The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-03-05
ELECTRICITY is
DANCER in Mine
SAYS ENGINEER

NEW YORK. - (FP). - Electricity
may soon be the greatest hazard in
American coal mines. declares D. Har-
rington, consulting engineer of Salt
Lake City, in the Industrial Safety
issue of the Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social
Science. The use of electricity is in
creasing by leaps and bounds in our
coal mines, Harrington says, and
''looms aus prUtbabify the greatest cause
of future fires and explosions, as well
as causing numerous electrocutions,
ETC., by contact" Harrington insists
that electrical installations Under
ground should be made fully as care
fully as in surface buildings" and
suggests proper precautions for use of
electricity in our increasingly mechan-
ical mines.
Blames Speed-up System.
The engineer complains that "a
large amount of the lack of safety in
our coal mines is due to interference
of outsiders who never see even the
outside of the mines and certainly do
not in any manner endanger their own
lives by going into mines made un-
safe by their orders" Harrington
blames the speed-up order of the bust
ness management by men who Gre
quently know little or nothing of coal
mining having been chosen because
of family connections to higher Off
Gals" etc, for ruthlessly eldanger-
ing workers lives in mines by forcing
disregard of safety measures.
Mining Laws Unenforced.
The engineer charges that not only
mining company officials, but even
miners are not fully informed on the
best safety devices, tho miners could
not install safety devices anyway. He
charges that fire bosses and foremen
are too often ignorant and strangely
get by examinations that would make
college graduates blink, that these
smaller mine. officials are dominated
by company higher ups who "have
practically no legal responsibility for
the safety of underground workers"
He asserts that mining laws in most
states are out of date and practically
never enforced"
Dangers to Miners.
The greatest present dangers to
workers in American coal mines are>
explosions and fires; non-inflammable
but asphyxiating gases which are
sometimes invisible, odorless and
tasteless; falls of roof and coal which
kill four times as many workers as
explosions do; underground haulage,
causing one and a half times the ia
talities of explosions. Over 100000
underground mine workers are subject
to these industrial hazards daily. OF
the $4,000 coal mine workers in the
United States there are about $500
killed annually and over 10000 inca
pacitated for over IA days; $4,000 to
100000 slightly injured. The fatality
rate in United States coal mines per
1000 workers is two to three times
that in Great Britain or France, where
mining conditions are more difficult.
Best Mines "None Too Safe"
Harrington reiterates the reduction
of accidents which rock busting would
bring, the value of watering around
working faces, exclusion of open
lights, provision of good ventilation,
and suggests many other safety meas
ures which would have saved many
miners lives. He states that the term
"nongaseous mine is a misnomer" and
that "all precautions now thought
necessary for the most dangerously
gaseous mine should be taken for every
mine; even then our coal mines would
be none too safe"