The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-06-13
NORTHWEST Will
FREEZE UNLESS
1T GOALS NOW
, Rate Expert James A. Little Is
Convinced That Situation
Is Serious
CANNOT DEPEND ON EAST
Very Little Fuel Coming Up the
Lakes Now, and Railways
Can't Handle 1t Later

AFTER conference with fuel admin
istrative officials who are in close
touch with the production and distrib.
ut1on, / have returned from Washing
ton convinced that if North Dakota,
South Dakota and Minnesota do no;
lay ih ample stores Of Ignite when
they can get it, we will have people
freezing to death next winter" saiG
Rate Expert James A. Little of tho
North Dakota railway commission TO-
day.
The national fuel administration
advises me that only 80 per cent of
the normal supply of anthracite has
come to the head of the lakes this
summer Considerable bituminous coal
has come up, but there is none NOV
Ing now. Washington expects us to
rely upon Ignite, and unless our PEG.
pie can be aroused to the situation,
we will see terrible suffering next
winter. The demands of the north.
west can be met only by maintaining
maximum production of our ligni;c
mines throughout the summer. The
demand will be probably ten times as
great as it ever has been before ana
the mines cannot meet it if they are
forced to close down this summer
indications are that because of a
labor shortage, our grain will be har.
vested and threshed late. Less of the
crop move down the great lakes than,
and this will be an increased burden
on the railways. at the very time when
we, will be in greatest need of trans.
-pOrtation for coal. l intend urging
the railway administration to divert
to North Dakota all available old
bunker cars. boX-cars too dilapidated
to be used for grain and similar roll
ing stock to be used exclusively in
transporting Ignite, and believe ey.
cry effort should be made to convince
the people of the northwest that their
safety next winter lies in storing up
an abundant supply of Ignite now,
when the mines can produce it ana
the railways can handle it," a,
Titles Statement. r.
After spending two weeks in Wash
ington and meeting people prominent
ly connected with the railroad and
fuel administration, the most i'm
portant thing l can say to the people
of this state is that North Dakota
will face very grave fuel shortage
during the coming winter. We are
going to have to depend very largely,
and at times practically exclusively,
on Ignite coal.
"A man in the bureau of mines, who
has made special study of Ignite
coal and is cOnversant with the fuel
situation in the United States makes
the unqualified statement that many
people in Minnesota, North and South
Dakota, who are now depending upon
anthracite and bituminous coal will
have to use Ignite or freeze to death
next winter. Il
Little Eastern Coal.
up to recent date the lake docks
at Superior. and Duluth had received
only 80 per cent of the normal guam
tity Of hard COAL The receipts of BIZ
luminous coal have been about normal
as compared with similar period
last year, but there is little or no &C
emulation of coal on the docks at
those ports. Recently boats have been
turned away from the Lake Erie ports
without coal because there was no
coal on the lower lake docks to load.
On account of car shortage and other
conditions production of bituminous
and anthracite coal has not been as
high as the estimates on which au-
thorities had based a net shortage of
100000 tons for the coming coal
year. This would seem to indicate an
increasing shortage above 50,000,000
tons for the country as q whole.
Transportation Problems.
"Just before / left Washington, an