The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1898-10-04
DEFECTIVE
MINE LAWS
Relating TO the Anthracite Coal
Region.
MINE INSPECTOR WILLIAMS SAYS
The Mine Examiners Law is a Farce The
Anthracite Region Not Represented in
the New State Bureau of Mines.
He Speaks Out openly and
Plainly.

In the annual report Of the mine inspectors
of the anthracite district recently issued
from the State Department, Mine Inspector
Williams, of Wilkesbarre, scores the mine
examiners law and the representation
of the snthracite region in the Bureau of
Mines. He says:
In the year 1871 the first year of the an.
thraCite mine law, there was one life lost for
lSS employees, and production of 81, 900 tons
per life lost. The number of persons en-
| ployed was $50. In the first decade under
the mine law, one life was lost for 263 en-
ployes, and 81, 400 tons of coal were produced
per life lost. In the second decade one life
was lost for 2i9 persons employed, and o.
5O7 tons of coal wero produced per life lost.
In the last seven years one life was lost to
297 persons employed, and 9s $40 tons were
produced per life lost. The total number Of
employees for last year was rs, $50 against
$50 in the year when the mine inspection
began The quantity of coal produced in
1897 was 7,457, AIS tons in an average of 1874
days, sgaint 1900, 900 tons in the first year of
mine inspection in perhaps double time, or
POS days
1t is not fair to compare the accidents in
mines with the number of persons employed
In the latter part of the second decade in
this district an unusual number of men
were employed opening new mines aud driv.
ing tunnels who were not producing coal
and it Is not just the accidents should be at
tnbuted to coal mining. The purpose of coal
mining is to produce coal and the accidents
should be rated with the production of coal
10 compare the accidents of coal mining
with the accidents of railroads computed ac.
cording to railroad methods is unjust TO coal
mining, although the records are in favor of
the management OF coal mining. The rail
roads have only one class of accidents those
incident to the transmission of trains. To
do this work they are not cramped for room,
for they are in the open air and have day-
light and what miner would consider an
extraordinarily good light at night.
| In the mines ii is entirely different. The
| transmission of the mine cars has to be done
through narrow passages whers the space is
rarely over three feet wide outside of tbe
tracks ana Is frequently too low for a man to
raise his head, Dangerous roof has TO be
| timbered and re-timbered. Floors ara, heav-
ing, throwing tracks out of order. Ventila-
ton has to be provided. Noxious and ex.
plosive gases are increasingly emitted and
enormous quantities of explosives have to be
handled and consumed. The safety OF every
man Is dependent on the unfailing speed of
machinery and that no man or boy makes a
mistake or mis-step. The employees of a
railroad are selected with care, while verv
little regard as to the fitness of a person is
PAID whom persons are employed for the
mines.
| The law regulating the qualification of
miners Is worse than farce. There never
was such an incompetent class of miners ern
ployed as there is now. This has been re
ported by the Mine Inspectors several times
ana they are in the best position to know
IL would be as appropriate to compare the
RISKS OF clerical office work with the risk of
rallTOadlng as to compare the risk of rail
roadlng with that of coal mining in this
region, and no one who knows anvtbing
about 1t would attempt it. 1 would resnect'
FULLY call attention to the fact that this div.
trict has two and half times the numbar of
employees, and is capable of producing three
Tunes the quantity of coal now. more than n
dld when mine inspection began. and the
inspection is done still by one man onIv
Inc risk Of mining is certainly many times
greater. "'-'''
owing to the complications attending an.
thraclte mining, the manifold nitcbo,
, ana conditions of the coal in the earth. IN,
great thickness and number of the coal seams
the enormous quantity of explosives reouire,
IN Its extraction, and the great quantity a
, explosive gases evolved, it is recognized a
! an extremely difficult region to mine Mo-
Withstanding this the Bureau of Mines 1a
created IN the Department of Interna
Affairs with no representation whatever !,
It's organization from the anthracite repion
II this bureau was created with SINGER
desire to assist the inspectors in the enforce
ihSnt oil the law and to reduce the number o
accidents, it should be considered that II can
not be done by keeping them occupied a,
they are kept now, at useless clerical work
An examination Of records at the offices ot
the inspectors would show infinitely better
e whether the inspection work is done or NOT
= number of useless offices can be created
and kept busy reporting to one another wifi
fully as much good as the work exacted nv
the Bureau Of Mines under the INSTRUCTION
ot the Department Of Internal Affairs a,
present. 1t is right that we should he SUP
ported and not handicapped in work so i'm
pOrtant.