Page 8 - Mine Explosion in New Waterford, 1917

ISSUE : Issue 21

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1978/12/1

there. At six o'clock yesterday afternoon a special train left Waterford for Sydney with eighteen coffins containing the bod? ies of the men from Newfoundland, which were sent home on the (steamer) Kyle last night. July 28, 1917! The funeral services were completed yesterday afternoon, when a Greek orthodox ceremony and a combined Protestant service, for Salvationists, Presbyterian and Methodists were held in the Presbyterian church at Scotchtown. The orthodox service was sung in Russian by a male choir. At the Catholic church in the morning a small inkling could be seen of the cosmo? politan population of the mining town when the relatives of the deceased men entered the church. First the Italian women, with black mantilla lace; then the Russian, with their burning candles; the Belgians with snowy kerchiefs and colored shawls; English, Scottish and Irish, and even the Jewish element was represented in the con? gregation, all honoring the dead. A pathetic incident was the burial of the foreigners who had no relatives here at all. All were buried in one grave and a- round it the people gathered, not curious? ly, but as if to take away the lonely feel- July 31?? 1917: INQUEST AT DOMINION NO. 12 BEGUN YESTERDAY The inquest into the death of the victims of the Waterford disaster opened in the theatre yesterday afternoon at 3 p.m. Cor? oner Dr. Hartigan presiding. Both Drs. McCalder and Morrison testified that death was due to gas. Out of the 67 victims who came under medical examination all died from the effects of gas, accord? ing to the evidence given by medical doc? tors. Frank Burke, a deputy, was called and sworn. He stated that his section extended from Nos. 2 to 6 west side of the colliery. He visited the mine on the morning of the explosion and found gas in several cross cuts and reported the conditions in his regular report book. He considered the mine in its usually safe condition. There was gas, but no more than was usual in coal mines. He considered that the facili? ties for providing the mine with air were good, but the arrangements for the direc? tion of the air were bad. Proper air ser? vice was the only effective way to rid the mine of gas. He felt that more brattices should be used with a view to shutting off the gas. John Flynn, examiner, testified that he had been an employee of the mine for the past ten years or more. Made his report prior to the explosion and found gas in some of the rooms and cross cuts. Felt that the gas conditions could be easily remedied by proper air regulation. He stated that air passages were sufficient but the direction was inadequate. The first witness to be called was Gus Brown, chainman. He testified that he had not been in the mine on the day of the ex? plosion. He was taking a week off. The air in the mine had been bad for a couple of weeks previous to this. He was taking a week off on account of the bad air. On Wednesday the l8th he had had to leave the mine for the surface on ac? count of bad air. He had reported the air PEUGEOT A differeint kind of luxury car from EUIROCAR SERVICE LTD. Westmount, opposite Dobson Yacht Club" 3| w S S - -i Q 0) o M CD t:) W < < ni O P h'l PQ George has soft drinks, fruits & smokes And a stock of worn out jokes If you can take his type of guff You might pick up some tasty stuff To cater to the gruff and meek He's open seven days a week. KrK)wn for Quality Products and Careful Service ?? Jewelery and Gifts MacDonald Jewelery Limited 357 Charlotte St., Sydney ?? 864-8318 Cauldron Restaurant Fresh Seafood a Specialty Our Licensed Dining Room is located on Pitt Street, Sydney Mines near Princess Colliery OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND 736-6823

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