The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-26

mine, 200 feet below in a basin of slack water. Sand bags built as a buttress against the force of the explosion 130 feet from the mouth of the entrances filtered the ground for 100 feet The fan house lay splintered and demolished mass. Windows of the tool and supply house were empty frames.
 Then while the air was still laden with smoke and gases, lights bobbed from the hills like glow worms. The two mine rescue teams from the bureau of mines were preparing to enter the galleries.
 A few of the more hardy laymen start ed plunging from their damp points of vantage. Shouts of the members of the state constabularly and the megaphones of those connected with the demonstra- tion halted them because of the danger of a secondary explosion.
 A The rescue men, however sprang to the three entries Traversing the main gal jery.s and that leading to the iron gal lery.l they found the chambers devoid of sand bags and supporting timbers, the fan house wrecked and the concrete face of the main entrance badly damaged. From the hills came cheers of the mine owners and operators who had been in- clined to grow sarcastic. Director Holmes and the officials of the local bureau were elated with the proof of that which the operators in great majority have ever de- nied-that coal dust is largely responsible for the disasters of the past.
 Coal Dust Is Placed
 At Bruceton the governments miners have driven a corridor through vein of coal 750 feet. This is connected with Q cutoff 40 feet long with a return air chamber of the same length. Connecting with this is an intake gallery ending in a long experimental iron tube In ad- dltion second cutoff connects the two main galleries. These comprise, in all, nearly 1000 feet of galleries.
 At the face of the mine, or that point pierced farthest from the mine opening, the charge of two pounds of black blast ing powder was set in the coal and a wall of sand bags was built across this 13O feet from it's mouth. Then along shelves, throughout the length of the 2000 feet of corridors, 700 pounds of coal dust was sprinkIed. It was this dust according to the experts, which caused the resultant damage and which has had the same disastrous effect in other mine explosions.
 Immediately after the arrival of the spe- oial train, the 15O0 visitors climbed the muddy incline railroad to the expert mental station. The majority went di -ectly to the mouth of the mine 11Ot entered the shaft to see what real mine is like. 4 The Signal Given | After the last of the crowd hat | emerged from the mine, Director Holmes gave the word to George S. Rice chlei mining engineer in, charge of fedora Investigations in this section. to proceed The first two attempts proved failures but when MT. Egy turned the electrica current Into the powder the third time at 6:30 o'clock, the great explosion fol lowed.
 "The test, with the exception of that O a few days ago at Bruceton,'' said Chic Engineer Rice, twas the first explosion under actual mine conditions ever made 1t was successful in every way and sucf no mine operator could have witnessed elsewhere. It will be invaluable in tha 1 it cannot fail to convince every mine own CT that coal dust is the dangerous facto in digging coal.
 l ''The explosion was terrific and woul' l have been even more so had the dus
 within the mine and the atmosphere bee
 drier. As it was sand bags 20 feet fror the mouth and timbers were elected d
 the velocity of bullet and a laden ca
 was lifted from it's tracks and hurled int
 a gully The demonstration was i'm
 pressive in every way"
 Director Holmes Happy l 4NO1le WAS IdpplcT at lllt SutCtSS Ol LII
 explosion than Director Holmes. Whei
 the blast crashed from the mine he emit
 ted an "Ahl'' of relief.
 We could not have had better dem
 onstration,' said the director. Tt Wal admirable in every way"
 l J. w. Paul, head of the mine rescu, work of the government, was in charg, | of teams of men who went into the mine
 following the explosion.
 1 Secretary Fisher said that it gratfiet | him to notice the cooperation betweei the mine operators and the miners ant | state officials.
 This work will justify Congress" sait I the secretary, fin giving d great dea
 more support for the maintenance of tho | bureau, as the work of this departmen | is of immense proportions
 | He advised all present to inform thei congressman of their views and solici his support in behalf of all measures tha would aid the bureau of mines and tn, mining industry.
 | Aftermath of the Explosion l Said MT. Coxe: The most interesting part was to note the damage done at tn,
 mines. And the following day we mad, 1 a minute inspection. A car loaded witt gravel was lifted from the railroad tracl 1 few feet from the mine and blow.
 
 Another car loaded with coal was moved 1 20 feet. The fan house was smashed ant 1 the explosion relief section unroofed. O. l course the props in the mine were al
 blown up, some 25O feet, and the con | crete arch was cracked. Plenty of dam | age was done!''
 1 Mai Charles Lynch of the United States army medical department, who is chair man of the Red Cross committee on first aid, was among the visitors to Bruceton | His committee Is branch of the wal | board and it's main business Is to organ. ize courses in first aid among miners | tranmen and other industrial employees In speaking of the work accomplished by Major Lynch's committee, Miss Mabe Boardman said:
 This committee on first aid has pre- pared several textbooks. The industria edition has been translated into Slovacls Polack, Lithuanian and Italian. It has arranged various kinds of first aid boxes issued diplomas for classes and organ. ized competitions. It owns two cars which the railroads of the country trans port free and which are used as schools of instruction. It employees two physicians -Dr. Shields and Dr. Glasgow-one fol each car. The first car is in the west and the second one just starting its east ern work. The first one, which has beer in use for about five months, has travelled over 21,O00 miles, and the doctor in at- tendance has lectured on and demonstrat. ed first aid before thousands of niners