The Washington Post from Washington, District of Columbia • Page 5

Ti i vtSTt js rj THE WASHINGTON POST SUNDiYv JANUARY 1 190 5 J1 roy lllvll IVI I I iUI TiBapgm HBWMy OIA I I II I ll 1V a ym iiiiiKsssaiiSft i mamamwQmmBmmMmmmimmwmmm cjebe or irm ui Jviw 7BiVre5s 3iwvhrs ssssssssBSSSs SiC vvr VrEir or jBiiSSi5aKvit 5 LotuY or uul ojuot yoji fue3251 plo6ives aHSSSmfSKSMt 9JKSBBSBSBaBBl JCMBEJ or THE G07J2KHFr JSECUE COJ5P64 EIQVIPPEX WITH OXSElCELMrEriaEAg IX its effor to stop the appalling loss if life In the coil mines of the coun trv Uie United States government is meeting with much success For kfrjl month an experiment station under the direction of the techno logi brunr of the United States eo logl ii ej has been in operation at IUttb ir Ia with the purpose of discover rrnr the causes tit mine disasters ani ir tinR a remedy AImih ti the establishment of thi stai i id the aKltation which preceded the i legislation there ha been a i nu fT In the number of deaths in ii il innifS for the year 1903 anci wlile thi official figures have not ye lx i ncri it is stated that the number il ith will be several hundred 8 11 in 1Si7 hich was an unusual in ft mlirr 1007 four explosions took tiii liw of no men one of them at ths ilon UK di mine in West Virginia being the greatest mining disaster In the history of this country There were 356 victims During 1908 there were but two accidents i in which the loss of life was very heavy I one In January at the Hanna mine In 1 Wyoming with a loss of 70 men the otn er Xovember 2S at the Mananna mine 1 in Pennsylvania which resulted in lot I deaths i Already at the experiment station two I discoveries have been riialde whiclrt wll tend to decrease the number of deaths In the mines It has been demonstrated I that a number of the so called safety eyplosives are unyth ng but safe in fact the statement is made that with the pjesent explosives used in mining the mirer takes his life in his hand even time he touches off a fuse It Is the pur I pcseof the government to continue the experiments until the explosves of the coLntry are standardized in such a manner that the miner will have a definite idea what the explosives will do I After the government has gone far enough in its experiments a bulletin will be issued recommending as permsslbT explosives such as stand the test Tho facts learned concerning these explosives will be called directly to the atttntion of the State mininsr bureaus as well as tre cperators Perhaps the most Important and far 1 reaching experiments so far at the sta 1 tlon are those in which it has been deft 1 rlttly shown that coal dust is an explo sive equally as dangerous as the deadly fire damp This has been a mooted question among mining engineers and miners aike both insisting that it is impossibif to explode coal dust unless there is as present That coal dust will expjc3e in a mine where there is no gas ias been repeatedly shown to several hundied operators and mineis at the testing station The experts at the station are now bending their energies to discover some method by which this dust can be prevented from being a serious menace to the miners Exieriments in wetting it have been go on for some time but nothing of a very definite nature has as vet been learned unless It is the fact that the coal dust dos not Ignite when there is a great amount of moisture In It Every effort Is being made at the station to come as close to the conditions in a mine as possible The tests of various dynamites and powders used In blasting ccal are being made in a mammoth boiler plate cylinder which ha3 previously been filled with gas or coal dust The cylinder is 100 feet long and feet in diameter Safety valves have been placed all along the top and are I left unfartened In such a manner that whenever there Is an explosion the valves fly open on their hinges A series of portholes on the side covered with one half inch glass enables those conducting the experiments to witness the results from an observation house CO feet away An explosive mixture of Are damp and air or coal dust I and air is pumped into the cylinder and the explosive which is to be tested is shot into It from one end of the cylinder so that the flame goes right into the fire damp or coal dust Natural gas is used at this station for fire damp because it corresponds very closely to this deadly gas The cannon In which the explosives are placed is fired by electricity from the observation house which la parallel with the cylinder Itself These Investigations are expected to accomplish a double purpose not only a reduction in the number of men killed In the mraesbut also asavlng of the waste in mining coal The use of Improper explosives as well as the improper Mse of suitable explosives results annually in the waste of great amounts of coal The use of too high charges in blasting or the use of unnecessarily violent explosives shatters much good coal converting fuel into dust which may itself be exploMve and become productive of much further damage Such explosions often loosen the roof of a coal mine which may fall later to be wasted or productive of fatal accidents In addition to the actual experiments In testing explosives Important experiments arj being made in rescue work One part of the station has been fitted up as a miniature coal mine This is a large glass incased air tight room which contains difficult passages such as are founi In coal mines There are also various obstructions similar to what would be found in a mine after It had been wrecked by an explosion also dummies weighing 150 to 200 pounds representing asphyxi ated miners Once the helmeted men while flghtlns mine fire succeeded in bringing an unconscious man to a place of safety wherer he was given oxygen treatment and recovered his senses in a short time It is not the Intention of the United States government to furnish resale corps whenever there is a disaster The present corps was organized with the Idea of encouraging the mine owners ana miners Tliis room Is filled with deadly gas and I themselves to form such organizations a rescue corps of men who are beln trained in the work enter daily clad In throughout the country to send picked helmets which supply them with oxygen while theywork The men remain in thlar chamber for two hours removing obstructions picking up the dummies placing them on stretchers and carrying them away There Is also In the room a Invitations have been issued to operators men to the experiment station where they may watch the government rescuers at work and later go through the same training themselves In order that they may gain the necessary confidence in the use of these helmets Already a machine which records the amount of number of the large mining companies work a man may be expec ed to do while have taken advantage of this Invitation wearing one of these helmets I and are organizing rescue corps at their One half of the large building In whlcn mines fully equipped witn oxygen nei this rescue room Is located is used as an auditorium and several hundred miners and operators have watched the rescue drill through the large glass windows which separate the auditorium from the gas fillea chamber Although there has been but little opportunity so far for the mets In 1907 more than 3125 men were killed In the coal mines of the country a death rate of 486 for every 1000 men employed Thls is from three to four times as manr men per thousand as are killed In any coal producing country or iuurope wnero rescue corps to demonstrate Its efficiency experimental stations such as the one In at the mines still it has done some good Pit sburg have been in operation ior sev work 1 eral years A 9 Americar Pompeii pearthed in Arizona by means of ladders on the outside The first terrace ran around each story and formed a promenade or lookout or lounging place as the occasion required The ground plan of this main building shows five spacious rooms It was probably a building of 20 rooms in its prime which is no small struc ANOTHER LORD BALTIMORE PENNY ClUXTISTS of the Smithsonian In of state There was an adjacent open ered because it was the best preserved lie described the ruins as thev then at utution are excavating restor frce evidently used as a playground and of all the ruins It stood on a mound peared and these descriptions have nute nnil nlirinfT nn pxhihitinn fcij aa jaiuuc ftiuunu xwi wc awij uv an iit uiiiiui lain iuiua Alio waa luc BLicniaio VI lluiy lilt i lllfe Ilia liiv iiife JH CAimiu Inp nf snMlan fcrtiln It Ic Ihil tVo nr rre rf thooo mnnmlc nt Ins arriving tha nil tll7V for SllV civilization OI tH6 date in down on the desert plains of Ari zg ajso naj something to do th the is nartlv due to the fact that hia daces earlier times Other visitors at Hfferpnt which it was erected zona the homes of a prehistoric i ceremonies of the people for they were are chosen on which to erect the great periods have described the big house In the group immediately about the i pjMii mo In oil there are grouping ths alwas toward the rising sun yr the houses but chiefly to the fact that de and all the evidence brought together Casa Grande are two other buildings noraes into villages and cities and going i se 01 worsnip cna inese people piui sertea buildings catcJi tne dritting sands gives a good idea of how it really ap that were two siunes iu nil Miitlier and showing the lives of an empire homage to the sun 0f the desert and great falling walls of peared in its prime made up of great numbers of rooms I ieopie wno nea in uitse ii an that shut it in srave it urotec Then there was the nraotiee of building huildiner romnospri tprranQ Tt tw i tmneH Thev were evidently residences leb tvuuuies ago and irrigated them as tjon frrm intruding rivals in time of war jone house on the ruins of ts fallen ed positively known that the first story was ney win ue aajii trriuitu wucu mc bu amu twn num luu lauuie in uiiirs 01 ecessor ana so eacn generation 01 ruins rnmnt of today has completed thtir laoo Within this wall was all that per added height to the mound that now re jmatinn nmc iv uicuauBvi utc luuiig laniuifs mams have hitherto been but ova mi with the remnant of a disappearing wall but occasionally protruding from surcri ts are being dug away and hi houses that exit withn them ate leing brought to life These are being a through all their windings and madi to show forth just what they wete in the olden das They are being made to give up the secrets of the peoples who iveil within them and formed a part a iization that had fallen into deca i onn not so many centuries before the Sp ii fathers came to this section a forming the ciosest link that uixli hie ever found between the iretnt people of the Southwest and those fiat li id earlier left so strong a mark iim Hit country An Ameican Pompeii is destined to re si lt frori tnese excavations and restoration and is a matter of fact has resulted alreaiH to a certain extent Dr Wal i Tewkes on behalf of the Smithsonian Int tiituin has spent the past two years ii Aiizuna and already huge palaces gr ereTionial chambers and elaborat dwelling places have been unearthed and restored Interest has been qulckentd by the nearness with which these restorations hae brought the people Of todaj to those that have gone before The restorations were begun at the olu asa Grande ruins which have been show place sinee white men first went 1h Soutnwest Of the hundreds of ruins that are scattered throughout in region these were the best preserved In tne story of a vanishing race they ha pi bably been the stronghold of som stubborn chief whose people had held out for hundreds of years after the fellows had perished and as a const quence had been brought so much neare to tre men of the present Great walls stood gaunt upon the bar cn plains when scientists first visits this section They still stand but little worn by the passing of two centuries and form the basis of the thorough estIgaiion that is now gong on Abou tivem was two years ago begun the i stigation by Dr Fewkes financed the government Three separate ruin nave been unearthed In these two years and the manner of the village life an1 tne extent and grouping of the house are definitely known as Is the probable character of the race that built them The principal buildings In any given village occur In groups In each of these groups tllere Is one great central building icIi must evidently have been the seat government and the residence of the lcr Nar it are the places of worship i rrp the pccplc evidently met to ir arm reremonlos to Aheir deities There jicrt Immediately adjacent other liousca eonderable size that were unquestion ably the Douses of members of 4he rulers fimilj or of other prominent personages Outs ido of it were built the homes of the Something was known of the old ruin common people some of thorn sufficiently historically The first European to visit large to leave a mar on the plain but it was Father Kino in 1694 The ruin the majority were but temporary rest was then In a fair state of preservation dence of little size as great houses were though It had long been deserted Father rot geterally nteded in this warm climate Kino called the ruin Casa Grande signl Thc Casa Grande ruin attracted first I fying Big House which was the name attention when restoration was consid even earlier applied to it by the Indians I amammmttamaiammmimmimmmmmtiJtimmamiiimi ggblfATsay fwJJ BJf Trr cjSSisiiMiBtsI 3 nnl in them have been found theskele ever occupied for it appears that the tons of the dead the implements or walls for it were built tip and then filled the residents vases ollas and various with earth and thus used as a foundation I ornaments and trinkets for the stories above Ths first story or More important than these perhaps are foundation was of the same height as the six long ceremonial rooms that lie in the surrounding heavy wall Bach storv a spHpo to the north of the main building above It was smaller than the one below These were one story buildings of great tne iece giving the whole the appearance of a 1 ground space They were fitted to the ac Tne fjrst Baltimore penny came to light terraced pyramid commodatlon of gatherings of people and England many years ago and was pur The manner of getting from one ere evidently used in worship or other chased by a well known Philadelphia col OR many years but one specimen of the Lord Baltimore penny supposed to have been the first copper coin Issued for circulation in the American colonies was known to exist Not long ago however another specimen of the colonial rarity was discovered by a well known Washington collector Collins among a lot of old and worn copper pieces The new piece showed considerable signs of wear which might Indicate that coins of the denomination really had circulated as money This fact has been ques tioned owing to the excessive rarity of story or terrace to the one above was public gatherings That they were never used as places or aooae is signiueu jy the fact that no domestic Implements were found in their excavation There are various less Important bulld 1 lngs scattered about the grounds that surround these Some of them are evidently residences and many are probably storehouses Some of them have the peculiarity of an absence of doors and must have been entered from the roof These may have been built as places of refuge but it is more likely that they were used for the storing of the crops that were grown on the plains around about for with their irrigation systems tnere wouia certainly have been the necessity for storage space 1 The wall that surrounds this group was evidently some 6 feet high and 2 feet thick it formed a rectangle something larger than 400 by 200 feet the angles of which were imperfect It Is laid out withi liltle regard to the points of the compass as are the walls of the buildings inslda The builders evidently went to work with little regard for these things and laid down their walls by mere mental ap proxlmatons rather than with mathematical accuracy In the immediate vicinity of the Casa Grande group are two others that are similar In general plan but entirely different In detail These were excavated after the Casa Grande was completed and restored and their ground plan and th extent of ther buildings Is now as well known as that of the best preserved rultt They are of approximately the same size and Importance as tire Casa Grande but evidently older and therefore fallen further into decay All of the buildings of the different groups are similar 1 construction and in material used All are built of the earth of the surrounding country and are not dissimilar to the adobe houses that the Mexicans of the same region are building today They were roofed with dirt supported by rafters covered with layers of the arrow weed from the river bottoms that are today used In tfoe budding of the shacks of the Pi mas who lire in the vicinity Many of these timbers are stilt found in the ruins in a fair state of preservation indicating that not many centuries have passed since they were in place The walls of the houses were plastered on tne Inside and a high degree 1 lector upon the sale of his collection another Philadelphia by tne name or Brock purchased it This collector pr iUINS OF THE CASA GRANDE IN ARIZONA smoothness and beauty obtained Wulle the Casa Grande rulnlsJn itself of the greatest Interest of them all be cause it is me Desi preserved it is in no way a remnant of a greater civilization thanhundreds of others la the Gila ad Satt River Taller1 sented his entire collection to the University of Pennsylvania The second specimen also was bought by Mr Brock and being shilling Sixpence and groat They wero struck some time about 1G59 when presented to the United States Mint collection in Philadelphia The penny was one of a series of four coins the denominations of the others Cecil Calvert Baron Baltimore was lord proprietary of Maryland for circulation in that colony The dies prepared in London are said to have beenthe work or Nicholas Brlot the celebrated English coin designer On October 12 1659 samples of these coins were forwarded to the secretary for Maryland Philip Calvert Lord Baltimores brother the letter accompanying them reading Hauelng with great pajnes and Charge procured Necessaries for a particular Coyne to be Currant In Maryland a Sample whereof in a peece of a Shilling a Sixpence and a Groat I herewith send yow recommend It to yow to promote all you can the dispensing of it Lord Baltimore only suggested that these coins be used and placed the matter of their adoption In the hands of the colonists Owing to the disorders in Maryland duevto the attempts to revolu tionlzo Che government of tha colony nponthedeatli of CtomwelLj nothing Jm One broueht 33 at tijoMnis saie ther was done in regard to the coinage until May 1 1661 when through the instrumentality of Philip Calvert who had become governor of Maryland in November 1660 the assembly passed an act for the establishment of a mint in the province of Maryland The act provded that the coin should be of as good silver as the currant coyn of English sterling money every shilling to be above ntnepence in value by weight of such silver with the other pieces in proportion Lord Baltimore at once made preparations In London to forward a supply of Coin to the colonists and the general assembly on April 12 1662 In order to put this money immediately Into circulation passed an act which provided that every Householder and Freeman in the Province should take up Ten Shillings per Poll of the Said Money for every Taxable under Their charge and Custody and Pay for the same in good Casked Tobacco at 2d per Pound to be paid upon Tender of the Said Sums of Money proportionately for every such Respected Family It has been estimated as there were 5000 taxable persons in the colony at this time the Maryland money thus put into circulation amounted to 2500 of an actual value of 1S73 It is not known how much of this money was circulated after this period The plan for the establishment of a mint In Maryland seems never to have been carried out From what information can be obtained all the coins of Lord Baltimore were made in England The matter came to the attention of the English council of state which sat from March 13 to October 13 during the Interregnum between the death of Cromwell and the accession of Charles II and proceedings were commenced against the lord proprietary for having exceeded the rights given in the original charter of Maryland which did not contain the power to create a currency It ts thought that the case was allowed to drop and that Lord Baltimore continued to make and transport large amounts of his silver pieces to the colonists for which be received colonial tobacco In return The designs for these silver coins are very much alike The obverse bears the portrait of the lord proprietary facing to th left Around the border is the legend Caecilus Dns Terrae Marlae et All the reverses show the escutcheon with the Baltimore arms which consist of a lozenged shield surmounted by a coronet Around the border Is the legend Cresclte et Multi pllcamlnl The shilling bears the Roman numerals XII to the right and left of the shield for the sixpence VTJ and the groat or fourpence IV In diameter the shilling Js a trifle larger than the old time copper cent It weighs 68 grains the silver being quite fine or 523 1000 and its intrinsic value was 73 cents There is Tut one type and one variety of this denomination It is a very scarce coin in well preserved state and an extremely fine specimen said to be one of the best known brought 70 at the Mills sale in ISOt Tere Is but one type and variety of the Maryland sixpence The weight of this coin Is 34 grains the silver being of the same fineness as that in the shilling in diameter is about 14 15 of an inch with an Intrinsic Value of 8818 cents The Maryland groat was the only coin of the title ever to be issued for America Its design was of two general types of two varieties the difference in design consisting In large and small portraits and shields The groat has a diameter of 11 16 of an Inch weighs 23 grains and has an Intrinsic value of 6336S cents It is the scarcest of the sliver pieces Issued by Lord Baltimore and a fine specimen brought 183 at the Mills sale The obverse design of the penny is similar to that borne by the three other denominations but the chief device on the reverse is entirely different This consists of a ducal coronet upon which are two masts from each of which files a pennant The legend reads De narlum Terre Marlae The diameter of this coin which is composed of copper is between that of the groat and sixpence or about 13 16 of an inch and the weight 37 1 2 grains It is quite likely that the penny was pattern coin and really never appeared in circulation The specimen found by Mr Collins may have been worn by being carried as a pocketpiece Lord Baltl more makes reference only to the shilling sixpence and groat of the coins dlectly issued for Maryland and iCouidJ seem that the copper piece was struck before the silver coins None of the series however bears a date The pedigree of the original Lord Baltimore penny now owned by the University of tPennsyivania seems to have been carefully kept In 181 occurs the first printed mention of the piece when it was sold in the collection of James Bindley an English collector to William Dlnedale another Englishman for Vi 10s At the sale of the latter collection In 1821 the piece went for 9 9s to the Rev Joseph Martin of Kent England William Wehster of London bought it in 18 for 75 and it then passed into tns nanas ox an American collector Joseph Mlckleyv of Philadelphia When the Iatter collection waa sold the coin passed into the possession of a Mr Stevens in UOTrfor 8370 Mr Stevens represented well known Jnew Tone collector wianes i ousameji and when the latter collection was disposed of InlSM the coveted piece passed 1 into the possession of Mr yBroCk for 50 1 which wasTthe last time the coin was of 1 eretz lit public sale 4.