Actually, Maurice Ruddick contributed more than one line to Bill Clifton's song. The story is documented by bluegrass scholar and Atlantic Canadian folklorist, Neil V. Rosenberg of Memorial University:

Rosenberg, Neil V. 2000. "The Springhill Mine Disaster Songs: Class, Memory, and Persistence in Canadian Folksong". In Northeast Folklore: Essays in Honor of Edward D. Ives, edited by P. M. a. D. Taylor, 153-87. Orono, ME: University of Maine Press & Maine Folklife Center.

You can read a quick summary at my disaster song project website.