New-York tribune., 1920-06-14
Promise Help
Against Delay
In Building! 6.
Railroads Take Favorable
Action to Provide More
Cars for Shipment of
Construction Supplies
More Labor at Mills
Attempts to Unload Boats
Containing Plaster and
Lime From Galveston

Railroads terminating In ard near
New York have by word and action put
much more favorable aspect upon the
immediate future Of building construc-
tion, according to "The Dow Service
Daily Building Reports" to-day.
When it was shown that the compile
ton of living quarters for several hun
dred families this fall was dependent
upon the immediate shipment Of some
twenty thousand barrels Of cement, one
company pledged $4,000 barrels, if nee
essary, out of its reserve Of 100000
barrels if transportation could be ar
ranged. When the matter was present.
ed to Ralph Peters, president of the
Long Island Railroad, through the May
or's committee, full cooperation was
promised Incidentally, strong pres
sure is being brought to bear to put
building materials next in line with
food and fuel for railroad priority,
with greater assurance toward the
weekend of actual accomp mplishment
than had heretofore seemed likely.
In q letter to Thomas J. Curtin, man
ager of tho Farnham Cheshire Lime
Company, L. A. Anthony, superintend-
ent of car service, explained further
exactly the relationship of the barren
building material market to car short
age. He said:
"Thefe is a shortage Of box cars. We
have an order from the Interstate Com
merce Commission to forward twenty
five cars (from the Boston & Maine
branch of the New York Central sys-
temp day to the Great Northern Rail
road presumably to facilitate the move
ment of Western crops), and this order
| has to be taken care of regardless of
our own requirements.
"After filing this order each day we
are endeavoring to distribute the bal
ance of the cars uniformly, giving the
oldest orders preference.
Cannot promise what we may be
able to do in the future, az it depends
very largely upon the number of cars
coming to us. At the present time the
east-bound movement Of box cars is
not SO heavy as for other classes OF
equipment. We are hoping to be able
to get some cars from the New Haven
road tomorrow, and if we do we Will
apply some of them to filling orders on
the North Adams branch"
Cargoes on Boats Promise Relief
While the building material supply
situation in this city was still in the
famine classification, with no cement,
lime or plaster on hand in any Of the
dealers yards, a glimmer of hope was
found for partial relief in the action
of the commercial interests of the city
in attempting to unload some of the
ships in the harbor. In some Of these
ships building materials have been
awaiting unloading for three months.
This relief will come in the form of
Oklahoma plaster and lime supplies
sent through Galveston some time ago,
when the railroad embargoes were in
force.
The crux of the building material
supply situation now seems to rest
about equally upon car shortage and
the inability to get building materials
across the river in sufficient quantities
from the New Jersey terminals. Local
dealers are still entirely dependent
upon trucks for their supplies. This
condition is explained in the ability
Of the building material distributors
in the five eastern counties of New
Jersey to get about 25 per cent of their
building material requirements from
the railroads. They say that once the
cars get under way, loaded, at the mills,
they seem to come through fairly
promptly, thus indicating that the rail-
tracks to a considerable extent of the
piled up tonnage backed up by the late
strike. Cement cars require from two
to four days to come from Lehigh mill
to terminal, Ohio lime cars take from
three to four weeks.
BY way Of showing the extremity to
which the market is being put to get
building material into this market,
some dealers in New Jersey are re-
cciving cement in bulk in any kind of
car that is available
For the first time since last year the
builders of the Fackcnsack district
were assured toward the week end that
they would be able to get all the COM
mon brick they wanted from the Hack
ensack kins. The North River brick
manufacturers are producing about 25
per cent of last years supply, with
labor fairly steady in supply and
temper.
Oversupply OF Labor
As the building material market now
stands, new projects are not receiving
much consideration from any angle.
The full legal rate for money in most
of the Eastern states is making mort
gage money on new projects, even
housing enterprises, timid. Contrac-
tors, who few months ago were COM
kinds, say they have an oversupply
now, but cannot get materials and are
laying off surplus help. The building
material dealers are not interested in
new buildings, because they have their
hands full supplying jobs all ready in
progress. Operators are awaiting the
day when building materials will be in
better supply, because they find that
with an open price market the cost is
not only undecisive, but the factor of
delay, through nondelivery of mate
rails cndangers the 'quity in tie job
But the great, big hopeful outlook
is in the changing condition at the
building material mill centers. The on
tire building construction industry
faced a mill supply shortage three
months ago. To-day there is estimated
to be an adequate supply of materials
on hand for almost a normal market
between now and October. While this
should not be interpreted as portonding
general price reductions, it at least re-
moves the greatest single factor bar
ring full resumption Of building work
when the transportation situation
clears.
The certainty that there is behind
the immediate temporary curtailment