The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1921-05-08
.LAB0R'S EFFECT
ON PRICES SHOWN
Its Share in Building Con-
struction Ranges From
30 to IS Per Cent.
AS LARGE AS In 1920
In Shipbuilding 1t Repre-
sents About 80 Cents Of
Every Dollar Spent.
So TO SO ON RAILROADS
Cost in Steel Manufacture
Placed by Schwab at 85-
In Furniture 33.
AS LARGE AS IN 1920
SO TO SO ON RAILROADS

Within the last. six months or so the
most strenuous efforts Of employers of
labor have been concentrated upon slim
ulating business by inducing people to
buy. To make buying a pleasure they
found that prices would have to de-
scend. Every failure TO beat down
prices was explained by quoting labor
and material cost. And all purveyors
OF materials eliminated themselves from
blame by producing charts and books
to show that they had pared down
everything except wages and that their
inability to pay wartime wages In a
period OF dehation compelled the cutting
down of employed personnel There
fore production decreased.
It is not necessary to follow out this
simple line Of reasoning. But with the
MISREPRESENTATION explanations we'll in
mind THE NEW YORK HERALD set forth
to md out Just what portion of every
dollar invested In manufacturing or
building went to labor. Naturally, 1t
was necessary to limit the survey to the
more obvious and fundamental manu-
features. However, it took in typical
industries.
1t was found that arbitrary figures
are either impossible to obtain or mac
curate II obtained 1t depends upon what
sort OF a building. ship. suit of clothes,
shoes or collar you purchase and under
what circumstances 1t was purchased.
The figures following deal with union
labor conditions.
Labor and Construction.
In the first place. the cost OF build
Ing construction appears to be tapering
off to certain extent in certain locali-
ties. But, relatively, labor's share in
every dollar expended for building Is
just as large as 1t was q year ago. Be
cause they have gone cxhaustively into
the subject, compiling tables and cvolv-
ing charts, the statistics amassed by
the firm OF Monks & Johnson, architects
and engineers, have been found accepta-
BILE to many industrialists recently.
According to their latest statement
upon the subject, labor receives from so
to So cents out of every dollar 1t costs
to erect a building. II YOU start reck-
oning the labor cost on the building
site, they say, ignoring the cost OF manu-
featuring and transporting materials.
the worker receives from go to so cents
out Of every dollar. But suppose you
decide to build an ordinary dwelling
house. awarding the contract yourself
and paying prevailing day wages from
the digging of the cellar to tho final in
terror touches and you'll find, according
to the figures compiled by Monks g.
Johnson. that labor receives So cents
out Of every dollar the structure cost
you.
Approximately So cents OF every dol
lar spent to-day In the construction of
ships is direct labor cost In some in
stances during the height OF the cost
plus activity during tho war II was a
fun As cents. while in the years imme-
diately preceding the expansion Of our
shipping programme 1t lowered around
IS. How much more should be added
for the labor cost In materials used can
only be conjectured. With the dollar
as standard in any graphic representa-
ton OF all costs, labor certainly would
be well above half.
These estimates are computed from a
survey OF the records of one OF the larg-
est shpbuilding corporations in the coun-
try. In any effort to trace the labor ele-
mcnt through TO the completely equipped
ship consideration must be given to the
varying tonnage OF ships. different types
such as GOLFERS, tankers freighters and
naval vessels. Golfers. for example. in
a three year pre-war period show an