New-York tribune., 1919-09-08
Complete Building
Tie-Up Threatened
In City Tomorrow
Material Dealers to Decide
Then OIL Refusing Sup
plies to All Jobs if Brick.
layers Won't Arbitrate

The building embargo which con-
tractors threatened to use to discipline
the unions awaits only the command to
go INTO effect tomorrow. according to
statements made yesterday in the "Dow
Service Daily Building Reports" Such
move, it is said, will completely tie
up building operations in the city.
There is a frmness of mind among
employing contractors" according to
the statement, Gin favor of going to a
finish fight with labor on wage stabil-
lzation. a guarantee against strikes for
a definite period and more general OBJ
servance of the sacredness of agree
ments and contracts.
at is stated that Of thirty-two agree
ments in the building trsdes twenty
six have been broken by trades unions.
Employers declare that under such cir
cumstances they will not estimate on
building construction"
The only hope of averting COM
plete halt in the limping progress
building has been making in this city,
lays IN the results of conference be-
tween the financial hackers of large
building projects in The Bronx and
business
agents of the New York Building
Trades Council. 1t was suggested to. the
business agents to man all building
Jobs shu. down by the master builders
at Ss day for all workmen except
bricklayers, who want $40 a day
Can Begin Plan at Once
The suggestion involved also an
agreement against labor troubles for a
specified period. Jobs were to be
supervised by men selected by the
board of business agents and approved
ty the architects, several of whom at
tended the conference.
at was said on Saturday morning." !"
says Allen +. Beals, publisher of the
daily building reports. that this plan
was all ready for final settlement and
that it would take effect as soon as
the expected lockout Of all building
trades was promulgated by the EN-
ployers.
The Dow Service Daily Building Re
ports" was asked to advise the building
interests of New York and vicinity that
arrangem had been completed be-
tween the building craftsmen and the
tcamsters' and chaufeurs' union that
il the mason material dealers yards
closed down here, thus shutting off
supplies to Independent building oper-
ations, supplies would be trucked into
this city from outlying sections to
keep building operations going.
Await Bricklayers' Reply
"The manufacturers, employers and
building material supply men, when
asked for their opinion, merely stated
that they were ready TO go to the mat
on the issues. They said that they had
presented a letter Friday evening to
the Bricklayers' Executive Committee,
in session at 10l West 10th Street,
asking whether it was true that the
bricklayers had refused to arbitrate
their differences, and requested an i'm
mediate answer.
-. W. Bailey, secretary, said Satur-
day noon that no action was taken re-
garding the letter beyond placing it in
the hands OF the chairman and himself f
for action to-day.
The reply to this letter, it is said,
will have vital bearing upon whether
the Mason Material Dealers will de-
eide on Tuesday to shut down their
yards and thus etfectually block the
movement of building material of all
kinds to all jobs III New York City"