Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-01-28
Government Steps to Meet Shortage
 in Coal Outlined

Washington. Jan. 2T.-Steps taken by the government to meet the coal shortage arising from the recent coal strike and the results obtained were outlined iu the report of II. B. Spen- cer chairman of the Central Goa Committee of the Railroad Adminis- tration to Director General of Rail roads Walker D Hines. The Cen tral Coal Committee had full charge of the distri button of bituminous coal during the strike situation; by order of United States Fuel Admin istrator Harry A. Garfield 1t was vested with the full powers of the Fuel Administration under the Le- yer Food and Fuel Control Act and executive orders of the President for the control and distribution of coal.
 In giving out the report Director General Hines made the following statement:
 "In making public the report of the Central Coal Committee of the Railroad Administration. 1 wish to express my appreciation of the faith full work which was done by the Central Coal Committee, the region al coal committees and the various local coal committees
 Summarizing the results of the committees work during the strike period. the report said:
 "The available coal was so dis tributed during the period of the strike that the emergency needs of all essential consumers were amply provided for"
 The report set forth that the rail road fuel supply on hand varied from Il days supply in the New England Region to 6 days supply in the Pocahontas Region.
 Throughout the strike there was practically no production in the large producing field known as the cen tral competitive district, including western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Consumers in that part of the country having relied on their proximity to the mines insur-
 ing their regular supply, had gen. orally very small reserve stocks, which in many instances were soon exhausted. A similar situation ex- isted in the Middle West, particu larly in Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma
 The report described the move ment of large quantities of coal from the Pocahontas and Allegheny Regions to Memphis, St. Louis, Chi cago and points farther west, which developed, until by the termination of the strike, approximately 4,00o cars of coal per day, about 40 per cent of the total output of the Po- cahontas and Allegheny Regions, were being moved in this way from the extreme east to the extreme west. Ohio and Indiana were also sup piled from the Allegheny and Poca- hontas Region by rail, the movements reaching a total of 1,340 cars per day The large stocks on hand in New England permitted the llmlta- tion of shipments to New England to the movement through Pocahontas and Allegheny district tidewater ports.
 The Southwestern Region was sup piled with 15,097 cars from the Po- cahontas Region by way of Mem phis and St. Louis during the strike period. A shortage of bunker coal at Gulf ports and the need for rail- road fuel there led to the shipment of Pocahontas coal by tidewater from Hampton Roads to Galveston, for which movement the United States Shipping Board furnished tonnage.
 The Central Western requisitioned PLOTS cars of eastern coal during the strike period and the North western Region received during the tmergency 22,413 cars of eastern coal. Coal stocks in the upper lake docks, the report said, were confin- ed practically to the normal lake dock consumers. Canada, accordin~ to the report, was supplied with 15C cars of eastern coal day, which was distributed by the Canadian fuel ad-