The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1919-09-02
FIVE THOUSAND LIVES SAVED
BY FREDERIC J. HAskIN

Washington, d. c., Aug. 30.-Th,
American public IL accustomed to news
paper stories Of mining disasters with
lost.
A new headline has been writer
over the mining accidents of the past
decade by the bureau OF mines, ac-
coroing to Director Manning. He
claims that the rescue and mine safety
work Of the. bureau has saved 5000
ives since the bureau Of mines was
founded In 1910.
The death rate In coal mines ia still
nigh. In every camp of thousand
miners there are three who will have
been killed in mining accidents before
year has elapsed. and more than
zoo who Will have been injured. There
are more than a million men working
IN the mines OF America, and they face
casualty rate as uniform and certain
as that OF any detachment at the bat.
ne front. and much higher than that
OF some military units in action.
Convincing Figures.
director Manning cites convincing fig
nres to show that the bureau OF mines
mas greatly reduced this casualty rate
Dy means OF its mine rescue cars, one
OF which 1t operates in each mining
district In the United States. These
cars are rushed to all disasters. Be-
tween accidents they go about the
country giving lessons to the miners in
mine rescue work. The result is that
practically every mining camp in the
country has It's team Of trained rescue
workers, fully equipped with oxygen
tanks and first aid apparatus. The DAYS
OF panic and wasted energy in case Of
accident are over. when a cave-in or
an explosion occurs now, the work of
rescue and of resuscitation is often
carried through as systematically and
EFFECTIVELY as the digging of coal.
Director Manning claims that the
oeath rate In mines can be reduced an
other 30 per cent. and he Is going to
make an elaborate effort to impress the
importance OF mine rescue work upon
the miners. the mine operators and the
pubic In general, when the new Pitts
purgh laboratory Of the bureau of
mines Is dedicated at the end of this
month.
The bureau OF mines has had a lab
oratory n Pittsburgh ever since the
bureau was founded. The laboratory is
now moving into new million dollar
building. with greatly increased equip
ment and facilities. MineY and mining
men from all over the United States
dred Of the best mine rescue teams in
the United States will hold a great
elimination contest for medals and
prizes.
Notable Addition.
Incidentally. this new laboratory will
be a notable addition to what the
people of Pittsburgh claim Is one OF
the greatest aggregations of technology
zeal laboratories and other facilities In |
the United States. The University of
pittsburgh. the Carnegie museum and
fhe Carnegie Institute of Technology |
are all near the bureau of mines lab |
oratory. Taken all together, these or
constitute a really great |
university of its kind.
The bureau laboratory includes the |
only Experimental mine In the world, |
and this fully equipped mine will be |
me scene OF two very spectacular coal
lust explosions during the dedication
ceremonies. These explosions are NOT
given for idle amusement, but to i'm
press upon miners and the public the
act that coal dtst, or any other dust
carbon, is dangerous ex-
olosive.
Its proof and advertisement of the
act that coal dust causes dangerous
is an achievement of the bu-
aeau of mines hardly less important
nan It's mine rescue work
Before the bureau was founded, while
t was known to scientists that fine
lust containing carbon would explode,
PRACTICAL mining men secuted tha idea
hat explosions in coal mines were
eally caused by the accumulation of
lust. Their sceptcism led to ebor-