The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1919-04-17
GOOD REASONS
FQR BUILDING
BY ALLEN E. EEALS

rrr :ttnnTulIur to analyHr til" national
building problem aS 1t presents ISL
In the prartir:- builder TO-DAY: atcoutlt
must he taken uf fundamentals III ING
ubSrnvr at precedence.
Starting with the fart that has coun-
try. represented ny rs cities Is l%r'H
as the first premise The factor OF aSSuretl
demand. Under normal conditions Surm
u drmHnd would have been created ny
It financial panic or period nt HEth'
imitation on real estate Value. Tin me
present instance nothing NJ IN" klhl llh:'
occurred The dominant cause OF I'M
present shortage Of rcntapl" hn'id'nEH
Of all kinds is du" entirely ~ an aTlLh
ciul condition well understood l." DC inc
result Of the cXiEcncirS Of war. me O.
mand IS he direct SonSrqu"ncc OF IN"
order To stop. which diners from ccoIl-
nmic cStoppag" of CONSTRUCTION ProE[,"EtS
in that through proclamation demand -
Siiticd. whereas economies "Stnppasc Is
the result Of absence Of demand nr man
: ipulatirn OF realty values
! In April. 1911. when ms r"untr! Cn-
tered the great war. TN" country was
only thrrc percent undcr-cnnStructcd. IN
practically two years. therefore, pulId-
ing construct ion SlnuEhrd off AZ pcrcehl:
which is practically ~ percentage OF
decline of production ol huilqing InaIc-
rails not claSScd as munitions III WIZ.
In normal times. say. Tor lnStahcr' M.
year 1916. this country produced enough
materials 10 make possible a atlenhl
building rnnSt rurtiOn program oil ABOUT
ON" and onc-half billion dollars: FodhE
thrrc is Il potential construction pro-
gram in this country. outside ol rnHlh
rrrinE wurg. of approximately TWO ana
II quarter billion dollars. with thn hulid-
, ing material production capacity al inc
United States. through heavy wartime
depreciation loss nC labor and OF market
and government r"uuSltinn OF stocks ON
hand. estimated to he barely sufficient
to lakc caro- Of SS00.00n.dn0 worth OF
! construction work.
ht,tt al, on q or
ian estimate and then says the cost rs
TOO high and he is "f n mind To wait for
lower prices. he misses entirely Inc act-
Iual causes OF tho present day cost Level.
and h" probably thinks that costs cannot
continue to remain ai tho attitudes that
now mark The building horizon. DID ne
eyer know Of condition where demand
was abnormal and prices were low? Has
hc considered that with building mate
rial production sn ahnormally low and
a scarcity Of commercial and lnduSlrlhl
building 81 generally great. his roS'
ponen,"n, nF prrscat day construction
will put him a year or TWO years hrnc"
moro completely ~ n" mercy ot inc
high price lcvrt than h" is today"
costs as they arc TODAY ar" not tho SOL"
product OF IN" wnr. The pric" ndvan""
began rs far back as 1898. Taking H."
compound Of common brick, cement
steel beam. window glass. yellow PIN"
land lime prices for each yn1r from rep
lrcscntative ccntrrs If tho United States.
based unon the zon" system OF thr E'6rt
land Cement Association. We find that
Ithc index hi,u-". representing bnsn rricrs
for ihcso building commodities Were:
1895. s25. s.: 1anO. s4".sS; 1905. s5l.6l:
1870. sa?9n: 1915 5000.
In. no year have. thcrc boon conditions
like those now existing. Not" that in
l191S. with tho total volume "f hnildinI
r"nst rrlc'ion going Ia permit IN lbi clti"E
of tho United States totPllinC barely
rvHilnhl" for building construction rails
had their ~r"nt"st imitation. The sole
/ mcanIn" Of that fact is that building
materials wcrn So drained in supply and
curtalnd in their production So com
plciclr that thcy went to premium l"vels
md tho conditions that put them there
have not yet hcon removed.