The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1908-01-07
MEN FAIL
TO WATER MINE
THURSDAY NIGHT
The Investigating
Committee Arrives

The second day OF the court OF In
,uuiry was held in the Circuit Court
room where many listeners assembled
eager to catch every word Of evidence
from, the witness. About ten-thirty
the speclel legislative mine examining
&. l.,committee composed of Senator Cart
IAN, Kidd, Delegates strickling, Nit
schell and Duty, accompanied by John
Il. Harris. their secretary.
William Vokolek, an attorney at law
OF Plttsburg representative of the Ma
tional slavonic Society, is here to aid
In any way that he can to arrive at
the cause Of the explosion. He is also
settling claims of widows against the
society. So far the society has dis
gtributed $3.50. Much more money will
be distributed by this society when
sixty days. the given time to settle
claims, have elapsed.
AIonzo shroyer, carpenter at No. G.
. was the first witness examined this
morning He was working at the
ablacksmith on the morning of the ex
Dlosion and was within sixty feet of
L 'fthe trip when it ran away. When he
noticed that the trip had gone in he
ran to the mouth OF the mine and was
knocked down by the force of the ex-
plosi6n. This was about minute af-
ter the trip had passed. The witness
sustained several wounds that he at
tributed to the fall. He said that he
had contemplated following the trip
and was in the act of going back to
the shop for a torch SO that he could
follow 1t. The witness did not see any
flame.
G. H. Leonard was then called to
the chair. Mr.. Leonard nad been run.
ming the fan at Monongah mine No. .
for the last six years. The witness
was at the mine the day before the
explosion. The fan was running that
day. He was at the mine on Decem-
her 6. The first he knew of anything
was wrong was when the trip broke.
The conclusion knocked him down.
He saw smoke come out of the mine.
It resembled steam. A substance,
blown out of the mine, struck the wit
ness. This substance had great af-
ffnity for human skin and its adhe-
slye properties was marvellous. He
said that the fan was provided with a
mechanical recording guage that indi-
Gated the water pressure. The fan
makes about 224 revolutions per min
lre. The speed of the engine was 112
revolutions per minute. The witness
besides running the fan had charge
Of the derailing switch. Henry Lam
bert had charge of the fan the night
tafore tho disaster. Part of the mine
was watered the night previous to the
explosion. L. S. LeRue, mine inspec-
tor of the first district of West Vir-
6inia, asked the witness II 1t was not
fact that two men were sent in the
mine the night before the explosion
to water It and the men did not work,
one putting the horse in the stable and
the other one going to sleep. The
witness answered the question in the
negative. He knew of no previous ex-
ilostons.
Edward Frey, hoisting engineer at
No. c mine. He was on duty on the
eyentful morning. He said that there
was trip broke that morning. The
electric light in the engine house went
out soon after the trip broke. He
heard a noise and felt the concussion,
but did not know what caused it. A
fireman came along and told the wit
ness that No. had exploded. He
then saw smoke and dust issuing from
the mouth of No. 6.
"A. H. Yost was called to the witness
chair. Mr.. Yost had charge of the
fan at No s at night. The fan at No.
s was in operation all night the night
before thee xplosion. The guage in
dicating the pressure, he stated, is
changed at twelve o'clock and the
record is taken by the fire boss and
Is deposited at the ONCE. This night
the witness changed the sheet in the
guage. The fan was running the day
before the explosion, but the mine
was shut down. The witness was at
home asleep at the time of the ex-
plosion. The witness said that there
was large volume Of smoke emitted
from No. which lasted about six
minutes. The smoke was continuous.
There was no Hame.
b 75,sr 49,. eTaaA. 1900