The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-12-07

2 of the ,ntlle may be given the benefit
y az ira ventilation system 10 surtain
Il INV that may be yet living and to
make possible an carly exploration OF
: those workings.
This American miners of the town
I. have been placed in charge of the
\ relief work hut tho Italians and othet
\ most faithfully. IT is Impossible for
/. Il man 10 romain long in the depths
nf tho mine, and the rescue forces
!. are divided TO work In relays. with
/. frequent reliefs. Many In the relief
+ party have already become exhausted
! and been sent TO the surface.
4 The mines IRE owned ana operated
4 by The Consolidation Coal Company az
baltimore. General offices are located
(. In Baltimore and the operating offices
/. are in Eairinopt. w. VIA. The CONF
pany IL said To be- one of the largest
I operating In the bhuminousl coal M
/. dustry In America. II is capitalized ~
: SIC, V00,000. and has in operation about
:. ipu producing pants. Its largest mines
(: are located in Fairmont and Ciarks.
!. burg w. Va: Somerset Pa, and cum
!. berland. Md. Clarence w, Watson, OF
Z Baltimore. is president.
T. Monungnh IS n mining town ~
: Marion county w. Va, about SIX mics
: south west Of Eairlnont. 1t has poDu-
( ation of eob0. most of whom are
J. foreigners, although there is larger
! proportion of American miners IN TINS
!. district than in most OF Inc othef
I bitnminous fields.
!: Along, the hills, far back from tns
snain opening on mine NO. :, there aie
Ia number of openings into tlre inl's,
land to these hundreds OF relatives ana
friends of the entombed men tranti
9cally rushed, in the vain nope that
their loved ones might ma escape
Through these channels or that they
might be more readily reached and re-
leased. So far as known. however. no.
III single man escaped this wn5'. and the
( would-be rescuers are helpless AZ
these points. for out of eac!, entry there
lis pouring u volume nf poisonous gas I
which no human being can face Tor
more than q few minutes Mt a time.
Pathetic scenes Everywhere.
, The scenes around about the entries
10 the mines and throughout the town 1
tnfe even moro pathetic and heartrend- /
ing than those which usually attend a /
.miDe disaster because of larger pro-
portion of Americans and Americanized
foreigners than are usually found in a (
.nurely mining settlement.
! Wives and mothers and sweethearts,
together with children and members
OF the stronger sex. move from place
and making no attempt to conceal the
GRIEF that overwhclms them. But lit
tile news can be given them and such
as they do get is bad. None is en-
.couraged to hope that any one in the
mine mas survived the explosion and
the suffocating. gas that Immediately
filed the mine.
From time to time there comes word
from the rescuers in the mine that
st.r.If lto,.a hr,nr f,,,r 81. ,,1,
or another. and In nearly every in
stance 1t Is also stated that the bodies
arc either terribly torn and mangled
or burned and blackened.
O0rdcrs Collins for All.
At il o'clock tonight the list OF en-
ployes of mines No. and No. S, at !:
Monongah, had been checked of. show
when the explosion occurred. OF these
six have been brought to the surface
lead and Ave escaped through air
shafts. The latter five are in the
turies. Neither entry has been opened
TO the real workings, and the indca-
tons are that a majority. 4 not all,
eaught in the mine are dead.
1t is reported here that the mine Of
fcers have ordered $50 collins shipped i
q eIare nnonE ~ W a. soon as p4ssible
p ?, lie. Of the m mining company was
piosion occurred. and chartered spc- {
cial train to bring him to the scene. |
Disaster Due 10 Black Damp.
There is much speculation AS to the cause |
y! the exoIos on. but the most generals ao.
y o4pted theory Ia that II resulted from BLACK
damp. II Is believed TINT miner attempt. |
ed TO set OFF blast which blew out and |
lGpited an accumulation of this deadly gas !
end that this In turn ignited the coal dust /
highly inflenmahle substance. found In /
greater or less quantity in all West Virginia I
ttines. However. all explanations OF the
.tause UP Ia this time are necessarily specu-
Fiative- The explosion affected both mines
and SO far as now known. appears to have
dtne about as much damage In one as IN
the other. II has not been established in
which mine 1t originated.