Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-12-10
BURNED
T0AVO|D FREEZING
IN WESTERN TOWNS
H. H. Merrick Tells Water
ways Congress Loaded Cars
Are Tied Up in East.

The present coal crisis is in 4 large
measure a transportation crisis. Iu
the west today the people are burn
ing furniture and woodwork in Ger
tain regions in order to keep from
freezing. while in the railroad yard
of eastern cities-New York and
Philadelphia especially-therc is q
congestion of loaded coal cars. II
transportation facilities were any
thing like sufficient the nations fuel
supplies could be distributed " here
most needed on short notice.
That was the essence Of a declaration
made today by II. II. Merrick, preSideni
OF the Chicago Association of Commerce
and the Mississippi Valley Associs ton
to the National Rivers and Harbors
Congress in session at the Willard
Hotel Mr. Merrick presented a paper
supporting a project to construct, by
joint action of Canada and the United
States, ship channel in the St Law
renee river. but he depressed to de
| scribe in vigorous terms the present fuel
famine in the middle west and north
central states.
Emphasizes Western Conditions.
You people from the east do not
realize what conditions are farther
west and north. AS chairman of thr
Illinois coal crisis compittee
| learned these conditions durins tn.
last two weeks" said the Chicagoau.
That committee recommended tho
shutting down of Chicago. Produc-
! ton went down from 10 per cent in
dustrial capacity to 30 per cent. Men
walked from the twenty-fourth floor
OF office buildings to the ground after
pm. daily We closed our schools
All socalled non-essential industry
stopped
kilograms to me this morning i'm
plore more coal out there. Yet here
IN the east you have more coal today
than is needed for the necessities Of
the next few weeks. Out in Montana
today, with the thermometer ranging
from 20 to s. degrees below zero
householders and even small indus
trial plants are burning furniture and
woodwork. Iowa is burning wood and
cutting down trees to save the situa-
ton. Yet authoritative information
which came to me from Philadelphia
disclosed that yesterday the side
tracks there were clogged with coal
which could not be moved because of
shortage in engines and shortage in
other rolling stock
During the last thirty-five DAYS
| non-union mines have been idle ,"
to 30 per cent of the time hecausc
they could not he furnished cars or
car movement. l emphasize-the coal
crisis is a railroad crisis. too.
Normal Must BE Regained.
competent railroad men are of tho
under the unfortunate conditions of
/ the last three years-war, shortage OF
supplies, attempts al government
ownership. whatever the cause-the
railroads have reached a stale now
! where it will take the entire output
of the great railway supply houses.
locomotive and car plants and the Ike
| to bring the roads back to normal.
| The time required Will be two and a
half to three years. Until tho nor
NAL has been reeained, capacity can
not be increased.
Mr. Merrick said that in the last
six years Europe has made a tremen-
dous advance in waterway construc-
| ton and quoted foreign observers 10
the effect that France could not have
won her part of the war without her
| splendid waterway system. He pre-
| dicted that unless waterways are
I speedily developed in the United
States the rail congestion viii be
come intolerab bic and periodic regIonal
freight embargoeS viii be regular
practice.
The possibilities of hydro electric
power development in streams east OF
! the Alleghenies was discussed in sup
| port of the st. Lawrence river chan
mel project, by Alexander T. Nogel-
sang. acting Secretary of the Interior.
Senator Charles T. Townsend OF
Michigan also supported the measure.
| George Clinton of Buffalo. Senator
| James w Wadsworth of New York
and Edward :. Walsh, New York state
superintendent of public works, spoke
| against the proposal on the ground
/ that Montreal would succeed New
York as the new worlds greatest
port. Support of a general policy of
waterway improvement was given IN
! addresses by Senator Selden 7. Spen
Ger of Missouri and Senator Duncan
u. Fletcher of Florida.
Vice President Marshall will preside
at the banquet tonight. The speakers
will be the Belgian ambassador. Baron
de Cartier: the Serbian, Croatian and
Slovene minister. Dr. Groutch; Mis-
Janet Richards, Charles +. Nesbit, Ad
miral William s. Benson, Maj. Cen.
John A. Lejeune of the Marine Corps