The Lowell Sun from Lowell, Massachusetts • Page 13

The Department of Interior estimates the United States has three trillion tons of coal reserves. This is equivalent to four trillion barrels of oil seven times the world's proven reserves ot to 32,000 trillion cubic feet of gas 20 to 30 times the nation's recoverable natural gas supply. Even the most conservative estimate of 217 billion tons of coal that could be recovered by existing technology economically and within environmental restrictions would be enough to last the nation 300 years. The use of coal to produce high BTU gas is the first step in exploitation of these extensive deposits. Two major companies are prepared to siart construction of gasification plants this summer.

The major hurdles are in Washington. One of the plants would be built by American Natural Gas Co. near Beulah, N.D., about 50 miles west of Bismaruk, to provide gas for Michigan and Wisconsin. The other would be built by Western Gasification a consortium headed by Southern California Gas on the Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico for customers in Southern California. The North Dakato and New Mexico plants are of comparable size and would produce about 90 billion cubic feet of gas per year.

AiNG's North Dakato plant would produce enough gas to heat 150,000 homes. The major stumbling block to construction is financing. The 1980 price tag will be around SI billion for each. "There is no way to get financing without some form of government aid on these projects." said Ron Cassinari, a utility analyst for the investment firm of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner Smith. "We are breaking new ground.

For people in Washington to sit there and expect the companies lo underwrite this kind of investment without a guarantee that the investment will be recouped is unrealistic After two of hearings on energy, the Senate tacked on to the authorization bill for the Energy Research and Development Agency S6 billion for loan guarantees for fossil fuel projects, including S2 5 billion for coal gasification. The ERDA bill has been delayed in the House, which has held one hearing on the $6 billion program and scheduled others. Cassinari, the Merrill Lynch analyst, believes the House eventually will approve the loan guarantee, "The common denominator that will bring this into sharp focus is if we are confronted with a loss of jobs from natural gas shortage," he said "That's the kind of message Congress can understand and react to." Y. threatens economic recovery THE SUNDAY SUN Lowell, Mass. By THOMAS E.

MUI.LANEY Ic) New York Times NEW YORK Some of the darkest clouds overhanging the American economy have, been wafted away in recent weeks by the winds of a brisker business rebound than expected. The fresh ly prolongation of the third quarter's economic become concerned over the financial plight of atmosphere should have created a more sanguine surge, wben real growth expanded by more than York City and how that grievous problem unlock, but tor various reasons doubt re nains that the storm has passed. Many analysts remain skeptical over the like 11 per cent, white others harbor doubts about the continued moderation of the upward trend in inflation and interest rates, liven more, however, have will affect the whole spectrum ot national economic affairs. October 26, 1975 Poge A13 Gas from cocr seen best bet as energy aid By RICHARD HUGHES UPI Business Writer NEW YORK (UPI) Energy experts believe extracting gas from coal is the best hope for supplementing the nation's dwindling natural gas supply in the 1980s and beyond. Without it, industries in many areas of the nation could grind to a halt with thousands of workers idled.

Heat for homes could be curtailed. "The need to make pipeline quality gas from coal has never been more critical to consumers and to the nation's environment and economy than it is today," said F. Donald Hart, president of the American Gas Association. "dial gasification constitutes the most promising single technological advancement in the field of developing supplemental gas supplies, utilizing our most abundant domestic energy source." Coal gasification is not a new idea Originally, all fuel gas was made from coal. The gaslight era depended on it.

Natural gas largely was wasted in the fields until construction during World War II of a nationwide pipeline system bringing high BTU, or high energy, natural gas within reach of nearly every home and factory in America. The availabilty of natural gas cheap, clean burning and falsely considered inexhaustible made it impractical to use the less efficient and more costly coal gas not only to run factories but to heal homes. Today, natural gas provides 40 per cent of the nation's nontransportation energy needs. Until recently, coal as a source of gas was all but forgotten in the United States. But in areas of Europe and elsewhere high BTU synthetic gas from coal has been produced.

fur many years. This is true particularly in South Africa where there are nu supplies of natural gas but abundant deposits of coal. It is to this foreign technology the United States is turning to supplement its supply of natural gas, now being consumed three times faster than new supplies are discovered, Energy experts agree use of coal, not only as a source for gas but for oil and electricity as well, is the only logical solution to the nation's energy shortage until breakthroughs make solar and hydrogen energy commercially practical and nuclear energy environmentally acceptable. "Less than 20 per cent of the country runs on coai," Frank W. Fri, deputy director of the Energy Research and Development Agency, told an energy conference in New York recently.

"But we have several centuries of coal lying underground. We need to shift our reliance to' the abundant sources of energy that are available to laboratory capabilities at American Color Chemical Corporation's new Chelmsford facility include shade matching, fastness CHELMSFORD A new sales laboratory and distribution center to serve New England customers has been opened here by American Color Chemical Corporation. Announcement of the new iO.BOO square foot facility was made hy Garrett A. Sullivan, president, at the firm's Charlotte, North Carolina headquarters office. The expanded New England operation is located at 18V Billerica Road.

Robert A. Mctiur ren, New England field sales manager for American is in charge, with the 2,000 square foot laboratory area supervised by James P. Pat TEWKSEURY Consolidated total for the first quarter ended September 30. 1975 were an increase of 15 percent from ins jia.fDi.uw reported ny Wang Laboratories in the comparable period a year ago. Net earnings were S6B2.O0O (17 cents per share) compared to $878,000 (22 cents per share) last year.

During the quarter, the company's international shipments grew 24 percent. North American shipments grew about 10 percent and were close to the quarter projections. The overall incoming order rate was up 5 percent with international strength more than making up for a small drop in North American. Also, the company purchased, lor S1.8 million, an square foot facility on six acres of land in Burlington, The facility will house Wang's expanded data center operations and customer engineering services, will help relieve the immediate pressure for additional manufacturing capacity for the firm's small computer systems, and also will provide long term expansion flexibility. Directors voted this year's second quarterly dividend of 2.S cents per share, pavable on January 28.

1976 to shareholders of record on December 5, 1975. New testing lab tests, and analytical and physical properties testing, The laboratory is one of the fern government qualified labs for performing sonrakous. Richard Strobe! is responsible far the government qualified laboratory for chemical, physical and fastness testing of textiles and clothing for the Defense Procurement Agency. Other laboratory capabilities in the new farility are shade matching on all textile fibers and paper, laslness tests, and analytical and physical properties testing. The laboratory is experienced particularly with wool and wool blend fahrics.

THE DISTRIBUTION center and warehouse area, occupying 6,000 square feet, will enable the pnsition from the Democratic controlled Congress. Stressing his "strong personal feeling" about his tax anil budget proposals, the President said the tax cuts "would give middle class taxpayers'' a break "they have long deserved." He finds the American public very disturbed about federal spending." It was opportuned that Congress should be home now "to get these impressions" from voters. The office of Management and Budget (OMB), headed by James T. Lynn, is asking each Cabinet officer, "to use his own initiative to come up with (budgetary) cuts." Until the OMB results are In, said President Ford, he will not "specify" where budget cuts should be made, though "they would not necessarily (involve) substantial reductions in social programs." CHICAGO State local tax collections continued rising to new highs in the fiscal year ended June 30, 1975, reports Commerce Clearing House Levies collected by state and local governments jumped to S141.5 billion, reflecting an increase of S11.3 billion or 8,7 per cent from a year earlier. Accounting for (60.1 billion of this total were state taxes, registering 8.3 per cent more than in the 12 months ended with June, 1974.

The yield of locally imposed taxes rose 9.1 per cent to $51.3 billion, according tn the CCH report of the latest Census Bureau data, Each of the major taxes contributing to this tela! produced greater revenue during the year than in the prior period. The largest percentage increase occurred in the area of corporation net income taxes which grew from S5.8 to $6,8 billion, a 17.1 per cent leap. Individual income tax yields were second wilh aa 11. per cent increase to S21.3 billion. General sales and gross receipts collec New sales Lowell' David B.

Councilman now is affiliated with Bradford O. Emerson, Inc. Realtors as a sale representative in the Tewksbury affico. textile tests for the Defense Procurement Agency. New firm locates in Chelmsford firm to make rapid shipments throughout the New England area.

The corporation produces dyestuffs, chemicals and other materials used in the color processing of textile fabrics, paper, plastic and other products. Formerly called American Aniline Products, the company acquired the Colors Department of TennecD Chemicals, in December, 1973, at which time the firm's name was changed. It is owned jointly by North American Philips Corporation and Koppers Company, Inc. '76 Election stalls energy program By HARRY B. ELLIS Christian Science Monitor A "comprehensive energy" program is unlikely until after the 1976 elections.

And before Christmas "we're going to have people out of jobs" because of the natural gas shortage. So runs the assessment of Frank Zarb, the nation's top energy official. Congress, Mr. Zarb told reporters at a breakfast meeting here, recessed without taking steps to alleviate the natural gas shortage, now expected to be "30 per cent greater than what the nation endured last year." The imnifdiatc need, says the White House, is emergency legislation allowing Interstate pipelines, over a ISO day period, to buy natural gas at free market prices to forestall the closing of many factories in the Northeast, Midatlantic and parts of the Midwest. Natural gas produced and sold within a state costs about (1.50 a thousand cubic foot.

Uas moving across state lines is held to 52 cents a thousand cubic feet, by the Federal Power Commission (FTC). One result during the cold months ahead, according tD Mr. Zarb, will be a record shortage of the fuel used by 200,000 U.S. plants, 3 4 million businesses, and more than 40 million homes. Bills introduced to ease this winter's shortage have become snarled in continuing disagreement over long term deregulation of natural gas prices.

The result is that interstate pipeline companies now lack authority to buy extra gas at market prices. SPEAKING MORE broadly, Mr. Zarb, head ol the Federal Energy Administration (FEA1, said there is a "better than even chance we will not get Congress to focus on the tough energy issues after (tie Ifl76 election." This assessment, said Mr. Zarb. came to him from a number of senators and congressmen.

Chief among the "tough issues," he added, is the future price of oil. President Ford, meanwhile, told a small group of reporters Oct, 14 that "in aii likelihood" he would veto any congressional tax cut not linked to an equivalent reduction in federal spending. Mr. Ford's proposal for a t2B billion tax cut next year, tD be balanced by a $28 billion cut in federal spending for fiscal 1977, faces bitter op Wang Labs' income up by 15 per cent Some limits to increases might be needed, said Mr. Ford, which would reduce the rate at which Social Security and other programs now rise automatically.

THE PRESIDENT also would frills from the Pentagon." While declining to "erode" the security of the United States, Mr. Ford sees "some areas (in the defense Department) where better management would produce economies." Mr. Zarb, speaking of the natural gas shortage, cited with approval a bill pending In the Senate, sponsored by Senators Lloyd Bentsen (Dl of Texas and James B. Pearson (R) of Kansas This bill, among other things, would grant ISC day authority for interstate market, and would provide for immediate decontrol of all new natural gas from on shore wells. State local tax revenues continue climb in fiscal 75 tions rose 10,7 per cent to (29.1 billion.

Property taxes leaped 6.1 per cent to a hefty S51.8 billion. MOTOR VEHICLE and operators licenses supplied $4.2 billion, a 5.9 per cent jump and molor fuel sales tax revenue rose 1 per cent to $8.3 billion. The District of Columbia and of the 45 states Imposing general sales and gross receipts levies Florida, (Jeoreia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi. New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island. South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia recorded less than a 10 per cent gain in sales tax revenues.

Four states Conneclicut, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wisconsin recorded revenue declines Irom this source from the previous year. In the case of Connecticut, the decline was partly attibutnble to rate reductions in July, 1973 and May, 1974. Ml Only a few svee.xs ago, the economic community feared that the renewal of high level inflation and a rising pattern of interest rates might soon nip the incipient economic recovery in its early stages That worry now has been greatly subdued with the appearance of more favorable data rJnrinfi the latter part of the third quarter for industrial production, personal income, auto sales, inventories, prices, productivity, interest rates and more lively consumer spending. IS IT LIKELY that the momentum now evident throughout the economy can be maintained in the fare of the deteriorating fiscal situation of the nation's largest city, the hub of finance and commerce? Probably not and yet many public officials and private individuals across the country do not seem to accord that possibility much cognizance. At Congressional hearings last week, held to consider legislation providing financial assistance to New Vork.

considerable opposition was evident from Administrate sources and others so much so, in fact, that the odds against passage of any such bill seem quite high at this point. Similar sentiments wore expressed in some recent national polls, which found most of the respondents against any Federal aid to New York City. UNFORTUNATELY, NEW York's problems are not being perceived in their proper light. While there are honest disagreements and misunderstanding on the seriousness of the issues, political rJemogoguery and provincial attitudes are also objuring the potentially broad implications of New York's ultimate inability to meet its deM obligations and service its extensive 'VF GQT IT I'LL SHOW IT TO YOU! fAPORPAK of LOWELL INC. CLnRK.

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