RESEARCH: Chemicals from Coal

Deep in the coal country, at Institute, W. Va., 30 newsmen gathered last week to see something new in the way of a chemical plant. From a distance, the $11-million factory looked like many another—a mass of storage tanks, pipes, warehouses, and above it all a thin wisp of smoke. But close up, it was like nothing else in the world. Amid the maze of gurgling pipes and steaming valves, scarcely a worker could be seen. Staffed by only 50 men—mostly chemical engineers—the plant runs continuously, 24 hours per day, with scarcely...