Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-03-18
IS PRESENT COST OF CONSTRUCTION
 STILL TOO HIGH?
Government Officials Be- lieve Best Time To
 Build is Now.

1 bu1lQ IS NOW.
 During the war about one-third ot the country's industrial capacity including man power, was diverted to war production. To bring about this great diversion of industry two means were employed; stimulation and cur tailment. Stimulation was practiced throughout the war and effected the prices of materials and the wages of labor because Government contracts were awarded on basis which per- mitted contractors to compete sue cessfully with non-war manufacture CTS for materials and labor,
 Curtailment was not important un- til early in 1918 except for the ord CTS of the Fuel Administration and the Railroad Administration for the purpose of conserving fuel and trans rortation, and certain priority orders.
 But in the statement of February :, 1918, Secretary McAdoo rekuestei that homes should not be built ex- cept in case of urgent necessity. The statement contained by implication the premises on which the radical curtailment of the building industry was later carried out, i. e.-D that conservation of materials, labor and credit was necessary in order to win the war and (2) that the conserva- tion must take place in those indus tries that were not essential, or only in part esential, to the winning of the war. Sometime after the publication Of Secretary McAdoo's statement, the policy of seriously curtailing non- war production was put into effect. Eventually the production of sixteen building materials was cut down 25 tc 60 per cent. Non-war construc- tion was greatly restricted until it was almost completely stopped from September 3, 1918. until the armis- tice was signed. It, was estimated by the Chief of the Building Materials Section of the War Industries Board that the non-war construction in 1919 would be more than 10 per cent of normal. This estimate indicates how great the diversion of labor and capi- tai from the construction industry had been.
 The stimulation of war industry and the curtailment of non-war in- dustry was mainly carried out di- rectly by the Capital Issues Commit tee, the War Industries Board, and the War Labor Administration. Not only were prices of building materi- als affected by the stimulation of wa industries but in many cases also by direcct price fixing. The same was true of the wages of labor. The power 0 fthe Government was eXer- cised toward the lowering of prices of materials and the wages of labor IT. non-war industries in order to pre- vent labor and material from being wrawn away from the war industries.
 War Costs Explained
 This brief sketch of the Govern ment's policy in stimulating war pro- duction and curtailing non-war pro- duction explains the difference be- tween the cost of labor and of ma terials in the building industry and the cost of labor and of materials in general which was found to exista at the close of the war.
 At the close of the war the index number of building materials, not in- cluding steel, had risen only 61 per cent over the pre-war prices of 1913, while the index number for commodi- ties, exclusive of building materials, had arisen 113 per cent. The aver age increase of wages in the construc- cities from 1914-1918 was only 28.5 per cent as against a rise of 94 per cent in commodities. When the ar mistice came, there was, of course. a great volume of deferred construc- ton projects, partly in the form of public works. partly in the form of semi-public utilities, partly in the form of housing and of commercial and industrial buildings. This VOL hme of deferred construction repre- senter in large part the curtailment Of non-war production which had re- surted from the diversion of one third of the Ntion's industrial capacity to war production.
 Fortunately the return of peace did not mean the complete, abrupt end of war production, yet it threatened ser ous unemployment In order to mini mlze unemployment during the period Of economic readjustment, the Gov ernment promptly removed the re- striction, however. which is has not removed and could not remove, that is the moral obligation fthe finan- cial community to conserve credit un- til the Victory Loan is floated. Each bank trust company insurance company, etc. must estimate how large a part of its prospective allot- ment of the Victory Bonds it can sell Dromptly. and. consequently, how much of its funds it can afford to set
 There will he no "Flu" at your house if you keep bottle of Dr. Rrunson's Favorite Prescription ham dy and take a few doses when you feel little "out of sorts." For sale at all druggists. 12-4tf
 GOOD MORNINGS! DID YOU FEN. joy your breakfast this morning. or wac if o~r1oc, l,.o1xIo-ao