The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-11-19
Fuel Administrator Garfield to
Tell Wage Scale Committees
Today Time Has Come to
Act.
NATION WIDE FREIGHT
EMBARGO is CONSIDERED
Situation Reached Point Where
Authorities Regard Early Re-
sumption of Work Imperative
to Avert Coal Famine.

Washington, Nov 18.-Clothed with
all of his war time powers as Fuel
Administrator and acting by direct
authority OF the presidents cabinet.
DIR. Harry A. Garfield has called a
joint meeting of the scale committees
of soft coal operators and miners at
which he is expected to give formal
notice that the time has come to me-
gotiate a new wage agreement and
resume mining on a normal scale.
When he found he could not get a
full attendance this afternoon DIR.
Garfield set the time of meeting for
tomorrow. There is no evidence that
the scale committees have made any
lleadway, meanwhile the word was
reached a point where action is re-
garded by the federal authorities as
absolutely imperative to save the
country from a coal famine.
Chicago, Nov. 1S.-There will be no
drastic general curtailment of train
service at present despite the serious
ness of the coal problem but it was
announced tonight of the conclusion of
a conference between Director General
Hines and seven regional directors of
the Railroad Administration.
Director General of Railroads Walk
er D. Hines, and seven regional di-'
rectors met here today to consider a
nationwide freight embargo as a
means of conserving the country's
meager supply of COAL
The conditions growing out OF the
emergency were-s informally discussed
this morning by the regional directors
who planned to have definite pro-
gram ready to submit to the director
general
If Director General Hines approves
the recommendations of his regional
directors, an order may be issued i'm
mediately which will mean:
Nation wide embargo on freight:
A 40 per cent cut in passenger train
rervice through the country:
Closing down of all on-essentia1
Fifteen million workmen thrown out
of employment;
The situation is extremely serious
and immediate action is necessary
said r. A. Ashton. regional director
of the Northwestern roads. ."The rail-
roads are vital to the business life of
the nation. and they must be kept go
ing. Radical action must be taken.
My judgment is that general en-
barge is the only way to meet the
Washington, Nov. 1S.-Negotiations
between bituminous coal miners and
operators in the central competitive
field continued at a standstill today
the operators again obtaining post
ponement of the joint conference of
wage scale committees on the ground
that their counter proposal had not
been completed.
The operators were said to be con-
sidering very carefully where the
to pay wage increases would
come from, and the possible effect of
granting the workers demands might
have on the future control of mines
Assurances will be sought from sew
eral government departments before
reply is made to the miners demands
for increased wages and shorter hours.
Persistent rumors that the operatolN
had asked for a conference with
Fuel Administrator Garfield to learn
how much of an increase in the cost
of production due to wage advances
could be passed on to the consuming
public were denied again today by DIR.
Garfield.
The possibility of federal control of
the mines in case of popular disap-
proval of higher prices of coal was
said to be receiving the close atten-
tion of the operators.