2- some 33% in volume, but this was offset by increases in public construction, principally highways, and other nonresidential private building. The outlook for 1959 is for an 8% increase in volume for new construction put in place over 1958. Once again, residential building is expected to account for the 2 billion dollar increase anticipated for private construction. Another 2 billions is expected in public construction, with highways, public buildings, and military construction all being on the upswing. Since the war the Federal government has used its ability to control residential building as one of its principal contra-cyclical economic forces. The government can easily and effectively increase or curtail the flow of mortgage money, and this in turn influences materially the number of homes that will be built. The actions taken by the Federal Reserve Board last year to tighten credit have made F.H.A. mortgages less attractive to lenders and, after the usual six months' lag, housing starts are beginning to taper off. This is the objective of an administration which fears inflation. However, there are