Omaha daily bee., 1919-12-07
iowa FUEL HEAD
URGES CITIZENS
TO UTILIZE WOOD
Declares People Should Take
Care Of Themselves In Fuel
Shortage-May Sell State
Hospital.

I Des Moines, Ia, Dec. 6-(Spe-
cial in his statewide closing or
der issued Friday State Fuel Ad-
ministrator Wheeler declares it is
up to the people to take care of
themselves in the way of providing
fuel insofar as they are able and
advises all who can to cut wood.
He says wood cutting bees" should
be organized in every community.
The state administrator referred to
the federal Department of Justice a
complaint from Bldora that a candy
merchant there had refused to COM
ply with the closing hours. The de-
partment will make an, investiga-
ton. Administrator Webster has re-
quested Arch. McFarlane of Water
loo, state representative and speaker
of the house during the last session
of the legislature, to accept a COM
mission to represent Iowa at Chi
cago to secure shipments of fuel
here. McFarlane has been in>the
wholesale coal business for several
years. -..-l
Have Enough Wood.
The ministers of Shelby county
have formed an organization to Sc
cure enough wood for the county so
that it will not be necessary to use
coal, Mr.. Webster was informed.
Governor Harding Friday received a
communication from the Chamber
of Commerce of Kansas City asking
that he join in protest against the
large shipment of oil to the east and
asking that oil be placed under an
administrator to equalize its distribu-
ton the same as coal. Crude oil is
reported to have advanced in price
at an alarming rate since the coal
strike came on and most of it is be-
ing shipped east. Because of the in
ability of the railroads to move
ability of the railroads to move heavy
trains aud a scarcity of cars, stock
shippers, grain men, farmers and
others are making complaints to the
ping stock and grain. Elevators are
full of grain which cannot be shipped
out, it is said. Farmers and feeders
are encountering difficulty in making
shipments.
With the inebriate hospital at
Knoxville closed for lack of patients,
the state board of control and board
of education, to whom the last leg
islature referred the matter of the
future use of the institution, have
decided to recommend that it be
used for school for the feeble
minded, or sold. This recommenda-
ton will be made to the Thirty
ninth general assembly.
The board of education has re-
fused to consider using the institu-
ton for state normal school be-
cause of its plan to concentrate that
work at Cedar Falls. Both the
board of control and board of edu-
cation declare there is a serious
need for additional room to take
care of the predetermined children
of the state, the institution at Glen
wood proving entirely too small to
meet the growing demands made
upon it.
Wanted Normal School.
The control board will operate
the farm in connection with the
Knoxville institution next year and
possibly the brick plant, which has
been a paying business.
The legislature last year had the
matter of the disposition of this
before it most of the ses-
sion. Proposals to make it place
to care for the feeble minded
brought strong opposition from the
people of Knoxville. They favored
it a normal school.
The final decision-of the Thirty
eighth general assembly was to
refer the disposition of the institu-
ton jointly to the board of control
and board of education with instruc-
tons to recommend to the next
Legislature some plan of action.