WINTER FUEL

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 109, 10 May 1943, Page 5

WINTER FUEL

RATIONING IN CITY

CRISIS MAY BE AVOIDED

Nobody should shiver over an empty fireplace this winter, providing there is no hoarding of fuel. Coal arid wood merchants in the Auckland ' area are doing their best to distribute ail available supplies as evenly and fairly as possible, and rationing is being unofficially carried on, according to inquiries in several quarters this morning. " The basis of the rationing is' two sacks of coal and two sacks of wood, and orders are being rotated, although in genuine cases of emergency, such as sickness, priority iriay be given. Since some people normally consume more coal than others (those with a coal range, for instance) their orders are adjusted accordingly. "We simply nave to take their word for it," said one merchant. "We expect our customers to be straight and not attempt to secure more than their fair share." A representative of one of the largest distributing firms in the city admitted that stocks were a good deal lower than for many years, and it was a case of supplying from ''hand, to mouth," but with - careful husbanding of supplies and moderate demands from consumers there was no likelihood of anyone going cold. He mentioned that before the war his firm had about 10,000 tons of tea-tree in one store, but to-day only a few hundred tons were there. Owing to the attractive conditions in some of the war industries, he said, it was difficult to persuade men to journey out to remote spots and cut tea-tree. There were also transport difficulties to be met. • Hospitals ana military establishments receive priority regarding coal and firewood supplies, it was stated. A certain percentage was allocated for the domestic trade irrespective of the requirements of the forces. From a survey of the position it appears that firewood is in shorter supply than coal, while the market is quite bare of coke and carbonettes. Pirie wood is more plentiful than tea-tree. There is,< of course, some delay in effecting deliveries and most consumers have adopted the habit of ordering well in advance. Fortunately the abnormally long, dry autumn has assisted the position in that the peak demand, often reached by this time of the year, is not yet evident.