxes are based upon the earnings of the producers. In Arizona, for in stance, the increased earnings of the producers under the high metal prices of 1916 enabled marked reduction of I the realty and agricultural districts , tax rates this year. Whatever decline ! there is in the average price this year will have to be made up next year by | the agriculturists and other interests outside of mining. The latter is this year paying 56 per cent of all the state | taxation. The strikes of the last three months have of course already made a {, big hole in earnings or the mining com panies as compared with last year. 1 Add to this a cut in the price of the metal to 25 cents or less, and a big burden is immediately heaped upon 1 the taxpayers outside of the mining in 1 dustry
 l The miners loss, however. is the i more direct under falling metal prices, and in view of the continued high costs of living is one that compels his ! urgent attention. Decrease below the ! 25-cent copper wage schedule will con- pei him to seek other fields of employ ment. Even 25-cent copper presents serious problem to men with families. They will be able to earn more in the cotton fields this fall and in other sec tons where living c,sts are lower by reason of home production of foods. A further point requiring consideration is that the copper districts are now short of competent labor and cannot main- tain efficiency in output of the metal needed by the government and it's allies of they are to lose more men.
 New cornelia
 | TUCSON, Sept. 1.-The fact that New Cornelia Copper company's shares made the only showing of strength during the week, which any of the cop- per producers of Arizona was able tC muster, is considered no more thar the due of this Pima county metal per 1 former. It is indeed less than those who are familiar with the property ant
 
 it's due.
 Cornelia now has it's acid tanks vel in hand and is working rapidly to ul- innate top capacity. It has been dem onstrated that the difficulties which were for time puzzlihg can be simply and effectively overcome As with al matters of ingenuity, it is simple wher you know how. Meantime steam shove l dpyPlnnnpont of crowded ahead apace. With this ther, , has been demonstration that the high. CT grade ores are of growing extent and will exceed best previous extent for which development gave warrant. Atop of this New Cornelia has com menced the further development of the AJo Consolidated property recently ac. quired. More diamond drilling is tt be done-has been started as well as l, further underground exploitation Steps thus far taken have giver ground for much encourag much, indeed, that the increased value If shares of the corporation in the eastern exchanges which has thus fal occurred, is considers but a mild ex. pression of that which will come later and which would be in full upswing al this time were the real merit of the : property wholly understood in copper investment circles. In this connection it is to be realized that New Cornelis with her 67,000,000 tons of demonstrat ed commercial ore is at this time tht third largest copper property of tho low grade class in Arizona.
 Jerome
 ,I JEROME. Ariz, Sept It is not , able that in this camp. where in tho l. W. W. cleanup and labor clarified ton work in Arizona started with thu ; deportation of 76 leading l. w. W. jus ' prior to the Bisbee deportations, ha. l regained full complements of men II , most of it's mines and again has sur. plus labor on it's streets, although dur , ing the strike period of May and Jun, it lost large part of it's working popu } lation through the departure of mel who wished to avoid trouble.
 } The labor filling the mines at thi time numbers many new faces and tn | proportion Of Americans is larger thai probably ever before in the history o 7 the district. The tendency is to in , crease this proportion as rapidly a
 possible. The idle men are in the mail
 foreigners, mostly of doubtless com ? petence, and it is not likely that the