Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-01-06
VIEWS AND NEAR.VIEWS.
HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
IavcstiEators Who NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Tag Kew to Husttc-About Fuel
wsstaEr-Csuatryn Meat supply.

Iavcstix.toYs Who observation-disclosures
Tag Kew to HustIc-About Fuel
| wsstaEe-Csu,try'a Meat supply.
| Tho investigation committees OF Con
| sress. now working overtime IN Wash
| ingepn. are bringing out some yer!
| interesting facts that may DO suSScS'
tive in these arts. For instance; The
Senate commerce committee has found
that a lack OF proper housing accom-
modations Is the cause OF labor short
age in the shipyards. One witness
testified that profteerins house-builo'
ers were asking c1orbitant rentals
and In some instances wero refusing
to rent their houses at all. insistins
that workers purchase them outright
It has been whispered about in re-
cent times, and in times not SO very
recent, that Richmond industries have
suffered from similar causes. Some
Investigations give US hints ms TO do
q l,ttle investigating nearer home.
The war is teaching US how to do
things. and do them quickly when
Emergencies arise. A paragraph from
a story In tho Manufacturers Record
IL suggestive. 1t says:
In croer to meet the pressing need
Of the government for nitrates. Frank
S. washburn. OF the American Cyana-
mid Co.. who is handling tho enter
prise for the War Department. will
probably do a piece OF construction
which will prove the raaidity with
which big things can sometimes be
done In this country. plant to cost
Sl3.eoo.o0o to 32o.oo0,0o0 must now be
built in record time to meet an emer-
gency which existed for three years.
of he
more than 100000 available horse
power at Muscle Shoals. which must
follow the building OF the nitrate
plant, should ultimately mean an cleo
tro-ch emicai development rivalinE that
at Niagara.
Tho Bureau OF Mines. United States
Department of the Interior. recently
requested opinions from Z number OF
prominent fuel engineers throughout
tho country concerning the best way
TO conserve coal during the war. and
Martin A. Rooney. OF Michigan. fur
nished some startling information that
Is worthy OF careful study in this
time of fuel famines. He said that
90 per cent OF coal was wasted through
unintelligent or careless firms, or. in
other words. that ono carload out or
every five carloads was OF no SER
vice on account OF this waste. He re-
marked that the time is coming when
the government would limit the
amount OF coal to this or that manu-
facturer, and, II /. was to be denied
10 anyone. II should be 10 him who
could not show that he would en-
ploy it effectively: this was only fair
to the men who mine the coal and the
others who haul II. as we'll as to the
manufacture who was saving all he
could. Said Mr.. Rooney, in conclusion
Lex US send into our furnace and
oo!}er-roon1s men who can show our
engineers and fircmen how to burn
their fuel with the least waste, as We
have sent them among our fields and
orchards to show the farmer how to
Increase the productivity OF his SOIL"
There IT, not much OF a meat short
age in this country after all. The
United States Depa rtment OF Asricul-
ture reports beef cattle in the United
States as 4S.soo.ooo as against 4O.s5O,-
600 one year ago; sheep. 5000, 900 as
against 4s.5oo.ooo a year ago; hogs,
s2.'f 900 as against 67,545.ooo a year
ago.