Arizona republican., 1919-08-31
NJ PLASTER IN C|TY- BUILDING
 WORK STOPPED
About 25 New Buildings Af- fected by Gity's First Plaster Shortage Con- dition Soon Remedied.

Through a sequence of unexpected events, Phoenix was yesterday for the first time in recent years completely out of a supply of .'side-wall" or inter for plaster, and as a result building | operations on more than p nearly completed buildings are at standsull.
 Although it first became deflniteiy known yesterdav the shortage of plas- ter has existed here for several days. l Bx Isst night there was hardly a sack in the city, though the shortage is ex- pected to be relieved by the middle or end of this week. Until supply ar rives, however, contractors will be ] compelled to stop operations on the two dozen and more residences that are now waiting only plastering for | completion.
 According to J. r. Goddard, local contractor, lumber yards which handle l the city's plaster supply have been ac- lcustomed to getting their material from 1 Douglas, where interior plaster plants are in operation. Owing to the near ness of the supply-an order from here could be filled in two or three days the dealers were in the habit Of get l ting in plaster as they needed it, not 1 keeping much of a supply on hand.
 
 1 from the dealers as they needed 1t, and also had none on hand
 Thus everybody was caught nearly i plasterless when heavy rains at Doug i las a short time ago put the plaster
 plants out of commission Then a small strike kept the plants closed, and i as a final straw, after that the plants were working, plaster could not be | transported here on account of the 1 railroad strike and congestion. ! No Plaster on Hand The short supply of side-wall plas 1 ter, the kind that is used altogether i in the interiors of buildings, was l quickly exhausted here when ship
 ments ceased coming in. Fully 25 houses were at that time ready to be- 1 gin clustering, and with no plaster ] construction on all these had to tenn l porarily stopped. MT. Goddard was 1 disposed yesterday to think himself i lucky because he had enough plaster 1 left to finish room in the Goodrich l building, next to the Western Union. l As for a half dozen dwellings he is | working on, there was no plaster for ] them so work has been suspended for
 a time.
 Practically the same experiences
 were related yesterday by other con- tractors There is no more interior plaster in town, so work is just simply not going on. Altogether, it is esti- mated between % and 80 new build
 ings. practically all residences, are af-
 fected by the plaster shortage.
 Thanks to a large supply of cement
 in the city, no shortage of plaster for
 exterior use has arisen, and contrac- | tors are devoting their energies to do-
 ing outside" work while they wait
 for the shortage of interior plaster to
 end.
 As train service has been restored
 and freight congestion is being grad ually eliminated. it is expected that plaster will begin arriving here the
 latter half of this week and the short age will end. Once plaster does begin coming in, one contractor forecasted | yesterday. local dealers and contrac-
 tors will not be caught mapping again
 with an insufficient supply of plaster
 on their hands.