The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1921-09-30
GARAGES LEAD
HOMES IN 1920
Review Of Building Construction
Figures DiscIoses Some In
tereSting Information.
HOME CONSTRUCTION DROPS
Money Spent on Moving Picture Thea
tiers Equals That for Churches and
HospitaIs-New Residences Fail
to Keep Pace With Marriages.

Neutrality-suspicious. garages than
houses were built In the United States
last year and more money was spent
In the erection of motion picture
theaters than for churches and hos
pitfalls combined,
The discovery of the orgy Of garage
building and the boom In the establish
ment of new motion picture theaters
was made by Secretary Davis in re-
viewing the figures on building con-
struction for 1920 compiled by the
labor department for 1876 cities in
the United States containing more
than 80 per cent of the total pOpula-
ton.
Mr.. Davis perusal of the figures fur
Their showed that the outlay for
garages exceeded expenditures for
erection of schools. He also found
that home building failed utterly to
keep pace with the number of mar
riages long considered an accurate
gauge by which to measure the normal
construction Of dwellings. 1t Is the
opinion of the labor secretary that the
prospect of catching up on the hOus-
ing shortage Is black indeed.
$1,204, 4eo,764 Total Cost.
'"The reports from 1876 cities Of more
than $4,000 population EACH" said Sec
rotary Davis, "show that 81 ,204 400, 764
was expended in building construction
in 1920. The population Of these cities
totals 34,572,904. There were 68,637
one-family houses constructed at
cost Of 1926. 124, 1868. or 246 per cent
Of the total amount Of money spent In
all kinds Of building. There were only
5,402 two-family houses built but
while in all the one and two-famiIy
houses combined there were but ST.
103 families provided for, there were
1921 garages built.
ITO be sure, an unknown number Of
families were provided for in the ,496
apartment houses that were built as
such and the go apartment houses
built with stores combined. Still,
making liberal estimates for these,
automobiles Jared better than families.
There were 426 moving picture and
other amusement places built in these
cities during the year at cost of S40-
523, 40. or considerably more than the
cost Of churches and hospitals COM
bined; and while these cities con-
structed 547 school houses their cost
SCOOP 140, was but little more than
half the money spent on the garages.
Building Lays.
The importance of these figures
from a social point of view Is that
they show that building construction
for the purpose of housing families
lags far behind the current increase
in the demand for houses. If we apply
the marriage rate that obtained in 1916
to the population of these 1876 cities
we find that in 1920, 362, 7S5 marriages
took place in the cities considered. 1t
used to be that marriage very gen.
orally meant new separate family
and new demand for home either
through purchase or rental. Thus,
those conditions have somewhat
changed, but If only half Of the newly
married couples seek homes to them
selves we are building not more than
half of the accommodations required,
so that instead of catching up with the
result Of the cessation of residence
building during the war we are not
providing for in housing more than
so per cent of the newly established
families"