December 13, 1918.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

1245

etc., etc., etc. It must not, however, be supposed that
the mere installation of labour-saving appliances
brings him nearer his object. A wise discretion must
be exercised. The production of coal from a given
face may be increased and costs reduced by coal-
cutters, conveyors, or auxiliary haulages, or by a
combination of all three. On the other hand, under
certain circumstances the costs may be increased by
these means. Regarding coal-cutters, they are not
usually required where the coal is easily got, and there
is no sense in installing machines in faces to which
good roads do not lead. In all these things there
can be no hard-and-fast rule. The good sense of the
manager must decide in the case of each seam and
of each section.

1 would draw attention to the following, not as
being at present outside the view of the managers,
but as points which we should not at any time lose
sight of :—

On the Surface.

(1)	Have the best available man in charge of the

pit head.

(2)	Have every precaution taken by means of in-

spection that no breakdown of machinery can
take place during working hours, and that no
derailment of wagons can stop or delay
winding.

(3)	In the event of breakdown have some makeshift

arrangement thought out that will enable work
to carry on during repairs.

(4)	Where dirt is drawn, have it up the pit and

tipped before coal winding commences.

(5)	Have a plentiful supply of spare hutches.

Underground.

(1)	As the most wasteful part of the process of

transit is that of hand-drawing from the face
the the nearest lye, the greatest attention
should be paid to the drawing roads. The
' author would earnestly urge his fellow
managers to adopt some system of levelling
and grading for these, to set up a minimum
standard of height and width, and see that
they are kept clean. In short, make every
effort to make the work of the drawer easy
and efficient.

(2)	The maintenance of haulage roads should be

kept at a high standard. This is costly, and
one method of economy is that of as far as
practicable cutting off all small outlying
isolated sections, and spending all available
money on roads on which traffic is concen-
trated.

(3)	The lay-out of pit bottoms, braeheads, haulage

lyes, etc., should be a constant study in order
that labour costs be kept at the lowest figure.

(4)	Ropes, chains, couplings, and drawbars should

be kept in a high state of efficiency, and in
case of breakdown arrangements should be
thought out beforehand for rapid repair or
makeshift arrangements to carry on with.

(5)	Development work should be kept well in ad-

vance. Perhaps nothing exemplifies as much
as this, and nothing repays so well forethought
on the part of the manager. The use of small
electric air compressors and hammer drills is
perhaps the best investment that a coal owner
can make.

Organisation.

The usual feeling of the average colliery manager
when he returns home each evening is gratification at
any good work he may have done, and regret for those
things which lack of time has left undone. The ques-
tion of salary is not his chief worry. Indeed, to the
sensitive man who is doing his utmost, the chief dis-
tress of a low salary is not so much the actual lack
of money as the lack of appreciation which a low
salary implies. To those who feel aggrieved in this
way the author should say : Be of good courage; better
times are in store, and hard work does not kill. Every
manager will agree that outputs would rise if it were
physically possible for him to see every working place
daily. Impetus to every workman for fresh effort
would be given, defects in plant would be spotted in
time, and variation of details of working could be
effected when the need became apparent and before
time and money are lost. It goes without saying that
no one can manage a colliery from the pit head or
from the office. The manager who does not spend his
maximum available time underground must be pre-
pared to pay in worry for it eventually. As the work
of travelling underground is physically exhausting,
the manager should save as much of his time and
energy on the surface as possible by the use of motor
cycles or cars. This is of great importance where his
charge is scattered.

As the manager cannot perform personally all his
duties, he must delegate part of them; hence the
greatest care should be exercised in the choice of
under-managers. Having got a good man, every
reasonable confidence should be given him, and he
should be given full power to deal with individual men
regarding remuneration for abnormality. The
manager should closely supervise his work, because
his duty is to give guidance, and if the under-manager
is left to make important decisions he can rightly dis-
claim responsibility for the results of his actions.

In dealing with all officials, the manager should out-
line the duties of each, so that there will be no over-
lapping, and he should foster the spirit of comrade-
ship between each department, that they may be
mutually helpful. Under-managers, overmen, firemen,
roadsmen, and cleek-hunters are those on whom, under
the manager, the burden of production rests. They
are a fine body of men; they largely realise that their
chief duty (safety apart) is to attend to the miners’
demand for hutches, and that the worst possible re-
proach they can receive is a complaint to the manager
from the miner that his coal is not being taken away
for want of a supply of hutches. The author sincerely
hopes that in any success that may attend the attempt
to raise output the extra money that will be disbursed
will be fully shared with all these.

MINING INSTITUTE OF SCOTLAND.

A general meeting of the Mining Institute of Scot-
land was held on Saturday afternoon, December 7,
in the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. Mr. D. M.
Mowat, the president of the institute, occupied the
chair.

New Members.

At the outset the following gentlemen were admitted
to membership:—Members : Messrs. J. Muir, colliery
manager, Ferniegair, Hamilton: H. H. Eiriksson,
mining engineering student, Bellahouston, Glasgow;
F. B. Semple, mining engineer, Hillhead, Glasgow;
and John Johnstone, roadsman, Carluke.

The Economy of Briquetting Small Coal.

Discussion was resumed of the paper read by Mr.
John A. Yeadon, Leeds, on “ The Economy of Briquet-
ting Small Coal ” (Colliery Guardian, October 11,
1918, p. 767).

Mr. R. W. Dron (Glasgow) said that one of the
important questions essentially connected with this
subject was the treatment of wet small coal. At
Manor Powis Colliery, Stirlingshire, Mr. Yeadon’s
advice had been accepted, and a special contrivance
of his for drying the coal had been introduced. It
would have enhanced the value of the paper if the
author had included in it some of his experiences in
drying coal, as he (the speaker’) understood Mr.
Yeadon was the first to introduce plant of that
description in this country, and had put up a number
of drying arrangements on the Continent.

Mr. John Gibson (Kilmarnock) said that a depar-
ture of this kind was generally viewed from the
standpoint of cost; that if they looked for an answer
to the question why briquetting had not been carried
on on a larger scale in Scotland, they must assume
that it was because it was felt it would not pay. He
believed, however, there were possibilities in the ideas
which Mr. Yeadon had suggested, and it occurred to
him that briquetting on the lines of using a cheap
binding material or element could be made a success-
ful proposition.

Mr. C. C. Reid (Cowdenbeath) said that the failure
of briquetting in Scotland might, however, be due to
the reason that perhaps they had not been working
along proper lines. For instance, he had been assured
that a great deal depended on the way the material
had been masticated. It was quite evident that
America was doing particularly well in the develop-
ment of a briquetting industry, and he was personally
quite satisfied that Mr. Yeadon had made out a good
case which was worthy of the close attention of the
whole mining world.

The paper was left over for further discussion.

The Training of Students in Coal Mining.

The President suggested that as copies of the paper
by Prof. Hardwick on “ The Training of Students in
Coal Mining” (Colliery Guardian, December 6, 1918,
p. 1187) had only just come to hand it might be prefer-
able to adjourn the discussion until members had an
opportunity of carefully perusing it. He would be
glad, however, to have observations from those who
had already seen the paper in the mining journals.

Mr. R. W. Dron said that as there had already been
considerable discussion on the subject of the training
of men w’ho aspired to become colliery managers, he
would like to direct some attention to the training
which should be given to men who aspired to hold
positions above the manager and, at the other end,
to the training of the men who would do the actual
work of mining the coal. With regard to the first
class, one of the essential requirements of the mining
industry in the future was to secure the best brains
of the rising generation trained by the highest scien-
tific education. In order to draw such a class of men
into the industry inducements should be given whereby
a youth choosing a profession would know that in
mining he could look forward with some confidence
to an adequate reward for the time and expense of his
education—a reward similar to that which might be
obtained in other professions, such as medicine, law,
or civil engineering. One suggestion might be to
institute a higher certificate than that of the colliery
manager—a certificate which could only be obtained
after a thorough and wide scientific education. This
certificate might be termed an agent’s certificate. So
far as the other class was concerned, it was well to
point out that, in the mechanical engineering trade,
an apprentice was trained primarily to become an
efficient journeyman. In coal mining little or no atten-
tion was paid to the apprenticeship of the men who
were to become journeyman colliers or underground
workers. It would add largely to the efficiency of
coal mining if greater attention were paid to this
point. If a lad when he entered the pit was treated
as an apprentice who was there to acquire the know-
ledge of handicraft necessary to qualify him as a
journeyman collier the result would be a great increase
in the future efficiency of that youth. Such training
would all tend to greater safety, to better wages for
the men, and to increased output per man employed.

It was agreed to take up the further discussion of
the paper at next meeting.

Cooling of Electric Motors.

A paper was read by Mr. P. A. Mossay on “ Cooling
of Electric Motors, with Special Reference to Totally
Enclosed Motors” (p. 1239).

Mr. H. A. McGuffie (Glasgow) said that it would
be of value if Mr. Mossay could give details of the
approximate increase in cost of a motor of this descrip-
tion compared,say, to a standard totally enclosed motor.
Nowadays, with the introduction at collieries of larger
haulers, larger pumps, and sometimes very large en-
closed motors, the question of insulation came to be
one of considerable importance. He would like to
know, therefore, if the introduction of the radiators,
as described in the paper, was. going to affect the space
available on high-tension motors for arranging insula-
tion.

Mr. A. H. Steele, H.M. inspector of mines, asked
if the arrangement described by Mr. Mossay complied
with the Coal Mines Regulation Act for fiery col-
lieries? He believed the time was coming when there
would be no such thing in a pit as an open-type motor,
and the sooner that time arrived the better it would
be for all. At present, when one went to a colliery
and found an open-type motor under suspicious cir-
cumstances, one was invariably told that a totally-
enclosed motor could not be got. If, then, this motor
was all the author claimed for it, it was certainly
going to fill a great gap in this particular class of
machinery for coal mines.

Mr. J. P. C. Kivlen said he was bound to admit
that the principles involved in the design of this motor
were entirely new. Indeed, since the patents were
taken out it was worthy of note that a number of
other machines had been placed on the market, all
of which were more cumbersome in design and less
theoretical in principle than the motor under con-
sideration. For years he (Mr. Kivlen) had felt that
the methods adopted for ventilating electrical
machines had been arrived at without giving due con-
sideration to the theoretical principles involved. When
it was remembered that the whole structure of elec-
trical design was based on temperature rise, it followed
that any consideration given to the proper ventilation
of a motor tended towards economy and increased effi-
ciency. In his opinion, even British standard ratings
were too liberal, and he felt that Continental rated
machines were quite certain to rise in normal tem-
peratures. To his mind, a national economic problem
was involved, as this country would have to compete
against Continental and American manufacturers
in the near future. Another important point that
seemed to have been overlooked by designers was the
question of oil creepage, which had never been
entirely eliminated. In mines it was not so much
the oil as the carbon deposit, coming from the lamps,
which adhered to the windings owing to the oil being
a binding medium. He had made exhaustive tests of
this composition, and he found it to become quite hot
when heavy currents were passed through it. Indeed,
he had been prompted to make his investigations as
the outcome of continuous breakdowns on heavy alter-
nating current rates. Trouble of that kind could not
occur with the motor designed by Mr. Mossay, as the
fan circuit was entirely separated from the windings.
The chief point to consider was whether the motor
described could be made applicable to mines operating
under Regulation 132 of the Act. This was an impor-
tant point, as a motor that could be placed anywhere
in a mine was a desirable asset to have on hand.

Mr. Mossay, in the course of his reply, indicated
that the question of cost was regulated largely by the
element of quantity. If they made the motors singly
or in lots of twos and threes, they w’ould be more
expensive than the open motors. He was quite con-
vinced, however, that the motors could be manufac-
tured in quantities quite as cheaply as the open
machines. He did not see any difficulty in enclosing
a machine at high voltage, and, in point of fact, he
believed it would compare very favourably indeed with
a low-voltage machine. The point raised in regard
to the bearings and oil creepings was purely an
academic question largely associated, with the design
of the machine itself. Personally, he saw no difficulty
whatevei’ in designing the motor to comply with Regu-
lation 132. It was quite true that the British standard
ratings in respect of temperature were very low. In-
deed, that was one of the reasons why so many German
machines had come into this country, and to a large
extent it had introduced a spirit of unfair competi-
tion against British manufacturers.

Further discussion on the paper was adjourned till
next meeting.

OBITUARY.

Mr. Robt. Stephenson, of Harloe House, Chester-le-
Street, who died at the age of 74 years, was a cousin
of Robt. Stephenson, son of the inventor of the locomotive.
After serving an apprenticeship as a railway engineer,
Mr. Stephenson turned to colliery engineering and served
under the late Mr. Nicholas Wood at Hetton, and under
Lord Durham at Philadelphia. Commencing in 1893, he
served for some years at South Pelaw Colliery also.

The death occurred on Friday of Mr. Thos. Dryden,
J.P., aged 70, proprietor of engineering works at Preston.

The Pitwood Order is not affected by the new modifi-
cations relaxing timber control.

Release of Miners.—A circular letter, dated December
10, issued to coal owners by the Coal Controller, states
that as a result of his urgent representations for the
release of more miners to increase output (representations
based on the opinions expressed to him by his advisory
board and by individuals representing the coal mining
industry that increased labour was necessary before the
output could be substantially increased) extraordinary
steps have been taken to release miners serving with the
armies at home and in France. The Controller is satisfied
that the military authorities are dohm everything in their
power to expedite release. There will be a steady flow
of A and B 1 men from the Forces still in this country
from now until the middle of December. By the middle
of December the flow from the Home Forces will be
exhausted, and the flow from abroad will increase, though
probably not to a great extent, until later in the month,
when it will amount to between 30,000 and 40,000 a week.
Speed of release being regarded as essential, many safe-
guards intended to assure the men work on release have
of necessity been dispensed with. The Controller urges
the importance of seeing that returned employees obtain
work at once. He desires that it should be fully realised
that the Army is being considerably inconvenienced in
several directions by the loss of these men, and that the
only reason for the release of miners in priority to other
workers is to be found in the fact that coal is so urgently
needed in order that the period of industrial reconstruc-
tion may safely be embarked upon. These losses to the
Army should be made gains to the industry. Communi-
cations to the War Office in connection with the release
of miners should in future be addressed to the Secretary,
War Office, Whitehall, S.W. 1.