Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-03-26
Out Of the Pit Mouth Comes the Story Of Why There
Was Coal Famine = Millions Of tons Of Coal
are Locked in the Underground Chambers,
And the Key is Cars.

OMEWHERE in Pennsylvania
am a Coal Mine:
~ My sole product is Coal! Coal
for which all America is clamoring.
and which all the world must have!
You know what coal is. Coal is the
source of Energy.
For the want of coal q few weeks
ago more than hundred ships loaded
with supplies for our armies and our
Allies rode at anchor In New York
harbor alone. Waiting for Coal!
A year ago I was producing 1000
tons Of superior bituminous coal q
day. AS fast as I produced it, 1t was
loaded in cars and hauled away. a
great amount of it went to supply
energy for plants making munitions
of var which already have been
hurled against the Hun.
That was a year ago when America
was merely q spectator Of the mael-
strom Over There. Today America
is belligerent. She Is spending her
money and her blood in the struggle
to make the World Safe for Democ.
racy.
What am I doing?
] am producing less than half the
amount of this vital commodity
that was producing last year! To
be exact. I am producing $50 tons Of
coal day-some days.
And where is this coal going? All.
that IL a far different story! It is
standing here in my yards for days
and for weeks, waiting for power to
move 1t. Locked up IN my chambers
there are ten million tons of bitumin.
Gus coal, sufficient to provide power
to transport all the soldiers America
needs Over There. Sufficient, also.
to provide power to operate many Of
the large steel mills near me that are
running only part time or not at all!
for the lack Of Coal. Workmen and
operators Of some of these steel mills
are feeling the pinch. The work.
mems wages are part time wages; the
operators are falling behind in filling
oeders.
NO CARS, NO COAL.
Millions suffer by my inability to
deliver the goods which ! have In
such abundance and which I would
20 freely give II It were In my power.
But ! have, been at the mercy Of
transportation conditions. And when
] needed the railroads. most, they
were almost hopelessly crippled by
blizzard conditions unlike anything
they had faced In decades. There
were even times when men left my
works at my request and went out
and shoveled drifted snow from the
tracks, tho switches and the mouths
Of tunnels until trains could move
again.
I have been given . car rating by
the railroads. Unable to provide cars
20 take al my products away, tho
railroads have told me ! should have
only 30 many cars day and ! have
had to tx my production accordingly.
And after having fixed my car rating,
the railroads have not been able to
provide me with the cars that they
have said am entitled to.
They say ! am entitled to fifteen
cars . day, and thereby my produc-
ton. formerly 1000 tons q day, 10
cut to $50 tons q day.
Let me 90 back again into last
years records and make some com.
PARSONS. At the beginning of last
year there were 290 men working in
my chambers. They worked steadily.
They made full time. They worked
eight hours day and they produced
! 900 tons Of coal a day. Today there
ara '149 men emnl0ved. During Jam.
ary those 149 men made an average
Of three and half hours day and
they produced Just little less than
331 tons a day on the average.
Now you can begin to see what is
happening to make my men leave
and seek other places to work. Let
me show you some figures that talk.
Here's what happened in January,
1918: On January 2, receive eleven
cars; they were loaded quickly and
rolled down into the yard. On Jan.
uary 3, l got eight cars. In about half