The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-01-17
BURKE TAKES ALL ORDERS
Every Order for Coal Must Be Made
Through Administrator Who Assigns
It to Yard-Yards Closed Today for
Inventory Commander Teams.

Fuel Administrator Walter NJ. Burke
became Kenosha 5 official coal man to-
day when an emergency war order was
received from the National Fuel Ad-
ministrator ordering and authorizing
him to place all coal yards of the city
under his jurisdiction. Commands were
Immediately issued to the dealers to
take no additional orders and begin.
ming with this morning all orders for
coal must be taken by Fuel Admins
traitor Burke at his office in the Burke
Building on Market Square. These or
ders before they are filed must receive
the go. K. " of County Administrator
Burke who will assign them to the
dealers according to the supply of coal
which each has on hands.
All the coal yards of the city were
| ordered this morning to close up for
the day in order that they might take
an inventory of the amount of coal on
hands as the administrator must know
the supply in order to keep check
on the orders sent to the various yards
Persons who were in dire need for fuel
| to-day were sent to the Badger Fuel
and Supply Company, where four car
loads of wood were brought in to sup
ply to-day's demands. Late this af
ternoon some of the dealers had finish
ed their inventory and were allowed To
begin on filing their back orders but
were given explicit commands to take
no new orders. Administrator Burke
will be ready Tuesday morning to be-
gin filing orders under the new system.
One part of the new order, which
caused quite a sensation among the
coal dealers this morning, authorizes
the county administrator to com
mandeer the teams Of the various deal
ers and to transfer. them from one com
pany to the other so as to accommodate
the Immediate demands for coal. Adj
ministrator Burke stated this morning
that this authority would not be exer-
cised so long as all dealers were sup
piled with coal but that the orders
would be so distributed as to help
the business of all the dealers. It can
be relied upon, however, to prevent the
shortage of teams which existed on
Saturday and which tied up the coal
situation at that time
The new order, while it is drastic
does not mean that Kenosha is facing
a coal famine. Administrator Burke
st; feels that there viii be enough
coal, but this order will make i; cas-
Ter to keep o check on the supply and
how much is sold to each Customer
Coal customers must apply at the of
flee of the administrator before their
oder is honored and no one will be
allowed more than the allotment now
set at one ton. First there will be first
served and it will open the way for do
ing away with any favoritism which
was possible under the old plan. Sew.
eral Kenosha shipments of coal are now
held in Milwaukee by the railway tie
up due to the snow storm but these
will, it is believed, reach Kenosha the
latter part Of the week and help relieve
the situation.
Administrator Burke stated this
morning that he expected to devote
his entire time to the work of the Of
fetal coal office" until such time as
it shall become well organized He is
certain that he viii be able to handle
orders early Tuesday morning and feels
confident that government jurisdiction
will help in an equal distribution Of
the coal now in the city.