Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-12
BY JAMES B. MORROW.

NRANCIs STUYVEsANT PEABODY
III was debating letters. He tried to
look over the top of his horn
q spectacles as he said to the inter-
viewer sit down; I'll be through in a
moment"
Men in the trade local is Mr.. Peabody's
business). incipient strategists and also
statesmen. perhaps. had communicated at
length their views. their plans and their
desires. after. much toll as authors, arti
fcers and fogiessns
A glance at printed page was suffi-
cient. Dear Sir" and then ten words.
or maybe twenty, and the final Yours
truly" Never were heavy bombardments
with ink and paper answered more expe-
ditiously and efficiently in more
courtesy.
The interviewer was present and wait
ing on two errands. First Mr.. Peabody
and his partners mine II 100000 tons of
coal yearly. which. reduced to appre-
hensible terms, means twenty trainloads
each working day, forty cars to the train
and fifty tons to the car. Such is a bust
ness that was started thirty-odd years
ago with a cash capital, all paid in. of
500. The chief asset. of course was
Francis S. Peabody himself.
More to the point-7and the point is
war-Mr. Peabody chairman of a great
national committee and in his own right
a master of the industry, and his domin-
ions cover the entire world. practically
Can Italy have coal? Or France? Or
Canada? Or South America? The answer
lies with the man debating letters in his
shirtsleeves.
The interviewer. striving to hear naught
haf pA pap n1N rx-ac
which are brown and philanthropic; the
Peabody hair which is of the same dark
color the Peabody mustache. which is IA
mixture of gray and yellow and shorn
close to the mouth. and the Peabody chin.
which seems to have been cut from
square block of granite.
This war"-the stenographer having
left the room-"will be won by coal and
food" Mr.. Peabody said. Being a coal
man, ] name coal first. So would you
were you farmer and well acquainted
external human and machine. will defeat
the Russians. Wheat and beans. beef
and pork are fuels. Fired with food, SOL
diers fight their battles.
But coal arms them. clothes them
and transports them across the At
lantic to the trenches. Cannon, rifles,
machine guns. airplanes and ammuni-
lion are the finished products, l might
say. of COAL Coal constructs railroads
and ships and operates them after they
begin to do business. Go as far as you
please in simplifying my observations
in respect to the Importance of coal
you can't go too far. Coal is conquer
ing Germany and democratizing Eu-
rope.
Can you dig enough of it," the inter-
viewer inquired. Ito supply the United
States. under the pressure of war or
ders?'
I'VE have the men and the mines. al
though some of our men may join the
Army. to supply our own coal needs
and to meet the deficiencies of our al
lies. American coal is being shipped to
France and Italy. to Canada. South
America and Spain. Last year 60o.D00.-
$50 tons. anthracite and bituminous,
were mined in the United Ststes. We
shall mine Toe, 100000 tons this year,
working up to 65 per cent of our ca
pacity. billion tons could be pro-
duced. but once out of the ground the
railroads could not haul that guam
tity TO the seaboard. nor would there
be enough ships to transport it across
the Atlantic.
Il am not complaining about the rail-
roads. They are doing a wonderful
work and the fault that is found with
them makes me weary. The public
does not know what such men as