Evening star., 1918-01-05
Coal Men Are Indignant,
Then Responsive to Plan
for POOLING Resources

iUI OUlItIy nCoUuI GCo
Last nights meeting of coal men In
Builders' Exchange. when Fuel Admin
istrator Weaver delivered his ultima
tum, was an indignant and at times a
stormy one. The dealers protested that
they were not to blame for the situa-
tion existing in Washington, that they
were being insulted and threatened and
prosecuted wrongfully. and they prac-
tically told Mr.. Weaver that his program
was irlpra ctical.
There was no need for pooling OF
resources. they contended. and ii
couldn't be done, anyhow, and made to
work. They We're fully capable. they
declared, to care for the coal needs OF
Washington as they had been doing fof
years, and the only reason there was q
shortage was that their coal had been
stolen" by the National Fuel Admins
tration and sent elsewhere
There appeared an inclination to be-
lieve that the fuel administrator and
Commissioner Brownlow were bluffing.
and the coal men were disposed to
call the blufr. But when Mr. Weaver
and Mr.. Brownlow left the hall with
the ultimatum unchanged except tha
the time limit had been extended from
s o'clock tonight to the same hour
Monday night, more sober counsel pre-
vailed. The coal men were no more
disposed to enter into the .co-ordinat-
ing association than they had been at
any stage of the proceedings. but the
cooler headed among them realized that
IL was the United States government
they had to deal with. and that they
either must comply with its demand or
lose their business When'tthis view Of
1t had been impressed upon those who
still talked of fighting, the decision to
coordinate and Cooperate was reached.
Given Cool Reception.
Ths reception given Mr.. Weaver when
ne arrived at the hall was a cool one
While awaiting his coming there was
surface Indication of gayety and good
nature, but the air was electrical, and
1t was evident an explosion only await
ed spark. Preliminaries were cut
short. Mr.. Weaver. after a few intro
ductory remarks on the gravity of the
situation. read his u1timat tuni. 1t was
as outlined In yesterdays Star. The
dealers were given twenty-four hours
to effect the pooling of resources de-
manded. coupled with q pledge of
whole-hearted and sincere co-opera-
tfon with the fuel administrator, or at
the end of that period their businesses
would be taken over and administered
by his office and the District govern
ment
Following the reading OF the ulti-
matum, there occurred an incident not
He had received yesterday afternoon.
Mr.. Weaver said, a letter from District
Attorney Laskey. calling on him for
such evidence as he might have of vio-
lations of law by coal dealers, to the
end that it might be laid before the
grand jury and the guilty dealers in
dicted and prosecuted. Reading of the
letter by Mr. Weaver was received in
serious silence.
J. Maury Dove opened the discussion
for the coal dealers. and he was in a
fighting mood. He said Mr.. Weaver had
come there with demand and threat,
and he for one didn't propose to be
threatened. He voiced the belief. which
other dealers echoed, that the situation
here was due to the fact that the gov
ernment had "stolen" coal belonging to
Washington, and complained especially
of anthracite.
Defends Coal Dealers.
Characterizing the stories that have
been appearing in the newspapers during
the coal dealers of this city," b. l.. Grove
voiced his resentment against these
stories
~ don't believe what has been an
pearing in the papers regarding dealers"
he said y have lived up to every regu-
lation of the fuel administration. and
believe every man here has also" He
SAID that he had been denied the right TO
have been In his yard. and that he had
not received sufficient coal to supply de-
mands since winter began
Other dealers wanted to make speeches
and ask questions. but the fuel admins
traitor declined to enter into a discussion
Awaiting the arrival of Commissioner
BroWniow, the angry speech making con-
tinued. but mainly Mr.. Weaver sat silent
tions of the coal men.
Commissioner Brownlow's speech wa g
short and to the point He told the
dealers there was a situation in wash
ington which called for drastic remedy.
that they were being given a chance
to apply the remedy: that If they failed
the government would apply it. The
District government, he said stood
ready to cooperate. 1t preferred TO
cooperate with the coal men in order
that the burdens of the government
might not be increased. But if tbe
dealers didn't accept that co-oner,tinr
II would be given to Administrator
Weaver.
Then the speech making broke out
again, but the Commissioner and the
fuel administrator didn't wait to hear
1t. They left the hail. with the an
that they had nothing
more to say.
Agree to Cooperate.
Following the departure the dealers
went into executive session. requesting
all who were not actively engaged in the
coal business to leave. At this executive
session. the decision to pool resources and
cooperate with the fuel administrator
was reached and the committee to erect
the central organization was appointed.
The committee is made up as follows:
Dealers who procure coal from dunps. "
F. Hummer. J. p. Stephenson and Charles
p. Seebold: dealers who procure coal
from the tracks. William King. Bernard
L. Grove and r. ]. and NJ c. Grace:
owners OF dumps, j. Edward Chapman.
]. Maury Dove. represented by w. HamiI-
ton Smith. president OF the Coal Mer-
chants Association, and j. NJ. Burrell,
the Allegheny Coal Company;
wholesale dump dealers, M. w. johnson
and C. r. M Fadley