Reports of the Inspectors of Mines of the anthracite coal regions of ...

Ex. Doc] Reports of the Inspectors op Mines. 73
son in this case ; yet I must sa}^ that with a proper sj^stem of inspection
and scrutiny on the part of the officials, and ordinary skill and care on the
part of the miners, this case ought never to have occured.
It was in the face of this occurrence, that I made up mind to henceforth
hold the mine officers responsible for any and every such an accident, where
every care and caution had not been exercised, by bringing the matter
before the courts, and so notified mine officers as I went from mine to mine
in the district.
Accident No. 18.—John Mullen, a miners' laborer working in the Em-
pire shaft, on the 21st day of June, was instantly killed by a fall of coal.
The coal that fell upon him was resting on a prop close to where he was
working breaking coal ready to load bis car, and it was thought that a
rush of large lumps of loose coal started and struck the said prop, and
which was thereby knocked out of place, when the coal immediately fell
with the above result. The said prop could not have been so struck out
had the bottom end of the said prop been properly fastened, i, e., had it a
sufficient hole in the bottom slate to hold a blow or hard shock. The
miner in this case, however, was not responsible for this deficiency, as the
timbering had been done by company hands many months before this time,
and some of the said workmen had left the place. This again shows the
importance of doing things in a workmanlike manner, and that the lives
of others than those engaged in the work at the time are frequently dependent
upon the character of the said work, at subsequent periods, when
the same cannot easily be examined. It might be possible that the loss of
this man's life ought to be placed as the result of incompetency or care-
lessness on the part of some one of the compan}^ hands having the stand-
ing of the said props in charge at the time it was done.
Accident No. 19.—Daniel Heffren, a miners' laborer, working in No. 2
shaft, Waterman & Beaver, on the 21st da}^ of July, was killed by a fall
of slate from roof. This case, again, is rather a dark one, as the condition
of the place just before the occurrence could not have been considered
very safe, as the laborer had raised objections to loading in under the
slate that fell, when the miner told him to go and drill the hole in his
place, and that he would load the car. The laborer, at this challenge, said
if it was safe for him (the miner) that it was as much so for himself, and
worked on a short time, when down it came. The mine boss stated that
he knew of no unusual danger there, but I learned subsequentl}' that he
had warned the miner to take care of the said piece of roof. Hence, I say,
this case does not look, as purely accidental.
Accident No. 22.—Nicholas Snyder, a miners' laborer, working in No.
4 slope, Nanticoke, on the 18th day of October, was almost instantly
kille