ESTABLISHMENT OF LABORATORY FOR UTILIZATION OF WASTE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS-FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY-MISCELLANEOUS DEPARTMENT BILLS ENGINEERING EXPERIMENT STATIONS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10 o'clock a. m., pursuant to adjournment, Hon. Gilbert N. Haugen presiding. Present: Representatives Haugen, Purnell, Thompson, Ketcham, Hall, Pratt, Menges, Adkins, Clarke, Hope, Brigham, Hall, Garber, Houston, Aswell, Jones, Fulmer, Larsen, and Nelson. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will kindly be in order. We have met this morning to consider H. R. 194, H. R. 4142, and H. R. 197. (The committee thereupon proceeded to the consideration of the following bills :) [H. R. 194, Seventy-first Congress, first session] A BILL To provide for research work in connection with the utilization of agricultural products other than forest products, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to permit the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an experiment station to cooperate with the Department of Commerce for the purpose of conducting experiments, investigations, and tests with respect to the physical and chemical properties and utilization and preservation of agricultural products other than forest products, particularly the collecting, preservation, and utilization of cornstalks, broomcorn stalks; wheat, oats, flax, and other straws, bagasse, cotton stalk, cotton seed and moats, cotton hulls, cotton lint and linters; rice hulls; skim milk; fruit and vegetable waste products and other waste and semiwaste products, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary to erect necessary buildings and provide initial equipment therefor in cooperation with the Iowa State College at Ames, Iowa, at a cost of not to exceed $150,000. SEC. 2. In carrying out the provisions of this act the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to cooperate with individuals and public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions in the United States, including the Department of Commerce, and to accept on behalf of the United States such title to land which he may deem appropriate for use in connection with such experiment station. SEC. 3. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated annually such amounts as may be necessary for the maintenance and equipment of such experiment station, and for the conducting of such experiments, investigations, and tests. [H. R. 4142, Seventy-first Congress, first session] A BILL To provide for research work in connection with the utilization of agricultural products other than forest products, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to permit the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an experiment station to cooperate with the Department of Commerce for the purpose of conducting experiments, investigations, and tests with respect to the physical and chemical properties and utilization and preservation of agricultural products other than forest products, particularly the collecting, 1 preservation, and utilization of cornstalks, broomcorn, milo, maize, and feterita stalks; wheat, oats, flax, and other straws, bagasse, cotton stalk, cottonseed and cottonseed meal and oil, cotton hulls, cotton lint and linters; rice hulls; skim milk; fruit and vegetable waste products and other waste and semiwaste products, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary to erect necessary buildings and provide initial equipment therefor in cooperation with one of the State educational institutions of the West and with one of the State educational institutions of the South (such two institutions to be selected by the Secretary of Agriculture) at a cost of not exceeding $300,000. SEC. 2. In carrying out the provisions of this act the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to cooperate with individuals and public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions in the United States, including the Department of Commerce, and to accept on behalf of the United States such title to land which he may deem appropriate for use in connection with such experiment station. SEC. 3. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated annually such amounts as may be necessary for the maintenance and equipment of such experiment stations, and for the conducting of such experiments, investigations, and tests. [H. R. 197, Seventy-first Congress, first session] A BILL To provide for research work in connection with the utilization of agricultural products other than products, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in order to permit the Secretary of Agriculture to establish an experiment station to cooperate with the Department of Commerce for the purpose of conducting experiments, investigations, and tests. with respect to the physical and chemical properties and utilization and preservation of agricultural products other than forest products, particularly the coliecting, preservation, and utilization of cornstalks, broomcorn stalks; wheat, oats, flax, and other straws; bagasse, cotton stalk, cotton seed and moats, cotton hulls, cotton lint and linters; rice hulls; skim milk; fruit and vegetable waste products and other waste and semiwaste products, there is hereby authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary to erect necessary buildings and provide initial equipment therefor in cooperation with the Clemson Agricultural College at Clemson, South Carolina, at a cost of not to exceed $150,000. SEC. 2. In carrying out the provisions of this act the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to cooperate with individuals and public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions in the United States, including the Department of Commerce, and to accept on behalf of the United States such title to land which he may deem appropriate for use in connection with such experiment station. SEC. 3. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated annually such amounts as may be necessary for the maintenance and equipment of such experiment station, and for the conducting of such experiments, investigations, and tests. The CHAIRMAN. Congressman Dickinson, of Iowa, is present, and we would be pleased to hear from him. STATEMENT OF HON. L. J. DICKINSON, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF IOWA Mr. DICKINSON. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, again we want you to consider this farm waste bill, which I think is one of the outstanding problems we have in connection with the farm areas at the present time. This bill provides that a laboratory be established at Ames, Iowa, in connection with the agricultural college there. There is no doubt but what the Government has been rendering material assistance and the State of Iowa has taken an outstanding position with reference to the recovery of additional revenue from farm waste, and we are in the center of the farm-waste area. Research is going on along every line in an effort to work out additional uses for farm waste. This bill takes as its precedent for its establishment the forest products laboratory at Madison, Wis. In that laboratory is the headquarters for all the research on the utilization of the timber resources of this country. In order that the members of the committee may know that all of those funds are not spent at Madison, Wis., I want to say that a statement in a letter to me shows that 11% per cent of the total expenditures is spent in field services, in working out research. Of those funds the following distribution is made: The purpose of showing this is that a laboratory of this type is not a local institution at all; it is really a place where you can centralize all of your research work along this line under Government authority. Mr. CLARKE. Will you permit a question right there? You think, then, that the tendency is to take this as a precedent for a lot of other ones in the land-grant colleges around you? Mr. DICKINSON. I do not, because this is not a laboratory that is established on the principle of having a cooperative hook-up with land-grant colleges. This would be preliminary to and would give a heading up of the research work of the country. Mr. Haugen has a bill that provides for the engineering hook-up along agricultural lines that would be supplementary to this, and there would be no more reason for establishing another research laboratory of this type in other localities than there would be for establishing another forestproducts laboratory in another section of the country. Mr. ASWELL. May I ask you a question? Mr. DICKINSON. Yes. Mr. ASWELL. Why do you specify bagasse, cotton stalks, cottonseed, and moats, cotton hulls, cotton lint, and linters and rice? There is none of those up there. Mr. DICKINSON. For this reason, the field work on all of that will be done down in the field where that raw material is found. Mr. ASWELL. What is the defense for putting it at Ames, Iowa? That is what I have never understood. Mr. DICKINSON. That is one type of farm waste. Mr. ASWELL. You do not have anything much but corn up there? Mr. DICKINSON. Oh, yes; we do. Mr. NELSON. Do you not think if this were 250 or 300 miles south of where it is it would be a much better location? Mr. DICKINSON. Let me make my statement. You are not going to get any testimony by starting in on a hectic type of crossexamination. Mr. ASWELL. I was not asking hectic questions. I am serious. Mr. DICKINSON. I want to present facts why it should be at Ames, and I have the Ames authorities here. |
