The New York herald., 1922-05-13
BRICK MEN RESENT
UNTERMYER ATTACK
Declare He Is MisinfOrmed and
That Shortage Will End
Within 3 Weeks.

Resentment against Samuel Inter
myer for accusing them of combining to
restrict production and increase prices
was expressed yesterday by brick manu-
facturers and dealers all over New
York
The leaders OF the business presented
their side of the controversy. one which
is particularly interesting to New York
because OF the building shortage. They
said that not only does no combination
exist in the brick industry, but that
there is not even an association. and
that the brick men scarcely see one an
other from one years end to the next.
They countered again when they said
manufacturers or dealers but by the
consumers They asserted that an ex-
ceptional scarcity. due to readily OBJ
vious causes. and an exceptional de-
mand. due to the revival in building.
have caused prices TO go up. and that
this situation will be corrected naturally
and normally by a large flow of new
brick into the market within three
weeks.
An executive of the Greater New
York Brick Company put the situation
thus:
Here's the situation. thoroughly un-
derstood by every brick man. We are
between old and new brick. In other
words, the reserve supply of old brick.
considered months ago as probably
ample. has been exhausted by the ex-
traordinary demand this spring. The
yards are cleaned out of old stock Then,
too, there has been less manufacture
than usual. not due, as Mr.. Untermyer
seems to think, to some criminal or near
criminal plot on the part of greedy brick
makers, but to perfectly natural and
perceptible causes.
The weather has been very unfavor-
able this spring. The first week work
was started UP State there were frosts
on three nights. That was back in
April. There has been an exceptional
amount of rain. There have been con-
tinual strikes. some serious, other just
annoying and time wasting. IT was the
combination OF these unfavorable fac
tors that slowed up production at a time
when the demand had leaped far above
the requirements of the last seven or
eight years.
That was what attracted so much
attention" the informant of THE NEW
YORK HERALD continued. this amazing
demand which caught the brickmakers
virtually unprepared. The reserve stock
melted like snowballs. But we are
working double time to make brick. and
/ can say authoritatively that the situa
tion will be greatly eased within two
OF three weeks.
New York and contiguous territory
| mean the five boroughs. Newark and
Long Island-use about 100000. 900
brick annually. The demand has been
fairly consistent. but with the present
building boom on the figures will go up
This vast quantity of brick
comes from relatively few districts
places where nature affords a certain
variety of clay.
Along the Hudson Riycr TIE sc places
arc Haverstraw. the Newburgh district,
the Kingston Point district, Beacon.
Athens. Coeyman's. Stockport Hudson,
Catskill and Croton Point. There are
also four plants on Long Island and a
number in South jersey / positively
know that in all of those plants not
troubled with strikes every effort is
being made to produce. II Mr.. Inter
myer says that no new brick can be
expected before September he doesn't
know what he is talking about. There
will be large supplies Of new brick with
in three weeks
At the office OF the dean" of the
brick business, w. II. Hammond, in
West Fifty-second street j. was said
that there was a great deal oe anger in
the industry over the charges made
before the Lockwood committee and a
feeling that Mr.. Untermye' he'd been
badly misinformed
At Haverstraw. where 1000 negroes
are on strike in thirty-fivr bricl<making
plants. the State troopers took hold yes
terday and brought order and better
feeling Of security out of a troublesome
situation Twenty troopers rode into
Haverstraw and patrolled the troubled
section.
The difficulty at Haverstraw has been
fomented by New York and Southern
agitators who have Deem there only two
weeks and who have been preaching
BolshevilS doctrine. The men went on
strike for an increase OF pay from $3.50
to $3.50 n day.
Conditions similar to those existing at
Haverstraw have affected most of the
other Hudson River bricl: yards. At
CatslSill and East Kingston troopers
were on patrol last night and at these
places. as at Haverstraw. trouble had
been melted by foreign y'tators