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Show COAL MIHB -HORRORS 'Most Accidents Due tb; Cnr'eless- ne8s;shys-iokpViH6frn5S5 PROPER LEGlslATIOM NEEDED1 Qe'o'fo'jrcaV &faii h-hirrtrt.W,0 U9;"of' Hlflh Explosive 8hould , De Regu- y ilattd lbXiU'a-Fyof4iCordp;uicory, Uaa of 8fty Lamps. .."That the largo number of coal mine accidents, threo- oT"wliffli 1'iave Iiuik pencd In West Virginia, recently, are duo, (( lack of caru'niul could' be iK-vcntqil iK-vcntqil by proper legislation))' l the ojllrilbn' of Jorepli A. Hqluie wUm, came to Nev York from Washington .the other 'lay and Is In charge of -the t'eclinologfcni 'braneil or 11k- Unlteil StatcM geological aurvey, (:.. the New York Times,, Mr. Ilolmes has recently completed a thorough Investigation Into the tmb-Ject, tmb-Ject, and he, has cometo .the .coneln-, Elori froni havlug the bavoYiicts ftarlng 'hlm4ii ,tho:ufacoxthatt&Uio1 sreat "lb-'crense "lb-'crense ln''the'prorliictlonfof coal' Utlrlug the last decade and the related Increase In the number of men employed hi the work do not account for tho large Increase In the number of dcathH. ?"ln. all ;cbuhtr)cs.'' except thul'yillted Statc8the use of high explosives In excessive ex-cessive charges "is "proElblteS by Taw," Ba!d.Mri!Hoimna;m dtscnwItigtiicBub? Jcct',Abroftdv'detlnItdl!mlts'UrcMBet ,to the amount of any explosive that may be used. 1 "Although, tbesp, regulations were framed with the object 6( preventing KM explosions; it Is'Wleved that they have becq of marked .effect ,ln prevent lng accidents' f'rb'm falls of roo'fn and of coal, ai the Very great' dtatUrblttg andi 'Jarring, effect exerted by, , large, amounts of explosives In a mine Is believed be-lieved to .bo one of the most Important causes of the falja ofi.rpfjfe.,, -rt , ,( "The actual fall of the, rock or the coal may not occur at the 'time 'of W firing of the charge', but' the lidiivy shots weaken tho wall ,or, the roof and taYt cracks that' impair' the 'siiprJork of the', rock, so that months after 'thd blast without warning the roof falls, , "In no country In the world arc the natural conditions so favorable for the extraction of ,cpal sb In , the, ,ljnlted States, but In srilte of this fact' the nu'rnbei' ofllvea'lostlBr'l.OOb fa largeV than 'in any, other. i countryi JiUnlesfi means arc taken, o, counteract thltho death rate will grow larger. ' "tioyy, ,for somts jof theprevputJYPfl o'f' accidents that would'. largely, de-, de-, crease 'tho death' rate. vThc(e shoiifil bb the cora'ilulsory'Uise' of'ea'fety lamjial Thoro should vf) iirovUloiiB fpr. the oxj .animation, of safety lamps, at .regular Intervals by' sOhio Competent itersbn to setf-thatnthoy iftreke'petlni'shf6" coridl-i tlon, . and, there )Bh9pld ,be regulations for preventing the person, not authorized authoriz-ed to &b sd frdm' bjlenlrife'thi liitk' bh any safety lamp.- This Is a Jaw In foreign countries and should bo made so here; i. i ' . ' "The use! Of explosives should be thoropghy regulated by lay, In all European coal' producing countries laws, bavp, been madp rfo.r.bhjlng,, th.e use. of the , more dangerous explosive in nil' mines 'in' vblc'h 'hro damp lsMld b)c. to bo found" h'nd'ithdusie)ltf Mieh .mines of explosives that have been proveil'toMio reasonably free frbul the danger of Igniting exploslvo gas mix-tores. mix-tores. ' '" "Regulations enforced In Qrcat'llrlt-'hn Qrcat'llrlt-'hn provide that In allniineajln which ilnflnramablo gas Is present or has been ' found tin danger onn, qnanUtleq wlthln" hgjprevloua. three, rqonthsall clfargos of .explbs'lvca shall he, Wed by 'a com-.petent com-.petent pcr8on,, (b'firlcd' n hhoi 'flrfer! '. ' ' 'j"By this method the .charge are 'fired at a tlmo when but few men are In tbe'imlh'o: and 'dccdrdiniily lf'a fire aamp.txplpsloufflcpura) fejvprjUye ;aro. lost than If the miner firpd thp, fhobJ at n tlmo when other 'm'fndrs were In ,th workings. 1fcrl .,.,., i. , i ,, "Still another factor of greater lm-portarieo lm-portarieo is ihatWh6t,flreV:'th'r(Jugh constant liexbcrlcu'ce'.r soon' IbecomeB 'iscd ,to the, proper; use of, cxplojdycf) 'arid also learns to charge the holes and Are them In'the'kafet''w'ay 'possible., 'possi-ble., .. , I , wf , ''At' the present tluio several electrical elec-trical 'shot firing1 dovlcca1 'arb'i -being teitel, with some prorolfio of effecting a cpnsldqrablo av(ng ,of life. , The mala p'rindhlo of tlicdo devices is the firing of the charges oho nftor'anothcr nt proper time Jutcrynls. .,, "Thfe watering '6f! 'the si'dds and roof of -roal 'm!no""paBsagcwnys' has-been found'to.be of material benoflt'lu preventing pre-venting local Ignitions of coal dust from becoming general." |