305 



we have projects that must be considered of the shortest possible range. They are 

 things that we are doing that are of immediate benefit and immediate help to 

 the coal industry. 



In fact, except for the authority to contract research with outside peo- 

 ple, and to work on patented processes, "* * * tliere is nothmg that this 

 Office of Coal Kesearch can do that the Bureau of Mines cannot do." ^^ 



Uncertainties over the goals of the program 



At the outset of congressional development of the coal research pro- 

 gram, in 1956, Representative Saylor had sought "an economic revival 

 of the coal industry." (See p. 294.) The emphasis of the report of the 

 special subcommittee had been on finding ways to increase the con- 

 smnption of coal. The objective of Public Law 86-599 was "to en- 

 courage and stimulate the production and conservation of coal * * *." 

 Mr. Lasky, at the 1961 hearing on Policies of the Department of the 

 Interior, described the objectives of the coal research program as being 

 "* * * to get miners back to work and to alleviate the distress in coal 

 mining communities."^^ Subsequently, when he was challenged by 

 Representative Rogers as to this interpretation, he explained further — 



I was going to say that it can make that contribution. Actually, its function, 

 whether you call it an aid-to-depressed-areas bill or not, is to do something for 

 the coal mining industry.** 



Subsequently, Representative Rogers observed : 



* * * What you are actually doing, if you carry this out on the theory of a 

 depressed area situation, as Mr. Lasky put it : You are using tax money paid 

 by the producers of other fuels, fuels other than coal, to do research and develop- 

 ment to provide a more competitive situation for coal, and you are using the 

 money provided by the other fuels in order to help put them out of business, 

 are you not?** 



By way of conclusion to this top|ic, Representative Edmondson, who 

 had chaired the special subconunittee investigation in 1956-57, sug- 

 gested that the objective of the Office of Coal Research was "to be an 

 effective and a successful adjunct to our Government's effort to 

 strengthen the country and to make a beneficial use out of one of the 

 undoubtedly great resources of our country, this particular area of 

 coal." 



We found in our survey of the energy picture of the country [he went on] that 

 coal presented our greatest long-term physical asset in terms of energy that we 

 could see on hand and readily available to us at this time, and it was our desire 

 to see that that resource was beneficially developed and used, and that the 

 human resources that are today being wasted also in so many coal mining areas 

 of the country are beneficially used. 



I think that inspired this legislation in the first place."* 



Status of coal research program in 1968 



The annual report of the Office of Coal Research for 1968 indicated 

 that OCR, since its inception and up to the beginning of 1968, had 

 received and screened more than 450 research proposals, had placed 58 

 contracts for research (of which 29 were then active), had issued 39 

 technical reports, and had received 3 patents (with 8 other applica- 

 tions and 33 candidate applications pending) . 



« Ibid., p. 181. 

 " Ibid., D. 168. 

 *8 Ibid., b. 180. 

 "» Ibid., p. 1S4. 

 » Ibid., p. 192. 



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