Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-09-03
Coal Problem
Looming Large
By Frederic ]. Haskin

/ have to be artlhcially heated, ana the
| Fuel Administration calls upon every
| American not 10 waste coal by burning
it in an inefficient furnace. A broken
part, badly covered pipe, even trivial
| crack, may mean the loss of large quanti-
tics of heat which We can III Afford to lose
next winter Any landlord refusing 10
! make the necessary repairs should be
| reported TO the local fuel administrator.
As special patriotic duty the head Of
the household is also asked to care for his
own heating plant this winter. He should
| study IL MS carefully as his wife studies
| the matter Of food, and learn 10 get from
every ton Of coal every unit Of heat that
| it can possibly supply Investigation has
| shown that great deal of coal IS wasted
| every wear through the ignorance OF
| household stolSers II is almost universal
| custom, for example, to let the tempera-
tire Of q house drop to low degree at
night thereby requiring tw1ce ns muc b
coal TO heat IL up again tho next morning
| Someone has said that most OF the misery
| in the world is caused by good-natured
ignorance Don't let this be the cause
| Of coal famine next winter.
FUEL SITUATION MORE SERIOUS.
The fuel situation steadily grows more
serious The mines are turning out more
| coal than ever before, but only with top
| notch speed can they keep up with the
cvcr-increasing demands Of war pro-
| duction On the first Of April the govern
ment and all plants manufacturing war
| materials sent to the Fuel Administration
estimates Of the next years coal require
ments Like many things perpetrated on
| the FIRST of April, these estimates have
4 ,,r..toI fYpr1lsut.tr fTEvts hr cf,~l
ments of the navy, estimated at three
and half million tons on that date,
| increased 10 six million tons by the mid
| die Of July, while now il is estimated that
| at least eight million tons Of coal must be
| furnished the navy up To the end of 1919
The amazing rapidity with which the
| Shipping Board Is launching ships has
also put an unusual strain upon the coal
| supply. When the ANNUAL allotment was
made in April ten million tons were
| assigned tn the board: this has since been
raised to thirteen million. Likewise, coal
| for bunkering purposes, at first estimated
ut Thirteen and n half million tons. has
grown steadily in demand until present
calculations place It at twenty-one mil-
lions.
In addition to these government re-
aulrements, many war plants, rated at
the beginning Of the coal year for marked
increases over their last year 3 allotment.
are now demanding still more coal. Steel
plants and furnaces, particularly which
are greatly increasing their production
bv running full Tune for "a hours a day,
are constantly sending IN requests for
extra tons Of coal An idea Of the number
OF tons may be had when you consider
that five tons Of coal are used in the pro-
& a - 4
demands are also beng received by the
Fuel Administration from brand new
war industries authorized bv the War
Industries Board since the FIRST Of April
LAST YEAR AND THIS
Last year the total coal consumption
OF. the nation was approximately $50
900. 90 net tons Of which about one
hundred million was anthracite and FIVE
hundred and fifty million was bItumlnous
This year with the machinery of war run
uing at incredible speed, a conservative
estimate places the total requirements at
7;}5. 900 .OOO tons slight increase has
been achieved in the production OF an
thraeite coal. The rest OF the increase
must be met either by the production Of
greater quantities Of bitumInous coal or
by the conservation Of fuel On the part
OF the public
The production Of btuminous coal is
largely dependent upon transportation
ia acilities. Since II i impracticable to
store this kind of coal al the mines, il can
be mined only when railroad car IS
waiting TO carry It away. In other words,
it can be mined only as fast as it can be
shipped. Thus If on account of blIszards
or other unforeseen circumstances, the
facilities should be tied
up next winter there IS certain 10 be a
coal shortage. In this event the Fuel Ad-
minlstratIon announces that the require
ments of war will be filled first those of
domestic consumers second, and those
OF non-essential industries last
The fuel ration is not vet a necessity,
as it is IN some of the European countries.
but the government is depending upon
the patriotic spirit of aIl Americans in
the matter of saving coal No special re-
strictions have been placed upon do
nestle consumers they are merely asked
TO take all possible precautions against
waste The maintenance OF clean. efh-
cicnt heaters Is one such precautlon.
Other ways IN which you can economic
on heat j. by weather-strlpping Your
doors and windows, BY installing storm
doors, by turning of the heat III unused
rooms whichever possible, by making
covers for your radiators in the case of
a hot-water system, by avoiding eN-
travagant temperatures, and by studying
the rules applying TO the system of heat
ing IN your house.
DON T Be FOOLED THIS WAY.
Moreover, don't buy patent chemicals
guaranteed 70 make one ton of coal do the
work of four Every fall a large assort-
ment of such articles, said to possess this
marvellous faculty are put on the market
for the benefit of the inexperienced The
Unlted States Bureau of Mines has con
its experimental plant IN PlttSburg, and
has succeeded in proving that they are
worthless Not only do they fail to make
one ton of coal do the work of four, but
they prevent it from doing the work of
one.
It Is a well-known fact, supported by
scientists, that Americans live IN too high
a temperature during the winter. We
have heard II many tlines-from foreigners
amazed at the horribly dry heat of our
houses; from physicians who risk large
winter practice for the pleasure OF telling
us, and now from the Fuel AdmlnStra-
ton which has gathered the statements of
several indlsputable authorities TO prove
it to US Thus, DR. James J. Walsh, ply
sician doctor of philosophy and author,
says:
"Pneumonia takes little more than
one man in eight, and therefore has
wrested from tuberculosis the grim honor