(c) Shipments to State and County Departments and Institutions, (d) Shipments to Public Utilities, (e) Shipments to Retail Dealers, (f) Shipments to Manufacturing Plants on War Industries Board Preference List, (g) Shipments to Manufacturing Plants not on Preference List, (h) Shipments to jobbers, (i) Shipments to Lake Pools, itemized, (j) Shipments to Tidewater Pools, itemized. NOTE. These letters are used only for the purpose of reference, in the distribution program as herein set out, and should not be confused with any other reference or index letters. The order in which the above classifications are set out has no bearing on the order in which preference will be accorded. If a State Fuel Administrator desires these reports to show shipments into each of several subdivisions within his state he shall take the matter up with the Director of State Distribution at Washington. As it is extremely desirable that all jobbers should give the mine operators direct assignment for all coal shipped on their orders, shipments under classification (h) will only be permitted under regulations which the Distribution Division will issue from time to time. REPORT FROM JOBBER TO STATE FUEL ADMINISTRATOR AND STATISTICAL SECTION. 23. In New England and other places where shipments under class (h) may be permitted, it will be necessary for jobbers to report weekly to the State Fuel Administrator, giving a statement, classified in accordance with paragraph 22, of the coal which they distribute during the preceding week. Copies of these reports will be sent to the Statistical Section at Washington. REPORT COVERING RECONSIGNMENT AND DIVERSION. 24. Any mine operator, coal jobber, transportation company or other person or firm that reconsigns or diverts coal shall report such reconsignment or diversion to the District Representative in whose territory the coal originated. District Representatives in their weekly reports to State Fuel Administrators shall show what reconsignments or diversions occurred during the preceding week and correct their figures accordingly. In all cases where a jobber makes weekly reports to State Fuel Administrators as provided in the preceding section, he shall also report reconsignments or diversions to the State Fuel Administrators as well as to the Statistical Section at Washington instead of to the District Representative. 25. State Fuel Administrators may make diversions of coal consigned to their respective states in the event that such diversions are necessary to relieve emergencies, but in no event shall they divert coal consigned to consumers whose requirements are under direct supervision of Washington, except on specific authority from Washington. In all cases of diversion by a State Fuel Administrator he shall immediately report the diversion to the original consignee, the new consignee, and the District Representative in whose district the coal originated, giving in each case, car number and initial and kind of coal. The District Representative shall transmit this information to the shipper. Local Administrators, when authorized by State Administrators, may make diversion of coal consigned to their respective territories under the same conditions and restrictions as above noted. In such cases they must immediately report to the State Fuel Administrator the same information in regard to the diversion, indicated above, which information will be promptly transmitted by the State Fuel Administrator to all parties affected. In making diversions State Fuel Administrators shall at all times respect the boundaries established by the transportation zone system. 92082-1914 COMPILATION OF INDUSTRIAL PREFERENCE LIST. 26. Each State Fuel Administrator, with the assistance of his Local Fuel Administrators, is hereby directed to compile as promptly as possible a list of all manufacturing plants which are entitled to be on the War Industries Board's Preference List in each community within his State. See supplemental letter dated June 3, 1918, covering the Preference List Program in greater detail. This list will be compiled from returned postal-card questionnaires sent out to all manufacturing plants by the Statistical Section at Washington. This postal card questionnaire is attached as Form E. 27. Copies of these lists as assembled are to be sent forward to the Director of State Distribution at Washington each day and as rapidly as these lists are received at Washington copies will be made for distribution to the District Representatives. REPORTS FROM CONSUMERS TO STATE FUEL ADMINISTRATORS AND STATISTICAL SECTION. 28. Each consumer in Classes (c) to (g) inclusive is required to make a weekly report in duplicate in regard to his coal situation, one copy going to his State Fuel Administrator, and one copy going to the Statistical Section of the Fuel Administration at Washington. This report will show the amount of coal on hand at the first of each week, the receipts during the week, the consumption (or for retail dealers, the distribution) during the week, the amount of coal on hand at the end of the week, the number of days' supply which this amount of coal on hand represents, and the producing district from which the consumer is receiving coal. The blank for the transmission of this information from Industries and Public Utilities is attached as Form G, and from retail dealers as Form H. The postal card form on which these reports will be made will be sent in quantity lots direct from the Statistical Section at Washington to the consumer from whom reports are required. In putting this plan into effect the Public Utilities, retail dealers and manufacturing plants consuming over 500 tons per annum will be covered first, followed later by the smaller manufacturing plants. ALLOTMENT OF COAL BETWEEN STATES. 29. At an early date a statement will be sent from the Fuel Administration at Washington to each State Fuel Administrator advising of his bituminous and anthracite tonnage allotments, exclusive of tonnage required for classes (a) and (b), for the coal year ending March 31, 1919, from each coal producing District, together with the names and addresses of the district Representatives who are to direct the shipments. A similar statement will also be sent by the Fuel Administration to each District Representative giving the tonnage allotment to each State, within his shipping zone, together with the names and addresses of the State Fuel Administrators in each of these states. UNITED STATES FUEL ADMINISTRATION, Letter from Edwin B. Parker, Priorities Commissioner, to J. D. A. Morrow, General Director of Distribution of the United States Fuel Administration, dated May 22, 1918, Offering Suggestions Relative to the Preparation of a List of Plants Embraced in Preference List No. 1. Mr. J. D. A. MORROW, General Director of Distribution, WASHINGTON, D. C., May 22, 1918. United States Fuel Administration, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. MORROW: Referring to our conversation last evening relative to the preparation of a list of plants embraced in Preference List No. 1, I desire to offer the following suggestions: 1. Each State Administrator should prepare a list of the individual plants in his State which, in his opinion, should be classified under the Industries mentioned in Preference List No. 1, dated April 6, 1918. Where there is any doubt as to whether or not any particular plant is entitled to classification as a Preference List industry, such plant should be instructed to file an application with the Priorities Board and it will be considered on its merits. 2. State and Local Fuel Administrators and Fuel Distributors (District Representatives) to notify the Fuel Administration of specific cases which may come to their notice, where plants engaged in war work, or work of exceptional or national importance are not embraced within the Preference List and cannot secure fuel for their current needs. If the Fuel Administration will, in turn, call our attention to such cases they will be promptly investigated and considered and, in proper cases, certified either temporarily or permanently to the Preference List. If this does not fully cover the matter I shall be glad to have you so advise. EDWIN B. PARKER, Circular Letter, dated June 3, 1918, from the Director of the Bureau of State Distribution to all District Representatives Giving Instructions Relative to Preference Rules in Distributing Coal. Mr. District Representative. WASHINGTON, D. C., June 3, 1918. DEAR SIR: Judge Edwin B. Parker, Priorities Commissioner, of the War Industries Board, instructs us, under date of May 20, to observe the following Preference rules in distributing coal: 1. Distribute coal in amounts sufficient to take care of current requirements of all consumers on the "Preference List." Current requirements means sufficient coal to take care of their daily consumption and, in addition thereto, an amount necessary to build up the reasonable reserves which are required to insure uninterrupted operation. The reserves required will vary with the distance from the source of supply and the available transportation facilities. 2. After making distribution under (1) any remaining coal can go to those consumers not on the Preference List but only in an amount necessary for their daily consumption. 3. After making distribution under (1) and (2) if there should still be a remaining balance of coal it shall be distributed as decided by the State and Local Fuel Administrator, giving preference at all times to the storage requirements of those consumers on the Preference List. 4. The War Industries Board will from time to time establish degrees of preference as between the consumers on the original Preference List. The first degree of preference has already been established and will include railroad fuel, steamship bunkersexclusive of pleasure craft and by-product plants-and you are hereby instructed to see that shipments go forward to take care of these requirements first. The State Fuel Administrator will keep you advised as to how shipments should be increased or decreased to individual consumers in order to comply with the above instructions from the War Industries Board and you will be required to see that your operators make shipments accordingly. Very truly yours, UNITED STATES FUEL ADMINISTRATION, By A. M. OGLE, General Director Distribution. Letter from A. W. Calloway, Director of the Bureau of Bituminous Distribution, dated June 24, 1918, Addressed to all District Representatives, Relative to the Procedure to be Followed on United States Army Orders. To all District Representatives: WASHINGTON, D. C., June 24, 1918. In order to simplify correspondence in connection with orders for cantonment and camp coal and allotment of same, the following procedure will be followed by the War Department and Fuel Administration: (a) Quartermasters will make requisitions for coal to the Fuel & Forage Division, War Department. (b) The Fuel & Forage Division will present all requisitions to the United States Fuel Administration. (c) The United States Fuel Administration will notify the Fuel & Forage Division as to the names and addresses of the producers with whom the orders have been placed; and this information will be transmitted to the Quartermasters concerned. (d) All correspondence respecting the details of the shipments, after the above steps have been completed, will be handled directly between the Quartermasters and District Representatives, or, in cases where no District Representatives have been appointed, between the Quartermasters and the producers with whom the orders have been placed. (e) The Quartermasters will forward to the Fuel & Forage Division copies of all correspondence between them and the District Representatives, and, in cases where no District Representatives have been appointed, between the Quartermasters and the producers with whom the orders have been placed. Under paragraph "C" the procedure is as follows: The Fuel & Forage Division of the War Department places the order with this office. This office in turn notifies the District Representative that should supply the tonnage, and after the District Representative allots the tonnage to producer or producers in his district and notifies this office, this office then notifies the Fuel & Forage Division of the allotment. After this action is taken, the procedure under paragraphs "D" and "E" follows. District Representatives, therefore, will work in close touch with the Quartermasters as may be necessary from time to time on camp and cantonment orders. Yours very truly, U. S. FUEL ADMINISTRATION, Director, Bituminous Distribution. Letter from the Director of the Bureau of State Organizations to State Fuel Administrators, Dated Aug. 9, 1918, Relative to the Authority and Responsibility of State Fuel Administrators in the Distribution of Coal. State Fuel Administrators: WASHINGTON, D. C., August 9, 1918. 1. Under the new coal budget plan each State Fuel Administrator has been advised of the total amount of coal allotted to his State, the producing districts from which the coal will be shipped and the tonnage which will go forward from each individual producing district. Each District Representative has been correspondingly advised of the amount of coal he is to ship into each State. 2. Each State Fuel Administrator will have the responsibility and authority for the distribution of the coal allotted to his State, except for shipments which will go forward to some few certain plants that will be under the direct supervision of Washington. District Representatives will include tonnage going forward to these particular plants in their reports to State Fuel Administrators and these plants will also be required to make weekly reports to State Fuel Administrators the same as other plants so that State Fuel Administrators will have complete records of the coal moving into their respective States under direction from Washington. 3. All requests for assistance from individuals received at Washington will be referred back to the respective State Fuel Administrators with the exception of requests from plants that are under the direct supervision of Washington. 4. District Representatives have been definitely instructed to honor requisitions received from a State Fuel Administrator provided they can do so without overshipping the State Fuel Administrator's budget. 5. In directing the shipments of coal the State Fuel Administrator will be required to follow the War Industries Board's Preference List instructions, which instruction will be communicated to them by the Director of State Distribution, Alfred M. Ogle. 6. The budgets of coal in various States are all subject to proportionate reduction in the event that the estimated required coal production is not realized. They are also subject to readjustments from time to time as changes in coal requirements may necessitate. 7. Whenever a State Fuel Administrator desires assistance in handling matters of coal distribution he shall call on the Director of State Distribution. UNITED STATES FUEL ADMINISTRATION, TITLE II. THE ZONE SYSTEM FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF BITUMINOUS COAL.1 Section 1. General Statement of the Nature and Purpose of the System. Statement dated Mar. 22, 1918, Issued by the United States Fuel Administration as a Part of Publication No. 21, Explaining the Zone System for the Distribution of Bituminous Coal. The United States Fuel Administration, in cooperation with the Director General of Railroads, announces a zone system to govern the distribution of bituminous coal during the coal year beginning April 1, 1918. Heretofore coal has been distributed practically without regard to the distance between the mine and the consumer. Under the zone system coal will be distributed to consuming territory under restrictions that will avoid as far as possible waste of transportation facilities, but nevertheless consistent with the maintenance of the greatest possible production and a proper coal supply to all coal users. Every effort has been made, however, to preserve long-established trade relations. We must have adequate coal supply in order to win the war, for otherwise we can not make munitions or other war supplies or build ships or use them when built. Without adequate coal supply industries will be stopped, labor will be idle, and homes will go unwarmed. In view of these necessities and of the serious danger of coal shortage the United States Fuel Administration and the United States Railroad Administration have devoted several months to the study of what can be done to remove the causes which have hampered the enlargement of coal production. It has been found that a factor which has largely diminished the number of cars available for loading in the mines and the number of locomotives available to haul coal is that in a substantial sense the country has been engaged in "carrying coals to Newcastle"; cars and locomotives have been occupied for many unnecessary days in hauling coal hundreds of unnecessary 1 See also Chapter III, Titles V and VI, for other regulations in regard to the exportation of coal, and Chapter III, Title IV, in regard to Railroad Fuel Supplies. |