The Seward gateway daily edition, and the Alaska weekly post., 1918-02-11
COPPER TRADE
 IS PLACED ON
 A NEW BASIS

NEW YORK, Feb. II. - The entire complexion of the copper industry un- derwent a radical change last year. From a highly speculative market, with violent fluctuations from day to | day when much of the trading was carried on by dealers and jobbers ! through the medium of brokers, who made their profits out of the prices paid by the ultimate consumers, it be- came one of the most ordinary rou- tine, in which no one figures but the producer, the jobber and the consum- CT; the price has become fixed and all speculative buying therein eliminated. In the course of this remarkable revolution, even the right of the job Der to trade in copper for time i'm pugned, until the protests of the small consumer, drew attention to the fact that to them he was a necessity.
 Troubles of the Consumer
 When a large consumer of copper first minated that he was ready to buy, the fact spread from phone to phone with remarkable celerity, and each party interested in the prospec- tive purchase began at once to jockey for position. The market price for spot copper might be then 30 cents, and it was astonishing how short that spot supply might suddenly become. Usually the requirements of other large consumers, although they might be extended over three or four months delivery included q certain amount for immediate or prompt shipment. He would be told by broker or specu- lator that while there was no spot copper offered in the open market, he (the broker or speculator) might man age to secure some resale metal. The copper, the consumer would be in- formed, was held by some one who had bought more than he needed at the moment; he would be sufficiently obhging, however, to part with some of it at the price he paid for it, which was invariably above the current mar ket The consumer was supposed to accept the proposition with grateful thanks, and very often he did, be- cause there was nothing else to do, though it is doubtful that the thanks were always sincere.
 Juggling of the copper market in war time, when demand for national purposes was enormous, had been stopped in England by the establish ! ment of a fixed price, but the year was more than half gone before any attempt was made at price fixing in this country. Not until electrolytic copper was selling at 30 cents pound and promised to go higher did the United States government take hand in it's regulation.
 The allied nations had been taking large quantities of copper, for which | they paid p cents pound. The spot price at the end of March, or just pre- vious to the entrance of the United States in the war, was S5 cents /, pound Later the market began to weaken somewhat and by July was down to a range of between 26h and 30R cents.
 First Government Purchase
 Meanwhile the United States gov ernment, having become belligerent was intent upon preparedness pro- gram which included, among other things, at the outside 49,000,00O lbs. of copper. It had no intention of pay ing the market price and the produc- CTS were appealed to on the score of patriotism to make a fair price. A great deal of quiet dickering follow | ed between Washington and New York and a cost investigation was in- stituted, which established the fact that copper costs something between 8 and 12 cents a pound, according to the producer. On the strength of this assumption an agreement was finally reached whereby this 49,000,000 lbs. was sold to the government at 1867 cents pound.
 The effect was electrical upon the market. The large consumers of cop per in the United States objected strenuously to pay 30 cents for what could be sold without loss at less than 17 cents. There was little use to ar gue that this was very special price and that it was made solely for mo- tives patriotic. The consumers failed to see it in the same light and the market began to weaken until 25- cent level for spot copper was reached.
 Supplying the Small Customer
 One difficulty arose ir respect to the