The Little River news. (Ashdown, Little River County, Ark.) 1897-current, 1918-05-18
Consumers Can Help Prevent
Shortage Next Winter by
Buying Now, Says Fuel
Administrator.
GARFIELD SOUNDS WARNING.
Better Borrow Money Now to Buy
Than Do Without Later, He Says-'f
Your Storage Space Isn't Large
Enough, Enlarge 1t.
By HARRY A. GARFIELD,

United States Fuel Administrator.
Every householder, every public utii-
Fly and every industrial user of coal
engaged in work essential TO the prose-
cution OF the war are earnestly adj
vised and urged to place without de
law their orders for coal to cover their
needs for the y months beginning
April l.
During the past l. months there has
been suffering among consumers and
.rrtailment Of essential production by
industries through inability to obtain
necessary fuel after the beginning of
winter. \ year ago consumers We're
led to believe that they might safely
withhold their orders until later in the
Year. They la5ored under the impress
sion that coal could be bought and Sc
cured as we'll at one time as another.
They were told that there was plenty
of coal for everybody and that there
would be plenty Of coal cars to move
the coal in also.
This advice and It's acceptance by
consumers was ore Of the contributing
causes to the coal shortage, with its
consequent suffering among domestic
consumers and lessening in production
of commodities needed in our war ac
tivitics.
The Fuel Administration was NOT
then in existence and did not begin is
work until August 2 Il was then al
ready too late to undo the harm which
had been done The Fuel Administra
! ton would he negligent of its duly t0
the pal r. if ii failed 70 Call attention.
at this time to the unfortunate results
o. HE mistaken course pursued by the
public a year ago and to warn all con,
sumers in the most emphatic manner
possible that repetition of those re-
suits can be avoided only by accepting
and acting Immediately upon the Fuel
Administration advice, here given
Order Your Coal at Once.
Let every consumer of the classes
mentioned ascertain his fuel require.
mcnts for the coming year. Do thi,
at once. Order sufficient coal to meet
those requirements. Place your orders
at once If domestic consumers have
not sufficient storage space for the
coal they will need they should en-
large their bins. If public utilities and
industries engaged upon government
work have not sufficient storage space
they should at once provide it.
The production Of coal in this cOun
try is fundamentally a transportation
problem. There are enough coal car
and enough locomotives to transpor.
he netsssa 1i Gc'.iiianiily Of coal, only i,
every car and every locomotive l..
used to It's maximum capacity ever,
dan in the year There are enonsl
operatives in the mines to get the Goa
from the ground if those operative
can work every day in the year and i
the coal cars and locomotives arr
available every day.
The fuel problem is to get the coal
f.om the first place of deposit to the
final place of deposit with as little de
lay as possible and in as steady and
continuous stream as circumstances
will hermit. The railroads may n
compared TO water pipe, which needs
10 run full all the time to carry the
| necessary amount of water to It's dos
tination. If that water IS shut Off for
any aDpreciabie time it means an uli-
mate shortage The pipe can carry II"
more than its maximum capacity pea
day.
Borrow, if You Must
Inconvenience of paying for coal in
| the spring or summer when it will not
be needed until autumn or winter
should not influence any consumer to
delay placing his order and securing
| his supply. 1t is far wiser to borrow
money in the spring to pay for on IS
coal than to wait until autumn or
winter. when If the coal has not been
| mined and shipped money cannot pro-
| cure it.
! The Fuel Administration, through
/ The State Fuel Administrators and To-
cal committees, is prepared in every
reasonable way to aid public utilities.
essential industries, retail dealers and
domestic consumers in placing their
orders and in securing assurance of n
sufficient supply of fuel. All these
/ governmental agencies, however, are
poverless if the consumers themselves
fail to act. Again, therefore, the Fuel
Administration urges every consumer
TO place his orders Immediately. This
should ordinarily be done through the
medium Of supply upon which the con
sumer has relied in the past. If this
course is followed 1t may be hoped
that the suffering and loss Of the past
winter will not be repeated. II 1t Is