Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-05-09
Consumers Can Help Prevent
Shortage Next Winter by
Buying Now, Says Fuel
Administrators.
GARFIELD SOUNDS WARNING.
Better Borrow Money Now to Buy
Than Do Without Later, He says-lf
N Your Storage Space Isn't Large
Enough, Enlarge It.
BY HARRY A. GARFIELD,
United States Fuel Admlnistrat-

nfcIy AOuSclOlucI, every puulAC uIAls
ity and every Industrial user Of coal
engaged in work essential to the prose
cution of the war are earnestly adj
yised and urged to place without de-
lay their orders for coal to cover their
needs for the IL months beginning
April 1.
During the past IL months there has
been suffering among consumers and
curtailment of essential production by
industries through inability to obtain
necessary fuel after the beginning Of
winter. A year ago consumers were
led to believe that they might safely
withhold their orders until later in the
year. They labored under the impress
sion that coal could be bought and Sc
cured as well at one time as another.
They were told that there was plenty
of coal for everybody and that there
would be plenty of coal cars to move
the coal in also.
This advice and its acceptance by
consumers was one of the contributing
causes to the coal shortage, with its
consequent suffering among domestic
consumers and lessening in production
of commodities needed in our war ac-
tivities.
The Fuel Administration was not
then in existence and did not begin its
work until August %. 1t was then al
ready too late to undo the harm which
had been done. The Fuel Administra-
ton would be negligent of it's duty to
the public if it failed to call attention.
at this time to the unfortunate results
of the mistaken course pursued by the
public a year ago and to warn all con-
sumers in the most emphatic manner
possible that repetition of those re-
suits can be avoided only by accepting
!, and acting Immediately upon the Fuel
Administrations advice, here given:
Order Your Coal at Once.
Let every consumer of the classes
mentioned ascertain his fuel require
ments for the coming year. Do this
at once. Order sufficient coal to meet
those requirements. Place your orders
! at once. If domestic consumers have
| not sufficient storage space for the
coal they will need they should en-
!; large their bins. If public utilities and
, industries engaged upon government
work have not sufficient storage space
they should at once provide it.
| The production of coal in this coun.
try is fundamentally transportation
| problem. There are enough coal cans
| and enough locomotives to transport
| the necessary quantity of coal, only If
every car and every locomotive is
! used to its MAXIMUM capacity every
/ day in the year There are enough
operatives iii the nlines to get the coal
from tile grouiG ii hose operatives
can work every day in the year and il
the coal cars and locomotives are
available every day.
The fueh problem is to get the coal
from the first place of deposit to the
final place of deposit with as little de
lay as possible and in rs steady and
continuous a stream as circumstances
] will permit. The railroads may be
compared to water pipe, which needs
4 to run full all the time to carry the
necessary amount of water to its deS
tination. If that water is shut off fol
a any appreciate time it means an ulti
mate shortage. The pipe can carry nc
more than It's maximum capacity pei
day
Borrow, if You Must
Inconvenience of paying for coal iI
the spring or summer when it will moi
: he needed until autumn or winter
should not influence any consumer u
delay placing his order and securing
his supply 1t is far wiser TO borrow
money in The spring TO pay for one.
coal than to wait until autumn OF
II winter, when If thescoa has not beer
mined and shipped money cannot pro
cure il.
The Feel Administration through
! the State Fuel Administrators and 10
} cal committees, is prepared in ever.
: reasonable way TO aid puhltc utilities
essential industries, retail dealers an,
domestic consumers in placing thei
orders and In securing assurance of ;
} sufficient supply of fuel. All thes;
D governmental agencies, however, ar,
powerless If the consumers themselve.
). fail to act. Again. therefore, the Fue
Administration URGES every consume
: to place his orders Immediately. Tht
should ordinarily be done through tn
! medium Of SUNNY upen Which the ror
sumner has relied in The past. If III
course is followed if i4ar be hcpc,
that the slrey'nS pa 'oss Of the pas
: winter will not IS wn1 n II i
/, not done f4'Hsls9rs va! have llmIn
selves 10 ilp".e