Rules Pertaining Summer Orders Order (1 results)

[Wilmington, Delaware, n.p., ca. 1918]. Broadside. 20½ x 12½ inches. Heavy stock paper. Folds; light wear and toning with two small losses at corners; about very good. The Federal Fuel Administration of Delaware issued this broadside in the summer of 1918, outlining five rules for coal orders as consumers prepared for the winter. Established at the outset of the First World War, the U.S. Fuel Administration controlled coal distribution and pricing, appointing state administrators to prevent shortages. Delaware's administrator, Charles H. Ten Weeges, was granted enforcement powers over both retail and wholesale transactions. Emphasis is placed on limiting deliveries to "normal requirements," with some consumers restricted to receiving "no more than two-thirds of normal requirements." Orders were to be placed with consideration for needs through March 31, 1919. The broadside warns that "Any person who willfully make a false statement upon their application is subject to prosecution under the Lever Act, which imposes a penalty of $5,000 fine or two years' imprisonment, or both." A revealing document of wartime rationing and its impact on the Delaware home front.