The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-04

L 1DIO
nose guard of a football player and the
outfit of deep sea diver. There are
always two rescuers together, and they
| plunge into the fume filled mine with the
same uncencern that a workman woulo
enter the mess hall at dinner time.
Supplies for Two Hours
These men are the wearers of the new
oxygen helmets that will shut out al
else and furnish to their wearers the
foxygen that will keep them alive ano
active for two hours regardless of the
atmosphere in which they move.
These men go down the smoke filled
shaft The electric lights on their he'll
NETS pierce the gloom, where the other
lamps have blinked out for want of air
They penetrate to the scene of the ex-
plosion and snuff out the smolderins
fires. They reset the screens that direct
the currents of air and signal for the
fans to be started. The mine is started
toward flushing itself of Its impurities.
But the prime object in coming into
the mine has been to bring immediate re-
lief to the men who are In such danger
of death. All the preparations so far
taken have looked to that end. They
may, however personally save many who
are at deaths door, for men are dying
by the score in the levels. There is
mans work to be done and that quickly.
A miner having already lost his intel
ligence and fast losing consciousness is
found wandering aimlessly about and
is led to fresh air and renewed life.
Lost men in the darkness are directed to
safety Men at work and still unaware
of the death that is bearing down upon
them are warned and directed to safety.
Men overcome, yet still alive, are found,
taken to an atmosphere where life Is
possible, and given the OXYGEN treatment.
The teeth are clinched as in death, and
there Is no outward evidence that &e
spark still remains, but the life savers
know the means of detecting Its faintest
presence A cold chisel between the
teeth will open the mouth. The tube
from the oxygen bag is put into 1t, and
the life giving fluid is pumped into the
man. If there is life, 1t will be fanned
into a glow by this invigorating treat
ment. and often 1t is possible to revive
a man who, to all appearances, is dead.
Doing these things is probably the most
precarious. occupation that a man has
ever set out to follow. These men go
deliberately into the very land of the
dead and the only bar between them ana
death Is the hood over their heads anc
the guarantee that it will work correctly
and without interruption.
Where Danger Turks
Should the helmet for a moment be-
come disarranged. death would be the
result Should the oxygent bag, which Is
strapped to the chest, be punctured. lie
would be snuffed out Immediately. Should
the battery that furnishes the eiectrlc
light of the helmet burn out, the wearer
would be left in darkness, and the maze
of the mine is no easy place In which 10
find ones way about under favorable
circumstances, much less when disar-
ranged by an explosion. Should the
wearer of the helmet lose his head and
forget any one of dozen Things TOT
moment, he would give up his lease on
life Should he outstay the time his oxy-
gen will last. he would be suffocated.
The men always work in pairs, that
their efforts may be more effectual and
that the chances of fatalities on their
part NAV be lessened. The clock which
Indicates the amount of oxygen In the
bag Is on the back, and is read, not by
the wearer, but by his partner The dls-
lance from the mouth of the mine must
always be remembered and the estimate
of the amount of oxygen necessary 10
make the trip back must be maze. Eacn
man figures a sufficient reserve to be
able to carry his partner to safety II the
latter is overcome.
These crews are examples of the res
cue work that Is already on the way To-
ward general adoption. Even before the
creation of the bureau of Mines the gov
eminent experts have made discovery
that is probably of greater Importance
that anything ever worked out In con-
nection with safety in coal mining, and
indicative of what America will do when
she once undertakes to meet the great
issue.
These experts have already discovered
the basic fact that underlies mine explo-
sions. a fact that has eluded the scien-
lists of Europe for a century This Is
the discovery that most explosions are
due to coal dust, and not to gas, and
that the physical condition of the mine
with relation to moisture Is entirely re-
sponsible Off the presence of coal dust
They are ready to demonstrate tne
method of keeping the mine damp, and
thereby avoiding the explosions.