Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-12-11
new FACTORS SEEN
INCLUDING WORLD
Question Of Demand for
RentabIe Space No Longer
Pred0minates.

Factors until recently foreign to
building operations are tending to
shape future construction plans in
alk parts of the country. according to
the current Dow service report on the
building situation.
s"In other years the question has
been one of demand for rentable
space sufficiently definite to warrant
proceeding with the building enter
prise" the report declares. 1.-THE de-
mand is the one thing that is now
definitely known about the building
future. The building material manu-
facturer, distributor and ultimate pur-
chaser. all know that this demand is
real and permaneRk, and il affects the
national building problem in differ
eDt ways, but principally in the form
OF postponement of purchasing and OF
building.
Building material purchasing on
spot basis is now in a buyers mar
ket, it is pointed out That is, the
purchaser Offering attractive business
may expect concessions on price and
on delivery if it does not run beyond
the ist of February or March, de-
pending upon the commodities de-
sired. If, however. the inquiry con-
Germs prices or deliveries beyond
March or April 1, sellers market con-
ditionS begin to appear, and there. is
no great aggressive effort to book
large orders with specified delivery
dates.
Surprise Is Expressed.
building investment interests have
expressed surprise at such a condi-
ton. and charge it to some sort of an
agreement to curtail production, in
order to keep prices of building ma
teria1s high. If it can be called
~Sollusion," it is. that sort of concert
of opinion that arises from feeling
of resentment against condition
that places heavy federal tax upon
stocks or inventories in anticipation
OF the market requirements Of the
Immediate future. This applies just
as clearly and definitely to the dealer
carrying large stocks as it does to the
reserve supplies on speculative ven-
ture that would make him prepared
Tor any purchasing eventuality
The result of this condition is GER
tain to put the people of the country
who want to build homes factories or
institutional buildings exactly in the
same position that they were in i'm
mediately following the signing of the
atknistice; namely, state where each
individual was forced to bid against
his neighbor. as well as himself for
what little building material supply
there was available.
such a condition is defined by the
word stampede and to those who are
at all familiar with the problems con-
fronting the manufacturers and dis
tributors of building materials in
nearly all sections of the country it is
some sectional liquidation on the part
OF holders of large quantities of build
ing supplies at distributing points,
the price market is already at normal
spring strength.
Passing Beyond Control.
Recent happenings indicate that
the potential building market is pass
ing beyond the controlling influence
Of great financial institutions Public
officials and welfare organizations
have been able to trace a close con-
nection between the condition of
social unrest of the moment with the
disposition on the part of the financial
ln{erests to favor investments in Sc
cufities that pay higher returns than
DO per cent mortgages.
when overtures are made to in
dfyiduals of great investment power
that they can help greatly in solving
the problems arising from these con-
'didons of social unrest and at the
same time help to meet the housing
situation by foregoing. for the
present. the added yield on a part Of
their Investments, the response has
been surprisingly generous when
overtures have been conducted by
persons of acknowledged influence
and position.
There is no way to compel BUSH
ness men to pile up inventory and
pay tax on 1t. besides other federal
and state excise obligations arising
but of the manufacture Transports
tion or sale of their products in time
to bring about a condition of excess ,
supply over demand before the end
of the 1921 building season ard in
deed, there is nothing that now gives
promise of the national supply of
building materials becoming in ex-
cess of demand until far into the
FIRST half of the present decade.
Bottom Has Been Reached.
The trend Of nearly all current
manufacturing and distributing trade
letters point to the fact that the
bottom price levels in building ma
terials. equipments and supplies have
been reached. Some few dealers, like
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