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    "localId": "75718684",
    "label": "Report, December 31, 1922",
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    "id": "75718684",
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    "contentType": "document",
    "title": "Report, December 31, 1922",
    "citationUrl": "https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75718684",
    "collections": [
        "Safety Light Collection",
        "Records Related to Radium Dial Painters"
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{
    "seq": 3,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
    "url": "https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/SLC/Radium/SLC_0000135_Page_3.jpg",
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    "ocrText": "TO THE STOCKHOLDERS\nOF UNITED STATES RADIUM CORPORATION:-\nThe Radium industry has not yet recovered from its post-war depres-\nsion which began about one year after the general decline in commodity\nprices had commenced.\nThe market price for Radium began to weaken late in 1921 and con-\ntinued to drop through 1922 until at the end of the year it was almost\nuniformly quoted at $70.00 per milligram. For preceding years, and the\ngreater part of 1921, Radium generally sold at $100.00 to $120.00 per\nmilligram except in the few large state and municipal contracts which\nwere placed against sealed bids. In these cases lower prices ruled. The\nslump in price was caused primarily by the change in basic economic con-\nditions and was accentuated by unusually large stocks of Radium in the\nhands of producers when the first definite market weakness occurred. The\nmost violent step in the price lowering process took place in the Fall of\n1922 and may be attributed to an announcement at that time of the dis-\ncovery of a deposit of very rich Radium ore in the Belgian Congo and the\nplan by its owners to establish a plant near Antwerp to produce Radium\nat remarkably low costs.\nThese deposits are extensive and the concession for working them is\nowned by the strongest financial interests in Belgium. A modern plant\nhas been equipped and the process of extraction commenced. The Congo\nore carries very high values in Radium. It is many times as rich as\nColorado carnotite which for a number of years has been the world's prin-\ncipal source for Radium. The advantage of this ore will be affected by\nthe value of by-products and the success with which these new minerals\ncan be chemically treated.\nAlthough the production of Radium during 1922 was the lowest of\nrecent years, the market failed to absorb a sufficient volume to stabilize\nprices. In fact, the great drop in price caused prospective buyers to hesi-\ntate, hoping that still lower offerings would be made. The market for\nRadium for therapeutic purposes is at best limited by the number of\nphysicians who become skilled in its use, and our observation failed to dis-\nclose any unusual activity because of low prices. Late in the year some\nimprovement occurred, but it is still too soon to predict whether this was\na genuine trend toward higher levels or caused by temporary conditions.\nBecause of the situation in the Radium market, the Board of Directors\ntook no action on the preferred dividend which ordinarily would have been\npaid January 2, 1923."
}