The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-11-04
Increasing Accidents in the
Pennsylvania Mines
BY X. KEMENOVICH


Pittsburgh papers carried the following laconic
story: Brownsville, Pa, Oct. 24.-Infection re-
sulting from bruised knee, suffered at work
caused the death of Samuel r. Twell, Mama
colin miner He leaves wife and ten children"
Stories of this type appear every day in the
papers in the mining towns Only they are not
displayed on the front page but stuck away on
the fifteenth or twentieth page, among the ad-
vertsing, where only those interested in such
news will find it. Only when there are from
dozen to scores of miners blown to dust by an
explosion will the papers display it where it is
possible to find it.
According to the statement of the Pennsyl-
vania Department of Labor, this year has been
devoid of any major accidents, that is explosions,
yet for the first six months 406 miners were
killed outright and there were 23,l34 non-fatal
accidents in the mines in the state. The figures
of the Department of Labor, however, do not
state how many of the "non-fatal" accidents be-
came fatal later, as was with the case of Samuel
r. Twell. Neither does the department specify
how many of the non-fatal accidents were to-
tally disabled, losing both eyes, arms or legs or
have had their back broken, their chest or hips
smashed so badly that they are permanently
laid up in bed. We cannot learn from the report
of the department how many miners died from
typhoid fever, blood poisoning, tuberculosis, etc.
All sicknesses and deaths being direct result
of the working in the mines and living in I'M
healthy company towns. No mention is made
of how many miners suffer with the miners
asthma and other permanent occupational di-
seases Were we to know all of this, we are
certain that the figure of 406 deaths is misead-
ing and that the deaths would be doubled and
tripled.
This is not the task of the Labor Department!
No. its task is to whitewash the coal companies,
to cover up the real facts, and through nislead-
ing figures to make the workers believe that
things are not so bad, This we know from the
past. When the Labor Department, whitewashed
the corporations in the explosions that killed
200 men at Mather, over 100 men in Kinlock,
dozen or so at Gates etc. The Department of
Labor is supposed to have inspectors who make
regular inspections of the mines and on the
basis of their findings enforce the safety first"
rule The inspectors, however, are former man.
ayers of various mines, and receive their ap-
pointments through the good graces of the coal
companies depending on the political machines
for reappointments. Certainly these mine in
spectors fail to observe any unsafe practices Of
the coal companies.
There is a practice by the mine inspectors
to chalk up cross everywhere that they wish
W nave IIle TOOL strengthened Dy JUMPERS some
of these crosses wiped clean the same day
by the company men under instruction of COM
pany bosses; other crosses remain on the roof
for years, but no timbers. Results are that hun
dreds of men are killed or manned at the very
spot where the inspector demanded additional
support to the weakened roof
During the life of the UMWA these inspec-
tons and the inspectors were not influenced by
the organization. The union officials, playing
protested against appointments of the bosses
! When the progressves presented resolutions be-
fore the union conventions demanding that union
fights for election of inspectors by the miners
these resolutions were fought and shelved by the
officials. The union did succeed to get some OF
the high officials appointed to the Department
! of Labor Bureau of Mines, and these takers
used their positions to further chain the miners
to the bosses through various schemes.
The Mine, Oil and Smelter Workers Industrial
Union on the other hand, demands that all the
mine inspectors be elected by the miners and
right to recall be left in the hands of the miners
and not in the hands of politicians. Further, the
union demands that the inspectors have the
right Of closing unsafe mines or sections immed-
diately on discovering the dangerous practices
| of the bosses. The union will fight for laws and
| rules that will permit the penalization of the
| greedy corporations for accidents which are due
| solely to the neglect OF the company to make
| the mines safe as possible Our union fights
for rock-dusting, timbering. good air. clean
| tracks and any other means that will insure
safety for the mine workers