The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1918-02-07
Astounding Order by Garfield
Stops Nations Industries
for Five Days.
CAUSED BY the COAL famine
Nine Additional Holidays Decreed-
Storm Of Protests Is UnavaIing-At-
tacks on Secretary Baker Continue
Central Powers Reject Russian
Peace Proposals.
By EDWARD w. PIcKARD.

'Tt is the earnest desire of the fuel
administration to prevent entirely any
dislocation of industry or of labor"
With these words, Fuel Administrators
Garfield closed his summary Of the
most drastic and startling experiment
| in domestic and war economy made by
this or any other government. For five
days beginning January IS every fac
tory and workshop in the region east of
the Mississippi and including all of
Louisiana and Minnesota, was ordered
closed with the exception of those
manufacturing perishable food or food
for immediate consumption. Ten sue
cessive Mondays beginning January Il
are ordered to be observed as holidays
when the consumption of coal shall
cease except in specified cases.
Doctor Garfield stated that he ex-
pected to save 30O00,00O tons Of coal
by his order. Very likely he will, but
his plan, announced without warning,
brought tremendous storm about his
head. Innumerable business men,
| whose affairs were dislOcated despite
| the "earnest desire" Of the administra-
| tor, flooded Washington with protests
and requests for revocation Of the
order, but 1t had been issued after con-
sultatiOn with and by direction Of
| President Wilson and the walters had
no chance for relief save in those indi-
vidual instances where it was neces-
sary to prevent injury to health or de-
| structiOn of property.
Another and most important angle to
| the situation was the enforced loss Of
| millions of dollars in wages to work
| ers. Some big concerns did not deduct
anything from the pay of their en-
plOyees, but it was beyond hope that
| this example would be followed by any
considerable number of employers.
Congress, startled out of it's usual
deliberative calm, got into action i'm
mediately. The senate committee on
manufacturers called Doctor Garfield
before it and heard an explanation
| that did not explain, and the senate
| thereupon adopted resolution asking
that the order be delayed for five days
for investigation. This Administra-
tor Garfield, on advice of the president,
| ignored. In the house various reSOlu-
tons were introduced, but immediate
| action was blocked by certain Demo
| Gratis.
| AS finally issued, the order per-
mitted ship yards and essential war in
| dustries to get coal and remain in
| operation during the five voorhees,
days.
The metropolitan press of the cOun-
| nv in general bitterly scored Doctor
Garfield for his order and declared
that it not only was CHASTITY mistake,
but exposed to the world the utter in
| competence Of America to meet CON
| dition that throughout the war has
| confronted the nations allied with us
and vet has called for no such panicky
action by any one of them. The severe
winter weather which paralyzed traffic
| and the extraordinary demands for
| fuel due to wartime conditions are
! cited by Doctor Garfield as the causes
making necessary his order. The
miners blame the railroads for the coal
| shortage. and the railroads blame the
starvation policy" of the government
toward them for the last generation
| More coal was mined in the United
| States last year than ever before, the
output exceeding that Of 1916 by TO-
| OOOOOO tons of anthracite and 42,000,-
| 900 tons of bituminous. OF the output