Evening star., 1946-04-30
Newton
Continued From First Page.)

reau of Mines suggestions frequent
" are silly" and costly enough to
bankrupt company. AS a substi-
tute they proposed setting up COM
mittees of miners and operators in
the States to make suggestions in
Tightening mining laws and indi-
vidual mine practices. Mr.. Lewis
rejected it.
Thus the question of mine safety
played key part in deadlocking
the contract negotiations, delaying
the reopening of the mines.
Both Sides Held at Fault.
From our observations and inter-
views with union and company men
in Southern West Virginia anc
Kentucky we would say that both
sides must share responsibility fol
the Slaughter"
There are many operators who
are doing a conscientious job toWaro
making their mines as safe as pos
sible. There are operators who post
pone installation of recommended
safety devices because of cost and q
very few who appear to be criminal
in their negligence.
On the other hand, the evidence
shows the bulk of the mine workers
are cooperative on safety measures
But there are too many miners who
are careless and, take chances with
their own lives and the lives of
others. Therf are miners who resist
the use of sa tty measures. And the
evidence that strikes have resulted
from introduction of safety equip
ment is irrefutable.
Our observations are in line with
the opinion &of a real expert on the
subject. DAY el Harrington. chief OF
the Bureau of Mines health and
safety branch. He told us:
The responsibility for mine ac-
cidents does not rest on the Shoul-
ders of any one part of the industry
1t is tWo-way affair. 1t even goes
deeper team that. for the laws OF
the States are not any too good.
Inherently unsafe Occupation.
Goal minil & inherently is an un-
safe occupation. 1t has the high
est accident rate of any industry
That is true of mining not only in
this county but the world over
We askeG him if mining could be
made really safe He replied:
That would not be an easy mat.
ter but it could be done. To accom-
nliSh II would moon 70 ;,,orooeo A.,
cost of coal two or three fold. That
would kill the industry, for no con-
sumer would pay such a price for it,
Mr.. Harrington compared the
elimination of mine accidents to the
elimination of automobile accidents
in which thousands lose their lives
every day.
1--WE could end fatal highway ac-
cidents if We really fixed the speed
limit at 10 miles an hour" he said
Will we do it? No, We won't do it,
But definite, consistent progress
is being made in this country toward
reduction of accidents in the coal
mines," he continued.
Statistics on Disasters.
Mr.. Harrington cited as one proof
of the statement figures on mine
disasters, multi-death explosions
and cave-ins. He said that in the
flve-year period from 1906 to 1910
inclusive, there were "a disasters
killing 1886 men, or nearly 500 a
year. Last year there were four
such major disasters. These cost
the lives of So men.
AS further evidence of progress in
reducing mine accidents he supplied
figures showing the number of men
killed in the mines the past 10 years
and the number of fatalities for
each million tons of coal, both btu
minous and anthracite, mined
which offers the best comparison.
In 1886. 1342 were killed or at g