The Oskaloosa herald., 1918-01-24
WORKERS WITHOUT MEANS APP
PLY TO CHARITY.
idle LABOR CANNOT Be USED
Hunger, Cold and Sickness Confront
the JcbIess Man--Money Loss Is
Enornous-Dr. Garfield
Tells Why.

tuel administration ONCE lOudy IS
ceiyed, authority from Washington t.
act at its will in closing factories ant
places of business as may be neces
sary for the conservation of fuel.
M. A. Potter, who is in charge OF
the Office, stated that he did not in
tend to close any of the stores en-
tirely, but that he intended to limit
the hours of all.
He will draw up a schedule late
today and it will be put into effect
soon. The plans which he has been
working on will be that the pool halls
and cigar stores will probably be lin
tied to IL hours per day.
Many of the stores will be ordered
closed at p. m. The stores selling
food will be given preference.
Churches and Lodges.
In addition to the orders compelling
various Industrious to operate short
err hours, an order will be issued by
| the administration this week and will
contain additional recommendations
but will not make them compulsory.
Among these will be the recommen-
dation that the churches hold no mid
week service and wherever possible
combine their services. Lodges may be
asked to discontinue their meetings
until the fuel shortage is past.
Suffering in Chicago.
Chicago, Jan. 81. - Smokeless
chimneys and the closing down of
| hundreds of the small industries by
the coal conservation orders, means
something more to the families of the
poor than that of winning the war;
hunger, cold and sickness.
Thousands of workers who could
not read. and others whose time for
| recreation was limited to reading did
not know of the closing orders.
They presented themselves for
work as usual only to be told that
there is no work" Dazed with the
remark they turned away to look for
other employment only to find large
, numbers of men seeking like them
| selves in the same role.
Today they turned to their last re-
sort, the horror of every working
man-the charities. The United
/ Charities reported an increase of sew
+ enty-five per cent over the normal.
Piece Workers Hardest Hit.
The enforced idIeness hit the piece
workers hardest of all. Employers
declared they could not pay these
men, but that many men on strictly
weekly wages could be paid at least
a fraction of their stipends.
! Many suggestions to have the men
clear away the snow piled up
throughout the city came to Com
missioner of Public Works Bennett
! today, but he said he could not heed
them.
1--WE have no funds for this work"
said Nj. Bennett We spent $780,
in the loop and in other sections OF
the city, and to clear away the snow
all over the city would cost from $751;
/ 600, 900 to $16,0O0,00 l haven't even
made my report to the financial
committee on my expenditures yet"
The money side of the issue finds
capital estimated at more than ST.
! 900, 100000 shut down and close to
/ 81 100000 a day loss to Chicago wage
carriers alone, aside from the big cut
in the purse of the wage earners
! throughout the state, which has a to-
tai of 100000. The loss to wage
earners and to the plant owners has
been estimated at .S8,000,0O0 a day.
| The ten Monday holidays will boost
the total money loss to $10,000,000 a
Monday.
DR.. Garfield Explains.
Washington, Jan. doctor Gar
field issued the following statement
4 explaining his "heatless day" order:
THE most urgent thing TO be done
Is TO send to the American forces
abroad and to the allies the food and
war supplies which they vitality need.
war munitions, food, manufactured
articles Of every description, lie at our
Atlantic ports I'm ten to tens of thou
sands of tons, while literally hundreds
Of ships, waiting loaded with war goods
for our men and the allies. cannot take
the seas because bunkers are empty
Of coal The coal to send them on
. their way is waiting behind conges-
ton of freight that has jamined all
I terminals.
I. Must Clear Docks.
: at is worse than useless TO bend our
/ energies to more manufacturing when
! what we have already manufactured
! lies at tidewater congestlng terminal
Facilities, jamming the railroad yards
and. side tracks for long distances back
into the country.
mo power on earth can move this
freight into the war zone where II l.
needed until we supply the ships with
fuel. tt4,a
"0nce the docks are cleared Of yalu
/ able freight. for which our men ans
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