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Show EXPL0S1BIL1TY OFJCOAL OUST IMKItKsTI.NO DATA ITIIXWIIHII I1V DlltKCroit J. A. IIOIAII-W. Pour Oivnl Kploloiit DurliiK Uie Pat Year In Which Mnn Mvr Won I-oxt, None, llorer, Or-mrrinjt Or-mrrinjt In ftnli I'oiir Kphr.lon Hftiplilng Devices lut Out. In hU nnnunl report made to tho secretary of the Interior l!l0J Joseph A Holmes of tho United State bureau or mines stntes that excellent progrers ha been made during tho past fiscal car In the Investigation of tho oxploslbtllty of coal dust nt the experimental Aline near Ilrucclon, Pn. Thes Investigations Investi-gations Included a enrcful examination examina-tion Into the Inflammability of coal dust collected from hundreds or mines In different coal fields nnd n satemnllc study of the possibility or coal mine explosions starting rroin tho Improper uro of explosive or tho use of Improper explosives, or from electric rparks, miners , lamps, mine fires or other agencies I Probably the most Important fen-turo fen-turo af the vear' work wna the development de-velopment of four tpes of explo-I explo-I lon stopping devk-es In which rock dust Is used box barriers, concentrated concen-trated barriers, ventilating door barriers and venUlntlon stopping barriers The barriers were tested. In strong and woak oxptoslons nnd woro cfrectlvo In preventing propagation propa-gation or flame bejond them. After being placed In it mine they nre easily Inspected nnd require llttlo nttcJitlun Demonstrations ooioro mining ien led to Inquiries from n number of companies, with n view to tho erection of the devices In mines. Thv results of tho tests nt thv experimental mine hnvo shown , the value of watering and of stenm humidifying )stems, and the pe- ' cullar merits of rack dust, both , when distributed throughout the mine and when used ns barriers for j limiting explosions. Tho supplemen- , tnry use of shnle dust or llmestono dust wns found to greatly Increnso ; the efficiency of watering . I'nur great explosions occurred during the year One In the Stag ; Can) tin mine nt Dawson. N. M , Oc- , tober 22, lilin, resulting In the death of two hundred sixty-three ; men, one nt Acton, Ala, November , 18. lit 1 3, In which twenty-four men were killed; one nt the Vulcan ; mine. New Caitle. Colo., December , HI, 191.1, In which thirty-seven .men were killed, und one nt Keclcs, V ; Vn , April 28, 1914, Jn which onv . hundred nnd olghty-ono lives were lost Thv gcncrnl vuntllntlon In most ' of thv mines Involved In explosions wns good, but the defect In certain mines was In permitting the Jsc.il accumulation of gas through not brnltleing up thv face of (ho gaseous gas-eous entries or working plnce Onv ! of the greatest disasters was prob- ably caused by thv use of dvnumlte ' for blasting, und by disobedience In ', firing 11 shut or shots when miners were In the mine. In splto of tho fact that an outside shot firing - ' torn .had been Installed Other lesser disasters occurred during tho )car Many shotflrers lost their lives In thv Pittsburg, Kan., district, nnd In Oklahoma, Indiana In-diana nnd Iowa. Although tho as-torn as-torn of emplo)lng shotflrers to fire thv shots when nil others uro out of thv mliio lessens the number f deaths, yet In many districts the methods of shot firing employed are still tui hazardous that only thv mort reckless anen ure willing to act ns shotflrers, In any mine In which this s)stem is used there seems to bv no good reason why shot firing from without thv mine by electrical menus should not be vmplo)cd, ut least If permissible explosives are not used. Director Holmes strongly urges the purchase by the government or thv grounds on which the expert--mental mine Is situated He declare de-clare that the bureau or mines shculd own these grounds, now merely leaned, In order to safeguard safe-guard the Inrgu expenditure already made in developing the mine thereon there-on und equipping It with axpenslve appllanees Looking to the future, the director observes that, despite tho progress nmiln In ascertaining the nature of mine explosions and lit devising methods of prevention, the) still continue to occur, and It Is to be fourcd thnt vomplete prevention pre-vention will be difficult, owing to the Inherent difficulty of eliminating elimina-ting errors or absivntlojt, Judgment Judg-ment or undemanding froju hiikiiik milium or mine official Tims, one of thv sliooklng disasters disas-ters of ths past er was brought 1 ibeut hencms of one man's willing-1 nssa to risk the saprlfliv of not onl his own life, hut the lives of iumu) others In order to gain n fvw tous I of eirnl It Is difficult to meu such u case, und )et with tho progress thnt Is being mndv In the method of preventing or limiting .ploloiu, i Is certain thnt hereafter In well protected 4ulne properly cured for there will be much loss danger of t I widespread explosion |