1132

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

December 3, 1915.

illustration the cable is shown connected up to the
gate-end switch box. It is very strongly constructed,
and is mounted on wheels for transport. The drum will
contain 110 yds. of three- or four-core cable, and in wet
or damp pits each cable ought to be provided with one
of these drums, on which it should remain, and be
brought frequently to the surface for thoroughly drying
and examination. Such a course may be considered
both costly and troublesome, but one may ask whether
it is not better to do this than to incur the risk of a
fatal accident owing to insulation failure through
moisture and corrosion of the earth wire connection.
The prevention of electrical accidents in mines can only
be ensured by the provision of proper apparatus, and
maintaining the same in a perfect state of repair. This
must be the first charge on all electrical plant, and if
the saving effected by its use does not warrant this
cost, then it ought to be taken out at once, and replaced
by some other means for the transmission of energy.
The records of electrical accidents in mines, as given in
H.M. Inspectors of Mines reports, all show that 90 per-
cent. of these were due either to faulty apparatus or

'W

Fig. 20.—“Diamond” Trailing Cable Winch.





inefficient maintenance. Many, no doubt, were due to
ignorance, but no colliery proprietor is justified in work-
ing any machinery unless in charge of workmen who
thoroughly understand the potential dangers inherent
in the apparatus.

(To be continued.')

Hull Coal Exports.—The official return of the exports of
coal from Hull to foreign countries for the week ending
Tuesday, November 23, is as follows :—Amsterdam, 349
tons; Barcelona, 3,956; Christiania, 58; Calais, 1,873;
Dunkirk, 2,097; Gefle, 2,213; Guernsey, 350; Gothenburg,
3,318; Havre, 936; Honfleur, 600; Moss, 848; Rouen,
17,011; Stockholm, 1,609; Treport, 1,974; total, 37,192
tons. The above figures do not include bunker coal, ship-
ments for the British Admiralty, or the Allies’ Governments.
Corresponding period November 1914, total 31,322 tons.
Corresponding period November 1913, total 92,843 tons.

Freightage and Requisitibnal Coal.—In the King’s Bench
Division last week, Mr. Justice Sankey heard an action by
the Seville and United Kingdom Carrying Company Limited,
Cardiff Docks, against Messrs. Mann, George and Company,
of London, for £1,460, the balance of freight and demurrage.
Plaintiffs are owners of the ss. “ Rosemount,” and by charter-
party dated July 7, 1914, made by Jno. Cory and Son Limited
(Cardiff), on behalf of plaintiffs, agreed that the defendants
should load as charterers a full cargo of coal at Cardiff,
Penarth, or Barry, and deliver at Constantinople, for a freight
of 7s. 6d. per ton. The “ Rosemount ” was loaded with a
cargo of 4,639 tons of coal, and in consideration of an extra
freight of 5s. per ton, the defendants were given the option
of discharging at Piraeus, Malta, or Alexandria. When,
however, the ship was off Tenedos, she was requested by Capt.
Kennedy, commanding H.M.S. “ Indomitable," to supply
coal to "that vessel, and also to H.M.S. “ Indefatigable ” and
H.M.S. “ Gloucester,” which were then in want of coal. By
this means 3,178 tons of coal were put on board H.M. ships.
On August 16 the “ Rosemount ” arrived at the Piraeus, and
on August 19 written notice was actually received by Gilchrist.
Walker and Company, of Constantinople, to whom the coal
was to be delivered. The discharge of the balance of the
coal was completed by September 8, when the “ Rosemount ”
was in demurrage. Plaintiffs claimed that defendants were
liable for the freight of 12s. 6d. a ton on the whole cargo, or,
in the alternative, that the defendants were liable for freight
on the quantity discharged at Piraeus, and to an account of
the payment by the Admiralty in respect of the coal taken by
H.M. ships. After certain deductions, the plaintiffs’ claim
was for £1,460 14s. 7d.—The defendants stated, in reply, that
they were acting merely as agents, and alternatively they
relied upon the “ cessor ” clause in the charter-party. They
denied that they had rendered themselves liable for freight
or demurrage. They also denied the agreement of August 7,
and alleged that the only agreement relative to the matter
was made on August 24, when the cargo, in fact, had ceased
to exist, having been taken by H.M. ships. They contended
that under no circumstances could the agreement be enforced.
They also contended that the 5s. per ton extra freight was
only payable on the quantity discharged at the Piraeus, and
that no freight was earned bv the ship in respect to the 3.178
tons of coal taken by H.M. ships. The defendants had,
therefore, received no money for the plaintiffs’ use. The
notice of readiness received by Gilchrist, Walker and Com-
pany was not received on behalf of the defendants.—Judgment
was finally reserved.

MIMES INSPECTION IN THE
UNITED STATES.*

EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MINE
INSPECTORS’ INSTITUTE.

(Concluded from page 1094.)

Need for Industrial Education Among Miners.

An address on the “ Need for Industrial Education
among Miners ” was delivered by Mr. R. Y. Williams,
who said that, before an audience of that kind, it was
hardly necessary to draw attention to the need of educa-
tional work among coal mine employees. Suffice it to
say that the State, by legal enactment, required
applicants for the position of mine inspector, mine
manager (foreman), mine examiner (fire boss), or
hoisting engineer to have a certificate of competency
certifying that the candidate had passed a combined
written and oral examination given by the mining
board. Every miner, also, must have a certificate
issued by the miners’ examining board, based on an
oral examination to determine his qualifications as a

practical miner. It seemed only consistent, therefore,
that the State should furnish the means whereby miners
might obtain the education necessary to pass such
examinations. If those who came to be responsible for
the acts of the men under them were required to have
certain technical qualifications, it was evident that the
desideratum would be accomplished if the men at the
face had similar technical ability.

The statement was often made that discipline was
’one of the necessary things about a mine. In this con-
nection discipline meant “ training resulting from a
course of study in coal mining designed to qualify
employees for harmonious and effective action.” If all
the records were known, it would be found that
” familiarity ” instead of “ breeding contempt,” bred
efficiency.

An inspector from West Virginia had said “ education
is the best preventative of mine accidents,” and an
Oklahoma inspector had thought that ‘ ‘ it should be
made a criminal offence to employ inexperienced men.”
In the printed proceedings of the past meetings of the
Mine Inspectors’ Institute, it was clearly evident that
-the mine inspectors of the United States believed that
the general causes of mine accidents were ignorance and
carelessness, and that the remedies for this were educa-
tion, discipline, and prosecution.

In Illinois, an appropriation of 15,000 dols. per annum
became available January 1, 1914, for the promotion of
the technical efficiency of -all persons working in and
about the mines of the State. In order that this appro-
priation might be used to assist in removing the general
causes of mine accidents, a careful preliminary study
was made of the specific causes of those accidents that
appeared to result from ignorance and carelessness.

The education courses given by the Illinois miners’
and mechanics’ institutes included a detailed study of
the proper methods of procedure in each case; a con-
sideration of the wrong ways of doing things, which
invited accidents; and a statement of the State mining
law governing the point in question. A man who was
faithful to the work of the night schools was able to free
himself from the blight of ignorance and to cope success-
fully with -the dangers of mining.

In order that the men who worked hard at the coal
face in a mine during the day might -not be discouraged
by attempting too much study, it had been the plan
at each town, where classes had been organised, to hold
two meetings each week and to spend two hours at each
meeting. By dividing the general subject of coal
mining into 16 topics, and by allotting such time to
each topic as would cause the complete course to extend
over a period of two years, the -institutes had offered a
plan by which men were able to continue full time at
work, while obtaining the desired technical knowledge.
In this way, the student increased h-is practical experi-
ence at the same time that he gained a knowledge of the
theory of mining, and he found that both the practical
and technical work were advantageous -to him in the
position of enlarged responsibility for which he was
striving.

* From the Proceedings of the Mine Inspectors’ Institute
of the U.S.A.

In order that these courses might be of practical value
to the men, a very complete equipment of apparatus
and books had been purchased for the demonstration
of -the fundamental principles of chemistry, physics,
mechanics, and electricity as applied to mining, and in
order that the men might become skilled in the use of
safety lamps, surveying instruments, drafting appli-
ances, hygrometers, water gauges, dynamos, motors, and
electrical meters. The use of this equipment had met
with a great deal of success in the conduct of the courses.

Arithmetic was a study in which a large majority of
the men in the classes were interested; during the past
year nearly one-third of the time of each lecture had
been devoted to a consideration of this subject, and in
some towns separate classes had been organised to pay-
special attention to it. One student, who was 50 years
of age, was unable at the time of enrolling in the class
to perform simple addition. At the completion of the
first course he w-as able to work in fractions. Because
of the large amount of attention that must be given to
arithmetic, it had been found that the classes in many
towns required a period in excess of two years to com-
plete the entire mining course.

The large number of night schools (18) had been
possible because of the co-operation of the institutes
with high and graded schools. Many public schools
were located in districts where coal mines offered practi-
cally the only employment, and where many of the
pupils were looking forward to work in the mines as
soon as the law would permit them to enter. Before
the establishment of the institutes, some high schools in
these districts had requested assistance from the Depart-
ment of Mining Engineering at the University of
Illinois, but were unable to receive such help because of
the lack of funds. Agreements had since been made
with a number of these schools, by which the Illinois
miners’ and mechanics’ institutes offered evening classes
for men employed during the day in the mines, in order
that they might be fitted for more efficient service and
more profitable employment. The school boards had
allowed the classes to meet without charge in the school
buildings, and also -to use the chemical and physical
equipment provided. In most cases, light, heat, and
janitor service had also been provided free to the
students.

In addition, the institutes had held special meetings
for the illustration of safe methods of mining coal. At
12 of these meetings the attendance was 7,905. The
institutes also had published three bulletins, four
circulars, three instruction pamphlets, and one annual
report. They had held two six-weeks’ short courses at the
University of Illinois. At the last short course, 28 men
from the mines took the entire course in coal mining.

From the experience gained during the past 17 months
it was believed that regular courses should be given two
evenings each week in mining -towns where more than
1,000 miners resided; also that unit courses should be
held four nights each week- for six weeks in towns where
200 to 1,000 miners lived, and that correspondence
courses should be offered for miners who could not be
reached by the class work. A careful survey of the 269
mining communities of the State had shown that there
were 25 of the larger towns suitable for regular classes,
85 smaller towns for unit courses, and 159 towns that
could be reached through correspondence.

Observations and Experiences in Mine Inspection Work.

Dr. J. J. Rutledge said that the south-western dis-
trict, of which he, as district engineer for the United
States Bureau of Mines, had charge, consisted of the
States of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and
Southern Missouri. So far as accidents were concerned,
they had little trouble in Arkansas, and scarcely any in
Missouri, only one or two accidents having occurred
there during the past year. Most of the calls for rescue
work, or for investigations of mine accidents, came from
the Oklahoma and Kansas coal fields. He would briefly
mention a few observations that he had made in those
coal fields.

By far the greater portion of the coal produced in the
two States last-named -was shot off the solid with black
blasting powder. The Secretary of the Interior had
issued an Order, requiring the use of permissible explo-
sives in all mines on Indian lands in Oklahoma, but
providing the alternative of using black powder for shots
fired by electricity from the surface, after everyone had
left the mine. In compliance with this Order, an
examination in detail was recently made of all mines on
Indian lands in Oklahoma, in the course of which the
following dangerous practices were noted :—

One of the most frequent of these practices that had
resulted in trouble was the shooting on the solid of
extremely long drill holes. One foreman was heard to
remark, “ That long hole pulled that time; next time
I’ll try a little longer one, and give it a little more
powder. Then, I’ll just have to set my post up the one
time, while if I drill shorter holes, I must make more
set-ups, which makes extra work.”

A second great cause of accidents had been the
extremely rapid firing of the shots. Most of the recent
disasters -were caused by undue haste in shooting holes.
In some instances 45 to 50 shots had been fired in as
many minutes. On a pitch of anywhere from 15 to 35
degs., and, in some cases, even 60degs., it was difficult
to imagine how a shot-firer could get around fast enough
to fire so many shots in so short a time, much less to
tamp and fire them.

Another source of trouble was the careless tamping
of shots, on which there was little or no restraint. The
Oklahoma law required that all shots should be tamped
by the shot-firer, after every other person had left the
mine. Quoting literally from a good authority: “ The
shot-firer, in many instances, has confidence in certain
miners, and, in some cases, allows the miner to tamp the
shots for him, in order to lessen his own labour.
Another trouble is the * dummy ’ filled with tamping, or