Cord Byrd: “time after time, coal has been there for this country. Coal has been and will continue to be an important part of…”

“time after time, coal has been there for this country. Coal has been and will continue to be an important part of America--its history, its economy, and its people. During World War I, when coal supplied the Nation's heat and powered our battleships and industries, President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed that the Nation's war effort ``rested on the shoulders of [the American coal] miner.'' During World War II, when enemy conquests in Asia and Africa threatened to stop the worldwide flow of oil, the American government responded by initiating a federally sponsored synthetic fuels program based on coal. Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes acknowledged, ``We should not have waited until war was upon us to begin the development of synthetic fuels.'' After the war, that program was dismantled. Far-sighted men warned of the dangers of this decision. John L. Lewis, President of the United Mine Workers, predicted a growing reliance upon foreign oil in the post-war era would one day result in outrageous prices at the gas pump and cars lined up for blocks to purchase gasoline. Those of us old enough to remember the oil embargoes and energy crises of the 1970s know how accurate that prediction was.…”