The Alaska citizen., 1911-10-02
THE COST OF RESPONSIBILITY

We are supposed ,o ne people endowed with humane instincts-in
 Iad We b-ast that We are a Christian nation Societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals flourish in most I our cities where special policemen styled humane officers are ever visilant in their defense of the dumb brutes and
 ,ast- Iard,n that cater 10 the warts of man
 Strangely. en ugh. however. man him
 self has received but scant protec- ,ion to life and limb by our law
 making bodies and the executives which should enforce such protec- ton Not long ago the world was Sh. cksd by the terrible holocaust which caused the death of hundreds f girls toilng in the factory dis rricr Of New York City It remains ro be sen if the storm of indignation which has been raging through the press of the country will result in an enforcement of the laws already provided for the protection of the workers in factories.
 In most states laws providing for the protection of miners are rigidly enforced and the result has been q very large decrease in mine disas- ters in the districts so affected. i Where there are no laws or where the enforcement of the same has grown lax there is every reason to
 expect (, instant recurrence of ac- cideuts.
 Thai there have been few bad accidents in this part of Alaska is
 no reason why some provision should
 Pot be made against such possibility, 1 while the skeletons furnished by the glory hole" of Treadwell are mute evidence of the urgent need of such protection.
 There is not the slightest doubt but that with proper inspection of the mines Of Alaska the casualties resulting from mine accidents would | decrease 10 almost nothing. There are no great difficulties to be met with in the mining problems of this country, and the exercise of
 common sense would in most cases l provide adequate protection The trouble seems to be that there | is no one on whom 10 fix the respOn-
 sibility. therefore there is none | Every time a miner goes down be l low the surface he takes his life in | his hands and this he must continue i 10 do or cease to earn the mere l pittance that keeps him from being 1 caged as a vagabCnd or otherwise | classed with the 'undesirables.' | II is said that the timbers of the 1 shaft which caved in on the Shakes | peare group on last Wednesday en- dangering the lives and imprison. l ing fourteen miners for 90 hours
 had been in place over six years i that they were rotten and should
 have been replaced It is safe to 1 conclude that no honest mine in, spector would have permitted the
 mine to operate with the shaft in
 this condition.
 But Alaska has no mine inspector
 or at least there is none visibly on
 the job. True carpetbagger was
 appointed to the position created by
 the act of June, 1910. but there is
 no evidence in this section of the
 ounctry that he has ever performed
 one act toward earning his salary.
 The people of this section would like to know why there was delay
 in making this appointment and why I person with the necessary qualifi,
 cation was not chosen who would
 attend to the duties devolving upon l the position
 Director of Mines J. A. Holmes is
 the active head of the bureau of
 mines. which in turn comes under
 the direction of the department of
 the interior. Both Mr Holmes. and
 the honorable secretary of the in 1 ing visits to Alaska this season. just skirting the coast and are Outside
 now telling a benighted people all about the needs of this country which are, if one lends an attentive ear. continuation of MT. Taft. Mr. Fisher and MT. Holmes in of flee.