812 MINERALS YEARBOOK

approximately 441,750,000 tons had a fatality rate per million tons of only
3.31 compared with 3.75 for the 5-year period 1926—30, indusive. Since
only tentative rates for 1932 are known, the 1931 dataare given for purposes
of comparison.
 The rate of 3.31 workers killed per million tons produced is by all odds
the lowest in the past 25 years; the next best rate was 3.45 in 1920, when
the production of 658,000,000 tons was one of the largest in the history
of coal mining in the United States. In number of coal-nine fatalities, 1931,
with 1,463, had 521 fewer deaths than 1922 with 1,984—another depression
year which previously held the record for the smallest number of fatalities
in any single year, but had a fairly high rate, 4.18. The 1,463 coal-mine
fatalities in 1931 are 946 fewer than the average of 2,409 fatalities annually
for the 25 years 1906—30, inclusive, and the rate of 3.31 is much below
the average rate of about 4.45 annually for the 25-year period 1906—30,
inclusive.
 There were numerous contributing factors to the excellent coalmine fatality
record of 1931. First, only 86 were killed in explosions in 1931 compared
with 264 in 1930 and an average of 341 annually from 1922 to 1931, inclusive.
Unquestionably, several hundred lives were saved by rock dust; it stopped
at least three explosions whioh started in mines having dangerous gas or
dust conditions, or both, in which under normtd conditions a slight explosion
ordinarily would cause wide-spread disaster. There is no doubt that with
a minimum of work available employees are much more amenable to discipline
and follow safety suggestions better than they do in prosperous times. The
labor turnover was practically nil, hence the numerous inefficiencies from
taking on new employees were eliminated. Mining companies as well as employees
are learning that accidents cost money, hence are waste to all concerned.
This phase of the situation was stressed much more in 1931 than ever before
and unquestionably had a good effect. In addition, 1931 was undoubtedly the
most active year in the past quarter of a century in organizing mines, mining
personnel, and mining communities and educating them in safety.
 In 1932 essentially the same factors helped to establish a good safety record
(except for the 167 fatalities from explosions of gas or dust in 1932 as
against 86 in 1931); as in 1931, rock dusting probably prevented the loss
of between 200 and 300 lives in 1932.
 That coal mines can be operated relatively free from accidents is seen from
the following records of coal-mine operation without losttime accidents for
which the Joseph A. Holmes Safety Association gave certificates of award
in a meeting in Washington, D.C., March 6, 1933. The following coal mines
were given awards, chiefly for working without lost-time accidents:
Rockvale No. 3 mine, Colorado Fuel & Iron Co., Canon City, Colo.—Operated
without a fatality from June 1904 to December 31, 1932, with production of
594,160 tons of coal; and operated without a lost-time accident from June
22,
1931, to June 24, 1932, with a production of 41,154 tons of coal.
Orenda mine, Davis Coal & Coke Co., Boswell, Pa.—Operated without
a lost-
time accident from December 14, 1931, to January 31, 1933, employing an average
of 180 men working 279,393 man-hours and producing 129,841 tons of coal,
about
60 percent from pillars in a bed about 6 feet thick with average pitch upward
of
10 percent. This mine had its last fatality on August 10, 1929.
Steuben&le mine, Consumers Mining Co., Steubenville, Ohio.—Operated
without
a lost-time injury during 744 days, from January 4, 1931, to January 9, 1933,
employing an average of 84 men working 230,732 man-hours and producing
128,630 tons of coal from a 334-foot bed; 85 percent was taken from pillars.