The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-01
BUILDERS CAUTIOUS
WHILE PROBE Is ON
Wait for Outcome of Inquiry
Before Proceeding With
Construction Plans.

Caution Is beginning &c mark the
movement of building material prices
and new building projects according TO
the current Dow Service Daily Building
Reports. Recent price cuts have been
found to be Intellectual in bringing on.
new building work. Therefore there Is u
well defined DISPOSITION in some lines ,
cease price cutting. Brick. for example
which receded from s25 thousand.
wholesale, to SIS. has become drug on
the market at the low price. That which
remains Available at that price still lay
untaken at the close of the second month
last Friday. Better grades have been
going out at as high as $1s without m
terruption. Therefore the scarcity OF
SIS brick at the week end and the pre-
ponderance OF brick that was moving
out readily at higher levels caused ne
market quotation to move up 10 Sio
to SIS wholesale price range as the wees
drew to a close.
In the lumber field most of the de-
partments are reasonably steady on
price. the distributors having found that
at the bottom levels now prevailing there
has been no increase In buying. In such
lines as North Carolina ceiling and par
tition, half ceiling, yellow pine flooring
oak, white pine. maple flooring ana
chartered oak. price cuts continued 10
mark the retail sales market as Octoo"r
closed. because there was a slightly more
general buying movement In those lines
with a great tendency on the part OF the
buyers to stop. Incidentally these are
the lines in which the greatest stocks
are being carried, due to heavy postwar
purchases which have only recently been
delivered to distributors.
Price reductions In turpentine and lin.
seed oil also continue. but the effect OF
these price changes In the paint marke.
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 discounts have Increased
largely because of q greatly Empower
ished market.
Manufacturers OF building materials
closely watched the effect OF lowering
prices on their wares during the
last two months. They Viewed the pos
sible outcome with doubt. The price
shrinkage came at the end of the build
ing season. 1t also came simultaneously
with an Improvement OF railroad trans
portation facilities. 1t was heralded al
time when immigration was beginning
to make itself noticed in industry 1t
was coincident - general nls-
charge of great numbers of factory en-
ployees and closing OF building material
manufacturing 'SNN''
brick kilns. lumber mills and cement
manufacturing establishments.
Conditions That Unsettle Market.
Gaping all Of these influences tend
ing to focus attention upon the effect or
building material price reductions to the
consumer was the election campaign
which unsettled building construction
plans the acts of the special session OF
the New York State Legislature con-
corning the rights OF building owners
and the subsequent announcement OF the
official State investigation OF the build
ing construction industry in this market.
The caution now characteristic of the
building material buying manufacturing
aand distribution market Is likely to
continue pending the life of the investi-
CATION, which will be until the end or
the year. unless its life is extended.
Those who are actuated by DISPOSE
ton to wait and see the effects of the
inquiry. either in the form of new build
ing laws or the creation of State board
or commission TO pass upon building
projects, constituting an official New
York State Board of Arbitration and
Appeal in all labor disputes. for the reg
istration and supervision OF all building
contracts. both for supplies OF material