The Sentinel=record., 1918-01-23
Only Exception Would Be the Move ment of Coal and Food on Roads in the East.
Director M'Adoo is Not Inclined ito Accept the View ot the Fuel Administrator and Believes That all Freight Can Be Handled if Routed By the Shortest Lines.

Washington, Jan 22.-An nrpant recommendation that an embargo he declared for a few days on accent. anee by the railroads of any freight except coal and food was submitted to Director General McAdoo tonight by the fuel administration. This action IS imperative, Administrator Garfield said to assure adequate movement ot fuel during the balance of the week when the genral transportation sit nation east of the Mississippi threaten to become worse daily owing to the prolonged strain on railroads of deep snows and intensely cold weather.
 Tonight the five day period of in dustrial suspension ended and with the resumption of manufacturing to- morrow railroad officials look for a new flood of traffic which the rail roads cannot handle until normal weather is restored.
 Director General McAdoo tonight was not inclined to look with favor on the embargo proposal. He held that under government operation and consequent pooling of facilities and short haul routing the railroads would be able to clear all freight without priority and without embargoes. Coal and food already have preference over ali other classes of freight. he pointed out and are being moved to tidewater and to localities where do- mestfc needs are greatest as fast as is physically possible.
 MT. MeAdoo promised, however, to study Dr, Garfield's figures showing how coal production had been cur tailed in recent weeks and to take whatever action seemed best. Mean while he and Dr. Garfield set about devising scheme by which cross hauls of coal will be eliminated largely and fuel will be transported from mines to customers over the shortest possible routes
 By this means it is planned to save many thousands of miles of needless hauling and devote locomotives and labor thus conserved to transporting of greater quantities to regions where the coal shortage threatens to become more acute fl blizzard weather con tinues for few days longer.
 committee of two officials from the railroads and the railroad admin istration will work out plan which will be based on division of the country into districts each of which is to get it's coal mainly from a desig- hated mining area. Howard Elliot, president of the New Haven, and A. c. Cutheim, an official of the inter- state commerce commission car ser vice bureau will represent the rail- road administration on this commis- sion.
 Necessity for some new method of dealing with the coal transportation problem was emphasized today bg scores of reports that weather condi- tions were as bad or worse than at any time since the unprecedented period of cold and stormy weather started nearly two weeks ago.
 Heavy snow throughout New York and New Englnd, in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and elsewhere made traffic movement extremely slow and cut the supply of empty cars to coal mines far below even the sub-n normal supply of the last few days.
 The bright phase of the situation was a report of Fuel Administrator Garfield that ships were being bunk cred more rapidly than last week and that coal was going in sufficient quantities to domestic consumers. These were the main purposes of the industrial curtailment order of five days ago, Dr. Garfield said and con- sequently the result of industrial sus pension was satisfactory.
 In the memorandum sent to Di- rector General McAdoo suggesting the embargo Dr. Garfield referred to the one day embargo on all freight ex- cept food and fuel. declared yester- day by the Pennsylvania lines east of Pittsburgh and suggested that