OCR Text |
Show riG COPPER MERGER Mi BE POSTPONED IF NOT ABANDONED Since the tobacco decision was handed hand-ed down And the investigation of the steel trust started, there appears to be .soma uncertainty as to the outcome of the proposed copper merger, western west-ern mining men are naturally interested inter-ested in any move that will mean n betterment of conditions for the metal market, and are watching closely the outcome of the daily meetings of large copper interests, from which only meager mea-ger reports have been received. Of the merger situation the News Bureau has the following to say: 'V' understand that the copper interests in-terests who have been most anxious to bring about such a merger of the copper cop-per producing companies as would insure in-sure mors harmonious conditions in the producing and selling industry, are now skeptical as to the practicability of giant copper merger. The- decision of the supreme court in the American Tobacco To-bacco case does not mske it clear that g sopper soaaeliiiatten eeuld es brought about without antagonizing federal authorities. au-thorities. A prominent officer of one of the biggest copper companies in reply to a question about the prospect of a big copper merger said that the merger would be made if any one could tell him bow it con l legally 'he done. Any law yer that can draw up a big merger plan and guarantee immunity from conviction convic-tion under the Sherman act,' be said, 'can have the binrest fee ever paid to a lawyer.' He regarded the proposed big mergfr as one of the tbiojrs that ean t be done. "It ia not impossible, in fact; it is quite probable, that small consolidations consolida-tions will take place here anil there and this, in itself, will tend to unify the copper producing situation. The central, ization of control will facilitate, if it does nothing more, a 'get together' policy pol-icy of operation if interests now antagonistic an-tagonistic can be harmonized. "The Miami and Inspiration consolidation consoli-dation negotiations which are now pending may be but the forerunner of other porphyry amalgamations, and there would seem to be no legal objection objec-tion to the further concentration of ownership among the porphyry producers. produc-ers. "Whatever else has been accomplished accom-plished bv the Standard Oil and American Amer-ican Tobacco company decisions, it plain to be teen that it has greatly modified the enthusiasm of those interested in-terested in the creation of further trust combinations. "It is pretty safe to say that for the time being, at least, the big copper consolidation con-solidation is on the shelf? It can be taken down, however, should the opportune oppor-tune time arrive." |