was a volume of 106 pages, made up almost entirely of statistical tables. It included an announcement that it was the first of a series of annual preliminary reports on mineral statistics. The 1921 report was issued on September 14, 1922. It is the intention of the Survey to issue each year a similar report relating to the preceding year. The purpose of these preliminary reports is to give to the public as soon as possible and in one compact volume statistical data formerly issued in separate bulletins and in preliminary press notices, depicting the progress of the mineral industry as a whole during the year.

INQUIRIES OFTENER THAN ANNUAL.

The Division of Mineral Resources issues weekly statements concerning coal production, monthly statements relative to petroleum production, and quarterly statements of quicksilver production. Statistics of the annual production of these minerals are of course included in the regular annual publications; the more frequent statements are to satisfy the demands of the public for more current data. During the war, monthly and weekly reports were issued on several other subjects in response to urgent though temporary demand.

DIVISION OF POWER RESOURCES.

The Division of Power Resources secures from about 4,000 public utility plants in the United States monthly reports on card schedules showing for each the kilowatt hour production by (separately) water power and fuel, and the consumption for electric power production of (separately) anthracite coal, bituminous coal, coke, oil, and gas.

After the card schedules pertaining to any month have been tabulated, a mimeographed report is prepared, showing by States the number of thousand kilowatt hours produced by water power and by power derived from fuels; and showing also by States the consumption of coal (short tons) and of petroleum and derivatives (barrels) and of natural gas (thousands of cubic feet). The statistics presented in these monthly reports are cumulated; the report for each month repeating the corresponding statistics for each preceding month of the calendar year. Each report is issued about two months after the close of the month to which the latest statistics in the report pertain. About 1,000 copies of each issue are printed, for circulation to the technical press, engineers, investors, etc.

BUREAU OF MINES.

The Bureau of Mines was established in 1910. Its statistical investigations, however, are now conducted under the authority granted by the following sections of an Act approved February 25, 1913:

Sec. 2. That it shall be the province and duty of the Bureau of Mines subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior to conduct inquiries and scientific and technologic investigations concerning mining, and the preparation, treatment, and utilization of mineral substances with a view to improving health conditions, and increasing safety, efficiency, economic development, and conserving resources through the prevention of waste in the mining, quarrying, metallurgical, and other mineral industries; to inquire into the economic conditions affecting these industries; to investigate explosives and peat; and on behalf of the Government to investigate the mineral fuels and unfinished mineral products belonging to, or for the use of, the United States, with a view to their most efficient mining, preparation, treatment and use; and to disseminate information concerning these subjects in such manner as will best carry out the purposes of this Act.

Sec. 3. That the director of said bureau shall prepare and publish, subject to the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, under the appropriations made from time to time by Congress, reports of inquiries and investigations, with appropriate recommendations of the bureau, concerning the nature, causes, and prevention of accidents, and the improvement of conditions, methods, and equipment, with special reference to health, safety, and prevention of waste in the mining, quarrying, metallurgical, and other mineral industries; the use of explosives and electricity, safety methods and appliances, and rescue and first-aid work in said industries; the causes and prevention of mine fires; and other subjects included under the provisions of this Act.

The statistical inquiries of the Bureau of Mines do not include the collection of data relating to the quantities or values of minerals produced. They are limited to accidents to mine, quarry, metallurgical, and coke-oven workers, and to the production of explosives and of refined petroleum. Statistics of these classes are presented in bulletin form. The statistics presented in other reports issued by the Bureau, are merely compilations from various publications. They do not represent original inquiries by the Bureau of Mines.

Statistics of Accidents.

The Bureau of Mines collects, tabulates, and publishes statistics of accidents to workers in (1) Metal mines; (2) metallurgical works; (3) quarries; (4) coke ovens; and (5) coal mines (fatalities only). In general the methods of collecting and presenting these statistics are uniform for the first four classes given, but special procedures are applied in the case of fatalities in coal mines. In the discussion which follows the collection of statistics relating to this class of accidents will accordingly be separately described.

COLLECTION OF DATA.

The object of these statistics is to provide an analysis of the causes and frequency of accidents for the purposes of accident prevention and increased safety in the mineral industries of the whole United States. The necessary information is obtained by mail from operators in these industries, except as noted below. Agencies in the

governments of the few States which collect statistics on these topics use methods of compilation which are not uniform and the data are not comparable.

As metal mines and metallurgical plants are often operated together, a single schedule is employed to secure the data relating to establishments of these classes. A special schedule is used, however, for the larger mines and plants, providing for a more detailed classification of accidents than appears on the schedule for the smaller establishments. For example, where the schedule for the smaller establishments sets forth merely the total numbers killed or injured by electricity in metal mines, the special schedule is designed to show the numbers killed or injured by (a) direct contact with trolley wires, (b) by striking trolley wires with tools or bars, (c) by contact with motors, or (d) by electricity in other ways.

Separate schedules are used for obtaining data relating to accidents in quarries and to accidents in coke ovens.

Questions necessarily related to a determination of the true accident ratio appear on all the schedules, chiefly concerning the number of men employed during the year on different classes of work, and the number of days of operation during the year.

The period of time covered by the inquiries is the calendar year. The schedules are sent out at the close of each year, with the request. that they be filled out from the records of accidents occurring during the year, as kept by the respective establishments. The Bureau has no power to compel the return of its schedules of inquiry; but it has been uniformly successful in obtaining the voluntary cooperation of the establishments engaged in the different branches of the mineral industry.

In order that the establishments requested to fill out the special schedules referred to above may have the required data readily at hand and in proper form, the Bureau offers to furnish each one a standard record form, for use during the year. About 300 operators are using the Bureau's form.

The metal mine and metallurgical work schedules are sent to about 7,000 establishments, the quarry schedule to about 5,000, and the coke-oven schedule to about 1,000.

TABULATION AND PRESENTATION OF THE STATISTICS.

The returned schedules are tabulated by hand. The statistics are published in four annual bulletins entitled, respectively, Metal Mine Accidents in the United States, Accidents at Metallurgical Works in the United States, Quarry Accidents in the United States and Coke-oven Accidents in the United States. The circulation of these bulletins is practically restricted to the establishments sub

mitting the individual reports. Copies are furnished, however, to public libraries, public officials, technical journals, and others interested in the subject.

Statistics of Coal Mine Fatalities.

The statistical inquiries of the Bureau of Mines relating to coal mine accidents are restricted to those accidents which result fatally. These inquiries are not made directly of operators as is the practice in collecting statistics of accidents in other mineral industries, the information being furnished monthly by the coal mining inspectors of the several States.

The former practice of printing monthly reports of coal-mine fatalities has been abandoned, and, since January, 1922, brief monthly reports in mimeographed form are issued, containing a table of fatalities for the current month, by States and causes, and a short paragraph of text summarizing the cumulative figures for the lapsed portion of the year. An annual report covering fatalities in coal mines is issued in printed form.

Production of Explosives.

In connection with its effort to aid in reducing the number of accidents resulting from the use of explosives, the Bureau of Mines annually collects statistics relating to the quantities of explosives of various classes applied to different purposes in each State. These are statistics of shipments only; not of production. Shipments are classified by States to which shipped and by general uses to which the explosives are to be put, as coal mining, other mining, railway and other construction work, and miscellaneous.

For the purpose of its statistical reports, the Bureau of Mines groups explosives into three classes, black blasting powder, permissible explosives, and high explosives other than permissible. The Bureau defines these three classes of explosives as follows (Bureau of Mines Technical Paper No. 159):

Black blasting powder.-All black powder with sodium or potassium nitrate as a constituent.

Permissible explosives.—Ammonium nitrate explosives, hydrated explosives, organic nitrate explosives, and certain nitroglycerin explosives containing an excess of free water or carbon. All permissible explosives have passed certain tests of the Bureau of Mines, and are not to be regarded as permissible unless used in the manner specified by the Bureau.

High explosives other than permissible.-Dynamite and all other high explosives of various trade names and compositions, except permissible explosives. Three schedules are used for obtaining the data on explosive shipments, one for each class of explosives. The Institute of Makers of Explosives, with headquarters in New York City, cooperates in the distribution of these schedules.

The returned schedules are tabulated in the Bureau of Mines by hand. The results of the inquiry are each year presented in a bulletin entitled Production of Explosives in the United States.

Statistics of Petroleum Refinery Products.

The Bureau of Mines obtains from petroleum refineries monthly reports of the production and stocks on hand of gasoline, kerosene, and other refinery products. These reports are compiled and a monthly statement, in mimeographed form, issued by the Bureau showing total quantities produced and stocks on hand for the entire country. Summary statements are prepared at the end of each year.

About 600 refineries make monthly reports in the manner indicated; and each one is furnished copies of the monthly and annual mimeographed reports of the Bureau.

Special Investigations.

Special investigations in which some statistical work is done are often undertaken by the Bureau of Mines. Examples of these special investigations are to be found in studies made of certain diseases prevalent among miners, a semi-annual survey of the quality of gasoline marketed, etc.

GENERAL LAND OFFICE.

The General Land Office was established under the Act approved April 25, 1812, as an Office in the Treasury Department. By the Act of March 3, 1849, it was transferred to the newly created Department of the Interior.

This Office collects no statistics other than those necessary in reporting upon the work performed in administering the laws relating to the Public Domain. These statistics, which are published in the Annual Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, relate to the area (land and water) of the States and Territories; the number and acreage of homestead, timber and stone, desert-land, coal-land, and timber-culture entries; land and scrip granted to States and Territories for educational and other purposes; lands patented or certified to States and corporations for railroad and military wagon-road purposes; withdrawals and restorations of public lands under various acts of Congress; payments made for hydroelectric power projects; public and Indian lands entered; public lands surveyed and unsurveyed in public land States; areas of National forests, by States; bird reserves; cash receipts from the disposal of public and Indian lands; and the area and character of