Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1967-10-05, Page 10ti Last year, at Aberfan In the South Wales coalfield, the tip on which tailings were dumped, °:slid downhill andkilled116 child. ren and 26 altults. The judicial tri final's report and findings have just been pub. liisl.ed. They are discussedhere because the , sad attar has brought into the open the whole' question, of the chain of res. possibility, not just of govern, meat departments, but of nation. allied industries. The report calls the affair ",a terrifying tale of bungling O. eptitude". As late as 1963 the slag . heap — built on a one.ine.. four slope and on top of a stream, to a height of 100 feet— started temporarily to slide. They continued to tip and did so, into the very hole created by the slide. It is a chronicle of evasion,. dodging awkward questions, passing the' buck, )low-level lifemanship, and any trick to escape extra work or extra thought and shrug off res. possibility. Before the tribunal, —1 the Coal Board's counsel ac- tually stually remarked: "It is not, in my submission, for.the Coal Board to concede anything".. So here we have a National Coal Board; entrusted' by Par. liament (that is the will of the people) with supreme authority over its collective property, of which Aberfan was •a part. It could not therefore be properly questioned or charged with mai. feasance by any private subject or subjects for its use or mis- use of that property. This, at least, was the contention of the Coale Board and it is the atti. tilde of most public aiithori. ties — that by virtue of their sovereign mandate from the sovereign people, they r4, can, theoretically, do no wrong. This attitudehas come to be the modern equivalent of the 'divine right of kings', which, we fondly thought had been scotched once and for all in the 17th century, when a Stuart king laid histhead on the block un the balcony of his own . Whitehall banqueting hall. Phis modern practice, whereby governments bless any kind of tyranny by identifying the tyrant with the popular will, instead of with the divine will, is one of `the reasons why the demand for an Ombudsman has arisen — * Peoplest Protectto In this day of nationalised in. dustries under a government mandate, the public finds it. self being misgoverned without the 'eedom and tt ; of end- ing the misgove , t by dis. missing those .. e , have oils - governed. This is the great malignancy of. nationalisation. It is only one of the obnoiious practices by which the demo. cratic system has- been de. graded. Even in Goderich there was a recent, if minor, example, when the representatives of the people - the councillors — against the will of 900 peti. tioners and refused to return Harbour Park to its original use by turning out the trailers. Aberfan exemplifies another factor which is likely to arise in a highly centralised admin. istrative organisation,in which responsibility has not been plainly established. At Aberfan it was apparently no one's res- ponsibility to check the safety of the tip. It was the Unit Mechanical. Engineer, ' on a sa. lary of $ 5400 per annum, who, at 8 a.m. on • that fateful day says: • ' simply made the de. cision to.. stop tipping on No. 7, just like that. I had no legal responsibility for the tips, but they were there, so I looked after them as best I could". At 9:15 a.m. the tip started to slide. Aberfan was just one of scores of collieries. No.. 7 tip was just one of hundreds on tips, all over England and Wales. Yet responsibility for in. spection and safety had never been' fixed,and this in a danger. ous industry, as mine disasters constantly prove. This' "matter of a foolproof chain of,I command and therefore responsibility, is one which has interested me wherever I have worked. In a comparably hazar- dous industry explosive mann. facture, shell -filling and making atomic bombs — I can speak with some intimate' knowledge and some feeling since I re- wrote the Safety Manual for the U.S. Army.. Ammunition Coin. wand which supervises all'such activities in the U.S.A. In such exercises it is .essential to write in clear language to ensure there are no 'grey areas; in which employees can quibble, either mentally or in their action. Where -must be a clear • white . (safe) area, as opposed to a black (disaster) one, and no choice between. So much for the rule. It then needs dis. ciplfne to` ensure ',observance FAN'HGIGANTIC E.ILUNDERI and a separate staff whose duty it is to ensure safeproeedures, At Aberfan, strange as it may seem, the safety of the tip was nobody's baby. The unfortunate Unit Mechanical Engineer was nearest to it, but it was never his responsibility. Added." to which he was not a Civil en. gineer, who could be expected to. know something about, earth Mechanics.. Anyone who has worked in D. government de. partment will .appreciate hod much .' he would have been listened to had he, of all people, questioned the stability of the tip, Sig there you have the counts. A sense of inviolaple superi. ority over mankind on the part of the Coal Board. A'wide cam. munication gulf between Board and pit. An inexcusable omis- sion to ensure the sacred writ of safety.first ran through all Phases of the .mining . activi. ties. , The angelGabriel Gould. not have got pre.disaster action in the face of the amorphous,G sanctimonious, unconscious. ness of the Coal Board, Gab. riel simply could not have found an official to whom to pretest, for 41, with one accord, began to4make excuse, • To point a constructive alter. native, I would like to cite an undertaking, mu;,,larger•- than the coal board — the General Motors Corporation,' At one pe. rind cluing the Korean' war, the Th4t �Thimillo. P Corporation turned over a plant in St. Louis to forge shells for the U.S. Army. I asked the manager of this plant about his powers of decision. His answers "I know exactly what I may do and what I may not do. If any thing turns up which is out. side my terms of'responsibility, .I know where I can get an an- swer, instantly. from the tele■ phone` on my desk." He added that if the man he called in .17etroi - did ' not know the 24,n• ewer, he in turn,' knew' where to get one, As a postscript) the report makes it painfully clear that until the tribunal began to uns earth the fact's, hardly anybody in the Coal l card had expert knowledge of all the cause's of the disaster. The report adds: "We found many witnesses,, not excluding tho's.e who were in. telligent and anxious to assist • 'us,' . .were lilt- choles beta asked about the habits of birds',' i Fitted comfort from waist to toes! These are first quality 400 needle, 15 denier nylon panty hose. 250% elasticity! Available in your choice of Beige, Spice; or Taupe. Comes in ladies' sizes Small, Medium or Large. .. ` . YOURS -FOR ONLY daaaao-aa -atrairs-46abaaao a at) arrtnirr PICK YOUR OWN APPLES MacINTOSH Lassaline Orchards BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINERS 391'f . 'WHILE QUANTITIES LAST LIMIT—SIX PER CUSTOMER 15 denier 400 needle, Beige, Spice, . quality,Avai�abte �a rT%bargain! ier Guaranteed first nylOta. al terrific l oup # co? his is s o re ,,Act .. . stockings Coco puri T • . • • . - Taupe or only. • ' For Ns Sole Triot Briefs Soft, snug fitting briefs of acetate tricot. They fea- ture a slightly ruffled lace elastic leg. Buy six and save 1.01! In an outstanding selection' of colours: REGULAR 3/l.90 Girls' acr`y! i c long sleeve cardigan fea- tures ribbed cuffs and-warstband; 7 but- ton front opening. Choice of 'Lively Ivy, Brown, Navy or Splendour Blue.' .8-14. ALUMINUM COMBINATION WINDOWS are ElectroPile Sealed REG. 4.99 A lovely, lightweight slim`_ perfect for around ,the house wear. Regular waistband and side zipper opening. Lt. Brown, Navy, Black or Teal Blue. In` sizes 10-18. The fling dress! It's making news in today's fashion: here, in Light- weight Cordaria material. Full cut with snob collar and sleeves ,just below the elbow. Choose from a wide selection of Imported American prints. Sizes: S -.M - L. REGULAR 4.99 They offer twice as much weather • stripping as ordinary stows. An exclusive lock op top sash - einisitsates rattles and enables renanuel of screens during -winter if desired. Newly de. signed' screens give added rigidity. Conklin's will measure year windows and give you a free, no -obligati estimate. lnstalled if you wish. Ladies' Orion Slipper A beautiful slipper. Outside, Iuxuritus shear'pile,, inside, nothing touches your foot but soft, air fo ',I,, ring. Blue, Pink, Gold or Red in sizes -M- L • XL Controlling Rayon& Nylon power net long leg panty girdle. $gtin lastex tummy and seat panels, side control panels. 'White only in ladies' 'sizes' S.M.L.-IL. YOURS FOR ONLY WOOLWORTH'S YOURS FOR JUST a These items available in most Woolworth's stores Wo.