908 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. May 11, 1917’. MIRERS’ PHTHISIS BOARD REPORT. The Miners’ Phthisis Board (South Africa) has issued an interim report for the period August 1 to December 31, 1916. The Miners’ Phthisis Act, 1916, which came into effect on August 1, 1916, has the following objects :—• (a) To create a Medical Bureau, which should examine all cases, thus obtaining uniformity of deci- sion, and promoting research. (5) To remove from the mines all persons infected with tuberculosis, and therefore dangerous to their neighbours. (c) To increase, both in amount and in extent, the benefits available to miners suffering from miners’ phthisis, and to their dependants. (d) As from August 1, 1918, to abolish the existing difference between the benefits granted to miners in the two stages (primary and secondary) of miners’ phthisis, and to substitute a uniform amount in every case; thus removing the temptation to a miner suffer- ing in the first stage to continue underground work, to the further injury of his health, in order to obtain a larger benefit. (e) To substitute, where possible, occupation or employment on the land or in industry for the previ- ously existing system of money benefits only. The matters classified under (a) and (b) are dealt with in the report of the Medical Bureau; and (d) has not as yet t^ken effect. This report therefore deals only with (c) and (e). The inevitable effect of the Act was to create a tremendous congestion of claims. Whereas the previous Board, during its last year, received only an average of 230 applications a month, 1,916 applica- tions were sent in during the first month after the commencement of the new Act. A very high per- centage of the applicants were in the most urgent need of assistance; and the first problem with which the newly-created Board was faced was to decide what form this assistance should take. There cannot be any doubt that the most effective and permanent form of assistance, where the applicant is capable of work, is to provide him with employment or occupation of some kind. Unfortunately, to provide employment for a very large number of men, all below the average in physical capacity, and almost all without any trade except that which the Act prohibits them from prac- tising, constitutes a problem which, even if it be soluble at all, certainly cannot be solved without wide and careful enquiry. Such enquiry takes much time; and, in the circumstances of the applicants, it was of the utmost importance to deal with their cases as rapidly as possible. In these circumstances, the Board had no choice but to fall back, for the moment^ upon the bad old system of doles; and they have hitherto concentrated the greater part of their efforts upon that side of their functions, and must continue to do so until the accumulated applications are cleared off. The work of the Board may be summarised in the following form : — Applications.* Received.! Dealt with.! August 248 1,916 ..: ... 337 September • 1,827 538 ... ... 526 October 1,839 376 ... ... 667 November 1,548 344 ... ... 523 December 1,369 281 ... ... 493 * On hand at beginning of month. t During month. leaving on hand, at the end of the calendar year 1,157 cases not yet completed. Of these applications, 156 are premature, being from miners who, not having yet exhausted their previous awards, need not at present be considered. The remainder consists of 668 claims for extension of pre- vious benefits (sections 9 (1) (c) and 10), and 333 new applications. Of the 668 old cases, all, except 15 cases received in the last few days of December, and 45 absent on active service, had, by the end of the year, been sent to the Bureau for medical examination. Of these, 459 were still in the hands of the Bureau, so far as the Board were aware, though they were informed that a consider- able number of these had omitted to respond to the Bureau’s notice to present themselves for examina- tion. In the other 149 cases, the medical reports had not been received; 95 of these were not ready to be placed before the Board because the applicants had not supplied the necessary documents. The remaining 54 were awaiting the Board’s decision. The position as regards the 333 new applications under the 1916 Act was as follows : — Awaiting records of underground service and identification .......................J. 93 Awaiting medical report ..................r.... 105 Awaiting classification of oversea reports.... 21 Awaiting oversea medical report .............. 36 Awaiting evidence of dependency, etc.......... 52 Awaiting Board’s decision .................... 26 333 The Board had thus, at the end of the year, 80 cases awaiting their decision—about four days’ work. By arrangement with the Medical Bureau, only 25 cases a day are sent up for examination; and, as appears from the above figures, the Bureau has not been able to keep abreast of this supply. The rate at which appli- cations are disposed of is, therefore, limited by the Bureau’s, not the Board’s, ability to cope with the rush of cases. Of the applications disposed of, 1,135 have been rejected on medical grounds, 105 for insuffi- cient service underground, 36 because the Board was not satisfied that the applicant was in need of finan- cial assistance, and 69 on other grounds; while 119 applications were withdrawn. Single lump sums were awarded in 233 cases, lump sums and allowances in 187 cases, and allowances only in 662 cases. The total awards macle during the five months aggregated, from the Compensation Fund, £132,775 13s. 6cl., and from the Insurance Fund £92,857 Is. 7cl., while the amounts actually paid out from the Compensation and. Insur- ance Funds respectively, including medical and funeral expenses, were £45,905 Ils. 7d. and £18,136 17s. 5d. The figures, of which the above is a summary, are given in detail in the monthly statistics published by the Department of Mines (Statement No. 10). There is no doubt that there have been many com- plaints about the working of the Act. These com- plaints may be classified as follow: — (1) Against the sufficiency of the benefits provided. (2) Against the verdicts of the Medical Bureau. (3) Against the delay in deciding applications. (4) Against the manner in which the Board have exer- cised the discretion vested in them. With (1) and (2) the Board have nothing to do. In regard to (3), the Act, by creating a number of new claims, all taking effect on a single day, necessarily caused congestion, which has not yet been overcome. But it may be pointed out that the Board have suc- ceeded in disposing of applications at an average rate of over 500—during the last three months 561—a month, and were, at the end of the year, practically abreast of all the work ready for them. This rate cannot be appreciably increased, even when the Bureau is able to. supply the Board with more material, as it presumably will be when the pressure of the first periodical examinations is over. Besides the applica- tions dealt with above, the Board every month has to decide upon about 300 applications for review under section 17 of the Act, and also has to deal with a large quantity of miscellaneous business. Meetings are held on every business day except Saturday, and average over three hours each. Fortunately, the end of the congestion is in sight. In this connection, the Board desire to express their great appreciation of the zealous and persistent work of the secretary and staff during the tremendous pressure of the first five months under the new system. In regard to (4), complaints cannot be avoided. It may be said with confidence that there is hardly an applicant who will not be discontented unless he gets in one lump sum the utmost amount which the Board can legally award him. It is clear that this was not the intention of the Act: its language indicates that monthly allowances are intended to be the rule, and the grant of lump sums the exception. Turning to the question of providing occupation, the Board, as previ- ously stated, have not .as yet had sufficient time to devote to this most important subject. By the end of the year they had, however, adopted a scheme of land settlement, and had practically completed negotia- tions for the purchase of a farm. They had also inserted advertisements in the principal newspapers of the Union inviting applications from the bene- ficiaries who desire to settle on the land. The Board expect to be in possession of the farm before the end of January, and to commence operations during February. Too much must not, however, be expected from this scheme, as the Board’s estimates show that the cost of. establishing each settler will be in the neighbourhood of £1,000, and that the returns will be spread over a period of at least 25 years. By the end of November a u Silicotic employment agency,” under the management of the Association of Mine Managers, but working in conjunction with the Board, was estab- lished. The Board have also made arrangements with the Inspector of White Labour to devote a branch of his employment bureau to phthisis patients. The Board have issued a circular letter to all large employers of labour within the Union, pointing out the peculiar needs of phthisis patients, and correct- ing the popular error, which the Board find to be very widespread, that there is danger of infection even from purely silicotic workers'. This, of course, is a com- plete misapprehension: pure silicosis is absolutely incommunicable by any means whatever. The Board regret to have to report that the response has been negligible. The Board have had under consideration various proposals for the employment of beneficiaries in existing or contemplated industries in return for financial assistance, but none of those hitherto con- sidered have appeared practicable. The difficulty is that the offers made to the Board have mostly taken the form of suggestions that the Board should advance at once a considerable sum, and that the recipient should undertake to employ a certain number of bene- ficiaries for a certain period. Obviously, the Board cannot entertain such a proposal without substantial guarantees that the other party will be able to carry out his share of the bargain; and these are difficult to obtain. Established firms do not appear to be anxious to be bothered with such arrangements; and the Board, though willing to take reasonable risks, do not consider themselves justified in embarking their funds in what amounts to speculation. The Board are inviting by advertisement further proposals on this point. The Board are also making enquiries into the possi- bility of employing beneficiaries in afforestation, but the prospects do not at present appear very promising, owing to the intermittent nature of the employment provided by planting and cutting trees. Although no great progress is. made with this side of its functions, individual members of the Board have been successful in finding employment for several applicants. In conclusion, the Board desire to draw attention to what would appear to be an oversight in the Act. Under the prior laws, beneficiaries were allowed, under certain conditions, to resume work underground upon obtaining a medical certificate that they were free from phthisis—Act 29/1914, section 4 (c). This provision has not been re-enacted in Act 44/1916, doubtless because it had been discovered that persons who had once been affected were especially liable to fresh attacks of the disease. There are, however, a certain number of miners actually at work underground who hold documents stating that they are entitled so to work. It is very improbable that either these miners or their employers are aware that both parties are contravening section 30 of Act 44/1916 ; it appears to the Board unlikely that the Legislature intended to destroy, without compensation, an existing right to work. One other point may be mentioned. The word “ or ” in line 8 (official edition) of section 9 (2) (b) appears to have .been inserted in error. Without it, the section is simple and comprehensible; with it, the words “ but prior to the first day of August 1916, or if he dies after the last-mentioned day ” have no effect at all. The period dealt with in the report has been too short and too exceptional to enable the Board to draw any general conclusions. These will be dealt with in the annual report. SOUTH WALES MIMIKG TIMBER TRADE. The Monmouthshire and South Wales Colliery Owners’ Pitwood Association Limited has been registered “ to buy, clear, plant, and work timber estates.” Every member undertakes to contribute to the assets of the association, in the event of the same being wound-up, the sum not exceeding 10 per cent, of the cost of the timber. The subscribers are Messrs. T. E. Craig, S. G. Reid, B. Nicholas, and F. T. Halford. It was due to the initia- tive of Mr. Reid that the pit prop trade between New- foundland and South Wales was created, and arrange- ments made for the rapid assembling and loading of Newfoundland timber for transport to South Wales. Messrs. Evans and Reid also own forests in Wooda Bay, near Weston-super-Mare, which have been worked to supply timber for colliery purposes. For the week ending May 4, the imports of foreign mining timber have shown a very satisfactory increase, despite the submarine menace. A total of 25,203 loads were received, the following being the actual cargoes received by consignees :— Cardiff [Barry and Penartli} :— To Loads. Morgan and Cadogan ................. 552 E. Marcesche and Company ........... 564 Grant Hayward and Company .......... 156 W. E. Williams ................... 1,080 E. Marcesche and Company ........... 336 Morgan and Cadogan ................. 168 Budd and Company ................... 258 Grant Hayward and Company .......... 372 Lysberg Limited .................. 7,416 E. Marcesche and Company ......... 1,550 Lysberg Limited .................. 3,882 Morgan and Cadogan ............... 274 Lysberg Limited .................. 4,994 Total.......21,552 Newport :— T. Bey non and Company ............ 232 Powell Duffryn Coal Company ....... 744 Total......... 976 Swansea :— W. Davies and Company ............. 150 Morgan and Cadogan ................ 188 W. Davies and Company ............. 277 Lysberg Limited ................... 160 Morgan and Cadogan ................ 113 E. W. Cook and Company ............ 100 H. D. Evans and Rogers ............ 275 E. Marcesche and Company .......... 173 Sullivan and Company .............. 130 Morgan and Cadogan .............. 1,109 Total........ 2,675 The bulk of the wood was French fir. Supplies went quickly into consumption, but most collieries are now well supplied. Quotations for best French fir ruled at 75s. per ton ex ship Cardiff. There was also a better arrival of home-grown pitwood by rail and sea. Business in home- grown wood has been of a much brisker character. Land owners possessing tracts of woodland area, recognising the need for wood, are disposing of their plantations. The great drawback is the shortage of labour, especially of hauliers. The • Coal Owners’ Pitwood Association are fortunately well placed in this respect, and deliveries are increasing. The association offer 55s. f.o.r. for larch, etc. During April, the quantity of foreign timber imported into South Wales and Monmouthshire amounted to 97,879 loads, as compared with 122,000 loads in April of 1916. The following table shows the actual quantity of timber received by the various consignees :— Imports during April. Consignees. Cardiff. Newport. Swansea, q^lbot Total. Loads. Loads. Loads. Loads. Loads. T. P. Thomas & Co. 2,940 ... 2,040 ... — ... — ... 4,980 Lysberg Ltd. ...56,048 ... — ... 735 ... 1,440...58,223 Evans and Reid ... — ... 1,440 ... — ... — ... 1,440 Morgan & Cadogan 6,300 ... — ...1,460 ... — ... 7 760 F. R. Howe ....... 2,040 ... — ... 260 ... — ... 2,300 Budd................ 258 ... — ... .. 66 ... — ... 324 E. Marcesche & Co. 1,687 ... 480 ... 273 ... — ... 2,440 Powell Duffryn Coal Co....... 1,680 ... 2,616 ... — ... — ... 4,296 W.E. Williams ... 3,600 ... — ... —• ... — ... 3,600 Blane, Wright and Martinez ........ 1,980 ... — ... — ... — ... 1,980 Grant Hayward and Co..... 528 ... — ... — ... — ... 528 Wm. Davies & Co. — ... — ... 676 ... — ... 676 O’Sullivan & Sons — ... — ... 250 ... — ... 250 E. W Cook....... — ... — ... 100... 450... 550 Franklyn Thomas 625 ... 600 ... — ... — ... 1,225 H. D. Evans and Rogers........ — ... — ... 785 ... — ... 785 W. H. Williams ... 5,220 ... — ... — ... — ... 5,220 VenestaLtd...... — ... — ... 102 ... — ... 102 Vyvyan, Kelly ... 1,200 ... — ... — ... — ... 1,200 Totals .......84,106 ... 7,176 ...4,707 ... 1,890...97,879 The new (temporary) address of the Institution of Elec- trical Engineers is 1, Albemarle-street, London, W. 1. In L’Opinion, Vice-Admiral Bienaime, dealing with the submarine question, states that, during 1916, of 21,105,000 tons of coal consigned to French harbours, 150,000 tons, or 0-7 per cent., were sunk. Pit Prop imports.—Through the Press Bureau, the Board of Trade gives notice that the general licence permitting the importation of pit props and pitwood will be revoked as from May 15, after which date it will be necessary for importers to apply for special licences to the Department of Import Restrictions, 22, Carlisle-place, S.W. 1. Any consignment, however, which was en route to the importers in this country before May 15 will be admitted, in pur- suance of the general licence, notwithstanding its revo- cation.