South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-11-09
MAKE IMPORTANT
RULINGS ON COAL
Administrator Has Nc Author
ity to Force Contracts.
Commissions Hit.

News-Times Special Service
INDIANAPOLIS. Ind. Nov g.
Two important announcements have
been made from the Office or the
United states fuel administrator for
indiana The frs+ was that persons
or firms believing their contracts for
ccal have been violeted should not
call on the fuel administrator 10 de-
fire the status of their contracts.
Ths recourse where "a coal contract
fas been set aside is the courts Cf
the state. end the fuel 1dministra-
fe- has no authority 20 force com
pHance with the terms Of agree
rlents between dealers and pro-
ducers or jocacrs.
The second announcement is that
uo j0bbers commission viii be as
-essei against shipments of relief
coal 1rdered through the fuel adj
miuistratic1.
Goa Shipping Delayed.
There appears 90 be evidence
enough To- Justify "a suspicion i'm "A
feW cares chat tile coal producers
have been slow % snip coal on con-
tract made prior 10 the date on
which the government fixed the
mine price Of coal where the price
iu the contract is less than the gov
eminent price Also il is represented
1y some that those contracts which
call of a mine price in excess OF the
the government price are getting
preferred service from the mines.
Alex r. Holiday assistant fuel
administrator for Indiana pointed
out that III is not within the iurisdic-
zion of the fuel administrator TO pass
oI tho legality OF contracts or to
make constructions of the Lever act
when these questions are involved
the dealer should turn 10 his lawyer
and his redress. If any. must be OBJ
tanned through those channels Of the
Jaws as would De used IF the Lever
act did not exist
Coal JObbcrs Are Heard.
The announcement that no job
lers commissions would be added
To the price Of coal shipped on the
order of the fuel administrator was
made by Evans Woolleu following q
meeting OF the advisory board
Andrew j. Cochran and Arch y.
Grossman appeared before the board
lu the Interest Of the joabers- They
stated they had conferred with the
producers of the state and had their
word OF approval 20 the plan where
ny the iobbers would he protected in
their commissions ON coal sent 20
their customers by the fuel admin
istratiOn
Mr.. Cochran submitted that the
l0bbers had been unable 20 get for
eign coal for the Indiana trade and
that The exiEeuCies of the war stu
aton had made deliveries slow on
Indiana coal AS a result many OF
the coal dealers boz the state who
mad been depending upon the job
pers Tor their supply mad been forced
10 appeal to the fuel administrator.
AIR. Cochran said that where these
dealers were supplied hy the fuel
,uiui-trator the job1ers lost out
Entirely and suggested that the add
.riuistrator agree 90 permit the pro-
jueer from whom the relief coal
ss ordered to check up each ship
Heut. and when he discovered LAT
Nds going 90 ue a joboer's GUS
TONER bill 10 In the name OF the job
Her and look To him for the settle
eu. of thc account permitting the
rbher to- handle the transaction with
nC dealer. assessing the lobber
mrnissiou OF l. cents ton
CHARLES Fox. president OF the
-st. federation OF Labor, and a
euusr 81 the advisory board, eN-
dressed tho conviction that the fueI
administration would De justified i'm
tIng the iobbers TO sct coal with