The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1913-01-23
CONSERVATION OF THE LIVES
OF MEN EMPLOYED IN MINES,
DISCUSSED BY MINE DIRECTOR

WASHINGTON. Jan. Clone min
81 ers life Is snuffed out with ever
III $4,000 tons of coal mined In the Unit
II ed States. In 1907, when the fedora
HI bureau Of mines was beginning it
was given with every $4,000 tons Dr.
# Joseph A. Holmes, director of tn,
United States bureau of mines, i'm hi.
IL annual report today to Secretary Fish
III er, attributes the decrease in the NOR.
~ tality to the federal governments worl
# in the mining fields and points on,
4 how the enormous death list may be
still further reduced.
y While much remains to be done. in.
n Guiding broad extension of the in
M vestigation of accident and rescue
k work so that it will include metal and
I'M other mineral mines as well as coal
I mines, DR.. Holmes shows that whereas
III there was AN average Of 500 men
killed for every 100000 tons of coal
mined in 1907. this number decreased
n steadily to sos IN 1903, to 5.79 the next
4 year. 5.66 in 1910 and 5.4S in the calen-
I'd dar year 1911 The figures for the
n year just closed. it is estimated, will
Y show further decrease in the death
\ rate.
The death rate in the metal mines
of the country is nearly as high he de-
clares, as in the coal fields, averaging
more than men per 1000 employed;
the death rate in the quarries is larger
/ than it should be. averaging far more
than that in foreign quarries; and the
same is true In mctallurgical plants.
He recommends, therefore, that the
bureau be given money to carry it's
mine-accident investigation. into these
other fields in larger measure than
the limited appropriations so far
granted have allowed.
Enormous Losses.
The enormous annual loss in mining
and pre- pairing coal for market the
huge waste of natural gas as well as
lack of efficiency and waste in the
metal mining industries are mentioned
by DR. Holmes. This extravaganza of
natural resources, he asserts, should
be checked
Pioneer educational work, tempor-
AIRY in character is the way in which
the director refers to the mine rescue
and first aid work among the more
than 100000 miners in the $4,000 mines
of the country Ultimately this must
be taken care of, he says, by the coal
mining companies, through the train
ing and organization of miners at each
of the larger mines or groups of mines.
He states that already number of
companies maintain rescue stations at |
their own expense. The chief purpose
of the bureau of mines is to train the |
miners in first aid mine resc1les and
re-fight:ing methods; and he adds
that during the year more than 3d.
900 miners have attended the lectures
and demonstrations given from the
mine safety cars; more than 1000 ad-
ditional miners received training suffi-
cient to enable them to participate in
actual mine-rescue work. and more
than twice that number have been
added - the, list of miners trained in
tirst-aid pract Ice
Health conditions in and about the
mines should tbe investigated, IN the
opinion of Dr. Holmes. Preliminary
inquries he says', shave indicated the
prevalence of tuberculosis and the
presence Of hookw orm as miners dis
eases in several different localities in
the United States. 1t Is important
that this work should be extended rap
Idly. BECAUSE of the fact that the health
ais well as the risk Of acct
dents, may be influenced by conditions
Of easy improvement.
Influx Of Foreigners.
1.-THE large and continuous influx of
foreigners in TO the mining regions of
he United States may bring to an in
,reasing eXte mt the HQokworm ana
'ther diseases that exist in mines IN
PARTS Of certain European countries
Various questions that concern the
,ealth of workers in mines, qnarries
NIL metallurgical plants can not be
'lswered finally without mvestiga"
lions and inquiries that are national in
scope. Among sudh questions are the
most efficient methods Of preventing
the diseases peculEur to mining and
Industries and the most
effective sanitary precautions to be
.,x\ tr,ac nnd n