The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-02-21
Facts About Coal Shortage

stone-or, as they say, Of ash--in
soft coal runs normally between s
per cent and 10 per cent. It has been
found that it Is now running all the
way from 10 per cent to as high as
30 per cent.--some OF 1t nearly one
third Just dirt The result has been
disaster. The furnaces of the ma
ton are built to burn coal of per
cent. to 10 per cent. impurtty. The
present run of coal simply clogs the
CRATES and results in diminution OF
actual heating power by from rs to
80 per cent.
In other words, the 550.000,0 900 tons
OF coal mined last year probably pro.
duced at least onefifrh, IL not one
fifth. less heat and Dower than the
smaller product of the previous year.
This is the milk Of the coal famine"
coconut.
In one power plant in Wilmington,
Del, it was found that twenty boilers
were not producing as much power
as an average of twelve boilers for
the year 1916. In another the norm
al production OF 1,4O0 kilowatts per
hour was cut down to 900 kilowatts.
And with the coal for ships Il has
been even worse. Some OF the ships
have found that they had to take
from so to 100 per cent more coal In
their bunkers to complete their voy-
ages.
It means more stokers, moro bros-
en- down boilers, more shntdowns.
This Is the price we pay for govern
mental interference. So much for
coal.
Now for the railroads. There was
no serious DISCRIMINATION until the
administration began to put the crow
bar in the machinery with priority
orders This is said adyisedly, with
full knowledge of the situation
The railroads were operating at prac-
tically 100 per cent. capacity under
great difficulties. largely due to the
loss OF skilled mechanics, and es-
pecially of expert repair men, who
had gone to munition plants, steel
works, and the like. There were I'M
doubted delays, and the jam at the
seaboard was beginning to do its
deadly work But it was priority
orders which actually began the
trouble. The railroad procession in
the United States. the mightiest
freight movement in the world, was
compelled to slow down Just when 1t
was trying to speed up!
1t was not very long before gov
eminent priority orders were plaster
ed on four cars out OF five, on some
lines. The railroads were under
orders to weed out this firth carl
The whole machine stopped to take
out one car in five to put on siding.
It Is almost beyond belief, but 1t
was often literally true.
There was another factor In which
undoubtedly the railroads could have
helped immensely. That Is in pro-
yiding for the storage OF freight at
the seaboard terminals. This, plus
the submarine, caused practically all
the actual Congestion" For ex-
ample, as write, 1t is estimated that
the total congestion in terminals
about New York City is not much over
10000 cars. A bagatelle! Back OF
these, strung half the way to Chi
cago. are az least 10000 more stalled
cars. But even this would be no
serious matter II there was only ade-
quate room for dumping the freight
terminal Then the tracks would
have been clear. Now. with the in
dustry of the country half at a stand.
still. plans for such warehouses are
being formulated.
The moral appears to be that you
| cannot tamper with delicate ma.
chine, running at full speed. and not
have a smash. We have got it.. And
you cannot increase production Of
any commodity by drastic reduc-
ton of the price And that is pre-
cisely what the administration tried
to do. The industries OF nation OF
a hundred millions pay the piper
Now it is proposed to extend still
further governmental control of the
industrial machine!