Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-03-06
BOOM IN BUILDING
ASPIRING COMES
Construction Already Shows
Increase-Biggest Gains in
(, South-Houses Needed.
BY j. c. ROYLE.
special Dispatch to The Star.

special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 6.-Building
construction is on the move upward.
There is every prospect that as much
building will be undertaken this
month throughout the country as
supplies of materials and labor will
permit. The movement has been
aided by the open winter, and con-
struction for the first two months
Of the year was in the neighborhood
of 90 per cent above the correspond
ing period of 1929.
In fact there seems little likelihood
that the volume of construction work
will fall off during 1924 unless build
ing costs increase materially This
latter contingency is not by any
means impossible. In most instances
wage agreements have been arrived
AT tor some time to come. But con-
tractors, investors and spectators
may offer bonuses if the pressure of
work :s severe. The volume Of build
ing may be estimated and this
pressure measured by the fact that
there is housing deficiency which II
VIII require expenditure of at least
$4,000, 100000 to NIL.
Residences stiI Needed.
The greatest lack still is in resi-
onlce construction appears ample in
many sections. and there has been a
railing off in demand for apartments
AT the present rates of rent charged
construction somewhat in Chicago
and other midwesten centcrs of
population
The major part of the spring build
ing activities are pretty sure to he
absorbed by the larger cities. Build
n,,tta OBJ. 1,
~ 10 per cent of the construction in
$50 communities was confined to
twenty-five of the larger centcrs. The
volume of building in the larger CEN
.ers Is out Of proportion to their
population and would seem to indi-
cate that in the smaller cities the
building shortage is not being so
successfully relieved
There has Of course. heeu Il ire
mendous drift of population city
ward and 50 tar there is no evil
dence of "a return flow countryward
However, careful real estate men are
refraining from counting all this in
nux as permanent urban population.
Biggest Gains in South.
The greatest proportion of building
gains so far this year has been in the
south, where construction has been
about IS per cent ahead of that of the
early part of last year This. of
course. is natural. since weather con-
ditlonS have favored construction in
that section. In the colder sections,
New York. Philadelphia. Boston.
Newark, Providence and Jersey City
showed greatest gains.
The steel and material men express
extreme confidence in the continuation
of building. at least for the next four
months. The United States Steel Cor
poration is spending s6.00o.000 in re-
construction and Improvement of
plants. Many bankers confidently
predict construction this year will en-
tail the spending of between four and
five billion dollars.
Some industrial plants, however. are
leaving the larger cities in order TO find
cheaper land. Localities which once
were devoted to manufacturing and re-
other interests willing to pay more. The
into the country.
Plants Seeking suburbs.
This has been specially noticeable in
the chemical and oil refining industry
In this city. Twenty years ago 10 per
cent of the workers in the chemical
trades here were located south of 59th
street. Now only about 10 per cent
labor in that section Yet the total
number of men employed in the metro
politan district has treb!ed.
Alfred III. Swayne, vice president of
General Motors. predicts that the sim
plfication of railroad terminal practice
will result in diverting massed indus
trial plants of large cities to what he
calls green lands on the outskirts.
These movements are stimulating build
ing in the suburbs and industrial seq
lions.