The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-02-12
CATCHINGS' VIEW
 OF FUEL ORDER
By HOLLAND

New York, February 11.-(Special.) Waddill Catchings, who is chairman of the war committee of the Chamber of of many men occupied in directing large
 industries who are now doing two mems
 work in one day For there is not an
 industrial leader who is now serving
 the government without remuneration
 who is not driven each day to the capac- ity Of his energy and strength. How long the physical system can stand a strain of this kind remains to be dis covered. Two or three men have al
 ready partially collapsed.
 Mr. Catchings is president of one of the important independent steel and iron industries of the United States. At this time there are responsibilities upon the leaders of steel and iron industries which are so great as to demand all their time if they are fully to meet them. Nevertheless, MT. Catchings ap- parently regards the service which he can perform for the government as first in importance. In service of that kind he has been brought in touch with all the leaders of industry as well as trade and commerce in the United States. He therefore speaks with authority when he speaks for them, and as chairman of the war committee of the Chamber of Com merce of the United States he has felt. that he was not only justified, but under the circumstances was required to set forth the views Of the great majority of the industrial leaders of this country respecting the fuel order whereby 10 Mondays were set apart by order of Dr. Garfield as closed days for industries of all kinds
 MT. Catchings says that this commit tee, of which he is chairman, has no knowledge that the fuel administration contemplated any action of that kind The purpose, as announced, was so ex- traordinary, and if adopted, was so likely to seriously impair business activities that the committee immediately sought pr. Harry A. Garfield, so that as the representatives of American industries, they could learn from him what he really meant when he issued the order
 DRASTIC ACTION NEEDED
 Dr. Garfield told his committee which srose for the business men of the United States, that drastic action was neces- sary in order to clear up the situation and that this action should go so far as to compel complete suspension of in Gustry for the week days until the middle of March.
 This statement was astonishing al- though the committee believed and so stated that if the formal order of Dr. Garfield's s was issued it was the duty of business men to do everything in their power to carry out the spirit of the purpose of the order
 WAS IT NECESSARY
 But was the order necessary? In the first place, MT. Catchings pointed out to Dr. Garfield that the order would upon the instant strike a severe blow to busi- ness men and to workers especially be- cause they had received no intimation of It. Furthermore it would fail to se- cure the result in the saving of coal, which Dr. Garfield looked for because the industries, through want of prior in- formation, were unable to make prepara- tions.
 Again Mr. Catchings suggested to Dr. Garfield that action of this kind, which is unprecedented, should not have been taken without consultation with men who as a whole represent the industries of the United States, especially as all of these industries have organized commit tees to enable the government to receive helpful cooperation.
 Nevertheless Mir. Catchings and fellow of his committee assumed that of all kinds would not have been shaken in this way unless there was the weightiest reasons for the order. And yet the committee. rep resentative of all the industries of the United States was compelled to speak with amazement that pr. Garfield should have taken such a step without any COT ference at all with the industrial leaders throughout the country.
 The Secretary of the Treasury, Mir. Me AGoo, is presumed not to have shared in the belief of the fuel administration that it was vital to impose closed days in each week for 10 weeks. The Secretary Had to look at the proposition from many points of view. He was contem- plating stupendous plans whereby bill