The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-01-07

s.
in about one year ago. leonard WIS
put in charge Of the switch iinmed.
ately efterit was installed. He was
to care for It or to see that some one
had It in charge and not to leave 1t Z
under no circumstances. he said that ]
a report of all live stock that Is In
jured is reported to him through tho
mine foreman and the stable boss.
The report of all deaths of miners are
reported to the authorities.
Mining machines were operated in
mine No. G in 1901. Three machines
were In use then. At the time Of the
explosion there we're seven machines.
There were seven machines In mine
No. s. The mining oficers meet week.
" to discuss the condition of the
mines. Monthly meetings we're held
at Fairmont ofices at the general man.
ager,s ONCE when the general condi.
tons Of the mines were generally dis
cussed. Meetings were also held by
general superiutendent monthly which
were Of the same character. Each
miner was given a book of rules in
h,s own Language. Everything had
heen furnished that the FIRE bosses
and mine foremen had requested for
the safety NJ the mine. All the condi.
tions of the mining law had been car
r,od ont The new law had been dis.
cnssed and the men were instructed to
ohev # The abandoned parts of the
mine we're ventilated inst the same as
the mart that was worked. There is
no vay to tell how many men were in
the mines at the time of the explosion.
The coroner's record shows that 1853
men have been recovered.
George simko was the next wit
ness. He gave his evidence through
William Vokolek as Interpreter. He
was in the mine on Wednesday before
the explosion. He said that the air
| IN the mine was good. He said that
the mine was dry and that there was
no gas present He did not know
what caused the explosion and never
knew OF an explosion in the mine. He
used an open torch. He said that
when No. opens up II he feels good
he will work. The witness did not
know how often the dust needed spray
ing.
Ludwig Szlecki. miner at No. 6,
was the next witness. He spoke
through VIM. vokolek. He was in
the mine on the fifth of December. He
worked on F. face first right entry
room is. He was taking out stumps.
finishing up the headings. He worked
with his brother-in-law, who was killed
in the explosion. He had worked in
the mines about four years. He saw
no gas in the mine. He saw the marks
every day where the fireboss had done
his work and left his record. The
mine was dry where he worked. He
dug under the coal and then blasted
it out. He carried the powder into the
mines in tin cans and the officials
never let them have more than five
pounds at time. The mines were
watered almost every day. He said
that this was the safest mine: the
roof was good and there were plenty
Of posts to prop the mine. Very few
props were needed; many were pro-
vided.
Andrew Baran was called to the
chair and spoke through William vo-
kolek. He has been at No. i've
years and a half; worked on p face
fourth right, rooms IL and Is. He
worked alone. He was in the mine
the day Of the explosion, but did not
know when he came out, as he had
no watch with him. He went into the
mine at six o'clock and stayed there
couple hours perhaps, then came
~ - NEYR - Il III u 11A