The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-12-24
SESSIONS OF AMERICAN MINING CONGRESS
 DEVELO OPED MANY INTERESTING FACTS


 from causes not fully understood by either practical men or scientific men and after such occurrences great diversity of opinion frequently exists. Every right minded person who is con- nected with the industry is straining to find the cause of the terrible tragedies which occur in coal mines and to find means of prevention.
 Employers are not the only persons requiring laws to protect miners Large numbers of miners in some states in- sist on blasting coal from the solid face of the coal in the mine instead of undercutting so as present less re- sistance to the blasting shot
 This practice is extremely danger ous and has been condemned by the board of foreign mining experts brought to the United States by the geo logical survey.
 As time passes, the researches of scientific and practical minds added to fuller experience and greter knowledge on the part of all concerned, may be expected to point the way to further safeguards. In the meantime let the present laws be rigidly enforced against the wrongful acts and omis- sions of employees as well as employers, something that is not now always done. Where methods of state mine inspec- tion may be better organized or oth- erwise improved, it should be done, and wh herever state mine inspectors should have greater scope and power for the enforcement of laws against all offend- CTS it should be given.
 Given accurate knowledge of what it is necessary or desirable to do, the conservation of human life should be comparatively simple"
 Conservation of Resources.
 Reverting to the question of the con seravtion of the natural resources of the United States President Tracer said:
 Tt may be that certain regulations broadly and properly designed for the safety of human beings may also tend toward conservation of coal. For illus tration, a rquirement that all coal mines opened after certain date should extract the coal only from the outer boundaries of the property to- ward the outlet of the mine. This would avoid the existence of any gobs or work ed out areas between the work Ing faces and the outlet, would lessen the danger of gob fires and of accidents from falls of roof on the principal haulage ways of the mine, would im- prove ventilation and lessen the danger of or force of explosions. Undoubtedly such a method of mining coal would make possible the extraction of a much greater proportion of the entire coal vein than is now taken out
 Where this system is not practical it may be that the full panel system may he suitable alternative, at least partially producing the same results with respect to safety and also per- hitting the mining of a greater pro- portion of coal. Fuller knowledge de- rived from experience, experiment and careful study may disclose other possi- bilities tending toward similar results. But the extraction of a greater propor- tion of the coal than is taken. out by present methods will cause serious damage by subsistence to highly valua- ble farming lands in great many cases, and particularly is this true in Illinois. The present value of the coal in the ground is very small compared with the value of the farm overlying it and which in many cases would be practically destroyed by the removal of all the coal or @ materially greater proportion than at present, unless some new method can be devised for supporting the roof, which will be available under commercial condi- tions as they may exist from time to time The solution of this problem, like those already referred to, will re- quire the most careful experiment and study All this experimental work and study may be very properly carried on by the federal and state departments in co operation and should receive the hearty support of coal mine owners
 But control by statutory laws or ad- mnistrative regulations, of mere general methods of mining, certainly will inter- fere with private rights in some respects; and such a method never should be re- sorted to until after the most careful in- vestgation and study and a full hear ing of those whose private rights may be affected, and when it has been clearly demonstrated that interference with pri- vate rights is unavoidably incidental to the protection of human beings or the interests of all the people.
 'In selling or leasing coal lands now owned by the federal government, regu- lations may be lawfully imposed for con- servation of the coal as well as the pro- lection of life, and it seems proper to presume such regulations will be imposed