The weekly Alaska citizen., 1917-11-05

every fatal accident there are at least three to i've serious non-tata accidents, and twelve lesser accldents .,a.e4 u.sarat.,aia .u. one O. moe days, 1t will be seen that the actual national loss would have been much larger.
 h 1910, with view to the equp- mcut Ui the several mInc-Satety Sta tons and cars o1 the Bureau with ap- paTatys oI the latest and most ap- proved design, two engineers of the Bureau inspected the various Gov cTnment and private mlne-reScue anC tlaluIug stations, u England, France be.gum, Germany and Austria.
 Inc ioss oi lie In rescue opera tons nas been much reduced by the .se ol breathing apparatus. Former Y m4ncrS tOOK great rISkS ln thelr attempts to save the victims of a uIaaaLer, often proceeding bllndly in tO pO.sonous gases in the hope oi teaching the interior of the mine
 Judur present methods the men witE breathing apparatus make a prellm- mary exploration oi all unyentilated
 Ja4ts O. the mine, and any fool .tt.Ity men HLtO alt ON CI COII4e@ "LIIe proceeding without apparatus can be ..enItIy rescued.
 -.t all cNlo54OHs and serious mine
 e t has become the practice to .t.l.le breathing apparatus when
 .4.y are Humed ateIy available oI ,..luin reach. Few, if any, disasters U, any consequence occur without a ,lu for the assistance of the Bu- .c-.u, trained rescue crews. The york performed by these crews, al though largely InyeStigatiye in char 4Ctcr, is Ci great value in prevent .hg further loss of life. Even when breathing appal~tu5 Is not used res aue procedure has become more ra- ,IonaI, and 1t Is now common to see men advancing with safety lamps and canary bird, as the canary bird
 is extremely sensitive to impure air and quickly overcome by the slight est trace of poisonous gas, so the Use of both guarantees q warning of dangerous conditions that is not dis closed by the lamp alone.
 In addition to the actual saving of life, an important part of the work has been the lessening of the suf- ferIng of injured miners through the prompt and expert services of the u aimed in first-aid work. This work has not only reduced the severity of injuries and kept many men from dying, but it also has enabled min els to resume work much sooner than they otherwise have done. This is < saving hard to estimate in dol lars and cents.
 One of the great benefits of the rescue and safety work of the Blu reau is the promoting of good citi- zenship among miners of foreign birth through this demonstration of the Governments interest in their welfare.
 In the mine-rescue work, as in the first aid work, the Bureau has had lhe active cooperation of the mine operators, the mine owners and the miners. as well as the active and National Rcd Cross. About 100 of the principal railway lines of the country haul the mine-safety cars free of cost to the Government to and from mine disasters and on tours of training. The railroads have al % been most generous in furnishing permanent spurs and sidetracks for the cars in mining towns where they ale giving demonstrations regularly.
 4 number of large corporations have so supplemented their equip mcnt at the suggestion of the Blu reau, and have trained such a large bo,, of l. that they no longer need the crews of the Bureau except in the way of cooperation. However, many of the smaller Operators-and they are in the large maj jority-look to the Blu reau for assistance and guidance in time of trouble. This feeling of con- fdonce in the Bureau enables it's en- ginoers to procure much valuable in formation frst-hand, and gives them an opportunity to study the condi- tions under which many aaccidents occur.
 The Alaska-Treadwell appointed a mIne inspector to give his whole t,me to safety conditions under ground; the training of employees, N Ith the assistance of the company JIIy S4CIcLlI, III IllSl-dIu, IIle U dlIllS Of men in the use of breathing ap- paratus; and in seeing that the first id and mine-reScue equipment was n good condition and in it's proper Jlace underground. There is no doubt but that the interest of the Alaska TreadWell company in safety work helped in large measure to prevent any fatalities at the time of the re cent cave-in there, by causing them to use greater caution and thought for the safety of the men while working under known dangerous con ditions than they might otherwise have employed if they had not been so thoroughly in sympathy with the Safety First" movement.
 The Alaska Gastineau and the Ken necott mines have also equipped their properties with the oxygen apparat- us and trained men how to use it.
 In one year no fewer than 47 mine rescue and first-ald contests and field meets were held under the auspices of or by the assistance of the Blu reau of Mines. A few of these con tests were company affairs, but most were intercompany or interstate. In many of the contests the Bureau of Mines employees arranged and the events, and in nearly all, at the request of the operators and miners. gave the competing teams special instruction and train 'ng. The meets were held all over the country from California, Nevada. Utah and Arizona, to Iowa, Illinois,