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Show CHINA BLAMED FOR COPPER GOING 001 Decision of Government Not to Coin Copper Throws Metal on Market. It would be hard to conceive of a moro complicated thing theqe modern Vlays than tho coinage system of China. One must go there to appreciate its countless difficulties, say those who hnvo visited that empire, but no ono who has boon there has ever mastered the many ins and outs of the system. Attention At-tention is called now to tlio Chinese coinage system by the fact that the Celestial kingdom is blamed for the slump in copper that, has been worrying worry-ing copper circles all this week. The blamo is laid at China 's door, just ns you would be safe in placing tho blame lor practically anything wrong tmder tho sun at. the door of its coinago imperfections. im-perfections. Friday there camo n message from Boston over the Pollock wires which sought to explain tho steady drop of copper from its apparently safe and sano level of last week. This is the message: ' "The cause of the recent weakness in copper after the United jMotals Selling Sell-ing company had established a 13 M; cent price is now evident. It was due to the decision of the Chinese government govern-ment to suspend tho further coinage of copper. The result was that Japan immediately offered copper for" sale in Europe at a discount, and Chinese merchants mer-chants offered the resale of copper purchased pur-chased for coinage purposes which liad not vet left the country. "tt is believed that the decline of a half cent per pound in the price to 13 cents has discounted any further resale of the metal. Since October 1, approximately approxi-mately .18,000,000 pounds have been shippod from tho United States to Shanghai and other Chinese ports. After Af-ter a period of eleven months, in which not a pound was shipped' to China, exports ex-ports of the metal commenced last. October, Oc-tober, when 072,000 pounds were re- Eorted. The high-wntcr mark was in iccember, when 5,690,000 pounds were exported, and this figuro gradually do-clined do-clined to 1,783,000 pounds in March." It is not generally appreciated that Japan is one of the greatest sufferers b.y the great drop in copper price, following fol-lowing the diminishing demand. |