New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-08-29
Per CT. Normal
Accumulated deficit.


The United States Forest Service
estimates that the country lacks 450,-
600 houses Other estimates range as
high as 100000 and even 100000
houses. The wide variation in size and
cost of houses makes it difficult to
define any standard house as unit of
measurement. The value of the per-
mits affords a more satisfactory meas
urement of the building shortage.
Raw Materials Plentiful
As already indicated the raw mate
rials for building timber, clay, ce-
ment, iron, etc.-are available in
abundance. Unlike the yield of agri-
cultural products, the supply of these
materials may promptly be enlarged
whenever demand calls for 1t. 1t re-
mains to consider whether the labor
and plant capacity are sufficient to
make these materials Immediately
available.
In the lumber industry 1t is esti-
mated that there is an excess plant
capacity of 30 per cent, with like ex-
cess capacity in tho brick, stone and
cement industries, while the steel mills
could easily expand their output of
structural steel through a curtailment
of other products.
Labor Awaits Call
amount of labor for building opera
tons, the unskilled workers, and even
the number Of skilled workers could
be greatly increased if the demand for
buildings should call for them.
Lower Prices Not in Sight
While the general hardness of build
Il
hesitation to undertake new building at
current costs and to the difficulties Of
financing such undertakings, it may be
questioned whether such hesitation is
chiefly responsible for the marked de-
elmo in May, as compared with April
Of this year. 1t appears that the trans
portation tangle is the primary source
of the decline.
There is no general expectation that
by postponing new building for few
months marked savings may be realized
through future declines in prices. Even
should the long desired definite recess
sion in prices develop. there is much
ground for the belief that for some
time yet building costs will show at
best but slight decline, apart from tenn
porary fluctuations. 1t is believed by
many that there will be still further
advances in building costs generally.
AS for the influence Of credit strin-
gency upon building operations, other
lines of business enterprises are also
affected, most of which show no such
marked decline in activity as does the
building industry.
Unequal Building Supply
In some localities there is a general
dearth of available building materials.
In some localities one or another ma
terial may be found in sufficient guam
titles for the immediate needs of the
building in hand, but other equally es-
sential materials are lacking, and, in
consequence, operations are as etfec-
lively suspended as if all the supplies
we're lacking. Brick, for example, is
available where there is no cement. On
the other hand, certain lumber mills
are id because they are not able to
move their product.
1t seems that the urgency of the need
for new building would warrant a sys-
TEN of freight priorities which would
serve to increase activity in this es-
sential industry The problem Of prior-
ties is, of course, very complex one;
with so many essential businesses in
need of every assistance, not one of
them can be favored directly by freight
preference or indirectly by embargoes
without at the same time handicapping
some other enterprise But if any
claim for special treatment is warrant
ed under the present conditions, ap-
parently building materials are we'll
toward the head Of the list Of COM
modities for which such claims may
rightly ho made