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

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Official Document, No. ]().
Tenth Bituminous District-
(HUNTINGDON, BEDFORD, FULTON AND BLAIR COUNTIES, AND THOSE
PARTS OF CLEARFIELD, CAMBRIA AND INDIANA COUNTIES LYING
ADJACENT TO THE BELLS GAP RAILROAD, AND THOSE PARTS OP
CLEARFIELD, CENTRE AND CLINTON COUNTIES LYING ADJACENT
TO THE BEECH CREEK RAILROAD.)
Altoomi, February 14, 1898.
Ifon. Jainos W. Latta, Seeretarj^ of Internal Affairs, Harrisburg, Pa.:
Sir: In accordance with the provisions of the Bituminous Mine
Law, I have the lionor of submitting to you the report for the Tenth
bituminous district for the year ending December 31, 1897.
Tlie condition of (lie coal trade has been good during the year, and
a large quantity of coal has been shipped. The general condition of
the mines as regards ventilation and drainage was good on the whole,
especially in the large op«'rations, for it is at the small operations
where we find the most difficulty, as some of these are leased
by men of small capital, who feel that improvements they make
for ventihitiug the mine is so much money taken out of their pockets
uselessly, for in undertaking to work the small mines, they seem to
think that ventilation and drainage are the last things they must take
into account in theii' calculations, and it is with such we have to
contend in enforcing the law. The number of fatal accidents
during the last year was seven, as compared with five for the preceding
year. Of these, six were due to falls of coal, slate and rock,
and the seventh man was killed by being caught between the coke
larry and a post. The deaths of three men by falls of slate was owing
to their not exercising any precaution whatever to see that the roof
A\as safe, but tliey took the chances of the roof not falling, a!id paid
(he penalty with their lives.
One new mim- has been ojx'ued during tlu' year, and at another
mine a tail rope haulage plant has been juit in, and the }»rospects for
the coming yeaf are that several companies will ecpiip their mines
with coal culling machines, foi- compeliliou is s(t close that it is only
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