The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-06-17
FARLEY MAKES
CAUSTIC REPLY
RespIies to Statements Made by
Inspector Gray'S Letter
CHARGES MALICI0USNESS
More About Brushing out Gas-Fair-
ley Declares Grays Statements
About Fatal Accidents Man.
ifestly Unfair.
CHARGES NERVOUSNESS

In connection with tne pupiAN'N'''
Chief Mine Inspector Gray's letter in re-
ply TO International Board Member Fair
ley's speech on the floor of the miners
convention concerning the specifications
of the former in regard to working the
coal mines of the state Mr.. Farley yes
terday addressed the following commune
cation to the inspector:
Birmingham. Ala, June l6, 1906.
Mr. J. NJ. Gray. Chief Mine Inspector Biz
mingham, Ala
Dear Sir: | am in receipt of your let
ter of the 14th inst, copy of which, l
notice. appears in the Birmingham Age
Herald of yesterday morning.
After carefully reading said letter l de-
sire to answer certain statements con-
tanned therein.
| notice YOU charge me with putting up
a howl about your requirements OF the
miners in working the coal and timberlng
the roof in the Alabama coal mines, and
charge me with malciously illustrating
the contents of the rules in order to pre-
1udice the minds of the delegates, so as
to divert their minds from the status and
conditions as they stand today in our
mines as a whole, and the conditions as
regards the strike situation.
Letter a Perversion.
presume that your letter is based from
the reports of my remarks that appeared
in the Birmingham newspapers which re-
port Is correct. Therefore your letter is
a perversion when you say that l put up
howl about the working of coal. and
the timberlng of the roofs in the Alabama
coal Mines making your statement malici-
ously Incorrect and | defy you to prove
to the public that you have appealed TO
the truthfulness of that statement In your
letter. as no such statement by me can
be found in the Birminghams News or the
stenographers report.
| request that you correct that state
ment and prevent the public from being
mislead by your imaginings, instead of
fact. Your own letter is a contradiction
or the above statement when you say
that the only point | have tried to make is
on brushing gas My criticism on rule 8
was a fair one. | contend that no miner
should be asked to assume the RESPONSE
bilty of brushing gas either with or with
out a safety lamp. but 1t is the duty of
the company to have a sufficient current
of air travelling In the mine making 1T un-
necessary to resort to the dangerous prac-
tce of brushing-a system that is obso-
lete wherever adequate mining laws exist.
The remedy for which is provided in sec
ton of the mining laws and which you
ignore when you advise the brushing of
gas from the working faces under any
circumstances.
II you knew that the miners had
brushed out gas without permission, you
acknowledge that you permitted viola
ton of the law and took not steps to pre-
vent II, which is no surprise to me. es-
peclaly when you are an advocate of
that system of removing gas from the
working faces.
I am perfectly well aware that the
heavy shooting has the tendency to blow
out brattices, especially such brattices
as you have permitted to be built in some
mines where heavy shooting is the rule,
ana not the exception.
| have made no claim that the seven
teen or eighteen thousand miners in Ala
bama have no responsibility under the
law but submit that they have no right
to carry all the responsibility.
Not Union Miners.
You seem to think that you have done
your full duty when after three years as
chief mine inspector you have prosecuted
one operator for violation of the law. II
you had prosecuted in other cases. which
It was your duty to do as sections 81 and
80 provides for the loss of life would not
have been so appalling among the union
miners, (Which you so fiippantly quote }
The case which you prosecuted in which
you charge that old. gray headed miners
testified you were wrong and which you
state were union miners. If my lnturint,-
ton be correct they were not union
miners. Messrs Jones and Baird. who
understand are the persons you refer To
a both coal nr IA u
Mr. Jones being one of the original part
&c in the Howell Mining company. MI.
Band has been engaged for some time In
a law suit to recover certain coal proper
ties at Braehead. and recently won his
suit before the supreme court.
Your imagination must be very lively
when you would iuggle those facts and
mike operators union miners. 1t is only
in ktt Ping. however. with the statement
you make in rela.lJ1 20 myself. when
you say that / howle1 abou. your require
me.,ts in the working CO coal and timber
ing III roofs in the Aid''ana coal mines
t. avert the minds Of the delegates from
the conditions as regards thu strike SIT /
alton Clearly showing the prejudice yag
b7s" to organize labor. - YOU take nc
pains to conceal it in your letter.
The figures on fatal accidents contained
in your letter to me and the public are
manifestly unfair, when you state there
were 1856 men killed in 1905, 132 being union
men, which gives .713 per cent Of all the
accidents last year. and ask what do
think of that. which means that you
charge the responsibility of the explosion
at the Virginia mines on the miners After
you had given written orders to that com
pany of the dangerous conditions existing
in the mine, instructing them to apply
certain remedies for the removal of the
danger. And utterly neglected and failed
to enforce your instructions as provided
for in sections 81 and SO of the mining
law. I repeat that If your instructions
are carried out that it will reduce IN.
earning capacity of the miner Your argu-
ment that it will have the opposite eff
feet is entirely illogical.
| have yet TO learn that an increas.
OF labor without an increase of paw tends
to increase mans earning capacity
/ desire to call your attention to the
fact that YOU are public servant and
open to fair criticism of your acts or pro-
posed acts. and that 1 reserve the right
to exercise that function. as a man. When
IN my judgment the occasion demands re.
CARELESS OF whether 1t meets your ap-
proval or not, and suppose the gang
you refer to Will do likewise Yours re-
specially, W X. FARLEY,
international Board Member United Mine
Workers OF America.
Physicians Fined.