Evening Star Newspaper, January 4, 1918, Page 1

t “We are dealing with great matter: Full report on page 16. WEATHER. Partly cloudy and not so cold to- night; Jowest temperature, about 8. ‘Temperature last twenty-four hours ending 2 p.m. today: Highest, 18 at 2 p.m, today; lowest, 2, at 8 a.m. today. CLOSING NEW YORK STOCKS PAGE 16. Member” of the Associated Press the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published berein. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to | i} | AN rights of publication of «pecial dispatches herein are also reserved, 1917, Sworn Net Circulation, Month of December, Daily Average, 94,042; ; No. 26,918. WASHINGTON, D. C., RIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1918—TWENTY PAGES. ONE CENT ® WASHINGTON AND NEARBY SUBURBS. a TWO CENTS ELSEWHERE. PRESIDENT SUBMITS RAILROAD CONTROL PLAN TO CONGRESS Guarantee of Proper Returns to Carriers During War Is Asked. SEEKS PROVISION FOR THEIR PROPER UPKEEP Fund of $500,000,000 to Operate Lines Is Proposed in Bills to Carry Out System. President Wilson today laid before Congress, assembled in joint session, his recommenda- tions for carrying out govern- ment operation of railroads. To guarantee proper returns to _ the roads during the period of | * “government operation, the Presi- dent recommended that Con- gress provide compensation at the rate of the same net operat- ing income as the roads have re- ceived for the three preceding fiscal years. To provide for proper mainte- nance of the roads and their re- turn to owners in the same order as the government takes them over, the President recommend- ed legislation to authorize their upkeep and betterment during the period of federal operation. Bills to carry out the President's ideas already had been prepared under the supervision of the Department of Jus- tice and were immediately introduced with plans for prompt consideration in both House and Senate. A fund of $500,000,000 is proposed for government operation. . Had Assumed Control. President Wilson said that during the. recess of Congress December 28 last, ‘acting thro: the ‘Secretary of and under authority conferred upon hi by Congress, he had taken possession and assumed control of the railway lines of the country and eystems of water transportation under their con- trol - He paid tribute to the efforts of the group of railway executives who had Deen co-ordinating and directing rail- way work and had taken the task out of their hands not becanse of any fall- ure or dereliction on their part, but only because there were some things which the governinent can do and pri- vate management cannot. It has become unmistakably plain, he said, that only under government ad- ministration can the entire equipment of the several systems of transporta- tion be fully and unreservedly thrown into a common service without injuri- ous discrimination in particular prop- erties. He said the common administration will bé carried out with as little dis- turbance of the present operative or- ganization and personnel of the rail- ways .as possible. Nothing will be altered or disturbed which it is not necessary to disturb. * Should Receive Guarantee. It is right and necessary, he said, that the owners and creditors of the raflways, the owners of their stocks and bonds should receive from the gov- ernment an unqualified guarantee that their properties will be maintained throughout the period of federal con- trol in as good repair and as complete equipment as at present, and that the several roads will receive under federal management such compensation as is equitable and just alike to their own- ers as to the general public. “I earnestly recommend,” he said, “that the guarantee be given by appro- riate legislation, and given as prompt- ly as circumstances permit.” He added that one of the strong argu- ments for assuming control of the rail- roads at this me is the financial a: gument. It is necessary that the values of railroad securities should be justly and fairly protected and that the large financial operations necessary in con-| nection with the maintenance and oper- ation of the road should, during the pe- | riod of the war, be widely related to the financial operations of the govern- ment. | “The Secretary of War and I easily | agreed that,” said the President, “in view of the many complex interests which must be safeguarded ana har- monized, as well as because of his ex- ceptional experience and ability in this new field of governmental actioa, the Hon. William McAdoo was the right man to assume direct administrative control of this new executive task. At our request he consented to assume the | authority and duties of organizer and/ , Grector general of the new ratlway ad- | ministration. He has assumed those | duties, ard his work is in active prog-| ress.” | 1 | Will Ask for Money. The President conciuded with the| statement that if it {s found impossible | under this plan of operation : railways to add to their and extend thetr operative facttitios he will ask Congress for grants of! woney for that purpa For the pres- ent he would only suggest the guar- antees mentioned and would express the hope that Congress may grant these promply and ungrudgingly. ao for the! uipment said the. President. “and will, sure, deal wtih them greatly.” The President was greeted with pro- longed applause when he entered the chamber escorted by a committee con- sisting of senators and representatives appointed to receive him. He walked beside Senator Martin, democratic leader of the Senate. ‘The address of the President was lis- tened to with the closest attention by the legislators and the throngs which | filled the galleries. applause in-| Yerrupted the address, except when the| President said he had named Secretary McAdoo of the Treasury as director genera! of the railroads. At the close of his address the entire aseemblage rose and applauded vigoxpusly. ———_—_ Girls as Telegraph Messengers. MOBILE, Ala., January 4—The Postal Telegraph Company today employed giris as messengers and they say that they like the work. Boys are leaving their em- ployment to work in the government its at higher wages. ‘o | celvea from Charles Eisenman, SCORES U. 8. FAILURE IN BUYING CLOTHES Many Large Manufacturers Not Called Upon, Says Turn- bull, at Senate Inquiry. TOO MUCH SHODDY USED Failure of the government to call on many large clothing manufacturers to make uniforms was assailed before the Senate committee investigating the | Army activities today by Frank S. Turn- bull of New York, president of Rogers, Peet & Co. “There was no earthly reason why we (D.C. COAL DEALERS MUST POOL FUEL OR IVE UP INDUSTRY Administrator Weaver Calls Them Together Tonight to Hear Ultimatum. NO MORE DELIVERY NOW EXCEPT TO HOUSEHOLDS Churches, Theaters, Hotels and couldn't have colthed the men, and clothed them fast,” he said, citing that | virtually none of the large plants at | j Rochester, N. Y., had been used by the} government. He thought too much | shoddy was being used under the new | cloth standards. | To conserve wool, Mr. Turnbull said, | Charles Eisenman, vice chairman of the | supplies commattee of the Council of} National Defense, had proposed that all civilian clothing. during the war be made of shoddy. Declared Visionary. “That was visionary and impractical.” Mr. Turnbull said, “‘and could only be done by law. Mr. Eisenman wanted to start a propaganda to stop wearing of all-wool garments by civilians. ‘When he saw that the object of a committee considering the subject was to promote the general use of shoddy. Mr. Turnbull said, he withdrew from the committee. The new. standard of Army cloth, containing shoddy, the witness predict- ed would not be as durable or warm, contradicting testimony given by other manufacturers. Julius Forstmann, a-manufacturer of Passaic, N. J., told the committee a lim- ited percentage of shoddy would not de- teriorate quality of Army overcoats, but he opposed its use in other clothing. No shoddy was used before the war, he said, in the German uniforms. Continue Clothing Probe. In further investigation of clothing and other Army supply contracts nego- { tiated by the civilian supplies commit- j tee of the Council of National Defense, the Senate military committee today re- vice chairman of the contracting committee, a statement of merchandise bought! from firms whose memberg or em- | ployes are or were connected with the | committee. Of supplies worth about $800,000,009 bought during the last eight months. Mr. Eisenman’s statement discloses that $128,830,000 worth came from such con-j cerns, but that all except $14,830,064 worth was contracted for before ‘the contractors’ ntatives “became with the committee... senting the statement, ‘Senator McKellar yester- day, Eisenman, in concluding his testi- mony, stanchly defended the commit- tee’s work, upheld the policy of secrecy in advance of letting contracts and again insisted that the men given the much-discussed scrap-sorting contract eae have been limited to a nominal profit. * Names Nine Firms. Nine firms were named in Mr. Eisen- man’s statement as being among those} who had received Army supply orders from the committee and whose repre- | sentatives served with the committee. The first named, their representative | on the committee, the amount of the} contracts received and the total of con-! jtracts for the kind of merchandise in! which they were interested follow i American Woolen Company, F. R. Edington; $92,755,000; $228,692,000. Wellington. Sears & Co., Mr. Bailey; $5,675,000; $11,372,000. { Ybusiness taken over and adminis- {clines’ or fails *to ee ant Commercial Establishments Must Haul Their Own Coal. RELIEF MEASURES TAKEN. Measures taken today for re- lief of shivering Washington house- holders were: An order forbidding delivery of coal to churches, theaters and commercial establishments. They | | must make their own deliveries, Suspension of requirements that all must be weighed ; this to ex- jf | pedite d Arrangements by federal fucl } | administration to bring here at f | least 1,200 tons more anthracite a week, for official distribution. A request that all government buildings stop burning hard coai and turn their stocks over for domestic use. An arrangement with the Dis- trict government for the use of its teams and trucks to make deliveries. Washington coal dealers will have twenty-four hours from 8 o'clock tonight in which to save themselves from having their tered by the United States gov- ernment. Within that twenty-four hours they must form among themselves a central organization and place under its control all their re- sources of coal, equipment and organization. Any dealer who-de- co-ordinating organization ‘ will have his supplies of coal cut off and his equipment will be com- mandeered and utilized for pur- poses of the common pool. ‘This is the ultimatum which John L. Weaver, federal fuel administrator for the District of Columbia, will deliver to coal dealers at a meeting he has called for 8 o'clock this evening at the Builders’ Exchange. There will be no atgument or compromise or discussion of other pidns. The dealers are not called to- the purpose of conference, to be told what they must do if they ould save their businesses from con- He already has perfected ar- gether for b cation. William Iselin & Co., Lincoln Grom-j|Tangements with the District govern- well: $1,029,000; $74,827,000. | ment, he will tell the coal men, to act J. Spencer Turner, A. L. Scott; $8,427,-| promptly at the expiration of the twen- 000; $101,372,000. Turner, Haisey Company, A. In Scott; |t¥-four hours, unless they have acted in |MUNITIONS ARE BLOWN UP; | Encke’s Comet Reappears, Is Report | $5,239,000; $102,370,000. United States Rubber Company, A. W. ances $3,762,000; $26,879,000. W. H. McElwain Company, J. F. Mc- Elwain; $6,330,000; $99,556,000. United States Bunting Company, Geofge Stevens; $1,546,000; $90,319,000. Cipveland Worsted Company, Charles Eisenman; $4,057,000; $149,328,000. Of the contracts given the Cleveland ‘Worsted Company, of which Mr. Eisen- man is a stockholder, it was stated that only $612,700 were’ negotiated after the supplies committee was formed. } During his explanation of the com- mittee’s work, Eisenman again vigor- ously resented what he termed tions impugning hie motives and in-| sulting, and clashed with Senators | Weeks and McKellar. ques- | 2,000 COSSACKS PERISH | STOCKHOLM, January 4.—A Hapa- randa dispatch to the Tidningen says that the munitions depot on the Russian gouthwestern front was blown up recently and that all | buildings within a radius of two | kilometers were destroyed. Two | trains loaded with Cossacks on the | way to the Don district were wrecked, causing the death of 2,000 | men. | | FIRST CARGO OF CUBA’S { NEW SUGAR CROP ARRIVES PHILADELPHIA, Pa, January 4,—} The first cargo of the new crop of Cuban sugar consigned to this country here today arrived on a Norwegian steamship. ‘The sugar is for the Mc- Cahan Sugar Refining Company. | More than 4,000,000 tons of Cuban| sugar is now available, and refiners say | the market soon will be supplied with | all the sugar needed. Eighty-four mills | are now grinding the last of Cuba's big sugar crop. | ‘The matter of transportation has be- come an important factor in bringing sugar to the United States, and the acute tonnage situation is delaying | shipments. It 1s expected, however, | that before the end of January the shortage of ships will be relieved and | thet the raw sugar will be brought into the country more freely. CAMBRIDGE. Mass., January 4.—The reappearance of Encke's comet was re. ported today in a cablegram to the Har- vard College. observatory from Copenha- gen. The position was given as follows: Right ascension, 22 hours 59 minutes 4.9 ‘seconds; declination north, 3 degrees 17 minutes 33 seconds. The comet was lering Washington residents. Mr. Weav anthracite they may have in stock for domestic purposes. As a permanent the meantime. Last Chance to Make Good. Mr. Weaver will express the hope that the dealers will comply with the condi- tions laid down and avert the necessity of the government going into the coal business, but he will Impress upon them that the limit has been reached of vio- lation of fuel administraton regulations, of unfair distribution of coal and of profiteering at a time of great public suffering, The proposed co-ordinating organiza- tion, if the dealers decide to form one, is to be an experiment—a last chance extended them of making good with the public. If it fails, if by acting together they do not succeed ‘in rendering a serv- ice which they have not rendered acting separately, then the government will step in and take over the entire bu ness of distributing coal in the National Capital, and conduct it under direction of the fuel administration and the Dis- trict Commissioners. Commercial Delivery Cut Off. Things moved rapidly today in the joint efforts of Fuel Administrator Weaver. the national fuel administra- tion and District Commissioner Brown- low to get coal into the homes of shiv. er sent out’an order to all coal dealers that, until further notice, no coal may be delivered by them to any hotel, apartment house, store, office building, ‘anufacturing plant, church or theater. The rule applies to soft coal as well as hard. The purpose of the order is to] force dealers to supply the domestic needs of the people. He is determined that coal wagons shall not be used for hauling fuel to ice-making plants while e is forming in hom' sickness and suffering. > ‘The order does not mean that the hotels and churches and commercial are to be cut off from They mas have all the soft but they | must haul ft with their own teams or ar- nge to have it hauled by teams not be- | longing to coal deaie: Before Mr. | Weaver issued the order he obtained from | L. Snead, coal distributer for tbe na- | mai fuel administration, a promise that ample supplies of soft coal would be kept at not less than three public dumps. Any chureh, theater or business establishment not able to get coal from dealers from whom their supplies have been coming in the past can obtain It by applying to the local fuel administration for an order on the stock at these public dumps, provided the applicant is prepared to haul the coal away. A Promise More Hard Coal. | The national fuel administration to- | day promised early relief from the hard coal shortage. As a preliminary | pore veauesten, ailveopermniont ace partments which are burning hard coal fo substitute soft coal and release any measure of relief ft was announced that arrangements have been made for the shipment of a minimum of 1,200 tons of anthracite a week, consigned to the fuel administrator.’ All of this coal will go to domestic consumption, to meet the needs of people whose heating plants will not burn soft coal. ‘Mr. Weaver found yesterday that one dealer was keeping under cover more than a thousand tons of anthracite. AN UNCONVINCI TEXT OF MR. WILSON’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS TODAY REQUESTING MORE RAILWAY LEGISLATION The President's address on railroads to the joint session of Congress was a8 follows: Gentlemen of the Congress: have asked the privilege of addres: ing you in order to report to you that on the 28th of December last, during the recess of the Congress, acting through the Secretary of War and under the authority conferred upon me by the act of Congress approved August 29, 1916, 1 took possession ilway. I een portation under their control. This step seemed to be im- peratively necessary in the Interest of the public welfare, in the pres- ence of the great tasks of war with which we are now dealing. As our own experience develops difficulties and makes it clear what they are, I have deemed it my duty to remove those difficulties wherever I have the legal power to do so. To assume control of the vast railway systems of the country is, I realize, a very great responsibility, but to fail to do so in the existing circumstances would have been a much greater. I assumed the less responsibility rather than the weightier. Speaking Minds of Americans. I am sure that I am speaking the mind of all thoughtful Americans when I say that it is our duty as the representatives of the nation to do everything that it is necessary to do to secure the complete mobiliza- tion of the whole resources of Amer- ica by as rapid and effective means as can be found. ‘Transportation supplies all the arteries of mo- pilization. Unless it be under a sin- gle and unified direction, the whole process of the nation’s action 1s em- barrassed. It was in the true spirit of Amer- ica, and St was right, that we should first try to effect the necessary uni- fication under the voluntary action of those who were in.charge of the great ratlway properties and we did try it. The directors of the rail- ways responded to the need prompt- ly and generously. The group of railway executives who were charged with ‘the task of actual co-ordination and general direction performed their difficult duties with patriotic zeal and marked ability, as was to have been expected, and did, I be- Neve, everything that it was pos- sible for them to do in the circum- stances. If I have taken the task out of their hands, It has not been because of any dereliction or fail- ure on their part, but only because there were some things which the government can do and private man- agement cannot. We shall continue to value most highly the advice and assistance of these gentlemen and I m sure we shall not find them withh holding it i Only Plan Possible. It had become unmistakably plain that only under government admin- istration tan the entire equipment of the several systems of transpor- tation be fally and unreservedly thrown into a common service with- out injurious discrimination against particular properties. Only under government administration can an absolutely unrestricted and unem- parrassed common use be made of all tracks, terminals, terminal fa- cilities and equipment of every kind. Only under that authority can new terminals be constructed and de- veloped without regard to the re- quirements or lmitations of par- ticular roads. But under govern- ment administration all these things will be possible—not Instantly, but as fast as practical difficulties, which cannot be merely conjured away. give way before the new management. ‘The common hdministration will be carried out with as little disturb- ance of the present operating or- ganizations and personnel of the railways as possible. Nothing wilt be altered or disturbed which it is not necessary to disturb. We are serving the public interest and safe- guarding the public safety, but we are also regardful of the interest of those by whom these great proper- _ ties are owned and glad to avail ourselve: of the experience and trained ability of those who have been managing them. It,is neces- sary that the transportation of troops and of war materials, of food and of fuel, and of everything that is necessary for the full mobiliza- tthe tnergiesand resources Of the ‘country should be-Arst con- sidered, but it is clearly in the pub- lic interest also that the ordinary activities and the normal industrial and commercial life of the country should be interfered with and dislo- cated as little as possible, and the public may rest assured that the in- terest and convenience of the pri- vate shipper will be as carefully served and safeguarded as it is pos- sible to serve and safeguard it in the present extraordinary circumstances. Should Receive Guarantee. While the present authority of the executive suffices for all purposes of administration, and while of course all private interests must for give y to the public nec 1 sure you will agree right and necessary that the owners and creditors of the railways, the hold- ers of their stocks and bonds, should receive from the government an un- qualified guarantee that their prop- erties will be maintained throughout the period of federal control in as good repair and as complete equipment as at present, and that the several roads will receive under federal management such compensation as is equitable and just alike to their owners and to the general public. I would suggest the average net railway operating income of the three years ending June 30, 1917. 1 earnestly recommend that these guarantees be given by appropriate legislation, and given as promptly as circumstances permit I need not point out the essential justice of such guarantees and their great influence and significance as elements in the present financial and industrial situation of the country. the present sity, it is, with me, am Live Fiction! Features Well Worth Reading! “@HE UKRAINE REPUBLIC AS A cK TO BOLSHEVIEI PLANS’—a timely article by CHARLES M. PEPPER. “THE OBSERVER MAKES A SUGGESTION TO HERBERT HOOVER.’ “WINNING THI DISTINGUISH- ED SERVICE MEDAL"—one of the best of this remarkably in- teresting series of articles by SEERGT. EMPEY. ‘THE GUN-RUNNER”—a Craiz Kennedy detective story, by ARTHUR B. REEVE. “THE ALIEN PEOPERTY CUS- TODIAN AND HIS GIGANTIC JOB,” by JAMES B. MORROW. “LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE”—Abe and Morris do s0, as narrated by MONTAGUE GLASS. “TALES OF THE COSSACKS THAT HAVE REACHED SWIT. ZERLAND”—« thrilling fact- story by STERLING HEILIG. models, showing the growth of the flying machine. “WOMEN WILL RECEIVE BEN- EFITS FROM WAR RISK IN- SURANCZ.’ “AMERICANIZING THE ALIEN AND KILLING SEDITION. “RAINBOW’S END’—Read the synopsis of this fascinating story by BEX BEACH and then begin with the second install- ment, and you'll continue to the ena, Im the Special Features Section of | | Indeed, one of the strong arguments for assuming control of the rail- roads at this time is the financial argument. It is necessary that the values of railway securities should be justly and fairly protected and that the large financial operations every year necessary in connection with the maintenance, operation and development of the roads should, during the period of the war, be wisely related to the financial opera- tions of the government. Our first duty “4s, of , to conserve the common interest and the common safety and to make certain that nothing stands in the way of the successful prosecution of the great war for liberty andustice; but it is also an obligation of public con- science and of public honor that the private interests we disturb should be kept safe from unujst injury, and it 1s of the utmost consequence to the government itself that all great Hinancial operations should be stabil- ized and co-ordinated with the finan- cial operations of the government. Should Preserve Values. No borrowing should run athwart the borrowings of the federal ‘Treasury, and no fundamental industrial values should anywhere be paired. the hi: unnece! is of many thou- In sands of smail investors in the coun- try, as swell as in national banks, in insurance companies, in savings banks, in trust companies, in financial agen- cies of every kind, railway securities, the sum total of which runs up to some ten or eleven thousand millions, con- stitute a vital part of the structure of credit, and the unquestioned solid- ity of that structure must be main- tained. The Secretary of War and I easily agreed that, in view of the many com- plex interests which must be safe- guarded and harmonized, as well as because of his exceptional experience and ability in this new fleld of govern- mental action, the Hon. William G. McAdoo was the right man to assume direct administrative control of this new executive t At our requesi, he consented to assume the authority and duties of organizer and director general of the new railway administra- tion. He has assumed those duties and his work is in active progress. It is probably too much to expect that even under the unified railway administration which will now be possible sufficient economies can be effected in the operation of the rail- ways to make it possible to add to their equipment and extend their op- erative facilities as much as the present extraordinary demands upon their use will render desirable with- out resorting to the national Treas- ury for the funds. If it is not pos- sible, it will, of course, be necessary to resort to the Congress for grants of money for that purpose. The Se retary of the Treasury will advise with your committees with regard to this very practical aspect of the matter. For the present I suggest only the guarantees I have indicated and such appropriations as are nec- essary at the outset of this task. I take the liberty of expressing the hope that the Congress may grant these promptly and ungrudgingly. We are dealing with great matters and will, I am sure, deal with them greatly. RISE IN TEMPERATURE PROMISED TOMORROW Residents of Washington will have to wait until after tomorrow before any decided change in the temperature will be feit. according to the weather bu- reat. A slight moderation of the e: treme cold which Washington has ex- perienced for some time is promised for tomorrow. The forecaster said today that the temperature will rise slowly. Today's prediction was “partly cloudy and not auite so cold tonight, lowest tempera- ture about 8 degrees; tomorrow in- creasing cloudiness with slowly rising temperatur a drop early this morning, when the thermometer at the weather’ bureau registered 2 degrees above zero at 7 o'clock, |ASKS FLEET OF 500 INU. S. FUEL CRISIS ; oe J. Hampton Moore Urges Use of C. & 0. Canal to Trans- port Coal. IN CIVIL WAR} | | i RELIANCE Plans for breaking up the coal short- age effectively not only for Washing- ton, but as an avenue through which the needs of the great manufacturing as well as residential sections along the Atlantic coast can be supplied eco- nomically, have been made by Repre- sentative J. Hampton Moore of Penn- sylvania, member of the ways and; means committee. He proposes to use the old Chesa-| |peake and Ohio canal, which was) Washington’s main line of transporta- | tion during the civil war for bringing to the consumers of Washington and | the eastern coast more than two | million tons of coal annually from the; great Cumberland coal fields. Representative Moore, who as presi- dent of the Atlantic Waterways Asso- ciation is thoroughly familiar with con- ditions of this sort, has appealed di- rectly to President Wilson, has taken the matter up with Secretary McAdoo as director genera! of railroads and is g0- ing to introduce a bill in Congress and make a speech on the subject just as soon as he can get recognition. Canal Route 184 Miles. | The canal route to Cumberland is 184 Formerly hundreds of boats | brought coal and other products down} this canal. Last year there were but jeighty-four boats in operation, and they brought in 200,000 tons of coal from Cumberland. The capacity of a canal boat is 115 tons of coal, and one boat can make three round trips each month. So that ‘one boat can bring in 345 tons of coal each month. Now Representative Moore proposes that the government should bring in enough canal boats from the Erie canal and elsewhere to bring the number plying between Washington and Cum- berland up to 500. With this fleet a million tons of coal could be brought to the capital from Cumberland at a mini- mum expense. | The entire output of Ifeld is about 2,000,000 tons, so that one- | haif of this ‘entire output could be} |brought here promptly if the govern-| ment’ authorities act. Representative | | Moore has called their attention to the opportunity, intends to call the attention of Congress and the public | miles, i the Cumberland! away at the proposition until he gets action. Ina statement to The Star today Rep- resentative Moore explained the broad scheme of canal transportation that he has in mind. He said he has directed the attention of President Wilson and Secretary McAdoo to the service which the canals and inland waterways of the east could render to the government and to the people if properly improved and o-ordinated with rail transportation. In @ letter to Secretary McAdoo the day he was appointed director general of railroads, Representative Moore spoke of the conditions aloug the Delaware and Raritan canal, between New York andj Philadelphia, ‘and the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, extending from the Dela- ware bay into ‘the Chesapeake bay, and! t if taken over now by the} ernment these waterway uid be | able of relieving railroad estion | freigh | i | | | insisted t | ! Urges New Canal. | new canal should be con- pss the state of New Jer-| as recommended by United States | engineers, and declared that if |heed had been given to these projects [there would have been no coal short-| |age in New England or New York. He also referred to the Schuylkill naviga- tion canal, which, like the Delaware and Raritan, had been practically closed for coal-carrying purposes by the rail- roads. Mr. Moore said these canals ought to be taken over in the government trans- portation scheme. At the same time he complained that sea-going barges la- den with thousands of tons of anthra- cite coal were tied up in the Delaware river, because the Navy had comman- deered the sea-going tugs. These/| barges, he said, were still loaded with | coal and are hemmed in by the ice. Not satisfied with his letter to Direc- tor General MeAdoo, Congressman Moore also carried his suggestions to the Presilent. His letter has be: knowledged and will doubtle sidered along with other suggestions t are being made. e con- { Pennsylvania Has Coal. ' Washingto with | ”’ said Mr. Moore, very | as it is in Philadelphia, | New York and Bosto We are all in need of coal. Inquiries made while in| Philadelphia satisfied me we have| plenty of coal in Pennsylvania to meet! the public demands. But what are we | going to do when the coal companies | themselves deciare they annot obtain | the cars and that when they do, priority orders and other systems of red tape | interfere with the normal distribution? | |1 was told that one consignment of a| hundred cars of coal destined to New York to bunker ships carrying mun tions and supplies for the other side | was halted by a priority order while, en route and diverted to a large powder | works in Delaware. | saw the barges in the Delaware | river now burdened with from one thou-| sand to three thousand tons, each des- tined for New England, resting cozi! ‘anchor in clear water awaiti |which have not yet come to carry thein| jaway, and which would probably have diMiculty now in dizging them out of| [the ice. The government now controls! these tugs and some of them are not! very busy. | he situat | regard to ec j much the sar tugs} Shippers Cannot Get Cars. “at the same time I have on my desk now complaints from Philadelphia ship- per that they cannot get cars for raw materials such as cotton, coa! and lum ber. One of them complains that many of the cars are laden with lumber in the vicinity of the new Hog Island| | shipbuilding plant and that being prac- tically commandeered they are out of |service except possibly as storage |\varehouses for the contents. ("ste is even intimated that the con- {tractors permit the demurrage to graw | n amount because demurrage is charged in along with the contract price, on which a 10 per cent commis- |SLAVS MAKE COUNTER | Berlin Upholds More Moderate Con« | Chronicle, which prints the state- ja perspicacity w wai Sa generally | it 2 oposes to keep hammering | to it and propose: aoe sing on the frontier of a considerable ENTENTE POWERS MAY RECOGNIZE LENINE’S RECIME Developments in Russo-Ger- man Peace Parley Possibly Will Force Action. PROPOSALS TO TEUTONS ferees—Terrible Conditions Pre- vail in the Russian Armies, By the Associated Press. LONDON, January 4.—Recog= nition of the Lenine government in Russia by the entent¢ allies is probable owing to the devélop- ments in the Russo-German nego- tiations, according to the Daily ment in heavy type. The state- ment apparently is based on a con- tribution “by a diplomatic cor- respondent,” which is printed be- neath it. The writer says that owing to the bolshevik discovery of German duplicity anything may happen. Cites Three Alternatives. “There are,” he says, “three alter- natives: The bolsheviki may give way, the Germans may give way or there will be a rupture of relations. The first is hardly likely, in view of Foreign Minister Trotzky’s declaration. The second is possible, for the Germans are past masters in the art of specious com= promise. But the third is most prob- able, since the bolsheviki have exhibited ich was hardly exe pected in this country. ussia, the land of boundless sur- prises, may, quite possibly witness a revival of war; if not in the most active form, it might, at least, be a sullenly defensive war, necessitating the keep- |German force. It would at least pre= \vent those pleasant and profitable com= hopes for, “Assuming such a situation and the consolidation of bolshevik power, pro- vided failure to extract a peace does not wreck the Lenine regime, then recognition of that power as_ the de facto government follows. Since that is so, a socialist would be the logical representative of that govern- ment, and Maxim Litvinoff, who ha: been ‘appointed, is a likely enough oc- cupant of the embassy Retirement of Buchanan. the retirement of Sir nan, the British am- bassador to Rus ose services are gbly, the writer sa e probably wou a diplomat in marked sympath the ideas of revolutionar “Be that as it may, we expect shortly some new statement of pdlicy with regard to Russia, which, should it lean toward the latest developments Referring to George W. Buel w mercial exchanges which Germany” ’ present and democracy, would undoubtedly strengthen the allied cause in Russia.” Counter Proposals of Teutons. A dispatch to the Daily News from Petrograd dated Wednesday says: “The Russians now have made coun- ter proposals to the Teutonic allies which are under consideration and will be discussed at the next meeting of the peace delegates at Brest-Litovsic. Saturday. “The proposals embody the immedi- ate evacuation of occupied territory pending a referendum, the evacuated dis- tricts to be governed by locally elected representatives of the people, who are to be assisted by the local militia.” Germans Are Divided. Thre were two noticeable in the the Brest-Litovs grad correspondent Sa: repri more Fore Czernin ‘There distinct tendencies y delegation at , the Petro- of the Daily News ationist and was on Hoffman. A. was upheld by Kuehimann and enem presente m were tween the two tendencies. settled, it is added, by appeals to Ber- frequent disputes be- These were lin, which always supported von Kuehimann and Czernin. Gen. von Hoffman took the purely military point of view and complained with great bit- terness that the Russians were using the armistice to agitate among Gere man soldiers. According to the correspondent, there a belief among the Russian delega- tion that Germany will yield to the Russian demands concerning Poland and Lithuania, so as not to lose the ad- vantage by seeming to agree with Rus- sia while the entente allies disagree. The reasons for wishing the negotia- tions to be continued at Stockholm are a desire for a greater publicity, and this idea, expressed in a bolshevik state ment = “While we recognize that Stockholm is_not very neut |, it is, anyhow, more neutral than German headquarters.” is Teuton Plans Spurned. Daily News correspondent was at the Smolny Institute, the bolshevik headquarters, when M. Ka- meneff, one of the Russian peace dele- The gates, ‘presented his report on the ne; | gotiations other showed, he says, that the Germans at- tempted to bind Ru Brest-Litovsk. M. With» report at things, Kameneft’s ia to their country y renewal of the treaty of 1904, which mperor Nicholas declined to extend, resulting in a situation which was one of the causes of the war. |made other proposals, all for the pur- pose of | most istated that they believed in equality of trade, and that at the very moment {when they were engaged in socializing industr: Germany obtaining a position as the favored nation. The Russians nationalizing banks, etc., they |Sion is paid. If these things are true they approach the criminal stage. “president Wilson and Director Gen- jeral McAdoo can perform a real public Service by taking command of the | Canal and waterway systems and com- pelling them to do the work which they are able to do even in their an- tiquated condition and which, in some instances heretofore, they have been prevented from doing by unfair methods, A case in point is the Chesa- peake and Ohio canal, between Wash- ington and Cumberland. It has ren- dered service and should be en- could not subse jr j correspondent lto have receded from their position. der. serted the soldiers were willing to con: ibe to principles con- y to socialism. On this point, the ‘8, the Germans seem Appalling Army Conditions. Speeches by soldier delegates de- scribed the appalling conditions in the army, clothed and starving. which is disorganized, poorly Even the artil- lery horses have died from lack of fod- Nevertheless, all the delegates as- couraged to relieve the fierce car con-| tinue the war, notwithstanding these