Tombstone epitaph., 1921-04-03
PHELPs-oooce co. WILL STOP
 PRODUCTION OF COPPER METAL

DOUGLAS. March 29 follow ing statement was made today by c. II. Dowell. manager of the Coppef Queen branch of the Phelps Dodge cor poration. who came to Douglas this morning
 Tine Phelps Dodge corporation has decided to discontinue production of copper at its Copper Queen branch until the large accumulation oi cop per now on hand can be reduced to a normal basis
 The smoking works of the com pany at Douglas will he shut down on April 18th and on the same date all production will be discontinued at i.s mines at Bisbee.
 The company will. however. coz tinue to employ men on mine develop ment work which during the pas, two or three years has not kept pace with ore extraction
 Work on Sacramento Hill and o1 the new concentrator and power hous. will he continued as at present. This program will. for the present. keep over 1000 men on the payroll. and married men and men who have pu- chased homes through the assistance of the company and are now paving for same will be given preference for work However. it may De necessary to lay off some of the more recently employed married men. To marr;e- employees remaining at Douglas, the company will arrange to extend finaa- clay assistance where needed. until operations are resumed. especially to those who own their homes there. or are paying for same, and could no. leave al this time without great final' clay sacrifice
 Time lost due to this shut down will not count against the service rec ords of employees who return to wo-t when called upon.
 II is because of the badly d. pressed condition of the copper mar ket due to the production greatly exceeding the demand. that the com pany feels obliged to take this action years We have continued copper prp- duction on a greatly reduced scafe with the hope there would have de yeloped before now demand for cop per which eventually would relieve the situation. But. notwithstanding this curtailment Of production. our stocks of copper have continued to pile up. and the price has continued to decline. until a point has been reached where a complete cessation of production appears to be the only adequate remedy to bring relief and an early retRn of prosperity to those communities at the mines and smel- ters. To continue longer. even with a curtailed production. piling up stocks could only mean a complete stoppage Q. a,: wori, q little later, and for much longer period. While this ac- ton may. at first thought. appear 10 our employees and to the community generally. to be nnduly drastic. and while it may work d hardship on some. we are sure that this action taken now will avoid a much greater hardship. if not decided calamity. befalling us were we to continue temporizing policy.
 While it is impossible to forecast at this time how long production viii be discontinued. there is not the least doubt that when production is re sumed all lines of business in these communities will be on d much more stable and satisfactory basis. The net result will be d much earlier return to normal prosperity. and. in the lorg run, will be decidedly for the benefit of the working man and the business man Of the two communities affected. as well as of the company cIIuER AIAGS IN