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

Official Document, No. 10.
THIRD BITUMINOUS DISTRICT.
(ARMSTRONG, BUTLER, CLARION, INDIANA, JEFFERSON, LAW-
RENCE, MERCER, WESTMORELAND AND BEAVER COUNTIES.)
Mercer, Pa., February 3, 1898.
Hon. James AV. Latta, Secretary of Internal Affairs of Pennsylvania:
Sir: I herewith submit my annual report of the insijection of mines
of the Third bituminous district for the year ending December 31,
1897, in compliance with section 11, of article X, of the bituminous
mining act, approved the 1.5th day of May, 1893.
I regret to report an increase in the number of fatal accidents
during the year just closed, as compared with the year 1896. For the
year 1896, only three fatal casualties occurred, while for this year
ten persons lost their lives. The increase is something extraordinary
for such a district as this, but the reason may be attributed to two
causes, viz., a boiler explosion, which killed three men, something
which has not happened in this district before during my term of
office; the other, as will be noticed in my description of the fatal accidents,
by which four persons (Robertson, Nugent, Steel and Dixon)
lost their lives through gross carelessness.
In fact, two of the other
three fatalties could have been averted by the exercise of ordinary
care on tli5 part of the two men.
No matter what safeguards prescribed by law may be thrown
around the miner while he is pursuing his usual. avocation, much will
depend upon himself if he expects to secure the full benefits which
would naturally and reasonably be expected to come from such enactments.
The miner must put into use methods and means which
common sense will dictate to him to employ for his own protection,
together with the exercise of prudence and good judgment if
he expects
to escape the dreadful results which we are required to report
( 297)