Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1922 [PAGE 440]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

144

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[January 11

terest in the Parr Coking Process. This recommendation was adopted (see page 186). Your committee accordingly made efforts to secure the advice of three such men. After long consideration your committee secured the consent of Hon. Silas H. Strawn, Mr. Charles H. MacDowell, President of the Western Society of Engineers, and Col. B. J. Arnold to consider the matter and advise the Board. A meeting of these three gentlemen was called at Mr. Abbott's office on December 9, 1921. To this meeting were invited the three gentlemen above named; Mr. E. B. Fulks and Mr. A. L. Kuehns, to whom Mr. A. T. Hert had transferred his interests in this series of experiments, whatever they may have been; Dean C. R. Richards, and Professor S. W. Parr. On the day of the meeting it developed that Col. Arnold was in the East and would not return until later, and that Dean Richards was also in the East and could not be present. Mr. Strawn discovered that he or his firm in some way were the legal advisers of the American Creosoting Company, to which Mr. Fulks and Mr. Kuehns had formerly belonged, and therefore thought it improper for him to serve. Accordingly, he did not appear. The committee was in favor of not meeting, but Mr. Fulks said, over the telephone, that he would prefer to meet. There were present at the meeting, therefore, Mr. Abbott, President of the Board of Trustees, Mr. Fulks, Mr. Kuehns, Mr. MacDowell, Professor Parr, and the President of the University. On instruction of the President of the Board, the President of the University stated the case briefly, having previously sent a similar brief statement to each of the gentlemen asked to advise us and also to Mr. Fulks, Mr. Kuehns, Professor Parr, Dean Richards, and the President of the Board of Trustees. The matter was discussed; the documents reciting previous action in and history of the whole matter were given to Mr. MacDowell. The meeting then adjourned. On December 10 Mr. MacDowell wrote the President of the Board of Trustees as follows: Mr. William L. Abbott, President of the Board of Trustees

DEAR M R . ABBOTT:

After a careful study of the letter and attached exhibits from C. R. Richards, Dean and Director of the College of Engineering of the University of Illinois, dated October 7, detailing the course of negotiations between the associates of A. T. Hert of the American Creosoting Company and representatives of the University in regard to the development of the so-called "Parr Coking Process," I have come to the following opinion: After the completion of assignment to the University of the patents to be obtained by Parr and Layng, the University is the sole owner of the patents. Neither Mr. Hert's associates nor his assignees have any property rights therein. The only agreement executed between Mr. Hert, his associates or assigns, and the University was that of 1916, under which Mr. Hert caused sundry funds and services to be placed at the University's disposal for the purpose of studying the general subject of the low temperature distillation of coal. It appears that Mr. Hert proposed doing this "without abridging in the least the Station's control over the results obtained; their interest, as I understand it, being solely that of parties who will beenefit by such progress in the art as the Station may be instrumental in bringing about." And again, "In the course of our conversation they (Mr, Hert's representatives) stated that they were not particularly concerned in the production of a smokeless fuel, but that they were tremendously concerned over the possible failure in their supply of creosote, which was chiefly imported from Germany and the importation of which had been cut off because of the war." I am presuming, of course, that Mr. Hert's associates take no exception to these quoted statements of purpose.