Think of the thousands who are killed every year and there is no redress for it.
We will fight until the mines are made secure and human life valued more than props.
-Mother Jones
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Wednesday February 24, 1915
U. S. Bureau of Mines: 2,451 Men Died in the Coal Mines of America in 1914
Eccles Mine Disaster, West Virginia, April 28, 1914
Wives and Children Wait as Hope Fades
The United States Bureau of Mines has released a report which shows that 2,451 coal miners died on the job during the year 1914. Van H. Manning, acting director of the bureau, reports that this statistic is "rather comforting" since it represents a decrease of 334 below the number of coal miners killed on the job in 1913.
We would point out that the two largest disasters in 1913 claimed a total of 361 lives, while the two largest disasters in 1914 claimed a total of 233 lives. That difference alone accounts for 128 fewer lives lost.
The largest coal mine disaster in 1913 killed 263 coal miners at Dawson, New Mexico, on October 22nd, while the second most deadly was the explosion in the Cincinnati Mine at Finleyville, Pennsylvania, which claimed the lives of 98 miners. In 1914, in the two most deadly disasters, we lost 181 coal miners at Eccles, West Virginia, on April 28th, and 52 miners at Royalton, Illinois, on October 27.
From the Bloomington, Illinois, Daily Pantagraph of February 22, 1915:
Altoona Tribune of Pennsylvania
April 30, 1914
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MINE CASUALTIES LESS
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Number of Miners Killed
in 1914 Was 2,451,
or 334 Below Those Killed in 1913.
Washington, Feb. 21.-The 1914 casualty list for the army of three-quarters of a million men employed in the American coal mines, just made public by the United States bureau of mines, shows that 2,451 men were killed.
Comparing the deaths with the year 1913, there is a decrease of 334, or one man less killed for nearly every day in the year.
[Said Van H. Manning, acting director
of the bureau:]
Shocking as is the violent death of 2,451 men in a year's time in peaceful industry..the men of the bureau who are engaged in the campaign to reduce this casualty list find, in comparisons with other years, some facts that are rather comforting and some indications that the improvement noted in the saving of life will be further accentuated as the years pass.
Number Per 1,000 Employed.
In the first place, coal mining in 1914 cost the lives of 3.3 men in every 1,000 employed, while in the year 1913 the death rate was 3.73. That reduction alone means a saving of more than 300 lives.
The number of miners killed for every one million tons of coal mined in 1914 was 4.81. In the year 1913, there were 4.89 miners killed for every one million tons mined. With the exception of the year 1912, the 1914 rate is the lowest yet recorded for the United States.
The amount of coal produced for each miner killed in 1914 was 208,078 tons, which is the largest amount on record with the exception of the year 1912.
There were 316 lives lost in disasters in which more than five men were killed, which is a reduction of 148 deaths when compared with the disasters of 1913.
Eccles Mine Disaster
Waiting for News
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Coal Dust Almost Eliminated.
When the bureau of mines began its work, the great cause of great disasters in the coal mines of the United States was the explosion of coal dust. This phase of the problem was taken up more vigorously than any other and it is indeed gratifying to the bureau that the explosions from coal dust in 1914 have decreased 96 per cent from the previous year.
Cooperation is Acknowledged.
While the bureau of mines is leading in this national movement to reduce the number of deaths in the mines, it realizes fully that not much progress could be made were it not for the helpful cooperation it receives from the state bureaus, the miners themselves, the operators and various other agencies. The improvement being made may rightfully be credited to closer and more careful inspection by the state inspectors; better enforcement of laws and regulations by the operators; a better realization of the dangers attendant upon the miner in his daily work and his efforts to reduce accidents due to the educational campaign conducted in his behalf; the extended use of safety lamps in doubtful mines; the use of permissible explosives that have been past upon by the bureau of mines; the wetting of dusty mines to prevent explosions of coal dust; the first aid and rescue training which saves lives that otherwise might be lost by reason of injuries received; the enactment of industrial accident compensation laws; and last but not least, the fine spirit of cooperation on the part of all concerned.
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[photographs added]
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SOURCES
The Daily Pantagraph
(Bloomington, Illinois)
-Feb 22, 1915
http://www.newspapers.com/...
CDC.gov
http://www.cdc.gov/...
IMAGES
Wives and Children Wait
http://eccleswv.weebly.com/...
Headlines, Altoona Tribune of Apr 30, 1914
http://www.newspapers.com/...
Eccles Mine Disaster of 1914
http://www3.gendisasters.com/...
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29 West Virginia Coal Miners
Dream Of A Miner's Child - Johnson Mountain Boys
"Oh, I dreamed that the mines were all flaming with fire,
And the men all fought for their lives.
Just then the scene changed, and the mouth of the mines
Was covered with sweethearts and wives."
"Oh, daddy, don't go to the mines today,
For dreams have so often come true.
My daddy, my daddy, please don't go away,
For I never could live without you."
-As sung by Doc Watson
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