The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-10-10
HIGH HOPE
OF RESCUE
Miners in the StarkviIle
Mine in Colorado
May Be Alive

Starkville Colo, Oct 10.-HiGh
hope spread over this stricken mining
camp this morning when news was
brought out OF the Starkville Minis,
where two score or more miners are
entombed from an explosion last Sat
urday, that fans providing pure air
TO the mine had been put in opera
tion Systematically, and that the I'M
prisoned men would undoubtedly be
located within the day unless efforts
OF the rescuerS were further blocked
by the wreckase.
This information was given out oftl-
clally by State Mine Inspector John
E Jones, never over enthusiastic
al prospects. but willing TO give nope
wherever conditions justify Inspector
Jones based his opinion on the fact
that a double force for driving out
the bad air in the mine mad been sue
cessfully effected through the station
ing OF the portable fan well within the
short cut of the Starkville mine, while
the fan In the main entrance to the
EnglevNle mine had been reversed
and both were working together on
the same objective
The fan I'm the Starkyllle mine is
passageways of that mine. driving be-
fore 1t the impure air to the opening
in the walls separating that mine from
the Engleyille. AT the same time the
Engleyille fan is drawing the air out
of the mine working of that mine,
forming a suction that is pulling the
gaseous air into the Engleville and
out into the open air.
In addition to clearing the Stark
Vile mine of the bad air, Inspector
Jones said IL was being funnelled
away from the extreme southern
working of the StarkviIle mine and
held captive so as to prevent its
spreading TO those sections where the
entombed men are supposed to be.
II is known that at least eleven
men, in the mine when the explosion
occurred Saturday night are at least
n mile from the first crosscut through
which the bad air in the StaTkvillc
mine is supposed to be flowing into
her sister mine on the other side of
! the hill Without any stretch OF the
| Imagination. said Inspector Jones to-
day. these men would be alive and
bperfectly safe unless a cavern hud
crushed out their lives. or the black
| damp had reached them while the
/ mans were being set mp.
After-damp is sensitive TO tho
! changes In temperature. as was indl-
Gated yesterday when the rescuers
were driven in the far east slope OF
the mine after advancing less than
/ 500 feet
Even the helmet men. with their
modern protective apparatus, includ-
ing reservoirs of oxygen 10 supply the
/ lungs with pure air for breathing.
could do but little and once were
! themselves overcome when the oXy-
| gen became exhausted. and were res
! cued with the greatest difficulty by
miners,
Cause OF Accident.
The dust theory for the explosion
J Is clung to by many who have
thought over all possible causes for
/ the explosion. The mine was nom
gaseous. no shot firing being permit
ted or even necessary because tho
mine was operated exclusively by pick
ing process and prepared explosives
were not used for any purpose. .....
Even though the mine was sprlnlCled
10 keep down dust bodies, experts de-
p clare il was possible for the coal
dust 10 accumulate in abandoned
rooms and cuts and not be found un-
less BY the most careful inycstiga-
tion at intervals. miner stepping
casually into oae of these working
with his open lamp, such as were used
In tho Stnrkville mine, because there
was nothing to fear fnom gas, would
cause TO be igultcd any such accum-
ulauons OF dust with its consequent
! .-Nnlnslnnn