New-York tribune., 1918-01-05
Embargo Halts
Cty's Coal; ice
Barrier Broken
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Glcitzmann to the ferry slips, where
tho latter held up seventy trucks Of
coal bound for the big town.
When Burns Brothers demonstrated
the case was appealed to r. c. Jenkin-
son, State Fuel Administrator for New
Jersey, whose Office is in Newark. Mr..
Jenkinson, instead of lifting the en-
barge, extended it to cover all ferry
boat consignments from Jersey CITY,
uoboken and Weehawken, as we'll as
West New York and other points. The
police Of these cities were ordered to
hold up trucks about to move over on
terryboats, and they did.
The immediate result was that fur
naces in lower Manhattan Office build
ingss that keep just one jump ahead of
fuel famine, became cold, elevators
ceased running, the temperature in Of
llccs dropped, and employees as we'll as
employers had to don their overcoats
and arctics.
Mr.. Wiggin tc!ephoncd to National
Fuel Administrators Garfield appealing
to him to lift the embargo, while A. ]. .
Smith, deputy director general Of rail
roads, telephoned similar request to
Mr.. McAdoo. The embargo was not
lifted till Mr.. Garfield reached Mr. en-
kinson by long distance Even then
Mr.. Jenkinson insisted that coal deal
that the coal moved through jersey
cities was consigned from the mines TO
New York City, and not diverted from
supplies destined for New Jersey.
New York Life Building Closed
The first building to close down was
the New York Life. The Union Trust
Building and the Office structure at 43
and As Cedar Street were also affected
Elevator service was discontinued for
about two hours in the former, while
only two elevators were running in the
latter.
Mr.. Peters said that the Western
! Union. the Empire, the Stewart and
New York "Sun" buildings and the
building at 81 Broadway were served
by dealers whose coal trucks had been
detained, and that all these and sew
cral other buildings were in danger of
beng shut down by lack of fuel, all
because somebody threw spoke INTO
the wheels of the distributing svs-
tenn" Mr.. Peters characterized the
embargo as an outrage.
But while tho embargo caused infinite
trouble to the sorcly tried fuel au-
thorities and coal merchants, the GEN
eral developments OF the day in the
fuel situation were cminently satisfac-
tory to the men entrusted with keeping
New York City going through the cold
spell.
Mr.. Peters. said that Captain W. j.
Pollock, manager of the marine dc
partmcnt of the New York Central. had
definitely succeeded in breaking the lcc
blockade. The Kill Won Kull, the
troublesome neck of water between
Staten Island and Port Reading N. j.,
where thousands of tons of coal on
bargcs were held, was cleared of ice
sufficiently to release the bargcs. The
various canals, creeks, ferry slips and
other inlets along which coal pockets
are located, were opened by ice ram
ming tugs.
captain Pollock performed 100 per
cent" said Mr.. Peters "lIo deserves
the thanks Of the whole community
for his fine service in breaking through
tho ice. lie commanded a fleet of six
tugs OF the New York Central, that
smashed through the Kill van kull
and opened Raritan Bay
Police to Make Coal Canvass
To-day Police Commissioner Bugher
will order all stations in the city to
make careful canvass of their re-
spective districts to find what persons
have an oversupply OF coal and are
willing 70 sell this surplus to the city.
This action was determined upon YES
terday after a conference between the
Police Commissioners. the heads of the
Park and Highway departments and
Mayor Iiylan.
The police arc authorized to pur-
chasc at once all coal offered TO them
This Will be delivered to the poor
by trucks of the Park and Highway
departments free of charge
County Fuel Administrator Schiey
said that 100 borges, loaded with about
$4,000 tons of coal. more than 30 per
cent of which is destined for New York
City, has been released from the ice in