Arizona republican., 1915-01-31
the United States Bureau of

l that the mining industry is generally
 regarded as an industry comprised of l the operation of a few large, highly
 profitable properties, such as those of the Copper Queen, the United
 Verde etc. But these large proper | ties are comparatively few in num-
 Der. and their owners nave never re- Quested state aid, and there is a large number of small mines in the state, approximating 2000. Few seem 1 to appreciate the importance of help i ing these men who hold the small
 properties to find methods by which | the properties may be worked at profit, instead of being helplessly
 transferred to a few large corpora tions, who alone have the funds for developing the processes which make profitable operation possible.
 l The most urgent appeal for state aid comes from the 30,O00 employees of the different branches of the in dustry in Arizona, who are asking aid
 of the state in the development of
 safer and more healthful working l should be given precedence over the calls for appropriations for the ad- vancement of commercial gains.
 An important end to be sought is
 the helping of consumers and users of mineral products. Mineral pro
 ducts are becoming more and more
 indispensable to the domestic life of
 the people and to our manufacturers,
 as well as being the basis of trans portation facilities and of the pro- ducts to be transported.
 The Bureau of Mines has done con-
 siderable work in Arizona in bringing the consumer of mineral products in
 touch with the producer, but has not done nearly as much as it would have been able to do had it had
 more funds.
 Agricultural products. if ordinary
 care is taken of our soils. will be sup
 piled continually by annual crops.
 but the case is different with the mineral resources Our mines can produce only one available supply. This one supply must meet the fu-
 ture as well as the present needs, and the experience has been that the use of our resources is increasing much
 more rapidly than our population.
 More important than all of the
 above are the hazards of the mining industry, the accidents that yearly
 result in large losses of life, and the unfavorable conditions in many mines
 the metallurgical plants which affect
 adversely the vitality of employees
 None of these conditions are encoun-
 tered in agriculture, but are all in a
 peculiar way characteristic of the fl mining industry.
 It may be argued that the mine inspectors office governs great deal of this work, and it is true that
 as far as mechanical devices for i'm proving safety are concerned, it is
 covered. But no industry has the lives of others so dependent upon the
 personal factor of the employees
 themselves as has the mining indus try. It has been figured that not
 over 40 per cent of the accidents
 could have been corrected through
 mechanical devices and it is only by , the education of the miner to his per
 sonal responsibility that the balance
 may be improved This is not a phase of the mine inspectors office,
 but of the state bureau of mines.
 The establishment of such a bureau
 will not alone improve the conditions
 of the mining industry, but will in- } crease the production. will mean an , increase in the number of men em-
 ployed and under better conditions,
 will mean an increase in the num- l bel of men employed, and under bet
 ter conditions, will mean a more complete utilization of our present 5 resources, the making of many of our : smaller mines into producers, will 5 therefore make a greater net pro- duction. increasing our assessed val 9 uation. and will many times pay the cost of it's operation.
 s Arizona has been behind in this l move. as over forty states have bu- reaus for similar purposes. and but s one state has had the magnificent of- l fer of having a United States min ing experiment station established
 therein. provided the state do it's lit-
 lle part dS ndu ATiZOHd. Otdn al t ready has one of these experiment r stations, and Arizona will have the : second, if the state sees fit to assist l in the improvement of the mining in- t dustry.
 The following is the proposed act
 for the establishment of the Arizona f Bureau of Mines as a state organiza- n tion.
 n An Act to Establish the Arizona {. Bureau of Mines
 e Section l. There is hereby estab- e lished the Bureau of Mines of the V State of Arizona, which shall he un- : der the direction of the Board of Re | gents of the University of Arizona s who shall serve without compensa- tion, but who shall be reimbursed for r the actual expenses incurred in the s performance of their official duties n The said board shall have general k charge of the Bureau of Mines and
 shall appoint as director a mining en- f 1 gineer to be known as the director s of the Bureau of Mines. and upon d his nomination. such assistants and s employees as the said board shall deem V necessary. Said board may also de-