Evening star., 1918-01-29

Lack of coal forced the closing today
Of six Washington public school build
ings, and after today all school build
ings in the District will be closed until
next Monday.
Supt. Thurston this afternoon issued
the following statement:
The two weeks heavy storm has in
terfered so seriously with the receipts
and delivery of fuel for the public
schools that at the present time ap-
proximately forty buildings have ex-
hausted, or practically SO, their coal
supply, and the supplies of number of
others are seriously depleted. In view
of this situation and in order to give
q brief period in which to make de-
liveries and adjust fuel supplies it has
been decided by the school authorities,
after conference with the District off,
cials. to close the public schools until
Monday, February 4. By that time the
fuel supply will be SO adjusted as to
enable the entire school organization to
begin work again. 1t is not the inten-
tion to close the schools for any long
period"
There is plenty of coal at the Dis
trict dump to keep all the schools go
inR 1t was said, but the heavy snow
has so interfered with street traffic that
deliveries could not be made The
schools use soft coal, of which there is
no acute shortage.
The schools closed today are the
Business and Mckinley High, and
Blake. smallwood. Blair and Polk grade
enough heat will be maintained to keep
the plumbing from freezing should it
turn cold.
Order Further Modified.
Edward F. Colladay. acting fuel ad-
ministrator for the District, today fur
ther modified Fuel Administrator
Weaver's order limiting the amount of
heat which churches may have. He
ruled that the order did not apply to
Sunday school rooms. chapels and par
ish halls. when they are heated by sep
arate plants from those which heat the
churches. This permits most weekday
meets one of ihe chief objections which
have been made against the church or
der. Entertainments for soldiers, Red
Cross meetings and other social events,
when not held in the church proper, are
not interfered with.
Mr.. Colladay also ruled that churches
may divide the six and a half hours
they are to have heat on Sundays into
two periods, if they please. Some of
the churches will keep open two or
three hours in the morning and the
rest of the time in the evening, bank
ing their fires in the meantime. Mr..
Colladay saw delegations of churchmen
today and explained the changes to
them. Most of them expressed satisfac-
tion.
N6o1;a Teeua cf;11 n;ec,e-od
The churchmen still are insistent
that moving picture theaters shall be
closed. Mr.. Colladay said he will act
on that question just as soon as he
receives from Mai Pullman, superin-
tendent of police, report as to the
amount of hard coal which would be
saved. He expects the report today.
Moving picture theaters generally, un-
der orders OF the fuel administration.
The Pastors Federation of Protestant
Churches is meeting this afternoon at
the Billy Sunday Tabernacle to discuss
the coal order and it's enforcement un-
der the modifying rulings.
1t was announced today that in the
future applications for coal made to
the emergency distribution office of the
local fuel administrator are to be in
vestigated by the police. There is a
strong belief that many persons have
been getting coal through the emer-
gency bureau who were not absolutely
in need of 1t. forcing others whose
homes were entirely without heat to
wait. The purpose of the bureau is to
meet cases of absolute emergency.
Began Day With IS Tons.
The bureau began operations today with
only IS tons of hard coal available fol-
distribution. but three additional cars were
placed during the day. MIR. Colladay Is
considering the advisability OF cutting de.
.liyeries through the bureau down to quar-.
ter-ton lots. He believes this would tend
to discourage applications from persons
not out of coal and give the bureau a bet.
ter chance to serve those who are entireI,
out.
table compiled in the Office of the
District fuel administrator today shows
that in the period from January IL tc
26 receipts Of anthracite coal in Wash.
'ington averaged 1905 tons. For the
fourteen-day period this is a shortage
of $3.50 tons below the 2,400 tons a
day promised the National Capital by
Fuel Administrator Garfield. That coal
has beer shipped and is somewhere
this SIDE of the mines. The national
fuel Administration now is straining
every enort to get it here.
Reports to the police, department
ElCont1nued On Second PaTe1 :.