The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-06-18

machine methods, from small.scale to
iarge-scale production. Opportuni-
Ties DO not exist at the present day
IN any measure comparable with
those OF the period following the civil
war; Price declines so far, since the
cessation of hostilities, bear this out,
having been trifing-only or 6 per
cent up to April l, 1919, as compared
with over rs per cent for the CORE
spending period after the civil war.
Abstract consideration Of these
facts does not support any expecta-
ton OF sudden and radical declines in
present prices. AS applied to big
building, 1t would appear that any
structure should prove commendable
which is calculated to show sufficient
profit to offset an expected decline av-
eraging, say, from to per cent per
year for the next one or two decades.
Another factor which should be
considered as favorable to big con-
struction is the present tremendous
latent demand for building commod-
tiles, labor, and raw materials, which
is expected to bring on a period of
intense activity and national prosper
ity. 1t is also we'll to consider that,
excepting steel, the rise in the cost
Of building materials has been rela-
lively small as compared with other
commodities. The price of lumber in |
particular may easily go higher, and
in view of the decreasing lumber sup
ply may never get back to the low
levels of 1914.
w. |. Douglas, of Brokton, Mass.
If you will call to mind the per
capita in the United States in 1914, in
round numbers, was about $35. Rel
Gently l have noticed that the per
capita is about $57, which is an in
crease of little over 81 per cent.
While the per capita remains at this !
high level the cost of commodities |
and labor will remain about the same. !,
am of the opinion that prices will |
be governed to a great extent as the ,
per capita rises or falls.
E. C. Simmons, Of the Simmons
Hardware Co.
/ share the belief that We may look
for a steadily and gradually declining
market, rather than one Of sudden
and radical slumps. am on record
to this effect and have repeatedly ex-
pressed these views for several
months.
| quite agree as to the immutable
nature of the law Of supply and de-
mand, and that it must Of necessity
regulate what We are to get in ex-
change--e either merchandise or serv-
ices-for other things. AS there
seems to have been considerable con-
fusion and looseness of thought on
this subject of late, allow me to COM
mend the clear-headness of the atti-
tude of the secretary of labor with
reference to this matter.
Coleman Du Pont
The thing that is going to make la
Dor and material go down, with few
exceptions or little local variations, is
the law of supply and demand. So
long as there is a demad for an arti-
Gle its price will be high. The great
err the demand the higher the price,
and IL the cost of this article is mostly
labor, the price of labor will continue
high on that article, and so on down
the list. Local weather conditions
may affect local crops in certain dis
tricts, and this will make that article
high at least In that district, because
the demand for it will be great by
reason of the low production; and so
long as materials, including food
stuffs, are high, labor can not go
down much, although it is likely that
labor will be lowered in price ahead