The Washington times., 1919-02-12

one OF the nrSt 70 be passed 1of
take chances IL the material men will
lower the large profits 1t is alleged
! they wish to make; IL labor will
| agree to stabilization Of wages; il the
banks will show greater liberality in
the matter of loans.
Banking institutions, representing
| money, the most timid of the factors
| in construction. continue cOnserva-
! tive. Many OF them are still waiting
| for the definite signing Of a peace
! agreement. They will not anticipate
| the jumping of the cat; they want to
/ see just where the cat is going to
/ light.
| So the Board of Trade Committee
/ has something real TO work out. The
I committee consists Of DR.. W. s. Wash-
/ burn. Arthur Carr. Thomas Bradley,
! Charles W. Fairfax. Harry Blake,
! Fred y. Pyle. Frank Wagner. Henry
( H Mckee. w. W. Everett, John r.
Newbold, 3. Frank Saul. Samuel J.
Prescott, L. Perry West and Herbert
shannon.
WaFdman'a View Of Outlook.
Harry Wardman, the largest ot
Washington builders. courageous and
clear-slghted, patriotically optimistic
az ali Llneb' talked lnleIeSllnBlE OF
building matters to The Times.
EARLY resumption Of building pro
grams will be a large factor in the
continuance OF business prosperity
and provide for the employment of
our returning men and those released
! from the industries Of war" said Mr..
Wardman. 1T is, Of course, wise for
the public-spirited citizen and official
to advocate at present a strenuous
building program.
ITO promote and encourage industry
I think the first need is for national
and municipal public Improvements IN
all parts of the country. These should
be proceeded with at once. There is
aittIe excuse to defer this class of
work on the ground that the cost Of
Improvement is borne by the taxpayer,
for is not the taxpayer individually
and collectively benefited and the
cost hardly felt?
From the viewpoint OF the So!
called speculative builder whose
business Is similar to that OF the
uation presents a phase vastly differ
ent from pre-war conditions. II is so
different as to make IL questionable
whether or not II would be better for
the builder or even the public at large
to defer this class OF construction
work until there is some stabilization
OF prices.
Must EnIighten Public.
Il do not mean to infer that the
production Of housing facilities on a
speculative basis should be entirely
deferred until prices Of labor and ma
terial have receded to a pre-war basis. (
for 1 firmly believe that such a scale
OF prices will never again prevail !
But until the people at large are
properly educated and convinced that |
the scale of prices in pre-war days
can never go back to what the average |
person speaks Of as normal II is un- |
reasonable TO expect an operator to |
produce buildings at a cost which pre-
cludes a reasonable return, based up |
on what the building will sell for.
Because we are a year or two be- !
hind in building does not tend TO Gre
ate such a demand as to make il Ger /
tain the builder can realize 80 per
cent more for a new building than
for a similar building constructed |
prior 70 the war, either from the /
standpoint Of rental income or selling /
price OF the property. This view is !
taken by bankers and individuals 1
who invest in real estate loans
1T is yet Impossible TO borrow
more TO finance present buildings |
than could be borrowed two or three .
years ago and this condition makes
II difficult for the builder 10 operate,
inasmuCh as he is compelled to raise
solely out OF his own resources the
large increase in the cost Of build
ing.
''If constructed a building in 1916
at A cost Of 100000 / could finance
it by borrowing $50. 900 on a building
loan. leaving only $40. 600 Of nv own
funds to invest The Game building
today would cost me $3.50. 900 10 pro-
duCe, yet ] can realize only the same
loan Of $4,000. and consequently
must raise $4,000 of my own. with
little hope Of receiving any increased
revenue or a better price than for the
buildings erected in 1915.
Prices to Stay High.
The entire question is that OF
stabilization OF prices II the scale
Of wages continues high. and I feel
sure that il will and may 90 higher
with corresponding high prices of
material. then our new buildings are
worth what they cost to produce and
not what they would have cost over
two years ago.
"If' we can educate the peopIs to
this fact and principle, likewise
financial Institutions which make (
loans, so that the loans will be in
proportion to the present cost then
the question Is solved, the reason IN
defer building is eliminated. and the
industry can be made successful for
builder and buyer.
"a high scale Of wages and mate
rial prices would make little di6er-
ence II the public is educated to the