The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-09-17
GRIM TRAGEDY Of THE MINES
lTH|RTY THOUSAND MINERS KILLED
THE BUREAU ENeA GED IN a NUMBER OF ACTlW
TIES LOOKING TOWARDS RED uCTIoN DEATHS THE


States in the last ten years
Seventy-five thousand miners in
iured, many of them manned for lite
in the same period,
Eleven thousand widows made by
the deaths of the miners
Thirty thousand children left fath'
crless'
( rhis terrible record represents not
only the accidents in the coal mines
! bur also the metal mines.
It is the story of the tragedy of
the mines, but not the whole story. If
/ the mines OF the United states in
those ten years had had the same
standards Of safety as in European
/ countries. if the United States had
killed two in every 1000 employed,
instead of three, four or five.
Fifteen thousand of the thirty thou
sand American miners killed might
| be living today.
Forty thousand ont Of the seventy
/ five thousand injured might have es-
! capped injury.
! Five thousand five hundred wild
ows might not have been widows.
| Fifteen thousand orphan children
might still have fathers.
This is the whole grim tragedy Of
! the mines epitomZed 1t is one of
the most serious problems of the
country and the one that brought the
Federal Bureau of Mines into being.
It IS the great problem that the Blu
reau of Mines, under the leadership
or nr Toconh TJolnae tic 6iraCt-
or, is attempting to solve.
This problem is responsible for the
great national Mine Safety Demon
stration which is to he held in Pitts
burg, Pa, October 80 and 81, under
the auspices of the Bureau of Mines
the American Red Cross. the United
Mine Workers of America and the
Pittsburg Coal Operators Association
From 10000 to $4,000 miners, super
intendents and operators are expect
ed 10 be present President TAFT.
whose active interest in the Red
Cross movement has brought him
in sympathetic touch with the situa-
ton in the mines. will be present
and witness the demonstration and
also talk 20 the miners. Walter l."
Fisher the Secretary of the Interior,
under whose jurisdiction the Bureau
OF Mines comes, and who has taken
deem interest in The work, viii
also he present and address the min
ers. Governor Tener, of PENNSYLVANIA,
representing the largest coal pro-
ducing state in the union. state
that mines nearly as much coal as
Great Britain. and who has the vel
fare of the miners at heart. will also
make an address.
The purpose of the demonstration
is TO show to the miners some of
the accomplishments Of the Bureau
of Mines that will tend toward \
reduction in the number of deaths.
So serious did the Bureau of Mines
find the conditions in the coal mines,
il has not get found opportunity to
pay any particular attention to the
accidents in the metal mines and
Quarries. \ favorite theme with many
writer's on the subject Of accidents
in mines has been that the careless
ness of the miners was the greatest
factor in the cause of deaths. While
the experts of the Bureau of Mines
concede that carelessness is a factor
in such accidents. they declare that
it is not nearly as important as If
is claimed to be. They rather be
lieve. and they say that their investi-
cations have borne this out, that the
United States is still a new country
in the mining business and that If
has not yet learned some OF the fun
damental safeguards that have come
to older countries through bitter eX-
pcrience. The experts cite the fact
that before they began their inves-
LEGATIONS. very few coal operators or
miners believed that coal dust IN q
mine could explode without the pres
ence Of gas The Bureau of Mines
has demonstrated beyond anv posi-
hle doubt that bituminous coal dust
alone il more of menace to the
miner than fire damp. Coal dust has
been the cause of big majority Of
the mysterious explosions in coal
mines within the last few wears and
has caused great loss of life. The
bureau on October %, and also on
October 81. will prove this assertion
to the assembled miners. on the
first day. at Rru"eton. Pa. twelve
miles from Pittsburg. there will be an
actull explosion of coal dust in the
experimental mine belonging TO the
bureau. The experts will have the
conditions thai are to he found in
some of the mines oS the United
States today, ard they will use
black powder, which is strongly urg
ed against in dangerous mines. What
is known among miners as the
"blovu-out" shot will be produced. A
"hlowu-out" shot is when the charge
Of powder blows out of the hole and
into the mine instead Of breaking the
coal. II is the cause Of mos eNplo-
s'Gns. for the flame rom the powder
jsnites the firedamp or the coal dust
There will he no one in tae mine at
the time. The shot will be fired by
electricity.
On October 81. at Forbes field, tne
Pitts0urg baseball park, with a ca
pacity Of more than @0,000 persons.
there will be second explosion Of
coal dus-, this time for tre benefit
of the multitude \ Temporary steel