Bisbee daily review., 1913-09-28

to spur the miner on in his work the resaiI in most cases is to me ha Tim less careful of his safety. The elimination of undue haste in all de partments of minc work will tend to reduce accidents.
 Lator Conditions.
 A scarcity of labor means that there are a corresp sponding smaller number of experienced men available. It follows that green men must be employed ia the mines and that incompetent men must be kept at work when they should be discharged. Such conditions are productive of accidents. The green hand being unfamiliar with his working place, machinery and tools, does not know what to do in an emer. gency. Usually he does the wrong thing and receives an injury.
 Where an entire district is affected D shortage of labor it is practically impossible for any one operator to remedy permanently conditions at his property. He may secure men from outside of his district but this is ex- pensiYe an dis not a lasting or satis- factory remedy.
 Accident Preventive Measures
 No attempt will be made to de- scribe the many safety devices and methods in use. The subject of acci- dent prevention will be discussed in general way under the following heads:
 Machinery. Tools and Appliances.
 Timbering.
 General Conditions in and About tho Mines.
 bHandling of Explosives.
 fiblre Prevention and Protection.
 Rules and Regulations.
 Inspection-
 MachiHery, Tools and Appliances.
 Usually the muster mechanic is held accountable for the condition of all machinery.h He must be certain at all times that dis machinery is in safe condition for use, and that all exposed parts, salch as fly wheels, belts pulleys, etc. are so covered that men cannot be carght and in- Jpred by them. This applies to under Sr01nd as well as surface machinery altkough the care of the underground machinery usually comes under a dif- 1eFent man. Some companies make 1t q rule. where there is a choice. to avoid the use of machinery devices or appliances that offer a schance of pincfiing or naaHglipgl the limbs ot empaeyes. In geIeYal, it was found that much has been done towards protecting men from exposed parts of machinery.
 Hoists, especially those used for handling men, should be provided with an automatic cutoff to prevent oYeFWinding. Cables shol Id be care fully inspected at frequent intervals and the ends cut at stated periods. Cages for handling men should be provided with safety dogs and doors Safety dogs should be tested at least once a month by dropping the cage; there are various well known meth ods of doing this. Although nearly every cage inspected on the iron ranges was equipped with safety dogs. 1t was found that less than 70 per cent of them were tsted at regular inter. Tals; many never had been tested. safety dog is not safe unless it Is known to be in perfect working order
 Where electrical haulage is used underground, the assistant or swamp. CT, on the motor is often injured by having his legs crushed or mangled Accidents of this nature are due to the fact that no place is provided on the rear of the motor for the "swanp- er' to ride in safety. At one mine this class of accidents became so common that motors were provided ! with place for the "swamper" to sit 1 so that his legs are protected the | same as are those of the motorman on the front end.
 All electric feed wires should be- well insulated and carefully laid to | prevent short circuiting. Trolley wires should have protection, especially at 1 ore chutes- The common mode oil protection is to provide. where thei trolley passes in front of ore chutes, | inverted troughs or launders or laun- ders of square or v-shaped section: or to secure, on each side Of the troll ley round timbers from , to in. in diameter.
 Telephones underground often play the part of safety device They should be installed in every mine.
 TimbeFing
 From a safety standpoint. the prop er timbering of working places is of great importance. In most of the ac- cidents happening from insecure or impropefly-p y-placed timbering, it has been found that the work has been done. or left undoRe. by an inezperi- cEced man The green man is most likely to overlook one of the first prin- ciples of proper timbering. viz: that Of using sufficient blocking between [ ls timber and the back. This has been ths cause of 8 great many ac- C clGents. Under the head of improper timbering many conditions could be- referred to that may result in injury tO the miner, but it seems unnecessary to go further inio this subject Thet remedy for such coalitions. especially where green ne1 must be employed Is a clear inspection of all timberine- This remedy Jas brought forth good results in zegeI1l instances known to ths writer.
 Another plan that has been adopted Witl good results is to timber every place where tbere appears to be the chance of a fall. Tn one large mine a close study of accident reports D b1dght out the fact that falls of .l md. resulting in injury. were oe-i