RATIONING OF COAL, GAS, ELECTRICITY

Sir Albert Stanley, the President of the Board of Trade, in the course of his statement in the House of Commons last night, in which he announced the 10:30 closing of theatres, also made known that the shortage of coal and the necessity of accumulating greater stocks would involve a number of other restrictions. Coal rationing, as practised with so much success in London in the past year, is to be made general across the country. Gas also will be subject to rationing, on the scale of five-sixths of the amount consumed in the same quarter last year. In the same way some reduction in the use of electricity, both for lighting and power, will have to be carried out. Its operation, Sir Albert intimated, would affect the London Underground and Tube railways. Within the next few days there would have to be further reductions in the number of trains. Sir Albert Stanley said: The railway companies had not been able, since the beginning of the war, to have any new equipment in the way of rolling-stock. A considerable number of locomotives and several thousand wagons had gone abroad. On the other hand, passengers, goods and mineral traffic had constantly increased. There was a period – unfortunately it was only short – when there was a diminution in the passengers carried. Something more than a year ago steps were taken to reduce the passenger trade. It was thought that by adding 50 per cent to the ordinary fare there would be a falling off in passengers. For a time there was, but not to the extent anticipated. He was sorry to say that the traffic had gradually come back, so that to-day the railway companies found themselves not only with a depleted rolling stock and considerably reduced staff, but with an enormously increased traffic to deal with. It was necessary that they should establish restrictions in the consumption of coal, but these need not be uniform right through the country, and it was not intended that they should be. Those districts more adjacent to the coalfields need not be placed under the same restrictions that would be necessary in those districts more remote. At the same time he would desire to emphasise how imperative it was that every possible economy should be exercised everywhere with respect to everything that had to be carried by railway.