Evening star., 1923-07-01
NOT ENOUGH MECHANICS :
TO KEEP UP BUILDING
Competition for Labor Is Increasing
Prices and Results in Getting Less
Instead of More Work Done.

mounted from 80 in 1914 and "a in
1915 to 204 last April and 202 last
May. We find that construction costs.
material and labor combined (accord-
ing to Engineering News Record ng-
ures) mounted from 90 in 1914 and
SO in 1915 to 217 last April and 220
in May. We find that factory build
ing costs according to Aberthaw Con-
struction Company figures) mounted
from 100 in 1914 to 206 In both April
and May. We find that frame=house
materials. retail prices according to
Department of Commerce flgures).
mounted from 100 in 1914 to 206 In
April and 212 in May.
AS a sidelight on the great volume
OF building being done. we can quote
from the report of the F. w. Dodge
Corporation, on file in the Department
of Commerce. which shows that this
one concern. In six northern districts,
including twenty-seven states in the
northeastern quarter Of the United
States, has had contracts awarded
from January l to June /, this year.
for 46.s47 projects-mostly business
and residential-valued at $1.522.
ten years and marks an increase from
S300.721.o00 in 1914.
Reliable Statistics Lacking.
1t is difficult to get accurate salts
| tics on the number of building me-
chanics. If 1t is asked How many
carpenters are there?" the trade
union will say the number in the
union. In a busy season. with the
, contractor. 1t is any one who can
swing hammer. In the slack season
most of these 60 into whatever other
work will pay them best. Falling
| back on the census report, we find a
startling condition facing the build
ing industry. While the total popu-
lation increased from 1910 to 1920 at
4 14.9 percentage, there was not a
similar increase In any Of the build
! ing trades, and In the most important
ones there was an alarming decrease.
something like 35 per cent In the'ca
of stonecutters. To quote exact fig
ures: The number of brick and stone
masons fell of from 16s.402 in 1910
to 139.264 In 1920; painters. glaciers
and varnishers fell OFF from 273,441
] to 24S,4s7. and stonecutters from
35.731 to 22,o99. The number of car
penters increased from S17.120 to
sS7,37s; tinsmiths and sheet-metal
workers increaGed from 56.423 to
69.735; plumbers. gas and steam
filters from 14S,304 to 206.71S, and
structural ironworkers from 11.427 to
1886. This while the total popula-
tion was growing from s1.s72,26s to
5.710.62o. ,
Short-Period Employment.
One of the principal troubles with
the building industry Is that 1t af-
fords only short-period seasonal en-
ployment In some Of the flfty-one
crafts, especially plasterers. the
workman has only a 10 to 200 day
working year. AS John H. Donlin.
head of the building trades depart
ment Of the American Federation Of
Labor. succinctly puts 1t. THE man
works by the day and lives by the
year" With fifty-one crafts in the
building trades. highly subdivided oc-
cupations. this specializing makes 1t
much more difficult to get continuous
work than in the old days when not
more than six classes of workmen
were required to complete building.
Contributing largely to this condi-
tion of a short rush season Is the fact
that in most of the large cities we
have a common leasing date, as for
example October /. If a man can not