John Bartlow Martin in his case study examines the Centralia No.5 coal mine disaster on March 25, 1947. This explosion occurred near the town of Centralia, Illinois, killing 111 miners. The mine detonation was caused by heavy deposits of coal dust along the roadway and entrances which over time exploded. The fires in the tunnels killed most of the miners, others were trapped and died due to the accumulation of poisonous gas. The Centralia No.5 explosion can be attributed to the lack of mine safety, which this tragedy could have been avoided if basic rules had been followed. Analyzing the case study of John Bartlow Martin, the main reasons for the Centralia No.5 tragedy were caused by heavy coal dust, which eventually exploded. This event could have been avoided if officials from the Illinois Department of Mines and Minerals and also the U.S. Bureau of Mines had carefully inspected the mines and followed all recommendations. When Driscoll O. Scanlan, the state inspector, came across a criminal code violation while inspecting Centralia No. 5, he made a recommendation to the company and the state, but his reports were not acted upon. In some of his reports with this quote "dust the rock, improve ventilation, wet the coal to reduce dust - in this mine it is highly explosive and could easily propagate an explosion" several reports were sent to the state and federal government. Inspector Scanlan did his best to send different letters to each agency to report what he was finding to Centralia #5. When Department of Mines and Minerals Director Robert M. Medill and Supervisor Robert Weir received thirteen letters about Centralia violations, these individuals simply dismissed the reports as “routine.” The Centralia Company did not respect the m...... middle of the paper...... tragedy. Governor Green has received a great deal of letters from the miners and the union asking in this quote “I beg you, please, save our lives, make the Department of Mines and Minerals enforce the laws at n .5. " The miners felt that if no action was taken, there could be a disaster in the future. The ineffectiveness and lack of response of Governor Green and Director Medill in simply responding to the union and labor call by saying "save our lives" did not do enough to enforce the laws even after receiving letters from the union and the miners. Anger began to grow because it was discovered that Green and Medill were accepting contributions from mining companies. These brides were because they do not enforce the laws because fixing the problem would cost the company money. These two individuals thought more about their lives than the safety of the miners.