New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-01-27
r,,p vrwRrRG NINE DISASTER.

" ADA'J-'''f
The disaster at the Newburg mine, resulting
in the deaths of thirty nine men, is believed to
have been caused by the reckless dlsObedleDce
of n miner, himself one of the victims. The
mine is said to have been ventilated in sys-
tematic but apparently old fashioned way. foul
air being guarded against by doors, which 1t
was necessary to shut and keep shut aller any
one had passed through them. According to
the story, which is fortified by circumstantal
evidence, the author of the disaster was work
ing in a spot where he found one of these doors
i'm his way Though he was an old miner and
therefore fully aware of the danger incurred, he
proceeded to break down the door. and so made
way for the Gre-damp which in few minutes
caused the fatal explosion. Strange and
scarcely credible as such an act of foolhardness
may appear, it is not at all singular. Men en-
gagged in dangerous occupations as rule be-
come Indifferent to the risk they constantly
encounter, and probably half the explosions OF
powder mills are really caused by carelcssncss
resulting from familiarity.
Miners have Away been provfrbaly reckless,
and it has been found extremely difficult to
protect them by legislation, because of this.
The public perhaps are apt to hold mine owners
to a responsibility stricter than the facts always
warrant for it is clear that no pGoprlctorS ought
to be accountable for accidents caused by
deliberate neglect or defiance Of the precautions
whose Observance would have prevented them
When safety lamps were first invented II was
found most difficult to get the miners to use
them. They knew perfectly well that the
guarded lights were for their special benefit
They knew that with the naked lights their
lives were constantly in danger. And yet they
resisted tho change from peril to safety, and IN
some cases actually tore the wire netting OF
the safety lamps so as to restore the OLD con
dtions. Not less reckless have always been the
whinstonc miners. peculiar class. The stone
they seek lies in the heart Of a hilly range. II
is reached by tunncllinG the side of the hill,
and il j. necessary to timber every foot of the
tunnels "a the soil is loose and very apt to
cave. The work IL very severe. The men
mine sirgly, each one making his own burrow,
which Is only wide enough to crawl along on
all tours and is sometimes from one to two
hundred yards deep.
l'hc whlnstonc miners are fond of drink, and
often when they 20 on n periodical spree they
will sell or pledge the timber of thciI tunnels
10 obtain funds. Then it is exceedingly dan
eerous to enter the tunnels, but this danger
does not deter them. Scores of them have
been buried by caves, but the survivors continue
their old courses, learning nothing by expert
enec. Sailors are apt TO be less reckless than
miners. Familiarity with danger makes them
cool and fearless but they do not hold on less
firmly when they go aloft to reef topsails in
gale, nor do they pay less attention to the
conrsc when steering. Charles Readc showed
how reckless mechanics employed in various
unhealthy ccupations-tcolg grinders, for
instancc-aro. Neither the danger OF Il tiawed
stone bursting, nor that of pulmonary disease
from inhalng the metallic and siicous pnrti-
cles, has any eject upon them, and they even
resent attempts to improve their condition.
There are. in short. many per!louS employ
mcnts which can only be made measurlby safe
by the concurrence of the workers in prccau-
tionary measures, aud it has proved impossible
to obtain such concurrence hitherto, owing to
the rooted Indifference and stubborn obStinacy
of the men. The case Is the more difficult be
cause ii is plainly useless to threaten with legal
penalties people who do not care enough for
their own lives to take reasonable precautions
for their preservation.