100 years ago in The Saratogian
Friday, Jan. 18, 1918
“ALL INDUSTRIES IN COUNTY AT A STOP,” The Saratogian reports as the federal fuel administration’s five-day shutdown of factories east of the Mississippi goes into effect this morning.
The shutdown was ordered late Wednesday by fuel administrator Henry Garland, who says today that the coal saved will be used to fuel Atlantic supply ships that have been idling in eastern ports. As part of an ongoing coal-conservation effort, most businesses will be required to close for nine consecutive Mondays following the current shutdown.
Garfield’s order has provoked angry criticism across the country, including a protest today from the manufacturers of Mechanicville. They ask for an exemption from the shutdown order, claiming that the coal they consume won’t make a difference in the current crisis, while the shutdown will cost 626 employees five days’ pay.
A different tone prevails in Ballston Spa, where an assembly of business men tonight unanimously pledges obedience to the federal government.
“It is hard to learn obedience when we have been combative,” the local Presbyterian pastor tells the gathering, “But we have got to learn it.”
Saratoga County fuel administrator Clarence B. Kilmer has been overwhelmed by questions about the scope of the federal orders, especially the Monday “holidays” that will close nearly all businesses as well as factories. Newspapers like The Saratogian will be exempt from the shutdowns because the government considers them essential for transmitting information.
“The Monday closing order is the one which seems to be causing the most trouble just now,” one reporter writes, “All sorts of conditions are presented.
“One manager of a local theater stated that his auditorium would be warm enough for comfort on Monday nights even if no fuel were used for heat. He wanted to know if he could run his show.
“The proprietor of a barber shop said that all the heating pipes of the building in which he was located passed through his shop. These pipes, he said, keep the room warm enough to do business in. Must he close?
“These and hundreds of similar questions were put up to the Administrator. In almost every case his reply was that the order spoke for itself and must be obeyed to the best judgment of the person affected.”
In an official statement, Kilmer writes, “It is impossible for me to issue specific orders to each individual manufacturer. Every one is presumed to know the law and as the orders from the fuel administrator are published in the daily press, I should advise that each one should read these rulings carefully and govern himself accordingly.”