Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-01-11

largely responsible for the drop of
zine Business has been moderate,
with orders for future delivery taking
the present market price. There will
be a large increase in the exports from
the United States of galvanized sheets
and plates during 1926 over 1925, as
there has been a monthly average this
year of 16,441 tons as against 14,95S
tons during 1925. This has been more
than offset, however, by the decrease
in other galvanized products, galvan-
lied wire, barbed wire and welded gall
vanized pipe. The drop in barbed wire
alone is greater than the increase in
sheets and plates.
Authorities on the zinc situation
state that they can see nothing to be
pessimistic about the zinc pros
poets for this next year. While the
French situation is bad, the British
outlook is much better due to the
/ fizzling of the coal strike. The safety
valve of the zinc situation is that the
margin of profit is so low that low
prices forced the high cost producers
! to stop production very quickly and
this lessons the zinc available. The
increase in silver price by a half cent
/ has come about as result of India
buying just before the end of the year.
The price is better now than at any
time during December and the market
is steady, although the future is de-
/ lcidedly clouded.
1t seems to be generally conceded
now that, even though India does go
on gold basis, it is not going to
have the serious effect upon silver as
originally anticipated, as India cannot
get away from being AZ enormous sill
yer market. 1t is pointed out that
J India is enjoying a steady economic
and social development, and what is
more important, the age-long habit
of the people to acquire and hoard sill
| yer. The people prefer gold to silver
/ even for boarding purposes, but only
the very wealthy can afford to acquire
gold for any purpose. Silver must
continue to be the metal in use among
1.-THE common people,
1t follows, therefore, as a natural
consequence, that the new paper gold
rupee will be confined to the merchant
and wealthy classes. The great mass
of the population rarely ever sees
irupee, as hand -to-hand money. The
most that they can hope for is few
annas or pics-the subdivision of the
rupee, one rupee being equal to IL
annas, and one anna being equal to
| 16 pics, so that there are 1872 pics to
the rupee
The pic is coin of common circula-
tion among the largest part of the
Indian population. India has popu-
lation of 317,O00,0O0, and statistics in
dicate that the per capita income is
little more than $1O although in some
districts it reaches as high as $50
or $35 per head
| The amount of copper moving is not
up to the average of the past several
weeks, as some of the larger producers.
have declared themselves out of the
market while it stays at present price
levels In the fight abroad against
the higher prices for copper charged
by the Copper Exporters, Inc, the buy
ers have about depleted the stocks of
scrap copper and the so-called rough
copper This somewhat accounts for
the falling off of exports. The time is
! close at hand when scrap and rough
copper will not be available and the
ilessening of this supply is strengthen
ing the European copper prospects,
| Relative to the copper situation, ii.
M. Brush, vice president of the Ameri-
can Smelling and Refining company,
states: Copper consumption has been
curtailed during the last GO days due
to lower operations of automobile
companies and slower general business.
Production, on the other hand, has
held up and even increased. This COM
| bination of circumstances has Increased
the caution of buyers both here and in
Europe and has forced gradual low
erirg of price. We cannot expect im-
proved conditions until production and
4 consumption are brought more in line,
either by an increase in present con-
sumption or a decrease in pr'ductlon'
! On the other hand, G. r. Dodge Of the
Phelps Dodge corporation can see no
reason why copper should go below
1 IS cents or lower than at present, as
copper stocks are low and consump-
tion and production are about bal
I anced." The views of r., l.. Agassia,
! former president of the Calumet ana
Hecla Consolidated Copper company,
president of the Copper and Brass as
ISOLATION and nationally recognized
spokesman forl the copper industry
follow:
| Cooper is one OF tnoSe AlneAlSs.h
industries which looks to Europe TO
consume substantial proportion or lis
product Therefore, any improvement
in the general European situation
must be viewed optimistically by us'
| Within the past few weeks we have
had encouraging evidence that the
! larger foreign nations, which the war
left in chaos, are emerging from their
difficulties and this certainly augurs,
we'll for that section OF the American
industrial organization which has been
\ built up to it's present proportions on
the basis of fixed demand for its
products.
"The worlds economic structure is so
I sensitive that we cannot always be
sure what week or month VIII
bring forth, but judging by conditions
as they now present themselves
have every confidence that the COM
ling year will be prosperous one for
the copper industry"