The New York herald., 1922-05-21
SAYS TIME IS RIPE
TO BUILD FACTORIES
H. @. Turner Believes Costs
Will Go No Lower for at
Least Three More Years.

Henry c. Turner. president Of the Tur-
ner Construction Company. in a discus
sion of the building situation published
In the annual booklet Of his organization
which has Just been issued, ventures the
prediction that construction costs are
due for a slow decline during the next
twenty or thirty years. This drop, he
asserts. will manifest itself in waves or
cycles The decline for the present cycle
he believes Is over. and prices will re-
main on the same level for at least three
and perhaps five more years.
In the discussion Mr.. Turner answers
affirmatively the question rs this the
time to build7 He draws this conclu-
sion from consensus of opinion from
building authorities. He cites by way of
illustration the case OF a manufacturing
company which desired to build a plant
and asked for Information as to whether
the step was advisable at this time.
We first made a careful itemized es-
innate OF the cost OF the building pro-
posed" says Mr.. Turner. studying
every labor and material item to secure
the lowest price. We then made esti-
mates OF the cost OF the Same building.
assuming 1t had been built In 1914 and
In 1920. by applying the material prices
ana wage rates OF those years. This be-
came most interesting study and the
results were charted by principal items
OF cost.
Taking the 1914 estimate as 100 tbs
estimated cost In 1920 was 224, and for
immediate construction In March. 1922
IL was las. 1t should be noted that the
building cost index Of 14s was several
points lower than the index for the cost
OF living. 'e N'S'
wholesale prices reached a low point
uuring the last summer and fall and
nave since strengthened. Some building
materials. such as steel. steel cash and
lumber. have been selling at lower nr,ces
u freight Is deducted. than at any TINA
during the last ten years. and with bet.
yer business these prices will certainly
riso IN fact the steel and steel sash
markets have appreciably stiffened
LABOR In New England, I'm PbiIa.
delphia and generally in the Fast has
peen liquidated, wages of the sjkfIled
trades standing about 10 per cent. above
the 1914 wages, and good common
lapor about 40 per cent above. No
one expects further reduction In these
wage rates this year. ana ~ h,,,ns..
improves none next year
In New York city the ,1npr~cedor,.d
demand for mechanics for house bu,Id. |
ing. stimulated by the tax exemption
Jaw. mas caused premium wages TO be
paid by many speculative builders.
We are however. getting excellent
labor costs. Labor Is seeking 20 hold
its job; men are applying for work ana I
this condition always means a full davis
work for fair days pay. Production |
Is quite as important as the wage rates |
AS evidence of efficient work we |
made . thorough study of the labor |
costs on two large warehouses recently |
finished. In 1915 we constructed prac. |
tically an Identical building and our
records indicate an average production
per man hour in 1921 OF 115 per cent.
OF the production for similar work done
In 1916.
These factors were all presented 70
tho company and as a result we were
authorized TO go ahead with n building
four stories and basement In height and
b0x1o0 feet In plan. In fact these de-
ductions have brought about several
similar decisions this winter and spring.
We think the conclusion Is correct for
any one who can increase his products
in the immediate future by larger and
bsttsrA building fscilitics"