Evening star., 1925-06-02
BUREAU Of MINES
TRANSFER LIKELY
Coolidge Asks Legal Advice
as to His Power to Put
1t Under Hoover.

Attorney General Sargent has been
asked in behalf of President Coolidge
for an opinion as to whether President
Coolidge has authority to transfer the
Bureau of Mines from the Interior to
the Commerce Department An early
answer is anticipated, with consequent
early transfer Of the bureau il the
reply is favorable. because Of the an
nounced resignation of DR.. II. Foster
Balm, chief of the Bureau of Mines,
who Is to retire on July /. II the
change of administrative authority Is
TO be made by presidential order, it is
expected that this will be done before
successor to DR.. Balm is chosen, in
order that Secretary Hoover. might
select the new bureau chief to serve
under him.
If the Attorney General holds that
there is no need for congressional
action, the transfer is probable. 1t
will be remembered that the Patent
Office, another bureau of the Interior
Department, recently was transferred
to Secretary Hoover's jurisdiction in
the Commerce Department by
presidential order in furtherance of
the plan for reorganization of the ad-
ministrative branch of the Govern
ment.
Criticised by Democrats.
There are some in Congress who
have complained that President Cool
idge exceeded his authority in trans
ferring the Patent Office, and the
threat has been made that the Dem
ocrats will harp on this in the next
campaign. They point out that the
substantive law creating the Patent
Office placed it under the Interior
Department and that the President
has no authority to set aside an act
of Congress by a presidential order.
The question which the Attorney
General is asked to decide is whether
the organic act creating thte Depart
ment of Commerce is broad enough to
cover the proposed transfer.
The report to Congress by the joint
congressional committee on reorgani-
zation of the administrative branch of
the Government recommends the
transfer of certain bureaus. including
the Patent Office and the Bureau of
Mines from the Interior Department
to the Commerce Department. This
report says:
1T is believed that Congress should
so far as is practicable place in the
Department of Commerce all agencies
which perform work which come with
in the scope of the departments busi-
ness as defined by the act of February
IA, 1903, as amended
Abolition of the Bureau of Mines is
recommended in a report by the In.
stitute for Government Research, on
the reorganization of the administra-
tive branch. This Institute for Gov
ernment Research is an association of
citizens for cooperating with public
officials in the scientific study of Gov
ernment with a view to promoting ef-
hciency and economy in its opera tionS
and advancing the science of admins
tration.
This report by w f. Wioughby, di-
rector of the institute, says that a
careful study of the activities of the
Bureau of Mines shows that there is
nothing done by it which cannot be
done by other services and particu-
larly by the Bureau of Standards and
the Geological Survey. This being
So" the report continues, lit is be.
lieved to be in the interests of econ
omy and efficiency that it should be
discontinued and the duties taken
over by the other services that have
been mentioned"
Created i'm 1910.
This bureau was created in 1910
for the purpose of conducting investi-
cations of the method of mining in
relation. especially. to the safety of
miners and the appliances best adapt
Improvement of conditions under
which mining operations are carried
on; the treatment of ores and other
mineral substances; the use of ex-
plosives and electricity, the prevention
of accidents and "other inquiries and
chronological Investigations pertinent
to said industries" The scope of the
bureau was considerably extended by
an amendment to its organic act
adopted in 1912. Here the bureau was
described as a bureau Of mining
metallurgy and. mineral technology" :"
In the earlier act the emphasis was
placed upon safety and in the latter
act it was shifted to mining tech.
nology proper.
From time to time additional duties
have been imposed upon the bureau
by statute or by order of the Secre.
tary of the Interior. Among the most
important are the administration of
the Government fuel yards in Wash
ington, supervision of the mine inspec-
ton service in Alaska. and the last
Congress recently gave the bureau
charge of all work in connection with
conservation and production of helium
KaE.