1898 - Coalmininghistorypa.org

Official Document, No. 11.EIGHTH ANTHRACITE DISTRICT,(SCHUYLKILL COUNTY.)Hou. James W .Sir:Pottsville, Pa., March 3, 1899.Latta. Secretary of Iiiterual Alfairs, Harrisburg, Pa.:I have the honor of herewith presenting my annual report asinspector of Mines of tlie Eighth anthracite district for the year(-nding December 31, 1898.Tlie total production of coal for the year was 4,158,651 tons, which\r 147,571 tons less than the total production for the year 1897. Theshipments, including the local sales, were 3,079,508 tons, which is171,860 tons less than the shipments for the year 1897.The number of fatal accidents during the yeav was 37, which isone less than for the year 1897. I am sorry tO' say that duringthe year there have been two serious accidents in my district. Thefirst, at Kaska-William colliery on May 26, by which six men losttheir lives b}' water breaking in from old workings; the bodies ofWilliam Morgan, W^illiam Derr and Peter Durkin, three of the victims',have not yet been recovered. The work of reopening the workings,which were greatly damaged by the rush of water, has beengoing on since the accident occurred, but there has not been theprogress made that should have been. The extent of the damage tothe lower workings cannot yet be determined, and it is hard to sayat this writing, when tlie bodies will be recovered and the workingsrestored.I have not found any reason to change my opinion that this accident,which caused the loss of six valuable lives and the destructionof a large amount of property, M^as the result of inexperienced management.Another accident occurred at the No. 8 colliery of the Lehigh Coaland Navigation Company, by which four lives were lost at one time,by an explosion of hydrogen gas, the result of water running on alarge body of fire, wiiile they were fighting a mine fire. An explosionof this kind, during the progress of a mine fire, is not an unusualthing, yet few, if any, have occui-red on such a large scale as to causeany los'Sto life.It is but Just to state that in this case the officials used every pre-( 227 )