The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-09-27


mysterious explosions in coal mines
within the last few years and has
caused great loss of life. The bureau
on October 80, and also on October 81,
will prove this assertion to the as
sembled miners. On the first day, at
Brucetown, Pa, twelve miles from
Pittsburg, there will be an actual ex-
plosion of coal dust in the experiment
tai mine belonging to the bureau. The
experts will have the conditions that
are to be found in some of the mines
of the United States today, and they
will use black powder, which is
strongly urged against in dangerous
mines. What is known among miners
as the Blowout" shot will be pro-
duced. A "blown-out" shot is when
the charge of powder blows out of the
hole and into the mine instead of
breaking the coal. 1t is the cause of
most explosions, for the flames from
the powder ignites the firedamp or
the coal dust. There will be no one
in the mine at the time, The shot will
be fired by electricity from the out
side
On October 81, at Forbes field, the
Pittsburg baseball park, with a
capacity of more than 10000 persons,
there will be second explosion of
coal dust, this time for the benefit of
the multitude. A temporary steel gal
lery will be erected upon the play
ing field and the coal dust will be
placed therein A charge of explosives
will be fired into the dust and the ex-
plosion will follow. This is the dem
onstration that President Taft will
witness.
But this is to be only small part
of the drmatic program on that day.
The Bureau of Mines is engaged in a
number of activities locking toward a
reduction in the number Of deaths in
the mines. 1t has at the present time.
in the various coal fields, seven fully
equipped rescue cars, manned by eX-
pert rescuers who have been careful
ly trained in the use of the oxygen
helmet This helmet permits artificial
breathing in poisonous atmosphere for
period of two hours. Equipped with
these helmets, a rescuer can enter a
mine Immediately following an explo-
sion and while the mine Is still filled
with deadly f1re-damp. The rescuers
are thus able to find miners who have
been overcome by the poisonous gases
and bring them to the surface before
they die. A number of lives have been
saved by these helmet men.
The rescuers In addition have been
trained in rst-gid-to-the-iniured work
and carry the necessary equipment,
including wonderful piece of appara-
tus, an oxygen reviving outfit that
works automatically. pumping the
poisonous gas out of the lungs of an
aspyxiated miner and filling the lungs
with oxygen. This apparatus has
brought apparently dead miners back
ito life 1t has in several instances re-
suscitated miners who had been given
up for dead.
The rescue cars visit the various
coal mines of the country while not
/ engaged In actual rescue work and in
struct the miners in the use of the
oxygen helmet, the oxygen reviying
! apparatus and in first-aid-to-the-injur
ed. AS result of this work, volun-
! teer rescue corps, fully equipped with
/ modern apparatus have been estab-
/ lished at many mines and an impetus
| has been given to the ambulance and
| Notwithstanding corps. Rescue
] and first aid teams from the principal
coal mines of the country will attend
! the demonstration and give friendly
exhibitions of their skill An expert
corps from the Bureau of Mines will
| give an exhibition of rescue work i'm
mediately following the coal dust ex.
plosion in the steel gallery. The res
cuers will rush into the smoke filled
gallery and bring out the supposed
victims Demonstrations with the oxy-
/ gen reviying apparatus and first aid
will follow. Then the teams from the
coal mines will show how rapidly
and accurately they can work in an
emergency. There will be contest in
the bandaging of dangerous wounds
and broken limbs. The miners will
show how to staunch the flow of
blood from severed artery, how they
splint the body for a compound frac-
ture of the thigh and how they wash
wound to prevent blood poisoning.
This first-aid- to-the-inJured work is
considered extremely important
among the miners, who have much
more difficult problem on their hands
than do employees in the workshops
and factories. AS rule, when min
er Is dangerously wounded, he is gen
orally far into the mine. If workman
is Injured in factory, he can be i'm.
mediately rushed to hospital. The
factory employee is generally working
in the daylight and 1t is easy to see
how badly he is injured and what
precautions should be taken to pre-
vent the infection of his wound. But
the miner may be crushed by fall OF
coal mile or more from the shaft
of the mine There is only the faint
flicker of the miners smoky lamps to
throw tpOn his wound and there is