The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-01-21
{ Call Main \ | 1900 J
Copper Industry Heads En Route to Europe
 For Big Conference
By HOLLAND

By HOLLAND
 New York, January 21.-(Special)
 Sometime this week one of the great est of American industries will be rep resented by a group of leaders in that industry who as a body, acting in CO., operation, will be on their way to Flu rope there to remain until some vital questions associated with this indus try are studied and if possible an answer to these questions now unans- wered is reached. It is the copper in- dustry. his is now ranked with steel, cotton, oil and food among the live leading American industries which must be the first to establish readjust- ment conditions if there is to be general industrial prosperity in the United States
 The excurison to Europe and the so- journ there do not represent recrea- tion but instead business, financial and industrial activities which will entail intense concentration of the minds of these leaders upon the sub ject.
 A few years ago D. c. Jackling, with a few guests went to South Amer ica, sailing upon MT. Jackling's yacht. That excursion combined both recrea- tion and investigation. MT. Jackling who is esteemed one of the leaders in the copper mining industry was anN- ious to learn what the outlook for large copper production in South America is Not curiosity but an eye to the future led MT. Jackling to en- bark upon the ocean with copper pro- ducton in mind. He is understood 70 have returned to the United States persuaded that South America can fur nish no small part of the needed sup ply of copper as that will be in the future. and he is reported to have been favorably impressed with the copper producing resources of Bolivia.
 All of the great corporations en- gagged in mining or marketing copper with possibly single exception are represented in the group which within a few days will disembark from the steamship either at an English or a French port The members of the group go collectively and what they decide upon, so far as copper eX- perts are concerned will be sustained by law because the federal stature permits trade agreements, co-opera- ton and unification so far as exports
 
 WHAT THEY WANT TO LEARN
 First of all, these copper men de- sire to gain information by actual oh- servation and study respecting the copper situation in Europe. They want to find out what, approximately, tho European demand for American cop per is to be. They want to learn what are the conditions in Europe which the collective European copper buyers are now passing their proposition that the American copper men sell copper 10 them at a certain price. This tenta- tive price does not meet the views of the American copper producers. They are confident that they should have more money than the European copper combination suggests as a fair price Therefore. no agreement has been reached and the situation is dead locked.
 That Europe will need copper in enormous amounts for the upbuildihg of devastated lands, the restoration of her industries and for various other purposes is beyond any question. The European copper buying combination admits this to be true; the American copper producers know it is true Va rious factors, however, enter into the general question which must be prop erly solved before Europe begins to buy and our producers begin to sell copper. One of these factors is .he labor situation which today is not very favorable. Another is the prich which stands today entirely in a fog. Stlll another. although somewhat remote factor, is the continued productive ca pacity of the great American mines.
 THE DAY OF EXHAUSTION
 Are some of the greater American nj in, 1an Of exhaustion? Not this year or next or perhaps for some years, but at time which is not in the distant future? Deeper and deeper the miners at Cal umet and Hecla properties are cut ting into the bowels of the earth. There are faint indications that they cannot go much deeper without discovering the deposits are dwindling away So also the miners in some of the great copper properties of the far west, wrich have been shown in the past to be the greatest producers in the world, are exploring more and more towards the center of the earth and this deep digging several thousand feet below the surface, begins, it IS said. to reveal evidences that the min CTS are approaching the geological formation. far below, in which there is no copper. American copper re- sources continue to be very great But 1t is the apprehension that we may be gradually drawing near the time when mining must be abandoned sincs there is no more copper in large amounts to be mined.
 As it is with gold so also with cop per- there seems to be continuous veins. so to speak stretching from Alaska approximately along the lines of the Rocky Mountains and the Sier- ras of Mexico to the Andes. as far south as southern Chilli While. the Alaska copper deposits are very rich suspicion that the fields are not very large. On the other hand the Andes noun tains tower above enormous de- posits of copper The Cerro de Pasco mines are rich but do not compare in extent with some of the mines in Chilj These Peruvian mines are owned by American capital and are expected to continue supplying to the United States such amounts of copper as will serve in part to maintain our own surplus
 The mines of Chilli, however prob- ably exceed in the magnitude of the copper ores that are contained in them even the largest American copper prop critics. On excellent authority it can he reported that there are visible or fairly we'll estimated. deposts of cop ner ore in Chilian mines which aggre- gate 300.Oo0 900 tons and no one can say how much is in these mines These are controlled bv American capital and already represent directly and indirect