New-York tribune., 1920-07-12

down. Cement ii coming into. this
market IN aJnall quantities littIa more
frequently. The freight far open shop
condttions In the steel erectors' section
y still In the stage Of deadlock on
some Of the biggest Jobs. Lumber isi
n low supply with more mills closing
every weak.
While all this curtailment OF pro-
nuSslon- rnsnto i Proceeding, great new snonu
on terms and conditions almost url-
building up quickly, as cheaplv as you
can, but get it up" is the keynote Of
almost any major building operation
under the present condition Of build
ing material and equipment supply.
Shipments In Open Cars.
The cement mills meet this demand
oy sending in cement in open freight
cars with tarpaulins over them. Sparks
from the engine set the tarpaulins
arre. Crews pour water over the car
TO save the train and the dealer stands
loss OF 500, for the tarpaulin and
several hundred dollars on an $500 car
load OF cement. Then. he pays for
trucking the cement from some far off
town to the railroad terminus, where
the railroad originally agreed to un-
load it, besides delivering it to the
building site. All these charges are
passed on to the consumer.
All basic materials used for building
construction are being moved to-day
under some such difficulty. "a contract
Is contract" is the language of some
contract holders. They are the ones
whose jobs are waiting. Spot buyers
call contract mere scrap of paper
v1ys1 4o, L.
maker, as we'll as the holder under such
stress OF times as these and those who
hold such view typify those having
the right of way in the present market.
Now comes the newest menace to
even this prospective activity. Spot coal
at brick kilns costs to-day from SIS to
SIG ton, although there is hardly a
manufacturer who has not contracts in
his safe calling for coal at mine at
from 50 to SIS ton. They use great
quantities of soft coal in brick plants
for burning brick and for taking the
place of the straw the ancients used for
tempering the brick. : Cement mills in
the Lehigh Valley paid from $13 to
$14 ton for coal, although they also
have contracts for coal at the mines for
So and $5. When the price went to
SIS last week some of the largest COM
panies closed their mills.
Look to Greater Cost for Brick
But an electric lighting and power
company in this city offsets this diff
Guilty about difference between its con-
tract price and its new overhead for
coal by putting in the July bills an
item covering pro-rated cost of the
coal used for producing the electricity.
Sellers in building materials reason
that if public service company can
pass along their extra cost for coal
upon the consumer the building mate
rial manufacturer ought to have the
same privilege and if so visions of $35
brick, Sc cement, $50 lime, $3.50 crushed
stone, $3.50 sand and $500 oak flooring
loomed high in the distributors mind
So marks the trend Of the extra little
costs added here and there to building
construction which makes contractors
"picky." When contractors are "picky'
ii reflects the might of financial power
against the need of the small operator.
Housing operations are quickly solved
when the small operator does not have
to face such competition for building
material supplies.