Evening star., 1923-01-26
HIGHER PAY LIKELY
|NBU|LD|NG TRADES
Upward Trend May Boost
Rents and Also Check Many
New Projects.
BY J.. c. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK, January 26.-The up
ward tendency Of wages in the build
ing trades. which for a time was
halted by seasonal slackening OF out
door construction work. has been re
| sumed. Dispatches received today
! from the Pacific coast report that
| carpenters have just served a demand
! on the master builders for an in
crease in wages to So a day. The
present scale both in open and closed
| shops ranges from $40 TO 81. Paint
ers. plasterers and bricklayers are ex-
pectcd to demand similar percentages
| Of Increase. Building in that section
| is active and skilled labor is at a
premium.
Similar demands are expected in
other sections Of the country as soon
| as the weather permits the 1923
building programs to get fully under
way. This tendency. experts here de-
clared, will have a very decided ef-
feet on costs and on rents, and may
serve to check some operations be-
cause of the additional financing re-
quired. especially in view of the up
ward trend in lumber. cement and
other building materials.
Lumber still Is In acute demand
largely because railroad buying OF
car material, bridge timbers and
other varieties has more than COM
pensated for the falling off in needs
for building.
Labor Shortage Grows.
Labor shortages are becoming moro
acute in other lines. Increased pro-
duction has made many vacancies in
: he IIc. Hosl II
garment manufacturers are on the
! still hunt for skilled men. Shoe work
| ers are in good demand, and miners
are being added TO pay rolls In the
| metal mines as rapidly as they can be
secured.
| Farmers throughout the great grain
states OF the middle west are putting
| IN a part of their spare time this
| federal legislation providing for a
price fixing commission empowered
! to adjust prices of farm products to the
current prices for merchandise, to ad
just the tariff to protect farm prod.
| ucts and TO take over surpluses OF
| farm products at the world price. As
there appears little opportunity for
\ Congress TO take up such matters
| before next December. when another
crop will have either made the farmer
profit or shown him loss. the agri-
| culturists who have planned them
| are not letting this program or legis-
lation interfere with projected trips
/ to southern California and Florida
Pipe Costs May Increase.
The advances in wrought iron pipe
and welded steel boiler tubes were
taken today to forecast genera!
| advance in pipe prices and oil country
goods. Pressure for deliveries is III
creasing and consumers are inquirins
about steel deliveries for the second
quarter. Producers are turning back
o M nj H.
vance In many cases. although books
icould readily be filed for strip steel.
full finished sheets and Other
products. Tin plate is expected to ad-
vance above s4.7o a base box.
The electrical equipment compa nieS.
which had such a remarkable year in
1922, are doing even better since
january 1. Westinghouse is booking
orders at the rate of nearly Sl2.-
100000 a month. according to late
on hand for far more than $4,000, 600
and Is expected to surpass the 1872
record, which was the best in the
history of the company.
Phone Congestion Feared.
Adjustment OF telephone rates III
New York city and state may cause
even greater congestion in installa
Telephone Company already Is far
behind in filling applications for in
stallment. and the reduction in resi-
dent phone rates is expected to in
crease the waiting list. Telephone
companies in other sections are in
like case, and equipment companies
are being rushed to the utmost to
| furnish these supplies.
! Announcement today that British
mining interests will join with
American capitalists in development
of the old ComStok lode at Virginia
City, New, has a romantic and Sent;-
mental as well as an industrial in
terest. The Comstock not only de
veloped great fortunes. but was the
birthplace of many modern methods
Of mining and treating ores.