Working the Midwest: Professional Writing and Working-Class Rhetoric Main Menu Working the Midwest and Digital Humanities at Pittsburg State University Overview of Project Navigating the Projects A Description of the Individual Projects

Annotation 4

9845
Lewis, who since the 1930s had repeatedly campaigned to make coal-mine safety a federal concern, blamed the Department of the Interior for its lax enforcement of the mine code. Lewis claimed that the victims of the disaster were "murdered because of the criminal negligence" of the secretary, Julius A. Krug. Of the 3,345 mines inspected in 1946, Lewis argued, only two fully complied with the safety code. Lewis called for Krug's removal, but President Harry Truman rejected this demand. The disaster promoted officials to the need for improved mine safety. In August 1947, Congress passed a joint resolution calling on the Bureau of Mines to inspect coal mines and to report to state regulatory agencies any violations of the federal code. The resolution also invited mining states to overhaul and tighten their mine safety laws and enforcement.

Contents of this annotation:

  1. John L. Lewis addresses Congress of Industrial Organizations about the history of mine accidents and losses