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compared with 22.11 for 1910. No company men were killed from this cause in 1911.

In 1912 the number of accidents from mine cars and locomotives increased to 106, while the total number of accidents decreased from 490 in 1911 to 407. The percentage of this class of accidents for 1912 was 26.04, which is a large increase over 1911 and 1910.

Accidental deaths of miners and loaders (or laborers), as reported by the Pennsylvania State mine inspectors, are classified as due to the following causes, in order: 1, Carelessness of the man killed; 2, carelessness of fellow workmen; 3, unavoidable; 4, undetermined.

The following figures, compiled from the Pennsylvania reports for 1910, 1911, and 1912, show, for miners and loaders killed by mine-car accidents inside bituminous-coal mines, the percentages of deaths which may be termed avoidable and unavoidable:

Percentage of miners and loaders killed by mine cars or locomotives underground at the bituminous-coal mines of Pennsylvania.

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This table, covering 105 fatal accidents due to mine cars and locomotives, shows that 75 to 80 per cent of the accidents were reported due to carelessness of victims, nearly 3 to 15 per cent due to carelessness of fellow workmen, and 8 to 17 per cent were called unavoidable. The average for the three years indicates that nearly 90 per cent of these accidents were avoidable.

It is probable that many of the men whose deaths are classified as due to carelessness were not deliberately or willfully heedless of their own and others safety. Although some men are reckless by nature, taking a chance just for the excitement the danger gives, the great majority of workmen who do their work in an improper manner, without due regard to safety features, are thoughtless or fail to understand the importance of always doing things the safest way.

One route or method of traveling may be more convenient and may save time as compared with a safer and recommended route. As in your experience no accidents may have resulted from the more convenient method, you may not see the necessity for changing your practice. But if you are following unsafe practices a serious accident may happen to you at any time. The fact that nothing has

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happened to you in the past is no guarantee that you can follow such practices indefinitely and not get hurt. Be thankful you have been fortunate in the past, but make up your mind that in the future you will not expose yourself knowingly to danger by following unsafe practices. If the accident rate is to be decreased, it is necessary for every man to make up his mind that he will choose safest methods and will do all in his power to convince others to do likewise.

GENERAL PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN IN GOING TO A WORKING PLACE.

Now, let us travel together the road from the mine mouth to the working face and note the possible dangers along the way and discuss the precautions that ought to be taken to prevent accidents. due to mine cars and haulage. After that we will discuss the proper and improper methods of handling mine cars.

USE OF THE MANWAY.

In going from the pit mouth or the foot of the shaft to your working place, do you know the road that you expect to follow? Many accidents happen because the miner does not take the road that the rules of the mine direct him to take. Is there a manway in your mine? If there is, always travel by it and never take the haulage road, thus avoiding danger from mine cars, mules, motors, haulage rope, or trolley wires.

TRAVELING A HAULAGE ROAD.

If there is no manway, you should take the haulage road specified by the mine rules. Under most State laws haulage roads used for traveling are required to have a wide space on one side of the track or else have refuge or shelter holes at regular intervals. If the mine is a new one to you, get acquainted with the position of these refuge holes, so that if by chance your light goes out you can find your way into a hole when a trip approaches. If you are traveling along with other men, do not get so interested in talking that you fail to notice the approach of the trip. Even if you think that there is clearance on the side of the track it is best to get into a hole, as the trip might jump the track. Many men have been killed by derailed trips. If you can not get in a safe place you should signal for the trip to stop.

TRAVELING A ROPE-HAULAGE ROAD.

On a rope-haulage road you should watch carefully to see that you do not step on the rope when it is in motion. Neither should you step over it when it is likely to lift, for you may be caught between it and the roof.

Look out for the rollers that carry the rope.

You

may get a bad fall if your foot catches one, and if a trip is approaching you may be run over before you can get out of its way.

Watch the switches and frogs, as you might get your foot caught. If a trip comes along before you get your foot loose it may mean serious injury or death.

TRAVELING A MULE ROAD.

When a car approaches, give the mules plenty of room by standing well on one side. It is generally wise to hide your light; some mules may balk and cause trouble to either the driver or yourself, because the cars can not be stopped instantly. If there is a room near at hand it is well to stand back in the room neck while the trip passes.

TRAVELING AN ELECTRIC-HAULAGE ROAD.

The road you have to take in going to your working place is likely to be an electric-haulage road, because in the level mines of the United States, except in some gaseous mines, electric haulage is being used much more than any other mechanical means of hauling

cars.

In mines where the haulage road is used for travel the trolley wire is usually placed on the side of the entry opposite the traveling side. If the wire is over the middle of the track, you should take the greatest care not to touch it. In a mine with electric haulage, open lights are apt to be used. It is then best to carry your lamp in your hand, because if you touch the wire with the lamp the electric current will pass through your body, giving you a severe shock; if your clothes are wet from sweat and your feet are on a wet place, the shock may kill you. For this reason it is well to wear a woolen or felt cap. Before you start work you can put on your regular miner's cap, which you can keep in the tool box in your working place when not wearing it.

If you are carrying tools, such as a pick, a bar, or a drill, do not carry them over your shoulder. Many fatal accidents have happened because tools so carried struck the trolley wire. Even if the power is off the wire when you pass, get in the habit of not touching it.

Avoid touching broken wires; a wire is not necessarily harmless because it is broken.

RIDING IN OR OUT OF THE MINE.

Do not attempt to ride on the cars unless it is permitted by the mine rules. If it is forbidden, you may be sure that there are good reasons for it and that it is dangerous. This is particularly true on slopes or inclined roads. If riding is permitted, and if the mine is a slope or incline, you must then find out what the rules are regarding how and when you may ride.

If the empty trip in which you are to ride is moving, do not try to get in the car until it stops, and do not try to jump on the bumpers of a moving trip. Hurry in getting off or on has caused many accidents. When you are in the car sit low in it, so that you will not strike a timber or a low place in the roof. Keep your arms and hands inside.

If the trip gets off the track, it generally is far better for you to remain inside the car than to try to get out, because in getting out you may be caught between the car and the rib.

If the trip knocks out a post, there is less chance of the falling timbers striking you if you are crouching down in the car.

When you have reached the siding where you are to leave the trip, wait until the trip stops, as a sudden jerk may be given to the trip by an unruly mule or, through a misunderstanding of the signals, by the hoisting-rope engineer.

In going out of the mine, if the management provides a trip of empty cars, use the same precautions as when coming in. If an empty trip is not provided, do not attempt to ride on the loaded cars, as it is extremely dangerous and is forbidden by many States and by the rules of most mines. You may get caught between the coal and the timber or roof, or the coal may roll off when there is a change in speed of the trip or when the cars come together with a bump, or a car may be derailed and the trip wrecked. You should not at any time ride the bumpers of a trip. Many men have been killed by being jolted off bumpers and falling under cars.

If the trip on which you are permitted to ride into the mine is drawn by an electric locomotive, using a trolley wire, take great care when you get into or out of the car not to touch the wire.

Avoid stepping on the rail as you get in; get in on the side opposite the trolley wire and sit down so that your head will be on the side away from it.

Be careful how you handle any tools you may have with you; do not let them touch the wires.

Under no circumstances ride on the top or the front of the locomotive. Many accidents have occurred from riding there, and in some States it is forbidden.

Only the motorman and the trip rider, if there is room on the seat for him, too, should ride on the motor, but no others.

Do not carry explosives when riding on electric haulage. In most States the carrying of explosives by a miner riding in a mine car pulled by an electric motor is forbidden. Even if it is not forbidden by the State or mine rules, you should not have explosives in the same car in which you and your fellow workmen ride with open lamps. Hundreds of serious accidents have happened from miners carrying cans or canisters of powder in a car on which there were open lamps or torches. If you make a practice of carrying an ex

plosive on a trip drawn by an electric locomotive, it is almost certain to lead to an accident. With most electric locomotives the electric current is constantly passing through the drawbars, car irons, and car wheels, particularly when the locomotive is using sand. Many fatal accidents have occurred through an electric arc or spark igniting explosives carried in a car. Even if you place the explosive in another car, that does not lessen the danger. The rules of many mines in which there is electric haulage forbid any explosives being taken into the mine when the current is on. A few years ago in southern Illinois a mine car loaded with black powder was being hauled by an electric motor when the powder exploded, killing a dozen men.

If the mine uses a rope haulage in the main entry, the main and tail ropes ought to be fastened securely and the cars should be securely coupled. If the rope haul is on a slope, additional precautions are desirable. A second rope fastened to the main rope above the socket and connected to the trip will prevent runaways if the main rope pulls out of the socket or becomes detached. Safety chains coupling the cars together will prevent the trip parting should a regular coupling become detached or broken.

In hoisting or lowering regular trips a rope fastened to the main rope above the socket, passing over the trip and connected to the last car, will prevent runaways that might be caused by the main rope pulling from the socket or by a coupling breaking. A trip going up a slope should always have a drag to stop cars from running back if the trip breaks or becomes detached from the rope.

OTHER PRECAUTIONS.

Stay near your working place during the shift. Don't prowl around the mine. Don't expose yourself needlessly to the dangers of the haulage roads.

In leaving the working face at the end of the shift, the safest plan is to wait until the coal gathering is done. There will be less danger on the roads if the last loaded trip has gone. If there is electric haulage, it may be that the power will be off then. In some mines a trip will be ready to take you out. Take the same precautions about riding the cars going out that you took when coming in. Take your time, a minute or two saved in getting out is not worth bothering about and you may get hurt if you are in too great a hurry.

If you must go out while coal trips are still moving, take the safest road. If it is a haulage road, watch constantly for trips. Don't attempt to ride on a loaded trip. You may get caught between a car and the rib or a post while attempting to get on the trip. It is not the place for you. If you try to ride between cars, you may easily slip and fall or be caught between bumpers. When riding on the rear of a trip you may fall and get a bad injury if it is going full speed.

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