Bisbee daily review., 1913-09-28
Conditions Which Cause Ac- cidents Are Exposed. Pre- cautions Should Be Taken By Miners
Movement Is Most Important and Improves Labor Condi. tons. Mine Operators In- terested in Work.

Iron Ore of lshpeming Mich. has the following to say with reference
 10 safety matters in mining V IS not the purpose of this pancr
 10 go into a detailed discussion o- saiety in mines, or to submit 4 ser o-
 ,hes that Will eliminate accidents No
 iFihs man, whatever his occupation IS immune from accidental bodily in. Jury. Accidents cannot be eIirninafed.
 they may, however, by the exercise
 oL care and vigilance, be kept within
 certain reasonable limits.
 AS result of visits to many of tbs iron mines of the Lake Superior re- glon' for the purpose of studying com ditfons and possibly learning sona- uling as to the causes Of accidents some impressions have beep eatI,.reJ that might be of interest In thjs pdper' certain existing conditions will
 oe uiscussed, and some suggestions of-
 Iereo' not in spirit of criticism. but
 Sith VIC" to emphasizing some of
 the features of safety work.
 In general, interest in the work is nigh. great deal of money is being
 spent in safety devices and other
 means looking to a reduction ir. ths
 number of accidents. Except in a lew cases, the mine officials are doing all in their power to accomplish this
 end. The seed of safety first" so"ed some years ago on the iron ranges has become firmly rooted
 II seems natural in a discussion of safety to turn first to the causes of accidents, for the remedy of any evil lies Tn removing the cause. Few sc- cidents may be charged to auy one direct cause; most of them are due 70 combination of circumstances or conditions. For example, man is hurt from a fall of ground. The, dI- rect cause of the injury here was the falling of section of ground How ever. the falling of the ground might nave been due to the failure of the miner to pick down the back: the tmberlEg might have been insufficient or improperly placed: possibly tl.e miner was trying for "easy dirt" and WAS taking a chance: Or the work ing place might not have been care fully inspected. In turn. any or all of these conditions might have been due. indirectly, to demand for more ore production, either by the manage ment or by aR over-2mbitious captain or shift boss.
 \ man is crushed between q pest and motor or car. This accident might have been due to the fact that in laying the track insufficient clearance was allowed for between the cars and the post or to the lack of bell on the motor; or 10 the care lessness or inexperience of either the motorman or miner who was hurt.
 In broad sense it seems reasop- able 10 assume that safety in and about the mines is closely related to and dependent upon the following conditions and clements:
 Rapidity of production of ore.
 abor conditions
 Accident preventive measJres and devices.
 The Human element.
 Rapidity of Production of Ore the production of nlors ore than can be supplied under normal working conditions doubtless tends to increase the number Of accidents per man employed in the mine. A com parison of accident and production will show this to be true iK many cases. When the working places are over-crowded with men and machinery and the mine equipment is being worked beyond its capacity, there is a tendency for the work to go with a slam and bang that allows little chance for anyone who hap Dens to get in the way.
 The demand for over-production nizhf cOme from the lnaDageme nf or or, ss is often the case. It might result from the spirit of ri- Valry that exists between some cap ains or shift bosses. To certain ex- tent, the belief is still prevalent that a mans worth is gsuged by the amount of ore he produces. There are doubtless other causes that tend