Judsonia weekly advance., 1918-05-01
Consumers Can Help Prevent Shortage Next Winter by
 Buying Now, Says Fuel Administrator.
GARFIELD SOUNDS WARNING.
Better Borrow Money Now to Buy Than Do Without Later He Says-lf Your Storage Space Isn't Large
 Enough, Enlarge 1t.
By HARRY A. GARFIELD, United States Fuel Administrator.

United States Fuel Administrator
 Every householder, every public util- fly and every industrial user of coal engaged in work essential to the prose- vised and urged 10 place without de- lay their orders for coal to cover their needs for the F months beginning April l.
 During the past 12 months there has been suffering among consumers and curtailment of essential production by industries through inability to obtain necessary fuel after the beginning of winter. 4 year ago consumers were led 10 believe that they might safely withhold their orders until later in the year. They labored under the impress sion that coal could be bought and se- cured as well at one time as another. They were told that there was plenty of coal for everybody and that there would be plenty of coal cars to move the coal ill also.
 This ads.d adsdlf i-..nd its acceptance by consumer as one of the contributing : eanses tS the coal shortage, with it's consequent suffering among domestic consumers and lessening in production of commodities needed in our war ac- riSities.
 The Fuel Administration was not then ill existence and did not begin it's work until August g. IL WAS tben al- ready too late to undo the harm which had been done The Fuel Administra- tioL would be negligent of it's duty to lhe public if ii failed to call attention ar this time to tl>. unfortunate results of the mis aken course pursued by the public & yeur ago and to warn all con- sunerS in the most emphatic manner possible that Il repetition of those re- suits can be avoided only by accepting and acting immediately upon the Fuel Administration advice, here given:
 Order Your Coal at Once.
 Let every consumer of the classes mentioned ascertain his fuel require ments for the coming year. Do this at once Order sufficient coal to meet those requirements l'iace your orders at once. If domestic consumers have not sufficient storage space for the coal they will need they should enlarge their bins. If public utilities and industries engaged upon government work have not sufficient storage space they should at once provide 1t.
 The production of coal in this coun- try is fundamentally transportation problem There are enough coal cars and enough locomotives to transport the necessary quantity of coal. only If every car and every locomotive is used 10 it's maximum capacity every day in the year. There are enough operatives iD the mines to get the coal from the ground if those operatives can work every day in the year and if the coal cars and locomotives are available ev- cry day.
 The fuel problem is to get the coal from the first place of deposit to tie final place of deposit with as little de- lay as possible and in as steady and continuous d stream as circumstances will permit. The railroads may be compared to water pipe, which needs to run full all the time to carry the necessary amount of water to its des- rinRtiOn. If that water Is shut off for any appreciable time it means an ulti- mate shortage. The pipe can carry DO more than it's maximum capacity per day.
 Borrow, if You Must.
 Inconvenience of paying for coal in the spring or summer when it will not be needed until autumn or winter should not influence any consumer to delay placing his order and securing his supply. It Is far wiser to borrow money in the spring to pay for ones coal than to wait until autumn or winter, when if the coal has not been mined and shipped money cannot pro- cure 1t.
 The Fuel Administration, through the State Fuel Administrators and To- cal committees, is prepared in every