The American Architect
Wednesday, January 2, 1918Number 2193 THE yar 1917 will long be notable in con
stction circles for the many conditions
thit have had to be met and overcome in order to prevent a general failure in all lines of economic effort.
The cost of materials, not only those used in structural work but in every phase of the daily life of our citizens, has increased to such an extent that it has become a vital question as to what will be the final outcome, even though it is undoubtedly true that the earning power of most real estate improvements has increased to a still greater degree. In the trail of this increased cost, and in a measure caused by it, have come problems of transportation. It has become almost impossible to secure the delivery of materials available in one section of the country to another where they are urgently needed. A part of this diffi
culty arises from the fact that, owing to unwise and in some instances hostile legislation, transportation companies have been compelled, through lack of funds and the inability to float additional securities, to curtail their upkeep outlay. The result has been that when the extraordinary demands of war conditions came they were utterly unable, either in truckage or rolling stock, to
A Study of the Architectural and Building Fields
“UNEMPLOYMENT and closed fac
tories, brought about through fitful and ill-advised campaigns for public and private economy, will prove a veritable foundation of quicksand for the- serious work zve have at hand.
“We need prosperity in war time even more than when we are at peace. Business depressions are alzi ays bad, but doubly so when we have a fight on our hands.
“No radically new conditions confront us. State activities, road building, public works, private industries, all must go on as before. Business must be increased, labor employed and the country kept going strongly ahead as a sue cess fid economic machine. We must have successfid industries if successful tax levies are to be raised!’—Advisory Commission, Council of National Defense.
meet them successfully, and a period of confusion has ensued which has almost paralyzed all activities involving any but the most vital necessities. It is not necessary to enlarge on the situation which has existed during the past year. The near-impossibility of securing the delivery of materials has
become a thing of the past, assuming that the government control of the railroads will be free from small political considerations, and will deal equitably with all phases of this industrial congestion. The trust laws which previously militated against easy movement of transportation are of no force now, and this removal of legal barriers should in itself be of great assistance in relieving the situation.
A second element which has made for increased difficulties is the extreme shortage of labor of all kinds, both skilled and unskilled. Owing to the recall of many aliens to their native lands to serve with their colors, and the further depletion of the labor ranks through the volunteer and draft service in this country, we are confronted, just at a time when it is most needed, with a scarcity of labor that threatens the very continuance of activities in every direction.
The demand for large contributions to patriotic societies and for Government loans of immense
Copyright, 1918, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)
Wednesday, January 2, 1918Number 2193 THE yar 1917 will long be notable in con
stction circles for the many conditions
thit have had to be met and overcome in order to prevent a general failure in all lines of economic effort.
The cost of materials, not only those used in structural work but in every phase of the daily life of our citizens, has increased to such an extent that it has become a vital question as to what will be the final outcome, even though it is undoubtedly true that the earning power of most real estate improvements has increased to a still greater degree. In the trail of this increased cost, and in a measure caused by it, have come problems of transportation. It has become almost impossible to secure the delivery of materials available in one section of the country to another where they are urgently needed. A part of this diffi
culty arises from the fact that, owing to unwise and in some instances hostile legislation, transportation companies have been compelled, through lack of funds and the inability to float additional securities, to curtail their upkeep outlay. The result has been that when the extraordinary demands of war conditions came they were utterly unable, either in truckage or rolling stock, to
A Study of the Architectural and Building Fields
“UNEMPLOYMENT and closed fac
tories, brought about through fitful and ill-advised campaigns for public and private economy, will prove a veritable foundation of quicksand for the- serious work zve have at hand.
“We need prosperity in war time even more than when we are at peace. Business depressions are alzi ays bad, but doubly so when we have a fight on our hands.
“No radically new conditions confront us. State activities, road building, public works, private industries, all must go on as before. Business must be increased, labor employed and the country kept going strongly ahead as a sue cess fid economic machine. We must have successfid industries if successful tax levies are to be raised!’—Advisory Commission, Council of National Defense.
meet them successfully, and a period of confusion has ensued which has almost paralyzed all activities involving any but the most vital necessities. It is not necessary to enlarge on the situation which has existed during the past year. The near-impossibility of securing the delivery of materials has
become a thing of the past, assuming that the government control of the railroads will be free from small political considerations, and will deal equitably with all phases of this industrial congestion. The trust laws which previously militated against easy movement of transportation are of no force now, and this removal of legal barriers should in itself be of great assistance in relieving the situation.
A second element which has made for increased difficulties is the extreme shortage of labor of all kinds, both skilled and unskilled. Owing to the recall of many aliens to their native lands to serve with their colors, and the further depletion of the labor ranks through the volunteer and draft service in this country, we are confronted, just at a time when it is most needed, with a scarcity of labor that threatens the very continuance of activities in every direction.
The demand for large contributions to patriotic societies and for Government loans of immense
Copyright, 1918, The Architectural & Building Press (Inc.)