New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1918-01-25
FUEL ADMINISTRATOR
FAILS TO CONVINCE
THAT He IS QUALIFIED
PRESENT DRASTIC ORDER
CLOSING DOWN INDUS
TRIES MIGHT HAVE BEEN
AVOIDED IF PLANS HAD
BEEN MADE EARLIER
New York Tribune)

Inc faCtS are lnCTeulDie anu StT-
many may not believe them, if that
is any comfort.
Power of life or death over the
American war machine is delivered
into the hands of man who knows
nothing about its processes and is
not responsible for them. He is not
a member of the Cabinet, of the
Council of National Defence, of the
War Industries Board or of any
other body concerned with the con-
duct of war. He thinks industry
can be shut up and carried around
in shis pocket for five days like a
jackknfe. without serious injury.
He had not the strength to deal
with the coal operators, which was
his particulars job, and allowed many
of them to go on making contracts
in violation of his orders. But now
he has the obstinacy to defy the
United States Senate.
Closing Water Power Also
He is so obsessed with the idea
of distributing equally the hardships
entailed by his own failures, that
after having shut up coal-using fact
ories to save fuel he would shut up
also factories driven by water power,
for if they continue to run it would
be unfair to the others
Unawares to all the various bodies
engaged in the production Of war
materials, and without consulting the
representatives of industry, he an
nounced on Wednesday evening that
he would issue an order closing all
factories east of the Mississippi for
a period Of five consecutive days and
for ten Mondays besides, the man
date to become effective on the next
day but one. Then he issued the text,
of a preliminary order.
Industries Are Demoralized
Yesterday the whole industrial
world was in uproar. The White
House, the Fuel Administrators Of
flee. every government department
and Congress were deluged with tele-
grams of dismay. Congress proceed
ed to debate the matter. The Fuel
Administrator was hailed to Capitol
Hill to explain his amazing proposal.
The Senate then addressed to him
a resolution requesting that he post
pone action for five days. But at
5:45 p. m. he signed the order, and
issued it in time to beat the resolu
ton; whercupon the author of the
resolution gave out a statement in
which it is suggested that people may
refuse to obey the order.
Meanwhile there was pressure from
within the government almost as
great as that from without. The
heads of departments responsible for
vital industrial programmes urged
the Fuel Administrator to relax his
decree. They showed him letters from
manufacturers saying that rather
than close down they would tear down
their own buildings, or as many as
could be spared and burn them for
fuel. but the Fuel Administrator was
obdurate
Order Holds Inexorable
His order went. He would hold,
no doubt. that a manufacturer who
burned his own buildings for fuel
would be thereby convicted of un-
fairness to those who hadn't any sur
plus structures to burn.
The last and fantastic touch was
added when a group of men repre-
senting the theatrical industry, hav-
ing come to the White House to pro-
test, went tiptoeing out of Washing
ton, their fingers on their lips. with
an awful war secret they could not
divulge. 1t was enough to reconcile
them to the situation. That is all
thev would say
There was intelligence enough in
to have averted fuel
famine. and there is intelligence
enough in Washington now to mend
the situation but. as by the inhibi
tion of a nightmare. it cannot be
utilized. Last September the railroad
war board laid before the Fuel Ad-
a plan for distributing
coal by zones. plating the whole
country in areas to be served with .
fuel from the nearest mines. 1t was /
a plan that would have increased
coal production perhaps 20 per cent. .
Because the Fuel Administrator sus- +
pected that this plan originated with
The Coal people" he put it aside He
now has experts of his own redraw-
nn that plan.
LIS TiOutioH ElotriDIy NAiSHdHoieo
The recourse meanwhile was to ex-
)edite the movement of coal by prior
ty orders. In one instance the en-
tire output of mine was allotted
ov priority to each of five distant
In another instance, the
total output of West Virginia nine
was ordered by priority to New
England at time when there were
10 cars to haul it and when. if it
,ould have been hauled. it couldn't
1ave been delivered to New England
because the traffic gates were jam
ned tight.
In both instances the communities
FORMALLY supplied by those mines
we're left without fuel and had to
did wildly in distant markets for it.
The Navy Department had 100 cars
If coal moved by priority to Phila-
lelphia. when it didn't need it. The
,avy. by priority orders moved 1000
of logs to Hog Island. where
t couldn't unload them. Multiply
hese instances many. thousand
lines and you begin to have some
lotion of what has happened to coal.
Every instance of wasteful transpor-
alton is an instance of coal waste,
,ecauSe it takes coal to move trains.
rhe railroads use nearly 80 per cent
# all the coal produced in the coun-
~. i