The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-02-26
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From the New Orleans Piccayune.

From the New Orleans Plccayane.
 T. HE terrible catastrophe in coal lCD mine near Bessemer, Ala, by
 which more than a hundred workmen lost their lives, is another of the many evidences which prove the min ing for coal in the bowels of the earth to be the most dangerous of all mining, and possibly the most dangerous of all human occupations that be.onG to the arts of peace.
 In any deep mining there is always present the risk of tie caving-in of the earth, or of the breaking of the cables which operate the hoisting machinery, but in coal mines there is also the danger of explosion of infammable --es or the suf- locating visitations of carbonic acid gas, in which no human being or animal can live for even few moments.
 In even the best ventilated mines, and vintilation in deep workings is extremely difficult, the noxious gases mentioned are being constantly set free by the miners from subterranean reservoirs and cavi- ties which are opened in the course of the excavating. Sometimes single blast, made for the purpose of breaking up the rocks or coal strate.. will liberate such volume of the fire damp" or infiam-- mable gas, as will, when it comes In con tact with the fire of the blast, or the flame of lamp, produce tremendous and fatal explosion. Or, on the other hand. the gas so set fire, Is "ehoke damp" or carbonic dioxide, in which all living creatures are soon asphyxiated.
 The disaster at the Bes= .ner mine was caused " such an explosion. which not only extinguished life by enveloping the unfortunate workmen in the Iery vapor, but also destroyed tie hoisting shaft, by means of which communication with the upper world and the outer cir was had.
 Evidently, there was only one such outlet to this Alabama mine, and when that was wrecked and blocked up by the fallen rocks and earln there was left no escape for the unfortunates entombed below, even if any of them had escaped the fiery explosion. England, which has led the whole world in mining, and has had experience with all the dangers att tendant on the business, has taken ex- treme precautions to secure tn safety of the miners an. one of these is embraced in an act of Parliament iy4ich requires that there shall be more than one out let to every mine, so that in case one is closeI by an accident there will be an- other way out.
 In the United States mining is conduct ed according to the will of the mine own CTS, whose chief object is to get out the coal or ore at the least expense, although 1t Is claimed that every improved safety device Is in use in this country, among which is. of course. the Davy or closed lamp. covered by wire gauge and locked. But the miners themselves are extremely careless, and do not hesitate to break the lock and seal of a closed lamp in or der to light a pipe American miners. no more than mine operators, can be brought under the discipline that exists in English mines. and thus 1t is that the cause of most fatal catastrophes, like that in Alabama. is unknown, and nobody can be held responsible.
 It must not be supposed, however. that there are no mine horrors in England or other foreign countries. International meetings of mining engineers and colliery owners have been held at different times. and various royal and scientific societies