The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-10-26

the mine of heat and gases and for the escape of the men in case of surface or shaft fires.
 Tn all new mines. and in all old mines as far as practicable suitable man-roads should be provided for tie men separate from the main haulage roads.
 We believe that the difficulties and dangers encountered in the working of coal seams which are thick and steeply pitching, or of which the coaP is highly inflammable in character or subject to firing from spontaneous combustion, and in mines where the subsistence of the surface must be avoided may be suc- cessfully and economically overcome in many cases through the adoption of tho flushing system of mining, that is the filling with sand or other similar ma terials of the space from which the coal Is removed This system originated in the United States and is now successfully practlced in portions of Germany, Aus tria and France.
 Thorough Discipline.
 ''We cannot too strongly emphasize the fact that thorough discipline about the mine Is absolutely essential to safety
 We are of the opinion that the respon- sibility for safety in the mine should primarily rest with some one person, such as the manager or superintendent, clothed with full authority; and that such per- son can greatly facilitate the attainment of safety through the employment of a sufficient number of foremen and also of one or more inspectors whose special duty 1t shall be to see that the regula- tions are strictly enforced.
 "The state cannot exercise too much care concerning the experience technical training and selection of it's inspectors. Their positions should be made independ- ent of all considerations other than that of efficiency; and their continuance in the. service should be co-extensive with good behavior and proper discharge of official duty.
 we are of the opinion that the cause of both safety and efficiency in coal min ing in the United States would be greatly aided through the establishment and maintenance in the different coal regions of special schools for the training of fire bosses mine foremen, superintendents and inspectors. The instruction in such schools should be practical rather than theoretical. The work of these schools would supplement most effectively that of the colleges already established in many parts of the country for the more thorough training of mining engineers.
 Safety in Mining.
 Our investigations and recommenda- tions relate primarily to questions of safe ty in mining; but in this connection we have been greatly impressed with another closely associated phase of the industry, 1. e., the large and permanent loss of coal in mining operations in many por- tions of the United States. This is a. serious. permanent national loss It seems to be a natural outcome of the ease with which coal has been mined in the United States and the enormously rapid growth of the industry. The active competition among the operators and the constant resulting effort to produce cheaper coal has often naturally led to the mining of only that part of the coal which could be brought to the surface most easily and cheaply, leaving under ground, in such condition as to be per- manently lost considerable percentage of the possible product Certainly much of this loss can be pi evented through the introduction of more efficient mining methods, such as the long wall system. more or less modified"