The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-11-24
WILL CONSIDER
AN EMBARGO ON
N0N-ESSENTIALS
May Curtail Fuel For Man
ufacture of II Com
modities,

| AS a measure to conserve the avail
able fuel supply and to help the rail-
roads In the solution Of the problem
| Of handling a business greater than
they can carry, the Fuel Adm1nistra-
tor in Washington and the Priority
Board are considering Il proposal to
! curtail the use of coal and coke in
the manufacture Of eleven important
commodities. They ara Pleasure
vehicles. brewery products, candy,
toys, table glassware. pottery, ath-
elite goods. jewelry. silverware, win
! dow glass. and electric signs and
electric sign lighting. A week ago
| it was announced that the Railroads
| War Board had recommen ded to the
| government authorities a list of 525
| non essential commodities which
might he subjected to mole or less
strict embargos to aid in the trans
portation problem. It may be stated
that the eleven commodities men
toned are high up in the list of 525
prepared by the War Board.
| The proposals of the Railroads War
Board for the embargoes on "nones-
sentiaT commodities. the enforce
ment Of which would be upon the
| Priority Board, and the proposals to
curtail the supply Of fuel for certain
mon essential businesses work hand
in hand. In other words, If the man
ufactured products of these bust
nesses may not be shipped, there will
not be the same use for fuel and
conversely. if the fuel cannot be OBJ
taine5. there will not be the same
need for transportation Of the fin
ishel product.
! The proposal to force the curtail-
ment of the manufacture and ship
| ment of pleasure vehicles came no
| surprise to railroad men. It is point
ed out that such a step was long ago
taken in England and France. In
| deed, in England one may not use
gallon Of gasolene for propulsion of
pleasure vehicles, condition which
| has led to the growing use of coal
gas. While the curtailment of coal
| and coke for the manufacture of au-
tolnobiles, of course, means conserva-
| ton of fuel supply and less work for
the railroads, both in hauling fuel
and finished product, there is another
fatcor which is considered of prime
Importance, and that>is that reduction
in the business Of automobile factor
les would mean the release of thou
sands of skilled mechanics, men who
are badly needed in war industries In
fact, the railroads would not be at all
| averse to having a greater available
supply of machinists who could be
employed. Some railroad managers
go so far as to say that, no matter
| how high the government authorities
| might make rates, or no matter how
many millions the government might
| be ready to lend the railroads, their
| problem will not be solved until they
| can get more cars and more 1ocomo-
| tives because there are not men avail
able to build them. The release of
| tens Of thousands of machinists now
| making pleasure automobiles would
| mean that large number of them
| would ~ available for railroad roll
| Ing stock construction work, for the
! lack of which the roads are sadly
| hampereG. In addition, there is the
| growing task of supplying railroad
| materials and rolling stock for FRANC
| and other allies.
The proposal to curtail fuel for
| breweries brings to the surface the
| situation in England at the beginning
| of the war, when the supply of beer
| was curtailed and the quality 1essened
| by the use Of smaller amounts of
| grain. This brought forth many pro-
| tests from the English workingman,
| who claimed as an inalienable right
| his pints of good beer. The use Of
| beer among American workmen e
not SO widespread as it is in Eng
| land. However, the protest against
| the prohibition Of the manufacture
Of beer and light wines brought on
the memorable fight in Washington
| last spring, which resulted in the
prohibition of the manufacture of
spirits, but not of beer.
! The business of electric signs and
n1n frfo c;rr i~It -
already been materially curtailed by
the orders Of the Fuel Administrator
inforcing a smaller use of such signs.
| Silverware and jeWelry fall first
among the lists Of 'non-essentials," as
seen by railroad men and economists,
and it is not expected that there
would be a strong fight against the
curtailment of the manufacture of
athletic goods, as it would be Of ma
terial assistance to the governments
prosecution of the war.
The proposal to curtail the man.
ufacture of toys need bring no fear
to Santa Claus, so far as his approach
ing job is concerned, because the toys
for this Christmas have all been
made.
The eleven commodities here enum-
Grated are only a few of those for
which the curtailment of the fuel and
| transportation. service is under con-
sideration at Washington. The au-
thorities are gathering data as to the
amount Of fuel as well as the num-
| Der of cars, used in mon essential"
businesses, and the men employed.
The untitled requests for cars by man
| ufacturers is growing every day, and
the month just past set the record
for the amount of freight handled by
| the American railroads. While the
proposal to limit fuel is not directly
connected with the railroads problem
| of too much work, it has a very i'm
portant relation. The railroads have
a triple interest in the problem be-
cause of the coal situation, because of
the shipping problem and lastly be-
cause of the labor and material prob
| lem.
AS Fairfax Harrison, Chairman of
the Railroads War Board, said last
week, it is for the priority Board and
| the Fuel Administrator to determine
what are the commodities with which
the public must first dispense. Then
he added:
| I'VE have no doubt that if non-es-
sential commodities are eliminated,