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The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, February 10, 1917, LAST EDITION, Image 4

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Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1917-02-10/ed-1/seq-4/

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PASS COAL SHORTAGE BUCK TO
JEHOVAH AND PROSPERITY
Who is to blame for the scarcity of
coal, the buyer, the dealer or the
railroads? "The other guy's to
blame," says each.
"The coal dealers won't fill their
contracts with us," says the Apart
ment Bldg. ass'n.
"The railroads won't haul us the
coal we order from the mines," say
the dealers.
"We've supplied the dealers with
all the coal they needed," says the
Ass'n of Western Railways.
"Everybody's to blame, including
Providence and the mine operators,"
says the Public Utilities commission.
"Absolutely no blame can be at
tached to the railroads," said J. W.
Higgins, chairman of the Ass'n of
Western Rys., today. "The roads
have supplied the dealers with plenty
of coal. Long ago the railroads
made coal preferential freight, rush
ing it into Chicago ahead of even
foodstuffs. Cold weather reduces the"
ability of locomotives to get the
trains over the division. Storms and
cold cause delays in coal transporta
tion." "The railroads have supplied us
with an amount of coal that at times
was scarcely sufficient to meet de
mands," said Fred Upham, president
of the Consumers' Co. "In fact,
there have been instances of actual
shortage and no fires. Today we
have on hand 26,000 tons of coal; we
should have 500,000 tons."
"Everybody is partially to blame,"
said Wm. L. O'Connell, sec'y of the
PublicUtilities commission. "Opera
tors have not been supplying suffi
cient coal to the railroads, the roads
have often delayed shipments, the
dealers could have given better dis
tribution in instances, and the buy
ers could have helped a lot by lay
ing in coal stocks last summer.
"Don't leave the weathfer man out
of the blame, for the ability of the
railroads to haul loads is reduced by i
50 per cent on cold days and storms
cause further delays.
"But the thing most to blame is
our prosperity. Shipments for ex
port are so overtaxing the equipment
"of the railroads that they simply
can't meet the requirements. Then
the busy factories are using from 25
to 30 per cent more co?J than in oth
er years.
"Here's an instance of the way the
buck is passed: Complaint was made
to us by a manufacturer that he
could not get the coal that was de
livered in the cars in Chicago four
days ago. We found an eastern road
had turned the cars over to the Belt
Line for delivery to the Lake Shore
Manager Brinkerhoff of the J3elt
Line told us: 'We've been ready to
deliver those cars to the Lake Shore
for three days, but it won't take
them.' I called up the superinten
dent of the Lake Shore road, who
said: 'We've been begging the Belt
Line for three days to give us those
cars of coal, but it won't give them
to us.'
"We have cut out most of the ship- .
ping of coal through the Belt Line
and got the roads to deliver cars di
rect to each other, s"aving two to four
days in shipment We have induced
the roads to make coal preferential
freight and have put such a stiff fee
on demurrage and reconsignments
that it doesn't pay a dealer to hold a
car of coal for speculation."
o o
HOYNE NAMES LIEUTENANTS
Lieut Wm. Coles, head of flying
squad; F. J. Matchett, Sylvester J.
Cotter, Michael. Lee, Wm. B. Friel,
W. L. Malone, Bart Fleming, John W.
Loftis and Michael Delaney named
by State's Atty Hoyne as spaying for
promotion to lieutenancies in July,
1916.
Judge Garrett ordered bench war
rants ior "Mickey Frank" and men
known as Gilhooley and Williams on
charge .of trying to bribe jury in Wm.
Rooney murder case.
m

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