bution of the persons trained in 1935 was: Coal mining, 52,476; metal mining, 10,265; petroleum industry, 5,977; metallurgical industry, 2,255; nonmetallic mining, 1,904; tunneling, 1,225; cement industry, 376; public utilities, 282; miscellaneous, 2,450. The training was conducted in 484 communities in 35 States. Bureau of Mines personnel also attended 51 first-aid and mine-rescue meetings or contests in 16 States, usually acting as judges. The demands for such work are far greater than the Bureau's present personnel can satisfy. The Bureau's safety engineers have devised an accident-prevention course for bituminous-coal mining, a more advanced, more technical, and more direct approach to mine safety than the first-aid or mine-rescue courses. This advanced course is suitable for only the more intelligent workers, but has proved invaluable to mine bosses. The course was started in 1930 and to July 1, 1935, had been taken by 8,851 persons; here again the demand exceeds the supply of instructors. During the past year 1,211 bituminous-coal-mine officials and other workers in 8 States took the full course, which requires attendance at about 20 meetings. About 10 members of the Safety Division devote much of their time to this important work, and three or four times as many could be given full-time duty on it, as this high type of safety education should be extended to the metalmining, quarrying, cement, and petroleum industries, with experienced personnel as instructors. Much first-aid training is now done in cooperation with the industry; the Bureau safety instructor conducts an intensive course of first-aid training for selected keymen of the mining company, who then divide the company's personnel into squads or classes of about 25 men each and give them the first-aid course, with the Bureau of Mines safety man as supervisor. Keymen with suitable qualifications, who have acted as temporary instructors, are recommended by the Bureau representative to receive temporary certificates as Bureau of Mines first-aid instructors; these are made permanent if the recipients do certain prescribed first-aid work each year for 5 years. In the last fiscal year 1,132 of these temporary or annual first-aid instructors' certificates were issued in 26 States, and 716 certificates previously issued were renewed. To June 30, 1935, the Bureau had distributed 5,699 first-aid instructors' certificates. They are much desired, because holders frequently have benefited by being given preferential rank and higher pay or have obtained fairly responsible positions in other industries than mining. Holmes safety chapters.-To promote safety in mines and mining communities the Bureau sponsors the formation of community safety organizations called "Holmes safety chapters", named for its first director, Joseph A. Holmes. During the fiscal year the Safety Division organized 68 new Holmes chapters in 7 States with an aggregate membership of over 18,000 persons. To the end of the fiscal year, 433 chapters had been organized in 29 States. Bureau of Mines personnel attended 448 meetings of safety chapters during the year and prepared and distributed to them a series of mimeographed safety lectures in popular, nontechnical language, which described the principal causes of accidents and available methods of prevention. Safety meetings.-Attendance at mine-safety gatherings is an important duty of Safety Division engineers. In the past year 962 safety meetings in 28 States, with a total attendance of about 157,000, were included on the schedule of the division's safety men. The Bureau men addressed these gatherings on their work and in turn received information on mine safety. Safety inspections.-Safety inspections of mines or plants associated with the mining industry constitute another important phase of Safety Division activity. In 1935, 173 such inspections and reports were made in 23 States, and in 11 States 22 confidential written reports were submitted to the operating companies with suitable recommendations for improvement in safety. In consequence of these inspections and reports, hundreds of improvements, some of them very important, are made annually in and around mines to promote greater safety of operation. Publications.-Seventy manuscripts on various topics within the division's field were prepared for publication during the year; 50 of these were published, chiefly in mimeographed form, in the proceedings of mining and other societies, or in the technical press. All available printing funds for the division were used for reprinting the First-Aid Manual; even so the supply of this textbook needed for the division's field work was far from sufficient. To date 36 editions of the manual, totaling 1,016,525 copies, have been issued. Although the Health Division was recessed in July 1933 because of drastic curtailment of funds, hundreds of inquiries on health in connection with the mining industry have been received and answered annually, and in addition publications have been prepared for issuance both by the Bureau and the technical press on health subjects, particularly dust diseases. These publications have been so popular that the normal number of copies could not supply the demand. Conclusions.-Safety in the mining and related industries has improved greatly in the past few years. The training courses given nearly 900,000 persons in those industries are thus earning substantial dividends. For example, in coal mining the fatality rate in 1933 and 1934 was much lower than in any other calendar year, in the history of the industry. Moreover, instead of nearly a score of major explosion disasters annually in the coal mines the total was 1 in 1933, 2 in 1934, and 2 to July 15, 1935. The employees of the Safety Division make personal contacts each year with 300,000 to 500,000 persons in the mining industry, bringing to them directly the safety teachings of the Bureau and thus helping to increase safety in the production of our minerals. DEMOGRAPHICAL DIVISION The Demographical Division conducted statistical investigations to determine the number and cause of accidents to employees in United States mineral industries, the relation between frequency and severity of accidents, the quantity of minerals produced, and the number of men employed. Information of this kind is required as a basis for accident prevention and as a measure of progress in safeguarding miners' lives. Such data are furnished to mining companies and others interested in preventing accidents. The outstanding fact revealed by investigations during the calendar year 1934, which were based upon reports from representative plants in all parts of the country, was general reduction in accident rates for most branches of mining, notwithstanding increased tonnages mined. Although complete data for the year are not yet available, it is believed that final returns will confirm the showing forecast by reports already examined. Iron-ore mines.-A notable increase in the number of men employed at the mines and in the quantity of ore produced was accompanied by a decreased accident rate. There was, however, a slight reduction in the quantity of ore mined per man-hour of labor. The number of workdays per man increased. Copper mines.-A marked reduction in the accident rate was effected by copper-mining companies, although the tonnage of ore mined, the number of men employed, and the total man-hours of employment were larger than in the previous year. Productivity per man-hour increased slightly. Gold, silver, and miscellaneous metal mines.-Increased tonnage of ore mined, a larger number of employees, and an increase in the aggregate number of man-hours worked at mines of this class unfortunately were accompanied by an increased accident rate. Productivity per man-hour increased slightly. Lead and zinc mines.-More men were employed, more ore was mined, and a material increase was made in the total number of man-hours worked. Productivity per man-hour and accident rate. both increased. Cement mills and quarries.-This branch of the mineral industry consistently maintains low accident rates from year to year. The rate for 1934, though low compared with other industries, was slightly higher than in 1933. Total production and productivity per man-hour of labor both increased. The number of employees was somewhat larger than in 1933, and the total man-hours of employment increased. Other quarrying.-Quarrying and other related work, such as rockdressing, crushing, and the manufacture of lime, reduced their accident rate slightly in 1934; a larger tonnage of rock was produced and a larger number of men employed than in 1933. Productivity per man-hour declined slightly. Accident-prevention contest.-A safety contest conducted among 334 mines and quarries in 38 States showed that safety had progressed so far in a number of States that accidents were eliminated. Through the accident reports furnished by the competing companies the Bureau obtains a fund of reliable information required in studying causes of accidents at mines and quarries, the frequency and severity of such accidents, and means whereby accidents may be prevented. Explosives. During 1934, 39,207,845 pounds of permissible explosives, 206,625,027 pounds of high explosives other than permissibles, and 68,935,050 pounds of black blasting powder were produced in the United States. The mineral industries consumed 65 percent of the total. Conclusions.-Due to insufficient funds, the division cannot compile and make available to the industry adequately the vital facts concerning causes and frequency of accidents, such as might be obtained from the accident and employment reports furnished regularly by mining companies. The recommendation made a year ago is repeated, namely, that additional trained personnel should be obtained to enable the division to supply the mining industry with a larger measure of the information that may be obtained from the reports the operating companies furnish to the Bureau for its general study of accidents. Effective July 1, 1935, the duties and personnel of the Demographical Division were transferred, by order of the Director, from the Health and Safety Branch to the Economics and Statistics Branch. ADMINISTRATIVE BRANCH OFFICE ADMINISTRATION DIVISION The Office Administration Division is charged with handling personnel matters, property records, accounting, multigraphing and mimeographing, and general administrative routine. Personnel.-On June 30, 1935, there were 523 full-time employees on duty at the Bureau. The employees were distributed and classified as shown in the following table: 1 Includes instrument makers, safety instructors, laboratory aids, assistants, etc. * Includes janitors, laborers, messengers, etc. Engineers, 19; chemist, 1; miscellaneous, 16; total, 36. Engineers, 43; chemists, 26; miscellaneous, 23; total, 92. • Total: Engineers, 92; chemists, 48; miscellaneous, 47; grand total, 187. In addition to the foregoing full-time employees the following persons were engaged on a when-actually-employed basis: 7 laborers, etc., employed on field agreements; 1 consulting metallurgist; 29 consulting engineers (Advisory Board); and 52 other employees holding classified, unclassified, and excepted appointments on a part-time basis, making a total of 612 employees. Property. The property records of the Bureau, as of June 30, 1935, show accounts as follows: Automobiles and trucks_ Canvas and leather goods_-- Drafting and engineering instruments- Electrical equipment- Hardware and tools. Household equipment- Laboratory apparatus_. Medical equipment--- Office furniture and equipment_ Photographic apparatus-‒‒‒ Machinery and power-plant equipment_-_. Land, buildings, and improvements- Rescue cars and specialized apparatus_ Total--- $74, 762.45 3,498.10 10, 061.92 62, 492.72 31, 683. 23 19, 016. 99 467, 645. 30 8, 202, 66 297, 589.90 28, 786. 29 1,005, 787. 19 1, 523, 430. 92 403, 014. 92 3,935, 972. 59 This property is located in Washington and at the various field stations and offices of the Bureau. INFORMATION DIVISION The Information Division comprises five sections concerned with dissemination of information on the Bureau's investigations. Publications.-During the past year the publications section supervised the distribution of 100,234 copies of the free editions of printed |