https://haylibrary.cvlcollections.org/files/original/5b45b3bca3c47533733e8865b793040e.pdf 36bf1278b77c6720750ffd9e655336d6 PDF Text Text A Study of Twenty-three Years' Effort Toward Reduction of Accidents in the Mines of The Union Pacific Coal Company By Eugene McAuliffe ., WITHIN the past few months an enlarged effort to secure a reduction in the incidence and severity of coal mining accidents was put into effect by the Coal Mines Administration, Department of the Interior, United tates Government. This review of twenty-three years of intense effort on the part of the management and employes of The U nion Pacific Coal Com, pany in its Wyoming mines was prepared for the dual purpose: Of providing th e engineers of the U. S. Bureau of Mine with a record of what has been done over a period approachina a quarter of a century. "To furnish added inspiration to several hundred of our conscientious, l~yal workmen, and the operating staff, all of whom have taken a lot of punishment in the years since December, 1941. We are strongly of the opinion that further betterment must come from without rather than from within the mines. The task will always be an individual one, but if the recurring conflagrations that have continuously beset the industry could be resolved, we hold strongly to the belief that with a stabilized working force and adequate earnings and proper working conditions, both management and men will do a better job. Coal mining is at best a haz, ardous occupation; so, apparently, is aut~mobile driving, but both will continue, and we should try to improve our practice and working conditions. That governmental regulation is necessary, even at times desirable, cannot be disputed; the question is, just what form should enforced regulation take? The greatest boon that could be provided would be the end of war within the industry. A study of our records will show conclusively that the major number of our accidents occur at the working face and on our more than one hundred miles of mine tracks. The management of The Union Pacific Coal Company long ago committed itself to the importance of adequate ventilation, permissible explosives, rock dusting, closed lights, protective clothing and goggles. These safety precautions can only be put into effect by a will, ing management. Our yet unsolved problem, however, is that of outlawing the individ, ual accident, where the employe involved too frequently decides to ignore his own personal safety. It is this class of accident that makes up the year's total which we deplore, and it is for the prevention of such we ask the cooperation of our workers, their families and friends, coupled with a further intensified effort on the part of our mine supervisory force. -1- �Twenty-three Years of Accident.Preven!i?n Effort in the Mines of The Union Pac1f1c Coal Company parison are shown, we look upon the man-hours of exposure comparison as muc~ prefe~able to that_ of tons mined per accident. Agam, while our compilation shows fatal and non-fatal accidents separately, we look at the results obtained for "total" accidents as representing the best available comparison. The question of "accident severity,': th~~ is, :he_relative duration of temporary total d1sab1hty , 1s in fo rmative but the fact remains that every situation that ma; cause an accident represen_ts ~ _possible fa tal accident or a permanent total d1sab1hty, whICh . as measured by results in human suffering and economic loss, may be even more un fo rtunate th~n an accident causing immediate death. T h e basis on which non-fatal accidents are determined is that the accident must be of such severity that it will prevent the employe from returning to his place on the next succeeding work day. One need not go beyond the summary which in cludes the record of both fatal and non-fa tal accidents shown below, to realize that some progress has been made in the way of accident reduction, whether measured by tons mined or man-hours of exposure per accident suffered. The measure of the improvement made is set forth more completely in the tabulation that follows: HE following comment covering twenty-three years' accident experience on the properties _of The Union Pacific Coal Company is set forth with the hope that a careful study of same by every per• son connected with the property will bring to them a deeper sense of the importance of accident pre• vention in and about the mines. The compilation extends back to 1923 when a detailed record, with the causes leading up to the individual accident, was first placed in effect, and in the final summary the results have been set up in four blocks of five years, with the subsequent three years shown separately. When the number of accidents in all mines are consolidated in fiveyear periods, the diversity factor so obtained more correctly indicates the general result. Inasmuch as any accident performance based on "tons mined per accident" fails of adjustment as between thick and thin seams, the measure of nonproductive work done, hours worked per shift, and the relation of mechanical loading to hand loading employed, we have continuously held that "manhours of exposure per lost-time accident" repre• sents a more uniform basis of comparison between mines and periods, and while both methods of com- T Pe~iod FATAL ACCIDENTS Man-hours Increase AcciOver 1923-1927 dents Per Accident Man-hours Pct. 1923-1927 .. .... 48 1928-1932 . .. . .. 35 1933-1937 . .. ... 22 1938-1942 . ..... 26 1943-1945 . .. ... 26 444,776 503,854 731,205 756,626 866,712 59,078 286,429 311,850 421,936 NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS Man-hours Increase Per Accident Over 1923-1927 Man-hours Pct. 1,319 1,045 241 142 216 16,186 16,875 66,749 138,537 104,326 689 50,563 122,351 88,140 4.26 312.39 755.91 544.54 Period 1st 10 years 2nd 10 years Fatalities 83 48 Tons Mined 27,752,995 33,415,732 Man-hours 38,984,148 35,758,768 l~.28 6.U9 70.11 94.86 It will be seen that a continuous increase in the man-hours worked to each fatal accident over the record shown for the first block of five years has taken place in each subsequent block, while the im• provement in the number of man-hours per losttime accident shows a startling increase in the sec• ond, third and fourth blocks; however, a sharp falling off was experienced in the last block of three years, 1943-1945, when compared with the preced• ing five-year period. The further very simple comparison which follows shows even more clearly that extraordinary reduction in the relative number of fatal accidents was effected in the second ten years, as compared with the preceding ten-year period covered by the com• pilation: Accidents Here we deal with fatal accidents only, for the reason that no element of evasion or misunderstand• ing can enter into the number of deaths that occur from accidents in and about a coal mine. The sharp increase in tons mined, 20.4 percent, with a de• crease in the number of man-hours worked, 8.2 per• cent, in the second period is due in part to a reduc• tion in the number of operating mines from 19 to 9, and the complete mechanization of all mines. 0th• er items entailing heavy expenditures were put into effect in the first ten years, including increased road• way clearance, heavier mine tracks, improved ven• -2- �tilation, rock dusting and water line installations to provide water for use on cutter bars of mining ma, chines and for sprinkling. A complete overhau·ing of all underground electric installations and the use of protective clothing, goggles, and other individual items of employe safety were also effected during the first ten-year period. A most comprehensive "Book of Standards" for the guidance of the supervisory force was issued on July 15, 1925, and on November 17, 1929, a book of "Rules and Regulations for the Government of All Employes" was placed in the hands of every worker then in the company's employ, as well as those subsequently hired. The Book of Standards has been revised seven times and the Rules and Regulations four times since their first publication. The most recent effort toward safety betterment was the organization of the first Greek letter safety honor society known to the mining industry, SIGMA TAU EPSILON, organized at Rock Springs, Wyoming, on February 27, 1941, with an initial en, rollment of 43 members, the present enrollment 96. This society is the Phi Beta Kappa of the coal mining industry. Only those occupying the position of outside foreman or unit foreman are eligible to active membership; the requirement, in the case of an outside foreman, the surface operation of a mine where no lost-time accident was suffered for three successive calendar years. In the case of a unit foreman the requirement is equally severe, representing no less than the conduct Emblem worn of his section or sections for a perby 96 members iod of three consecutive calendar of Sigma Tau years without a lost-time accident Epsilon on the part of any employe. Mine superintendents and mine foremen who were in charge of any certain mine which won the Sentinels of Safety trophy subsequent to the organization of the society, are privileged to hold membership without the right to hold office or vote. No honorary memberships can be conferred by the society. The name of the society, "SIGMA TAU EPSILON", represents the three initial letters of the Greek words, SOTER IA TIME ETAIREIA, which, translated into English, reads: "Safety Honor Association, Club or Brotherhood." Quarterly meetings are held by the society and ten active committees in charge of some phase of mine safety work make continuing recommendations to the management. It is axiomatic that no great change ever takes place without a cause, and the falling off in man, hours per non-fatal accident in the last three-year period can be definitely charged to the labor problem that plagued our properties just as it did all industry in the west, a section of the country where war industries and army and navy activities assumed ( ~ I ' hOTt \. 'r ;;; Tw\1 •"9 '"'""' •c. ,? ,,))'t'lul,-,l!IIIKr.fl t'• <( I ,,...Kk1, t 1u tm:,(.t ►,l'I ,,.;I 43f1. fr ~:, £,n. ', !i t ,, ... , T '' ; 1,-- <;;; :lJ e,,tt,u.~uno ~ ] 'il__ ,? ' ' : < ; BLOmR FAN IN3TALLAT10N roR. ROOM WORK IN NON•CA3£0U3 MI NJ:3• Standard method of installing blower fans for ventilating rooms in non-gaseous mines. Blower fan must be located 20 feet from neck of room in intake air. -From Book of Standards 5efety Device for the protection of Men ~Inking .Slope~ and Panel~ ffl!w.:~1.JfdS~~~~liJQMfat::~,Muiim ~M! 1 Plan Derailing device for the protection of men working at the face while sinking main and panel slopes. -From Book of Standards -3- �extraordinary proportions almost over night. World War II, with the debacle of Pearl Harbor, suddenly shifted the war from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and while the states located west of the Rocky Mountains represent a veritable empire in ex, tent, the population normally residing therein is relatively small, with no reservoir of idle labor to draw upon for airplane and ship construction. An extraordinary increase in the demand for lumber, the metals and for coal, added to the demand for labor, all of which, from necessity, was brought in from remote states. How this situation affected our properties will be readily gathered from the following presentation: e ~ 0 ~ " a..~ -~ ... ~ Co ... z:3 l~ ~~ .Zo e-a. :::: <(~~ ztfi -Z"' e~ 1943 1944 1945 2,945 2,946 2,892 3,338 3,805 6,157 3,226 3,632 6,104 :. tiii~-a. .!!! a.. ~~ S Z appalling task. That the mi~e supervisory forces held the line as well as they did speaks volumes for their loyalty to the cause of mine safety, to which ~ ci: ~~ ts 109.54 123.29 211.07 Top COdll in Enlri<s !i. Room X-C ufs 12.6 15 .8 18.1 During these three hectic years, an average of 6,309, 41 7 tons of coal were mined annually, the av, erage annual production for the preceding five years 3,88 S' ,2 21 tons, an increase approximating 62 percent. The management of the property antici, pated and struggled with the accident situation, but no one will dispute the fact that the employment of 13,300 persons, many of whom were totally ignorant of the mining industry, represented in itself an SYSTEM OF TIMBERING CONVEYOR ROO MS '(' MINE-SUPERIOR Standard method of timbering rooms where roof conditions are unfavorable. -From Book of Standards NOT(: • Prop• ,pactd 5 ft. • apart. Cap pi<ces • cro!>5in9 roof slips. Cro,s bar, ana addi tiona I props pla«d as roof conditions wur•nt. ... .......• ,•••• .. . j ... ::. ' • U o o o . I -·· Standard method of timbering rooms and breakthroughs where roof conditions are not too bad. -From Book of Standards some eighteen hundred permanent and dependable union employes made a great contribution. Reference has heretofore been made to the more general causes that have impeded the conscientious effort of management to bring the incidence of mine accidents down to the irreducible minimum. A glance at the summary of causes that attach to the list of 15'7 fatal accidents will show that 95 deaths, or 60.51 percent of the total listed, were caused by falls of roof and coal. The second major type of ac, cident is that relating to underground transportation, to which is chargeable 35 deaths, or 22.29 percent of all deaths, leaving to all other causes of a varying character, 27 deaths, or 17.20 percent of the total fatalities suffered. From these figures one can only conclude that in falls of roof and coal, and in transportation, accidents covering 130 deaths, or 82.80 percent of the total, lies the most fertile field for betterment. When reviewing underground transportation ac, cidents, consideration must be given to the fact that the combined length of The Union Pacific Coal Company mine tracks in constant operation, two shifts per day, totalled in 1945', 109.5'7 miles. This mileage is operated by main and auxiliary hoisting ropes on slopes, with 161 trolley type electric loco, motives in constant service. -4- l �-~~----- SUMMARY OF CAUSES OF FATALITIES IN THE UNION PACIFIC COAL COMPANY'S MINES, 1923 TO 1945, INCLUSIVE CAUSE 1935 1937 1929 1931 1933 1939 1941 1943 194:5 1925 1927 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1924 1926 1928 Fall of Roof . ... .. .... . . ..... 2 Fall of Coal. ..... ... ....... ..8 Mine Cars and Haulage . . . . ... .4 Explosives . .. . ... . ...... .... 0 Infection . .............. . . . ..0 Mining Machines ............. I Drowned ... ... .. . .. ... ......0 Loading Machines . .. ......... 0 Railroad Cars .. .. ...... . .. . . . 0 Electrocuted .......... . .. . ... 0 Sinlcing Shafts . ... .. ... . . ... . 0 Kicked by Horse . ........ . ... .t Fall from Ladder .......... .. . .O Mine Fire . .. .......... . .. .. . 0 Tipple Machinery ... . . . ... ... 0 TOTAL .. . . . . .... ........ 16 3 5 l I I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1923 2 l 2 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 6 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 I I 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 12 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 l 0 0 0 0 6 1 l 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 3 0 I 0 0 I 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 3 1 I 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 I 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 I 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 5 4 I 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 2 I l 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 l 4 0 0 I 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 I 0 0 0 0 0 l 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 IO l 12 Total Per Cent 59 36 35 5 3 4 2 5 l 2 I 1 1 1 1 157 37.58 60 51 22.93 • 22.29 22.29 3.18 1.91 2.55 1.27 3.18 .64 1.27 1 17.20 .64 .64 .64 .64 .64 100.00 100.00 f COMPARISON OF TONS MINED AND MAN-HOURS WORKED INSIDE AND OUTS IDE PER FATAL, NON-FATAL AND ALL ACCIDENTS'. FOUR 5-YEAR PERIODS, AND YE ARS 1943-1944-1945 Year Tons Mined 5 years, 1923-1927 ........ .. . 14,368,523 5 years, 1928-1932 .. ......... 13,384,472 5 years, 1933-1937 .. .... ..... 13,989,629 5 years, 1938-1942 .. ......... 19,426,103 Year 1943 .. ..... .. . . ....... 6,136,042 Year 1944 .. ......... . .... .. 6,300,822 Year 1945. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,491,386 Percentage Loaded Meehanicallv Fatal 15.61 63.18 97.18 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 48 35 22 26 4 10 12 Nwnber of Accidents I Nonfatal I Tons Mined per Accident Total Fatal 1319 1045 241 142 70 72 1367 1080 263 168 74 86 299,344 382,413 635,892 747,158 1,534,011 630,082 540,949 74 82 I Nonfatal 10,893 12,808 58,048 136,804 87,658 87,511 87,721 I Total 10,511 12,393 53,192 115,632 82,919 76,839 75,481 Man-hours per Accident Man-hours _ Worked 21,349,248 17,634,900 16,086,503 19,672,265 6,751,936 7,712,776 8,069,790 Fatal Nonfatal 444,776 503,854 731,205 756,626 1,687,984· 771,278 672,483 16,186 16,875 66,749 138,537 96,456 107,122 109,051 I Total 15,617 16,329 61,165 117,097 91,242 94,058 93,835 �Emerson, the Sage of Concord, is credited as saying: "If a man write a better book, preach a better sermon, or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, tho' he build his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door." It would be presumptuous to say that we have attained the honor that Emerson accorded the mousetrap builder, but the fact remains that men have visited our properties to discuss mine safety methods from Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and China, and the various coal producing states, with visitors from France, Germany, and Japan in the period preceding World War II. The most welcome visitor to the property is one that has come to our mines eight times, the little bronze statue of the miner's wife and child, known as the Sentinels of Safety Trophy, which, donated by the Hercules Powder Company of Wilmington, Delaware, is awarded annually by the United States Bureau of Mines to the bituminous coal mine making the best mine safety record in t h e preced in g year. This beautiful award was institute d in 192 5, and with that made for 1945, a total of twenty-one mines have been honored. Of this number, eight awards were made to The Union Pacific Coal Company. The detail of the twenty-one awards follows: RECORD OF AWARDS MADE, SENTINELS OF SAFETY TROPHY, TO BITUMINOUS COAL MINES, FROM YEAR OF FIRST AW ARD, 1925, TO 1945, INCLUSIVE Severity Year Coal Company 1925 United States Coal & Coke Co. 1926 United States Coal & Coke Co. 1927 United States Coal & Coke Co. 1928 United States Coal & Coke Co . 1929 DeBardeleben Coal Corporation 1930 Penn Central Light & Power Co . 1931 Phelps-Dodge Corporation 1932 Electro Metallurgical Company 1933 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1934 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1935 Elkhorn Piney Coal Company 1936 Koppers Coal Company 1937 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1938 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1939 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1940 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1941 Electro Metallurgical Company 1942 Knife River Coal Mining Co. 1943 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1944 The Union Pacific Coal Company 1945 Rockhill Coal Company Mine N o. 6 No. 6 No. 2 No . 4 Hull No. 33 No. 1 Dawson No . 1 Alloy "B" "C'" Ingram Branch Caxton "D" "B" No. l No. 4 Alloy No. 2 Knife River "D" "D" No. 5 The combined performance of our eight winning mines indicates a total of 1,984,732 man-hours worked with but one lost-time accident, a period equivalent to 992 work years of 2,000 hours. Many other expressions of commendation have been given individual mines, two in particular coming from the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association, seemingly deserving of mention. Year 1936 No. 4 Mine, Rock Springs, Wyoming; "for having operated without a fatality from April 17, 1923, to January 6, 1936, producing 3,490,429 tons of coal with 4,313,040 manhours of exposure to an average force of 214". Year 1941 No. 1 Mine, Reliance, Wyoming ; "for operating 3,143,972 man-hours without a fatality from January 25, 1933 to December 31, 1940 (and continuing) employing an average force of 261 men and producing 3,024,351 tons of coal". We have made reference to the recognition freely accorded our management and our men by that most capable branch of the national government, the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and we are grateful for Man Hours Location 756,585 Gary, W. Va. 815,715 Gary, W . Va. 688,937 Gary, W . Va. 418,869 Gary, W. Va. 264,656 Dora, Alabama Coalmont, Pa. 211,760 Dawson, New Mex.ico 117,661 Alloy, W. Va. 225,687 Superior, Wyoming 187,888 Superior, Wyoming 225 ,426 Ingram Branch, W. Va. 235 ,211 Caxton, Ky. 339,156 Superior, Wyoming 301,051 Superior, Wyoming 243 ,094 Winton, Wyo. 277,139 Rock Springs, Wyo. 360,955 Alloy, W . Va. 335,060 Beulah, North Dakota 250,531 Superior, Wyoming 307,529 Superior, Wyoming 81,650 Robertsdale, Pa. 289,924 Accidents 13 7 1 3 3 4 Rate 0.32 0 0.202 0.1 32 0.053 0. 07 9 0 .184 0.000 0. 000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.108 0.000 0.088 0.000 0.000 0. 186 the honors accorded, but we are not ourselves satisfied with the results so far obtained. The management has ever been receptive to suggestions and advice offered, and we cheerfully acknowledge our debt to the engineers of the Bureau of Mines. Some reference can properly be made to the inherent conditions that affect a safety performance in the Rocky Mountain region. The roof conditions in southern Wyoming, where the seams are badly faulted and pitching from seven to twenty-two degrees, present conditions that call for eternal vigilance. With a full realization of this fact and that an earnest campaign for safety necessitates expenditure, we submit the following table of charges included in mine costs for the five years shown: Year Labor and Material Tons Coal Mined Cost Per Ton 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 $ 89,868 .62 106,423.95 141,744.71 202,445.46 208,085.84 4,276,186 5,283,346 6,136,042 6,300,822 6,491,386 $.021 .020 .023 .032 .032 5 Years $748,568.58 28,487,782 $.026 Only the items that are related wholly to safety, apart from production, are included above. The de, tail for 1945 includes the following: -6- �Sprinkling lines, hose, etc. Rock dusting Barriers, gates, signs, etc. Safety lamps (flame) First aid apparatus Fire extinguishers, material only $ 87,386.72 80,926.39 5,785.93 1,366.35 4,487.14 4,088.91 Total safety $ I 84,041.44 Safety engineers Safety contests, including prizes 11,167.16 12,877.24 Grand total $208,085 .84 STOP CARS HERE MAINTAIN CU:ARANCEi--------.. IN ALL INSTANCES ( STOP CARS HERE MAINTAIN CLEARANCE - - - - - . . IN ALL INSTANCES ,__ _ _ _ _ SIGN AND LIGHT - - - - - - - - 1 CLEARANCE ALONG HIGH SIDE 22" rROM CAR TO RIB OR CAR TO PROP C.~~-::;;:,--:..,--:-=--='l=~u""·--, ENTRY That while the overall national coal mine situation does, with_out ques!ion, include inany examples of h_ous~keepmg, rangmg from bad to indifferent, the s1tuat1on as a whole can only be brought up to the st~nd~rd attained in the European coal mining coun• tnes m the pre•war period by what, for want of a better term, might be called a new and inclusive attitude of mind on the part of every man connected with the industry. This new attitude of mind should extend beyond the immediate area of more than 6 000 coal mines in which the accidents take place. 'The one thing that would prove most conducive to mine safety would be a greater measure of stability, a sense of responsibility to both the producer and the consum, er of coal that would be best expressed with the complete elimination of strikes. A glance at the graph on following page tells the story. The light line covering production for 1944 shows but two major sags in that year, those result, ing from the July 4 and Christmas holidays. The line covering the year 1945 shows the lessened production caused by the attempted organization of the supervisory forces in the east which led to numer, ous lawless strikes. The third line, covering the first portion of the year 1946, shows the effect of the strikes which occurred nationwide between April I and May 12, inclusive, and from May 26 to 30, in, clusive, a total of 47 days. How these two strikes affected safety as ~well as production on our properties in 1946 is shown by the following comparison: PART ING January to June, inclusive Duration of strikes, days Number of accidents Tons of coal mined Tons per accident Man-hours exposure Man-hours per accident 22· or CLEARANCE BETWEEN CARS OR CARS AND PROPS EXCEPT AT ENDS OF PARTING WHERE THIS MAY BE REDUCED TO 18" BUT TRIPS MUST NOT BE LEFT STANDING PAST THIS POINT. SKETCH SHOWING CLEARANCE ON SLOPE AND ENTRY PARTINGS Standard method for establishing clearance on slope and entry partings. -From Book of Standards After twenty-three years of intensified effort, we have evolved two certain premises: That the performance attained over the first ten years of our compilation shows conclusively that the ~espon· sibility for betterment then largely rested with the management of the property. In this period 1923 to 1932, inclusive, the man-hours of expo~ure, fatal ~nd non-fatal accidents, were pegged at a pomt parallehn~ the national average, or 15,931 man-hours JJer acci· dent. A real job of housekeeping was cam~d out, with the result that in the second ten•year penod_ th,e man•hours per accident rose to 59,765, the nattob s bituminous mines showing, for the year 1945, ut 15,657 man-hours, this last figure subject to some re· vision. 1945 39 3,277,176 84,030 4,033,804 103,431 1946 47 38 2,069,480 54,460 2,654,404 69,853 Tt will be recalled that during this period the in· dustry's safety shortcomings were being blazoned to the world by labor leaders, newspaper and radio commentators, and many others who professed a superior interest in mine safety. We have, since the inception of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, held more than a common interest in its efforts to sell the theory of mine safety to employers and employes alike. The way has been long and arduous, and volumes could be written on the opposition (which is not yet dead) made against permissible explosives, rock dusting, water for allaying dust, protective clothing and goggles, as well as the Bureau's engineers' efforts to promote first aid training. Neither operator nor mine worker were com• pletely without sin during this trying period. In this connection we are reminded of the words in an often used prayer book: -7- "We have left undone those things which we ought to have done: And we have done those things which we oi:ght not to have done; And there is no health in �BITUMINOUS COAL AND LIGNITE PRODUCTION TOTAL WEEKLY OUTPUT 14 13 12 II ... j ... ""' ;1 I/ r- !"Iii ~ '- i-- I I< 441 "'' - I,· 'l-•t-- [; \ i "" r--~ 11..IJ ' r...-' II\ , 1 I / l:i 10 UJ ~ 9 a: I I j ' I 8 Ill 0.. 7 1/) z t- 6 t- \I 0 1946 II.I z 5 z 4 0 :::i ...I 3 ::E 2 0 i5 '3A9N:6,2 ~E'~-2312 ti~~~3016 ~P~.2714 ~u~2s1 I 8J/Jr-t~29j6JS~2713 X,..Gct.43117 ~VP.2815 g~~-28,2 ~3v~30,7 d1~'. 28j4, Graph showing interruptions in production of bituminous_ coal, year 1945 and first half 1946, caused by strikes. (From U. S. Bureau of M:ncs' weekly reports.) world wars produced. A number equal to one-fifth of the present population of the United States. "Three accidents will have happened in the time it takes you to read this message." us. But thou, 0 Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders." At the present moment we are working under a new code of safety regulations, the outcome of the bitter and costly wage contract battle that took place in the first half of 1946. This code, if enforced, will annoy more mine workers than operators, whom they outnumber many times. It will, however, effect some betterment, but it will not prove a complete solution of our problems. Such can only be attained by the complete elimination of strikes, interference with orderly management, and caustic, soul-searing criticism, and the substitution therefor of genuine cooperation of every man on the property. Between January 1 and August 20, 1946, a total of 85 deaths occurred on the streets and highways of Wyoming. A great American insurance company (that lives by selling insurance) recently published this shocking statement: In 1940, while attending a meeting where the Sentinels of Safety Trophy was being awarded to a Pennsylvania anthracite mine, we said, referring to our experiences in the first ten years covered by this presentation: "Has plain, common sense vanished from our high• ways along with the horse? Has the era of the horse• less carriage become an era of blind recklessness? "Let's look at the record . In the past 3 5 years, over 800,000 men, women and children have be.en ki(led in auto accidents. Over twice as many American hves as were lost in two world wars! "Traffic accidents have brought injury to 28,000,000. An American casualty list 30 times as high as both -8- "I often despaired of trying to convince our employ• es that we really sought a reduction in mine accidents for reasons other than to reduce our workmen's com• pensation costs. Perhaps the thing that is most wrong with America is that we either· insist on ignoring a bad condition entirely or else when we decide to cure it, we expect to get betterment over night. That has never been done. Human nature is slow of change. If you read your history you will conclude that the hu• man race has ever seen betterment come slowly. The road upward has always been a cruel, bitter and hard one to travel. Betterments that come too fast have us• ually been lost and when humanity slipped back, some man or woman with vision and courage has forever come into the picture to take leadership and to point the way upward. "Common honesty, and a will on the part of the man• agement and workers to work together, will eliminate more accidents than all the sumptuary 'don't' laws that can be written . The real problem of this country today lies in the fact that too many people want 'another law·, rather than to do the things that con• science and common sense should dictate." � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Union Pacific Collection Description An account of the resource This collection is made possible in part by a generous grant from Wyoming Humanities. All materials are the property of Union Pacific Coal Company, on long-term loan at Western Wyoming Community College. For usage inquiries, contact the <a href="https://www.uprrmuseum.org">Union Pacific Museum</a> Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A Study of Twenty-three Years' Effort Toward Reduction of Accidents in the Mines of The Union Pacific Coal Company Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CC BY-NC-ND Subject The topic of the resource An essay that covers a 23 year long study on mine safety procedures and precautions. Description An account of the resource 11" x 8.5" document Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Eugene McAuliffe Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 1-0074 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available The Union Pacific Coal Co.