The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-04-11
United States Field Agent Re.
ports Revival All Over
the Country.
WEST CR|TICIzES UNCLE SAM
improvements During 1919 VIII Equal
That of Any Five Years In the
country's History - Report
500, ooo, 900 Contracts.

building all over the country, but par
ticularly in the middle West, is report
ed by Henry t. league, field agent for
the United States department of labor,
who has just completed q six-weeks'
tour from coast to coast.
There will be a great deal Of public
building during the next six months"
says league. "The public improve
ments program for 1919, / am con-
WINGED, will equal that Of any five
years in the country's history, and the
bodybuilding activities from the At
lantic to the Pacific, once they are un-
der way, will be tremendous.
"The scope of improvement work Is
much larger in the West than in the
East.
There Is much criticism In the West
of the governments failure to go ahead
with it's own building operations. In
many localities federal buildings, for
which sites, plans and appropriations
were made before the war, are held up
because the original appropriation is
not high enough to v the increased
cost of construction and additional
money has not been granted.
New Orleans, says Mr.. league,
shows more building activities than
any city he visited. The city is spend
ing S14,OOO,0O0 on the municipal docks.
employing more than 10000 e
South Bend, Ind, is developing a
model industrial residence section, Civ
ing homes to $4,000 new employees Of
the S%tudebaker corporation, which is
to build a new 100000 factory.
Here's Building Program.
Other important building projects re-
ported by Mr.. league re:
Newark, N. J.-$3,000,0O0 depart
ment store by J. L. Bamberger.
Kansas City, Mo.-$2,000,0O0 inter
urban station.
Sioux City, Ia.-$2,OO0,O 900 grain ele-
vators for the Terminal Grain corpor-
alton.
Mllwaukee-S1,O 900, 900 apartment ho-
tel, $75O,O00 hotel and $4,000 depart
ment store. mas
Allentown, Pa.-s5O0,OOo office build
ing and theater.
Detroit, Mich.-$35O,OO 600 department
store.
Cleveland, o.-$3OO,OOO store and
theater building.
New Haven, Conn.-$300,OOO addi-
ton to Grace hospital.
Evanston, H.-$250,0O0 hospital.
Chicago-$18 100000 railway station.
Portland, Ore.-S500,0 900 stadium and
live stock pavilion.
The department OF labor's division
of public works and construction de-
velopment reports that approximately
500, 100000 in private building con
tracts were reported to 1t In Febru-
airy. The total of the January con-
tracts was only half hat sum.
Nearly all the states Showed an In
crease from week to week during last
month in private construction work.
The New England states, for instance,
in the first week of February reported
contracts awarded to the amount of
$3.50 900 in the second week, $550,O00;
third week, 100000, and fourth week,
100000. OF this construction, % per
cent was of an Industrial character, 80
per cent business and 40 per cent resi-
Dental.
New England's showing. however, is
far behind that of the Western states,
Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana,
Michigan, Missouri and Kansas show
n fivefold increase In February over
January. In this district the figures
are: First week In February, S15,000.-
600; second week, $9,O00,000; third
week. SAC, 100000; fourth. week, $780,
600 COO.
Private Work s1H Per Cent.
In the middle West 91k per cen of
the construction contracts for Febru-
airy were for private construction, s
per cent state and municipal work and
one-half per cent government construc-
ton.
New York and New Jersey also show
important increases in February, and
in these two states residential building
made up only 10 per cent Of the total.
Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania
also show a slight Improvement over
the January figures, and 38 per cent
of the total was for residences.
Minnesota and the Dakotas report
ed contracts of about $1,0O0,000, as
against 100000 for January.
These facts show that the hesitancy
about starting construction projects be-
cause Of the high cost Of materials IL
apparently being overcome all over
the country.