The Connecticut labor news., 1924-01-05
Experts Discuss Program for Pre-
 vention of Accidtnts in Coal Mines.
FEDERAL-STATE ACTION
 NEEDED.


 dust, resulting in heavy loss of human lives and destruct ton of valuable prop erty, can be eliminated by the adop- ton of simple and inexpensive meas ures of prevention, was the assertion made in addresses on a program for coa lmine safety before the Amer ican Association for Labor Legisla- ton in session here last week at the New Willard Hotel.
 J. E. Jones, safety engineer of the old Ben Coal Corporation, declared that the stprinkling of the mine with shale dust has proved a success Tn checking the spread of coal dust ex- plosions in the mines of his company in the big coal fields of Franklin county, Illinois. His testimony was reinforced by reports of investigations both in the United States and in Europe.
 Other speakers, including E. A. State College of Mines and chairman of the safety committee of the United States Coal Commission; John B, An drews, secretary of the Association for Labor Legislation; Van A. Bitt- ner, international representative of the United Mine Workers of Amer ica; Thomas Kennedy, district presi- dent of the United Mine Workers, and Royal Meeker, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, stated that coal miners are being killed in the United States three times as fast as III Great Britain, and that there IS need for nation wide action in bringing about the immedi- ate adoption of federal and state measures for abolishing needless haz- 1o, +La CT development of workmen's acci- dent insurance as an incentive to em ployers to reduce accidents and upon uniformity in mine safety legislation.
 Coal Operator Proves Disasters
 Needless.
 "The three principal factors re- Quired to produce a coal dust explos- ion," said MT. Jones, "are an open light, an accumulation of gas, and ex- plosive coal dust. The first factor is removable by the installation of en- closed lights found permissible by the Burea uof Mines. The second can be minimized by proper ventilation and inspection. The third can be eliminated by neutralizing the coal dust with incombustible dust, making a mixture that is non-explosive.'
 In the early history of coal mining terrific explosions did not occur as they have in recent years, according to MT. Jones.
 "The numerous disastrous coal dust explosions which have occurred III the United States during recent. years and especially during the last few months" he said, "causes the mining industry in particular and the public in general to inquire more fully into the causes of such hazard and as to whether the proper methods of pre- vention have been adopted. In my opinion" he added, "the mining laws in the states for the prevention of explosions are obsolete" MT. Jones stated that the records show that the big majority of explosions are caused by naked light igniting gas and the explosion being propagated by coal dust .@t
 Other safety measures, in addition to the use of shale dust to prevent coal dust explosions, cited by MT. Jones as successful in practical op- eration, part of miners of the dangers of gas, include better understanding on the change from the use of black powder to permissible explosives for blasting and the installation of en- closed lights.
 States Lag in Safety Laws.
  ity in mine safety legislation said the : two great direct positive factors for mine safety are the mining laws, codes or regulations of the individual states, and the workmen's compensation i'm surance laws of the individual state as applied to mining,
 Safety in the coal industry in this country" he said, "is governed by at least 20 codes differing widely not only in details but in basic features. Some laws have not been changed or altered for years, in spite of the fact that the introduction of electricity underground during the past 10 years has revolutionized the fmethods in the industry. In addition, investigations on the part of government and local agencies Tn certain states have proven 1 advanced methods more safe and req sonable than those required under | the existing laws"
 Dean Holbrook said that after go- ing underground in the coal mines of | nearly every state he finds that the | basic conditions are alike and vary no more among the states than does the | mines of an individual state like Pennsylvania which finds it right to | have one code for all her biturninous | mines.
 Declaring that "the individual states have been strikingly slow" in approv ing and adopting the recommenda- tions of the Federal Bureau of Mines made after scientific research, Dean Holbrook said:
 Certainly from the standpoint of modern safety knowledge drastic re- vision of the mining laws and regula- tions of most of our coal mining states | is needed"
 Prper compensation insurance rat ing, he concluded, offers a great econ omic inducement to the operator to reduce underground hazards, but it supplements the mining laws rather