Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-22
COPPER SITUATION
STILL UNSETTLED
Anti Trust Law May Operate
Against curtalIment
Program.
BY JoEN ,. srNcLAR.

ny JOHN =. SINCLAIR.
Special Dispatch 10 The star.
NEW YORK, November 2s.-The
copper situation Is etill confused. Ten
daye aeo copper was going begging ct
3 cents o pound. Then tentative
agreement 70 reduce the worlds pro-
duction next year BY Is per cent was
announced and copper went UP TO IL
cents. accompanied by strong foreign
But it was . fash in the pan. De-
1nAfid fell OF. Prices sagged TO 111A
cents, then to II cents and now sales
ere being made at 101k and 10 cents.
All this occurred while the greatest
pile of copper on hand IN history stared
The industry in the face.
The Sherman antitrust law remains In
force. Can United States copper in
terests Join hands with foreign cop
Der producers to ct1rtail prOductlon
"a the United States without violAt-
ing this act? It Is questionable.
"The current copper collapse presents
what Is perhaps the first ouLstano-
ing catastrophe resulting from tne eA-
Oortation Of vast amounts OF American
earitaI for the purpose of building up
IA foreign countries q basic INDUSTRY
whose product has become Destroy
ING Competitor of one of the greatest
and oldest of our home INDUSTRIES.
fine mining OF "copper"" said . wei
known copper man this week, ana tnen
he added this significant Temark: -.
"ATen or capital eE1igrAtiilg from our
shores to foreign lands must take tnelr
chances, and they DO so now In me
face Of plain warning as to the perns
az their enterprise. The Sherman act
was devised for the purpose OF protect
ing horne industries, and IT 10 now lunc-
tionins n the case q c0gpe IT.. \ Ss
t the. cgs sSCT q i's v'ola'Ols '"A' ~ "
me copper situation II o long ways
from being cleared up
Reduction in CeKlnlOse.
while world conner leaders were
meeting in New York to enect copper
production ctrtailmsnS; ma msnul Rsnia,,d
Sweden, Czechoslovalsia ana Lithuania
t5tft their heads together and agreed 70
fedr,ce production from now to the enc
81 1882 on the basis Of IS per cent o.
the 1929 production.
The powerful Kreuger 81 Toll matsn
interests Of Sweden are believed e De
back Of The Arrangement Inc oeL-
man celiulose manufacturers, after ex-
f5eriencine q bad year, are enthusiast
hcally for it. Even the zeflt06 -WAldhof
o.. which has been operating Ct ca
paeity this year. has agreed 70 the 10
Der cent cut. Cellulose for rayon man
ufacture Is not included
The productive capacities @ tns
worlds factories are from 10 TO 30 per
eellt' larreiy depending upon the in
duetry. IA excess of the ability OF the
We0pie 10 consume the prcducts.
III 4 20 meet this problem that such
an Advancement a. the Stockholm
agreement IN ceiiulcse - aimed 70
correct.
Coal Production.
GREAT Britain Is following the same
rlan Ia regard to coal production, which
u far In excess Of her present demand,
domestic and fcfeian. 30 3 coal merger.
tnvolying 40 oollleries affecting over
a 600 employees. and having an a9gre-
nnte capitA1izakion OF 9i0U ,U00. O00s y
about ready for announcement.
The merger WIN cover production
and distEibution OF the product. Prob
ably 9s collieries Of the 40 win b
shut Down, while the rest win be worked
Homer s, FOX, United States De-
fnrtment az Commerce Representative
- London. says this latest attempt -
industrial naturalization Is one Of the
most ambitious ever undertaken IN the
0x1btc4 a&84SAt llt9ls
Canadian wheat Situation.
n. II. Bennett, premier Of Canada,
now attending tho British premieTe
conference in London, has been forced
90 reNzrn immediately 70 Canada to de-
eide how far his government can aid in
che wheat crisis Of the Dominion.
Canadian banks are rich and power
fu1. But when the Canadian wheat
Aasf6oS ~ IN
large share Of its 1929 crop the big
banks asked for additional collateral, tn
the form Of guarantee BY the three
western provinces Of Manitoba, Alberta
and saskatchewan. on money loaned "a
the Canadian wheat pool
A large part Of the 1880 crop Is now
IN hand. In addition to this, $4,000 600
bushels Of the 1929 crop still remain
unsold.
The question Is, what next must b
done to inset the situation. The Ca
madam banks are willing to Cooperate
with the wheat pool and the prairie
provinces, but are t1nd1Estood to have
told the western premierS . few days
ago that any further financing Of the
wheat pools operation by the banks
must be guaranteed ~ the Canadian
Jssst what this guarantee i>to con-
Bennett must pass upon. He VIII b
back In two weeks
Business Is travelling on nat tires
nov, because the inner tubes were
blown up by too much high pressure, .
writes Chicago business man. I'VE
do not want the peaks or boom times
and the consequent reactions Of Sc
we're depressions in the future. The
chart has been bobbing up and down
altogether too much for comfort In the
last 10 years.
Perhaps the French philosophy n
best after all" this writer continues
Their manufacturers and merchants
do not lie awake nights, stEaining
scksming. slashing IN q mad, mad urge
to beat last years figures. In Atnerica
this thing Is becoming an insane obses-
sion. Some one said that business can.
not stand still, It either moves forward
or goes backward. Volume 10 used a.
the only measuring stick Of its progress
But there are other ways Of measuring
and making progress.
(Ccsyright. 1850, ~ North American News
papar Ailianee)
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