The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-03
LUMBER DEMAND
GROWS GREATER
Fireproof Construction Does
Not Affect Trade
COST OF B0ILDlNG HIGHER
Substitution of Concrete, Stone, Steel
and Iron for Wood in Buildings
Will in q Few Years Cut
Down Lumber Demand.

Washington, February 2.-tSpeeial)-
Cement and steel and brick and stone are
not Yet used in sufficient quantities 20
encourage lumber users TO predict the
time when the forests viii not be called
upon to furnish the principal materials
used in buildins operations Notwith-
standing the remarkable increase in the
use of cement and other derproof ma
terials the last reports OF the building
operations in 40 of the leading cities of
the United States for the year, collected
by the geological survey. show that -
per cent were of wooden construction.
Even if the remaining Al per cent of
the buildings We're built of brick. stone
and concrete, vast quantities of wood
are consumed both in the construction
and in the finish, though in the latter
form metal is taking the place OF wood
To d very large extent. The amount of
lumber given above does not take into
consideration this item at all
While this percentage is representative
OF the building industry in the United
States. dealers point out that it does
rot include the large quantities of lum-
Der used for the construction of dwell
ings, stores and other buildings in tile
thousands of small cities and towns scat
tered over the country and not included
in the 40 cities on which a reckoning
was made. In towns and small cities
wood is usually the predomnatins build
ing material and it is safe to say that
if the statistics had included figures for
all places of whatever size the percent
age of wooden construction would have
been much greater. These figures, as
a rule, are only for the corporate linn
its and the suburbs of these cities
have each very large amounts to be
added. The cost, also, is relatively
higher in these cities than in towns near
Ell the base of the supply.
In wooden buildings, New York city is
at the bottom of the list though it
leads with $1s.075 as the average cost of
buildings. Except at San Francisco,
where abnormal conditions have prevailed
since the fire, Boston shows the great
est increase of any of the cities in the
total cost of building operations. The
average cost of buildings is constantly in
creasing, having risen over $500 during the
last three years. The average value of d
building is given in the report as s20S5.
Lumber is by far the greatest drain
on the forests. and the wonderful deyel-
opment of the country during the past
decade has called for the use of nearly
forty billion board feet a year. The laTg-
est quantity ever reported for single
year was for 1906, when 371s billion feet,
with a mill value of 1921, Isl, 3SS was used.
Including the value of the lath and
shingles used with this amount, the total
value of the wood used for buildings is
brought to $3.50, 796,513.
The increasing price of lumber and
the rapidly increasing use of perfected
fireproof systems of construction should
have much to do in holding down the
amount which the forests are called upon
to yield each year, but. SO far these
more substantial materials have not de-
creased the lumber cut of the nation.