El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-12-28

UTASHINGTON. D. c.. Dec. 81
w write Of king copper as one OF
the live working monarchs in the re-
habiIitatl0n Of peace. For four years
his efforts have been devoted 70 the
raEing Of war He has been a vital
part OF every engagement and has
largely aided in defeating the kaiser.
The shortage Of copper in Germany
began six months after the German
invasion. Prior 10 that time the Ger
mans had consumed about 3O0.0 tons
year and only one-tenth OF this
came from mines within their own
boundaries Later the domestic prod
net vas slightly Increased and the
government tried 70 piece out the
balance b. stripping the metal from
the roofs OF their houses. by robbing
their churches OF their bells and BY
collecting from the people kitchen
utensils. copper and brass lamps
locks. knobs and hardware OF every
description They did likewise as %
al invaded TERRITORY France ana
Belgium were skinned Of all the cop
rer 10 sight. and the same was true
o. Austria-H Hungary. Serbia, Rumania
ana some parts Of Russia. In many
OF the conquered cities the electric
copper wires were stripped from the
Lrolleys and replaced with iron wires
At the same time the domestic mines
we're worked 10 the utmost and few
thousand tons were imported from
norway and Sweden The total sup
ply. however. vas nothing in COM
parisol with the needs OF the war,
and at last much Of the war machin-
cry hrcke down through the famine
IN copper.
Indispensable in War
COPPER is used in most war ma
terialE In connection with zinc, il
forms brass, the most important OF
all metal alloys Hundreds OF thous-
zuds OF tons OF Il are consumed in
this way for cartridge cases and shell
fuses and IL has its place in every
big gun and almost every weapon OF
var Il is used in airplanes and
motor cars, and IL IS almost indis-
pe1sabls for electrical and thermal
transmission IL is estimated that
every mile OF trolley line in the
Omitted states requires 1900 pounds Of .
copper for power transmission alone, /
and about ten years ago the American I
Bell Telephone system had in use
more than z00.000.o GOO pounds Of wires
made OF copper L vas used for tele- /
Eraph and telephone lines on the bat
rlsfields. and the ocean cables, of
which thcrs are now over 100000
miles eat IL I'D By the thousands Of
tons
Enormous Consumption.
Copper ls used largely IN shlpbuild- /
ing and IN the past the wooden yes
sells we're often copper bottomed- It /
IS employed in making machines OF
all kinds, and it is q part OF the foun-
czrion Of modern Industry as vel as
"I-N
cant matter OF the pins you use for
fastening your clothes. We use NIL
Hons OF pounds OF copper for that
purpose alone. There IS one firm In
Connecticut that uses 1900 pounds
OF copper z day for making eyelets
and Fzmus Tor shoes The eyelet
metal has TO be rolled out 50 thin
that the pleces do not vary in thick
breadth OF the human hair. and the
install u such that il can be shaped
10 the finest degree CT accuracy. FOR
IBIS reason i is Important in the
making Of scientific instruments. In
feet 81 Is difficult 70 carry on any
great Industrial machine without COP
per. The need for i viii grow greater
ana greater during these days OF re-
urging the Increase OF our output IN
every possible way
Production Increased.
The amount OF copper required IN
lllll-lI warfare mas Ieel g 6lrpIlhG
20 the world. When the war in Eu--
r1us broke out IL was thought Il
would have e disastrous effect on the
copper industry The mining pro-
ductlon fen. ard IN 1914 i was almost
llo 0le pounds less than IN 1915.
u Increased IN 1916, and BY the end
q that year had reached the enor-
nous amount OF 8 l1ul 600, 900 pounds. ]
which was over 1000. oeo. 900 pounds
more than it had been n 1914 Since
then it has been steadily rising. and
We are now getting more copper ont
u the earth than ever before. The
price has gone I'D with the increased
demand IN 1913 refined copper was
selling IN London Al an average %
about Is cents pound; the following
year when the War broke out IL
dropped TO Is cents. AID in 1913 Il
rose 70 over 20 cents pound Dur
Ing 1915 The price at times was Up
ward q - cents a pound and that
the enormously in
creased productipu and the fact that 4