The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1911-07-07

PEOPLES FORUM.
Mr. Editor Of IVES, NiIdnian:
/ As reader or your valuable rapei
] would Ike space please 10 erusl
a little Of Tie coal dust that has been
Settling On my system Tor the past
f9fty wears In regard b NE expert
Handling the BE gun that shoots end
kills So many Of one shot but aonii
siio1t and can't be made shoot II Il
islt loaded
There has been 50 much wrote about
mines Of late and the mSnagehieilt
aud IL appears 10 run SO nice and
smooth along in the one channel But
as the old saying Is one story Is good
until the other one Is told. SO ] viii
try and scratch down a few lines in
Behalf Of the miners. AS their biggest
dread and trouble appears to be the
explosion and their cause we hear Of
the explosions. First, the next We
hear OF is the chief mine inspector
and his gang OF experts rushing to
the seen of the trouble to investigate
the cause When they get through
with their Investigation and return
and report they fail to give us any sat
isfaction as to what was the real
cause. Some think they don't want
TO find out and say they are afraid
oflosing their job. but they don't have
to be scared Of that. For the miners
are to deeply interested in 1t as they
are on the dangerous end Of thelstrlhg
and they are willing to spread out and
make room for them inside the mines
eitler pick work or shooting after a
machine. What did the investigating
committee at Fairmont bring to light
on the explosion at Monongah7 It
was a runaway trip of cars or a dust
explosion or a blowout shot or an
overcharged shot or a pocket of gas
or the burning Of can Of powder or
open lamp the same old song. Had
there never been any blowout shots
at MOnongah before the explosion?
Old miners that had worked there be-
fore the explosion tell me 1t was all
most an every day occurrence, and
the coal at Monongah is hard and
strong and there was all kind of men
shooting their own coal with black
powder and we have experienced the
same thing in other. mines. That the:
coal and the men are about the same
as Monongah and We believe 1t to be
the fact then why didn't It never blow
up before the Investigation at Fair
mont was watched with great interest
by the miners in this section, for We
had what we thought to be the ab-
chest and best men that we could
scare up. But they all differ some
one thing and some another, So they
left us still in the dark to the cause
the miners was taking to much stalk
in the experts. We thought they
knew 1t all, but we find out they have
a hole heap to learn yet, for they get
Us in lots Of trouble and it appears
like the more they know the less sue.
cess they have. 1t seems strange that
Or, X never thinks in the first place
that the mines have to get in an ex-i
nicslye condition before you can blow
them up, II the mines are IN sold
working shape there isn't any Of lie
above things mentioned that vii. eS-
Mode IT. for we have too often seen
them take place in GASEOUS mines ];
think the air hes as much to do With
the trouble as anything else; dry air
and a dry dusty mine is dangerous
thing to manage. Keen the dry abb
isorbIng air out ii is lacking water
yanor that it cannot get on the &c.
count OF the dryness Of the mines and
the principal things 1t has to work
on Is the gas from the fueds and the
HYDROCARBONS give enough by, the coal
and when it gets the right mixture
and The right Temperature It becomes
dangerous and then any Of the above
things mentioned by the experts would
ignite It and result in terrific eS'
ploslOn.
1t Is naturally damp inside Of the
mines and would stay damp II the1
dry air isn't forced in to dry 1t ont. /
Air It with air as near the temperature
of the inside as possible and give the
air Its capacity OF water Yapor, and
then we will. not have no dust or dry
air 10 fear. We will have nothing but
the gas to manage, keep the mines in
good working shape and look after the
close, give US air Of this
kind sufficient to carry the gas away
from the workings and the miners
arc snfe to shoot with any kind Of
powder and be safe from the eXplOs'