The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-01-17
BUSINESS MEN IN ALL PARTS
OF COUNTRY REMONSTRATE
All Except Food Producing Plants and
Shipbuilding Ordered to Suspend for
Five Days Beginning Tomorrow

would have been determined on. This
plan will limit the use of coal to the less
essential industries under a self-rationing
basis.
\ Louisiana and Minnesota, which lie
partly on both sides of the Mississippi
were specifically included as whole in
the list of states to which the order APP
plies.
The order is expected to 60 far to-
wards clearing choked and congested
railroad tracks and terminals. 1t was
regarded as likely that Secretary Me-
Adoo, director general of railroads, might
declare a rail embargo against the ship
ment of the products of plants closed
down if necessary further to relieve the
roads.
Intense Suffering.
The critical coal situation is blamed on
the unusually severe weather of the last
week, which has made it impossible in
many instances to move coal at all and
which has cut off the fuel supplies of
whole cities.
Officials who worked out the curtail-
ment plan came to the conclusion, they
said, that the homes must be kept warm
at all cost. Reports have poured into
the fuel administration offices for days
past telling of intense suffering in many
parts of the country. Some of the larg- |
est cities of the East have run so short |
of fuel already that local fuel officials |
have stopped industrial activity to pro-
vide homes with coal.
Besides shipyards and factories pro-
ducing foodstuffs the few exceptions to
the general rule forbidding the use of /
coal in the periods specified are plants
which must be continuously operated to
prevent injury to the plants themselves.
newspaper plants and printing establish
ments which publish current and periodi
cal magazines.
On the Monday holidays besides manu-
featuring plants the following consumers
will be forbidden to use coal: Business
and professional offices Except to pre-
vent freezing) except those used for gov
offices or banks and trust com
,anies and those housing physicians and
lentists;, wholesale and retail stores, !
With exceptions for drug stores and those :
hat sell food; all amusement places and
State fuel administrators may
lose the bank and trust company build !
ngs if they think necessary.
VII tilt UolludNS subway siIldtt, tit-
.ated and suburban cars viii be permit
ed to use only the amount they nor
nally consume on Sundays.
Some domestic utilities probably will :
,e exempted from the order in supple !;
nentary rulings, including laundries, ice !
lants and hundreds OF Others upon
which the people are dependent for sup
lies and service.
Cutting off coal to non-essential indus
ries had been expected in Washington
or week. 1t was explained that they
Iere not Disseminated against in the P
rder because of the fact that it was
lmost impossible to classify industries
5 essential and non essential Thous-
nds of factories producing so-called non
ssentials, it was pointed out, supply 8,
ther directly or indirectly plants which 8,
manufacture goods vitality i,
eeded by the government or by the pub !,
c. Most of the industries manufactur q,
g war goods are said to have on hand
ore manufactured supplies awaiting
lilroad and ocean transportation than
I'VE the non essentials. Suspension of
w industries is expected to interfere =
it'll deliveries if the railroads can move
e goods in their present congested
ate.
Officials foresaw that the German gov
nment might distort and make much of
e order to improve the morale of the =,
srman people, but they said this danger ~
as negligible when compared with that
permitting the fuel situation to con-
lue unimproved.
The order was issued under authority
Inferred in the Lever food act, which ,,r
Divides fine of $1,000 or Imprisonment 3s
r violation of its provisions and warn in
2 was given that it would be strictly tb
forced. no
To prevent industrial unrest it was
id the government might make form
request on industries affected by the
der to pay their employees during the M,
ne they are idle.