The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-12-31
GREATEST YEAR Of
BUILDING IN THE
COUNTRIES HISTORY

UVVu III y iJUtUtIl
J Price movements In the building
material markets Of the entire coun.
try, with the exception OF the extreme
southwest and north Pacific points
register the pressure of excessive de-
mand against diminishing supply.
1t has. remained to be proved that
high prices do not stife construction
OF buildings. The year 1919 began
with what were considered prohibitive
wartime price levels. 1t ends with
h levels Of last January wholly
eclipsed and made as diminutive as
the levels of 1912 seemed to those Gre
ated by Val conditions.
The year began with the federal
government Officially urging upon the
people of the United States to pro-
coed with their building plans.
II ends with the people of the coun-
try ready and anxious to build homes,
factories. Office buildings, hotels,
>theaters, lofts and docks and termi-
mails, but absolutely unable to obtain
materials in the quantity desired,
although prices asked are higher than
the building industry has ever known
them to be.
The people have the none to pay
for the materials needed even at pre-
MUM bases, but the federal policy
that placed restrictions upon the free
production of building materials dur
ing wartime and classed them Is non
essential is now having its deleterious
effects, not only upon the thrifty citi-
zen, but upon the merchant, the
ma manufactured, the railroad and the
government itself.
There Is s.ch n shortage Of build
ing materials today that the federal
government ascrihes the inactivity Of
the treasury departments scheduled
~peace~tine building program to a de-
sire not to further drain the present
supply of materials and the pubic
building work has therefore been in-
definitely deferred except in urgent
cases. The railroads are to be turned
owe to their n in March and
there is much structural material to
be called for To, put them back into
shape, say the railroad authorities.
AS for private building work. II will
probably pass the highest building
record the country has ever known.
Estimates made for $50 cities on
December 20 indicated a total pledged
for building construction work OF
sI.315.000. 900, The best year the
country yer knew in value of new
building protected was 1916. when It
reached a grand total OF st,469 .0eo.-
900, with 3on cities reporting. New
York probably will Hose the year with
more than $500. 900 600 pledged to
building work.
Such a building movement never
Was expected nor conceived. The vol
ume of construction work in 1870.
even at this early date. is limited only
by the ability OF building material
plants TO produce and ship. The no~
tential demand is already EXPRESSED
in contracts signed and sealed suffi-
cient to take almost the capacity Of
plants producing all hut two of the
basic commodities east of the Ohio
river IN 10 April J. 1920, The struc-
tural steel shops have only 81 per
cent Of their capacity left
The clay products plants are almost
afrahi 10 anote. There are today
twenty-five barees Of Hudson com
mon brick in the wholesale market
that is noninally s20 wholesale. but
= hitch the cousigners have refused to
quote on. II costs about 1875 a
thousand tn load them on barges. 1t
formerly cost IS cents.
One builder offered to finance n
trickyard near enough 10 New York
city 10 deliver brick To him so he
could complete several m~illion-dollar
housing enterprises already under
way.
The Dow Service daily building re-
ports expects 10 see Hudson common
brick at $25 q thousand wholesale be-
fore the spring: ordinary wood lath
al $40 a thousand delivered on job;
hydrateti finishing lime in cloth at $40
p ton: and something akin to a famine
in Portland cement as supplied 70
this market from zones I and 2, II
Is quite within the possibility Of the
fFegHnf ma rI Of tn 500 hIp h IRA he
clear quartarod ok flooring hetween
$3.50 and $3.50 a thousand feet, dellv-
cred, and structural steel prices much
nearer three cents a pound than il is
today.
The situation in the Portland
cement department is extremely acute.
Some mills have had To scrape theS
bins to maintain shipments in h face
OF the recent excessive demand, which
is still growing. There are more than
80, 900. 600 yards Of road WORK already
under contract, and 1t takes three
fourths of a barrel of cement TO a
yard OF concrete road.
Even at his date the stocks Of
cement are lower than they have been
~ six years. with n exception. and
in that case the difference was only
zoe. 900 barrels in 1915, The present
demand is 80 per cent greater than
1t was at this time last year.
Price changes include an advance
from st3 to SIS a thousand for WOOD
hath, an advance from $2l.5h to s23
in hydratcd finishing lime In paper.
and from $3.50 to SCI a ton for the
same commodity in cloth bags. The
price of 3 To | cement mixed plaster,
sanded, went up 81 a ton.
To our the Dominion linen m
dustry, the Canadian government, on
April / last, put into effect an order
In council providing for bounties to
the amount of SIS 1000. PAYABLE in three