Pleasantville weekly press., 1907-06-15

TESTS TO BE MADE OF THE
VARIOUS EXPLOSIVES.

survey TO ESTABLISH an experiment
Station, Where the Tests Will BE
Made.
Determined endeayors to stop the
loss of human lives in the coal mines
of the United States are to be made
by the fuel division of the Geological
Survey. Plans have been drawn for
unique experimental station at which
tests of the various dynamites and
powders used in blasting coal will be
made to accurately determine their
safety in the presence of the deadly
fire damp and equally deadly coal gas.
Explosives of all sorts will be hurled
by means of a mortar into a mammoth
boiler plate cylinder, which has pre-
viously been filed with gas, and the
effects will be carefully noted. If
ignition fails after severe tests the
explosives will be known as "per-
missible explosives" and their use will
be urged upon the mine owners Of
the country.
In addition there will be important
experiments in rescue work. One
part of a station will be fitted up as
a miniature coal mine, and miners
and operators will be taught the art
of saving the lives of fellow men, 1t
is declared that in serious gas ex-
plosions in mines hundreds of lives
could be saved were it possible for
the rescue party to enter after the
accident. AS it is now the deadly
firedamp often holds the men back
for hours, while their comrades are
slowly being suffocated or burned to
death. Government experts have
found an apparatus in Europe which,
when worn by the members of the
rescue party, enables them to enter
any place where there is gas without
danger to themselves. At the ex-
perimental station the miniature prac-
tical demonstrations in the saving of
life with this apparatus will be made.
"We intend to begin the erection Of
this station within a few weeks"
said J. A. Holmes, chief of the tecn-
nological branch of the Geological
Survey. "There seems to be no end
to the gas and coal dust explosions
in mines. Instead os growing less,
these horrors appear to be multiply
ing.
From our investigations SO far the
United States is behind Europe in
safeguarding the lives of the men in
the mines. England and Belgium have
for years had splendid experimental
stations, and in these countries there
are few casualties in the mines. The
Belgium mines are notorious FOR the
presence of firedamp, ". that coun-
try has enjoyed wonderful immun-
ity from these terrible explosions.
GAS a result of the experiments in
England there are a number of what
are known as permissible explosives
and these and no others must be used
by the miners in the blasting Of cos,.
They have in England also what is
known as the limit charge which
must not be exceeded on pain OF
severe penalty.
I'm the various States here there
are few regulations and none in many
States when it comes to the kinds
of powder to be used. While we can
not compel the adoption of regulations
we will conduct the investigations and
will give the facts to the public in
the hope that great good may follow"
Clarence Hall, explosive expert for
the Government, who has charge of
the plans for the proposed experiment
tai station, recently returned from
England and Belgium, where he ex-
amined the stations there. In these
and other European countries the
mine owners, the miners, the Govern
ment and the manufacturers of ex-
plosives all cooperate in the effort to
prevent explosions. The result of
threseN experiments goes to show that
a large number of the explosions in
coal mines are due to coal dust rather
than gas.
That part of the experimental sta
ton in which the explosives are to be
tested will be in the form of a cylin-
der, 100 feet long and six feet in. di-
ameter, lying on the ground. An ex-
plosive mixture of fire damp and air
in one, case, or coal dust and air in
another, will be pumped into the
cylinder and the explosive to be test
ed will be shot into it from one end
by big steel mortar so that the flame
and products of combustion will go
right into the fire damp. If the sta
tion is erected within the Pittsburg
coal district, as has been suggested,
natural gas will be used for testing
purposes. While these tests are be-
ing conducted operators and miners
will be invited to be present.
PLAGUE OF GRASSHoPPERS.