PROGRESS OF INVESTIGATIONS.

Some of the most notable accomplishments of the past fiscal year and a general review of the bureau's progress have been given. The purpose of the different investigations, the results achieved, and the significance of these results are stated in detail on succeeding pages.

WORK OF MINING DIVISION.

The organization of the mining division and the names of the officials in charge of specific investigations have been described elsewhere (pp. 627-630).

All of the district engineers gave or supervised instruction in minerescue and first-aid training, responded to the requests of operators and miners for information, and gave valuable assistance at explosion disasters and at mine fires. They were ably assisted by the foremen miners and the first-aid miners, who in many instances, in the absence of their district chief, proceeded effectively to accomplish the work in hand.

Some of the district engineers were so much occupied with training miners and supervising cars and stations that they were unable to do much investigative work; a number were detailed to special investigations, and during such times the routine work was in charge of the foremen miners.

INVESTIGATIONS AT PITTSBURGH AND EXPERIMENTAL MINE.

STUDY OF RESCUE APPARATUS AND SAFETY LAMPS.

J. W. Paul, mining engineer, with the assistance of H. D. Mason, jr., assistant mining engineer, continued to study the use of minerescue apparatus and the merits of different types of rescue apparatus and safety lamps.

EXPLOSIBILITY TESTS OF COAL DUST.

L. M. Jones, mining engineer, under the general supervision of the chief mining engineer, carried on at the bureau's experimental mine at Bruceton, Pa., a series of explosion tests. The results promise to be of great value. Standardization of the methods by which the inflammability of coal dust from typical mines are tested, with and without the presence of fire damp, and by which the amount of rock dust or other inert matter that must be added to make the coal dust safe is determined with reasonable precision, is the main feature of this work. Such direct information enables operators to know what is needed to make their mines reasonably safe from explosions.

OPEN-PIT MINING AND SURFACE SUPPORT.

Charles Enzian, mining engineer, cooperated with D. F. MacDonald, a geologist assigned to the Bureau of Mines from the United States Geological Survey, to investigate open-pit mining at Santa

Rita, N. Mex. A joint report of the investigations has been prepared. Mr. Enzian also continued an investigation of subsidence from coal mining in the Scranton district, Pa., and was called upon by the city of Scranton to make recommendations regarding proposed methods of supporting the surface.

ILLINOIS COOPERATIVE INVESTIGATIONS.

H. I. Smith, assistant mining engineer, was the bureau's representative in Illinois under a cooperative agreement between the State and the Bureau of Mines. Mr. Smith investigated the condition of the air in coal mines, a report on which is in progress.

A report by R. Y. Williams, former mining engineer of the bureau, on the humidity of mine air, with especial reference to coal mines in southern Illinois, was published during the year, and a second report on ventilation stoppings in Illinois mines is in press.

R. J. Hamon, chemist, who was assigned to this cooperative work, opened a laboratory for the analysis of mine-air samples at Urbana, Ill., where he made a large number of analyses, the reports of which are being tabulated for publication.

J. R. Fleming, assistant mining engineer, who was assigned to the Illinois work January 1, 1915, continued the work begun by J. W. Koster, junior mining engineer, on the use of permissible explosives in Illinois. A report is being prepared on this subject. Mr. Fleming also did some work in Indiana in cooperation with the Indiana mine inspection department.

USE OF EXPLOSIVES IN OKLAHOMA.

J. J. Rutledge, mining engineer, assisted by J. W. Koster and others, in the early part of the fiscal year conducted tests on the use of permissible explosives in Oklahoma. Subsequently every mine on the segregated land of the Indian tribes was visited and inspected by Mr. Rutledge and D. Harrington, mining engineer, during the latter part of the fiscal year. The purpose of this investigation was to determine how the mines could best conform to the order of the Secretary of the Interior requiring the use of permissible explosives, or the alternative of shot firing from the surface, with a view to lessening the large number of shot-firing explosions accompanied by loss of life or damage to property. Copies of the preliminary reports on the inspections were submitted to the operators for approval or criticism. Many of the operators conceded the desirability of adopting the recommendations and of conforming to the Secretary's orders. Some operators pleaded for delay on account of the bad condition of business, but none showed a disposition to refuse to meet the Secretary's orders though some question was raised as to the practicability of the means suggested. Recommendations are being prepared. At some mines it was found that by certain modifications in methods the purposes of the Secretary's orders could be fulfilled without literal compliance, as in the steep-pitching but naturally wet mines.

CALIFORNIA COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT,

In California H. M. Wolflin, mining engineer, continued in charge of inquiries under a cooperative agreement with the California State

Industrial Commission regarding safety precautions in metal mines. Most of the larger mines were examined, and a comprehensive mining law is now being formulated by the Industrial Commission for submission to the State legislature. The cooperation has yielded valuable results during the past year and promises to be still more valuable because of the extremely liberal attitude taken by the commission.

HEALTH INVESTIGATIONS IN JOPLIN DISTRICT.

Edwin Higgins, mining engineer, during a part of the year, in cooperation with A. J. Lanza, passed assistant surgeon, of the Public Health Service, made a special investigation of the effect of rock dust in the sheet-ground zinc and lead mines of the Joplin district.

New methods for the collection of samples of dust in mine air were devised by Mr. Higgins, assisted by Messrs. Rice, Fieldner, and Burrell, which have proven effective.

Great good was accomplished by the cooperative work because both operators and miners took up suggested improvements with interest and energy, and marked improvement was made in many of the mines that contained the most dust. Although it is not expected that the lessening of silicosis, or miners' asthma, and of tuberculosis will be evident for a year or more, the cooperative work is expected to have a marked influence on the health of miners in the Joplin district hereafter.

The measures advocated were employment of water-injection drills, placing of pipe lines and hose and spraying of dust, forbidding the squibbing of holes and the use of adobe shots except at the middle or end of a shift, as well as general improvement in hygienic conditions such as would result from the erection of wash and change houses.

OTHER METAL-MINE INVESTIGATIONS.

Although some other work was occasionally done by several of the mining engineers in metal-mining fields, the lack of larger appropriations for this class of mining prevented little more being done than the work indicated. It is to be hoped that in the future more investigation of safety in metal mining will be possible. It is regretted that the lack of funds prevented the continuance of tests of mine supports for both coal and metal mines, and it is hoped that this work will be taken up again in the future.

WORK OF CAR 8.

During the year mine-rescue car 8 was equipped with a full crew, in charge of D. J. Parker, mining engineer, the crew including a mine surgeon, Dr. W. A. Lynott, a foreman miner, a first-aid miner, a stenographer, and a cook. The car proceeded from mining town to mining town, the mining engineer investigating mines, giving lectures, and supervising the work of the crew. The surgeon investigated health conditions at mines, and the foreman miner and firstaid miner gave training in rescue methods and in first aid. A large number of men were trained, and the car was also called to a num

ber of explosion disasters. It is hoped that sufficient funds will be provided to enable similar work to be done by each car.

SPECIAL WORK OF CHIEF MINING ENGINEER.

The chief mining engineer designed certain rock-dust barriers to prevent or check mine explosions. Application for patents covering the barriers has been made, and the patents, if granted, will be dedicated to the public. Mr. Rice also gave special attention to the introduction of permissible explosives in Oklahoma, and at the request of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission and the city engineer of Milwaukee, investigated a tunnel at Milwaukee, Wis., in which a fall of roof had occurred. The use of bulkheads in the tunnel to prevent accidents from flooding by an inrush of water from Lake Michigan, under which the tunnel was being driven, was recommended, and was adopted by the authorities.

MINE SANITATION.

.

The purpose of the sanitary investigations conducted was the conservation of health by encouraging better conditions at mines and mining communities. About 60 industrial communities in the Western States were investigated by J. H. White, sanitary engineer. A bulletin by Mr. White on houses for mining towns was issued; a technical paper on miners' wash and change houses was submitted for publication; and a bulletin entitled "Administration of Industrial Communities" is being prepared. Mr. White also prepared for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition an exhibit designed to show the progress being made in improving the living conditions of mine workers.

MINE-ACCIDENT STATISTICS.

Accurate statistics of mine accidents are essential to the development of intelligent plans for bringing about greater safety in mining. The collection and publication of such statistics by the Bureau of Mines under a cooperative arrangement with State or county inspectors has proved decidedly satisfactory, for the cooperation has assured reports that are accurate and are compiled in a uniform manner. This uniformity is highly desirable, because it permits intelligent comparison of the records of various States and thus saves time and expense to the Government, to State authorities, and to mining companies. Under the present arrangement the bureau publishes a monthly statement of coal-mine fatalities, and also prints an annual report on such fatalities within two months after the end of the calendar year.

A large bulletin, in which over 50,000 fatalities in coal mines have been tabulated by causes and calendar years, is being prepared. The figures include the returns from each State since the beginning of inspection service to the end of 1914, so that for the first time coalmine fatalities for all of the States are assembled on a calendar-year basis and under a uniform classification.

Reliable classified data relating to accidents in metal and miscellaneous mineral mining in the United States are still lacking. Only a few metal-mining States have inspection service, and the reports of

inspectors in different States are not uniform. Moreover, one State requires inspectors to collect certain information, whereas the requirements of another State are entirely different. Some States do not require a record of injuries or a report to any individual, insurance board, commissioner, or inspector, whereas other States have strictly enforced laws requiring such reports. In addition, the fiscal years of States are not uniform. Unless all States report on the same basis, just comparisons can not be made. It is hoped that during this coming year a bulletin on metal-mine accidents can be prepared, similar to the one on coal-mine accidents above mentioned.

During the year, in addition to the reports on coal-mine accidents, a report on accidents in metal mines, and a report on accidents in quarries, each for the calendar year 1913, were published; also a report on the production of explosives in the United States during 1913 was printed, and a report on the production of explosives during 1914 was submitted for publication. A report on accidents at coke ovens during the calendar years 1913 and 1914 was published, and a report on accidents at ore-dressing and smelting plants for the same years was completed.

The compilation of accident statistics is being conducted under the direction of A. H. Fay, mining engineer.

EXAMINATION OF MINING LAWS.

The law examiner continued to collect and examine mining laws and to compile digests of court decisions interpreting these laws, in an effort to indicate to the mining industry or to State legislatures what laws are proving most effective in aiding the development of the mining industry and in the introduction of safer and more efficient methods in mining.

A large report issued in two volumes as a bulletin contains a complete compilation and annotation of all the sections of the United States Revised Statutes and of all acts of Congress relating to mines, mining, mineral lands, and the mineral industry on public lands. The annotation consists of abstracts of court decisions that indicate how the courts have pointed out defects in the statutes, made clear uncertainties, and aided practical application. The large number and wide range of the decisions show that the value of mining laws depends on their status as established by the courts, and the annotations aid a person in determining how to apply the provisions of an act to a mining enterprise.

Two other bulletins containing abstracts of current decisions on mines and mining, covering the periods from December, 1913, to September, 1914, and from October, 1914, to May, 1915, were published during the year.

The law examiner has made considerable progress in preparing a compilation and annotation of State mining laws, a work planned on the same lines as that on the Federal statutes. This work involves the examination of the statutes of all mining States, as well as a careful search in the reports and a study of the decisions in regard to mines and mining rights, and the construction of the State statutes bearing on these subjects.

The work is in charge of J. W. Thompson, law examiner, assisted by U. B. White, law clerk.