The sun., 1918-02-02
COnfers With McAdOO on
Question of Extending
Embargo OH Freight.
CONGESTION CONTINUES
Little Betterment Reported
in General TranspOrta-
ton Conditions.
HOLIDAY EDICT MODIFIED
Permission Given to Magazines
and Periodicals to Print on
COalless Days.
HOLIDAY EDICT MODIFIED

speciai Despoich 10 THs ST..
WASHINGTON. Feb. 1.-NeXt Monday
may he the last heatiess Monday No
formal cdict Of Fuel Administrator Car
field multiplying his present industrial
curtailment order will come before next
Tuesday. but unless reports received he
tween now and that date relative to coal
movements are far more disappointing
than now seems possible it appears Ger.
tain the ban will be raised.
For a short time to-day 1t was believed
that Or. Garfield would order business
as usual for next Monday but following
conference with D!rector-Genetal OF
Railroads McAdoo he said that a final
decision would not be reached until Tues.
day.
Dr. Garfield ana Nj. McAdoo Issued
this joint statement:
We have had under consideration
the question of suspending after Mon.
day next the Monday closing order.
We have not reached a final conclusion
about it. We shall have another con-
ference OH Tuesday next. when the
results Of the Monday closinSs and Of
the railroad embar ryoes up to that time
can he fully considered. and shall he
able to make an announcement next
week as to whether or not suspeu-
sion OF the Monday closing order may
be made.
Not Approved by McAdOO.
i Nj. McAdoo mas never sponen in
warm praise of the shutdown order
which DR., Garfield, with the support Of
the President. Put into effect in the east
ern half Of the country. Mr.. McAdoo
has stated repeatedly that he favors
/ speeding up instead OF shutting down
, production. However, he has been told
that speeding up was impossible until
the railroads began TO move coal IN
| quantities equal to those OF norma
times. The suggestion FOR the curtail-
nent OF the order is believed to have
come from Mr.. McAdoo.
DR. Garfield to-day pointed out that
his order called for five industrial and
nine total holidays. a total of fourteen
days. and that up to to-day the eastern
/ half of the country had had the five in
=, dustrial holidays one Of the heatess
Mondays and eight days Of railroad EN-
| largo on all freight except food, fuel
and munitions--a total OF fourteen days
/ 1t Is held that the chief reason for the
curtailment order was TO give the rail-
roads opportunity to clear congestion. so
that coal might reach industries. homes
and ships, Although the reports in tine
| DlrectOr-General's office give slight
basis for a belief that the freight con-
ges.ion can be cleared before March II,
Il is believed that continuance OF the
freight embargo will he ample curiaN
ment to meet the nations industrial
, nj lni h, 10 4
an added burden.
Forced to Declare Embargo.
Mr.. McAdoo has never believed in the
embargo az a curative measure; il 10
not III accord with his principle OF
speeding up. However. he was forced to
declare one on the main Eastern lines
effective January -. and it has been
doing more 10 clear up tho railroads
than the elements have been able to do
in scramblng them during the same Pc
riod.
The embargo as a measure OF relief Ia
felt by manufacturers and must in time
he felt by the working people. The heat
less Monday il a measure which strikes
home directly to the people. Among
those carrying through the war pro-
gramme with an eye to the morale Of
the working classes il is held that a
railroad embargo is a far better medi
ci9e for a clogged railroad system than
a heatless Monday programme.
The Fuel Admin! stration believes the
country can do away with the heatless
Monday. but the car movement reports
submitted by Mr.. McAdoo's assistants
do not sustain this sconclusionSufficiently
to permit business as usal next Monday.
ny Tuesday it is hoped that modera's
weather and great advance IN coal
movement will make 1t possible TO null
ify the order.
M Data ON Fuel saving.
| Exact data on freight freedom were
not available to-day AZ the Director
Generals office, nor for that matter has
the Fuel Administration ever been able
10 give figures 10 show how much fuel
has been saved 10 date by the shut
down. Like many Administration moves
OF the last few months. the situation to
all appearances has been left ITO work
itself out" Having given the country
about half the dozen industrial shut
downs originally prescribed, Or. Garfield
and others have concluded that a con
tinued embargo will pull the country
| through the bad weather OF February.
| 1t was limited to-day that the fact that
Mr.. Groundhog makes his appearance
to- morrow and will decide whether the
country In TO have an early spring hat
something to do with postponement Of
the curtailment order. but the report re-
ceived no official cognizance.
II II the shutdown order is wiped ou
the Industries Of the country will b'
subject to curtailn,ent only by order o.
III their coal bins. New England will fee
III the pinch next week and other industria
III districts will have trouble.
II To-day's reports to Mr.. McAdoo SHOWED
II no Improvement In railroad conditions
during the last twenty-four hours. al
though coal movements, thanks TO tn
embargo, were better than In SOM
weeks. On Baltimore and Ohio line
| 1000 cars Of coal were loaded yester