October 2, 1914.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

719

and props so treated might be used within four or five
weeks after they were made.

From the following specifications the cost of the pit
props may be calculated :—

Specifications for Concrete Pit Props and Beams.

Concrete to be 3 parts coarse material, 11 part sand,
1 part cement.

Pit Props.

3 ft. by 3 in. by 3 in. : 3| lb. of in. M.S. rod ; spiral
reinforcement, 1 lb. 12gauge steel wire ; ^cu. ft. concrete;
labour, say, j hour.

> 4 ft. by 4 in. by 4 in. : 41 lb. of in. M.S. rod; spiral
reinforcement, 3i lb. 12 gauge steel wire; j cu. ft. concrete;
labour, say, 1 hour.

5	ft. by 5 in. by 5 in. : 71 lb. of f in. M.S. rod ; spiral
reinforcement, 6|lb. 8 gauge steel wire ; I cu.ft. concrete ;
labour, say, 11 hours.

6	ft. by 6 in. by 6 in. : 161 lb. of 1 in. M.S. rod; spiral
reinforcement, 13 lb. gauge steel wire; 11 cu. ft. concrete;
labour, say, 2 hours.

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS.

The Editors are not responsible either for the statements
made, or the opinions expressed by correspondents.

All communications must be authenticated by the name and
address of the sender, whether for publication or not.
No notice can be taken of anonymous communications.

As replies to questions are only given by way of published
answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped
addressed envelopes are not required to be sent.

PORTABLE BREATHING APPLIANCES.

Sirs,—With reference to the recent meeting of the
Institution of Mining Engineers at Stoke, and the dis-
cussion which followed the reading of the valuable paper
by Dr. Haldane, F.R.S., perhaps the following copy of
the letter, which I wrote several months ago, to H.M.
Chief Inspector of Mines may interest some of your
readers :—

Many colliery people agree that much useful work has
been done during the last two or three years by men
using the portable breathing apparatus. The underground
fire at Norton Colliery in Staffordshire is a recent instance
of dangerous and difficult work being successfully carried
out by means of the portable breathing apparatus. The
detailed particulars of the exploration and recovery work
were described by Mr. J. R. Allott in an interesting and
valuable paper read before the members of the Institution
of Mining Engineers at their meeting in London last
month. For easy reference I enclose a copy of the paper
and discussion. Mention may also be made of the life
saved at Lepton Colliery, near Huddersfield. Though
only one life has so far been saved by means of the
apparatus, still there are instances in several coalfields
of underground fires being extinguished, and valuable
exploration work carried out with far less risk to those
engaged than when the older methods were employed. At
the same time it must be admitted with regret that
several lives have been lost through using the apparatus,
and hence the hesitation of certain coal owners and
managers in allowing their workmen to adopt them. These
experienced officials who are responsible for the lives of
the men under their charge require something more than
the assurance of a maker of portable breathing apparatus,
one of whom recently stated in the mining papers :—
“ By this new construction we believe we have met all
the requirements. The apparatus has been used with
ever-increasing success throughout the world, and stands
out easily foremost amongst self-contained breathing
apparatus.”

Having regard to the loss of life that has occurred, such
statements require official investigation, especially when
it is known that there are at many collieries scores of
brave men who by months of regular training in the
gallery and underground workings have become duly
qualified to carry out rescue work, and are willing to
risk their lives on the simple assurance from the makers
that their apparatus is reliable. Under these circum-
stances it may be asked :—(a) Is it fair that such men
should give of their best without being safeguarded in
every possible way by those in authority? (b) Has not
the time arrived when teams of properly trained men,
wearing the different makes of apparatus, may, in a train-
ing gallery partly filled with obstacles, and charged with
irrespirable gases, demonstrate under official supervision
and a properly constituted committee, which parts of the
apparatus are good and reliable, and which are defective
and unsafe?

As you are aware, training galleries exist in the coal-
fields of England, Scotland, and Wales, where the five
following kinds of apparatus are in almost daily use :—
Aerolith, Draeger, Fleuss, Meco, and Weg.

The oxygen supply is practically pure, namely, 99 per
cent., as compared with 93 per cent, when the apparatus
was introduced.

Having therefore suitable galleries, a large number of
trained men (more than 1,000), five different makes of
apparatus, and a pure supply of oxygen, it is now neces-
sary to ascertain by a practical test (1) to what extent
it is safe to employ the apparatus in exploration or
recovery work, and (2) when the use of it should not be
permitted.

In support of a competitive trial, may I remind you
that tests are frequently made with bicycles, motor-cars,
aeroplanes, etc., and these consist of mechanical apph-
ances controlled by the human element, as would also
be the case with a portable breathing apparatus. As a
result of such trials, knowledge has been gained with
respect to the different parts of an appliance, the extent
of its usefulness, and the dangers that attend the human
element when the limit of safety is exceeded or natural
conditions are disregarded. It is therefore reasonable to
assume that similar results may be obtained when tlm
portable breathing apparatus is subjected to a strict and
impartial test. Thus may be ascertained the safest and
simplest methods of carrying out difficult work, and the
risks to be avoided when natural conditions, such as
sudden outbursts of firedamp, or water, or falls of the
strata are encountered.

It is likewise to be expected that the standard of
efficiency in practical work in the gallery and specially
arranged underground explorations may also be raised
in the same way that it has already been done in ambu-
lance work, in connection with which a keen but friendly
rivalry has for many years past been productive of much
good. With increased practice men wearing the appa-
ratus will deal with difficulties and overcome obstacles at
long distances from the shaft and in the deep seams of
the future that would be considered impossible to-day.
The Norton exploration work is an example of what has
already been done in this direction.

Perhaps I may mention as an instance of what had
taken place, that previous to 1901 certain foreign makers
advertised a reliable rescue apparatus, and recommended
its adoption. To test this, and for other reasons, the
Altofts gallery was erected and made like the damaged
roadways of a mine after an explosion, and filled with
noxious fumes. On September 19, 1901, in the presence
of 140 members of the Midland and Midland Counties
Institutes, it was shown that men wearing the
“ Pneumatophore,” the “ Shamrock,” and the “ Giers-
berg ” forms of apparatus were able to carry out ordinary
pit work in the deleterious atmosphere of the gallery, but
for only 20 minutes, and at the expiration of this short
time they were found by Dr. Nicholson and Dr. Mackenzie
(the medical men specially retained) to be in a most
exhausted condition. For further details of this test see
volume xxx. of the Transactions of the Institution of
Mining Engineers, 1901.

Although keen disappointment was expressed at the
time, yet out of that test there were evolved various types
of apparatus, some of which are in use to-day. Similar
work to that required underground after an explosion has
been done with these apparatus for more than two con-
secutive hours, and men have remained in an irrespirable
atmosphere for six hours without exertion, or simply
watching a thermometer which would be necessary when
dealing with an underground fire. It may be mentioned
that the gallery at Altofts was the first of its kind in
this or any other country.

Having in mind what took place in 1901, and the fact
that for some years past fellows of the Royal Society and
other scientific institutions, coal owners, officials, and
workmen have devoted a large amount of time and money
to the improvement of the various kinds of portable
breathing apparatus now in use, it is to be hoped that
many beneficial results will be obtained from a competi-
tive trial.

Assuming that the proposal of a practical test meets
with your approval, may I suggest that it should be
official. The committee might consist of, say, two
Government inspectors (to represent the Home Office), two
colliery officials (to represent the coal owners), two work-
men (to represent the miners’ union), two doctors, one
physiologist, and one mechanical engineer or instrument
maker, with power to call in such paid assistance as the
committee might require to formulate rules, etc., to be
observed by the competing teams—to test the materials
and workmanship of the different parts of the apparatus,
etc.

There should be no difficulty in raising a fund to pay the
doctors, physiologist, instrument maker, and secretary. It
may be assumed that the Home Office, the coal owmers’
associations, and the miners’ union would be quite ready
to defray the expenses of their representatives in order
to obtain the information that such a trial would afford.
The necessity for an official test is the unsatisfactory result
of the competitions which have been held in response to
certain invitations by coal owmers. For instance, in the
last competition at Cowdenbeath, or Scottish training
gallery, four teams “ entered the lists,” but on the day
appointed only two presented themselves with the full
complement of five men. One of these teams did the
work in 2| hours, another in 3| hours, whilst the other
teams, which consisted of only two men each, merely
demonstrated that they could remain in the gallery for
two hours, but did not attempt to carry out the pro-
gramme, much to the disappointment of the coal owners,
and the men of the district who were anxious to witness a
demonstration of typical exploration work.

In conclusion, may I say that I believe if the proposed
tests were made, and every form of apparatus now in use
were represented, and the men from the different train-
ing galleries entered into the spirit of the competitions,
which I feel sure they will do judging by past explora-
tion work, and the great desire they have shown to give
of their best when a disaster occurs, then valuable infor-
mation will be obtained, and the report of the committee
will prove a kind of text book for some years to come. It
might to a considerable extent serve the same purpose as
the regulations issued by the Home Office and Board of
Trade, which have safeguarded life in many ways.

Such information is what is required at the present
time to convince the unpersuaded coal owners and their
officials that under certain conditions the apparatus will
prove most useful, and should be kept close at hand. It
will also help coal owners’ associations who are erecting
galleries for training men to decide which is the most
suitable apparatus for their requirements, and everyone
associated with the trial will have the consciousness that
he has helped to prevent further loss of life from the
using of portable breathing apparatus.

With reference to some of the foregoing suggestions,
I venture to think Sir Richard Redmayne acted wisely
in postponing any action being taken until the results
of Dr. Haldane’s valuable and scientific investigations
had been published. For this information the coal trade
had to thank the Doncaster Coal Owners’ Association
for their liberality and courtesy in allowing the reports
of Dr. Haldane and his assistants to be published. At
the same time, may I point out that the Wakefield
Rescue Station, 'which was built and completed some
months ago at a cost of .£2,800, has not, so far, been
utilised, as the coal owners do not consider they have
sufficient information to help them to decide which is
the best portable breathing apparatus to adopt.

Under the circumstances I think the time has arrived
for a competitive trial of the various forms of apparatus
to be made in one of the numerous galleries which exist
in various parts of the United Kingdom. If a properly
constituted committee, assisted bv an experienced secre-
tary, could frame certain rules for the guidance of the
competing teams, and for the general arrangements of

the test, then with the valuable information which has
been given to the makers of the apparatus, colliery
officials, etc., by Dr. Haldane, taken in conjunction with
the suggested practical test in a gallery made like the
damaged roadway of a mine, I believe that in a few
months’ time the coal owners, their officials, and work-
men will possess an apparatus which in the future will
be most helpful in saving life and suffering, should
another colliery accident or disaster occur.

Syndale Hall,	William Garforth.

Normanton,

September 30.

INVESTIGATIONS.

Sirs,—Whilst agreeing with you in appreciating the
report on the Investigations on Rescue Apparatus, it
is necessary for investigators to be careful to distinguish
the facts from the speculations and notional deductions,
and to eliminate the latter as much as possible. We
have to remember that what can’t be practised doesn’t
need not be preached, and what can be practised ought
not to be neglected.

The chief value of investigation is the reality of the
faults found—not so much because they are faults, but
because placing the faults in the hands of those who can
find remedies. Once a real fault is found, and faithfully
reported, it is not a difficult matter to find the remedy.
Every mining difficulty has its students, every difficulty
has its remedy, and somewhere there’s the man with
an answer to the problem and a remedy for the difficulty:
so that when an official has a problem or difficulty, if
he has not time or opportunity to find the answer or the
remedy, he may safely rely on finding the man or thing
to help him to fulfil his duties and responsibilities. Just
as ‘all an official’s acts boil down into doing something
for safety and profit of his mine, so he must not let
the fact of first cost hinder adoption of means of safety
and profit. A plug always costs less than the leakage
it stops; oil is always cheaper than friction; net profit
is always m ^re important than the cost of things to effect
it; it is cheaper to employ investigators to find faults
than to have them exist. So long as we keep to the
practical (safety and profit) end of problems we must
make progress.

The report marks a new phase. Hitherto reports have
been used merely as holes for mining men to bury their
heads in the sand—as excuses for impeding the use and
perfection of things; as the tangle weed to trip up inven-
tions for safety, and the breeding ground for the tadpoles
of over-cautiousness, and the use of expressions incon-
sistent with official responsibility; with the result that,
even in 1913, a coroner in a leading mining district tells
us “ 90 per cent, of accidents are preventable,” and a
mines inspector tells that “ 75 per cent, of shaft acci-
dents are preventable.”

I take it a fresh attitude is to be adopted. Right
results in mining depend on right things. Except in
certain cases where inventors have facilities of elimin-
ating practical faults, certain faults can only be found
in usage. Mining men must be enterprising to new
things. So long as a new thing is reasonable as to
method and principle of action, practical in shape, and
efficient as to general results, firms need not hesitate
adoption on a small and trial scale at first. So long as
a firm oi investigator has an attitude of enterprise and
sympathy, and inventors or makers have confidence in
the firms they deal with, all will co-operate to use
virtues, find faults, and find remedies. Thus we shall
eliminate the preventable injuries and losses, safety
things will be real, and men will be eager to adopt them,
instead of “ waiting till the Home Office insists on their
usage,” and then “ objecting to Home Office inter-
ference.”

It is necessary for an investigator to look at things
from three aspects. All mining safety appliances are
questions of (1) mechanics, (2) humanics, (3) economics.
(1) In mechanics, things act so and so according to the
working (dynamic) forces in them. Assuming proper fit
and usage, wrongness of action is easily seen and cor-
rectable by the man who understands the thing. A
user only knows a part of the mechanics of a special
appliance; the maker has to know all the mechanics of
the thing. So that if a user finds a fault, and states it
clearly, the maker has a chance of eliminating the fault,
which he will do. (2) In humanics, life is worth pro-
tection, and officials are eager to protect life, apart from
their duty to get things to prevent injury. (3) In
economics, the cost of safety (in mechanical dangers) is
the cost of appliances, but as appliances are profit-
earning at the moment of safety, it is not difficult to
arrive at the relative value of things by strict investi-
gation.	1 C. M.

September 21.

OBITUARY.

The death occurred at Alfreton, on the 15th ult., of
Mrs. Palmer-Morewood, widow of Mr. Charles Rowland
Palmer-Morewood, of Alfreton Park, Derbyshire, Ladbroke
Hall, Southam, and Queen’s-gate, S.W.

One of the most popular of Swansea commercial men has
passed away, Mr. J. H. Burgess, shipbroker, having died
on Friday last week at the age of 70. He has held position
as harbour trustee, was consul for Russia and Spain, and in
other directions came necessarily into close and frequent
relations with the coal trade.

Mr. George Barlow, coal agent, of 220, Blackburn-road,
Haslingden, died on September 24, following an attack of
scarlet fever. He was 34 years of age.

The death has taken place- suddenly at Scarborough, of
Mr. Robert Williamson. For some years Mr. Williamson
was at the head of the scientific department of Colonel
Sadler’s chemical works at Middlesbrough, and at the time
of his death was in partnership with Mr. Walter Corder, the
firm being known at that of Messrs. Williamson and Corder,
chemical manufacturer, Low Walker.