GOMER THOMAS fl 43 WAS WARNED o Capt Predicted the Scofield Horror 4 MINERS HAD TALKED OF UNSAFE CONDITIONS CONDITION 4 a Took Their Lives in Their Theft Hands at Work WorkMan Y orl 4 Man ian Who Has Been in all aU Kinds o of Mining Hilling Work ce the Early Sixties Tells TeUs of a Trip to the thi Castlegate Country and nd of Hit His Telling the State Nine Mine About the Dangerous Conditions Condition There C t According to Captain Benjamin Tib TibI I I bey State Mine 1 lne Inspector t Corner GoTner Thorn Thom Thomas Thornas i as was wag cognizant that conditions of the thi mines mine in the Gate district for fat some time past were ere precarious Cap Captain Captain tain tam warned the th state tor that unless better ventilating conditions were Inaugurated in the and th the the dust frequently sprinkled down that I it would only be a matter of f time before the country would be startled by th the news of a terrible mining catastrophe Three e weeks ago that gentleman told his hi old companions with whom he used to work in days gone by in the mines among the green hills of Wales ValeS unless they agitated for better ventilation ir in In Inthe inthe the Winter Quarters mine that they daily carried their Hv Uv s in their hands When seen last la t night Captain Tib TibI bey stated that he did not care to talk talt I with ith regard reg rd to the matter ID Finally however he admitted that such was th the case He said I 1 happened to be down downIn in that district just a few days after that man and woman were arrested on or suspicion of being concerned In the Penney I enney murder While White at Scofield 1 1 met several veral old miners minera with sith whom 3 I Iw w ws as s acquainted when 3 wasia 50 boy boi m flu the thea jf fW Wales iter f tei teia I a while we ben began to talk naturally n I about the mine in which they were wen ere working and they stat d that th there ther re 1 was considerable dust to be encountered e coun countered there although it was I free from gases se According to their account the ven yen ventilation ventilation I was nothing to boast boa i of After After t talking upon the subject I told tol them I that they were running a great risk every time time that they entered th the mine They sat sal knew they did but you know how miners are they evid did not worry much h about the mat matter matter matter ter Warned Inspector Thomas Thoma ThomasIn In regard to the purported warning to State Mine Inspector Thomas Thomaa Cap Captain ap tam tain admitted that he had met him at Pleasant Grove on the day prior to the explosion there recently on which occasion happily h there was nolam no noI loss lam of life lle I I 1 told him at he ie time he said saidi that there would be a big explosion i there if they to fire from to shots at the same time by means I of a battery as as the concu concussion ion from this number of simultaneous shots would of necessity raise a big cloud doud of dust which at any moment was liable ll ble bleto to ignite with disastrous effects Sure no gh only a few hours hourd later what I 1 nc predicted happened only fortunately owing to the rule r Ie all the miners rs had left the mine previous to turning on the cur currant ent ento Captain o is a man of expel exper experience lence having been connected with the theoal coal oal mining industry man irian and boy lince the early in Wales Iowa IOa Pennsylvania Montana and Utah He knows snows something about cause and effect in n regard to explosions e passed through no lees than ex cx explosion with the loss lo of a finger on jach hand also ulso several scalp wounds wound In comparing mining operations on both oth sides of the Atlantic he said that in the of cases coal cool mining m ad act operated d in western America was on in a very haphazard fash fashion fashIon fashion ion Over In England he said the laws governing scientific mining are compiled by b men mi of experience and education or the protection of the theroan theman roan man that in the bowels of the earth arth The majority of men who gain gaina a a u livelihood liveli in this country by mining coal joal do net seem to think it it worth their while whilo to study th the subject Take for tor instance out here where it itIs is true that every mine is furnished with Uh a barometer to record the thO weight of the theair theaIr I air afro and a thermometer to test the thel heat l a hydrometer ia is very seldom seen een en ena around a a 0 colliery Most miners are aware of the fact feet that a change of weather affects the mine I lne but they cant tell tell you why Captain Calculates Here Captain produced a pen pencil penen pent cil en and to indulge ro iw mathe mathematical mathematical calculations Every school boy knows he con continued the tha pressure r IrO of the air is fifteen pounds to the square re inch Mul Multiply Multiply Multiply that by and you ou get the thern total to to be 2160 pounds to the Supposing the mercury drops an inch In the mine That means moans that there is 2160 pounds lei atmospheric pressure In a drift of thirty feet which means a great groat deal as anyone an can see to t the Continued C on Page Pace 6 I I I OMER GOMER THOMAS WAS Continued from page 1 L successful ventilation of that chamber All AU bituminous coal cool contains front from 37 27 to 40 4 per D r cent volatile matter which rises from front the th seam Without successful ventilation it stands to reason rea n that the tha uD gases must noon predominate In an anthracite anthracite anthracite coal there is only oni from 5 to 6 per cent volatile matter in evidence and ono one never nevet hears h arh of a dust duste explosion Dla sion sian In an mine mIn Dust too plays a great part in the ventilation of a mine Duet DUt absorbs the moisture and consequently ly the even evea balance of th tha atmosphere there in not net maintained m To successfully operate oste o t a mine all aU these things must be b tak Into con 5 and D the Ih dust dist should be thoroughly wetted down from time to time If thin thip thi in not done there is sure to be an explosion lOn or o later lato and i after the explosion ex of dust the oxygen being all aU consumed consigned in the drift It k t hi naturally natural le for any living thing to f exist xit under the circumstances A coal dust explosion Is similar in itt its effects to lO o that which occurs from I I time timo to time in large J ge flour nour which aro are badly ventilated and If it were possible to have a flour dut d dust t es 1 I I j similar condition to that in a I coal mine the effects of course urse would be the same game me meThe I The men who perished d in this ex cx explosion exI I at Winter WIRt Quarters died from fromI I the th e effects of alter afterdamp damp Which an another another another other hams naIn amo for fot th the ab absence enc nce of I in the ajr ar Captain Career I Captain for or seventeen years held tho the position n of superintendent S Deri of the Parrott near Butte during durin which period there were only three men killed In explanation of this fact he last night that when he took took the position in the mine min ho he h rated the rule rul that any man who got ot hurt would be discharged This he said had the effect of m melting making king the men careful with the result that there were only three casualties and nd that in fn the majority of cases it was the tha th action of i some careless fool that caused c these disasters In Speaking peaking of the precautions which he invariably tt ok before entering a amine amine amine mine he said that he always carried a close meshed mashed ladles veil and minia minla miniature miniature ture tore pair air of bellows s lit itt i his pocket On several seval occasion occasion he had saved his life through these means He asserted aS ert d that If the nozzle of a pair pt r of bellows had been inserted In the nostrils of those who were were found In the mine who gave guve evidence of retaining a spark of life In Im their anatomy that their lives might probably have hae been saved He had seen s n this remedy tried on several occasions with a successful issue He related the circumstances cIrcumstance in the I explosion In m the tao Cleveland mine at a LuI Lu iu I cas can Ia la when he h Successfully brought ven men out ut from the mine after lying on their faces with a wet veil tied across their nostrils for the space pace of five hours The two to largest larg St catastrophes which have happened 1 in coal mining raining fn in Great ti Britain he said wera at col eel colliery colliery liery Dec 12 1866 on which occasion lives were lost and out om Feb 19 1857 at Lund lull Hill on o which h occasion n soula perished I Both thes th a mines mimes are situated In north England I w