Republican farmer., 1918-01-25

 By it's provisions manufacturing plants east of the Mississippi and in Louisiana and Minnesota, with rare exceptions, will be closed for five days beginning today and virtually all business activity will be stopped on every Monday for a period of 1o weeks beginning Jan. 21.
 Through it's application the fuel ad- ministration expects coal to move to essential consumers, including rall- roads, households, public utilities, shipping interests and producers Of food, in whose behalf the order is is sued.
 A supplementary list of exemptions issued last night embraces various in dustries engaged in imperative war work. Ship yards working on navy construction, plants filling contracts for army and navy woolen uniforms, tent makers and makers of other pro ducts deemed necessary for imme- diate use of the military forces were named in this list.
 Newspapers are unaffected by the five day closing, but! are limited to . holiday editions on heatless Mondays. Indication was given also that plants recurring heat to maintain themselves would be permitted to burn coal for this purpose, but would not be per nitted to operate. This was inter preted by many as applying to blast furnaces.
 Protest from business interests throughout the country and the storm in congress continued today Failure of the fuel administration to heed the senate request that the order be held up until an investigation could De made led to an agitation by many senators in favor of making direct appeal to the President. The sen ates request was in the form of resolution debated and adopted by vote of 50 to l g about the same time that Mir Garfleld's signature was at- Y->axed to the order. Prior to that time the fuel administrator had been be- fore the senate Investigating commit tee to give his reasons for the move. In the house acton on a resolutor wheeler MT. and Mrs H. c. Ives and by acting Republican Leader Gillett was prevented after sharp debate by refusal of Representative Cox, Dem- locrat, to give unanimous consent for dts consideration.
 The fuel administrator justified his action in a long statement last night in which he said he was prompted by the necessity for furnishing the Amer fcan army abroad and Allies with food and supplies.
 Indications were today that pos ssfble attempt might be made in the senate to bring about the repeal O! that section of the food law under which the order was issued, but many believed that any action in this direc tion would be too late.
 Coal operators under contract t supply industries will not be shu down. Orders from the fuel admins tration instruct them to ship their coa as usual, consigning it to state fuel ad ninistrators with drafts attached The government will buy all cos mined where industries are forbidde to receive it. A sum of $25,OO0,00 will be set aside for the purchase.
 Food industries without exceptio will be permitted to operate on flu time according to an interpretatie of the order made public by Fuel Ac rninistrator Hoover.
 . Tt is my understanding" said M Hoover, "that the order does not ir clude grain elevators, grain mill bakeries, stock yards, meat packin establishments, cold storage plant sugar factories or any other form ( the food industry"
 Support of the measure despite th fact that organized labor would one of the chief sufferers, has bee announced by Samuel Gompers, pres dent of the American Federation Labor. MT. Gompers, however, e. pressed doubt whether the five ds suspension was the best way to me the situation. and suggested that a industries be placed on an eight hol day basis.
 Announcement that the use of 8 forms of fuel, wood, oil and natur gas as we'll as coal would be prohi tied caused considerable confusion t day, and, strenuous efforts are pror ised to have wood, oil, natural g and water power users exempted.
 New York, Jan. 1S.-New York el tered today on the five day period industrial suspension somewhat b
  tative information concerning detai of the operation of the coal conserv tion orders, but determined to acce patriotically whatever hardships ma come.
 Local fuel administrators, delug, by thousands of inquiries, were unat to make definite interpretations countless angles of the problem, al much confusion resulted Not t least of the problems was that of e forcing the orders. Albert H. Wi gin, state administrator, admitted tn he was not sure who would see tn the orders were obeyed. He declar that the success of the plan rest largely on the "conscience" of the pc pie, and he was confident that the would be very little trouble in carr AnE out orders.
 While merchant associations and l0ustria1 organizations joined in mighty chorus of protest before t order actually was promulgated Washington, there was a noticeal absence of criticism when the deer became effective.
 Labor leaders, while deploring t