The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1918-01-26
FACTORIES USELESS
Unless Ships Get Coal
Garfield.

follows:
1.-The most urgent thing to b.
! done is to send to the American
! forces abroad and to the allies th,
/ food and war supplies which they
l vitally need. War munition, food
manufactured articles of every
description, lying in Atlantic
ports in tens of thousands of tons
where literally hundreds of ships,
loaded with war goods for oul
men and the allies, cannot take
the seas because their bunkers
are empty of coal. The coal tC
send them on their way is waiting
behind the congested freight tha,
has jammed all terminals.
sit is worse than useless to
bend our energies to more manu-
featuring when what We have al.
ready manufactured lies at tide
water c0DgestiDg terminal faclli
ties. jamming the railroad yards
and side tracks for long distances
back into the country. No power
on earth can move this freight
into the war zone where it is
needed until we supply the ships
with fuel.
To REOPEN "MORE EFFICIENT -
"Once the docks are cleared of
the valuable freight for which our
men and associates IN the war
now wait 10 vain, then again our
energies and power may be turned
to manufacturing, more efficient
than ever, so that steady al un
interrupted stream Of vital sup
plies may be this nations answer
to the allies cry for help.
cit has been excess of produc
ton, in our war time speeding up,
that has done so much to cause
congestion on our railroads; that
has filed the freight yards to
over flowing; that has cluttered the
docks of our Atlantic ports with
goods waiting to go abroad. At
tide water the food of freight has
stopped The ships were unable
to complete the journey from our
factories to the war depots behind
the fire line.
DOMESTIC NEEDS CONSIDERED
"Added to this has been diff
Guilty of transporting coal for our
own domestic needs. On top of
these difficulties has come one of
the most terribly severe winter we
have known in years.
"The wheels were choked
and stopped; zero weather and
snowbound trains; terminals con.
gested;. harb0rs with shipping
frozen iD; rivers and canals un-
passable-it was useless to CONT
nue. manufacture and pile confu
sion on top Of confusion.
GA clear line from the manufac.
turing establishments to the sea
board and hey 0nd; that was the
imperative need. 1t was like sol
dlers marching to the front. The
men In the foremost ranks must
have room to move.
"MoRE THAN SHOCK" NEEDED.
"More than shock was need.
ed TO make a way through that
congestion at the terminals and on
the docks so that the aid so vital
ly needed by the allies could get
through.
ssThe incidental effect Of this
transportation on coal production
has been disastrous. There is
and always has been plenty of
fuel, but 1t cannot be moved to
those places where it is so badly
needed while railroad lines and
ter minals are choked. Through
out the coal fields, scores, even
hundreds of mines are lying idle
because of railroad inability toI
supply the ears to carry away
tht ir product. Coal mines cannot
. p.rate without cars. Cars can
not be supplied while the railroads
are crippled by the present freight
congestion, which keeps idle cars
lying useless IN the freight yards.
sin the past week the produc-
ton Of coal has been disastr0usly
reduced. Reports in some cases
have shown 80 per cent OF the
mines In certain fields closed com.
pletely for lack of cars.
This ls war! Whatever the
cost, we must pay so that in the
face of the enemy there can never
be the reproach that we held back
from doing our full share. Those
ships laden with our supply OF
food for men and food for guns
must ha se coal and put to sea. y
Item.