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Show COUNTRY FACES GOALSHORTAGE ADMINISTRATION LEADERS ADMIT AD-MIT CRITICAL SITUATION DUE TO RAIL DEARLOCK Belief Now Exists That Immediate Settlement of Transportation Difficulties Could Not Forestall Fore-stall Coal Rationing Washington. Stampeded Into decisive de-cisive action by the rapidly increasing increas-ing peril of a fuel famine this fall and winter Congress dropped everything every-thing Friday for consideration of drastic measures to keep the country supplied with coal during the coming months and to prevent a recurrence of existing or impending coal shortage short-age due to the anthracite and bituminous bi-tuminous strikes. The grave danger of intense suffering suf-fering and sickness even freezing, among the people of those states where winter is most severe dinned into the ears of senators and representatives repre-sentatives alike by a torrent of telegrams, tele-grams, galvanized both senate and house into grappling with a situation which threatens to become even worse than that o the terrible winter wint-er of 1917-1918. Senate debate turned from the bonus to the coal crisis and to the railroad strike. Seizure of the coal mines by the president unless the anthracite strike is soon settled, urged by Senator Calder, Republican, New York, was before the senate interstate commerce commission in the form of a joint resolution offered by Senator Walsh, Democrat, Mason Mas-on chiiRBttR. to enmower the president to take over all mines whose products pro-ducts are shipped in interstate commerce com-merce in order to open them up and furnish coal to the people. While the Walsh resolution was aimed at all mines it was intended as a weapon to be used by the president to deal particularly with the anthracito situation. "A desperate situation confronts the country. We are but 60 days from the usual period of frost and anthracite coal must be secured and distributed soon or else people will freeze to death this winter." Senator Calder said. Senator Borah," Republican, Idaho, chairman of the senate labor committee, com-mittee, said he hoped the governor of every state threatened with coal shortage would follow the example of Governor Miller of New York in call ing a special session of the legislature legisla-ture to secure immediate relief and to prevent a fuel famine. Borah planned to press for imme diate action by the senate In his Ml providing for a coal commission commis-sion to be appointed by the president to investigate the whole coal industry indus-try with a view of "nationalization" or government control and a stand i oniwaiinr of the living and workins conditions of the miners. Even if the railroad strike were settled today the country could not avoid rationing of coal this winter, it was admitted. The problem is not coal prodUictien,, but how much coal the carriers can haul, Secretary of Commerce Hoover stated. |