The Jones County news., 1922-12-19

lsiatiye accomplishment the Repub-
licans can construct for use at the
national convention In 1924.
Too Many mlne Disasters.
From the director of the bureau Of
mines Of the United States, II. Foster
Balm, comes a report which seemingly
should make men stop to think. Here
is the opening paragraph Of Mr.. Bain's
communication:
Goal has been mined for thre,
months since the resumption Of min
ing following the five months strike
and in that time six explosions killing
about lS5 men and injuring more thar
$50 others have occurred In bltumi
nous mines The number and vio
fence Of these explosions is increasing
the record of the past month beinf
the worst OF all. The coal industry
has not in years suffered as many biz
disasters. and the entire country prop
egly is aroused"
Il should be remembered that this
communication Of Mr.. Balm consti
tutes a government and official report
II gives the viewpoint Of men whose
business it is To study situations ant
without fear or favor TO commeEt
thereon.
The director asks these questions !.
why did these explosions occurr
Y Were they entirely accidental OF
could they have been prevented?r
'Will similar explosions follow?~ Ther
Mr.. Balm adds: investigations nop
under WAY Will determine the cause ol
past accidents and what. If anything
might have been done to prevent
them, but investigations alone win
give no assurance that similar acci.
dents win not again occur The les
sons learned must be applied and
every possible protection taken If this
I killing is to be stopped
Due Partly to Strikes Results
The country is told in the course o
the directors report that while th'
seasonal hazards. which are greatel
!. in the coal industry during the winte
!, months probably have influenced til,
- result, there has been lessening o
!, morale throughout the coal industr.
! as a result Of the strike which tend
toward less careful attitude Of mind
!, Another probable factor, be says 1
" changing In personnel at the mine
following the strike and the shifting
= Of miners to camps where they wer
y not familiar with the dangers. i
! places, he says, there is lack of tina
discipline (which Is essential to pr,
vention of disaster whether in hgh
ing a battle or in fighting the hazard
IN Of nature"
~ This government official tells tn
N country, which has been shocked b
ed recent terrible disasters in The minin
ld industry, that in the face of these II
e- creased hazards It is the instant dut
rd Of operators and mine workers to CO.
ne centrate their attention on the pr
vention Of accidents Unless this
d. done. Mr.. Balm saws warningly, the
in will be more accidents and more liy
10 lost, however much the research m'
IS. may do to solve the causes of ac
a dents and to provide methods
in avoiding them.
la Until the present series of d
IS astrous explosions the record Of
ic- crease in accidents had led the bure
Sc of mines to feel that dangers FRI
'es certain sources were being eliminate
he After the demonstrations in the m
lst ing bureaus experimental mine,
rt. ginning in 1911, the number Of bituI
m nous mine explosions declined as a
an suit of the educational campaign
Ike augurated by the bureau of mines a
up carried on with the cooperation
IN miners and operators. During
tx wears period the number of deaths
10 sulting from explosions was deereas
by one-half from the number kill
on during the previous ten years.
'g- Coal Dust Certainly Explosive.
IT'S 1t may be interesting TO know IN
ne nractical mining men of the count
an we're still incredulous a few years al
as to the explosbility Of coal dui
They were Invited TO the experiment
nine to witness the tests. In one
/ the tests a lnlIt cur WAS HhvA AloAl u
AZ entry of the mine with such force tn
ne 1t was carried 300 feet through the a
II before it landed on hillside. Lit
a. doubt remained after that in anybody
=, mind that coal dust was itself expl
~ sive and was also the cause Of init
&c explosions which later extended ;he
~ force through the mine.
'e 1t seems to be believed In Washlr
- !, ton that If the mining industry can
- stabilized and troubles of vario
~ kinds which have beset 1t In the pa
can be minimized. the future may
C. fairly free from disaster. During Z
ne ten years when there were compar
r. lively few upsets in the industry. I
q plosions were cut down materially.
I'd Director Balm says explosions G.
so and must be prevented and that the
n is no reason. with the present know
to edge, why local explosions In min
he should spread throughout the enti
d. underground workings Then he ad
ch that miners and operators. as well
We official inspectors, must take hold
On the situation promptly and vigorous
In or there will still be more serious {
plosions and more men killed"