Report of the Bureau of Mines of the Department of Internal Affairs of ...

Official Document, No. 10.
INTRODUCTION
REPORT Of BUREAU OF MINES.
lu view of the short time I have been in oftice, aud the magnitude
of the coal interests of this State, it would be egotism on my part to
attempt, nor do I believe it can be expected that I should have much
to offer. In compliance with the law to which I am subject, and
which is not what it should be in some of its most essential features,
1 submit the following:
On my induction into office, my attention was called to the introduction
of the Mine Inspectors' Report of 1896, and especially to the
passage that states: "Although for the last decade more has been
done in the way of legislation for the proitection of the lives and limbs
of persons employed in and about the mines of this State, yet the
results as to accidents have not been such as to reflect credit on those
who have had to execute the laws." Actuated by a desire to change
these conditions, if possible, I have given this subject considerable
thought and attention, and v/hile there is, no doubt, room for improvement,
it is gratifying to know that since the laws were enacted for the
protection of those employed in and about the mines of this State
the number of accidents compared with the number of employes and
number of tons of coal mined has been much less than before that
period, and in the face of very much greater dangers. I beg leave to
refer to the report of G. M. Williams, Inspector of the Fourth Anthracite
District, where will be found a table showing the production of
coal, the number of persons employed, the number in each class of
fatal accidents and tons of coal mined per life lost, in each year from
1871 to 1897 inclusive in the Fourth Anthracite District. This is
perhaps, in many respects, the most dangerous district in the anthracite
region, and T believe it is too large for one man to inspect.
Notwithstanding
this, a perusal of Mr. William's report shows his familiarity
with every mine and its peculiar condition.
Prior to 1870, no report of accidents in the anthracite mines was
kept. The following table presents some data of fatal accidents ri}-
ported by the anthracite mine inspectors since that year:
(vii)