The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1922-12-09

or down. Gradually, Of course, the
Srend will turn downward as the
4emand is more fully, supplied. In
dustrial and business rents show
,urprising stiffness due to business
tecovery, but these do not indicate
any long continued advance. .,
~ am particularly optimistic with
regard to suburban building de-
,elopment. The boom in city build
.ng will probably not last more than
year but suburban building is
lifferent. Auto t1affic is so con-
,ested in the big cites that shoppers
lad rather trade in suburban stores
han drive into the heart Of our
;rest cities. City dwellers are looking
or homes in the country. ! cannot
,mphasize TOO strongly the import
E4nce Of this tendency toward sur
urban expansion s*sSS;$s3 rs*S;$39sIs3s
= Fhe Statistian was asked what
fleet building material prices and
abor would be likely to have on the
.,uilding outlook. ''', -
"That's where the danger lies,"
e replied. "Unless prices of build
ag materials are kept down at least
.ear present. levels, the people will
top building, just as they did in
920. In fact, I do not think we
ill see quite so much building next
ear unless there is some reduction
n COSTS During the next few
4onths material prices should show
.omq :, seasonal weakness. >B /. MS
ire as the material dealers start
n to boost prices next summer, they
ill choke off their business. The
anne warming applies iSo labor.
|ages are already as high as they
an be and still allow much building.
9th laborgand material men should
aa1ize that it is better for them
0 have. steady building at moderate
rofits than 1T is to have a short
,purt of building at high profits,
olloweds by a long period Of idle
less.
''However, what interests me as
,uch as anything is the necessity
f eliminating the waste in time,
rbor, and materials in the building
usiness. q firmly Ibeieve that a
aving of Is per cent to rs per
ent in the cost of building could be
lade by cutting out this waste. The
ountry is literally throwing away
'1,OO0,0OO,00O annually which
night be saved for the industry and
elp to reduce the cost Of construc-
ion. Over a half >ibillion dollars
oss occurs from lack of employ
lent in THE dull seasons, strikes,
,oor labor management, etc. am
lad to see that wide awake men
the contracting business are ex-
,erimenting with methods to facili-
ate building I'M the winter time.
ne use Of canvas, protection for
,ricklaying; salamanders and steam
cts to prevent freezing Of concrete,
and other methods of combating
lad weather are being more gener-
lily adopted. " ..
"But isn't winter building
more expensive?" 'queried the inter-
iewer.
eyes, but even if the cost is 10
per cent or IL, per cent greater, the
contractor (as has been estimated)
could afford to take a smaller profit,
and the workmen less wages, rather
han do nothing all WINTER" Mr..
3abson replied. Moreover, the
aan who builds in the winter time
as the pick of the labor market.
often the greater efficiency of win
er labor completely offsets the
,ther added costs.
"Other things that make building
so expensive are high labor turn
over,> N,oor and inadequate equip
nent, careless handling of material,
failure to plan in detail. On the
4oOV1 -oAAVS WAOAO SAAS "eoS~A~A AS6N
ations and restrictions, requiring
skilled men to do the work of un-
killed, prohibiting labor saving de-
vices, limiting the number of APP
orentices, end so forth.
Gail these things combine to make
he high cost of building. Whep the
men who are conducting the indus
Try learn to cut these wastes out,
then we shall have more building at
lower cost to THE people, and more
profit to the Industry"
General business is still improving.
The index of the Babsonchart shows
general activity but per cent below
normal an improvement Of / per
cent during the last week. This is
the highest point reached in over
two years.
.. KTTTHI