The Washington herald., 1918-01-06

Genious or diverting in character, do
not fill my bins nor warm my house.
Your office has grossly abused the
public confidence by sending on futile
errands from office to office appli-
cants for fuel. Your office has evaded
its responsibility by attempting TO
dispose of those in need of your help.
by sending them from place to place
until their number was reduced by
the poor and unreSourceful anG those
most needing of protection. dropping
out of a contest they could not under
stand and TO which they were unequal.
Your office has given those coming
TO YOU for assistance to understand
that coal was not available and was
not being delivered in anything but
small quantities and that TO those
urgently needing it, when the evidence
was everywhere on the streets con-
tradiCting the statements of your
clerks, and instances were coming to
the individual attention of many Of
us. emphasizing that that Information
given by your office was so inaccurate
and misleading as TO be of no value,
and resulted only in wasted effort.
When confronted with a statement
of the facts your assistants would ex-
Tlain the matter by reasons so trivial
and far from the main issue tina. it
disclosed the ridiculous inAdaguacy OF
your system. Only after several days,
however. did it transpire that when
the statement was made by your as
sistants that no coal was available
and that none was being delivered eX-
cCpt in small quantities to those hav-
ing the most urgent needs, that this
did not mean that dealers were not
delivering coal in generous amounts
to those who would have great dif-
ticulty convincing a competent Judge
of the urgency of their needs.
Responsibility to secure coal was
tossed from point to point and many
unable to follow the nature OF the pro
ceedings found II finally settled in
some mysterious way upon themselves.
! saw one middle-aEed woman nalsied
in her anxiety to secure fuel given to
understand that the Fuel Administra-
ton had done its part of the work
beautifully; she realized in A dumb.
miserable way that she had no coal
and she was at the end of her re-
sources.
The situation appears to hay. the
most unfortunate property Of bringing
out the most ignoble characteristics
of all who come in contact with il.
stage appears to be reached where
your officers regard those making ap-
phcauons for coal as being only in
spired with the purpose of causing
them annoyance. On account of the
inadCluacy of your office and indi-
rectness of your methods. a spirit of
petty irritation has prevailed where
forbearance was needed. Mutual dis
trust is present where a sympathetic
understanding is essential.
In reference to my own recent ex-
perlences, / will state that carefully
followed all the instructions and sug-
Sestions given me by your agents. 1
went from place to place, but all my
efforts did not bring the needed coal.
When l informed YOU and your agents
the reply was the same i'm bOtr cases.
L stated that ! could not get the
COAL and was told to do what I had
Just finished doing. All that was then
onered was a curt retort stating that
you would do nothing further.
1t has been necessary to appeal for
help to high and influential sources
before my immediate needs were met.
ana to divert from important tasks to
my own personal needs the efforts OF
those already engaged in heavy re-
sponsibilities.
From today's papers il appears that
circumstances have at last reached
stage where you have been COM
pelled TO take more vigorous action
than has heretofore been the case.
However. the problem has yet to be
solved. and without public confidence
ana cooperation confusion will be
multiplied and difficulties magnified.
One course of action on your part is
essential and is now demanded by the
people in the District of Columbia un-
DER the jurisdiction OF Your office, and
that is an open and above-board treat
ment in all particulars of the fuel
situation. You have, unquestionably.
found your task a heavy one,J and no
doubt you have been forced unwitting-
ly into a situation which is regretted
as much by you as it has been alarm
ing to US. All serious-minded citizens
will join. however. in helping to the
fullest extent in their power towards
obtaining the best solution of the
problem. IL you will only remove the
obstructions that make public conf
dence impossible.