98 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



determining the cost of the production 

 of coal at each mine, dependent as this 

 is upon so many complex factors, in- 

 cluding the cost of labor, reduction of 

 the value of the mines due to extractions 

 of material, the depreciation of perma- 

 nent property, and the interest on the 

 investments. The method would also 

 have placed upon the Fuel Administra- 

 tion the entire burden of apportioning 

 and marketing the coal, a gigantic un- 

 dertaking. While, therefore, the method 

 of buying coal b}' the government and 

 pooling the same might be theoretically 

 advantageous, its difficulties were such 

 that the alternative of price fixing was 

 chosen. 



One of the most difficult and impor- 

 tant of the problems with which the 

 Fuel Administration had to deal was 

 that of apportionment of the available 

 supply of coal. The excess in the 

 demand at various places during the 

 summer of 1917 was very considerable 

 as compared with that of previous 

 years, and there was fear of an absolute 

 shortage on account of insufficient 

 transportational facilities. This situa- 

 tion was accentuated by many manu- 

 facturers baying far in advance of their 

 ordinary needs at high prices before the 

 Fuel Administration was established. 

 As illustrating a case of this kind, an- 

 nouncement was made October 2 that 

 the Fuel Administration had discov- 

 ered at one factory a reserve of 204,000 

 tons of coal — a years supply. 



Supply for the railroads had to be 

 considered first, that they might oper- 

 ate to their full capacity. In conse- 

 quence of this fact, on October 11 when 

 it appeared that there was a shortage 

 for the Pennsylvania Eailroad, an order 

 M-as given that a sufficient amount of 

 coal should be furnished so that the 

 road might continue full operation. 

 Similar orders were later made to cover 

 the Baltimore and Ohio, Chesapeake 

 and Ohio, Lehigh Valley, the New 

 York, New Haven and Hartford, and 

 the Central New England railwav com- 



panies. Under these orders the rail- 

 ways have priority over contracts. 



Probably next to the need of the rail- 

 roads were those of the steel plants and 

 coke plants, in order that these prod- 

 ucts might be available for munition 

 and other war materials. Therefore 

 the Fuel Administration arranged with 

 the steel mills and coke plants that 

 their necessary needs should be sup- 

 plied. 



Next came the necessity for accumu- 

 lating coal at the upper lake points 

 before the close of navigation, at Chi- 

 cago, Milwaukee, Superior, and Duluth. 

 Otherwise it would be necessary to 

 make all-rail shipments from the mines 

 to the consuming place in the territory 

 tributary to the lakes during the win- 

 ter; and this would make an excessive 

 demand upon cars — the point at which 

 the shortage is most acute. Hence it 

 was necessary that the customary sup- 

 plies be accumulated at lake points be- 

 fore the end of November, and accord- 

 ingly it was ordered on October 5 that 

 the accumulation of coal at the upper 

 lake ports should have priority over the 

 accumulation elsewhere. In order to 

 deliver the largest amount of coal, iron 

 ore boats which brought ore down the 

 lakes were compelled to carry coal up 

 the lakes on their return trips. 



By giving Great Lake ports priority, 

 the Fuel Administration succeeded by 

 November 2 in accumulating at the 

 lake ports as much coal as usual at that 

 season of the year and the priority or- 

 der for the Northwest was suspended 

 on lines east of Pittsburgh. Later, 

 further modifications of the priority 

 orders were made, diminishing the 

 amount of coal which went to the 

 Northwest, and on November 30 the 

 priority for the Great Lake ports 

 ceased altogether. 



Because of consideration of these 

 three demands the coal supplies became 

 reduced to very low minimums in a 

 number of states, so that alarm was 

 created as to whether the industries 



