The Washington times., 1917-12-14
Congress Did M5aa Yesterday IT
Survey Of the Coal Famine and Sugar Shortage General
COzer on Armament Conservation and Electric Power in the
Senate AerOplanes for the Mail Service Pneumatic Tubes
GscOuntenanced- London and the Suffrage Committee.
By w. V. BYARS.

By way Of co-ordlnating the work
Of Congress with that of the Ad-
ministration, the Senate debated the
relations Of transportation to fuel
famine yesterday. In co-ordinating
the views Of Senators themselves,
some further time may be required,
Senator William Alden Smith OF
Michigan was inclined to attribute
the lack of fuel in Western and
Northwestern "blizzard areas" to
unidentified persons whom he disap-
proved as "theoretical fuel dicta-
tors" Senator Pittman of Nevada
wished to know If the trouble was
not caused by lack of transportation
rather than by lack Of coal. He
found the cause in "greed and self
ishness," results of which will dis
appear when the Administration has
full power either TO eliminate these
undesirable qualities from railroad
management or else, to, eliminate the
management. 49, =. 4
The Senate's Committee on Com
merce completed preparations yes
terday for the beginning OF its edu-
cational investigation. AS it in
cludes sugar as well as coal, Messrs.
Rudolph and Claus Spreckles, who
will be in attendance, are taken for
granted as highly qualified educa-
tors in the transcontinental situation
between San Francisco and Philadel-
phia. A letter was addressed to Mr..
Hoover, asking him to cooperate
with the committee.
President Wilson yesterday re-
nominated Major General Crozier to
be chief of ordnance. During the
session Of the Senate Committee on
Military Affairs General Crozier ap-
peared before it to give information
needed in its survey Of the conduct
Of the war. He corrected the state
ment that hundreds of thousands"
of our troops in cantOnments are still
without rifles, reducing the shortage
to thousands" only. The shortage
was explained as the result Of the
emergency for arming our troops in
France, where every soldier now
has a modern rife"
The machine gun shortage was ex-
planned as due to the anxiety Of Sec
retary Of War Baker to provide ma
chine guns of the most effective mod
ern type, over 10000 of which will
be needed. The comparative merits
of the Lewis and Browning guns as
most effective agencies Of Safety for
Democracy seems to have been hard
to decide. 1t is expected that the
new Browning gun will be ready In
April. In the meantime General
Pershing's forces are supplied with
machine guns and ammunition by
the French government.
AS the order for the day in the.
Senate Senator Shields. of the Com
merce Committee, called up and ex-
planned the bill intended 40 develop
the age OF hydro-electricity." As
hydro-electricIty is electricity de-
veloped from waste by damming
streams, the great interest of the
bill is partly concealed by It's title
as a bill relating to dams. Some
changes have been made in 1t since
Its discussion at the last session.
but its essential features remain, as
It delegates to the War Department
and the Board OF Engineers the
power OF Congress over interstate
waterways.
Senator Shields estimated at 61.-
000, 900 horsepower the energy which
may be developed under the bill, not
more than a tenth of which is now
used. He explained that the purpose
of the bill is TO enlist private capital.
under ffty-year leases, with rates at