The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-07-22
RESCUE STATION
 FOR BIRMINGHAM
The Government Will Conduct
 Work From Here
EXPERT TO BE IN CHARGE
Hillhouse snys the New station Will Have No Connection With the State Mine Inspector's
 Duties

| Washington, July 21.-The first three coal fields of the country as means of
 reducing the number of deaths In the
 mines will be established at Birmingham, Ala, Huntington, w. Va, and Wilkes
 Barre, Pa. This announcement was
 made today by George Otis Smith, act
 ing director of the new bureau of mines. | Each station will be In charge of a | foreman, a man with practical mining
 knowledge and experience who himself l has been a miner. fire boss, mine fore
 man, manager or a miner inspector of I mines. It will be his duty to train the
 miners from. the coal fields within his district In rescue work It is proposed | that the miners who work in the nearby I mines will, under the guidance of the l foreman of the station, form a volunteer rescue corps, ready to respond at once
 to any emergency call within the dis | trict.
 The principal equipment at the station
 will consist of eight so-called oxygen
 helmets, breathing apparatus, which per mits trained men to enter the most | deadly gases in the mine and remain for 1 two hours without danger of asphyxia- l ton.
 It Is expected that it will take two weeks to thoroughly train miner for | the work. The men will be housed and 1 fed at the station during the training | period.
 When the men return to their respect | i've mines 1t Is expected that they will | form rescue corps and have properly | equipped stations of their own. James Hilhouse, state mine inspector, said last night that he knew nothing taLA n
 stations, with the exception that he had written a letter to the new bureau of mines at Washington requesting them to establish such station in the Birming- ham district. MT. Hillhouse had been requested by Congressman Oscar w. Un- derwood to write the letter to the new bureau, as MT. Underwood knew some additional stations were to be estab- lished, and if the proper influence were brought to bear he believed that one of the stations would be given to Birming- ham.
 The thing which had more to do with the establishing of a rescue station at Birmingham than this, however. was the two recent and disastrous mine explo- sions in the Birmingham district at Mulga and Palos. On both of these oc- casions Government Inspector Rutledge
 was rushed to Birmingham from his headouarters at Knoxville, Tenn. The
 station at Knoxville Is the same as the
 new one proposed for Birmingham, and the foreman in charge will be acting In the same capacity as is Mir Rutledge at Knoxville. It will be in no way connect
 ed with the state mine inspectors office or duties.
 The proposed station will be largely or | the same plan as the present relief and rescue corps maintained by the Tennes- see, Coal, Iron and Railroad company. | exeent that the government station will
 be much larger. embracing all the mines l In the district, irrespective of their own
 ership. The man in charge will be ap'
 pointed and maintained by the new bu.
 reau ,of mines which has lately been or
 ganized by the United States depart- ment of labor.
 The station will be built here In the | citv where the closest connection can be made to railroads leading to the mines | of the district. It will cost in the neigh. | borhood of sS,OOo, and will be equipped with every modern machine and ap. naratus known for mine rescue work.