Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-01-18
GARFIELD is SAD
FAILURE SAY CRITICS

CONTINUED from First Pagc.l
silence that since the war began has
made 1T seem that Congress was not
disposed to criticise or attack the ad-
ministration during the war suddenly
was ripped aside and there poured
forth flood of oratory, bitter and
derisive, aimed at Doctor Garfield in
particular and the entire administra-
tion in general.
The motto of the attackers, chiefly
Republicans, was expressed by Rep
resentative Madden, Republican, of
Chicago, when he shouted:
Charges Incompetency
They talk about patriotism But
we have had enough of the patriotism
that means silence in face of gross
incompetency that Is killing our boys
before they reach the trenches and
making farce out of our part in the
war! 1t now becomes the duty of
real patriots to clear out this incom-
potency and inefficiency!"
Representative Lenroot, of Wiscon-
son, asserted:
This order is a confession of in
competency and make the statement
that IL is due to the absolute incom-
potency with which the coal situation
has been handled for the last four
nlonths!"
Representative Gillett. of Massa-
chusetts, Republican floor leader. in
troduced a resolution similar to the
Hitchcock measures passed by the
Senate. It's consideration was made
impossible by the action of Represent
ative Cox, of Indiana, Democrat, who
interposed an objection to the request
for unanimous consent that 1t be con-
sidered. Representative Charles b.
ANNNaf 4 IATW.a
duced joint resolution intended to
prevent the operation of the order.
The resolution was sent to the Com
mittee on Agriculture by Speaker
Clark.
An all-day storm in the House over
the Garfield order was prevented by
the administration Democrats only by
the use of the parliamentary report
to withhold unanimous consent to
consider a resolution while the body
was engaged in the consideration of
bill in regular order. The Indian
appropriation bill was being consid-
cred by the House. ...
Garfield Issues Statement
Fuel Administrator Garfield last
night issued the following staten ent
explaining his order suspending in
dustry in the East:
The most urgent thing to be done
is to send to the American forces
abroad and TO the allies the food
and war supplies which they vitality
need. War munitions, food, manu-
factured articles of every description
lie at our Atlantic ports in tens OF
thousands of tons while literally
hundreds of ships waiting loaded
with war goods for our men and
the allies cannot take the seas be-
cause bunkers are empty of coal.
The coal to send them on their
way is waiting behind a congested
freight that has jammed all termi-
nails.
lit is worse than useless to bend
our energies to more manufacturing
when what we have already manu-
factured lies at tidewater, cOngeSting
terminal facilities, jamming the rail-
road yards and sidetracks for long
distances back into the country. No
power on earth can move this freight
into the war zone, where 1t Is needed,
until we supply the ships with fuel.
Would Clear the Docks
"Once the docks are cleared of
valuable freight, for which our men
and associates in the war now wait
in vain, then again our energies and
power may be turned~to manufac-
ture more efficiently than ever, so
stream of vital supplies may be this
nations answer to the allies cry for
help.
1T has been excess of production
in our wartime speeding up that
has done so much to cause conges-
ton of our railroads, that has filled
the freight yards to overflow; that
has flooded the docks of our Allan
tic ports with goods waiting to go
abroad. at tidewater the flood of
II eight was stopped. The ships were
unable to complete the journey from
our factories to the war depots be-
hind the firing line.
Added to this has been a diff
Guilty of transporting coal for oui
own domestic needs. On top Of these
difficulties has come one of the most
terribly severe winters we have
known in years.
The wheels were choked and
stopped; zero weather has snow
bound trains; terminals are con-
gested; harbors with shipping frozen
in rivers and canals are impossible;
it was useless to continue manufac-
ture and pile confusion on top OF
confusion.
"A clear line from the manufac-
turing establishment to the seaport
and beyond-that was the impera-
tive need. 1t was like soldiers
marching to the front. The men OF
the foremost rank must have room
to move.
More than a shock was needed
to make a way through that con-
gestion at the terminals and on the
docks, so that the aid so vitality need
ed by the allies could get through.
Plenty of Fuel, Garfield Says
THE incidental effect of this
transportation situation on coal pro-
duction has been disastrous. There
is and always has been plenty OF
fuel, but it cannot be moved to
those places where 1t is so badly
needed while railroad lines and ter.
minals are checked. Throughout the
coal field scores even hundreds of
mines are lying idle because of rail