The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1919-04-02
OPTIMISM RULES IN
BUILDING TRADES
All signs Point "a the Long l'''ho'
Of Revival In Bmdncss In tic
Nation.
MIDDLE WEST LEADS WAY
Imitation In Labor and Mhtcrim COST
Inr Bchind Increase In ihic's
NtscSsitiCSs.

A decidedly Qplmiauc '"uo T.
found In reports and thlrm'n'H N
sued hy the department OF labor dH'
ing the last 10 days In su ihi as lu''
deal with building ana CONSTRUCTION
work Data gathered from an p'T'0
Of The county speak cpnNin'lhk'N "i
an increase in building aud cohH'I In'.
lion work, especially In th" midI''
wcst where private inieruSta are d''
Cldedly active. 49,,
v r Miller, director OF tho divl-
sion Of public works ana r"uHlrh'.
ton Development OF the department
Of labor, makes the following sum
mary of conditions
There * justification Tor IA" "p
limism IN several significant ~. y'I'p.
ments OF tho lAhttwo wookS lh' 70
yIval in business, for which Eome
have been waiting and others "uIk
ing, seems TO be on the way rms
ts indicated. In my opinion. by th'"r
circumstances
signs of Improvement
"i--Rank Clchringa arc com para
lively large The territory whlch IN
1917 showed tlO,6O0, 900, 900 Ia bank
clearing for January. and In 1918,
In the same month. showed 81 500
tlt,BO0 900. 900.
"2--Retail business ls usually nc
tive and In showing improvement
from week to week,
"g--There IN noticeable accel-
Grafton OF advertising activities ana
when business In adyortlsing II has
confidence In future business posi-
biitier.
"4-For the first time since 1907
real estate In the metropolitan dis
trict OF New YORK city 10 active, some
OF Il speculative buying indicating
a conviction In the minds OF the In
vestorsythat real estate prices are TO
advance and present real estate
prices are not abnormal but quite
otherwise,
"b-One encounters everywhere "A
feeling that gradual resumption OF
business Ia under way
"s-There is a Blgnificant tone OF
flnhllty In expressions on the wage
level question There seems 10 he
a general belief that wages should
remain unchsnHcd. This because an
increase In wages would be prohib-
tive on production and construction
costs and a decrease In wages would
add complications Of IA serious char
acter to tho readJustment which Is
now under way.
"7--BulldinE statistics indicate
very clearly there In IL gradual I'M
provement Municipal building per
mits In November last were but 9
per cent OF normal. In December they
were 10 per cent In January go per
cent. while In February they were
from IS TO 40 per cent
''IIp~avar tba rayiynI la mora
marked outside tho larger cities and
is especially noticeable In tho middle
west, Allowing for tho differences
In money values, tho contracts ward
ed for construction throughout the
country In February. 1918. are o.
per cent Of the flve-year average for
the same month. OF these February
contracts 81 per cent were for pri-
vate projects and . per cent for pub.
lie, or tho private contracts 5b per
cent were residential property, rs
per cent mercantile and 20 per cent
industrial
Sit Is still difficult 20 get
realizing sense OF the effect OF pres
ont initiation upon prices OF building
materials and labor and to realize
that neither have increased In pro
portion with other commodities or
with the cost OF living and yet. II ap-
pears. the investing public generally
Is coming TO an understanding Of
these facts. while other commodi-
ties and tho cost OF living have In
creased 100 per cent and moro since
the beginning OF the war tho advance
In construction costs on such build.
ings as DO not require steel is only
about IS per cent; on such build
inEs as require steel the advaHye ap.
prohlmstes no more than 81 per cent
Construction costs, therefore, In their
upward tendency, have not kept pace
with other commodities and the cost
OF living