ALABAM A
The A labam a B yProduct C orpora
tion, P r a tt Division, is constructing a new coal w ashery a t its No 10 Mine, a t Dora, in W alker County. This op
eration, which has been idle fo r some tim e, will resum e production when im provem ents have been completed.
The Connellsville Mine of the New Connellsville Coal & Coke Co. has r e sumed production of coal a fte r a long period of idleness. The w ork of re h ab ilitatin g th is operation has been in progress fo r about six months. New tipple and o ther necessary mine stru c tu re s have been built, a new w ashery constructed and other modern p re p a ra tion equipm ent has been installed and the en tire p la n t has been reconstructed along the m ost modern lines. Modern equipm ent also has been installed in side the mine fo r the m ining and handling of the coal. This m ine is lo
cated on the J a g g e r seam, th e coal being considered a high-grade black
sm ith and coking product. The opera
tion is under the direction of the Yolande Coal & Coke Co., of which J. B. M cClary, of B irm ingham , is president. Production will be in creased as rap id ly as possible to a m axim um of around 2,000 tons daily.
E. L. E lliott, who had been su p e r
intendent of the operations of the Davis Creek Coal & Coke Co., a t Rock Castle, Tuscaloosa County, fo r a num b er of y ears, has been tra n s fe rre d to Connellsville, w here he will be su p er
intendent. Mr. E lliott is succeeded as su p erin ten d en t of the Davis Creek Coal & Coke Co. by W. A. U pton, fo r
m erly w ith the Nelson Coal C orpora
tion as su p erin ten d en t a t Red S ta r, W alker County, which mine is now being operated by the P r a t t F uel Cor
poration.
ated several m onths w ith non-union labor on th e 1917 w age scale, union m en having gone on a strik e w hen the com pany refu sed to op erate on a la te r scale. The m iners are said to have been producing 200 tons of coal daily ju s t before the holidays.
M any m iners who w alked out on strik e a t A lix, A ug. 19, have re tu rn e d to w ork uncfer th e reduced w age scale, it is said. I t is th o u g h t th e m en r e tu rn ed to th e m ines because no a s s is t
ance w as fo rthcom ing fro m D istric t No. 21, U nited Mine W o rk ers. Only about h a lf of th e 175 m en who w alked out a re re m a in in g loyal to th e union.
Open shop m ines are o p e ra tin g every day.
A la rg e steam shovel h as been in stalled in th e coal field n e a r S cranton by C. E. P ac k a rd and E. P. Linsey.
CO L O R A D O
Jo h n B. M arks, fo rm e rly a s s is ta n t to the p re sid e n t of th e Colorado F u el &
Iron Co., has been elevated to th e vice
presidency of th e corporation as a r e su lt of a special m eeting held Dec. 30.
B. W. S nodgrass, v ice-p resid en t of th e V ictor A m erican F uel Co., h a s been appointed p re sid e n t o f th e sam e com
p any w ith h e a d q u a rte rs a t D enver.
A R K A N SA S
A new tipple fo r m ine No. 2 of the W estern Coal & M ining Co. a t D enning, is alm ost com pleted and the mine will be re ad y fo r o peration in about a m onth.
The old tip p le w as destroyed several m onths ago w hen the s h a ft caved in.
The s h a ft is n early 100 ft. deep.
The sto re and office building of the Bernice A n th racite Coal Co.’s mine, a t Russellville, w here a strik e has been in p ro g ress fo r several m onths, w as dynam ited about m idnight, Ja n . 1. The explosives, which caused considerable dam age to the p ro p e rty but injured no one, w ere placed several fe e t from the building. The m ines have been oper
ILLIN O IS
U. S. D istric t Ju d g e E nglish a t E a s t St. Louis has appointed W ilbur E.
C rane, of Chicago, receiver fo r th e S ta n d a rd Coal & Coke Co., of w hich M r.
C rane is p resid en t. A pplication fo r the receivership w as m ade by a stockholder who charged th a t the com pany d e
fa u lte d on obligations to talin g $128,000, including $50,000 in bonds, due Dec. 31 la st. The board of d irectors consented to th e appointm ent of a receiver, s t a t ing th a t the com pany had been o p e ra t
ing a t a loss fo r several m onths. The S tan d ard com pany is a D elaw are co r
poratio n and owns p ro p erties in W il
liam son and Sangam on counties, 111., and in Clarion County, P a. T o tal a sse ts as of Sept. 1, 1925, w ere $3,868,498 w hile the o u tsta n d in g bonded debt of th e com pany w as placed a t $1,756,200 in th e receivership petition.
The first move to w ard th e reo p en in g of the m ines fo rm erly owned by th e S outhern Gem Coal Corp. and only r e cently purchased by the B rew erto n Coal Co., of Lincoln, w as m ade a t th e Sesser mine th e first week in J a n u a ry , when the new ow ners s ta rte d th e fa n and p u t pum pm en and ex am in ers in to
th e s h a ft to find o u t th e condition of th e inside w o rk in g s. A ll m ain ten an ce m en fo rm e rly em ployed a t th e mine have been paid th e ir back p a y by th e B rew erto n com pany and in d icatio n s are th a t if conditions prove a t all fav o rab le, w ork w ill be re su m ed som e tim e du rin g J a n u a r y or e a rly in F e b ru a ry .
The St. E llen coal m ine a t O’Fallon has resum ed o p eratio n follow ing a shutdow n of 17 m onths.
The M ajestic m ine, a t DuQuoin, owned by th e C rerar-C lin ch in te re sts in Chicago, has m ade a reco rd for stead y production, h a v in g w orked con
tin u o u sly since Oct. 1.
O p erato rs in Saline C ounty a re said to be stu d y in g the p o ssib ility o f getting into th e M issouri m a rk e ts as a result of th e I n te r s ta te Com m erce Commis
sion ru lin g th a t esta b lish e d r a te s into th a t te r r ito r y on th e B u rlin g to n , Big F o u r and Illinois C e n tral ra ilro a d s be
g in n in g Nov. 30. W illiam so n and F ra n k lin counties have done consider
able business in th e te r r ito r y covered by th e new ra te s , b u t Saline C ounty, up to Nov. 30, w as b a rre d . Saline County o p e ra to rs believe t h a t th e y have a chance to com pete f o r business now and it is expected t h a t sellin g cam paigns w ill be in a u g u ra te d o u t of St. Louis.
F o r th e firs t tim e in se v eral m onths th e C h erry m ine a t C h erry , o p e ra te d by th e St. P au l Coal Co., em ployed m ore th a n 500 m in ers ev ery d ay in th e week d u rin g th e la s t tw o w eeks in D ecem b er. H ere to fo re th e m in ers w orked five days p e r w eek an d th is is th e only la rg e m ine in B u re au C ounty and one of th e few la rg e m ines in n o rth e rn Illinois w hich gives ste a d y em p lo y m en t to m iners.
I t is re p o rte d th a t th e R ow ling coal m ine a t Litchfield, w hich h as been idle f o r tw o y e a rs, h as been sold to R. W il
liam s, of H a rris b u rg , an d w ill be r e opened im m ediately.
A fire w hich h a s been ra g in g fo r sev eral days on th e H u ssey dock a t W au k eg an h as th re a te n e d h u n d red s of to n s of s o ft coal. The dock o w n ers have th ir ty m en a t w o rk m oving th e sto red coal.
A new record w as esta b lish e d a t Z eigler M ine No. 2, of th e Bell &
Z oller Coal Co., a t Z eibler, on Dec. 23, w hen th e m ine h o isted 7,642 to n s of coal fro m one s h a f t in 7 h o u rs an d 42 m in u tes. T his m ine only re c e n tly s u r p assed its f o rm e r reco rd , esta b lish in g a new h ig h reco rd b y h o istin g 7,640 to n s of coal. T he m ine em ploys 1,100 m en. E. L. B e rg e r is th e su p e rin te n d e n t.
January 14, 1926 C O A L A G E 65
66 C O A L A G E Vol. 29, N o. 2 has been granted a refund on 1925 in
come taxes am ounting to $152,635. It w as one of th irtee n St. Louis firm s and individuals receiving such refunds.
Opening of a new coal mine, one-half mile south of B urlington, to be known as th e M iller mine, has been announced by the owners, W. E. Gross and A. L.
Miller, of Burlington.
OHIO
The Pa"t}-Handle Colleries Co., of Columbus, has filed su it in the F ranklin County common pleas court to recover
$12,100 from the estate of the late David C. Thomas, who was associated w ith th e p resen t owners of th e com
pany during his life. It is alleged th a t Mr. Thomas contracted to purchase
$20,000 w orth of stock in the company on which he had paid $7,900 a t the tim e of his death.
The Ohio Collieries Co. has p u t into operation Mine No. 210, located north of A thens, a fte r an idleness of more th an seven m onths. About 300 m iners are producing 1,800 tons daily.
The Columbus Board of Purchase has rejected all bids received Dec. 23 for approxim ately 27,000 tons of nut, pea and slack fo r various city departm ents and will readvertise fo r bids Ja n . 27 fo r five-sixths of the original tonnage including 12,500 tons of Ohio nut, pea and slack fo r the municipal lig h t p la n t;
7,000 tons fo r the Scioto R iver pum ping sta tio n ; 2,500 tons fo r the g arb ag e dis
posal plant, and 500 tons of W est V ir
ginia nut, pea and slack fo r the coal pulverizer a t the g arb ag e disposal plant.
The K entenia Coal Co., C incinnati, is in the process of liquidation. Its busi
ness and good will, which consists of the production from several m ines in the H azard and H arlan sections of K entucky, has been taken over by the M idland Coal Sales Co. which th u s adds about 300,000 tons a y e a r to its dis
posal. According to P. H. H enry, p re si
dent of the K entenia com pany, all claim s will be m et and a surplus divided
am ong the stockholders. Mr. H enry says he has n o t decided w h a t he will do b u t he can n o t see a n y chance f o r th e jobber w ith overproduction to be con
tended w ith fo r th e n e x t five y e a rs a t least. H e will n o t be e n tire ly out of the coal tra d e , as he is p a r t ow ner of a la rg e re ta il y a rd in D e tro it. W . G.
Polk, tre a s u re r of th e com pany, is a heavy stockholder in th e T ennessee Jellico Coal Co. and will devote all of his tim e to th e o p e ra tin g end of the business.
PE N N SY L V A N IA
The R eading Co. tra n s p o rte d 2,126,- 428 gross tons of bitum inous coal d u r
ing N ovem ber, 1925, as com pared w ith 1,516,016 gross tons in N ovem ber, 1924, according to a re p o rt of A lb e rt B.
Bierck, com ptroller.
The follow ing changes have been made in the personnel of th e o rg a n iz a tion of the Snowdon Coke Co. effective Jan . 1: W illiam T. M cK night re tire d as secretary of th e com pany and w as suc
ceeded by W illiam D. R ankin, au d ito r of P ittsb u rg h , who will re ta in th e sam e office in th e F a rm e rs B ank Bldg. Mr.
M cKnight re tire s from active business and will spend his tim e looking a fte r his p ersonal in te re sts, also keeping an office in the sam e building. E d w ard H.
Coxe, of U niontow n, Pa., resig n ed as general m an a g er of the com pany.
T E N N E SS E E
W. B. Dimmick, general su p e rin te n dent of th e R idgw ay S prankle Co., ow ner and o p e ra to r of the Buffalo Creek Coal Co. a t Helenwood, Tenn., while in C incinnati recen tly said th a t thousands of dollars in im provem ents had a lread y been p u t in th ese m ines and o th er m echanical b ette rm e n ts would soon be sta rte d .
U T A H
The Gordon C reek Coal Co. h as r e ceived a p e rm it from th e S ecurities Commission renew ing its rig h t to sell 10,000 sh are s of 6 p e r cent g u aran teed
cum ulative p re fe rre d stock a t 20 p er cen t com m ission. A sh a re of com m on stock goes w ith two sh ares of p re fe rre d , the to ta l price being $10.
V IR G IN IA
A ll th e la rg e m ines in the s ta te a re g o in g fu ll b la st, and m an y of th em are w ork in g d ay and n ig h t according to A. G. L ucas, chief m ine in sp ecto r of th e V irg in ia s ta te b u reau of la b o r and in d u stry . A n u m b er of th e sm aller m ines w hich have been idle hav e been reopened. All th e m in ers have p len ty of w ork, and the o p e ra to rs a re ta k in g on everybody th a t comes along looking fo r a job.
W E S T V IR G IN L 4
One of th e la r g e s t coal land deals consum m ated re c e n tly w as announced la s t w eek by H ow ard W. S how alter, p re sid e n t of th e C o n tin en tal Coal Co., of F a irm o n t, w hich p u rch ased 1,000 acres of undeveloped Sew ickley coal land in tw o 500-acre tr a c ts f o r $300,000 in th e S cotts R un section of M onongalia C ounty. One block w as p u rch ased from Mr. and M rs. D. E. L em ley and D r. and M rs. C hesney M. R am ag e and th e other fro m the D avid H en d erso n h e irs and th e T e n n a n t h eirs, both being located in Cass d istric t. T his gives B rock mine a to ta l of 1,800 acres of choice Sewick
ley coal land and m akes th is p la n t the la rg e s t p ro d u cin g m ine in th e 1 2 i coun
tie s of n o rth e rn W e st V irg in ia. Its p re se n t ca p a c ity of 3,000 to n s in eig h t hours will be in creased to 4,000 to n s by A p ril 1, Mr. S h o w alter p re d ic ts. The p la n t w orks non-union and on th e 1917 w age scale.
The B altim ore & Ohio R.R. a tta in e d a new p e rfo rm a n c e rec o rd over th e A llegheny M ountains, e a s t of G ra fto n , in D ecem ber, w hen a d aily a v e ra g e of 1,089 loaded c a rs w ere moved. In th e 31-day period th e re w ere 33,759 ca rs moved over th e m o u n tain s. I t is e sti
m ated th a t fro m 65 to 70 p e r cen t of th is f r e ig h t w as coal.
The Im p e ria l Coal C o rp o ratio n of Jo h n sto w n , P a ., w hich p u rc h a se d the
T h e p h o t o g r a p h o n t h e l e f t s n a p p e d o n N o v . 14, t h e d a y t h e c o a l w a s h i t , s h o w s t h e c o n t r a c t o r s ’ t o p e q u i p m e n t f o r s i n k i n g a n d c o n c r e t i n g t h e s k ip s h a f t o f t h e n e w m in e . T h is s h a f t , 17 f t . 81 in . x 7 f t 1 In w i t h e l i p t i c a l e n d s a n d 517 f t . d e e p to th e t o p o f t h e c o a l is lin e d a l l t h e w a y d o w n w i t h r e i n f o r c e d c o n c r e te . T h e C r o c k a r d m i n e t a p s , a t a r e c o r d d e p th f o r t h a t c o a l, a v i r g i n a r e a in t h e P r a t t s e a m . T w o 6 -to n s k i p s o p e r a t e d b y a n e l e c t r i c h o i s t w ill p r o
of Woodward Iron Co., N ear Mulga, Ala., Is A lm ost R eady to Produce + V. r,
r,.,---v id e a h o i s t i n g c a p a c i t y o f 6,000 t o n s in
„ ¿ 5 c e n t e r i l l u s t r a t i o n s h o w s t h e c o n -s ^ i c f ? j h e P a r t i a l I y - c o m p l e t e d s x l b - r t . m a n - a n d - m a t e r i a l s lo p e . T h is
= S a > i W^ ! C w ln . h i t t h e c o a l a t 987 f t . h a s i b e e n d r i v e n 635 f t. A s h o r t d is -
■ t° m t h e . P o r t a l a 9 0 - ft. s h a f t c o n n e c t s i n t o o n e s id e o f t h e slo p e . T h is s h a f t b e e q u ip p e d w i t h a t e m p o r a r y f a n a n d u s e d a s a n o u t l e t a i r w a y f o r t h e s lo p e u n t i l
t h e m i n e h a s b e e n d e v e l o p e d t o a p o i n t w h e r e a n o t h e r o p e n i n g i n a n e a r b y h o llo w w i l l c o n n e c t w i t h t h e s u r f a c e . F i n a l l y , t h e 9 0 - f t. s h a f t w i l l b e a p e r m a n e n t a i r i n t a k e i n p a r a l l e l w i t h t h e m a n w a y p o r t a l .
A f e w h o u s e s , r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e s t a n d a r d s e t f o r t h e e n t i r e c a m p , a l r e a d y h a v e b e e n b u i l t a t t h e C r o c k a r d m in e . T h e s e h o u s e s a r e a f iv e - r o o m ty p e , s p a c e d 60 f t. a p a r t a n d e q u i p p e d w i t h s t r i c t l y m o d e r n n l n m h ’ in g t h r o u g h o u t .
January 14, 1926 C O A L A G E 67 com plainants on practically all points raised. I t is in substance an assigned- ca r case, but involves certain other phases of the car-distribution rules inci
dent to the placing of equipment.