An Act to provide for research into and development of practical means for the economical production, from sea or other saline waters, of water suitable for agricultural, industrial, municipal, and other beneficial consumptive uses, and for other purposes
PL 82-448 (H.R.6578), enacted 07/03/1952

328 
PUBLIC LAW 448-JULY 3, 1952 
[66 S T A T . 
stittitional Convention of Puerto Rico shall have declared in a formal 
resolution its acceptance in the name of the people of Puerto Rico of 
the conditions of approval herein contained, and when the Governor 
of Puerto Rico, being duly notified by the proper officials of the Con-
stitutional Convention of Puerto Rico that such resolution of accept-
ance has been formally adopted, shall issue a proclamation to that 
effect. 
Approved July 3, 1952. 
- 
, > 
: i 
July 3. 1952 
[H. R. 6578] 
Public Law 448 
CHAPTER 568 
AN ACT 
To provide for research into and development of practical means for the econom-
ical production, from sea or other saline waters, of water suitable for agri-
cultural, industrial, municipal, and other beneficial consumptive uses, and 
for other purposes. 
Water research 
and development. 
Authority of Sec-
retary of Interior. 
Be it encLcted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America m Congress assembled, That, in view of 
the acute shortage of water in the arid areas of the Nation and 
elsewhere and the excessive use of underground waters throughout 
the Nation, it is the policy of the Congress to provide for the develop-
ment of practicable low-cost means of producing from sea water, or 
from other saline waters, water of a quality suitable for agriculture, 
industrial, municipal, and other beneficial consumptive uses on a 
scale sufficient to determine the feasibility of the development of such 
production and distribution on a large-scale basis, for the purpose of 
conserving and increasing the water resources of the Nation. 
SEC. 2. In order to carry out the purposes of this Act, the Secre-
tary of the Interior, acting through such agencies of the Department 
of the Interior as he may deem appropriate, is authorized— 
(a) by means of research grants and contracts as set forth in 
subsection (d) of this section to conduct research and technical 
development work, to make careful engineering studies to ascer-
tain the lowest investment and operating costs, and to determine 
the best plant designs and conditions of operation; 
(b) to study methods for the recovery and marketing of byprod-
ucts resulting from and incident to the production of water as 
herein provided for the purpose of ascertaining the possibilities 
of offsetting the costs of water production in any area by the 
commercial utilization of such products; 
(c) to acquire, by purchase, license, lease, or donation, secret 
processes, technical data, inventions, patent applications, patents, 
licenses, land and any interest in land (including water rights, 
easements, and leasehold interests), plants and facilities, and other 
property or rights: Provided, That the land or other property 
acquired hereunder shall not exceed that necessary to carry on 
the experiments and demonstrations for the purposes herein 
provided; 
(d) to engage, by noncompetitive contract or otherwise, chem-
^ 
ists, physicists, engineers, and such other personnel as may be 
deemed necessary, knd any educational institution, scientific 
' 
organization, or industrial or engineering firm deemed suitable to 
do any part of the research or other work, and to the extent appro-
, 
priate to correlate and coordinate the research and development 
work of such educational institutions, scientific organizations and 
industrial and engineering firms; and 
66 
S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 449-JULY 3, 1952 
329 
(e) to cooperate with any other Federal, State, or municipal 
department, agency, or instrumentality, and with any private 
person, firm, educational institution, or other organization in 
effectuating the purpose of this Act. 
SEC. 3. Research undertaken by the Secretary of the Interior under 
the authority contained in this Act shall be coordinated or conducted 
jointly with the Department of Defense to the greatest practicable 
extent compatible with military and security limitations, to the end 
that research and developments under this Act which are primarily 
of a civil nature will contribute to the defense of the Nation and that 
research and developments in the same field which are primarily of 
a military nature and are conducted by the Department of Defense 
will be made available to advance the purposes of this Act and to 
strengthen the civil economy of the Nation. 
SEC. 4. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized, for the sole pur-
pose of this Act, to dispose of all water and other products produced 
as a result of his operations under this Act pursuant to regulations 
to be prescribed by him: Provided^ That nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to alter existing law with respect to the ownership and con-
trol of water. 
SEC. 5. All moneys received for products of the plants under this 
Act shall be paid into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. 
SEC. 6. The Secretary of the Interior shall make reports to the Presi-
dent and the Congress at the beginning of each regular session of the 
action taken or instituted by him under the provisions of this Aet. 
The report shall include suitable recommendations for 
further 
legislation. 
SEC. 7. The Secretary of the Interior may issue rules and regula-
tions to effectuate the purposes of this Act. 
SEC. 8. There are authorized to be appropriated, from any funds 
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, such sums, not to exceed 
$2,000,000, for a five-year period, to carry out the provisions of this 
Act: Provided^ That departmental expenses for the correlation and 
coordination of information over such five-year period shall not exceed 
the sum of $500,000: Provided further^ That such departmental ex-
penses shall be scheduled in equal amounts for each year of such period 
insofar as practicable. 
Approved July 3, 1952. 
Cooperation with 
D e f e n s e Depart-
ment. 
Disposal. 
Moneys. 
Reports. 
Regulations. 
Appropriatioiu 
Public Law 449 
CHAPTER 569 
AN ACT 
To amend section 7a of the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the employment of 
minors within the District of Columbia", approved May 29,1928. 
July 3, 1952 
[H.R. 6857] 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled. That the first sen-
tence of section 7a of the Act entitled "An Act to regulate the employ-
ment of minors within the District of Columbia'^, approved May 29, 
1928, as amended (D. C. Code, sec. 36-207a), is amended by striking 
out '"''Provided, That such minor is at least fourteen years of age and 
has completed eight grades of elementary instruction or a course of 
study deemed by the Board of Education equivalent thereto: And 
provided further, That such minor shall not appear on said stage in 
more than two performances in any one day, nor more than three 
hours in any one day, nor more than six days in any week, nor more 
than twelve hours in any week, and shall not appear on said stage 
E m p 1 o yment of 
minors, D.C. 
55 Stat. 863.