The Washington herald., 1920-06-20
COAL EMBARGO
TO END FAMINE
Commerce Commission
Takes Drastic Steps to
Relieve Shortage.
TEMPORARY, IS BELIEF
Diversion of Ships Not
Enough to Relieve New
England, Is Claim.
TEMPORARY, IS BELIEF

Virtual embargo on the expor-
htion of bituminous coal at At
hntic seaboard ports north Of Char
eston. S. c., was ordered by the
Interstate Commerce Commission
yesterday to relieve the New Eng
and fuel shortage and clear the
formulation of export coal at tide
Fater.
The order. effective June "a, and
pr an indefinite period thereafter
rovides railroad priorities for coal
unsigned to tidewater for trans
hipment to New England and other
bastwise points. 1t places the
kovement of coal under permit
pntrol to be directed by the Tide
later Coal Exchange, Inc. for the
orts of Philadelphia, New York and
baltimore and local tidewater coal
xchanges for ports South of Balti-
hore.
In effect the commissions order
mounts . to the restoration of the
xport coal control exercised by the
Failroad administration last winter
md retained under the direction of
he Tidewater Coal Exchange and
by order of President Wilson for
he month of March or thirty days
(fter the return of the railroads to
private operation.
To Meet New England Crisis.
Present action of the commission
5 taken under the provisions of the
lew transportation act and at the
|uggestion of New England States
authorities who recently conferred
With the members of the commits
ion and the Shipping Board in an
(ffort to get relief for what they
contend are the fuel famine con-
hitions existing in the industrial
Fities of their States. The details
T the order give railroad preference
o shipments cbnsigned to coal pools
BIT Boston and other New England
ports under the direction of James
y. Starrow. former fuel admins
trator of New England and one of
the delegation which came to Wash
ington demanding relief.
The commission also directed the
railroads to give preferential treat
ment to coal mines in the matter
of cars for period of thirty days
beginning Monday. The roads were
ordered to discontinue the use of
coal cars for any other purpose
than carrying coal, and consignees
of coal were ordered to unload all
shipments within twenty-four
hours after receipt. under penalty
of finding themselves embargoed
against further shipments.
Temporary Is Belief.
The limit of thirty days placed
upon these injunctions is taken as
an indication that the commission
regard the entire procedure as
temporary measure to provide relief
for the New England situation.
While not a fiat embargo in the
Sense that the commission has de-
clared a policy of embargoing ex-
port coal, the order. which will
work to shut off virtually all for
eign coal shipments is certain to
meet with protests from the BIZ
luminous coal operators. The op-
orators. represented by the Nation
al Coal Association, recently con-
tended that if export coal was to
be embargoed, the expectation Of
sugar, shoes. clothing and other
necessities should be stopped at the
same time.
The bituminous mines of the
country, the operators maintain,
can increase their output 1000, 900
tons weekly If given an adequate
car supply.
Public Ledger Serviee)