New-York tribune., 1919-07-28


strike last week has turned the tide in
local building construction, according
to The Dow Service Daily Building
Reports
At the same time the building trades
employers expressed confidence that
at last way has been found to stop
further pos.Donement Of building con-
struction, through fear among owners
that the day OF SIS plumbers and SO
bricklayers was imminent, by embrac
ing the plan Of wage stabilization for
the metropolitan district Of New York
Boston,
When it became apparent to officials
of Boston that the skilled building
trades employees were bent upon sue
cessive demands for increases in wages
and it became apparent that if the
housing situation is ever to be relieved
some stabilization OF workingmen's
wages Oh building operations would
soon or later have to be worked out,
the Mayor called the leaders of the
building artisans to conference and
proposed that q general wage scale be
fixed applying 10 all lines, and that this
agreed-upon top price be held for
definite time, sufficiently long to per-
nit owners to proceed with building
plans that had for the most part, been
Indefinitely abandoned. AT a confer
ence of the building trades employers
on Wednesday there was talk Of rad
ical wage increase demands among
the skilled building artisans here, and
it was decided to nvesti gate the merits
of the Boston idea.
Turn for the Better
But the immediate turn for the bet
ter in the building situation came
when William x. Hammond, chairman
of the committee O. Hudson River
brick manufacturers, reported that the
men have resumed charge Of their
month and under the same condi
tions. Immediately all the loaded
barges OF brick we're rushed down the
river, and practically every JOB that
has been retarded by lack of this mate
rial resumed activity. From now on,
it was asserted, construction work
should regain the impetus lost when
the brick dearth developed more than
a month ago Prices are steady at SD
additional charges for delivered mate
Manufacturers and dealers alike are
using strong efforts to repress those
among The common brick producers
VIII are insistent upon higher prices.
There is hardly building material
interest in New York who is not out
spoken in his belief that building ma
terial quotations for this year have
about reached top, except in so far as
new freight rates, towing charges and
I l.h rc Sc,
points are concerned. With the build :
ing season more than half gone and
with such continuing wide discrcp-
ancy between the volume Of building
plans fled and actual work started.
building material distributors and
manufacturers are more concerned
with repressing tendencies to advance
prices than they are to suggest them.
Material Marke, steadier
Except for the price advances al
ready planned for and announced in
recent surveys by the Dow Service
Daily Building Reports, the building
material market is steader, as to up
ward price movements, than it has
been at any time since July, 1917 The
exceptions wherein price advances will
occur this week are hollow tile fire.
proohng and Canadian spruce lath
In the first case a combination or wage
increases and freight rate advances
make the new price necessary, and in
the case Of spruce lath the so 10 10
cent advance that Will take place
August, or thercabous. is due 0 he
restrictions placed upon export Of
lumber to his country by Canada.
Lumber distributors and wholesalers
say there have arrived in this country
within. the last week or two many Eu-
ropean lumber buyers ready to buy
lumber Of all kinds for export for cash.
heavy export lumber trade is looked
forward 70 while the lumber dealers
here are still unstccked because they
have been afaid to replenish their
racks and s,acks for fear still
igher building costs would prove pro-
hibjtive and would leave the stocks
on their hands. The appearance Of an
unexpected foreign buying movement
on & cash basis and the prospects Of a
temporary cessation Of retail price
advances, With the sudden change about
in new construction work, have COM
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