TRADES COUNCIL'S FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 400, 8 January 1909, Page 6

TRADES COUNCIL'S FINANCIAL SUPPORT.

At a'largely-attended'meeting of the' Wellington Trades and Labour Council, held last evening, .the - followiig resolution was carriedon a unanimous'voto:— ;

> -"That this council endorses the action of the Miners' Federation in refusing to. submit j to medical' examination, and that the secre'forv be'instructed to write assuring the Federation; of the council's moral and financial support." " . . , \ COMBATINC THE DISEASE. "DRY" AND "WET" MINING. - : 181 TJSLEQUAFII. —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) Auckland, January 7. "Miners' complaint," as it is callor, or minors' phthisis, is a disease peculiar, as its name implies,; to underground workers.'; Many efforts have been made to .combat it,, and" at- the present time tho disease is being carefully studied by medical men, who are anxious to find some scientific means of reducing it to a minimum. An interesting letter cn the Biibject bas been received by Dri Purdy, District Health Offiocr

at Auckland, from Dr.' Porter, tho medical officer of health at Johannesburg. We quote the letter from the Auckland "Herald":— "I may say that I am at present a momber of tho Govornment Miiing Regulations Commission, which will report in about six or seven, months' time We have gone pretty thoroughly into the question of miners' phthisis,. and we are convinced that, on the Rand at any rate, tho evil can be successfully combated by tho conversion of "dry" to "wot" mining by the use of jets in a.U developmental work and in drilling of -what are called locally back-holes, that is, holes which are. being drilled upwards "and will not therefore retain water. The Western Australian Comniission, in its report of 1905, was very favourably impressed hy , the possibilities of an apparatus devised by Mr. Arm'and Caudan, of Kalgoorlie, for use with rock drills. It consists of an adjustable tubular arm, with a trumpet-shaped month, which he proposed to fit pretty closely to tho rock raco_ round the'drill hole by mean's of a pneiimatio cushion. . . . Engineers- on the Rand, however, consider this suggestion an impracticable one, as miners, who will-not take the trouble to use the ordinary jet will ■certainly not take the trouble to adjust a mechanism of this kind.'

"I think that I am safe in saying," adds Dr. Porter, "that tho commission will at once recommend the compulsory provision" of clean watei-, for jet purposes at each working face in development work, and the heavy penalising of the miner who fails to use tho water in drilling holes. It appears to mo that really the only plaoe m which the exhaust apparatus would fill a useful purpose on these fields is-in a very steep rise, where the use;of, the.water jet will prac-' tically mean that the. men are kept wet throughout the whole shift. Against the water jet is the .objection - that wetness favours ankylostomiasis, but this can bo combated, as ; in the Belgian and Westphalian, mines,-by proper attention to excrement dis- . ■posal.- ... , DANGEROUS AMBICUITY. INSURANCE MAN'S VIEW OF THE,ACT. (BY TELEGEAPU—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) '. : Aucklandi January 6. i A rather' startling statement of the position's it is regarded from an, insurance point .of view!, was given to a press representative to-day by the manager of a leading .insurance .oompany. The feeling of;the insurance com-panies,-the. says, is that Clause 10: of the ■ Workel-s' Compensation . Act lis ambiguous. 'The. companies, he ' adds,. are afraid that if they-extend policies, which were held.on : -Do-, oeiriber 31 :last' to . cover, the new Act,, withinaking provisions for the.iriedical examination of the minersj ...whether •' free : from 'disease'.or not, they;might, saddle-themselves .with the; .liability': Of. thoso'' suffering from or miners'-disease", in' any fo'riri.:' They might,' for'instance,' 'find'themselves liable for . men' so the accumulation .of long years,'! perhaps con'tracted: in some country outside New 'Zealland. In'view :of this ambiguity 'in the Act, as to whether employerß would, or would not, be liable in respect to the men who are -found after January . 1 to'have tho- disease; . and in •the abserice'- of any_' clear "statement,. by. the Act-that its provisions wijiild only "apply, to men who contracted ■ the disease after- Janu•ary; 1, the companies found it their' duty to take steps to ascertain which. were free, from,and which were affected by, the disease; -.. : Tho next point' is' this,"- 'he,'declared. "■'Having detecmined'what men'are free from' ■tho disease, 'the insurance companies havo expressed willingness'to extend their policies ;nndor the new Act, but the : feeling, is"held that, as soon as.,Parliamerit meets, this provision dealing with pneumoconiosis will 'have to bo removed from . the. Act. If Parliament .does not delete this provision,: my .company .wih fioase- doing mining,- business 'altogether, and. that course will probably be followed by other, accident insurance - companies. The 'loivestthe insurance companies would be.jusrtmed m charging the new Act ..would , be,; no ■ loss than- 15- guineas per °i -j "i"i fact,", ho concluded, "I am so .afraid :ofvthe far-reaching., effects of..the. Act as: it now stands that even at-20 pe'r ■Iwould be afraid to undertake 'the ■ whole of the mining business of New Zealand.",,:. NOT A COALMINER'S DISEASE. , VENTILATION. " n«- Clifisfohurch, January 6. '~ Mr -: D> Pntcnard, who "has worked at' tho-mines in Reefton', and who; took a prominent part in -the recent Blackball 'strike, speaking to, a reporter in- .Christchurch last evening,,-saidHhat ho belioved that the' companies -liability- 'in' regard: 'to'."miner's dis--efo, ' had; 'beeni greatly' 'exaggerated. Most •: oKtae:men.''employed, he said, wei;e.'single,' • and instead of' working in tho mines coritinu■ouslv .took _spells in; tho bush or at other ■ -work.. tho'y recuperated from.' any ill effects-thoy might feel from' mine ivorir...

i: ?V coalmine , owner's, in attemptinj;. toraise.the price, of coal, were acting l ver» unreasonably. : The disease was contracted'not • m . coalmines, but in goldmines. -A Royal Commission, which investigated the position on tile Rand, came to the conclusion ■ that when a ; man,forked: for, from, five .to. seven years/ : ma goldmine, his health must be broken , and ha must have contracted miner's consumption, even with.:the-best-.of. modern mining conditions; and in the light of evon the highest developments of modtcal science ~fche' .trouble; could, not be "■•prevented. The miners .wero not afraid;of examination for the disease; they were .-afraid that it .would'.be used as an. excuse for, turning them off. ■ ■■■ ; . A -good, deal .couid be. done-.by .-means of artificial ventilation to prolong the .lives of those-.who- were already, affected, .and to arrest the'evil in respect to the young men. ;lho ventilation of the goldmines at Reefton bad.- He had worked in the-, thirteenth level with only. a. three-inch compressed to.,ventilate the mine. -He pointed' . out_ that'a, miner might be thrown out of ' . work' easily, and if he was rojected on the plea, or disease at,,one place ho;would-find it hard to. get'work at another place, and indeed might have difficulty 1 in getting even ordinary, pick and shovel work. *

AKINy,TO MINERS' DISEASE.

PAINTERS AND LEAD POISONING,

(BY. TELEQIUm—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) ' - Auckland, January 6.. The. new Workers' Compensation Act not only affects those engaged in the,mining in- 1 .dustry,. but; also, deals with those subject- to lead poisoning, this: being one of-the'dis-eases. arising out of, employment-which the employees may claim compensation for under I the contentious .Clause. 10 „of, the Act! ■ Intimation has been,, issued by.:one- insurance company that, as lead is, one of the .diseases for .which "employers,. are to he held liable for compensation, it "will be necessary to have painters ■•jrhedically: ; examined before' any insurance .risk 'is covered. Interviewed to-day, one. "of : the local insurance managers said that under the now Act his company, was . forced ;.toS,, ask' that '.painters should submit to .'the-.'medical examination since 'cases of lead' poisoning 'were-actually, known to exist in Ayckland and ■ under the provision's of Clause. 10fof. tlie Act they could ■notcqver the-risk whidh would exist-without taking :measures:- '

y Mr.-W. J. Speight. manager of the Goy'ernment Insurance "Department, . explained that, while there had bean an increase in the Tate ■ of 10 per cent. ■ owing •to the; extra risks under tho;new Act, 110 intimation lfad been received from tho Government" that in any occupation outside that of the miners was a medical. examination to be insisted upon before covering any risk. •. : > - i Mr. J. Henderson, a master painter and an employer,- stated..that -.the position was to be considered at a meeting of the Master. Painters' Guild, to be held to-morrow evening. Cases of lead poisoning amongst painters were not very frequently met- with in New Zealand—in fact, Be had only personally,'come across one. case in his:experience. The' conditions prevailing in New Zealand were much better than ,thos6 at. Home, and lead pojsonmg was less evident here.! If the medical examination was insisted upon it would mean' a sorious loss and inconvenienoe to the employers; for cases often arose where men were put on for a few days to assist in finishing,a contract and wore not permanently employed. ; Then,, again; the men would probably object to submit to-any medical test, and altogether the position was a serious one. .