The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1918-01-04
The Need OF Fuel Urgent.
[By K, s. MADDOX, Forester of the
State Geological Survey.

OAhNc bcotoBlSdi OutNcg.l
There has been and is yet great
scarcity of coal. With the cry Of short.
age from all sections of the county
and the actual Inconvenience suffered
IN securing an adequate supply. there
is no room left to doubt the real situa-
ton, The coal supply is short, whether
it be from a lack of labor, cars for
transportation, or any other cause, and
there is an urgent need of relief. There
have been instances in which people
could not get coal. In such cases wOUd
would have been welcome even at much
higher price The chances are that such
will be the case again. even before this
winter is gone. Tennessee has greal
quantities of wood that could be used
to help supply fuel. The land owners have
wagons, teams and trees. They could
supply big quantities to towns and cities
to the mutual help of both the ouver
and seller Furthermore, it is patrio.
tic duty of citizens not only to use wood
in such fuel crisis, but for men who
own the wood to put it on the market,
Such a use of wood would relieve guam.
ties of coal. TIE Ullted States forest
service mas estimated that cord of
wood varies in fuel value from ! to the
Equal of a ton of coal. The Federal
Government has estimated the short
age of coal at fifty million tons. This
means there is place and need for
about seventy-five million cords of wood
which must be supplied, or else a suf
fering must result in proportion to the
failure.
Our factories, munition and sea-
going vessels are great consumers of
coal, and they must continue to operate
handicapped. From the sho tsge Of
coal 1t is reasonable to believe they
have felt the pinch. Many people in
cities, towns and country homes could,
under the present stress, US at least
some wood. even though they might
manage to get the coal. The coal should
90 where it does the grestest good,
and If it can be released by. the use of
wood, then those using the wood are
doing patriotic act, just as the crop
producers did in increasing the output
of food stuff. The price per cord may
make the fuel more expensive than the
coal, but even so, the multitude of
people are subscribing literally to the
Red Cross Fund, the Belgian Relief,
the Y. M. c. A., etc., to help aid in the
world-slruggle, and from which aid
they do not expect money return.
Then is it not edually good to spend in
the same spirit little more, il necessary
for WOOD, and thus turn coal loose into
channels through which It may reach
factories, munition plants and ocean
going vessels upon which our country
so much depends. The conversation
which Gen. Petain had with Represen-
taFive Mccormack when on the Western
front las fall expresses the urgent
need that the United States send to the
Western front the finished products
rather than just the raw material to be
manufactured in France. If the people
use coal to the detriment of factories
and ships. theS are not only Gripping
this country, but aiding the enemy.
Just in 1914. when the cotton market
vas on bad footing. the slogan buy
a Bale" was adopted and people bought,
just so now, why not make the slogan
"Buy cord of wood" and urge that
trucks and wagons be used In its deli.
very.