New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-05-24
Lumber Dealers Receive
Two Orders, Each for
100000 Feet of Tim.
Der, Regardless Of. Price
Little Cement ON Hand
Local Yards Are Practically
Empty Of Supply; Labor
Conditions Look Brighter

Tho building material and equipment
market along the entire seabeaFd and
as far West a. tho Ohio River re-
NAMED strong. both in price and de-
mand, last week, according to tho Dow
Daily Building Reports.
Lumber offered the only evidence Of
price shading. but investigation 1t the
week end revealed certain lumber
spectators who had. leased large op-
lions caught short, with cars In transit
In the Middle West, where sacrifice
prices had been resorted to when their
bank credits were suddenly curtailed.
In the metropolitan district an :.orde,
was taken on Friday for 100000 feet
and another order Of exact size was
wired in from Pittsburgh at the same
price level, the purchasers in. either
case making no quibble about price
whatever. Some lumber prices here I'D.
vanced last week.
Strong Demand for Brick ..
SO it is through tho entire building
material market. The week will open
with Hudson common brick firmer a
$25 thousand, Wholesale, dock. New
York, than It has been at any time
this year, although cement and other
materials necessary for It's consump-
ton are entirely out Of storage. Sec
ond hand brick IL no longer being de-
livered in lots Of less than 1900, and
for deliveries in Queens or shove
Washington Heights the price moved
on Saturday st es6 to 80 D load.
All through the building material
market this same strength Is noted.
Charles L. Eidlitz summed up the
equipment situation by saying tho Diff
ference between the mercantile and
the construction markets to-day IL that
in the former case there is underpro-
duction with no buyers and In the
building industry there 10 underpro-
duction with the biggest demand that
was ever known. with price no object.
In the building electrical equipment
line, for example. sales arc being made
to old customers one year ahead, sub
ject to price at time Of shipment at
the convenience Of the factory and With
no cancellation privilege. Only last
week an order for hundreds Of thou
sands Of dollars worth Of electrical
equipment for . new building project
was rejected by factory because it
was sold up for year on business
taken on the foregoing terms. It, was
unable to accept business from new
customers. -f@i' go,
Shortage Of Cement
Building material dealers, with two,
six or a dozen barrels Of cement in
sheds that normally would store six
thousand or more barrels, said that in
stead Of the market being weak the
mouth demands moro than. the hand
can supply. Building material users do
not question price. They demand de-
livery. Architects whose clients have
housing or other necessary projects
under contemplation say they have
clear sailing through the building de-
of the New York Society Of Architects.
when James r. Gordon was unani.
mously reelected for the fifth con.
secutive term ~ president Adam
E. Fisher, Of Brooklyn, first viee:presi-
dent; Edward w. 10th, Of Albany, Sec
ond vice-president; Frederick c. Zobel,
Of New York, secretary; Henry Holder.
Of Brooklyn, treasurer. and Walter H.
Volckening, Of New York. financial sec
rotary, the situation developing in re-
gard to building, housing and labor sit
uations was optimistically discussed
and committees wore appointed to IN
vostigate the conditions 49,.
Building material manufacturers re-
pVAs tAlV cuuts1AB OOWu Va uVA~WUUSne
trial industries is supplying them
with much-needed labor that otherwise
would have been impossible 10 got,
and in consequence tho entiss Hudson
River brick industry has already raised
its production quota for this year, .
prospect that wss entirely dsspairsd Of
only fifteen days ago. Cement manu-.
facturers report stmilar change for
the better.
Civic, financial, distributing and
building material msnufs eturing In
terests telesraphed every person. in
authority in snd out Of Congress 20
support their telesYaphic plea made to
the Interstate Commerce Commission
last week to place building materials
on tho railroad priority list next TO
food and fuel. Car shertaSs, In ether
words. overyhadows all ether Ystard.
ant factors in the building outlook, To-
day. :.