THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

December 17, 1915.

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Mr. W. R. Peck (Big Stone Gap, Virginia) wrote
expressing general agreement with Mr. Dean, and detail-
ing improvements made in the housing of employees
and mining machinery. The “ safety first ” idea was
very new in the United States, he said, but would con-
tinue to spread in all American industries. It had
brought the company and the individual closer together,
and had made each realise that, in many cases, their
interests were identical. It had brought many improve-
ments in the safety of handling the machines, the setting
of props, the removal of dangerous roof, and, in general,
had produced greater efficiency among mine labourers.
Several large corporations had installed series of moving
pictures, which explained to the foreign miner and mine
labourer the correct way of performing their many
mining duties. Practically every mine had its first-aid
team. If American mine owners insisted on 3-ton cars
being replaced by those of only 10 cwt. capacity, the
engineers would resign immediately; for, should the
change be made, in most of the American mines the
engineer or manager who had not resigned would, in six
months’ time, be discharged because the costs would be
climbing upwards, the output dropping in the opposite
direction, .and the camp a nest of disgruntled and dis-
loyal employees.

Mr. Alfred J. Tonge (Glace Bay, Nova Scotia)
declared the large car to be most suitable for the United
States, but doubted its universal adoption in this
country. There was, however, a possible need for
serious reflection by British colliery engineers as to how
far they could increase the carrying capacity of the
boxes and improving the rolling stock, the permanent
way, and the haulage facilities. That much could be
gained by a study of the methods of the United States
need not be stated. The importance attached to the
quick handling and despatching of coal in and out of
the mine, to substantial rolling and permanent stock,
and the necessity for the use of machinery, not only for
transporting, but for handling coal, had developed
several classes of skilled underground men. Each of
these classes was capable of carrying on certain opera-
tions for supplying the needs of the man at the face,
whose almost sole duty it was to fill as large an amount
of coal as possible. Mr. Dean was right in saying that
that man could, in a given time, fill more coal in a few
large boxes than in many small ones; but to get such
a man at most of the collieries in Great Britain would
be a difficult task, and would take considerable time.

Mr. Ralph W. Mayer (Roslyn, Washington) wrote
that a high degree of efficiency in a miner working at
the coal face could only be obtained if he had an abund-
ance of good, wholesome food for himself and family,
congenial and healthy surroundings, and pay sufficiently
large to take a pride in his work and an interest in life.
The personal equation entered into the larger production
per man more than the size of the cars. European
mines had many superannuated men about the mines
who had been faithful employees for years. They did
almost no work, and were practically pensioners. The
effect of the influence of these men for inefficiency could
hardly be estimated. Certainly a man should not be
shelved on account of his age, so long as he could do
his work satisfactorily; but, when the time arrived when
he 'could not do that, it was far better for the efficiency
of the mine that he should be pensioned outright, and
taken out of the mine. Mr. Carnegie was the first large
manufacturer in America to introduce the idea that the
amount of wages, no matter how large, paid to an
employee was immaterial, provided that he increased
proportionately the production of the manufacturing
plant or of the particular machine at which he worked.
Carnegie made a huge success with that idea, and
American mines worked on that principle much more
than European mines. A large tonnage per man
resulted in the overhead expenses per ton of coal mined
being decreased enormously. Gasoline locomotives were
coming into use much more generally and, under certain
conditions, gave good satisfaction. A non-gaseous mine
could not have a much better system of haulage than
the electric locomotive; but to pull coal from an entry
with an electric locomotive and, at the same time,
require the miners to use safety lamps, was out of all
reason. Sparks from the trolley-wheel or motor would
surely ignite methane if it were present. Much atten-
tion had been given, of late years, to the prevention of
coal dust explosions in United States mines. Cars
fitted with doors allowed much leakage of coal and coal
dust, ground by the cars into a fine and dangerous dust.
Cars consisting of a solid box and no door were now
being installed in many mines. They were emptied by
means of rotary tipples, which turned the cars upside
down to dump out the coal. With regard to the case in
Illinois, where the miners’ union allowed a certain
number of men to load coal behind a coal-cutting
machine, an explanation could be given, said Mr. Mayer.
It was to the miner’s advantage to have enough coal to
load, so that he would lose no time, but could keep
working steadily all the shift. It was to the operator’s
advantage to have plenty of loaders. The miners, to
protect themselves, met with the operators, and agreed
on the number of loaders to a cutting machine, in a
proportion fair to both sides. If a machine had a
larger capacity than those in use, the agreement would
be altered to suit the circumstances. Some of the mines
in the Western States had been working very slack
time (one day per week) last winter, but with their full
force of men. That kept the mines in working condition
at small expense to the company. The miners timbered
their rooms and cleaned up the rock at no expense 'to the
company on the one day they worked. The coal sent
out of the mine was paid for through the company’s
store in goods, on which the company received a profit.
Theoretically, that would make very cheap coal, but the

salaries of the monthly men were continuing all the
time, as well as unavoidable expenses, such as pumping,
etc. That made the overhead expenses for the one
day’s work very high, so that probably neither the
miners nor operators desired to see a repetition of it.

Mr. Jas. Ashworth (Vancouver, British Columbia)
averred that, taking a modern colliery, say, in the
Nottinghamshire coal field, and comparing it with many
of the mines on the American Continent, it would be
found that the Nottinghamshire output was not deficient
when it came to haulage costs. In the faulted and
unevenly deposited seams of coal in British Columbia,
large steel cars holding, say, two tons or more, caused
a greater number of accidents to both horses and men
than was the case with smaller and lighter cars, especi-
ally in those mines where the cars had to be taken up
and down self-acting inclines. The large cars, how-
ever, were permissible where the coal was loaded out
of shoots on a main haulage road, and could be handled
by mechanical traction, compressed air or electrical
locomotives. A large car meant a large road, and what
might be possible in a mine 500 ft. deep might be
absolutely ruinous in a mine 2,000 ft. deep. The big
tonnage per man in many American coal mines was
astonishing; but one explanation was afforded in
Mr. Dean’s photographs showing mine roadways with-
out a stick of timber, and falls of coal the result of
heavy blasting. Generally speaking, coal mining opera-
tions in America were carried out under very much
lighter cover than in Great Britain, and, therefore, the
cost of maintenance of a large road had not been
appreciated or realised in the same way as in Great
Britain. The writer agreed with Mr. Dean that roller
bearings had effected an immense saving both in oil
and power, and he was also of opinion that the more
extended use of coal-cutting machines in America might
be one of the best means of reducing the number of
explosion disasters, the largest number of which was
undoubtedly due to the use of very heavy charges, the
.too frequent blasting off the solid, and to carelessness in
the use of explosives. The latest explosions in Canada
were undoubtedly due to carelessness and recklessness
in the use of explosives or detonators.

Mr. Geo. 8. Brackett (Flemington, West Virginia)
stated that American practice in all industries experi-
mented with extremes, only to return to moderation.
West Virginia, as a coal producer, was exceeded only
by Pennsylvania. Its coal was mined from many beds
under different mining conditions. The method of
working was almost exclusively room-and-pillar. In
the smaller seams the loaded cars were pushed by the
miner from the face to the room switch. In the larger
seams animals or gathering motors pulled the loads, and
placed the empties at the working face. The room-
track was laid by the miner as the place advanced, and
was commonly insecure and defective, a fact which
had its influence upon the most popular gauge and the
size of the car. Derailments along the main haulage
roads, which were commonly in good conditions, were
quickly corrected by “ replacers ”; but derailments in
the working places were difficult to replace, on account
of the absence of appliances. The heavier the loaded
car, the greater the trouble; hence the tendency of the
majority of operators to limit the size of the car. The
most common car held from to 2 tons gross. The
most common gauge was found to be 36 or 42 in.,
because, for the same radius of curvature, the switch
length was shorter, less space was required unsupported
at the branch roads and room necks, in places of
unusually bad roof (locally) the working places could be
driven narrower, and the track was more flexible in
pillar work. The frequent occurrence of local grades
made the excessively large car difficult to handle by
animal power, and accidents and delays more frequent.
The ultimate economy of the large car (over three tons)
and standard gauge track (56J in.) was generally ques-
tioned by mining men. The 16 in. steel track was more
common upon animal haulage roads. The size of the
min A car had an influence on the total daily tonnage
loaded by the miner. He should be able to load the car
quickly, resting between cars, and not wear himself out
with too much uninterrupted exertion on one car. The
writer’s experience was that mines equipped with large
cars did not produce as great a tonnage per miner as
those with smaller cars. The greater tonnage per man
gave greater satisfaction to the miners. The smaller
car required a cheaper room track. These points were
of more value than efficiency (in the maximum) on the
main haulage roads. Of the mining machines in use
in West Virginia, 62 per cent, were of the chain-breast
type, the next popular being the puncher type, followed
by the shortwall machine. The latter was fast replacing
the puncher, but not the chain-breast, except in mines
where the rooms and working places could be driven
wider than 30 ft. For smaller widths, it was not as
efficient as the chain-breast. The arcwall and turret
cutters were being introduced, although their conditions
were more restricted, and their cost was higher, than in
the case of the chain-breast machine. The heavier and
larger cars, the broader gauges, the new types of
mining machines, gasoline haulage motors, and electric
gathering motors of various types, might be looked upon
as experiments—not as indicating future general prac-
tice. The more complicated and expensive the mech-
anical equipment, the more would be the delays due to
breakdowns, and the more production would be cur-
tailed by any single break. The pick miner was less
dependent on delay, as he could make surplus coal, and
much of his time was spent in under-cutting. Although
the price paid the miner for pick-work coal was in
excess of machine-cut coal, the relation of the over-
head expense and the tonnage might offset that incre-
ment. Although the increase in the percentage of
machine-cut coal was great when a period of 15 years

was considered, the contrast was not so vivid for the
past few years, as the following figures would show :—
Total number of machines : 709 in 1911, 817 in 1912, 850
in 1913; number using machines, 498, 424, and 469
respectively; per cent., 63, 52, and 55 respectively; and
percentage of tonnage machine-cut, 48-84, 51-13, and
53-97 respectively. In the completely electrically-
equipped mine, the labour cost was higher, obviously,
than in the pick mine. Under some existing rates of
wages, it was not an economy to use coal-cutting
machinery, the only advantage being the better grade
of lump coal from the machine mines, owing to the
difficulty in securing a sufficient number of skilled
pick miners.

Mr. Benedict Shubart (Denver, Colorado) said the
lack of caste distinction in the United States was a
factor in the larger output per coal miner, and that
almost every worker in the mine felt that a better posi-
tion was within his reach. In a few fields, where the
worst type of unionism was rampant, there was a lack
of that energy, together with a diminution of output
and a curtailment of the amount of work possible with
machines—in general, conditions such as obtained to
a large extent in the English mines. On the other
hand, where the unions recognised the possibilities of
advancement in their workers, the conditions of large
output and minimum costs prevailed. That had made
possible the use of mining machines. The energy and
ambition of the miner had created a class of high-grade
mining-machine operators. The loading of coal by
contract, as well as the cutting by contract, together
with the psychological effect of ambition, unquestion-
ably spurred the men to greater effort and greater output.

He did not agree with Mr. Dean’s championship of
the roller bearing mine car wheel. Except in a large
mine, where the mechanical force was of high grade, it
was Liable to be a failure. His own preference was for
a railway type of truck, with round axles, and having
one wheel fitted tight, and the other self-oiling and
loose, the axles rotating in a half-brass box fixed rigidly
•to the car. In the long run, that type of wheel would
show very low maintenance cost, a very low average
friction, and very great dependability. As to gauge,
except where the mine output was large and the mine
laid out on a large scale with wide curves, the standard
gauge (56| in.) was awkward. The average mine would
do better with a gauge of about 42 in. Deep under-
cutting was, in his opinion, more or less of a fad,
although occasionally places were found where it was
advantageous. Mining machines had been brought to
a high state of strength and simplicity. The entire
mechanism of the Goodman shortwall machine con-
tained only five gears and five pinions. The use of
heat-treated, hardened steel gears, a hardened steel
bushed cutting chain, and extraordinary large motor
capacity all assisted in producing a machine which
gave the minimum of trouble. At mines in Kansas,
these machines were undercutting rock salt to a depth
of 5| ft., and winning an average of 120 ft. of face per
day—'the hardest test to which a mining machine had
yet been subjected. The Goodman straight-face and the
Jeffrey arcwall machines would unquestionably cause
more or less of a revolution in mining methods. Their
immense capacity (30 places cut per eight hours) showed
cutting possibilities unthought of with the older type
of machines. At Clear Greek, Utah, following a cut
with a straight-face machine, the room was shot, loaded
out and recut in a period of six hours, three miners
loading a total of 35 tons from that room. As to cost,
the chain-breast machine now sold for .£250, the short-
wall, either with a direct or an alternating-current motor,
for £380, and the straight-face and arc wall types for
about £700.

Mr. Carl Scholz (Chicago, Illinois) gave the follow-
ing reasons for the greater production per miner of
American coal:—(1) Much thicker coal veins in the
United States; (2) veins lying level or with sufficient dip
for economical haulage, as against Continental coal veins
ranging from 10 degs. to nearly vertical; (3) European
mining methods necessitated the complete extraction of
the coal, which called for more labour, reduced the
average output, and necessitated the filling-in of the
goaves; (4) in Europe, the miner’s entire time was given
to getting the coal and timbering the face, whilst the
loader filled the cars, whereas in the United States a
man might mine and load the coal and, also, timber*
his working place, which obviated waste of time; (5) the
greater precautions taken for the prevention of accidents
and the employment of more foremen and supervisors
in European mines, as compared with American
practice, there being in Europe a man foreman with every
20 or 25 miners whilst, in the United States, there was
one to every 100 or 150; and (6) the increased difficulties
in Europe of mining coal from greater depths, the
handling of large volumes of water and the method of
mining a number of different veins from the same shaft,
as against the simpler operations in the United States
where a great many drift mines produced coal without
the use of any mechanical power, where the mines were
self-draining and where cars were run by gravitation
from the face or working face to the tipple. Incidentally,
Mr. Scholz remarked that the low selling price of coal
had not prompted economies in its use. In 1911, the
United States, with their large agricultural interests,
consumed 4*54 tons per capita, Germany—essentially
a manufacturing nation—2*03 tons, and France only
1-44 tons.

Mr. Geo. N. Lantz (New Straitsville, Ohio) expressed
his conviction that, in nearly all cases, the use of larger
and heavier cars was justified. There might be changes
in the construction of the cars, changes in type, or slight
changes in the various makes to conform to a certain
standard, but the large capacity car had come to stay.