FUEL FAMINE: We may be feeling the pain in the purse at the gas pumps today, but we’re in a better place than Bradford was in 1908.
On Jan. 17, 1918, Monday holidays were ordered for 10 weeks for businesses, while manufacturing plants were suspended for 5 days, according to The Era. The actions were taken to abate a fuel famine during World War I.
“Washington, Jan. 16 –– America’s manufacturing enterprises with but few exceptions, in all states east of the Mississippi river, were ordered by the government tonight to suspend operations for five days beginning Friday morning as a drastic measure for relieving the fuel famine.”
At the same time, as a means to further assist in the relief, the Fuel Administration directed that Monday shutdowns were to be instituted at factories, saloons, stores except for the sale of drugs and food, places of amusement and nearly all office buildings.
Can you imagine how well received that would be today? Seems to us like it would go over like the proverbial lead balloon.
“The government’s move came entirely without warning in an order issued by Fuel Administrator Garfield with the approval of President Wilson prescribing stringent restrictions governing the distribution and use of coal,” read The Era.
Even municipal plants were not excluded from the closing down order. The order also included a list of consumers whose interests would be met in a specific order.
It was estimated that the enforcement of this suspension would save a total of 30 million tons of bituminous coal, which was calculated to be about half the shortage.
The indications of the order were that at the end of the ten weeks of Monday holidays, a permanent policy would be placed in order to further restrict consumption. The plan would then limit the use of coal to less essential industries under a self-rationing process.
“The contention was that since Bradford is located in an oil region and uses gas for fuel almost exclusively, the regulation which has in view the economizing of coal should not apply here,” The Era reported.
