Reports of the Inspectors of Mines of the anthracite and bituminous ...

460 Keports of the Inspectors of Mines. [Off. Doc .
to secure the health and safety of the men is not on hand, our mine bosses
should carry out their leg-al duties and stop all workings in the parts
of the mine affected, until the supplies are forthcoming, reg-ardless of
the consequences, rather than run any risk to the health and safety of
the men under their care. They should also be prompt in sending- in their
orders for supplies beforehand, so as to have them on the ground when required.
The drainage is not of the best, some of the roadways being wet
and muddy. Quantity of air passing at the outlet 20,000 feet per minute.
Fort Pitt.—General condition is favorable. Quantity of air in circula-
tion 16,000 feet per minute.
Cherry was in pretty good order at the time of my last visit, except
a few rooms being turned away in advance of the air current. Quantity
of air passing, 14,000 feet per minute. Drainage in fair condition.
Nickle Plate.—This mine is directly on the oil belt and is perforated
in all directions with oil wells ; a number of wells being bored through the
old worked out parts of the mine. Several are bored through the working
places and a large number are drilled through the room and entry
pillars. In two or three places the oil is penetrating through the strata
into the mine in copious quantities, causing a foul, disagreeable smell.
The cover above the coal is light, and the'surface strata is saturated with
waste oil, and whether the oil found leaking through the coal into the
mine is this waste oil from the surface, or whether it comes directly from
some of the wells beneath the surface is not known, but certain it is that
It is there and is an element of danger to the men working in the mine.
For some time past I have considered the mine unsafe and am still of
the same opinion, and I called in several of the other Inspectors, who,
after an examination of the mine and the location of the wells, all coin-
cided with my views that the mine could not be considered in a safe con-
dition, consequently we made application to court for an injunction to
restrain operations, but we did not satisfy the court that there was immediate
danger, so the injunction was not granted, but the application
was left open for future proceedings if found necessary. Several of the
Inspectors have examined the mine since that time and came to the con-
clusion that there was nothing new in its condition that would prove to
the court that there was immediate danger to the health and safety of
the persons employed. Of course while the danger is imminent, it is not
so easy to prove that it is immediate; if the danger becomes immediate,
it will probably be caused by a sudden in-rush of gas or oil from the
breaking of the overlying strata in the vicinity of some of the wells, and
this coming in contact with the lights used in the mine will cause immediate
danger and immediate loss of life at the same time, as the burning
oil would be just as disastrous as a gas explosion and would render the
escape of the men impossible. Any one who has seen crude oil burning
on the surface can form an idea of what its effects would be undergi-ound.
Several other mines in this vicinity are affected in the same way, but