Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-12-27
GOAL POOL WILL
 COME IF WAR
 LASTS.GARFIELD
Fuel Administrator Says Government Will Have to
 Control Price.

the war continued very long the gov ernment would be compelled to pool coal and set it at reasonable prices. Some coal operators, he said, were making the greatest profits in their history, but he considered high prices stimulOus to the great production the war demands. The fuel administrator said he saw little relief in prospect for the rail roads until after their operation was centralized
 Dr. Garfield said he did not want to place blame for lack of transporta- tion on anyone, nor did he want to try to shift blame that might be attached to his administration. He added that it was impossible for the railroads to cope with the situation.
 Coal is responsible for one-half of the congested traffic, and goods of cars are being backed up at bottle neck points through which the rail- roads have endeavored to move large amounts" said he. "The only thing to do is just what we have done-ask Judge Lovett for a priority order for coal and appeal to operators to shoot whatever coal they may have to points where most needed. That has helped in some respects"
 Dr. Garfield mentioned Pittsburgh. Cincinnati and Toledo as examples of "bottle-neck'' points, but said there were many others. Mines in East ern West Virginia are shipping West and those in the Western part are shipping East. causing congestion at meeting points. change involves great detail in changing contracts which arc not closed until next April, he said.
 People Come First.
 "Unless conditions are improved I may abrogate these contracts and di- vert shipments to prevent conges- tion." said Dr. Garfield.
 "I think it wise plan,' said Sen ator Kenyon.
 Private consumers have felt the shortage because the government has come first in it's demands, but that rule has been changed in the last few Gays." Dr. Garfield said.
 "We are giving it to the people first now" he said With a discon- tented people we could not inake much progress in the war;
 Conditions are much better now that the severe cold wave has passed, and preparations are being made for the future. he said.
 'I can guarantee that we have the situation we'll in hand" Dr. Garfield declared. F' t$,N1
 War demands for bituminous coal have been greater than mines could meet, although the increase of produc- tion this year has been normal, Fuel Administrator Garfield testified in an effort to alleviate conditions. He said the Fuel Administration was laying emphasis on stimulating production rather than regulating price.
 "When the operators complain that prices fixed by the president are too low, we are inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt" Dr. Garfield said
 Senator Kenyon asked the fuel ad- ministrator if he had information of dividends of some of the large oper- ators, and he answered that he knew big profits were being made but be- lieved them necessary to stimulate production.
 Working for Nothing.
  Garfield said his organization is com posed of about 200 persons. chief of whom are engineering experts. law yers, coal producers and John P. White, president of the United Mine Workers of America. He proceeded to give at length details of how com plaints against prices are handled. Forty such complaints of operators had been investigated, he said, and each one had required services of engineers, expert accountants and lawyers. Dr. Garfield said his chief advisers were volunteers and worked without salaries or expense accounts.
 Inquiry into the coal shortage dis placed the sugar investigation on the program of the Senate Manufacturers Committee today. The committee plans to take up the sugar problem Friday and probably will allow Food Administrator Hoover to reply to charges made by Claus A. Spreckles president of the Federal Sugar Re- fining Company, that the sugar short age was cause dby the Food Admin istration's fixed import price.
 Mir. Hoover. in statement made public by the White House last night declared the shortage was due to the heavy shipment of sugar to Europe. He asserted that if a price-fixing agreement had not been reached sugar would have been selling from 9 to 90 cents pound and more than $20O. .000,e00 probably would have been profiteered from the American people by this time.
 Cr0zier Aided Tauscher.
 Indications that the ordnance phase of the investigation may be reopened, however, was given last night when Major General 'Crozier, chief or ord nance, made public letter he had written Federal Judge Hand of New York, who presided at the trial there in June, 1916, of Hans Tauscher. for mer Krupp, agent, accused of conspir- acy in the plot to blow up the Welland Canal In the letter, which was writ : ten 10 months before the United States went to war with Germany, General Crozjer informed Judge Hand that he