Recognizing the Problem

A Grim

Introduction to a

New Century©June 15, 2007

Dr. Bradley C Paul

The Kindling of Change in a New Century

• New Political Forces building coalitions of the down-trodden masses

• High Profile Disasters that disrupt business as usual– Roof and rib falls were the big killers– But Explosions that Kill Hundreds grab

headlines

The New Sheriff In Town

• The Progressives– Theodore Roosevelt – President for a New Industrial

Nation– Shaking down network of political and wealthy elect

• Political reforms to reach and appeal to people

– They were eager to reform abuses – but not to cool the engines

• United Mine Workers of America– Major victories in peasant rebellions 1897 and 1902– At first about wages and rights of people to organize

A Warning that All Would Not Be WellMay 1, 1900 was to be the May Day celebration or Dewey Day. Town had justGot a new Navy coal contract – Miners went to work at daybreak lighting theCandles on their miners cap and went to work. They were Scheduled to get off at noon for the celebration – They never made it.

Worst Explosion in US History (Up to that time)

Between 10:15 and 10:30 explosion that some mistook for cannon fire andCelebrationA bad explosive shot or accidental ignition of the powder reserve stirred up coal dustFanned blast throughout #4 mine (Coal dust – spreader of death in all early20th century blasts)Man and mule at entrance were thrown across canyon – man impaled on a tree 250 meters away (he was a survivor)

Poison Gas spread within minutes to mine #1

Rescue workers had to wait 20 minutes for smoke to clear enough to enter –Only to pull charred and burned bodies or those who had been cut-downCrawling toward safety.

Official count is 200 but rescue workers reported pulling 246 bodies, someHistorians believe count may have been closer to 350.

Charity or Liability

Debts of the Victims families at the company store were canceled ($8,000). CompanyGave $500 to affected families. Governor of State tried to organize a $110,000 reliefFund. (The goal was never reached and many widows around 150 still were waitingFor aid as they faced onset of winter with no breadwinner).

Enforcement – State mine inspector investigated burn patterns at a coroners inquestTo determine a problem with powder ignition – it was suggested the company wet down coal dust

What Did Inspectors Do?

• Inspectors did “post mortems” on accidents– Sometimes had some expertise in tracing down likely

causes• Helped to identify miner errors without questioning whether

owners were negligent

– Most had limited power to deal with things pre-accident and little manpower or budget to try

• Inspectors had power to make suggestions– Often lacked technology or means to make practical

suggestions• How do you wet down a mine full of coal dust?

The First Salvo of What Was to be the Worst Decade in American Mining History

• Fraterville – Coal Creek, Tennessee May 19, 1902 (184 official count 226 likely)– Only 3 men left alive in town

• Rolling Mill – Johnstown, Pennsylvania – July 10, 1902 (112 official count)

• Hanna #1 – Hanna, Wyoming – June 30, 1903 (169 official count)

• Harwick – Cheswick, Pennsylvania – Jan 25, 1904 (179 official count)

• Virginia City – Virginia City, Alabama – Feb 20, 1905 (112 official count)

• By beginning of Dec, 1907 71 major mine explosions

The Punches that Wouldn’t Go Away

10:20 AM – Dec 6, 1907 town which was built over mine shook. Horses wereKnocked off their feet. Flames shot 200ft from the entrance. Cement roof ofHaulage buildings lifted and thrown 260 meters

Monongah, West Virginia

The Scream

Towns people gathered watch as people went down and tried to dig through theCollapsed entrance. Crowds were in hysterics and almost uncontrollable

Crews Struggled to Uncover the Openings

A lone person who had just entered struggled to the surface, burned, poisonedAnd almost stripped naked. Rescue workers collapsed from poisonous fumes.60 meters in 4 people were found barely alive (they died of CO next day)

Scenes from a Morgue Shook the Nation

Some accounts place dead at more than 500.Mines did not keep record of everyone whoHad entered. Some did sign in the professional miners but not the support labor.Official tolls are often based on burials recorded as dead from mine disaster ratherThan bodies removed. When many bodies are just pieces who can know for sure?

A Systems Failure?

• Monongah was inspected by State Inspector on Oct 6, 2007– There were no methane problems found – mine was

considered relatively ungassy– Coal dust was reported under control – yet it was coal

dust that blew the entire mine to pieces• Coroners inquest conclusion was that a

overcharges explosive shot had stirred up coal dust resulting in the explosion– Are some reports that claim electric motor car lost

control went down slope started explosion

Pressure That Wouldn’t QuitYolande Alabama exploded 10 days later on Dec. 16, 1907

(official count 57 dead)SEVENTY-FIVE DIED IN MINE EXPLOSION

Forty Bodies Recovered From Debris of the Yolande Workings

DUST WAS RESPONSIBLE United Press Dispatch. Yolande, Ala., Dec. 17.—Estimates at noon are that from 72 to 75 are dead as a result of yesterday’s explosion. Forty bodies have now been recovered. The remainder will be brought out by night. The explosion was below the second right sub-entry. The mines go down about 1,500 feet. The force of the explosion was made known out-side by the dust and timbers blown out in great quantities, destroying small buildings nearby and landing some distance away. There was terrific heat near the shaft after the explosion. Officers of the mining company immediately took steps to start a rescue party to get to the men on the inside. The fans were started and other means employed to eliminate the bad air. Within an hour 14 men had crawled out of the mine, and their description of the interior conditions was terrible. Several of these men were severely burned. For two hours after the explosion it was impossible to venture even near the mouth of the mine, so hot was the air that rushed out.

The decisionTo start mineFans – that Some minesHad providedEnough air forSome to escape

Three Days Later Darr Mine in Pennsylvania Exploded

Mine blew up at 11:20 to 11:30 AM Dec. 19, 1907. Within 15 minutes rescueTeams had assembled to begin getting people out but the damage was so severe there was little hope.

Many of the StateMine inspectorsCalled to the sceneWere still atMonongah.

They Found Dead Bodies

The wagon loads once used to haul coal were now used to haul out the scoresOf dead.

One of the firstScenes was theShambles ofThe foremansShack – 4 deadIn an uprightPosition and theForman on theGround with hisHead missing. –They knew earlyHe wouldn’t talk.

Company Generosity

250 caskets were ordered and teams of undertakers gathered at circus tents thatCould hold 100 bodies at a time.

After consultationWith companyHeadquarters it wasDecided that theCompany wouldSupply free funeralsTo all the widowedAnd FatherlessFamilies.

Inside the Tents

Bodies lay with belongings near by to aid in identification. Not as dismembered as some.

The Deadliest Month in US HistoryOnly one miner near the DarrEntrance crawled out.

One more mine blew up atCarthage New Mexico – deathToll was only 11 but punchesWouldn’t quit.

Although the Explosions grabbedThe headlines and shocked theNation, 3000 miners died inAccidents that month.

(U.S. was a nation of 78 millionWith a single industry as deadlyAs the 9/11 attacks of 2001)

The Human DimensionWe are shut up in the head of the entry with little air and the bad air is closing in on us fast. It is about 12 o'clock. Dear Ellen, I will have to leave you in bad condition. But dear wife,put your trust in the Lord to help you raise my little children. Ellen, take care of my little darling Lillie. Ellen, little Elbert said he believed in the Lord. He said he was saved if we never see the outside again, he would meet his mother in heaven. He would meet his mother in heaven if he never lived to git out. We are not hurt bad, only perishing for air. There is but few of us here. I don't know where the other miners are at. Elbert said for you all to meet us in heaven, All the children meet us both in heaven.

Alice, do the best you can. I am going to rest. Goodbye Alice. Elbert said the lord had saved him. Do the best you can with the children. We are all perishing for air to support us. but it is getting so bad without any air. Charlie said for you to wear his shoes and clothing. It is now 1- 1/2 o'clock. Marvell Harmon's watch is now in Andy Wood's hands. Ellen, I want you to live right and come to heaven. Raise the children the best way you can. Oh how I would love to be with you. Goodbye to all of you. Bury me an Elbert in the same grave. Tell little Ellen goodbye. Goodbye Ellen. Goodbye Horace. We are together. It is now 25 minutes after 2 o'clock. A few of us are alive yet, Jacob and Elbert. Oh God for one more breath! Ellen, remember me as long as you live.

Letters of the Fratersville Tennessee Miners 1902

You Have to Tell Them

Why Mine Explosions are Such a Big Deal

• Rock and Rib falls are almost always the number 1 killers

• People respond to events – left without major events most people will follow the status quo

• Government Officials, Holders of Wealth, up and coming want continued steady growth of their values– Most societies have some form of law to control people

from rabble rousing the general peace• Bad performance builds resentment but it can

often be controlled if people can be kept from sharing frustration – and if nothing happens to rally around

Damage Control

• Organizations try to quash or re-spin unfavorable events to prevent them from becoming rallying points for unrest

• Damage Control is harder the more people who share the same experience

• Mine Explosions kill large numbers of people in headline screaming fashion and put large numbers of people in horrific shared experience– Almost everyone in community effected instantly– Winter Quarters wiped out 20% of Finish American population of

State– Fraterville left only 3 men alive in the whole town

• In turn of the Century US relief came from welfare and aid appeals – the very process of coping involves the nation!

Unfolding Dramas

Families Gathered for word ofLoved ones after FratersvilleExplosion in 1902

Families Gathered near an ambulance atRolling Mill Mine following 1902Explosion

These dramas took days to unfold andDominated national headlines andLocal discussions.

Grim Endings

Mass Funeral at Castle Gate 1924

Dead loaded onto railCar – Fratersville 1902

Onlookers at mass funeralsAt Monongah 1907

Hursts and mass burials following the Cherry Mine Fire 1909

Orphaned Children Widowed Wives

Last night in two little hamlets, weeping women, many with babes in their arms, tell the tale of happy homes bereft and springing hope blighted. Survivors, be it said, are bearing up bravely and most of them seem resigned to the fate of those who knew too well the risk their loved ones took, but who had fondly hoped that they might be exempted from the death toll exacted.

Orphaned Children of the CherryMine Fire 1909

Widows and Children of theFraterville Miners 1902

The Echo of the Words of Rescuers

In the year 1902, when the explosion occurred at Fraterville, they wired for me to come at once and to bring experienced miners with me. This I did. When I arrived at the mine, all was confusion. A few bodies had been brought out. Men, women,

and children were crying at the entrance of the mine. It was heart-rending to hear them.

On the inside, you must forget the cries of women and children and also forget many dangers that surround you in the mine. You have a duty to perform to a

fellow miner and to remove dead bodies to their relatives on the outside. The first bodies we came to were on their knees in a praying position.

The last evening, when I reached the outside of the mine, an old white-haired man came running to me and asked me if we had found his grandson. He said he had a wide leather belt around his waist. The old man was heart-broken. It took force to keep him from going into the mine. Finally, part of a boy’s body was brought out. It was his grandson. When clearing up the mine we found a boy’s torso with the

belt still around his body.

Peasants Had Their Own Voice

"Main Thing was Management Neglect"

All of the mining disasters of December, 1907 had several things in common. The main thing was management neglect and insome cases brutal criminal negligence. Black powder was used for blasting in all of these stricken mines. Coal dust was allowed to accumulate in spite of warnings from England that it was highly explosive. All of the mines were gassy and seem to have been poorly ventilated.

Neglect

• Darr Mine had bad ventilation– Previous manager and foreman had resigned over unsafe

conditions– Chambell, new foreman had got mine to build new shaft

• They were just 40 feet from breaking through

– Although management denied – they had broken into old workings that could release methane into the mine

• Management accessed mine through other portals and renamed it after the disaster

– Official company line was that foreman (who was one of the first found – missing his head) had cordoned off an area with high methane and miners had gone around barricade and touched off the explosion with their open oil lamps

Other Cases

• Harwick mine had fans but they had been turned off for the weekend shifts that went on anyway– Was considered a good

ventilation system for relatively low amount of gas

• Fratersville mine was ventilated by an old funnel system– Fire was out over the weekend

before explosion– State Inspectors Appeal to

Install a Mechanical Fan had been ignored

Fratersville Mine Entrance 1902

Cherry Mine Fire

• Nov. 13, 1909 power system had broke down mine was lit by open lanterns– Hay was lowered down and put in a cart for 40

mules that were stabled underground• Carelessly put under a lantern caught fire• Was pushed to the ventilation and man shaft to

lower to 3rd level where they had a hose• Fire was out of control and smoke was filling mine

before even told workers the mine was on fire• As miners gathered by hoisting shaft they were left

while coal was hoisted to keep production

The Cherry Mine Fire

• Survivors groped through dark and smoke– Lanterns were out and matches wouldn’t stay lit

• Rescue parties organized at the surface went down to try to pull people out– #7 rescue party never came back– 12 of the rescuers were among the dead

A Horrifying Drama Twist

When the fire could not be put out byNov. 15 (2 days) the shaft was sealedWith hundreds of miners trapped belowRescuers went in when the mine was reopened after several days to recover bodies.Amazingly they found miners who had barricaded and survived.But the fire re-erupted forcing mine to be sealed for 3 months

Liability Issue

• Mining Company went into bankruptcy when after the fire

• State had not yet put a Workers Compensation Law on the Books– Determined to try to use a British formula

• $400,000 in charitable and appropriated funds and $400,000 out of company gave families $1,700 each.– (in 1913 a miner made about $800 per year)

Forced to Action

• Realities for industry– Not whether but what kind of action was going to be taken– Industries hope was to stave off big government crack downs in favor or industries

own solution– Publicity was clear that there would be a solution– Mines began to change some of their own policies

• Move toward flame safety lamps

• Succeeded in holding back federal intervention– 1908 Division set up in the US Geologic Survey to investigate why mines were

blowing up and so dangerous• Few post mortum inspectors with no right to demand entry or information

– After more bad news separate 1910 Bureau of Mines with charge to find safer technological solutions and methods

• Numerous State Laws – but kept relatively benign to industry– Under UMWA pressure state laws passed dealing with handling of powder and

demanding better ventilation– Existing inspection and recording laws were strengthened– 1910 Illinois law made mining companies liable for disasters

Changes Going into 1910s

• Safety became a serious criteria in new technologies– Common denominators in mine explosions

• Miners open lamps and lanterns or fire shooting from blasting ignites methane build-up or surges which ignites the coal dust and blows the mine up

– Safety lamps and lanterns begin to replace open flame lighting– Clear value of electric ventilation fans

• Needed for going deeper for coal – cheaper than shafts and made good feelings for safety inspectors

• Laws were starting to require– Blessing the laws they could live with

• The hope – better ventilation and getting rid of big ignition sources would prevent methane build-up and ignition– Problem of coal dust was still unsolved

Ventilation Technology

Ohio Ventilation Systems

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By 1930 almost allMines that ran regularlyHad fans

In 1900 only few bestMines had fans

Specific Codified Ventilation Requirements

• Common 4.37 cubic meters/minute per man

• 11.65 cubic meters/minute per mule

• Was usually a fan or shaft output but no requirements on how it was distributed through mine– Not into ventilation surveys

Different Procedures

• Idea of having a safety inspector or foreman go around before the shift to check for methane with a safety lamp more common– Had been a requirement in some State laws but

now was being looked at more closely

The Press of Technology

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Another new innovation was the first mechanical coal loaders to replaceHand loading

Over80% by1914

A Revolution in Responsibility

• 1910 New York Passes first Workmans Compensation Law• 1910 Illinois passes liability law fixing responsibility for conditions• 1915 Pennsylvania Becomes the First State to Enact Workmens

Compensation for Coal Mining– Funded by 2.5 cent tax on every ton of coal produced (fund of about $6.5

million)– Was part of the Progressives drive started in 1902-1906– By 1920 all but 6 States had some form of it.

• Old Doctrine of Owner Responsibility– Workers elected to take certain risks with certain occupations – therefore

employers have no responsibility for those risks– Most mining accidents were resulted from some employee action and the

company can’t be responsible for that– Relief was through Tort law – but you had to prove employer negligence

• You know who owned the courts

The Old Rules in Action

• Most benevolent – Winter Quarters– Cancelled debts and paid $500 per family

• Fratersville – Tenn– After lawsuits settled out of court for $361 per family

• Hanna – Wyoming, Union Pacific’s mining subsidiary refused to do anything but pay for funerals

• Darr mine disaster company paid for funerals• In all fairness most mining companies were no

where close to capitalized to pay for lifetime of lost income

A New Doctrine

• Employers are responsible for providing a reasonably safe workplace– State laws on minimum standards became more

numerous

– Also made negligence more apparent

• Companies are responsible for its agents that it selects and controls

• Workers get compensation based on injuries not fault

Why Companies Went Along with Workman’s Compensation

• It protected company pride– Old system required company to be attacked and shown

to be in wrong– No one wanted to be responsible for a high profile

disaster• Darr mine owners moved main access to another portal and

renamed the mine to make it go away

• It created a more certain cost– Court was unpredictable – Workman’s Compensation

was a set fee– This was the beginning of accidents becoming more

costly

An Accidental Change of History

• 1917 U.S. was drawn in World War I• A Government Fuel Commission negotiated a

contract with UMWA to guarantee no labor strife to disrupt the “engines” of the economy

• Set a Wage Rate of $5/day for a miner– It changed future contract battles to fight over a day

wage or hour wage– It ended the piece work rate that penalized miners for

unproductive safety work (such as roof support)• Companies still wanted productive workers• Workers incentive to ignore safety for an extra ton was

weakened

Did the Progressive Succeed?

Impact of the Progressives

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Despite over 50% increase in coal production both the number of explosionsAnd number killed declined. (Number killed per explosion was aboutConstant so much of the success was in reducing # of explosions).

Tonnage and Success

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Through the 1900s technology only allowed mines to move to more dangerousTerritory and tons of coal per death or disaster declined steadily.The Progressive Era reversed the trend and actually brought new records for tons produced per explosion suffered.

Safety or Productivity?

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Phase out of manual mining left mining at about 125% of turn of the centuryProductivity and in range of 1000 tons per man year.Yellow bar shows what tons per death should have been if productivity wasDriving the improvement – clearly new safety efforts had an impact

The Bitter TruthImpact of the Progressives

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The figures and death rates are still pretty awful! - Progressives made someIncremental efforts and received only incremental results. Between 1911And 1920 over 24,000 died in U.S. coal mines – nearly half US death toll forWorld War I was 57,000

The Progressives Tools

• Mine Safety Programs– Bigger mines cut ignition sources– Bigger mines added inspections searching for methane before shifts

• State Regulatory Programs Got more Specifics– Rules on Powder– Rules on Ventilation– More certification programs and minimum training requirements

• Technology– Forced ventilation became more dominant– Safety became a consideration for new equipment

• Of course that was more common at the big mines• Education of Miners

– Most important change may have been an accident – the daily wage

Villains Still On the Loose

• Federal Regulation had been held back to having Bureau of Mines research the problem

• Industry wanted to manage its own clean up but had no enforcement powers for those who persisted

• State inspectors had minimum power– They could check for a set of standards and make fusses– For people who really refused any effort they could push a few

fines– They could usually shut down violations that made the mines too

hazardous to work in (but most mine accidents come from little things that most of the time don’t kill people)

• The power they had was looking for the wrong thing

• There was no solution to the problem of coal dust igniting and blowing fire through the whole mine.