Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-01
Coal Seizure by City
Leads to Hot Clash

Leads to Hot Clash
Contlnusd from Pass Ono
for an hour We received only sixty tons
| yesterday.
We will take 1875 tons today, no mat
ter where II comes from. This will last
until about noon tomorrow. We can
get along in a pinch on eishty-five tons
for twenty-four hours. but only In
pinch our normal daily consumption lis
| 1876 tons and we must supply 200
horsepower to keep the machinery in
| operation, In addition TO providing heat
and water for the sterilising process.
While there were no reat hardships last
night, II was mighty inconvenient and
somewhat chilly. don't know what
would have happened tonight u we had
not decided to seize the COAL can't
commence to picture the conditions"
Just before tfie seizure Director Kru-
sen was asked II he intended taking the
coal.
'Blockley must have coal he said.
kAnd we,propose to get 1t. We, cannot
7 let these patients suffer. We expect to
get this coal within the hour and make
explanations later"
PREVIOUS SEIZURE CAUSES CLASH
The first seizure Of coal was made by
Director Krusen December Is. when he
| diverted four carloads Of coal from the
Philadelphia and Reading Railway for
! the city hospitals and the Home for the
INDECENT at Byberry. This seizure.
which was unauthorized, led to a COM
plicated situation. which finally was ad-
justed when Mr.. Potter authorized Di-
| rector mclaughlin to commander
coal Under this authorization Director
MacLaughlin seized two carloads jan
uary 2 for fire and police stations. This
arrangement became so unsatisfactory.
the Navy Department protesting. that
the National Fuel Administrator counter
manded the order authorizing Director
Mclaughlin to seize coal. As result,
Director MacLaughlin and State Admin
istrator Potter went to Washington Jan.
uary ..
After a series Of conferences with
Doctor Garfield. Director MscLaughin
announced that Washington had ar
sumed all responsibility for the mu-
nicipal coal needs of Philadelphia. 1t
was announced that Doctor Garfield had
appointed A. S. Learoyd as special an
thracite administrator for the city and
| Madford j. Brown as special bituminous
administrator, and that the two were
to work in cooperation with q. n.
Snider, the Governments transportation
expert, in obtaining an adequate supply
for the city. No moro coal was to he
seized under this arrangement: all re-
quests for coal were to go through the
office of Mr.. Potter. who asked that, it
possible. he be given forty-eight hours
notice.
An approaching warm wave. promised
l,, hn iG fynprtp1 70
bring general relief Sunday by releas-
ing snowbound shipments. y
Todays report of the Pennsylvania
Railroad showed that yesterday only
about 5000 tons of anthracite were re-
ceived over its lines here. This is one
fourth of the citys daily consumption
OF the 11S carloads. ffty-two were OF
domestic sizes and sixty-six steam sizes
William Potter, Federal fuel admin
; istrator for Pennsylvania, laborcd hard
to provide coal for the threatened indus
tries and institutions
II expect to divert more coal to-
day to those that need It," he said.
First relief in response to his ap
peal for aid came from the Frankfort
Arsenal. which. through Colonel Rober
Montgomery. commandant. voluntarily
turned over 765 tons of bituminou.
;; coal TO be distributed among Frankfort
homes.
HOPE HANGS UPON THAw
Long trains OF coal cars. loaded will
enough fuel to supply the city for thre,
weeks. are snowbound between Harris
burg and Pittsburgh, the railroads an
nounced.
Mild weather would bring the onl,
solution, according to coal men, wht
blamed the blizzard alone for the fail
ure of the coal relief, promised toda,
to materialize. The middle Of the weel
Mr.. Potter said that the plans of Goa
hoppers to concentrate on speeding Goa
to the city should bring results by today
1t is estimated from 100000 to 400,
900 tons of coal are held tight in thu
grip Of the snow-covered trains. Mucl
of this fuel has been stormbound fo
the last ten days or two weeks. Snow
, has drifted under the axles: rain came
followed by freezing weather, with th
result that the cars are frozen to th
{ tracks and ice has formed underneath
making 1t impossible for any numbe
of locomotives to move them.
The only remedy now, according t.
] those who have made a survey of TIL
n situation. is TO wait until a thaw comes
= or to dig them out. To move the 200
;. ars in the Johnstown district, trans
: portation officials estimate. it woul'
n take 1000 men two full days. The me-
cannot be spared, as they are busy dig
n ging the main lines out of drifts oc
. casioned by the several storms in tn
last week.
:, Seizures of coal for the relief Of dc
: mestic consumers and for manufacturin
concerns working on war orders wer
; made yesterday by Mr.. Potter. In thi
. city alone, 1850 tons of fuel were con
: b mandeered by the fuel administrator
!, OF this homes got $3.50 tons and til
h. balance was divided among forty-fv
y Industries that had feared a shutdow
= on account of lack Of fuel. The coal 6
taken will last the factories until tt
night More will be seized IL necessar.
I The Federal stamp OF approval toda
9 was put on the amount of coal used
K the construction of the new countr
d house of Il. Il. Stotesbury at Chestnt