The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-07-26


war. and when the ingenuity of man
in foreign countries In taxed TO the
utmost to devise yet more frightful
engines for killing men, IT is in strik-
ing contrast that the United States
Government announces through the
Bureau of Mines that preparations are
being made to hold in San Francisco
a great national demonstration in the
saving of human life and in alieviat-
ing the sufferings of those who are in
1ured In the pursuits Of peaceful in
dustry.
The third national mine safety meet
in behalf of the army of more than
million miners liz to be held at the
Panama Pacific Exposition grounds.
September % and "a. under the aus
pieces OF the Bureau of Mines, the
American Mine Safety Association and
the California Metal Producers As
ISOLATION. During that week. the
American Institute of Mining Engi-
neers. an organization of 5000 mem
hers. and the American Mining Con-
gress. a national body of several
thousand members, will hold their an
nual meetings at the exposition and
will join in the safety demonstration.
which promises to have as spectators
the largest gathering of mining men
ever assembled In the United States.
Many Will Compete.
1t lis expected that more than fifty
teams of miners from all over the
United States, trained in rescue and
first-a work, will be present to COM
pete in the several events Gold
medals are to be awarded by the
American Mine Safety Association for
interstate supremacy in rescue and
first-aid work and silver and bronze
L. be- cd Gtrnaa 60
ciety to teams that make creditable
showings. In addition. there will be
special medals and prizes to be COM
peted for by groups of States, such az
the Southwestern States, the Rocky
Mountain States. the Pacific Coast
States and the Southern States.
Already miners all over the country
are preparing for the great national
meet. Both rescue and first-aid teams
are in training in many mining com
munities and certain States and
groups Of States are holding elimina-
ton contests so that they may be rep
resented at San Francisco by the
strongest possible teams. Six South
western States, Texas, Arkansas. Okla
homa. Kansas, Missouri and Iowa.
have already held State meets and
they are now preparing to hold an In
terstate meet in Kansas City in July
The Southwestern Interstate Coal
Operators Association La managing
this interstate meet and expects TO
have 10, geo persons present The win
ming team at Kansas City 10 to be
given $1,000 as a prize to defray It's
expenses TO San Francisco and re-
turn.
Pocahontas Fields Represented.
The annual meeting af the Ameri-
can Mine Safety Association will be
held at Birmingham, Ala. September
4, and this viii be the occasion of the
Southern interstate contest in first aid
and mine rescue. the winning team TO
be sent to San Francisco. One of the
big coal mining ompanies in Illinois
and another In the Pocahontas field OF
West Virginia have already made ar
engagements to send teams to compete
in the events. The Homestake Min
ing Company Of Lead, South Dakota.
will also send an Individual team. II
In further expected that there will be
three teams each form the States of
Coiorda, Montana. wyoming, Utah and
New Mexico, and a dozen teams from
California Where State is rep
resented by more than one team. there
will be elimination contests on the first
day OF the meet, September 2s, and
the winners OF these contests will meet
the Eastern teams the next day for
interstate supremacy.
Awful Toll Of Death.
That tho naincrs have q prob.
lem on their hands IL seen In the
death statistics for the mines. I'm
the year 1918. the last year for
which ssattstiCs are available for
ali the unines and allied industries,
s,7a2 meu were killed and 49,
600 injured. T1,i q includes coal
nainess, nsetni nxtnes. quarriea.
ore-dressang plants and smelling
ptMntA, $3.50. Il.
in tise - teu years. In the coal
mines alone. there have been "a
900 deaths, q fatality rate Of
three and three-quarters men I'm
every 1000 employed. and more
than q million men injured. :.
II was to reduce the death rate and
lessen the number OF Injuries that tne
Federal Government early in 1908
took up its work in behalf of the min
ers. The frst marked progress was
in 1911 when the first national mine
safety demonstration was held in Pitts
burg, Pa, in the presence of the Presi-
dent of the United States and 20.0oe
miners Since that time there mas
been q wonderful development
the country In both rescue
and frst-aid work. The Bureau OF
Mines now has in the various mining
fields eight mine-rescue cars fully
equipped with rescue and first aid ap-
paratus and manned by crews OF
trained miners. In addi-
ton. 1t has six rescue stations. located
at Pittsburg, Pa, Ubana, H.. Knox
vile Tenn, McAlester. Okla, Seattle,
Wash. and Birmingham. Ala, and two
mine rescue auto trucks. The men on
the cars and at the stations spend
their time, when not actually at dis
aster, in training the miners In the
use Of the rescue apparatus and In
first-aid work. During the last four
years the bureau has thus trained
more than IS. 600 miners, all OF whom
are now equipped to conduct rescue or
first-aid work. In the short period
last year during which the crews OF
the bureaus cars were able to conduct
active training. 46.6s4 miners visited
the cars and stations. 2S.13s attended
the lectures and demonstrations. 2.8zs
we're given mine rescue and $50 first-
aid instruction and training.
Improvement In Noted. '
As a result OF the example set by
the Bureau OF Mines many OF the
mine operators have begun system
Of operations In which safety In con-
Of firsf Importance IT IL est.
mated that ITO mining companies
sare in0ividuaIfy or through the ~
49,