The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-01-15
Building In New York.

At meeting on Jan Il Of the emer-
rency committee Of the Building Trades
EMPLOYERS Association an official state
ment was issued of which this ia the
opening paragraph
various articles have appeared In the public
press PARTICULARS the editorial in THE Sun Of Jan
II which charge that the building Trades Employ
.rs Association Of New YORK city is engaged in
conspiracy with labor unions for the purpose OF
controlling the building business OF this city and
preventing persons not members Of this sssoois'
ZION from peacefully pursuing this ousine's-
Elsewhere in the statement Is declar-
alton that the association
Has no, entered into any ecuspiracy. agree
u1ent or understanding. tacit or otherwise. Of any
nature Whatsoever whereby any person. ne he
member OF this association or not Is prevented
from doing business In any branch OF the building
industry, and Is has done absolutely nothing 10
restrict tree and open competition"
THE Sun has never said that such a
conspiracy exists or has existed. On
the strength of statements publicly made
by a member OF the association, publicly
supported by other builders, we have
simply said that the existence of such
an agreement, under which construc-
tion work in New York is confined 10
a comparatively limited number of local
establishments, has been asserted The
denial issued by the association does
not fully dispose Of those assertions
There may be neither binding contract
nor even "eentleman's agreement
between the employers association
md the labor unions, neither conspiracy
nor understanding tacit or otherwise,
10 restrict free and open competition"
vet there may exist, and there is much
TO indicate that there does exist, a situa-
ton growing out of the present rela-
tions between the two which is quite
ms elective as any hard and fast con-
tract or agreement. An appreciation Of
the hopelessness of entering a contest,
whether it be an international war or
business competition, may be "a ef-
tective deterrent as an ironclad agree
ment between local allies.
Now actually, is the New York build
ing market open and free to the compe-
ttion OF outside houses or outside york.
men: Can it be shown that a contractor
or builder not a member OF the GssoCia-
tion can secure contract of any i'm
portance in the city of New York. and
would it be possi)l for an outsider 10
execute such contract If he got it?
Undoubtedly those engaged in build
ing construction in New York have long
faced exceedingly complex problems.
They deal with labor unions representing
more than thirty different industries
engaged in building processes They
have been endlessly harassed and ham
pered in their undertakings by unions
and by some Of the representatives OF
hose unions They have been forced
10 protect themselves by means OF strike
clauses III their contracts All this We
have recognized and freely admitted
They may say with some reason that
they were bound 20 adopt peace at any
price As their motto
But certain facts have appeared and
certain assertions have been made, and
these are not clearly reluted or dis
proved by the statement from which We
have quoted The cost of construction
IN New York is unreasonably excessive,
and there is no doubt that a large amount
III work which would otherwise go on
has been held up by conditions for which
builders and contractors must share
the responsibility. Mr. STARRETT's talk
about Chinese wall seems to be-
justified in the experience of Now York
building.
1t any rate. the mat ter must be
threshed out thoroughly. A great in
Jury has been done and Is now done to the
development of the town and TO work.
men in need Of employment 1t has
come to pass that people are getting
afraid TO improve their land with build
ings. unless they are organized in cor
porations with vast capital at their dis
posal, and even these are holding back
because OF tho enormous expense i'm
posed on them by the conditions in the
building industry.
All the wrong may not be on one side;
hut that there 10 grievous wrong some-
where is obvious, and We shall do what
ever lies u our power to locate the rot
tenness. If there is not conspiracy
strictly. it is apperent that there is
something very like it in effect,