The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-10-05
ZONE SYSTEM FOR
 BUILDING LABOR
Consternation Follows Rulings on Washington Orders By Advisory
 Boards,


 following intimations by newly ap- pointed supervisionary bureaus to in- quiring architects and builders that practically all non-war building and realty improvement work would cease for the period of the war found expression in half a dozen ways in the country's building trades last week.
 One of the most important indus tries concerned with the manufacture of an essential basic building com Of closing down all plants in this sec tion of the country and operating only one small group for the duration of the war that 1t sent a delegation to Washington to ascertain officially just what 1t had to expect before taking such drastic action.
 Another important industry con cerned with the manufacture of still more vital building commodity, also used largely in war work, held a con- ference of presidents of various com gards manufacturing conditions in the immediate future.
 A conference was held at the Build ing Trades Employers Association to learn what was best to do under the circumstances, and 1t was decided that it would show its patriotism, de- spite the hardships imposed upon It by war bureaus, by pledging at least 1 $7,000,000 in Fourth Liberty Loan subscriptions In the. meantime, work was started, through overtures to Mayor Hylan, Congressman Geo. W. Loft and John A. Mccarthy, to have appointed to the subcommittee | on non-war construction permits practical building men. A case was
 cited where a building suffering fire damage was not permitted to be shored to protect it from entire col | lapse, although it was stated that the necessity of this work was urged by the fire department.
 Advices received Saturday from Washington intimated that something would be forthcoming from the capf- l tai before long indicating that a zone system for labor would be established, for distribution of man power not em- ployed directly in war intuition man. ufacture when the peak of the gov ernment's war construction program had been reached, which, it was said, would probably not be longer than three to six months. In such event an important step forward in solving the | labor problem will have been made, according to building interests. At the same time assurances were given that modification of rules con corning building construction of an essential character might be cansid- | cred within the very near future" as the result of revelations of the quan- tity of building construction work of a reasonably essential character that | has been held back because of the ne- cessity of permitting even more inn portant construction work to proceed It was shown that in New York City alone there is at least $94,00O,0 900 worth of essential building work ready to be submitted to the mayors | committee for permission to proceed, and about $115, 900, 900 additional be- ing held back by architects that had not reached the stage for estimates when the war stringency prompted owners to defer work. None of this | work represents "speculative'' build | ing but actual building work that | would place in a short time available rental space for business and war workers.
 It is shown that the lack of renta- | ble space is so acute in New York l that the government after ordering | the communicating of certain loft buildings, had officially to rescind the orders because the tenants simply could not find adaptable space else where, and 1t would have meant prac- | tical government conf1scation to have | dispossessed them.
 Washington was considerably sur-
 prised at the volume of protest that was registered there in relation to the terms imposed upon building inter- ests by Circular No. D. addressed to all manufacturers, distributors, and dealers of building materials, making l them responsible for the ultimate
 uses to which all materials sold by them were put and it was said that no | conception existed as to the ex- l tremely acute situation prevailing with relation to building material manufacture and distribution in the ! large metropolitan districts of the l East.
 In many cases the pledges were signed through fear of being consid- cred unpatriotic, but it meant in many
 cases almost total cessation of busi- l ness because the manufacturers placed the full burden of responsibility upon the dealer, who did not have the
 means of scrutinizing every job, and who, therefore, actually was forced to | refuse business. In consequence most | of the building material distributors of New York are working upon the narrowest percentage of activity and some have already dangerously ap-
 preached the vanishing point. Canada, which has been in the war | two years longer than the United l States, has been showing a gain in | building construction over last year.
 The Financial Chronicle reports from | 17 cities in the eastern provinces an outlay of $3,030.530 for August as against s2,S56,560 last year. Thirty
 nine cities in the Dominion show S4,- | 374,113 for August as against $3,426,- ! 142 in August, 1917. For the eight 1 months of this year the building ex- l penditures outside of war work in Canada was only $27,893,91s as against s24,oSs,75s for the same | period last year.
 The war in Canada is no nearer an end than it is here, and yet building
 construction for this country Is $328,228,915 comparing with s536,- | 296,035 in 1917 comparing with 700 millions in 1916 and a normal build | Ehn non noa