The Washington times., 1920-09-11
|COST Of BUILDING
| IS STILL TOO HIGH
Report of Forest Service Says
Lumber Has Reached Peak
and Profits Too Large.

| "A shortage In housing accommooa-
tions that Is almost worldwide has
brought home vividiy the close reia- |
tion of building to the comfort |
health. and general welfare OF the
lpublic." according to a report OF the
forest service of the Department OF
agriculture which has been submit
ted to the Senate.
The report further states that a
frame house built In Washington In
l1si7 for IS. $50 is now being duplicated
from the original plans at cost OF
ISl2.250. and that on a house Quilt In
Washington for 3t.77i.6o In 1918. bids
on Identical plans In May 1920. toi1
l&li.46p,so.
During the latter half OF 1919 and In
the early months OF 1920. says the
report. lumber prices in the United
States increased more sharply and to
far higher figures than were ever
known before. In March. 1890, average
mill prices had increased 800 per cent
and more over 1914. While the costs |
of production and distribution OF
lumber likewise Increased. the rise In |
lumber prices was wholly dispropor- |
tionate. Present prices, though some /
what lower. are still excessive. and
Iyielf prohts unjustined by costs, says
the report.
| Lumber prices. however. do not tell |
1.-The whole story. Difficulty and de- |
Hay in securing material and the i'm |
possibility of getting many OF the
grades desired tend to make the con-
struction of home at the present
time a highly uncertain and specula-
tive venture, and take II out OF the !
reach OF large numbers OF people.
According to figures OF the United
States Housing Corporation. the re-
port states. normally 80 per cent of
the number Of buildings constructed
are dwellings. In 1919. however.
Even before the war 100000 fam
lilies in the United States desired
houses. In 1919 only 10000 houses
were built. when 500. 900 were requir- |
ed to meet the demand. In 1918
house construction was still less than
in 1919.
EXAMPLES OF INCREASE.
As examples of the increase in the |
cost of lumber. 1t is stated that the
Pittsburgh home builder Of 1913 pad
S2T per thousand board feet for No.
common dimensions framing. In 1920
he paid $72. Sheathing lumber No.
common yellow pine cost s28 in 1913
and $50 in 1920. Yellow-pine finish
ling lumber increased from Sf2 to |
S14O. II plain oak finish was used In
stead Of southern pine 1t cost $50 in
1913 and $500 in 1920. Yellow-pine
siding rose from $36 to $120: B and
better fiat grain flooring from $3s to
S142; plain oak flooring cost, in 1913, |
$40 per thousand feet and In 1920.
500; and quartered oak rose in the |
same period from $1O2 to 1882. Il
A st. Paul architect reports that
house was built for $4.240 in 1918.
not including plumbing. heating and
wiring. and that house built from
lat n~s>
$7.724. while for identical plans in
February, 1920. the cost rose to $l1.- I
$40, or ITO per cent over the 1918 ,
price. The lumber and millwork !
costs in 1920 were 5000, or $'99
more than the total cost Of the house
In 1915. All OF the items increased
in 1920 over 1918. but with the excep-
ton of an insignificant item for a
bond the percentage increases for
lumber (304 per cent? and millwork |
(222 per cent? were the highest.
The lumber for a ready-cut one
story. five-room house which was
listed at $3.50 in 1918 had been raised
to $3.272 in April, 1920. total in
crease of 270 per cent" says the re-
port Another company dealing In |
ready-cut houses listed the material
for a two-story seven-room house at
81 .995 in 1918, and now lists IT at $o,- |
606.9O, an increase Of ISL per cent"
Some kinds Of Industrial construc- |
tion can go forward regardless OF un- |
certainties and cost. but ordinary |
homebuilders cannot afford to pay the |
lumber prices which are now asked.
TIMBER SUPPLY Low.
This condition of affairs is partly |
due, the report points out, to the de- |
pletion Of the timber supply OF the |
country One after another the great |
softwood forests OF New England, the |
Lake States, and the South have been !
attacked, and successfully diminish
ed. For the last twenty years or more |
material from long-leaf pine from the |
South has held a dominant place in |
the market, but the end Of the stand |
OF Southern yellow pine Is now in |
sight and within ten years time the |
South will produce no more lumber |
than II will need to satisfy its own de- |
mands.
| 1t is pointed out by the report that |
there is enough land in the country |
not adapted for any other uses to
produce an ample amount OF timber |
for all the needs OF the country, IL 1t |
were stocked with trees. At the pres
ent time forest fires cause immense !
damage each year and prevent young |
timber which is already on the land |
from making it's best growth or from
producing timber of good quality. The |
only way in which an extreme snort |
II Just Of 18th Street,