The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-17

laWed 10 enter and assist in the work. In this way the death of many brave men has been prevented
 The various rescue corps of the Bureau O. Mines have been instrumental in say ing the lives of many miners in the last two years and have prevented the loss Of perhaps several hundred other lives. At the great Cherry mine disaster, in Mo- vember, 1909 in Illinois, 20 men were taken out alive by the rescuers after having spent seven days underground. Twelve Of these men were found in places so thick with deadly gases that none but the heimeted rescuers could go The P were carried to the surface and today they are living. Hive men were rescued from Cross Mountain.
 Out of the Jaws of Death
 In mine in Ohio, where there had been an explosion. one of the bureaus rescue corps arrived II hours after the disaster. The rescuers entered the mine and found three men who had been repeatedly passed by other volunteer reseuers as dead. A slight warmth was found under the arms of the three miners and the res eaers started work with the pulmotor In three hours these men, given up for dead. had regained consciousness and were taken from the mine alive Tn still an- other great explosion, one man was found alive among more than 150 dead. Discov- cred by the bureaus rescuers he was car Iied to the surface and today he is the sole survivor of a terrible catastrophe.
 In the equipment sent out from Bir- mingham to Briceville were Draeger appa- ratus-12 sets in all-eight belonging to the T. (. l.; pulmotors. safety lamps, oxy- gen refill hand pumps. ana various testing appliances. as well as the first aid boxes.
 No effective work of any sort can be ac- eomplished in the event of a mine fire or explosion without the aid of this rescue apparatus, because. as pointed out. neither man. beats nor bird can survive the dead lx gases of the underground world after such cataclysm.
 To learn how to do effective work with the Draeger apparatus takes considerable raining. One year ago there were hardly three men in the Birmingham district who were trained helmet men.
 Tn appearance the Draeger resembles a divers outfit. The wearer's head is shut of from the external air by a helmet, from which two pipes lead to the regener- a1ive apparatus proper. which is carried on the back and consists mainly of the oxygen cylinder. circulation apparatus potash cartridges and cooler, the whole about 70 pounds.
 Limited Oxygen Supply
 Life may be sustained for two hours only. All movements must be slow and deliberate. At Briceville one relay of hel- met men succeeded the other with steady. systematic precision: helmet man de- feats his ends if he rushes. Filled oxygen bottles and fresh potash cartridges were inserted in the knapsacks; the old bottles recital ged, the cartridges thrown aside. and each apparatus was ready in less -han a minute for another two hours turn. the same man, no matter how blind, tired and nerve-racked he might be. would return below-satisfied simply to have his oxygen bottle recharged. and work till ready to drop in his tracks.
 The rescue work has been in charge. from the outset, of the government, rein forced by the T. c. I. men.
 Here is beginning the development of a system, scientifically organized of na- tional state and private mine rescue and fire fighting methods in the United States. 1t is one of the great new century move ments. It is so brand new that compar- advely little is known about it outside of mining circles.
 As in every progressive movement there is always a man behind the guns. some quiet, earnest. intelligent workman who is on the job with the right spirit-not for the money that's in it, but because the job is worth while-so in this mine safety business there's a good workman back of it.
 His name is Joseph A. Holmes He is the director of the federal Bureau of Mines, and he Is still on the job up there on Cross Mountain, has been on it all week, he and others of the courageous trained rescue men of Alabama, Tennes- see, North Carolina and West Virginia, and of the federal bureau.
 Just what is a mans equipment for lead- ership in such work as this? pr. Holmes record is remarkable one.
 Career of Dr. Holmes
 He is a man of national reputation and years of experience in the administration Of technical investigations. He has or ganized and managed successfully scien- tidc department in the University of Pitts burgh, the State Geological Survey of North Carolina. the Mine and Metalurgy I Department of the St. Louis Worlds eX- position and the technologic work of the government in relation to mining.
 He has had an exceedingly interesting career. While a student at Cornell uni- versity he specialized in courses in cleo trieity, mechanics geology, mineralogy, surveying and other technical branches that have to do with mining or the well fare of the minor He took, for instance, special laboratory training in chemistry, in relation to explosives and metallur2y. After graduating in 1881 he devoted por- ton of each year up to 1891 to visiting the important mining regions in different parts of the United States, studying their underground mining conditions He ex- amined a number of mines in profes- slonal way as a mining geologist. When serving as state geologist of North Caro- lima. 1S91-1902, he also examined profess gi1 ma md ria state and other southern states.
 Tt was Dr. Holmes who planned. organ ized and developed the Department of Mining and Metallurgy at the St Louis exposition in 1903-04 At this time he was member of the committee in charge of the geological survey fuel tests at St. Louis, al which such important results re- lating to the use of Ignite, as well as other fuels, were followed up by Ala bama's state geologist, pr. Eugene Smith, in experiments at the University of Ala banla.
 Following the St. Louis work Dr. Holmes for the next five years served under the U. S. geological survey and de- Veloped and directed the technical inves- tigations of fuels, structural materials and mine explosions, explosives used in mining, etc. He investigated the under ground as well-as the surface mining con- ditions in many parts of the United States. France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain, with special reference to prob- lens connected with the loss of life and waste of resources in mining operations.
 Introduction of Rescue Apparatus
 He examined mine experiment stationa. studying their equipment and methods for safeguarding the lives of miners. and then visited the important coal mining re- pionS of this country with reference to ,u- troducing life saving appliances and meth-