The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1915-07-28
Striking Contrast of This
Work of United States.

While hundreds or thousands OF
men are being slaughtered in the
great European war, and when the in
genuity Of man in foreign countries
is taxed to the utmost To devise yet
more frightful engines for killing men,
it is in striking contrast that the
United States government announces
through the Bureau of Mines that
preparations are being made to hold
in San Francisco q great national
demonstration in the saving of human
life and in alternating the sufferings
Of those who are injured in the pur- |
suits of peaceful industry.
The third national mine safety meet
in behalf of the army of more than a
million miners is to be held at the
Panama-Pacific exposition grounds,
September % and "a, under the aus
pices Of the Bureau Of Mines, the
American Institute of Mining Engin-
GERS, an organization of 5000 mem
bers, and the American Mining Con-
gress, q national body of SEVERE
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.
It is expected that more than fifty
teams Of miners from all over the
United States, trained in rescue and
first-aid work, will be present to COM
pete in the several events. Gold med
ais are to be awarded by the Ameri-
can Mine Safety Association for In
terstate supremacy in rescue and first
aid work and silver and bronze medals
by the American Red Cross Society to
teams that make creditable showings.
In addition there VIII be special
medals and prizes to be competed for
by groups of states, such as the
Southwestern states, the Rocky
Mountain states, the Pacific Coast
states and the Southern states.
That the miners have a problem on
their hands is seen in the death Stats
tics for the mines. In the year 1913,
the last year for which statistics are
available for all the mines and allied
industries, 1892 men were killed and
lit, 900 injured. This includes coal
mines, metal mines, quarries, ore
dressing plants and smelling plants.
In the last ten years, in the coal
mines alone, there have been $4,000
deaths, a fatality rate of three and
three-quarters men in every 1000 en-
ployed, and more than a million men
injured.
1t was to reduce the death rate
and lessen the number of injuries
that the Federal Government early
in 1908 took up its work in behalf
of the miners. The first marked pro-
gress was in 1911 when the first
national mine safety demonstration
was held in Pittsburg, Pa, in the.
lpresence of the president of the
United States and 10000 miners
Since that time, there has been won,
derful development throughout the
country in both rescue and first-aiC
work. The Bureau of Mines now ha.
in the various mining fields eigh-
J mine-rescue cars fully equipped will
rescue and frst-aid apparatus ant
! manned by crews of thorough,
trained miners. In addition it ha.
six rescue stations, located at Pitts
burg, Pa, Urbana, Ill, Knoxville
, Tenn, McAllester, Okla, Seattle
Washington, and Birmingham, Ala.
, and two nnine-rescue auto trucks. Tn,
; men on the cars and at the stations
J spend their time, when not actual,
at disaster, in training the miner
in the use of the rescue apparatu
and in first-aid work. During tn,
last four years the bureau. has thu
trained more than $4,000 miners, al
Of whom are now equipped to conduc
rescue or first-aid work. In the shor
period last year during which tn
crews of the bureaus care were abb
to conduct active training, 1859
miners visited the cars and stations
2S,229 attended the lectures and dem
onstrations, 1926 were given min
rescue and $3.50 frst-aid instruction
and training.
!. AS result of the example set b