The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-01-18
HUNDREDS OF SHIPS
ARE WITHOUT COAL
Fuel Administrator Garfield Endeavors
to Explain Why He Issued the
Drastic Order

Washington, ID. c., Jan. ls.- Fuel Ad-
mnistrator Garfields statement in ex-
PLANTATION of his order Restricting fuel
issued yesterday follows;
"The most urgent thing to be done is
to send to the American forces abroad
and to the allies the food and war sup
plies which they vitally need. War mu-
nitions. food, manufactured articles of
every description are lying in Atlantic
ports in tens of thousands of tons, where
literally hundreds of ships, loaded with
war goods for our men and the allies
cannot take the seas because their bunk
ers are empty of coal. The coal to send
them on their way is waiting behind
the congested freight that has jammed
all terminals
"It IL worse than useless to bend onr
energies to more manufacturing when
what we have already manufactured lies
at tide water congesting facilities, Jam
ming the railroad yards and side tracks
for long distances back into the country.
No power on earth can move this freight
into the war zone where it is needed un-
til we supply the ships with fuel.
Once the docks are cleared of the val
uablt iAtiEHN ipi NBiCI men anu HS-
sociates in the war now wait in vain,
then again our energies and power may
be turned to manufacturing, more eff
GENTLY than ever, so that steady and
uninterrupted stream of vital supplies
may be this nations answer to the all |
lies cry for help.
1t has been excess of production, in
our war time speeding up, that has done
so much to cause congestion on our rail |
roads; that has filled the freight yards |
to overflowing; that has cluttered the |
docks of our Atlantic ports with goods |
waiting to 60 abroad At tide water /
the flow of freight has stopped. The
ships We're unable to complete the Jour
ney from our factories to the war de-
pots behind the firing line.
Added to this has been difficulty of
coal for our own domestic
needs. On top of these difficulties has
come one OF the most terribly severe
winters we have known in years.
The wheels were choked and stopped i,
zero weather and snow bound trains
terminals congested harbors with ship.
ping frozen in; rivers and canals unpass-
albeit was useless to continue manu-.
facture and pile confusion on top of con.
fusion.
"A clear line from the manufacturing !
to the seaboard and be-
yond; that was the imperative need. 1t /:
vas like soldiers marching to the front
The men in the foremost ranks must I
lave room to move.
More than shock was needed to
make way through that congestion at
he terminals and on the docks so that I
he aid so vitally needed by the allies a
ould get through. /,
1.-THE incidental effect of this transpor. c
alton situation on coal production has /
een disastrous. There is, and ALWAYS :
as been, plenty of fuel, but it cannot o
e moved to those places where il is
o badly needed while railroad lines 4
nd terminals are choked Throughout e
be coal fields, scores, even hundreds. of o
lines are lying idle because of railroad r
inability to supply the cars to carry n
way their product. Coal mines cannot e
perate without cars. Cars cannot he d
upplied while the railroads are crippled 81
y the present freight congestion. which Il
eeps idle cars lying useless in the
reight yards. il
In the past week the production of b
pal has been disastrously reduced. Re- Il
orts in some cases have shown 90 per a,
mt of the mines in certain fields closed pl
,mpletely for lack of cars. N
This is war; Whatever the cost dl
e must pay so that in the face of the OF
,emy there can never be the reproach s
rat we held back from doing our full q
rare. Those ships laden with supplies al
food for men and food for guns must m
Ave coal and put to sea-"