coal trade bulletin - Clpdigital.org

40 THE COAL TRADE BULLETIN.
in the foreign countries may be accounted for
largely by reason of the fact that coal mine inspection
has been in operation much longer than
in the United States. In Great Britain the coal
mine accident statistics have been collected, published
and studied since 1851. France, 1853;
Austria, 1875; Germany, 1S52; and Belgium, 1831.
A chronological list of the more disastrous coal
mine accidents in the United States shows that
275 accidents have occurred since 1S39, in which
five or more men were killed at one time, representing
a total of 6,777 fatalities. Of these accidents
there were 135 that killed from five to nine
men each, a total of 859; eighty-two that killed
from 10 to 24 men each, a total of 1,237; twentyfive
that killed from 25 to 40 men each, a total of
870; eighteen that killed from 50 to 99 men each,
a total of 1,221; eleven that Idled from 100 to 199
men each, a total of 1,534; three that killed from
200 to 299 men each, a total of 695, ancl one that
killed 361 men.
Of these larger disasters gas and coal dust explosions
caused 183 accidents and 5.111 deaths, or
over three-fourths of the total number of men
killed. The next greatest number of deaths were
from mine fires, which caused the loss of 1,082
lives, or over 15 per cent, of the total number
killed, by 33 separate accidents. It may thus
be seen that accidents from gas and coal dust explosions
and mine fires account for more than
90 per cent, of tbe total number of men killed in
these large accidents, although falls of roof, pillars
and wall claim nearly 50 per cent, of the total
fatalities.
TRAINMEN GRANTED ADVANCE IN WAGES.
The arbitrators considering the dispute of the
eastern railroads and the trainmen over the wage
question decided the dispute in favor of the trainmen
recently, the award being* effective Oct. 1,
1913, and the increase amounted to 7 per cent.
The arbitrators' award was arrived at on the
proved claims of the employe that the cost of living
had increased 7 per cent, since the last increase
in wages had been granted.
The articles of award provide that the monthly
pay of employes in the passenger service shall be:
Conductors, $135; baggagemen, $82.50; flagmen
and rear brakemen, $78; brakemen, $76.50; overtime,
per hour, conductors, 45 cents; assistant conductors
and ticket collectors, 35.7 cents; baggagemen,
27.5 cents; flagmen and rear brakemen, 26
cents; brakemen, 25.5 cents.
For the freight service the awards are: Through
runs, conductors, 4 cents a mile; flagmen, 2.67
cents a mile; brakemen, 2.67 cents a mile, any
run less than 100 miles to be paid for as if it
were 100 miles. In way freight pick-up or drop,
mine and roustabout service, same minimum, conductors
are awarded $4.50 a day of 100 miles or
less, lo hours or less; flagmen, $3.10, and brakemen,
$3; overtime to be paid for as time and onehalf.
UNITED STATES MINING RECORDS
ARE BROKEN BY 1912 OUTPUT.
All records have been broken in the great mineral
production of the United States for the year
1912. The boom year of 1907 has heretofore been
considered the banner year of American mineral
output, with a total value of $2,072,666,639, but
even this great figure was exceeded in 1912 by
over $170,000,000. As compared with 1911. the
increase in 1912 is $316,098,198, or 16.40 per cent.
These figures are shown in a summary of the
mineral production of the United States for 1912,
compiled by W. T. Thorn of the United States Geological
survey, now in press.
As heretofore, iron and coal are the most imporatnt
of our mineral products. The value of
iron I pig iron being the basis of valuation) in
1912 was $420,563,388; the value of coal was $695,-
606,071. Ihe value of the fuels—coal, natural
gas and petroleum—increased from $835,231,497
in 1911 to $943,972,302 in 1912, a gain of $108,740,-
S65. Coal showed an increase in value of $69,-
040,SOO, from $620,565,211 in 1911 to $695,606,071
in 1912.
The production of metals increased in value
$186,571,303, from $680,531,782 in 1911 to $867,103,-
085 in 1912. The non-metals increased $129,276,-
895 from $1,246,750,340 ine 1911 to $1,376,027,241
in 1912. The unspecified products including cadmium,
selenium, rutile, uranium, vanadium, and
other minerals, valued at $500,000, increased $250,-
000, bringing the total value of the mineral production
for 1912 up to $2,243,630,326.
The production of pig iron in 1912 gained more
than $93,000,000, or 28 per cent.; ferro-alloys
gained nearly $4,000,000, or about 46 per cent.;
silver gained more than $6,000,000, or 20 per cent.;
copper gained about $68,000,000, or nearly 50 per
cent.: zinc gained nearly $14,000,000, or 44 per
cent.; and aluminum gained nearly $4,000,000, or
47 per cent. Gold, which lost about $3,500,000,
was the only important metal to show a decrease.
Among the non-metals bituminous coal gained approximately
$67,000,000, or about 15 per cent.;
anthracite coal gained more than $2,000,000; natural
gas gained almost $10,000,000, or 13 per cent.;
petroleum gained nearly $30,000,000, or 22 per
cent.; clay products gained more than $10,000,000,
or 6.5 per cent.; and sulphuric acid from copper
and zinc smelters (a product mined as it were
out of the air and changed from a destructive
waste to an absolute gain) increased $1,500,000,
or 55 per cent.