The labor argus. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1906-1915, 1909-11-25
President Duncan Nc
Donald of the Illinois
Miners Gives Startling
Facts to Public About
the Workings of the
"Model'' Mine.

Fresh from the tomb, the tomb filled
with living flame and charred human
bodies, the tomb which the st. Paul
mine has become, death, gaunt.
scared and ghostly has arisen and points
the finger of blame at the officials of the
st. Paul Mining Company, whose greed
for continued profit caused the placing of
wall torches in shaft No. 2, whose greed
placed five car loads of hay in shaft No.
:, and whose greed made possible the ip-
milton of that hay and the cremation of
almost 400 men, murdered in the interest
of profit.
Investigation by Duncan Mcdonald,
president of the United Mine Workers of
Illinois, has proved that the st. Paul
mine, said by it's owners to be the safest
mine in the state, was constructed in
violation of all the laws approved by COM
pctent mining engineers and for that rea-
son turned out to be a death trap
The reasons for these statements are:
The structure around the main entries
is highly inhammable.
Had these structures at the saft been
built of steel, concrete and brick the
disaster would never have occurred.
No precautions had been taken by the
company to safeguard men in time of fire.
An open torch kept flaming in the sec
ond vein of the mine, near the main shaft
was n constant menace
The escape shaft was timbered with
pine and was only three hundred feet
from the main shaft. The stairs, leading
up it, were wooden and were useless be-
cause of the flames
The main entries were timbered, which
is against law
The escape contrary to law unless
it was permitted by some mine inspector
1t did not have equipment for n sufIi
cient water pressure for use in emerpen
cies.
Lack of sufficient hose in the mine made
the fire fighting Intellectual.
No fire drill had ever been practiced.
While the wives and relatives of the
entombed miners were clamoring for the
rcopcning of the mine because explosions.
probably those of gas pockets, made them
believe that the entombed men were sig.
mailing, Duncan Mcdonald and other
officials of the United Mine Workers of
America we're taking steps which point
to the seeking of indictments for man.
slaughter against the officials of the COM
pany which operates the death trap.
Duncan Mcdonald has made a state
ment that proper safety provisions in the
mine were lacking.
1t remains only for the evidence to be
whipped into final shape, for the coroner g
! jury to hear all the evidence available
and then for States Attorney Eckert to
seek indictments for manslau ghter against
the mine manager and all officials who
knowingly permitted the storage of the
hay.
| Our investigation shows says Presi-
dent Mcdonald IS report, s'that there was
a. scarcity of water under pressure on the
surface and in the mine which would be
no hose from which streams of water
could be turned to stop the blaze
We also discovered that, although the
law requires that the air shaft be 3CO
feet from the main shaft, the two shafts
are only 175 feet apart Of course. some
times by special permission, less than 300
feet of space between the two opening,
is permitted by the state mine inspectors.
The air shaft contained wooden stairs and
wooden timbers all the way, while the
modern mines have stairs and shaft in.
terror of re-infor concrete or steel.
which is freproof. The wooden stairs and
timber ignited readily and shut off all
escape that waR
''We also find that inside of the mine
the main openings to veins are supported