New-York tribune., 1918-01-24
Only 10000 Tons
Arrived Yesterday
Mayor Urged to End Crisis
and Stop Extortion
by Dealers


dsiIy fuel requirements supplied from
.se Jersey coal terminals, Washington
osciais denied every plea for aid on
the part OF state and city fuel admin
is.rators
Slightly less than 10000 tons of an
tbracite coal succeeded in running the
re blockade in the harbor and the
North River and arriving in the city
during the day. The city cannot op-
crate twenty-four hours normally on
less than 10000 tons of anthracite, ac-
cording to fuel experts here.
Throughout the day telegraph and
telephone wires were kept busy be-
tween the Offices of Albert II. Wiggin
State Fuel Administrator, and DR.. H. A.
Garfield chief Fuel Administrator at
Washington. The New York official in
sisted thai the dumping machines and
the facilities of the docks at New Jer-
sey terminals be worked twenty
hours q day until some solution of the
present dilemma was found.
Garfield opposes Change
But the national administrator an
swered each plea with an argument
against such d change. He cited fig
ures for ore day to indicate that there
would be no gain in such change, be-
cause the coal was being dumped al
most as rapidly as it arrived. The
dumping, he declared, was only one day
behind the coal arrivals at the ter
minals.
The final retort of Administrator
Wiggin was telegram, in which he
characterized the Garfield communica-
tions as most unsatisfactory" and
called upon that official to read the
communications that had been made to
him by wire once again.
Mr. Wggin summed up the results
Of the ilve-day closing here as having
accomplished some good, but that the
present bad weather, clogging up al
most every avenue for fuel delivery,
had almost nullified the results of the
Garfield conservation period.
at is plain, however, that we should
have been in q much worse position if
there had been no closing ORDER he
said.
Asks Garfield to Speed Up
In his telegram to DR.. Garfield the
New York Administrator answered that
officials arguments against speeding up
the dumping Of coal in bargeS in this
way:
referring to our kilograms of Monday
last requesting your assistance relieving
congestion at New Jersey docks at Port of
New York and giving figures for twenty
days in January showing average 1,304
cars unloaded ct the docks. while docks
have a capacity if worked twenty -four
hours of 1000 cars per day. Telegraplic
reply from your office received to-day
promises no relief and therefore most ,n-
satisfactory. We regret necessity begging
reconsideration by you. But situation here
Is critical we should be remss in our
duty if we did not do so. During first
twenty days in January there were nearly
four standing at the docks for every
TELEGRAM from your Office received this
morning gives figures for one days results,
and these figures show that the docks
not operating to capacity, We do not un-
derstand Wy there should be any question
as to the advisabity of increasing he
operation of the bituminous docks to tw.n-
ity-four hours because it is desirable to
have at least one days coal back. A de-
crease in coal at the docks to one day
ahead of dumping would only result from
decreased shipments To the docks, which is
not the kind of remedy need. We need
ing at the docks
Our recommendations to the railroads
the lst OF January were for this increased
capacity at the docks. The figures SUBJ
mitted to you for first twenty days in
January show that the docks have not
dumped to capacity. Please again read our
Monday wires and the reply from your Of
nee and reconsider and wire us if you agree
mat 1t VIII help ii docks are operated to
full capacity
IF you do not come to this conclusion
u apparently can only be justified the
basis that it IS not your expectation to
provide in the future more shipments to
Vdewater-t that is, more than 1904 cars
as this the average for the last twenty
sufficient supply for the Port of New York.
II capacity Of the docks is not operated and
y New York is to continue short because
81 s1ortage OF shipments. this district
thould be warned"
The Fuel Administrator called at
'tentlon to the fact that no coal was
oeng carried through the. Pennsylvania
.uoes. as had been ordered by Secre-
'ary McAdoo, but said that this was a
iailroad matter and not one for him to
OlscusS Railroad officials later ex-
p'alned that carrying coal through the
.uDes necessitated subejcting the tubes
70 strain that endangered all Of the
loads traffic and that it would be bad
ia'lfoading to do this.
Ice Hampers Deliveries
=, Ice in the river continued to offer
me chief obstacle in the way of prompt
uo,e.l,very of coal to the city. Some
sHght idea of the difficulties being en-
souhtered by the agencies for bringing
roal across the river was offered by
T., r: Moran head of the Moran Tow
lug Company, who said that Of the 1S2
sogs registered in the New York Har
wi more than 81 per cent were laid up
"., Ul repairs because of their encounters
with ice foes.
moreover, approximately 400 scows--
,L 'o' only the fuel carrying variety, but
nose being used for all kinds of ma
.ne traltlc-arc completely blockaded
ss tne ice, and will not be available
~; W use until after thaw. Movement
W; w. lhe clty's garbage has been seriously
>',ppied because of this difficulty
us the worst freeze we have ex-
f pellenced here in all my thirty years.
Wperience IN the harbor." said Mr..
S.oran. I'm 1899 and in 1903 we thought
e had particularly bad winters, but
~ neither season was the freeze as bad
as this year"
c, ne said that in ordinary times tug
7a,u 7nan De depended upon to bring from
NV ~ 10 10000 tons of coal from jersey
.,sqe"ater to Manhattan terminals in
w. ,hsh'y-four hours Now, he added,
unoa same tugs could not be dcpendfd d
psr;a rn 70 bring 1000 tons in the same
'.po' Of ~ With practically SO per cent
- tnc eulIiprncrt ,,,oct al 4Lo tow,