The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-05-24
THE MINE NOT INSPECTED.
Some of the Victims Had Friends and Relatives
in Raleigh

The News and Observer, being the only
paper in the United States that published
the details Of the Cumnock mine disaster.
was in great demand yesterday. and its
entire edition, to the last paper, was sold
within an hour after the press had
stopped.
Several of those printed among the list
of the dead were known in this city, and
one of them, William Taylor, has rela-
C. Douglass and is half brother to Mr..
c. Douglass and is halb-brother to Mr..
w c. McMackin. In fact his mother
was in Raleigh on a visit to Mr.. Nc
Mackin's family when the tragedy oc-
Cured A telegram announced to her the
awful news, and she left at 2:16 on the
Atlanta special for Sanford.
others went yesterday afternoon on the
Seaboard train. Among them were Mr..
w. E. Faison. Assistant Commissioner
of Labor, whose duty it is to make an
examination and inspection of the mine;
Judge T. B. Womack, who is attorney
for the company owning the mine, and
Mr.. E. ]. Harrell, foreman of the car
shops at Cumnock who came to Raleigh
al 11:20 Yesterday morning to procure
twenty coffns in which to bury the
bodies of those who were killed Tuesday
in the mine
Immediately after Judge Womack read
the news of the disaster he wired to
these in charge at the mines to do all in
their power to relieve any suffering at
the mines. Judge Womack also, as attor-
ney for the mine, gave formal notice to
the Labor Commissioner, as required by
law of the accident.
The law in regard to such cases is as
fC,.avs:
Every person having charge of any
mine whenever loss of life occurs by ac-
cident connected with the workings of
such mines, or by explosion, shall give
notice thereof forthwith. to the inspector,
and to the coroner of the county in which
such mine is situated and the coroner
shall hold an inquest upon the body of
the body Of the person or persons whose
death has been caused, and inquire care
fully into the cause thereof, and shall
return a copy of the finding and all the
testimony to the inspector.
And it shall be the duty of the inspec
tor to go himself or send a representa-
death occurred. and INQUIRE into the
cause of the same. and to make writ
ten report, fully setting forth the con-
dtion CT the part of the mine where
such death occurred. and the cause which
led to the same; which report shall be
fled by the inspector in his office as
matter of record, and for future refer
ence.''
The law also provides that cit shall
be the duty of the inspector to examine
all the mines in the State as often as pos
sible," but this has never been done,
for the reason that the Legislature Of
1895, which passed this Act, failed to
make any appropriation to carry it out,
and all subsequent Legislatures have fol-
lowed its illustrious example.
Ashked if the Cumnock mine had been
inspected, Labor Commissioner B. r.
Lacy yesterday said it had not BEEN and
added
No mine in the State has been inspect
ed Although | drew the bill myself, the
Legislature which passed it refused to
allow one cent to pay the expenses of
the inspector.
THE appropriation for the Labor Blu.
reau has never been one cent in excess
of what was required to do the statisti-
cal work and get out the report. When
the Mining Law was passed l called at
tention to the fact that it was useless
without an appropriation, but the Legis-
lature declined to give one cent for carry
ing the provisions of the law out.
Hence no mines IN the State have
been inspected, nor can they be until
North Carolina sees fit to make an ap-
preparation for the purpose. An inspector
can't walk from mine to mine and beg his
rations."