Evening star., 1920-11-06
BUILDERS EXERCISE
CAUTION IN BUYING
Price Cuts Intellectual in
Bringing Out New Work,
Says Dow Report.

Failure of recent rrice cuts in the
building material market to bring
about a substantial increase in the
number of construction projects has
had the effect of counteracting the
price-cutting activity. according to
the current Dow Service Daily Build
ing Report.
Caution is beginning to mark the
movement of building material prices
and new projects. say Dow officials.
Recent price cuts have been found
TO he Intellectual in bringing out new
building work. Therefore there is Il
we'll defined disposition in some lines
to cease price cutting. Brick. for eX-
ample which receded from 80
thousand wholesale, to SIS. has be-
come a drug on the market In New
York city at the low price. That
which is still available at that price
still lie untaken at the close OF the
second month. Better grades have :,
been going out at as high as SIS
without interruption. Therefore the
scarcity of SIS brick at the week
end and the preponderance of brick
that was moving out readily at high
er levels caused the market quota =
tion to move up to a SIS to SIS whole
sale price range as the week drew
to a close.
I'm the lumber situation most of
the departments are reasonably steady
on price. the distributors having
found that at the bottom levels now
in buying. In such lines as North
Carolina ceiling and partition. half
cei.ing, yellow pine flooring. oak,
white pine, maple flooring and quar-
tered oak price cuts continued to
mark the retail sales market as Oc-
tNf NIn
more general buying movement in
those lines.- with a great tendency
on the part of the buyers to shop.
incidentally, these are the lines in
which the greatest stocks are being
carried. due to heavy POSTWAR pur-
chases which have only recently been
delivered to distributors.
price reductions in turpentine and
linseed oil also continue. but the eff
feet Of these price changes in the
paint market will not be felt by paint
users until some time next year. and
they may be more or less discounted
by the cost of cans. Plate-glass dis
counts have increased largely be-
cause of greatly Impoverished mar
Manufacturers of building mate
rails closely watched the effect of
lowering prices on building materials
during the last two months They
viewed the possible outcome with
doubt. The price shrinkage came at
the end Of the building season. 1t also
came simultaneously with an improve
ment Of railroad transportation ia
cilities 1t was heralded at time
when immigration was beginning to
make itself noticed An industry. 1t
was coincident with the general dis
charge Of great numbers Of factory
employees and closing of building ma
terial manufacturing establishments.
notably. brick kilns, lumber mills and
cement manufacturing concerns.
THE period of so-called free-con-
struction therefore is limited, or cor
.rective legislation is applied to the
conditions that have been revealed
din the building industry of this city.
1t Is conservative to assume that once
the prospective building horizon. is
cleared the building construction pub
lie. or that part of it that can finance
its own Way without. depending upon
the aid of the recognized lending in
stitutions. will rush into the market
with new projects. By that time there
will be more yokeless workmen, build