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1940-1949 Gas Synthesis Process, known also as the Fischer-Tropsch method, requires that coal be gasified as a preliminary step. *Coal Age, July 1949 service for heat and also air-conditioning, hot water heating, cooking and refrigera- tion" as well as other services, doing so would require a concrete marketing plan as well as the ability to deliver constant fuel supplies. What coal possessed over both oil and natural gas, however, was supply. Without question, the resources and reserves were there, but would the market have patience and choose Old King Coal or would the new consumer culture be swayed by modern natural gas and oil, and the potential of atomic power? Coal's best hope could come in the form of district heating and building the right types of power plants. "With 10 million news homes commonly cited as necessary in the United States in the next few years, the battle for the job" of providing them with energy "is really on," wrote the editors in the March 1946 issue. Steam generators, fueled by coal, could fill that role if enough research and development could be con- ducted and coordinated. Making oil from coal was another con- tinuing project. In the August 1946 issue, U.S. Rep. Jennings Randolph, of the 2nd District West Virginia reported that "sub- stantial strides toward the establishment of an American synthetic-liquid-fuels industry are evident as scientists of the Bureau of Mines, aided by the industrial and laborato- ry secrets of a decade or more of German experience, reach the end of the second year of a five-year program devoted to synthetic fuels research and development—an activi- ty momentous to the national welfare and of particular significance to the coal industry." Randolph related that Bureau scientists "anticipated the laboratory and pilot plant at Bruceton, Pa., will begin making synthetic oil and gasoline from coal early in 1947. Contracts have also been let for converting the surplus synthetic-ammonia plant at Louisiana, Mo., into a coal-hydrogenation and gas-synthesis demonstration plant. Meanwhile, Bureau technicians, working in temporary quarters and with limited facili- ties, have reported important research advancements." Federal subsidies and cor- porate partnerships provided further research throughout the decade. In the December 1948 issue, the maga- zine reported that a new pilot plant for the gasification of coal built by the Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Co. in cooperation with the Standard Oil Development Co. at a cost of $500,000 had been formally opened. The previous November 15 an inspection tour of dozens of coal executives, union and federal officials and execu- tives from Consol witnessed its dedication. The purpose of the plant was to study the operability of fluidized coal gasification to reach conclusions regarding costs and commercial design. Though interest was high, costs were equally prohibitive. General view of the synthetic-liquid-fuels laboratory at Bruceton, Pa., primarily devoted to work on coal. *Coal Age, August 1946 90 www.coalage.com Commenting on the compa- ny's gasification program, Consol President George H. Love conceded that while "at present 100th Anniversary Special Issue there is no apparent economic justifica- tion for investment of large sums in com- mercial facilities to convert coal into gasoline, we must anticipate that the time will come when such conversions will be commercial justified or necessary in the national interest. While growing energy demands are expected to increase the use of coal in solid form, the estab- lishment of new uses will add security to the industry's future. These things—to be ready for a national need, and to establish new markets for coal—are the objectives of our research, which we can't leave for others to do." In the July 1949 issue, assistant editor Stanbury reported on the progress being made in creating oil from coal. On May 8, the Louisiana, Mo., coal-to-oil demonstra- tion plant began producing 200-300 bbl per day of various grades of liquid fuel from coal. "Full development of this new industry to a capacity of 2-million bbl per day of liquid fuels would make the U.S. independent of Near East oil in any emer- gency. For the bituminous industry, assuming that half of the liquid-fuel out- put will be from coal, there would be a need for between 190 to 210 mt addition- ally per year to feed the plants." Anthracite Takes a Postwar Dive Almost at the end of the war, in the June 1945 issue, Coal Age ran a feature focusing on anthracite's future. Titled "Anthracite Prepares for Tomorrow," the editors delin- eate anthracite's challenges, most of which conspired to finish off the old industry segment. With commercial production going back through the early 19th century, at the time of Coal Age's first issue in 1911, the eight coun- ties that comprise anthracite country pro- duced almost 90.5 million tons all by August 2012