Show THE REACTION IN LEAD the sudden rise and fall in lead quotations of late had a parallel in copper fluctuations tuat ions a number of years ago copper advanced with rapid strides at that time as many of our readers will remember until it attained a selling price of twenty five cents a pound the quotation was altogether too high and could not be sustained and its quick drop to eighteen cents within a week almost caused a panic in commercial and industrial circles lead when it touched eleven and twelve cents a few weeks ago was altogether too high and especially so when one recalls the fact that the domestic consumption of lead products at the present time has been greatly curtailed while the government it is stated cannot use half of the current production in manufacturing war materials the impression prevailed in certain sections however that lead would maintain high levels and it is reasonable to suppose that much of it was bought for speculative purposes when it became clear however that the demand for lead was not so urgent as had been supposed and as it became generally known that the government had contracted for its needs at eight cents a pound quotations began to decline rapidly until a point of 0 five and a half cents was reache 10 this reaction evidently threw jai a scare V int i the ranks of the producers of this me m and they were hard hit but it is bellev pa I 1 that the slump cannot long endure and jea ready the market is showing an all upward dwar is 0 tendency and there is reason to believe wil 10 soon reestablish establish re itself around seven am ail 0 eight cents at which figures condition s ov would be considered as being about normal 01 at five and a half or even six cents th 1 producer is at more disadvantage tha than n when W he ta a quotation of four cents permitted pr profit t able production as since then n the adv advance tl in the cost of everything pertaining to pr production 0 11 such as labor powder tre treatment atine nt charges and supplies of every kind has ad viol danced to such an extent that a loss is be bej it ing entailed on every pound of lead pr pro r deuced that is if lead is the predominating J metal of the ore mined and treated I 1 like copper however lead is sure to advance again in quotations and its recovery to is almost certain to be more rapid whether the war terminates within six months or two years war will have its certain certai n re quire ments which must be filled and when when peace comes the of the whole world its practical reconstruction will demand 11 an almost unlimited supply of lead it and its products byproducts by taken as a whole the outlook for lead is is not as gloomy as some are led to believe and its sudden decline should not cause th the suspension of lead mining to any great ex tent |