SOME BENEFITS FROM THE WORK OF THE BUREAU.

The extremely high death rate among the workers in the mineral industries in the United States, and especially among coal miners, was seen to be the matter most urgently demanding investigation by the Bureau of Mines at the time of its establishment. Consequently the early activities of the bureau centered about investigations to determine the causes of explosions in coal mines and methods by which such explosions could be prevented or checked, and safer and more healthful conditions in the coal-mining industry developed. It follows that the most notable result of the bureau's efforts during the past five years has been the development of a general public interest in greater safety and better health conditions in mines and metallurgical plants, and the gaining of the cooperation and active aid of all possible agencies in the progress of this movement.

The Bureau of Mines makes no claim to having been the first agency to call attention to the high death rate among miners; nor does it claim it was the first to urge the need of safer methods. It has gladly welcomed the aid of all agencies that have sought to better conditions, and it freely concedes the credit that is due them for what they have done. The bureau does claim, however, that its work has served to stimulate a nation-wide movement for greater safety in all industries and that the value of this work has been great and can not be measured in dollars. In its efforts to increase safety and efficiency in the mining industries, a general plan of cooperation has been adopted by the Federal Government and the larger agencies working for the same end. This plan is as follows:

1. That the National Government conduct the necessary general inquiries and investigations in regard to the mining industries and disseminate, in such manner as may prove most effective, the information obtained and conclusions reached.

2. That each State enact needed legislation and make ample provision for the proper inspection of mining operations within its borders.

3. That the mine owners introduce improvements with a view to increasing safety and reducing waste of resources as rapidly as the practicability of such improvements is demonstrated.

4. That the miners and mine managers cooperate both in making and enforcing safety rules and regulations as rapidly as these are shown to be practicable.

That this plan of cooperation is working to the public good is shown by the results already obtained in the saving of miners entombed by explosions; in the alleviation of suffering and the saving of life among miners who have received first-aid treatment; in the enactment of State laws to increase safety, prevent accidents, and lessen waste; and in the tendency to demand more efficient inspection in mining and other industrial establishments.

DEVELOPMENT OF METHODS OF PREVENTING DUST EXPLOSIONS IN COAL MINES.

That coal dust raised into the air by concussion and ignited may cause mine explosions more widespread and terrible than those of fire damp, a fact doubted by many mining men, was established by the bureau through its investigations of mine explosions, through laboratory tests, and through large-scale experiments at its experimental mine. Dusts from hundreds of mines in different coal fields have been studied and their relative inflammability has been determined. The possibility of improper explosives, or the improper use of explosives, causing explosions has been investigated, as has the possibility of explosions starting from electric sparks, miners' lamps, or mine fires. In addition, suggested methods of rendering coal dust harmless have been tested at the experimental coal mine. Devices used in Europe have been improved and new and more effective devices have been designed. Through the use of these improved devices it is practically certain that coal-dust explosions can be limited to small areas and can be prevented from spreading through a mine even after they are well started.

INCREASED USE OF APPROVED EXPLOSIVES.

Nearly 25,700,000 pounds of permissible explosives, 19,600,000 pounds of which was used in the coal mines, was consumed in this country during the calendar year 1914, displacing more than an equal amount of relatively more dangerous black powder. These permissible explosives have quick short flames, much less liable to ignite gas or dust than the flames of black powder or dynamite. No great explosion disaster has been traced to the use of these explosives, and their introduction marks one of the greatest advances yet made in increasing safety in dusty or gaseous coal mines. Investigations of explosives for use in metal mines are needed, but little more than a beginning has been made because of lack of funds.

SAFEGUARDING THE USE OF ELECTRICITY IN MINES.

By calling attention to the possible dangers attending the use of electricity in mines the bureau has led manufacturers to devise safer types of apparatus, especially electrical switches and motors, that can be used in gaseous atmospheres without danger of causing explosions by sparks or flashes. Also, the bureau's activities have led to the manufacture of approved types of hand and cap lamps for miners, by which the work of mining is rendered safer. Several States have enacted stricter laws regarding electrical equipment in mines, these laws being based on recommendations made by the bureau. Lack of men and funds has prevented the bureau from taking up certain electrical investigations that are needed. Such investigations should cover storage-battery locomotives, the ignition of coal dust in air by electric flashes, and electric signaling systems for mines.

RESCUE AND FIRST-AID METHODS DEVELOPED.

By demonstrating the use of rescue apparatus and by training miners in methods of recovery work after mine disasters and of administering first aid to those injured by accidents the Bureau of

Mines has aroused and strengthened the movement for increasing safety and preventing accidents in all industries. Since the beginning of this educational work by the Government 33,552 miners have been trained by the crews of the bureau's stations and cars. Moreover, as a direct result of this educational work, and through the efforts of men who had received training, 200 men have been rescued from mines after explosions or other disasters. Many mines have established first-aid and rescue corps, and interest in these methods is being stimulated by first-aid contests between teams representing different mining companies and by teams representing miners' organizations in different States.

Legislation enacted at the last session of Congress provides for the establishment of additional safety stations to be under the supervision of the Bureau of Mines. Through these stations, if necessary funds are provided for their operation, training can be given and facilities provided for the training of miners in districts where such training and facilities have long been requested. One of the great benefits of this rescue and safety work of the bureau is the promoting of good citizenship among miners through the demonstration of the Government's interest in their welfare.

MORE HEALTHFUL CONDITIONS IN METAL MINES AIDED. Few of the metal-mining investigations begun by the bureau have been in progress long enough to show large results. In the Joplin district, Missouri, an investigation made in cooperation with the bureau of the Public Health Service has revealed an excessively high mortality from tuberculosis and the importance of siliceous dust in mine air as a causative agent. In consequence of the bureau's work active measures to abate dust and make conditions in and about the mines more healthful have been taken by State and local authorities, by mining companies, and by miners.

Studies in metal mines in other districts have shown the need of better ventilation and of taking further precautions to safeguard health.

STATISTICS OF ACCIDENTS IN THE MINERAL INDUSTRIES.

When the Bureau of Mines was established no accurate and comparable statistics of mine accidents were available for all the mining States. Many of the States had an inspection service, but as each State had a different system of classifying accidents the collected figures were not precisely comparable and could not be readily used as a basis for efforts to increase safety in mining.

Limited funds restricted the bureau's efforts to collect accident statistics, but through the hearty cooperation of State mine inspectors it was able to compile an annual statement of coal-mine fatalities and later, through the cooperation of mine and quarry owners, to publish statistics of metal-mine and quarry accidents. Still later the bureau compiled annual statements of the production and distribution of explosives by States, and finally it collected accident statistics for coke ovens, ore-dressing plants, and smelters.

Under a cooperative arrangement with all State coal-mine inspectors a monthly report of coal-mine fatalities, showing the number, cause, and distribution by States, is published shortly after the close of each month.

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All of the coal-mine fatalities (over 50,000) reported by State mine inspectors since the beginning of inspection by each State have been tabulated by causes, calendar years, and States, the figures covering the mining of more than 89 per cent of all the coal produced in the United States since 1807. A bulletin containing these figures, which is soon to be published, will place for the first time all reported coal-mine fatalities on a calendar-year basis under a uniform classification.

DETERMINATION OF THE QUALITY OF DIFFERENT COALS.

Up to 1904, when the coal investigations ultimately assigned to the Bureau of Mines were undertaken, relatively little information was available regarding the character of the coals in the United States and their suitability for different purposes. As a result of the bureau's work there has been compiled a series of comparable analyses of the coals found in the different parts of this country, which are proving of great value to Government engineers and purchasing agents and to all large users of coal.

INSPECTION OF COAL PURCHASED FOR THE GOVERNMENT. The importance of supervising more carefully the Government's coal purchases was early recognized, as coal was being purchased according to reputation and trade name rather than on the basis of its quality as measured by contained moisture, volatile matter, and ash, and by heating value and efficiency as demonstrated by utilization under the conditions to be met. Coal was purchased simply as coal, and no check was had on the character and quality supplied the consumer. Under the supervision of the Bureau of Mines uniform specifications have been developed. These prescribe in detail definite requirements for coal purchased by the Government. The plan of purchasing on the specification basis was first adopted by the Treasury Department in 1906, and this method of purchase has since been extended until the plan-variously modified in form but the same in principle has been adopted by all the departments of the Government, and is applied to almost all contracts large enough to warrant sampling and analysis and heating-value tests. The value of the coal purchased annually by the Government under specifications prepared by the Bureau of Mines or under the advice of the bureau is now not less than $7,800,000.

The results of other fuel investigations published by the bureau have served as a basis for improving equipment used to heat public buildings and for the development of improved types of power-plant furnaces and boilers. Moreover, these investigations have stimulated the development of more efficient gas producers. Investigations of house-heating equipment are developing results that promise to lower the cost of heating private buildings the country over.

BY-PRODUCTS IN COKE MAKING.

The value of the by-products annually lost in this country through the coking of coal in beehive ovens amounts to more than $40,000,000. The wastefulness of the beehive oven has long been known, but only

The value becomes much larger if crude intermediate products (for making dyestuffs, etc.) be included in the estimate.

recently has the pressing need of recovering these by-products and of building up a by-product industry, including the manufacture of dyestuffs and other coal-tar derivatives, been made clearly evident. The bureau has called attention to the possibilities of the by-product industry and to the work necessary for its upbuilding.

SAFETY IN METALLURGICAL PLANTS.

Statistics of accidents in mills, cyanide plants, and smelters have been collected, some tentative general studies of health and safety conditions at metallurgical plants (including iron blast furnaces and steel works) have been made, and definite recommendations for the improvement of health and safety conditions have been prepared. The need of further investigations is shown by the accident figures collected by the bureau, which indicate that more than 7,000 are injured annually in ore-dressing and smelting plants alone. A much larger but as yet undetermined number of persons are injured in the iron and steel plants of the country.

DECREASE OF WASTE AND INCREASE OF EFFICIENCY IN MINERAL TECHNOLOGY.

Some three years ago the problems of miscellaneous mineral technology, which includes the preparation and use of the minor metals, rare metals, and various minerals used in the arts, were assigned to the division of mineral technology, and Dr. C. L. Parsons was placed in charge.

As the field of work was first surveyed in a general manner and as the force assigned to the work was small, especially important problems were selected for investigation.

DETERMINATION OF MINERAL WASTES.

It was early apparent that one of the ways in which the Bureau of Mines could be most useful to the general mineral industries of the country was to study the possibility of eliminating some of the great wastes that take place in the commercial production of mineral products, and, incidentally, to assist wherever possible in increasing the efficiency of manufacturing processes and the utilization of domestic rather than imported material. The general subject of mineral waste was discussed in a bulletin, which brought out clearly the extent and variety of the losses throughout the country.

INCREASED EFFICIENCY IN PRODUCING KAOLIN AND FELDSPAR.

A comprehensive study was also undertaken of the feldspar, mica, and kaolin resources of the Appalachian region. The results of this study have been published and widely distributed to the pottery industry. All of the feldspar quarries in the Appalachian region were investigated and the quality of the spar was pointed out, to the effect that no better material for the pottery industry can be obtained anywhere. This has also been shown to be true of many of the kaolin deposits of the southern Appalachian region, some of which are remarkably white and equal in quality to any imported.