The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-19
More About Mine Explosions.

To the Edisor of The Age Herald
 Having read the verdict of the cor
 oner's jury in the case of the investi-
 gation of the Monongah mines CW. Val
 explosion, l am more than ever inn
 pressed that my views on the matter
 dealing with dusty mines are correct
 The verdict of the jury exonorates the
 company from ali blame, yet several
 hundred mems lives were taken away.
 and more than 800 orphans left to the
 charity of the world. This causes me to conclude in my mind that someth ing
 must be done to reduce the repetition
 of such accidents and provide for the prevention of so many lives being lost. The breaking away of a trip of cars at the knuckle and it's running back into the mines and severing an electric current wire which in turn ignited the dust raised by the runaway trip, caused l the explosion. In these explosions so | many bodies wh ich cannot be identified
 and no way of determining how many
 men were in the mines at the time of i the explosion, shows to me the neces- sty of a careful checking system whereby 1t will be possible at any time I to determine the exact number of day men and miners underground. Many advantages result from having a care | fully designed blackboard, large enough l to be properly spaced so that check S could be hanged in numerical order. By looking over the board and noting the number of men underground and each one carrying his number in his
 pocket or on his belt shows at a glance who the body is
 My tn cory is that if the dust is re-
 moved at frequent intervals from the roadwayS and return air courses and then the mines thoroughly sprinkled, 1 these dust explosions could not occur, | or would be reduced to a minimum. 1 The absolute need of strict mining laws enacted and these laws to be rigidly enforced is clearly shown by the daily | and increasing number of mine acci- dents There are many other points that should be discussed openly in stead of passing them into history with a faint whisper and a knowing nod.
 Listen! How is it our law makers cannot furnish more mine inspectors, as all mining men know that we have not half enough inspectors to do the work as it should be done? While I am earnestly in farvor of high educa-
 tional facilities and the unstinted sup port of the state for them. yet appro- pria tions of millions can be made for sch ools and the lives of thousands of men and the supporters of an army of women and children are put on the ap- propriation of a few paltry hundreds of dollars. Why is 1t that larger ap- prop priations cannot be made for the protection of the large mining indus try which we have in the state of Alabama? We all well know that the mining industry makes this the em- pire state of the south.
 There should be inspectors enough I to visit each mine in the state at least 1 four times a year, and they should go l through every place in the mine and report according to the conditions as | he finds them, and his recommendation l should be enforced at once, and not 1 wait on promises. The operator will 1 then find it will be to his interest to follow the inspectors instructions. As | to inspectors. there should not be one anpointed unless he be practical miner, holding a first-class certificate. Also the board of examiners of mine foremen should be composed of men who are practical miners, holding first class certificate. In reading A letter which appeared in The Age-Her- ald a few days ago from the pen or E. M. Tutwiler, Jr., I could not help but think of the young man when he was hut a school boy while I was in charge of his fathers works at Blossburg, and his letter contained some very vaiua- ble ideas on mining laws. He should be congratulated by every citizen or | inc state for his clear expressions on mining laws and mine accidents and | inc remedies for them. It was the reading of this letter of MT. TutWiler ich causes me to write this commu- nication, and I hope my mining friends will continue this discussion so that our l law makers may have clear insight | into conditions and give them an op- | portunity to formulate laws Tor the | protection of our miners. Just few | more words in regard to the explosion l at Yolande. From reading the report or | our chief mine inspector, John Gray, l 1 believe it was caused by that dyna- I mite which was in a tow sack It IS another bad rule to allow man to | take dyna mite at all to blast coal, as | if is a known fact that dynamite pull 1 verizes coal to such an extent and makes so much dust that it will leak through the cracks of the tram cars along the roadways and there accumu- | late the dust. Some men take as much as A hundred sticks of dynamite at one time into their working places. This l should by no means be allowed.
 could say a great deal more on this subject but will leave the matter open for some of my mining friends to con
 tinue. JAMES hELSo.
 Jasper. Ala, January IS, 1908.