Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-10-27
VERY CHEAP LABOR
Enables the Economics to Put
in a Low Proposal on
the New Poor Farm.
BIDS TO BE OPENED TO-DAY.
The Quaint Community Able and
Willing to Undertake the Work.
s5OO,OOO BOND REQUIRED.
Continued Try Weather Of Great Assist
ance to Contractors.
BUILDING BOOM EXPECTED NEXT YEAR

Among the bids for the new Poor Farm
buildings, which will be opened to-day by
Chief Elliot, of the Department of Chari-
ties, will be one from the Economic So
ciety. The Poor Farm contract has natur-
ally attracted considerable attention be-
cause S4OO, 600 jobs are not as plentiful as
fallen leaves these days Who Will get the
contract it would, Of course, be idle to
speculate, but the local contractors admit
that the Economics ought to be formidable
competitors, considering the peculiar ad-
yautages, economical and otherwise, they
possess in regard to building materials and
labor.
1t is the first contract of such magnitude
that the Economics Ilaye bid upon as far
as is known. 1t is not generally under
stood how sturdy and progressive Economy
is. Most people know it as a sleepy, old
fashioned place, ruled and run in patri-
archal way. But there is new side to
Economy which has been developed upon
remarkable scale in recent years.
Large Manufacturers of Brick.
The manufacture of brick has engaged
the Economics attention for some time,
and extensive brick yards are now to be
found upon the eastern side of the Econo-
mite property, lying between the Ft.
Wayne Railroad and the Ohio river A
switch connects the brick kilns with the
Ft. Wayne tracks, and it is also easily
reached from the Beaver road. The red
brick made from the clay of the bottom
lands at this point is said to be of superior
quality, and 1t is a fact that most Of the
brick houses erected in the Sewickley Val
ley and in other nearby towns and villages
have been built of Economic brick.
The Economics also posses stone quar-
ries in abundance, and lumber which they
prepare for market in their own sawmill.
So that so far as material goes and the facil-
tiles to ship it the Economics are in posi-
tion to 60 into the contracting business on
a large scale, which their bid for the Poor
Farm indicates that they are intending to
do. Labor with the Economics has been
compensated in the past with homes, food
and clothing, but not much money.
very Low wages are HaIu.
Trustee Duss and the council have re-
Gently inaugurated new policy, according
to which the help hired by the society will
be paid in money, but it is probable that
the wage scale in Economy will be below
that current in the outside world for some
time to come. IT the contract to build the
new Poor Farm should be allotted to them
H. ich al m ef all ha
materials needed and most of the labor from
their own resources. while their position on
the river and railroad puts them level with
Pittsburg contractors in the matter Of trans
portation.
A bond of $500, 900 is required by the city
from the contractor who gets the job, and
this would be the easiest thing in the whole
bargain for the Economics. There are few
contractors in the land so able to furnish
security as the society.
Big building contracts are not remark a
bly, plentiful in Pittsburg just now, though
smaller business keeps the contractors em-
ployed pretty generally. The leviathans
among the latter have their eyes fixed on
the Carnegie building, for which the site is
being prepared on Fitch avenue and Grant
streets This is worth looking at, too, fer
the building will cost not less than $780,
900. Bids upon this structure, which
promises to be one Of the handsomest in the
city, have not been asked tor yet, nor are
they likely to be for month or two. There
will be keen competition for the contract.
Another Contract Worth Getting.
Another guod-sized plum which will make
some contractor happy soon is that for build
ing the Blind School. 1t is to cost S1O0, 600.
Aside from these two large buildings, none
are at present contemplated for immediate
undertaking.
Contractors are fairly we'll satisfied with
business during the past nine months in
this city; it has not come up to the active
seasons of two and three years ago, but is
much better than last years. Some build
ings large to the eye have been erected
since last spring downtown, but they have
been almost all stores and warehouses,
which do not run into SO very much money
and seldom get beyond the S50,00O mark.
In the residential line there has been luIl
likewise, although this applies more to
mansions of large proportions than to the
dwellings built for men Of moderate means.
The fine weather aud such long dry spell
has been all TOO seldom known in this lati-
tude to suit builders, has evened matters
up good deal, and there are many build
ings now in process of erection which are
much further advanced than the contractors
naQ any hopes Ol tuelE DelHS dG tulS season,
thanks to the absence of rain. In the case
of church now building in the East End,
for instance, the digging of the foundations
will be completed weeks before the e1-
pected date because good weather has
blessed pick and shovel. The workingmen
of the building trades of course benefit
from the same causes, and after the
troubles of last year the regular arrival Of
payday is particularly pleasant now.
A Boom Expected Next Year.
The improvement in the building line is
expected to become more marked when
next spring arrives, and among contractors
the belief is general that 1898 will bring
something very like boom to them.
One of the complaints OF every contractor
Just now is that it is next to impossible to
get structural iron. For the past two
months the difficulty has steadily increased,
and the extraordinary spectacle of Pitts
burg contractors buying iron outside the
city has been frequently presented. 1t is
not so much an unusual demand for struc-
tural iron that has brought this about rs the
Homestead troubles. The other mills
throughout the land have been unable to