The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-05-30
THE PITTSTON DISASTER.
Tho COrOner's Inquest-Important Testl-
mony ELECTED.

morning, the jury, consisting OF MeSSrs.
James Welsh, James Fitzpatrick, G.. w. Free
man, G. Bsrratt, and Morgan Jones, miner,
assembled at the Office of DIR. j. Pomally,
when tine following witnesses were ex-
amined:-
James McDermott sworn-I was the engi-
neer in charge of the machinery on Saturday,
at shaft of Blake & Co., West Pittston; the
first knew of the fire was when Mr.. Ken
drick, superintendent, came to the engine
house and called fire; l then saw the fire on
the brattice, next to the fan, which is some
fifteen feet above the engine-house floor; 1
gave the alarm to the bottom of the shaft, by
pulling the wire connected with an alarm
hammer; also gave an alarm through the
tube; three engineers were at work at the
time the fire broke out; myself and Mr.. Ken
drick, one hour before the fire, measured the
air at the fan, and found it 1900 cubic
feet passing through the mine per minute
the cracker weight is some fifty or sixty feet
higher than the engine; there was no commu-
nication for alarm between me and the cracker
boss it was the business of Roland German
to oil the machinery; he was there only since
Monday; l could not tell whether the fire
occurred at the fan or at the top OF the shaft
if the fire occurred at the fan it might have
been caused by hot journal; / do not know
whether there was proper ventilation or not
about three years ago the coal was first taken
out of this mine; there is no place to get out
but through the main shaft; there is only one
vein of coal; L. M. Williams, the inspector,
was in the mine last Thursday.
Thomas Phillips, weigher of coal at the
foot of the shaft, testified to being in the
mine at the time of the fire, and when he heard
the signal had just put load of coal on the
carriage. He showed the car off again, but
saw no fire at that time at the foot; signalled
but got no answer. Witness put on his coat,
and as soon as he discovered there was fire
went up on the carriage on its twenty-eighth
trip. Witness was not told to warn the men,
w. w. Kendrick, the superintendent of
the shaft, was sworn, and testified as fol-
lows-My duty is to take charge of the
mines, lay out the work, and take general
superintendent of the work above and
below; l considered the ventilation sufficient
for the number of men we had at work; we
had from twenty eight to thirty belonging to
the Mary shafts and at work at the time; 1
employed Phillips; did not give instructions
to him as to his duty, but gave Frank Keller
instructions to inform Phillips of his duty:
it was the footmans duty to attend and
respond to signals from the engineers
room, or tell the weighmaster to do so;
there is only one alarm rapper four raps was
to communicate with the speaking tube; ii is
not warning of danger, but calling attention
to the speaking tube; at the last visit of the
inspector he ordered whistles at the bottom
to take the place of the rapper the inspector
stated that increased means of ventilation
should be made as soon as possible; on Thurs
day the inspector and myself tested the air in
the passages, and found ten thousand six hun
dred 90, ,600) feet per minute passing through.
MIR. Williams. mine inspector for the dis
trict, was called and sworn. He testified sub
stantially as follows-It is my duty to visit
the mines in my district as often as necessity
requires it, l was at the mine on Wednesday,
and the ventilation was bad in portions of the
mine; in some places it was tolerably good;
went all through it, and in the last gangway
had to grope my way through the smoke In
company with MIR. Kendrick saw a dozen
men in the gangway, and asked if they were
working in the slope, if not, there were too
many men in the mine; Mr.. Kendrick said
the men were engaged in the slope; I under
stood that the company were to con-
fine themselves to twenty persons-the num-
ber allowed by law-and on my visit was told
that the extra men were working on the
slope: there was bat 1850 feet of air in the
mine at 10 o'clock the day visited it for
working purposes; I also called attention
to the necessity of having whistles at the end
of the speaking tubes, instead of the system
of rapping; the 1850 feet of air was divided
into the three pits, and 1 considered it bad;
I examined the fan and found that it was
driven very fast, and the up-cast airway be-
longing to the fan was very small; did not
know that there were working on the gang
way more than twenty men, but saw others;
but I was told that other men were at work
in the slope preparatory to sinking another
shaft.
At this stage of the proceeding contro-
versy arose between the witness, the Coroner,
and the Coroners counsel, during which the
counsel said if MIR. Williams did not answer
the question he would have him (Mr. Will
liams) committed for contempt. Witness
resumed-The owners have been making
efforts to improve the ventilation, but they
have not improved it much; the plans were
good enough, but the airway is not large
enough the company were working under
the 20-men law, and were compelled to do SO
until they made another openings they could
go for twenty years with the present opening
if they did not employ more than twenty per-
sons; on the 18th of September fifteen hun
dred feet of air went into the mines; this was
before the present propIietors took charge;
on the 14th of January the new firm had i'm
proved the air considerably; / had supposed
that over twenty men were working; it would
have been my duty to go TO the court and
apply for an injunction if the additional men
were not discharged; in a conversation with
MraKendrck 1 said, "You may work for 80
years contrary to law, and then again you
may not work 80 hours, and if anything hap
pens the company would be swallowed up"
was always very part oular to get the law COM
piled with.
Mr.. Kendrick, the superintendent, testified
that Mr.. Williams never asked him how many
men were at work in the mine, and he never
received any official notice that he should
not employ more than twenty men.
q. X. German sworn-I was employed as