Evening star., 1920-02-14
COUNSE[S EARLY
MATERIAL ORDERS
Daily Service Report Urges
Projectors of Improve
ments to "Save Time"

tionS or alterations to existing build
1ngs are being urged by all analysts
| to waste no time in getting their ma
| terial specifications into manufacture
ers' hands if they contemplate getting
their work under way and we'll
toward completion by the spring of
l. l!2l. according to the Dow Service
daily building reports.
Developments favoring such counsel
featured the past week and unques-
t1onably point the way to a prompt
adjustment of many of the problems
that have made the outlook for build
ing construction dubious. In the mat
ter of car shortage influences were
brought to bear upon the railroad
administration at Washington by
powerful commercial interests, and
the result was the ;imparting. of
general feeling that the present gov
ernment control would automatically
cease in about four weeks, when in
dependent railroad competition would
solve. in great measure. the Difficult
ties now making for car shortage.
Change in Conditions.
Manufacturers of building materials
in almost every department promise a
gradual change in the famine condi-
tions pertaining to building material
supply. In another six weeks, at the
ouiSiut, aueN SdN lic lOW ol HldltTldlS
to the markets will begin to approXi-
mate the maximum known in 1912. 1t
is certainty that efforts to produce
building materials in greater guam
Titles than ever have been known. at
least in quarter of century. are al
supply in building material industry
is greatly improved. permanency of
employment and assurance of a long
period of prosperity in the building
industry being the dominant reasons
for the change in labor supply
Capacity that has not been employed
in generation is being feverishly
made available for market needs
while the price peak is present the
feeling being general that imitation in
raw building material values has
about reached its maximum. The
cement mills are extremely active IN
production. Timber cuts in the west
are brea king all previous records and
the same is true of Canada. From
fortY-two forest rangers the indica-
hons are that 325.O0O.OOo feet will be
cut this season. which exceeds the
record made November - to Decem-
Der l. last, when 100000 900 feet were
cut. There is now only - per cent of
the country's available structural
steel shop capacity left. The next
nre OF the glass mills will schedule
greater volume of production than
probably ever has been made.
No Fear Of Price Boosts.
Inc big problem is to book the
years potential business as quickly
as nossible. There is no longer any
need to fear further general price
boosts. and neither il: there ANYTHING
to be gained by waiting for price re-
cessions. The latter cannot occur for
many years to come. probably five.
maybe seven to nine. Financiers say
that no matter what occurs in the in
yeStment markets. the demand for
new building and better housing con-
dItions is SO great that any possible
financial disturbance probably would
manded to make building an essential
industry. The worst effect that
trained observers in finance say they
see in reaGjuStment of the financial
situation is that there would he a
shift from industrial. and commercial
cons ruct'on to dominance of houS-
ine hotel. tenement and apartment
building. Rui'du'C material market
experts declare that If all construc-
ton were suddenly shifted from COM
mercial and industrial to housing.
hotel tenement aud anartment build
ing. there stil' would be 4 demand
sufficient to take care Of ca per cent
of the capacity of the building ma
terial. plants of that part of the coun-
try east of the Mississippi. which is
ABOUT ~ per cent more tndn THESE
same plants. taken as a whole. will
be able to operate this year with the
supply of common labor as low as it
was in the autumn of 1919.
Strikes are rs much out Of place at
this time in the building industry as
is a disposition of the building ma
terial manufacturers 10 continue price
advances This has become so acute
that the N"w Jersey hu!la'ng mate
rial distributors. who have been
--.~:r.o ,.icti,,s. -" "or'n tir'". have
declared open shops. and tho steel
ernctors have FOLLOWED suit in New
York. The brck'avers are still on
strike. when All other labor scales.
go,er,llr s"nakin~. have heCome sta
bilized at SS Investors frankly say
they can go no farther in view of the
growing uncertainty regarding the
immediate future of the investment
market and the statement is freely
made that unless stability comes
pretty soon there will be ample cause
for refusing to consider building loan
propoSalS.