The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-07-24
LOCAL 6. OF c. ON
 COAL SITUATION

Appended is a letter on the coal situation, copies of which are being sent to other Cha mbers of Commerce throughout New England:
 .'What can we do about our coal crisis? land is not enough so long as indi- vidual roads may embargo such ship ments. (See enclosure.)S Restriction of export coal will help if we get it.
 The assigned car privilege is a se- were handicap on the free movement of coal to New England. Tn view of the above our Trans portation Commi+tee adopted the fol- lowing resolutions last night, and we ask you to join with us in L-aking tilt.nn effective:
 Resolved, That the Transportation Committee of the Chamber of Com merce recommend to the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce, and to other commercial organizations of the cities and States of New England that supp port beg iven to MT. Sorrows plea for. restriction of export coal while the situation is acute, and that notice of such action be communicated to the President of the United States and to Hon. William M. Calder, Chairma n Senate Committee on Reconstruction and Production, Engineering Society Building, 29 West 29th Street, New York City.
 Resolved, That the Transportation Committee of the Bridgeport Cham Der of Commerce, with the eo-opera- ton of other cities and States of New England, request a hearing before the Interstate Comm cree Commission for the purpose of seeking further trans portation advantages for the free i m ny oaY,t of t0 EN 1c1o o1,d- j. C.:
 ''O Exception of coal from all rail ennbargoes.
 "(2) Abolition of car assignment privilege.
 May we ask that this action be considered by your committee and that you wire or write at once so that those in authority may know that New England really is facing a coal crisis and that she is not getting re- lief
 'Tbe three meth ods suggested may not be the only means of improving the situation, but our committee is of the unanimous opinion that they are measures of certain relief.
 Very truly yours,
 BRIDGEPORT CHAMBER OF
 COMMERCE,
 SEWARD B. PRICE, Executive Secretary The crisis is real. In the heart o2
 the summer, railroads usually oper-
 ate at the height of efficiency. Move
 ment of coal to this territory has
 been hampered by successive embar- goes. For many weeks no coal has
 been permitted to move into New
 England, except for special interests, from the Baltimore & Ohio fields,
 and only intermittently from other fields, due to embargoes: At the pre- sent time, the N. Y, N. H., & H. R. R. lines are completely embargoed against both hard and soft coal via the Harlem River and Saybrook gateways. Since the first of the year there has been almost continuously, embargoes by some of the carriers, which has prevented Connecticut and New England from acquiring the stocks usually put in during the sum mer season.
 The Interstate Commerce Commis- sion has just issued an order legal izing the assignment of cars to the ! mines for shipments of coal to Lake ports for movements to the North west and for consignment to public utility plants and the railroads This order holds for sixty days. The com mercial car supply has been running from ten to thirtyfive percent, vary ing from day to day and varying in l the different regions, and with the l auth orized assignment of cars for spe- l cific interests, it seems at this time | impossible to figure out any other re- 1 suit than that the greatest portion of l the car supply that has heretofore been available for commercial load l ing, will be utilized for these consign- l ments to the still greater detrinent
 to the supplies for commercial in 1 duStrieS