Coal Mining Reform called for in 1908
The Monongah coal mine tragedy inspired the editor of The American Review of Reviews, Albert Shaw to point out in his February 1908 edition the need for improvement in coal-mining conditions in the United States, in the following editorial:
“Nearly 800 deaths from coal-mine explosions in this country during the single month of December last gave a startling and unexpected emphasis to the recommendation of President Roosevelt’s message for the creation of a national bureau of mines and to the preliminary report of the United States Geological Survey on the causes and prevention of such accidents.
“The greatest of these disasters, that at
Monongah, W. Va.,* has been graphically described by Mr. Paul Kellogg in a magazine article which is reviewed in our department of ‘Leading Articles of the Month,’ on page 225 of this number.**
“These explosions, whether of fire-damp or coal-dust, or both, were formerly of frequent occurrence in European coal mines, but protective legislation in Belgium, Great Britain, Prussia, and France has resulted in a marked decrease in the number of deaths per 1000 miners, while in the United States the number of killed for each 1000 employed has increased from 2.67 in 1895 to 3.40 in 1906.*** In the report of the Geological Survey, it is stated that in no country are the natural conditions so favorable for the safe extraction of coal as in the United States. It is also shown that in those countries where the dangers of mining have been greatly minimized during the past few years the governments have been active in maintaining testing bureaus for the study of explosives, as well as in securing the strict enforcement of restrictive measures.
“There is encouragement for Americans in the fact that no European country has the services of abler experts on the subject of explosives than those who are now conducting investigations for our Government, with a view to lessening the perils to which our miners are exposed.”
Dr. Charles E. Munroe
“The work of Dr. Charles E. Munroe**** and Mr. Clarence Hall points to the establishment of a government bureau on the lines suggested by President Roosevelt. Meanwhile, the intelligent co-operation mine owners like President Jones, of the Pittsburgh Buffalo Coal Company, who is doing much to arouse both operators and miners to the dangers of disastrous explosions, will surely bring about improved conditions.”
ILLUSTRATED NOTES:
*The official death toll for the explosions at Monongah’s No. 6 and 8 mines on December 6, 1907 was 361, but many more certainly died as a result and were not included in the tally.
**This lengthy review will be included on another of our Web pages. Check for its listing in the left-hand index on this page.
***The number of deaths per 1000 in Europe for 1907 would certainly move upward due to the coal mine explosion at the Courrières, in northern France, on March 10, 1906. The catastrophe took the lives of 1099 miners. About 700 miners managed to reach the surface. However, many were burned, and others suffered from the effects of mine gases.
The “Courrières catastrophe” preceded the detection of a lot of smoke and of toxic gases in the mine days before the explosion. A union delegate had warned the company of the situation, but it refused to stop production and ordered its 1800 miners to continue work despite the danger—and as a result, 1099 needlessly perished.
The coffins above bear witness to the recovery efforts that went on for six weeks after the Monongah Disaster. However, this was not the case in France the year before. The French company cut off rescue operations after only three days, and walled up access to where miners were trapped, in order to protect the remaining coalfaces from the fire burning therein. On March 30, 20 days after the fire started, 13 miners emerged through a tunnel to the light of day, without any outside help. Clearly, more lives would have been saved had the company not prematurely cut of rescue operations.
A photograph of a group of 13 neglected survivors, with their Doctor (#6), is presented on the postcard above. They sustained themselves by eating the food of their dead comrades, a dead horse, and oats from the underground stables.
A group of volunteer German mine-safety workers found a final survivor, 32-year-old Auguste Baron, on the 14th of April, with no help from the company.
****Dr. Charles E. Munroe (1849-1938), pictured above, invented smokeless powder. In this photograph provided by The Review of Reviews, he is shown testing dynamite during his investigation of coal mine explosives. These tests led to worldwide coal-mining reform, the improvement in coal mine safety, and the avoidance of many more terrible explosions like those at the Courrières and Monongah coal mines.