The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-04
MonE ABOUT CHEAP noUsns,

MORE ABOUT CHEAP M0UDss.
 The Philadelphia Item tells us that man in Brooklyn has invented a plan of building houses 10 that a house which now costs four or five thousand dollars to construct can be built complete in all respects for one thousand. What Is more. the claim is also made that the house thus con structed will be as convenient, as dur able and as slightly as the high priced ones.
 The new style is to build the house of concrete. That of itself is noth- ing new. for a great deal of building houses of that material has been done, and 1t Is we'll known that Mir. Edison proposes to build house In a week. by pouring the concrete in Ii- enable the builders to carry up ali the walls at once. The plan of Mir. Hall. the inventor of the new building idea. is to cast the concrete into large blocks, formed 70 as to fit into each other. and which can be handled and put together by unskiiled labor. but will make a firm and durable build ing. as well as very cheap one.
 There may be much in this proposed plan for the future of builders and those who wish to own their homes. for house building is fast going be- yond the reach of people of even mod crate means, while the really poor. especially in the cities. are virtually barred from owning homes of their own. As many of us can remember, the time was. and not so long ago. that the man who wanted a cheap house could build 1t, or have it built, of wood, often at an almost nominal cost. Material as well as labor was cheap. and if the man--in the country especiaily--was not able to, procure the material and employ the labor to build a frame house, he could build it himself of logs cut from his own land and have a comfortable home almost at no expense.
 That time is not only passing but is practically past. While there are yet some sections of the country where lumber can be procured com parativeiy cheap. or where people can still build log houses. the conditions in most parts of the country are diff ferent. and especially is this true of the towns and cities. The rapidity with which all kinds of lumber are disappearing. and the little prospect of future supply. have almost brought us to the point where cheap house canot be built of wood. Any one who will investigate the expense of building wooden house in one of our cities at the present time, and compare it with prices of even half century ago. will realize what may be expected In the near future.
 And as we have said. there is little or no hope of betterment In this re- spect: There is no hope or prospect that residents of towns and cities. at all events. will ever again be able to build houses cheaply of wood. There fore 1t is that great interest is felt in any plan that will give them homes at moderate cost and satisfactory character. There may be something real in this reported Brooklyn plan. concrete can now be moulded into al- most any imaginable form, and if properly made. and or the right ma terial. it Is almost as durable as gran ite. AS the material is plentiful and the process simple there should be no great cost in manufacturing blocks of It. If these blocks are so formed and sized that any ordinary laborer can slip them together and thus construct perfect wall, and do 1t quickly, the problem of cheaper homes may be in fair way of solution. It Is certain ly to be hoped that such will be the result.