Great Falls tribune., 1921-11-17
THE COPPER MARKET.

to see more remunerative prices t
the producer, but when we pause t
reflect that the average cope,
Crop" (if we may apply that tern
to copper production,) in the STATE
Of Montana is about three times
the value Of its annual production
Of wheat, anything we can 1earr
about the market prospect of cop
per is certainly worth reading. Cop
per production is on a strike ane
it has resulted in long shut down
1t is not the labor employed in cop
per production that is striking. II
is the capital employed in cope,
mining that is on a strike for more
wages. In fact when capital order.
ed this walk out of their money
from the business Of copper produc.
ton it was because their capital
after long period of constant re-
duction in the wage paid it, finally
found it was working for no wage
at all, and even worse than that
Capital quit. No one can blame
them. It was certainly a justifi-
able strike. Capital refused to
work for no wage and eat off its
own fat acquired in former years.
It went elsewhere seeking employ
ment that would pay at least liv-
ing wage.
1t is a question asked often and
anxiously in Montana when will the
strike of capital in copper produc-
ton be called off and the mines
and smelters again hum with activ-
ity and pay envelopes circulate
among the thousands of former en-
ployes. No one knows, but we do
not doubt that it will not take
place until the copper market ad-
vances to a point where new copper
production can be absorbed at a
price that will pay living wages to
the capital employed in such pro-
duction, and anything that throws
any light on this subject is of vital
interest to us all. Therefore we re-
produce the latest copper market
gossip from New York as it ap-
pears in the Wall Street Journal.
Our readers can take it for what it
is worth. 1t is none too encour-
aging at that, though the predic-
ton is made that renewed produc-
tion will come next spring. The
article says:
''It Is estimated that total sales
of copper in the first 10 months of
this year were in excess Of $780,
100000 pounds.
IF monthly sales in November
and December are on a parity with
October sales of l40, 100000 pounds,
it will mean total 1921 sales of ap-
proximately l,13o,ooo,ooo pounds.
Total sales last year were in excess
of 1,400,o0o,O0o pounds. Even if
business falls off over the rest of
the year, 1921 total sales should run
in excess of 1,o0O,OoO,ooO pounds.
"At superficial glance, the last
named figure would indicate a fall
ing off Of more than 40O,o00,00o
pounds compared with 1920. How
ever, domestic sales were compara-
lively heavy last year since the bus
iness depression did not affect the
big copper manufacturing concerns
until the latter part of 1920. Ex-
ports since the beginning of this
year have shown healthy expan-
sion.
"Sales for export in the first 10
months of 1921 were about 5O0,-
100000 pounds against 100000
pounds in the whole of 1920. At
this rate export sales would total
more than 6oo,o00,0oo for this year.
Estimates put sales of the Cop
per Export association at about
23O,0O0,000 pounds for the first ten
months Of this year. And of this
amount perhaps 7o,ooo,ooo pounds
was sold against the 4O0,00O,0OO
pounds earnarked for export. At
12c pound this would mean $8,-
100000.
"Thus far the association has re-
deemed and purchased around $3,-
100000 of its 100000 8 per cent
notes in the open market, and today
there is probably $37,oo0,000 of
these notes outstanding. The asso-
citation will be in good position to
retire about $6,0Oo,ooO more next
February. And long before the last
note is retired in 1925 the associa-
ton ought to have sold all of the
40o. 100000 pounds of copper held
as collateral behind the issue.
Total available supply Of copper
as of September /, last, was 405,O51