CHAPTER ELEVEN— THE OFFICE OF COAL RESEARCH: 

 THE USE OF APPLIED RESEARCH TO RESTORE A 

 "SICK" INDUSTRY 



I. Statement of the Problem 



The subject of this chapter is the congressional decision to create 

 the Office of Coal Research, an agency of the Department of the In- 

 terior. The issue can be approached as a national measure to assist 

 a declining industry of great magnitude, as an effort to enhance the 

 utility of one of the most abundant natural resources in the United 

 States, or as a move to restore balance in the U.S. system of essential 

 energy. All of these objectives were cited in support of the proposal. 

 In each case, the assumption was that the application of Federal funds 

 for applied research to improve one or another of the aspects of coal — 

 production, distribution, or utilization — would further the objective 

 sought. 



The changing product mix of energy sources 



Historically, energy has had two primary functions in an industrial 

 society : to warm the human environment, and to supplement human 

 energy in the manufacture of useful products. Up to the founding of 

 the Republic, the first function was predominant. Wood was almost 

 the only fuel consumed and water power was crudely exploited. How- 

 ever, between 1800 and 1900, along with the growth of industry in 

 the United States, the second function grew in importance and coal 

 (mainly bituminous) replaced wood as the principal fuel for both 

 heat and power. 



The development of electrical energy — as a form capable of con- 

 version into power, thermal energj^, or light — further complicated 

 the energy picture. Its generation from the combustion of coal be- 

 came a major consumer of that fuel ; its generation by combustion of 

 other fossil fuels, or from atomic energy or hydroelectric sources, be- 

 came a competitor of coal. 



Coal production and consumption, after rising steadily throughout 

 the 19th century, reached a peak during and after World War I. Pro- 

 duction of bituminous, the principal form of coal, was 579 million tons 

 in 1918 ; by 1932, it had declined to 310 million. It rose again during 

 and immediately after World War II, reaching a wartime peak of 

 620 million tons in 1944, and an all-time peak of 631 million tons in 

 1947. Thereafter it sagged below 400 million in 1954.^ 



Mechanization of coal mining and handling equipment proceeded 

 steadily after World War II, accompanied by increased output per 

 worker and reduced employment in the industry. Peak employment in 

 bituminous mines was 704,793 in 1923; by 1955, the number had 

 declined to 225,093. Production in tons per man/day rose from 4.47 in 

 1923 to 9.84 in 1955. Mechanization also called for capital investment. 



\Exeept as indicated, data in this section of the study are derived from various publi- 

 cations of the Bureau of Mines, and from secondary sources relying- on Bureau of Mines 

 data. They are to be taken as approximate and only to indicate trends in the coal industry. 



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