The Arizona copper camp., 1918-12-21
Poverty Of Buying Orders at
26 Price and Elimination
Of War Consumption and
Brings Part Time Opera
tion into View as Proba-
bility = Government AS
sistence is Needed

Boston-The published statement
that there is a surplus of copper on
hand amounting to 800.000,000 pounds
greatly exaggerates the fact, although
if present poverty of buying orders
continues for another 80 days this will
be the condition of things soon after
February 1, says the Boston News
Bureau.
The above estimate of 800,000,00O
pounds included "stock in process
blister copper on hand and in the pro-
cess of refining. AS the operation of
reducing blister copper-the product
of the western smelter-tO refined,
marketable metal consumes 80 days it
is at once apparent that 25 per cent of
our annual output is always "on hand"
but of course in the refining vats and
not commercially available.
1t cannot be denied, however, that
conditions in the copper producing in
dustry are causing some companies
grave concern.
While the situation is serious, there
is no occasion for copper shareholders
to become unduly alarmed, for as i'll
previous crises, corrective solution
will probably be forthcoming.
In a nutshell we are confronted
with an enormous over-production Of
the metal now that the allied govern
ments have suddenly suspended the
melting of copper into war material.
War work for over II months has
consumed 80 per cent of the cc2per
output.
In this country the United States
government has of course been prac
tically the only customer for copper
in large quantity. This metal would
be apportioned to various manufac-
turing plants engaged in this or that
department of war material produc-
ton. The abrupt cancellation Of war
orders finds these plants with surplus
law mdIcIldl oIOCh VI Oil hAAuo, III
Guiding copper.
Efforts have been made to impress
upon the government the seriousness
of the situation to the end that it lend
substantial assistance in carrying for
an indefinite period a big block of
copper which it's sudden cancellation
of ic tn ,1o% 70 Thn
theory is that this metal could be
liquidated in an orderly manner when
readjustment and reconstruction
problems have been worked out.
Failing to get governmental assist
ance, the only alternative is perpen-
dicular drop in the price or drastic cut
our refineries pouring out metal at
the rate of 2O0,0OO,OO pounds
month-worth at 26 cents a pound
$4,000, ,000-the speed with which the
surplus stock runs into big money is
quickly appreciated
All authorities are agreed that an
enormous peace consumption of cop
per lies ahead-how far ahead de-
pends, first, upon the rapidity with
which Europe can settle down to
something approaching normal, and
second upon the price at which the
metal will move in quantity With
an enormous oversupply it can't move
at 26 cents, and furthermore produ-
GERS can't afford to sell it for less
if labor refuses to recede from it's
present arbitrary attitude.
We know of large producers of the
metal who under the present wage
scale are unable to make copper for
less than % cents a pound. If labor
stubbornly declines to take less than
SIS and Sc a day-some Lake Superior
miners recently struck for $8-or re-
fuses to return in efficiency the equiv
alent, then the mines will be forced
to curtail their operations to at least
half time.
There are some prominent opera
tors who believe that only by part
time operation can the over-supply be
checked. This means hardships for
the miners and perhaps hardships for
the investor, but certain it is the pre-
vailing conditions cannot much longer
continue without something swapping. |
The copper miner has been having |
things pretty much his own way. He
has dictated hours of labor and the
wages to be paid. The mine owner
actuated by patriotic motives has ac-
cepted this dictation, knowing that a
day of reckoning must come. Had |
there been a disposition to render in