The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-10-31

hospital corps. All of these men have been trained
by the bureau of mines.
Happily, great mine disasters have been be-
coming fewer and fewer as the men come to a bet
ter understanding of the causes. Nevertheless they
do happen, and one thing that the bureau has
preached is that upon such a visitation there shall
be a more orderly and systematic method of rescue
work, for it has been demonstrated that life can
be saved in devious ways. The bureau has en-
deavored to tell the miners that in a great catas-
trophe it Is often better for entombed miners to
barricade themselves in, keeping the poisonous
gases out of their working place and waiting for
relief. In this manner AZ men entombed in a mine
for four days were recently rescued, the men even
being able to walk out of the mine.
"We are not content to rest on the progress
made. There are now more than q million miners
in the United States, and each year more than
5000 are killed in accidents and q quarter Of a
million injured. Taking the cold, business calcu-
latiOn Of the state compensation commissions and
eliminating the suffering and sorrow of 5000 killed
each year, the economic loss from these fatalities
alone is $12,OOO,OO0 a year, for these commissions
are paying an average of $4,000 for every life lost.
This is O terrible toll for one industry to pay each
year. 1t is hard for us to realize that out of
every mining camp of 900 men, three of them are
sure to lose their lives within II months.
Mining will always be an extra hazardous
business. But the question is. Have we reached
the irreducible minimum No, l think not. 1t is
lily tllSI tbot wv 90" - cV NS AScSh iotuh-
ity rates full one-half that we can save each 800
Of the 5000 killed.
"The causes Of these fatal accidents are much
better known. Operators and miners are giving
much more thought to the dangers of the mines,
and the wide-awake among them have installed
more modern safety devices. Through the ex-
perimental mine Of the bureau mining men and
miners both have a keener understanding Of the
dangers of coal dust and have learned how to com
bat them.
"In the mining industry a human life Is much
more valuable than ever before, and / believe
that can be said of all the industries. This is seen
in the great advances In safety work, the millions
of dollars spent in safety devices and the humani-
tartan work Of the different state compensation
commissions. The day Of the ambulance chaser
and those ghouls that preyed upon the widow be-
set with grief over the loss of her husband have
happily passed away. The state now steps in and
sees that the widow and the orphan are protected.
and that alone is worth all the fight that we have
endeavored to make. l do not say that the bureau
of mines is responsible, for these state compensa-
lions. but l do know that these commissions came
after the mining industry started its great human
saving drive and that the disclosures of the condi-
tions i'm mining furnished the states with facts
TINT favored the establishment of these commits
sions.
"Cut the mine fatalities In half"
The dedication ceremonies brought to Pitts
burph for the three days the most prominent min
ing and metallurgical men of the nation, not alone
those interested in the safety-irst movement but
also those connected with the allied industries that
use the products Of the mines.
The bureau Of mines. In cooperation with the
Pittsburgh chamber Of commerce, arranged an
elaborate program Of events calling for the pres
ence of high government and state government
officials besides the leading men of mining drought
I'm the country. The first morning the new labora.
tories at 1900 Forbes street were dedicated, DR..
Van I'll. Manning. director of the bureau, presiding.