The Washington times., 1930-07-21
TURN
AIDS STEEL i !.
INDUSTRY. .
Gain Of s70,6s2, 300 on Com
tracts in June As Compared q
With Last Year Points Rise

n. y .A.. ,-.''. e. -
/, The. gain. of $40, ,sS2, 800 in con.
tracts let for. new construction in
June, compared. with June q ayear
ago, as reported by the F.. w,
Dodge Corporation, would seem
to indicate the building industry
has taken q turn for the better.
The total for June was the
largest for any month since July,
1929, and was conSide derablyE above
the, aggregate for May. this year.
Because of the size, Of. the
United States population, the in.
dustrial enterprises and the al
most constant expansion occur:
ring In industry and trade, the
building industry holds an I'M
usually important position in the
business cycle Of America.
Building Aids Steel
It would be almost impossible
for the steel trade to maintain
the pace at which 1t has been
going in recent years were it not
for the amount Of metal annually
supplied to the construction OF
huge office buildings, apartment
houses and public works.
For this reason, the gain re:
vealed in the latest building sta
tiStics is encouraging :
Yet the path Of the builder is
not without its obstacles. The
most recent .hindrance. has been
the increased tariff on. cement.
Heavy Taxes Hurt
Another deterring. factor, and
probably the most important, has
been large taxes, both State and
municipal. which must be paid on
all types of buildings.
In periods OF business reac
tions, new construction plays an
important part In bringing con
ditions back to normal.
New York builders are seeking
ways and means OF helping this
along. They. have what, they
thing is a solution to the tax
problem. They are advocating a
"tax.hcliday'' for a. year or two
on, new construction. This, they
claim. would stimulate building
and, in turn, business,
Figuring on Tax Plans
Something r. along these lines
was. done, in New York several
years ago on apartment houses.
hit nothing has been attempted
in this direction as far as Office
buildings are concerned.
Under their plan, the builders
believe a method could be worked
out whereby buildings constructed
curing the, y"tax;holiday" period
would make up, the deficit tax in
future years. They believe some
system Of increasing the tax IN
subsequent years would make up
the loss Of the s. ste.
Although construction Is nov
picking up, it Is still far behind
the estimates Of eight billions OF
dollars made. earlier, in the year,
r. W.. Dodge figures show that
construction in the first SIX
months of the year only
amounted to So. 2.638, ,01S, 800:
The 8. w: Straus 60 Co. figures
show that prospective building In
the United States during the first
half. of the current year declined
40 per cent from the correspond
ing period of 1928. June also
showed a decline from q year age
and from May this year. -.
Although the June record was
not as good as that OF May, the
company points out that BUILDING
permits in, June were nearer &c
normal than in any other month
except May during the current
eThese data" says the COM
many in discussing the, general
business situation, s"again make
clear the fact that throughout
the country generally sOander
conditions for Improved real
estate are steadily developing.
"As a further indication OF
the increasing stability OF Inn
uroved real estate conditions
IL Il to be: noted that the. Fed
erals. census reports now .belng
announced reveal substantial
population grewths, in the prln'
cipal cities of the country. an.
creased population means In
creased demand for housing
space Of all kinds"
On the whole. despite the In
cunbrances, the outlook for tn.
| building trade Is bright and unit
weather conditions prevent It
there should be a gradual increase