New-York tribune., 1919-06-16
Barge Captains
Strike No Longer
Menaces Building
Manufacturers Organize
New Plan of Delivery;
Drop in Cost of Haver-
straw Brick and Lime

Reconstruction progress in the
hu;lding industries is passing out of
.be vale Of insignificant interference
and into plane of big business
,ol;cjes. according to "The Dow Ser
vice Daily Building Reports"
Notable among the evidences of
strong hands in the moulding processes
* the fact that the brick barge cap
,ains strike is no longer a menace
70 the progress of building -cnstruc-
lion beyond the temporary period re-
auired to organize new plan of brick
delivery to contractors, the completion
Of an organization Of Portland cement
manufacturers with an aggregate
annual output Of 14,000,000 barrels OF
cement a year TO cater to the fast
developing export business, the com
rletion of the sale and marge- Of the
country's biggest wire cloth manufact-
n-ers. action by the local building
material dealers in readjusting lime
prices to the Ohio base, q conference
on the plumbers earthenware situa-
ton to meet new wage contingencies
change for the better in steel outlook
and a general feeling in the market
that the toughest part of the road to
a moderate sized building era has been
passed.
Laborers Willing to Go Back
William k Hammond, chairman of
the committee on the brick barge
strikes, said Saturday afternoon that
an arrangement between dealers, con-
tractors and manufacturers had been
practically w~Sked out whereby the
strike Of the brick barge captains and
laborers could be almost entirely dis
counted. The laborers had offered to
come back at the old wage rates, he
said, provided the captains received
the increase in pay they had demanded.
In the mean time he authorized the
statement that the price of brick would
not be raised in this market above
the present sis wholesale level as
long as the strike lasted. To this
price, of course, must be added the
cost of haulage, handling and 10 per
cent He said that with the CO.
operation of contractors it would be
possible to get brick delivered on the
job, and that the manufacturers were
not reluctant to make the advance in
wages that the captains demanded,
but that compliance with the demands
would result in labor wage readjust-
ments throughout all branches of the
brick industry, with the result that
the price of brick TO the consumer here
would be so high as TO bar it out of
buildings altogether. Brick unload
ers at the old rate made from $40 to
sl2 day and in Brooklyn SIG to SIS.
Decline in Material Costs
Price downward is reported this
week in Haverstraw hollow brick from
SIS to SIS wholesale, with the usual
additional charge for haulage, hand
ling, etc. This change is made by dis
tributers to help stabilize the market
During the present crisis. Slight de-
clines in the price of hydrate finishing
lime in cloth bring the delivered price
in New York and Bronx to $3.50 and
to S2060 per ton in paper bags, with
usual rebates for empty bags. Hydrate
common lime prices effective this week
put the price at $3.50 for material in
cloth and $3.50 for material in paper
bags. This price change puts the East
ern market on price plane with Ohio
lists and makes for greater stability
and convenience Of builders doing in
terstate business
Further Indication of the future
tightness Of building material supply
for domestic use is shown in the fact
that ten Portland cement manufacture
ers, having an aggregate productive
capacity Of $4,000 600 barrels year,
have organized the Cement Export
Company under the Incorporation laws
OF the state Of Delaware, with the
principal Office in New York. All East
ern cement companies have been invit-
ed to join the organization. The di-
rect'rs are Emil Loeb, Coplay Cement
manufacturing Company; Frank II.
Smith, Lawrence Cement Company;
Joseph Brobston, Dexter Portland Ce-
ment Company; J. A. Horner. Nazareth
Cement Company; L c. Morton,
fnoani2 Cement Company; J. ". Full