The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1918-01-24
CLOSE DOWN FIVE DAYS.
All Manufacturing rlants Affected.
Also Close for Ten Mondays.

which evidently had bid fair to con-
tinue throughout the cold weather at
least, the United States fuel admins
tration has been forced to take dras-
tic action and go to extremes. The
general public was entirely unwarned
and unawares of what was going to
happen and like a thunderbolt from
q clear sky last Wednesday came the
announced orders of Chairman Car
field. of the national fuel administra-
ton, requiring every industrial plant
and manufacturing enterprise east
of the Mississippi river to totally dis
continue operation for a period OF
five days beginning Friday. Not even
I the munition factories supplying our
armies and those of the allies with
ammunition were exempted by the
far reaching order, but every indus
try was swept before Mr.. Garfeld's
plans and put out of business for the
| fve-day working period.
Two local plants, the Bamberg
Cotton Mills and the Cotton Oil Com
pany, were included in the measure
which astounded the whole country
and threw congress into state of
excitement.
Some of the congressman ard Unit
ed States senators bitterly assailed
the fuel administration for its act,
using no uncertain terms and not
expressing their opinions very mild
ly, although the orders met with the
full accord and approval of Presi-
dent Wilson
The order had no effect on the oil
mill here, as it had already been
forced to shut down several days pre-
viously because of no fuel and the
impossibility to obtain any. How
ever, the officers of the cotton mill
here received their official notifica-
ton of the administration orders
through Mr.. J. A. Wyman, Bamberg
county chairman of the national
fuel administration, and consequent
ly, ceased all operation of their ma
chinery Friday. AS a result The
Bamberg Herald is without any elec-
trical day current and was there
fore placed at a disadvantage in get
ting out the paper this week and
was also unable to turn out any job
work whatever.
Instructions were later received
permitting oil mills to resume oper-
ations, and the Denmark mill, which
has fuel on hand, again started up.
The orders, however, do not stop
there, but, go further and provide
that all business houses, including
mercantile stores, offices, profession
al and otherwise, and practically
every place of business except official
ones, must close their doors and
take holiday each Monday from now
until March 25th, including amuse-
ment houses of all kinds, and also
includes the entire territory east of
the Mississippi river. They permit
restaurants, drug stores and grocery
stores to keep open on Mondays un-
til 12 o'clock only, or they must
operate without heat if kept open
after this hour. Daily newspapers
are allowed to publish only one issue
on Mondays Nearly every business
and enterprise in Bamberg is effect
ed by the orders.
These drastic measures were taken
by the fuel administration with the
idea of conserving the huge quanti-
ties of coal and other fuel which
would be used under normal business
operations, it being figured that
thirty million tons will be thusly
saved which is the estimated short
age in the territory affected. The
business houses and stores of Bam-
berg observed the orders Monday
and are complying with the require
ments of the administration, although
its ideas and plans do not seem to
meet with general favor among the
citizens here.
The Herald's job plant could not,
under the orders execute any job
work during the period, and no work
of any kind could be done on Monday.
The type for this issue of the paper
had to be set at night, as we were
without power in the day, our cur
rent being generated at the Cotton
Mill.
The cotton mill authorities decid-
ed to grant it's operatives full pay
during the period with the exception
of Monday.