Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-03-07
ICE MANUFACTURERS HERE GIVE
LITTLE HEED TO SHORTAGE PERIL
Plead Lack of Time in Admitting They Have Not At
tempted to Increase Storage Space for
Natural Product
Dy SAMUEL Mccoy

Persons who view with concern the
announcement made by the food admin
latratitn that the Government will re-
pulre all the ammonia which can possi-
by hN manufactured this year to use in
making ammunition. giving rise TO the
deduction that n great shortage of am
monia for the manufacture of artificial
Ice must cnsue. charge that the uanutac-
turers of artificial, ice in this city are
taking the food administration warm
Ing altogether too lightly, and that as a
result OF their attitude the public will
experience great suffering during the
coming summer from lack OF ice.
Apparently the leo manufacturers do
not take this matter seriously" "a the
charge. They admit that there Is stor-
ag" space IN Philadelphia for ory 17O,-
UOo tons Cf Ice, an amount which would
not last three weeks during the hot
weather and yet they are making no
cHort Whatever to provide additional
storage space for natural ice. which
might he obtained at present
They assert that new buildings Cor
the storage Of ice could no, be hull, in
time TO take care Of the required amount
OF natural ice. and this argument may
be sound one. Put they also assert
that no old building could he converted
Into ice storchouses. They are making
no effort to locate any such buildings
They are not bringing from the Pcrkiomen
district any greater supply Of natural
ice than they imported last year. They
are making no effort to get supplies OF
natural ice from any other fields. They
assert tina. IL would be impossible to
get supplies from the Pocono district
both because of the higher freight rate
from that district and because the Po-
como ice concerns owe duty 10 their
regular customers and not TO the Phiia-
delpha public. Even accepting this
elimination Of tho Pocouo supplies. the
Philadelphia ice dealers arc not lifting
"A finger TO got ice from any other
streams or reservoirs within reach Of
this city.
rs u Consequence. the public Is
bound 80 suffer this summer. r. the
food administration stands by its warn-
ing tina, supplies Of ammonia must bo
cut OF from Ire aud refrigeration plants
this summer, or at leaet limited, itis the
people Of philadelphia who will suffer,
not the ice dealers. The manufac-
turers can then claim justification for
advancing their prices Hospitals may
he tho first 20 he served with tho sup
ply of fec available, and il Is grim
fact that hospitals will need 70 be served
II the general public cannot obtain ice,
sickness crom perishabl, food, which
will deterioratn in the hot weather, VIII
All the hospitals 20 uverfowing.
HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY
What viii be the death rate of babies
and younE children on account OF lack
OF ice Tor milk" What will be the i'm
crease In typhoid eases? This is the re-
Sponsiblity resting ~, the ice concerns
OF Philadelpha. and they talk about
the lack of storage space in this city, rs
II that excuse wcro sufficient to absolve
them oi responsibility.
"If the Government reeds all supplies
OF ammonia to make munitions for the
american troops st the front that Is all
there Is TO IL. T. cam protect the
interests Of private consu .iers OF am
monia. Nor does it absoive the ice
manufacturer TO say that the statements
of the Governments need for ammonia
are exaggerated Upon what do they
base their as-upmtiOn that the food ad-
minstration is oyer"stimating the gray.
ity Of the situation"
1.-The warninGs iu regard to the i'm
pending shortage have come from the
food administration since November last.
And yet with OILY q gcant two or three
weeks left in which natural Ice can
possibly oe secured what effort has
been made to lay in supplies OF natural
ice? What can be- done In this brief
space of time remai1inG?"
wARNING ~ CHEMIST
AZ to the seriyuyucae OF the situation.
Charles W. Merrill head of the chcni-
cal department OF Ia" food adu!nistra-
ton, stated on Drc,mber 81 IN 4 letter
to the ice associations ot the nation:
Further to my advc" of December
Il II is stated TO us that many OF the
ice manufacturers formed the erroneous
conclusion that at the end of s!Hty days
the ammdDia situation would be relieved
and thatyon this account the same lack
Of cooperation from the lack Of artifl-
clal Ice and natural ice industries con-
tinues to exist
ut is repeated that the ues of am
monia to ice-produclnF plants, breweries
and bottling works gre 10" restricted.
and will probably hav, TO b" further re-
stricted. particularly in IN" natural ice
belt In explanation OF this you are
advised that the requirements Of ammo
MIA for ammunition purposes for May
are three times the amount required in
February, and that these requirements
Increase continuously up to next De-
cember, In which month they are seven
times the amount required for Feb.
ruary."
The attitude Of the Government in re-
gard to agreements entered !Gto to re-
strict the use Of ammonia, as eEpounded
to the ice trade by Mr.. Merrill. IS that
the Sherman antitrust law Is not Vic-
lated by the formulation Of any agree
ment between the Government itself and
individual producers or traders. Work