Bisbee daily review., 1918-06-16

and finished products output in the couu;ry.
 The Way Of It
 Necessity remains the mother ot in vention. To make good during the war period, Arizona copper producers have been harder put to it by federal and state conditions imposed upon them than have the producers of any other war material in any part of the coun- try, and they have left no stone un- turned in making good. Operating un- der a government fixed price for cop per. on a maximum basis of 23 1-2 cts, with a government fixed wage based on 26 ct copper, the wage on a mini mum basis, with the cost of every item in the widely varied list of supplies necessary in the conduct of metal pro- duction rising month by month, with assessments of heavy war and excess profit taxes, adding from three cents to twelve cents to the cost of each pound of copper they produce, and fi- nally with a 259t advance in freight charges on all their oil, coke, coal. tim Der Cthese items figure in train loads the week. steel, powder and all ot the hundreds of other items of sup plies they are constantly shipping, not to mention the daily haulage of thou sands of tons of ore and concentrates within the state, copper producers, from the mucker to the general man. ager in Arizona, assuredly have been compelled to invent and dig and dig and invent in order to make good to the nation and themselves through keeping mines and plants going and the country and it's allies unembas- rassed by any shortage of metal for war needs. The responsibility upon Arizona copper producers in this re- spect, it must be remembered, amounts to providing more than one-third of all the available copper each month, and there has been no time in the last year that the nation and its allies have not needed all of that one-third to fill their actual war requirements.
 Troubles at Home
 Handicaps at home have constant presence. Arizona is isolated. Every pound of its industrial supplies comes from outside. The great bulk of all living necessities is imported. It is in the same fix as regards labor. Short ages must be made up from outside. The draft, higher wages on govern ment contract work than the copper mines have been able to pay on the low price of copper, as compared with costs of the latter under normal con ditions of 1913, have drawn heavily from its necessary complement of men in all divisions of operation. Then, notwithstanding the exposures of the strike period of last year and the pro- Germanism which was brought to light as the dominant factor behind these strikes. there has been incessant polk ing at the labor situation and an oc- casional attempt to start bon-fires. Propaganda counteracting that of the radicals and the vagrants of the l. w. w. whom German gold is keeping steadily on the job has been necessary continuously and forcefully through the efforts of all loyal citizens. Hap billy they have added daily to their numbers and are this time in an ascen dency that is not likely of either being overcome or of being checked in its work of converting those who have been misled by the tongues of traitors.
 
 the radical disturbing element, it may be added, have been fortunate. They cleared the way for exposure of their real attitudes. or at least of the re- suits of the attitude they assumed. The eyes of a great many people have been opened and radicalism looks to be by way of early and permanent shelving for the balance of the war period.
 Is Vital Need.
 That this result should come about is of the utmost importance if copper is to keep going from the state, as is so necessary, in full amount each month so long as the war shall last. Realization of this has become large factor with everybody associated with the industry in the state. All loyal men feel that they have responsibility and that the latter carries with it the duty of showing things to others in the same light Another important factor is the growing realization that the copper property owners are carry ing burdens of cost in addition to the burdens of other operating problems that are saddling them with all they can possibly staeger under.
 About Costs
 The time is rapidly coming when it will be necessary to have more frank ness about costs. The increased frsnkness that has come about as to other matters of interest to employers and employees in the state has paved the way for this. Besides which. the men themselves can see and do see But there are some things that they cannot see unless the books are put before them. In these things the pro- German disturbers are finding the on- ly handle that is left them to work with. If is extant in continued high rate of dividend payments without the attendance of explanation that those dividends ARE NOT coming in the main from current earnings and that it is now question of but a short time until surplus accounts will bel down to where they cannot longer he drawn upon to make up the difference between current earnings and current dividends. Owners, as represented by share holders in Arizona dividend pay-l ing mines represent probably more than 100000 persons scattered through out the United States. More than 10.