The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-07-28

Mine Interests and Surgeons To Have
Conference.

Washington, d. c., July 2s.--Mine op.
orators, mining engineers and mine sur.
geons, representing practically every inn
portant mining company in the United
States, will gather at Pittsburg, Pa.
on Sept. % TO discuss methods for re-
ducing the death toll in mines and quar-
ries. These men are members of the
American Mine Safety association, which
held its first meeting one year ago in
Pittsburg.
Here is the problem they have on hand
In the year 1911, 1908 men were killed
in the mines and quarries of the United
States. Sixty-three thousand three hun
bred and one were injured during the
same time. The death rate for all min
ing that year reached 3,5s men in every
1000 employed
The men who will meet are the leaders
in what is known as the safety first"
movement which began in the United
States about five years ago through the
influence of the federal bureau of mines.
In that time several hundred mines have
been equipped with rescue crews to save
life following disasters, and first aid
crews to give succor to the men who are
injured.
The development of this humanitarian
work has led to confusion of methods
and the object of the Mine Safety asso
citation is TO discuss the different meth
DDS and recommend the Use of only the
best. In discussing the object of the as
ISOLATION, II. NJ. Wilson of the bureau
of mines, said to-day, "In the hope of
reducing the number OF these accidents
and shortening the period of disability
of the injured, it was felt that there
should be greater uniformity in the
methods of conducting rescue operations
in mines after explosions, fires, or 9th
er disasters, and to give first aid to
the injured.
"Workingmen's compensation acts have
in recent years been passed in fifteen
states, of which ten were enacted in the
year 1911 alone. The rapid spread of
legislation compelling employers to care
for injured workmen clearly shows the
Importance to the employer of reducing
the liabilities by every means at his dis
possl. These are of two kinds, namely,
safety or preventive measures and pro
tective or rescue and first aid meth.
DDS.
Mine operators now realize that it
Is more expensive to restore wrecked
mines, costly to fight damage suits
through the courts and less profitable to
pay regulated liability charges or even
workmen's compensation, than it is to
bear the cost involved in reducing these
charges by means of diminishing the
number of accidents and the duration
of the resulting disability by the adop-
ton of improved safety, rescue and first
aid methods.
"Since fifty eight per cent. of all in
dustrial accidents are shown by stats
tics to be due to negligence, carelessness
or lack of knowledge of employers, or
employees, the vital necessity of learning
everything possible about the causes and
means of preventing these accidents must
be evident to every man concerned in
ness success or failure; to the miner, life
or the physical ability to work and sup
port family"
The meeting at Pittsburg, which will
include Sept. %, % and "a, will open
with mine rescue and first aid contest
in Arsenal park. Pittsburg. The next
day the members will visit the expert
mental mine of the bureau of mines at
Pa, where a coal dust explo-
sion will be made in order to show the
that coal dust is even more
dangerous TO the miner than gas. On
Sept. "a there will be various meetings
to discuss methods and in the afternoon
a visit to the experiment station of
the bureau of mines.