The Alaska daily empire., 1914-12-15
-NnusrsIas oF REAgE
BEsET WIgH PERII.

 peaceful hiatory has ita horrors as vol as war a shown in tho eaepaity nat ol American mines and Qparrios Tor 1918, Issued ioday by inc United states bureau of mine9 This ist
 gives s,65I men Killed in ihe year. The number o9 men injWed was not tabuiated, but t ia estimated that is reached 100000.
 Altogether in tho coal mines, metal mines and Quarrle9 l,O12010 men were employed and Che death rate tor each 1,000 men engaged was Ss.4 or nearly hroo end one-half men
 Dr. Joseph a. Holmes director oi tho bureau ol mines, comes forward with the statement that, taking the hazards of the Industry into consid. eration, this list Of death and injury is excessive and unnecessary. and 9 discredlt to tho lnduetry and the coun- try
 Commenting on the deaths in the mines, pr. Holmes said;
 'fWe stand aghast at the olaughtor in Europe as reports reach us con corning the terrible war that is raging and we pride Ourselves on our free dom from war through the adoption of higher ideals and standards. Yet to me this report oa the death in one year Of S,651 men engaged In a peace ful industry is quite discreditable. And whom we consider that this rec. ord ia being repeated year after year. the very thought of it becomes ape palllng. ln the last three years, as far back as the records of the bureau covering certain branches of the in- dustry SO, the mines and Quarries Of the United States have swallowed up i0,487 human lives and have incapaci- tated temporarily probably quarter of Q million men. And the saddest part of 1t is that a great part of this death roll and Q still greater part of the injuries aie not necassory. J believe ] am conservative when ] say that half of the 8.651 men killed in the year 1913 might have been saved and three.fourths Of the 100000 men injured in the same year might have escaped injury had all the various agencies involved, the operators, the miners, and the state and national governments done their iull duty in tho matter. Perhaps no one of these agencies has done It's full duty For the bureau of mines, as representing the Federal government can say that owing to lack of adequate funds. this bureau has fallen short of doing its ful part in this great safety movement; and ] therefore hesitate to criticise the seeming short comings of any other agency.
 "It is not to the credit of the United states that tho very European coun- tries embroiled in the greatest con aict of the ages kin in their mining industries but one-half or even one third Of the number Of men we hh | I refer to the number killed for every OOO employed, which is fair basia for comparison. According Co Che latest foreign statistics, Belgium XII ed one man In every LOGO; Great Britain and France one and one-heli mon, and German two and one-hah men. as compared with tho American death rate of three and one.half-
 'Wilh such Q grewsome record ai 1 has the United States In its mining l industry, lt Is high time something more drastic Is done to bring this ex cessiye life, down to basis that VII be more favorably comparable wltf other countries. 1t can be done; | should be done; and l hope thht the American people will see that it # done.
 Before the Federal government be gan its attempts to aid in reducing th' mortality of the mines, the death rat' was steadily Increasing; and although every year our coal mines grew deep CT and more hazardous, as with in creasing depth the explosive gasei increase, this increase in fatalities l has fortunately been stopped and th' rate is now being slightly reduced But this is only a beginning of what hope will soon be Q much greater im provement. What we really aim to d' ] Is to aid in saving the lives of at leas two men in every LOGO now killed in our mining operations. n on in dustrial army of over a million meI working underground, that will near 8 yearly saving of moie than 2iOO' lives; and in the combined minini l and mineral industries, employing tw' and one-third million men, ] hope w' can aid in preventing 10000 to 4O,OO' accidents each year.
 oIt must not be forgotten that min ing is and always will be Q hazard ous industry and that each year VIII demand as its tribute to ciyiliza 1 ton a certain death roll We can not avoid the Inevitable. but we ear avoid the unnecessary and the would mean each year Che liyes or a least two thousand miners spared t' ] the nations wage earnera end 70 tnei wives and families; and feducuoi to an extent of 8oi000 to 10000 J l non.fatal accidents in the mining an' metallurgical industries of the coun try. Surely this is something worll striving for.