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Show MINE HORRORS. Since 1S56, the average number of deaths by accidents in coal mines has been 1,000 a year. In the United States alone, in 1907, there were nearly near-ly S50, without counting those disasters which wrought such havoc in the coal mining regions of the east during the closing months of the year, the other countries of the world adding to the number enough to make the total for the year pass the 2,000 mark, or more than twice the average of the past half century. Coal mining always has been, and probably always will remain a hazardous occupation, occu-pation, but there seems in the figures for the past year, when compared with the figures of previous years, to have, been a greater laxity in the reasonable reason-able precautions to prevent accidents or that the mines have reached that period of development when hazards arc more numerous and of greater moment. Experts employed by the United States government govern-ment declare fatal mine explosions are largely due to ignorance or laxity. If 1 he conclusions of the experts are right, here is a tangible thing on which to base future action. If there is innocent ignorance igno-rance among mining operators, they may be taught; if there is criminal neglect among them, they should be punished. The mine disasters which marked the closing days of 1007 have caused the public mind to become be-come somewhat callous. It has seemed to be a part of the coal mining business, and bound fo come in the ordinary course of events. But Ihe department of commerce and labor has been making a careful care-ful investigation into this subject, and its report, though it does not include the three recent disasters which have added something like 800 to the total casualties for the year, shows that the death roll in American coal mines exceeds by three times that of most of the countries of Europe, the figures being on a basis of percentage of employes. The report is intended to disseminate reliable information on the kind and quality of explosives which may be more or less safely used, and what are proper precautionary pre-cautionary measures to safeguard the lives of the men under ground. It is not unreasonable to suppose sup-pose that the startling increase in fatalities which has" marked coal mining operations during the past few years will in a measure be overcome by efficient effi-cient and competent regulation if the findings of the experts are used as a basis upon which to found legislation. |