The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-31

companies are Sl6dully tutOui h5AAA6 Ahs eAAN practical, energetic modern school phy- sicians are taking right hold of the or ganization and instruction end, together with the miners themselves, while the government bureau of mines, through its mine rescue station at West End. and it's cooperative work just inaugurated with the state mine inspectors, is becom- ing a strong factor in spreading ideas of accident prevention, first aid and rescue work.
 For they all go together. The Alabama Coal Operators association is back or the entire movement. To ring down the curtain upon the tragedies Of the mines in Alabama in so far as 1t can be done is the end towards which they are work ing, is the spirit of this new year.
 Take, for instance, the work of the Woodward Iron company during the past eight or nine months. Two first aid corps have been organized at Dolomite by w. NJ. Lacy. assistant coal mine superin- tendent. and Dr. P E. Gwinn. A rescue hall has been fitted out at the mines and equipped for the training and lectures and demonstrations are given every week.
 MT. Lacy was one of the first men Tn Birmingham to receive government cer- tificate in mine rescue work and wood ward company men were among the hrst ''helmet men" in the south.
 From the Old World
 In the ranks of the Republic Iron and Steel company there are at Sayreton mines several miners who belonged To first aid corps in England and Scotland, and who are experts in this line. While there is not as yet definitely organized first aid corps in this company or in that of the Pratt Consolidated Coal company there are, however, many individuals ai- ready trained and many others now h. terested in the work.
 To many citizens of Alabama the varl- ous phases of all this first aid business are as a sealed book Tn the first place, taking a general or world viewpoint how and where did it start?
 To begin with, first aid work was planted by the International Red Cross society deep in the soil of the old world the battle1elds. The Franco-Prusslan war of 1870 and the Turko-Prussian war or 1876 ouickened it's early growth. Then all England titled the field. The St. Johns ambulance association, an outgrowth Of the Red Cross, formed in 1880. IS tre- uuently referred to as "the original nrst aid corps to the injured" This organiza- tion today extends through the United Kingdom and similar corps have been or ganized in France. Germany, Belgium, Austria-and America. to say nothing of China and Japan. The China-Japanese war, 1895; the Spanish-American war, 1898; the Boer- British war, 1900; the Russo Jap war 1905-fourth from this savage colored medley of flags bullet ridden, scorched and quivering-hashes the Red Cross, insignia of the first aid to the injured.
 An Illustrious Record
 Who does not recall the work of that corps from England, reinforcing the hos pital corps in South Africa during the Boer war? Who forgets the record of the Japanese, where not four out of one thou sand of their wounded soldiers were at- tackled by blood poison after being cut down on the firing line? The most per feet first aid ambulance corps, that-they say-the world has ever seen.
 Now as to the growth of the first aid work in America, 1t appears to have first sprung up the year prior to the Spanish war, when certain northern rail road companies became its foster parent Railroad employees were given books oi instruction, first aid supplies were packed on trains The idea then spread from city to city; 1898 saw it bourgeon full and strong.
 Directly after the Spanish war phy' sician on the reserve corps of the United States army, Dr. M. J. Shields of Scran- ton. Pa, applied all this business to the coal mines. In 1899 he organized the first aid corps for mine work in America. Ht began in his home state-Pennsylvania Among the anthracite coal companies o that state, pioneers to take up the gIea work, have been the Lackawanna com pany and the Reading company. Througf the technological branch of the United States geological survey the subject wal given government recognition and sup port The survey led eventually as Wal related in a recent article to the forma tion. under the department of the tnte rior, of the bureau of mines.
 From this has come the establishment 1 in 1910-11-l2 of mine rescue and training 1 stations and cars throughout the coa | fields of the United States, and far reach | ing organized first aid work.
 Tall Oaks From Acorns 1 But to return to Dr. Shields and his job It was up hill going at first. It took hin six or eight years to get 1t all fairly started. Once the important coal com panies of Pennsylvania really took hol' | they did the work right. The annual fielC outings of the Lackawanna and Reading companies became important enough t attract wide and interested attention Then, in 1906, across in the old world. a | the terrible mine disaster at Courrieres | France where over 1000 miners were kille' | in one explosion, the first aid corps o | Germany rendered such service as calle'
 forth international recognition and ap plause. "The peaceful invasion of Franc | by Germany" the newspapers had it, il | the caption under the cut of the intrepi' corps
 | All that helped along the good work. | Yet comparatively little was written il
 the American papers or magazines abou | this work in the anthracite coal fields 0 l Pennsylvania.
 | Meanwhile there was corporafs guart
 of men begging away as best they could all to themselves way down in Wylan | Ala. They did not know anything of tn other fellows, and the other fellows yer, | naturally knew nothing of them. No even in Birmingham did people, generall | speaking, know there was any first ali corps, Pratt No. ? diviaon, at Wylam | until some lives were saved. But the | knew it in the coal mines We will com | to this presently.
 The attention of one of the local coa
 and iron companies was attracted to tn
 work of Dr. Shields by an article pub lished in the May, 1909, number of tn N Engineering Magazine, describing first ali
 work in coal mines. Dr. Shields service
 were secured and he came to Alabam
 in June of 1909 and organized corps a
 Pratt No. 1, Blue Creek, Blocton, Bloss
 burg and Whitwell up in Tennessee-a
 every division of the Tennessee Coal Iro
 and Railroad company, with the exceptio
 of Pratt Division No. ?, first aid corp:
 which was already organized Thei
 members now came in to help along wit
 the drilling of the other teams. An
 the enthusiasm grew.
 Remedial Measures
 Dr. Shields outlined the equipment ger
 orally adopted. First aid boxes wer