The Carlisle independent., 1918-06-06
Consumers Can Help Prevent Shortage Next Winter by Buying Now, Says Fuel
 Administrator.
GARFIELD SOUNDS WARNING.
Better Borrow Money Now to Buy Than Do Without Later, He Says-If Your Storage Space Isn't Large
 Enough, Enlarge 1t.
By HARRY A. GARFIELD,

united states Fuel Administrator.
 Every householder, every public util-
 ity and every industrial user of coal | engaged in work essential to the prose- cution of the war are earnestly ad-
 vised and urged to place without de- lay their orders for coal to cover their
 needs for the 12 months beginning
 April l.
 | During the past 12 months there has been suffering among consumers and | curtailment of essential production by industries through inability to obtain
 necessary fuel after the beginning of | winter. A year ago consumers were 1 led to believe that they might safely | withhold their orders until later in the 1 year. They labored under the impress
 sion that coal could be bought and se- 1 cured as well at one time as another.
 They were told that there was plenty l of coal for everybody and that there would be plenty of coal cars to move | the coal in also.
 This advice and it's acceptance by consumers was one of the contributing causes to the coal shortage, with it's
 consequent suffering among domestic l consumers and lessening in production | of commodities needed in our war ac- | tivities.
 The Fuel Administration was not | then in existence and did not begin it's work until August 23. It was then al ready too late to undo the harm which l had been dene The Fuel Administra- ton would be negligent of it's duty to | the public if it failed to call attention | at this time to the unfortunate results | of the mistaken course pursued by the | public year ago and to warn all con- 1 sumers in the most emphatic manner | possible that a repetition of those re- suits can be avoided only by accepting
 and acting immediately upon the Fuel Administration advice here given: Order Your Coal at Once. Let eveW consumer of the classes mentioned ascertain his fuel require ! ments for the coming year. Do this at once. Order sufficient coal to meet
 those requirements. Place your orders at once. If domestic consumers have | not sufficient storage space for the coal they will need they should en- large their bins. If public utilities and | industries engaged upon government work have not sufficient storage space | they should at once provide it. The production of coal in this coun- 1 try is fundamentally a transportation l problem. There are enough coal cars
 and enough locomotives to transport | the necessary quantity of coal, only if l every car and every locomotive is used ta its maximum capacity every | day in the year. There are enough | operatives in the mines to get the coal 1 from the ground if those operatives 1 can work every day in the year and if | the coal cars and locomotives are
 available every day
 The fuel problem is to get the coal | from the first place of deposit to the l final place of deposit with as little de- | | continuous a stream as circumstances l will permit. The railroads may be | compared to a water pipe, which needs | to run full all the time to carry the | necessary amount of water to it's des- | tination. If that water is shut off for l any appreciable time it means an ulti- I mate shortage. The pipe can carry no | e+c ax-sv,a l day.
 Borrow, if You Must.
 Inconvenience of paying for coal in | the spring or summer when it will not | be needed until autumn or winter
 should not influence any consumer to l delay placing his order and securing | his supply It is far wiser to borrow money In the spring to pay for one's
 coal than to wait until autumn or | winter, when if the coal has not been l mined and shipped money cannot pro l cure it.
 | The Fuel Administration, through | the State Fuel Administrators and To- l cal committees, is prepared in every | reasonable way to aid public utilities, 1 essential industries, retail dealers and | domestic consumers in placing their 1 orders and in securing assurance of l sufficient supply of fuel. All these l governmental agencies, however, are | powerless if the consumers themselves l fail to act. Again. therefore, the Fuel 1 Administration urges every consumer l to place his orders immediately. This should ordinarily be done through the medium of supply upon which the con- l sumer has relied in the past If this course is followed it may be hoped that the suffering and loss of the past
 winter will not be repeated. If 1t is
 not done consumers viii have tAemr
 selves to blame.