New Britain herald., 1918-01-18
ROCkWELL-DRAkE
 PLANT IS RUNNING
Receives Exemption Because War
 Orders Must Be Finished
OTHER PLACES CLOSED
ITltmbuII Electric Co. and Bristol Mills Tdlc-HardWarc Speciality Co. May Use Water Power--Merchants Are Puzzled.

Are Puzzled.
 The rule made by Fuel Adminis- trator Garfield in regard to the clos ing of all the factories east of the Mississippi river for a period of five days has hit local manufacturers hard At present all the manufacturers are rushed to the last notch with orders given to them by the government for war material and they have been un- able to keep up with their schedules on account of the shortage of labor, which has made it necessary for many of them to run both a day and a night shift They have had all man. ner of obstacles to contend with, such as scarcity of material, labor and also the shipping of goods.
 One of the main objects of the order to conserve coal by the shutting down of factories for the five day period and also on Mondays for the next ten weeks is to get at the freight conges- tion and to relieve the situation as much as is possible.
 The Trumbull Electric Co., has compiled with the ruling and will con- tinue to do so until some satisfactory agreement is made. The company is occupied making special appliances in the electrical line for use on ships and also in the cantonments.
 The Bristol Mills have closed down their factory for the required length of time in compliance with the rule, although they are busy making sweaters and other knit wearing ap- parel to be used by the army and navy. The contract which was made by the government calls for the com pletion of a certain amount of goods of I unless they can keep up with the time given to them on these orders they must make a forfeit to the govern ment.
 The Rockwe1l-Drake Go. has re- ceived orders from the government to continue the operation of the fac tory because they are busily engaged in making machine gun parts and oth- CT articles needed by the war depart ment.
 The Hardware Speciality Go. has number of orders on hand for small and special hardware to be used by the government and at present has all it can do. It has also closed down l the factory for the length of time l required by pr. Garfield and unless l som ething is done to prevent the or ] der being continued they will make ] arrangements whereby they will be | able to run the machinery of the | place by the aid of water power, | which will enable them to keep up the operations and run on full time.
 Storekeepers Worried.
 Storekeepers are in a uuandary as to just when they must begin the i closing of their stores on Mondays. The order given out by Fuel Admin- istrator Garfield states that all stores must be closed excepting those places 1 selling foodstuffs and that nothing else can be sold on that day. They 1 are not required to close their stores on the Monday which takes in the 1 closing of the factories for five days, lasting until next Wednesday, but on the following Monday. The order states that allowances are made in regard to the heating of all stores and l offices to a certain extent in order to prevent the freezing up of water pipes. There is a great deal of ques- ton regarding the closing of those stores that burn only wood.
 The official order of the United States fuel chief was issued yester- day and it gives definite inform ation regarding the amount and length of time that fuel is to be burned, and concerning who is exempted.
 Grange Meeting
 At the regular meeting of the local Grange, held in the c1ubrooms on Pierce street. report was read by Master Harold l.. Newell concerning 1 the State Grange meeting which was held in Hartford on January s, and 10 The members held a social and a and musical program which had been arranged by Miss Helen Mcconnell. The scarcity of fuel for heating the hall has hit the Grange a hard blow { and In order to do their share in the of the product it was de- cided by the members to omit the next regular m meeting, and also to hold an anniversary meeting on the third Tuesday in February, A committee was appointed to arrange the meeting and also to take charge of putting on an interesting program for the even- ing.
 Wool Shortage Threatened
 The Atlantic Division of the Ameri- can Red Cross society has sent a let ter to the local chapter Of the Red Cross asking it to give all possible assistance in the effort to prevent the threatened shortage of wool. It has come to the attention of the head quarters of the society that a great many women who have learned to knit socks, sweaters and other articles through the society have also been 1 knitting sweaters for themselves and their friends. The need of wool for making articles of wearing apparel
 0pIv one day left for Ou5 SHOE