Coal Age : devoted to the operating, technical and business problems of the coal-mining industry, Vol. 25, No. 3

C. E. LESHER, Editor

Volume 25 NEW YORK, JA N U A R Y 17, 1924 Number 3

Quiet Business Boom Responsible fo r Coal Output Last Year Exceeded but Once in Time o f Peace

A B U N D A N T transportation and consistent demand / \ characterized the soft-coal industry in 1923. The X freedom from car shortage after th e first ąuarter was remarkable in view of the large tonnage produced.

The output reached in 1923 has been exceeded but once in a peace year, the total for 1923 of 545,000,000 net tons fallin g but 23,000,000 tons, or 4 per cent, below booming 1920. It is interesting th erefore to compare the 1923 and 1920 records in other respects. Preceding both were large-scale strikes affecting nearly all organ- ized bituminous-coal mines. Consumers’ stocks on Jan.

1, 1920, follow ing the six w eeks’ strike of 1919 were at or ju st below 20,000,000 ton s; on Sept. 1, 1922, follow­

ing the b ig strike, stocks w ere about the same level.

Both strikes were followed by peri- ods of restocking, but w ith th is great difference— in 1920 th e railroads were unable to move the coal as it was offered, whereas in 1923 car supply improved from beginning to end.

Frenzied bidding and buying of 1920 was replaced by quiet purchasing in 1923. From the beginning to the end o f 1920 consum ers’ stocks w ere in- creased by around 27,000,000 ton s; in 1923 w ith no fu ss at all, not less than 29.000.000 tons w as added to consum­

ers’ reserves. W ith all the frenzy that attended the accum ulation of stocks in 1920, there w as but 45,000,000 tons on hand at the end of th at year. On the other hand, 1923 closed w ith around 65.000.000 tons in consum ers’ storage, a new high record fo r the end of a calendar year. It is anticipated that this figurę w ill be even h igh er by April 1, 1924.

The fact th at at th e first of the year stocks had been piled up sufficient to afford on th e average a safe supply

—that is to say, nearly fou r w eek s’ reąuirem ents— and that thenceforth throughout th e year there w as no p ressing n ecessity fo r coal on the part o f any class of consumers or o f any locality, w as a m ost im portant fac- tor in depressing th e price. Consumers w ere w illin g to take the coal throughout the sum m er and autum n o f 1923, but th ey w ere not in dire need and 5 as the coal, at constantly low ering price, w as -ca on them .

It m ust not be assum ed th at becaus^ soft-coal prices were easy and stocks piled up, generał ind u stry w as not hum ming. The consum ption o f so ft coal in th is country

in 1923 w as about 500,000,000 tons, alm ost identical in amount w ith the consumption o f 1920. More coal w as imported in 1923 than in 1920, but about 17,000,000 tons less was exported, which accounts for the seem ing discrepancy. A measure of the industrial activity of 1923, as against 1920, is found in the figures of produc- tion of sixty-tw o com modities as reported by the Census in the Survey of Current B usiness. The production of these sixty-tw o com modities, which include coal and coke, w as 9 per cent greater in 1923 than in 1920. The Federal Reserve Board reports a 10-per cent increase in m anufacturing activity in 1923 over 1920. A fe w ex- amples serve to indicate the widespread naturę o f th is ąuiet boom in business and help account for th e steady demand for so ft coal. Cotton con­

sumption w as 4 per cent greater in 1923 than in 1920, although tex tiles were considered dead la st year. P ig - iron output in 1923 w as 12 per cent greater than in 1920; likew ise steel ingots, 12 per c e n t; copper, also 12 per c e n t; crude petroleum, 16 per cent.

It did not ju st happen th at through­

out 1923 th e country con sisten tly bought coal, irrespective o f im m ediate reąuirem ents. There w as definite na- tional planning back of it. The Secre- tary o f Commerce ąuietly but w idely urged storage of coal by all industry.

He appealed not once but repeatedly to business in terests through th eir asso- ciations to be forehanded on coal pur- chases, to g et supplies early and to forestall the usual autum nal rush and high market. T heir response w as eąually unobtrusive, and w ere it not for the stock taking records o f the governm ent, it would be difficult to realize th e exten t to which th is advice w as followed. The railroads sponsored the program — and have not ceased th eir efforts even at th is date. W ith less than 7,000,000 tons on hand at the b egin n in g of 1923, th e railroads began in June an active cam paign fo r coal storage. On Oct. 1 they had increased th eir reserves by 10,000,000 tons, or to 17,663,000 tons. They expect to have 20,000,000 tons on hand by April 1, 1924. I f th ey but increase th eir reserve on w heels to w hat it w as on A pril 1, 1922, th ey w ill have in excess o f 22,000,000 tons.

Production o f bitum inous coal w as regular th rou gh ­ out 1923. The b est month, January, w a s 10 per cent

19J3i

PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION

I n t h is d ia g r a m th© s o lid b a r s r ep re- s e n t p r o d u c tio n o f b itu m in o u s c o a l b y c a le n d a r y e a r s . T h e d o tte d lin e In c o n su m p tio n . In b u t tw o y e a r s — 1919 a n d 1922— o f t h e s e v e n fr o m 1917 to 1923 w a s p r o d u c tio n l e s s t h a n c o n s u m p ­ tio n . I n 1 9 1 7 , 1918 a n d 1 923, a ll y e a r s o f largre p r o d u c tio n , th e r e w e r e su b - h ta n tia l a d d itio n s to s t o c k s . In 1923, o f a p r o d u c tio n o f s o f t - c o a l in ro u n d n u m b e r s o f 5 4 5 ,0 0 0 ,0 9 0 t o n s , 4 9 5 ,0 0 0 ,- 0 0 0 to n s w a s c o n s u m e d , 2 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 t o n s e x p o r te d a n d 3 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 to n s a d d e d to c o n s u m e r s ' s t o r a g e p ile s.

6 6 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, No. 3 over the average; the w orst month, December, w as 10

per cent under, w ith a difference between them of but 9,000,000 tons.

Production of anthracite w as at a high level in 1923.

Inheriting a shortage from the long strike of 1922, the country w as anthracite hungry. Demand was strong as the year opened and after a summer of exceptional output, the trade readily absorbed the output— follow ing

the short strike in Septem ber— even at p rices enhanced by reason o f th e w age increase g iven the m in ers by Governor Pinchot. Hard-coal production in 1923 w as around 95,000,000 n et tons, th e h ig h est in a peace year.

Dom estic sizes w ere th e backbone o f the trade, for steam sizes were off in price from April on, attendant on the low ering prices of s o ft coal, w ith w hich th ey w ere in direct com petition in the steam trade.

Price Trend fo r Year Monotonously D owngrade

S

Spot price, however, is not equivalent to average dollars realized by the operators. In the first place, the two figures are not strictly comparable,

fo r the spot price is what th e customer pays and is the operator’s selling price enhanced by selling costs or middle- men’s m argin. In the long run, how- ever, the discrepancy is not great. In boom years the spot price soars well above average realization because a m ajority of the coal is sold on a con- servative basis, usually on contracts.

Thus in 1920, when open-market prices for soft coal literally touched the sky, averagin g $5.64 over the year, the average actually received per ton w as $3.75.

B ut in periods of duli market the spot price descends below the contract price level, as in 1921, when the aver- age spot price w as $2.55 and the aver- age realized was $2.89. In 1922, be­

cause o f the shortage caused by the

strike, spot prices mounted, averaging $3.67, but realization w as $3.02 per n et ton. The spot price in 1923 started high, as a holdover from 1922, but de- scended to a Iow point in December. The average spot price w as $2.77 and it is estim ated th a t the average realized w as about $2.85, a few cents above the open- m arket ąuotations.

It cannot be argued therefore that 1923 was a pros- perous year fo r the soft-coal industry. It is particu- larly significant that, a fter m aking allowance for in- creases in w ages alone, the spot price of bitum inous coal in 1921 and again in the latter part o f 1923 fell below the pre-war record o f 1913-1914. Labor cost alone considered, so ft coal is now cheaper in the open market than before the war. It is smali wonder then th a t the bitum inous-coal industry is not facin g 1924 in h igh sp irits.

T his u n satisfactory condition is solely due to the overdevelopm ent o f the industry. The war inflation, huge in itself, has sińce been augm ented by the forced development in th e non-union fields attendant on the strik es in the union fields in 1919 and 1922. The boom o f 1920 also w as a contributing factor. The capacity,

-r

PRICES

T lie s o lid b a r s a n d tlie fig u r e s in t h i s diagrrani r e p r e s e n t th e a v e r a g e r e a liz a t io n in d o lla r s p e r n e t to n fo r b itu m in o u s c o a l, a s r e p o rted b y th e U . S. G e o lo g ic a l S u r v e y , e x c e p t t h a t f o r 1923, w h ic h Is a n e s tim a te . T h e d o tte d lin e s lio w s t h e areragre sp o t p r ic e a s r e p o r te d b y Coal A ge.

both as regards m ines and labor, is such th a t 10,000,000 tons or more per week m ay be produced and y et th e air be filled w ith com plaints of idle m ines and idle labor.

The year 1923 has given us an excellent m easure o f the overdevelopment of the soft-coal industry. W ith a high total production spread alm ost u niform ly over the twelve months, the days o f idle tim e represent surplus capacity.

D istribution of coal w as uniform ly satisfa cto ry in 1923. There were no hindrances to m ovem ent. Every section o f the country has had so ft coal forced on it.

N ew E ngland and the N orth w est are glutted w ith fuel. The m ovem ent into the N ortheast w as stim ulated by com­

petition between th e w ater shippers from Southern W est V irg in ia and the all-rail shippers in central Pennsyl- vania. N ever w as so much s o ft coal—

about 32,000,000 n et ton s— dumped at lower Lake E rie poi’ts fo r th e North­

w est trade. Illinois, Indiana and w estern K entucky enjoyed an active summer, but entered th e autumn and w in ter w ith m arkets stocked and little business. T hey are now fe elin g more than any other producing areas the effect o f deluged m arkets.

E xcept the flare-up in anthracite in Septem ber, there w as no labor trouble in coal in 1923. The bitum inous wage contract signed in A u gu st, 1922, ex- pired April 1, 1923, but no real diffi- culty was encountered in a greein g on a renewal. A fter some n egotiations and considerable jo ck eyin g fo r posi- tion, the renewal w as made fo r one year, instead of for two years, as some desired. T his b rin gs th e expiration on March 31 next. A t th is w r itin g th ere is much specu- lation as to w hether a new contract can be agreed upon without a strike. It is u seless to attem pt a forecast.

The m iners obviously would in th e a g g re g a te profit by a two-year renewal o f the present scalę, a s would the larger, more conservative operators. A nother bitter contest such as th a t o f 1922 would shackle th e industry with still more developm ent and put even fu rth er into the futurę th a t day o f a more stab le ind u stry— if indeed it would not ruin th e opportunity and postpone perhaps for a gen eration the p o ssib ility o f th e deflation so sorely needed.

Those who look only to th e p resen t and im m ediate futurę see the country overloaded w ith s o ft coal and all prospects gone o f rem unerative p rices in 1924. To such there is no rem edy save a forced su spension in the union fields— a sh ot in th e arm to b rin g on th e rosy dreams of Iow stocks, stro n g demand and h igh prices.

Sentim ent a g a in st a strik e is g a in in g every day.

n te r p r e ta tio n o f ^Pro

Mechanical L oadind

O

Loading M achines Appearing in Great Num bers— T ypes and Principles o f M achines and Appurtenances— Interest at Last at Fever H eat— M any Questions M u st B e Settled and Problem s Solved

“ T HAT is b eing done on the problem of machinę load- T T in g ? ” is the ąuestion min- ing men are asking all over the coal field. The problem is receiving much practical dem onstration as well as thought. It is about as commonly discussed as the prohibition ąuestion

— at the mine, in the office, at m eet- ings and on pullman cars. And it is not som ething new, as many are led to believe, for loading m achines have been an expensive hobby o f a fe w men for m any years; only th is year has the in terest been national.

H eretofore, development w as inter- m itten t and, at best, pulsating.

Someone would conceive ideas of a coal-loading m echanism and then commence to build one.

Too often work would cease before th e machinę had been completed or soon a fter it had been given a half- hearted trial. Many m achines th at had a semblance o f practicability failed to make headw ay chiefly be- cause o f lack o f funds and of co-

T h e h e a d p i e c e s h o w s t h e O l d r o y d l o a d i n g m a c h i n ę , w h ic h , u n l i k e o t h e r m a c h i n e s , h a s t h r e e c o n v e y o r s . T o t h e h e a d e n d o f t h e lo a d i n g b o o m is a t t a c h e d a r e v o l v i n g d i p p e r t o w h ic h a r e f a s t e n e d tw o r e p l a c e a b l e s t r i p s o f S te e l, w h ic h t h r o w t h e c o a l o n t o t h e lo w - e s t o f t h e t h r e e c o n v e y o r s .

By Al p h o n s e F . Br o s k y A s s i s t a n t E d i t o r , C o a l A g e , P i t t s b u r g h , P a .

operation from m ine owners. Wood- sheds, machinę shops and garages have been the birthplace of m any loading m achines. The number of them is legion. H ow m any are there? That is a difficult ąuestion to answer, as a veil of secrecy hides the development of m any o f them.

Un i o n Im p e d e s In t r o d u c t io n

P rogress is slow, as it m ust be, until sufficient momentum is gath- ered to sweep th e industry. In a way, the move is m arking tim e and w ill continue to do so, all the w hile gath erin g force, till such tim e as the barrier o f opposition thrown up by the U nited M ine W orkers no longer obstructs the introduction o f such m achines. It is g ra tify in g , however, th at practically all the m ine owners assert th at the day of th e loading m achinę is at hand.

Sooner or later, it is believed, the m in ers’ union w ill have to yield to economic pressure and agree to a reasonable w age scalę for loading m achines. W ith th ese assurances m echanical - loading devices and m ethods are developing w ith in- creasin g rapidity. I f the U. S. Coal C om m ission’s reports did n oth in g

else, its efforts at least caused w ider in terest in the problem.

B efore going any further it m igh t be well to give a definition o f a mechanical loader, applying it to the type in m ost generał use. Strictly speaking, a m echanical loader is a machinę th at perform s th e greater part o f the work o f th e human loader, one w hich is devised to tran s­

fe r coal at th e fa ce to m ine cars or conveyors, a fter th e face has been cut and shot down, and to do th at work w ith little expenditure o f labor other than th a t required fo r the m anipulation of th e machinę.

A m echanical loader w ill never be smali enough or flexible enough to m atch th e co-ordination of m an’s brains and brawn, b ut it can be made to approxim ate th a t ideał. The more nearly it does so th e more suc- cessfu l is th e m achinę. Other m a­

chines are b ein g built in w hich the fu n ction s o f m in in g coal are added to those o f loading. T hese are known as com bination m in in g and loading m achines. E a rlier ty p es of th ese last-m entioned m achines w ere designed to advance en tries, b u t th e dual fu n ction s o f m in in g and load­

in g are now b ein g incorporated in

6 8 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, No. 3

J O Y L O A D IN G A N D D I G G I N G M A C H I N Ę E N T E R I N G R O O M

T h is m a c h i n ę is e m p lo y e d e x t e n s i v e l y u n d e r a l l s o r t s o f c o n d itio n s . B e in g p e r h a p s t h e s m a ll e s t l o a d e r in u s e , i t is s u i t e d f o r Io w a s w e ll a s h i g h s e a m s . T h e d ig g i n g a n d g a t h - e r i n g f in g e r s r e s e m b l e s o m e w h a t t h e c l a w s o f a c r a b a n d d r a w t h e c o a l in to t h e c o n - y e y o r t r o u g h .

n

M achines which have as th eir func- tion the production of coal and not merely the extension of roadways.

The mechanical running o f the machines and th eir perform ance at work are based upon many prin- ciples. B elt or m etal conveyors in alm ost all cases carry the coal from the fron t end of a machinę to a mine car or another conveyor. These gen- erally consist of two units suspended from the body of the machinę, which operate independently of each other.

For convenience and uniform ity of expression in describing various types, the front conveyor is called the loading and the rear conveyor the d ischarging boom.

On alm ost all types o f loading ma­

chines it has been found advan- tageous to give the discharging boom independently controlled vertical and horizontal movements and to pro- vide only for th e elevation or lower- in g of the loading boom. A few typ es are provided w ith a moving device on th e head end of the load­

in g boom to facilita te the trans- ference o f coal onto the discharging conveyor.

Gears and worms, air and hy-

draulic cylinders, rope drums, sh afts and direct connections are the means used to impart motion from motors to th e various elem ents o f the m a­

chinę. The machines travel on tracks, tractors or on th e ground in the fashion of a cu ttin g machinę.

They are made large or smali, de- pending upon th e conditions to be m et and the w him s o f the inventors.

Co a l Co m m i s s i o n’s St u d y

In its report on machinę loading the Coal Commission makes refer- ence to two definite machines, evi- dently of different make, estim ating their capacities in eigh t hours under satisfactory w orking conditions as 500 tons fo r the large and 150 tons for the smali machinę.

It is quite likely that the com mis­

sion speaking o f the b ig machinę re- fers to the Jones loader, of the Pocahontas Fuel Co., o f W est Vir- ginia, for the reason that the aver- age output of three machines for a particular sh ift of eigh t hours is 352 tons each. desoite an actual working tim e of only 56 per cent. No other machinę is known to be in use th at has loaded coal at that rate over long

periods. When the com m ission re- fers to th e little machinę as being operated by one man, it m u st be al- luding to th e Joy loader. T hrough- out th e report on machinę loading, evidence is given th at clearly fixes the id en tity o f the tw o m achines.

Jam es Elwood Jones, o f th e Poca­

hontas F u el Co., has fo r m any years been w orking w ith a large loading machinę in the Pocahontas N o. 3 seam . T his bed a ttain s a thickness o f 10 ft. of clean coal in th e m ines o f th is company. W orking in thick coal he has dem onstrated th a t load­

in g could be su ccessfully accom- p lish e d ^ e v e n at th is early stage of development— by room-and-pillar m ining, w here conditions are favor- able. Because o f the excellent re- sults obtained in experim ents, Jones loaders are b eing built at Columbus, Ohio, for use in the m ines o f this company. T hese m ines are gradu- ally being converted so th at th e entire coal may be loaded m echanically.

In th e m ain the Jones loader re- sem bles the typ es of m achinę in most generał use, in th at it m oves from room to room on track and is ar- ranged w ith loading and discharg­

ing booms suspended from th e body of the m achinę. The loading boom is designed som ew hat like th e cut- te r arm o f a cu ttin g m achinę, under which is placed a w ide slide pan.

In th e chain which operates the loading boom are attached, in place of cutter bits, long arm s w hich slide the coal to th e d isch argin g boom. It is a large machinę, at p resent de­

signed to load coal only in wide rooms and high coal. Its crew of tw enty-tw o men attend to all duties relative to th e m ining, loading and haulin g to a sidetrack o f 500 tons o f coal or more in e ig h t hours. It has a record o f loading a 4-ton car in one m inutę.

In its infancy the Joy loader w eighed about 9 tons. The body of the early type w as built about a large storage hopper, to w hich the

M Y E R S - W H A L E Y S H O V E L — A H E A V I E R M E C H A N I S M O F L A R G E

CAPACITY

A s w in g i n g s h o v e l ^ w ll^ a * s o ^ l o a ^ r o c k ^ T ' T h e t y p e s h o w n h e r e c a n b e ° P e r a t e d '» > 41 s e a m o f 11 a ls o lo a d r o c k - o r e - c la y o r o t h e r lo o s e m a t t e r w i t h e q u a l f a c i l i t y .

H O L M E S T E D C O A L - L O A D IN G M A C H I N Ę , U S E D A T H A R D Y COA L, C O .'S M I N E I n t h i s m a c h i n ę t h e e s s e n t i a l f e a t u r e is a w e d g e h e ld in a n e c c e n tr i c p a t h b y g u i d e s a n d m a d e t o m o v e i n t o t h e c o a l a n d b a c k to t h e c o n v e y o r b y a s e m i- f le x ib le c o n n e c t i n g r o d f r o m a d r iv e c r a n k .

coal w as fed by one conveyor and from which coal w as discharged into m inę cars by another. B elieving a loading machinę should be smali enough to make it extrem ely flexible and so th at one man can operate it, th e designer elim inated the imprac- ticable hopper, and reduced its size to that of the present Joy loading and d ig gin g machinę, which w eighs about tons.

It has but one flight-conveyor pan, which flares out at the head end of th e machinę and is suspended on a tractor truck so th at it m ay be raised or lowered. The flared-out section o f the pan is provided w ith a pair of d iggin g and gathering fingers which are geared and pinned to describe fixed orbital paths draw- ing the coal into the conveyor trough. Two hundred o f these ma- chines are distributed over Virginia, W est V irginia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Colorado and Pennsyl- vania.

No better implement than a shovel is known for the hand loading of coal or other loose m ateriał. On the M yers-W haley loading machinę, de- veloped fifteen years ago, th e prin- ciple of a shovel is incorporated. Es- sen tially it consists of a sw in gin g shovel and two conveyors and travels and loads over a 20-ft. front from a m ine track.

B oth conveyors have lateral move- ment. The capacity of the shovel w ith a sufficient car supply is 150 tons per sh ift, operating in seams 4 ł ft. thick or thicker. A number of th ese m achines are in use in coal m ines of Pennsylvania, W est Vir- ginia, Indiana, Illinois and Colorado, and in rock and ore m ines in th is country and abroad.

Adoption o f th e Caterpillar tractor

to impart flexibility of movement in loading at the face and portability in traveling from place to place in- dependently o f m ine track is a step forward in the development of load­

ing m achines. It enables the smali loading machinę, which does not have sufficient reach for loading from a m ine track, to reach all parts of the face, and when thus applied it gives excellent service. George D illig, of P ittsb u rgh , Pa., claims priority over all other designers in the use o f th is device, for in 1920 he mounted an experim ental loading machinę on Caterpillar tractors.

That machinę loaded out 57 tons of coal in two hours from tw o rooms in the H ammill mine, near P itts ­ burgh, Pa.

The D illig tractor loader as de- veloped today depends upon the powerful action of tractors to ram its nose under the coal to be loaded.

This lifts the coal onto a loading boom which deposits it onto a dis- charging conveyor. The booms are lifted or sw ung by air jacks. A t the present tim e several of these ma­

chines are b eing built less than 36

in. high for a large company in Pennsylvania. The Valley Camp Coal Co. is preparing to use a D illig loader in its Kinloch mine, Parnas- fcus, Pa., where plans are made for longwall m ining in an isolated panel.

The machinę w ill work in the thick Freeport seam, which is topped w ith a hard roof.

A t the Hardy m ine o f the Hardy Coal Co., of W est V irginia, three H olm ested loading m achines are in use in room-and-pillar m ining. Ad- ditional machines for the same place are in process of construction. The outstanding featu re o f th is machinę is a reciprocating w edge on th e head end of th e loading boom, w hich is th ru st under the coal on its forward stroke and drags th e coal onto the conveyor on its backward stroke.

Reciprocation o f th e w edge in eccen­

tric guides is accomplished by at- tach in g to a crank a sem i-flexible connecting rod. Its generał featu res ai-e sim ilar to those o f other loading m achines. I t w ill load at the rate of l i tons per m inutę. All the m a­

chines already m entioned have been exten sively used.

In th e Oldroyd coal-loading ma­

chinę are embodied several o f th e m ovem ents o f an arcwall m achinę in cu ttin g horizontally, as it travels on a track and m ay be fed stra ig h t in tow ard the center o f a face in load­

in g and m ay be sw u ng also to eith er rib. The loader breaks th e coal down and loads it at th e face, and, fo r th is reason, it is h eavily con- structed. It is equipped w ith three conveyors supported by tw o sets of sw ivel trucks fo r greater ease in rounding curves.

Coal is fed onto th e fro n t con- veyor by m eans o f a revolving dip- per provided w ith tw o steel cu tter plates spaced at an angular distance o f 180 deg. to each other. The Old­

royd w ill load at a m axim um rate of D ILLIG TRACTOR LO ADER— ALSO SU ITED TO ROO M -AND-PILLAR MINING

T h e r a m n o s e o£ t h i s l o a d e r i s f o r c e d u n d e r t h e c o a l, w h i c h m o v e s o n to t h e c o n v e y o r , u r g e d f o r w a r d b y t h e p o w e r f u l t h r u s t o f C a t e r p i l l a r t r e a d s .

70 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, No. 3 2 tons per minutę. In one sh ift it

has actually loaded 250 tons of coal in 2.4-ton cars at the Sumner No. 2 minę o f the Pittsburgh & E rie Coal Co., Braznell, Pa., where the P itts­

burgh seam is 7 ft. or more in thick- ness! U sin g a 4-ton wagon, 350 tons o f coal could have been loaded out in eig h t hours.

Other loading machines than those mentioned are in all stages of development. The W heeling Steel Corporation is developing an air punching heading machinę. J. A.

Forsythe, m aster mechanic of the Buckeye Coal Co., is gettin g ready to build a loading machinę at Nema- colin, Pa. Another loading machinę is being built at N ew Florence, Pa.

The Jeffrey M anufacturing Co. has started work on ą new type of load­

ing m achinę; one about which little is known is still in th e embryo stages of deyelopment.

Patrick J. McDonald, of New Cumberland, Pa., has taken out patents on a loading machinę that employs the unusual arrangement of multiple - bladed collecting scoops which revolve and thus discharge coal onto a conveyor.

The V esta Coal Co. and the Beth- lehem Mines Corporation are each developing a loading machinę. F. N.

Wilson, of St. Louis, is constructing a mechanical loading device for the Southern Coal, Coke & M ining Co.

It will be known as the “Wilson Chainloader.” It has two sickle- shaped arms which, a fter gathering coal onto a flight conveyor, develop a h alf tw ist in tw o planes and are thus lifted above the loading con- veyor. It w ill load from a mine track and will be built as Iow as 30 in. The sm allest size will w eigh

about 4,000 lb. No doubt many other loading machines are being de- signed or built, but regarding these inform ation is not obtainable.

A few types of shovel loaders, such as the Shuveloder and the Hoar Baby shovel, are g iv in g excellent service in handling rock w here roof is brushed in coal m ines, but these reąuire more headroom than m ost seam s afford and conseąuently at m ost m ines cannot be used for load­

ing coal. Their development, never- theless, has benefited the industry.

There is a fight between two fac- tions, one holding th at present plans of mine layout, em bodying the prin- ciple of rooms and pillars, cannot be changed; and the other, a bit dubious of the stand taken by its con- servative opponent, m aintains that modifications o f .longwall m ining should be developed to prove or dis- prove the p ossib ility o f adopting the European system in the various seam s o f th is country.

It is surp risin g the number of sound m ining men who are now ac- cepting the advice given m any years ago by the longwall advocates, and who are either already experim ent- ing or contem plating the m aking of experim ents into the p ossibilities of longwall system s of m ining. Men in the service of coal companies rang- ing from the largest to the smallest are members o f the latter or minor- ity party. Experim ents in modi- fied longwall are being conducted in seam s varyin g in thickness from 3 ft. to th at o f the Pittsburgh seam.

Longwall, by the way, is being tried in th is seam.

W ithout doubt arrangem ents for loading coal mechanically m ust be developed, but opportunities for ap-

p lyin g longwall methods, w ith th eir inherent cost-saving due to concen- trated m ining, should certain ly not be overlooked. The geology o f sedi- m entary deposits is p retty much the same all over the world, so th a t w hat

L O A D IN G R A T E , B U F F A L O - E A G L E M I N E

S h a d e d a r e a s in d i a g r a m s h o w l o a d i n g r a t e in t o n s p e r h o u r f o r a s i n g l e m a c h i n ę in t e s t m a d e D e c . 13, 1 9 2 2 . M a c h i n ę w i t h t h r e e m e n t o o p e r a t e i t l o a d e d 267 t o n s łn 8 h o u r s . T h e t o t a l o p e r a t i n g t i m e w a s 3J h o u r s a n d t h e r a t e o f l o a d i n g w h e n i n o p e r - a t i o n w a s 76.3 t o n s p e r h o u r .

M INE CAR LOADER, DESIGNED SO LELY FOR LONGWALL MINING T h is l o a d e r c o n s i s t s , in t h e m a in , o f a h o r i z o n t a l b a r c o v e r e d w ith h it«

v o l v i n g t h r o w s m a t e r i a ł in t h e p a t h o f a p a r a l l e l c o n v e y o r . I t I m b o d i e a r e * c u t U n g ° l d ’ ty P e S h o rtW a U c u t t i n s m a c h i n e . m o v in g w h ile l o a d in g a s t h l l a t t e r m o y e ^ i n

is good for E uropeans should, in a measure, be good for us also. How- ever, it m ust not be fo rgo tten that in Europę longwall is accompanied by backfilling, w hereas w e propose not to go to th at expense. The burn- in g ąuestion of m achine loading is responsible for the b egin n in g o f this revolution. How it w ill end, only tim e w ill tell.

A loading m achine has been manu- factured expressly fo r loading from longwall faces. On th is m achine is a horizontal bar w ith cu ttin g b its set around its periphery, w hich re- volves so as to th row m ateriał in its path up to and on a conveyar that parallels the loading bar. It has sev- eral ch aracteristics o f th e old short- wall cu ttin g m achine. I t is not port- able o f itse lf and conseąuently in tra n sit m ust be carried on a truck.

Like the shortw all undercutter also, the m achine w hile loading is moved slow ly along th e fa ce by ropes and jack pipes. It is said th a t it can be built to operate in seam s as Iow as 2 ft. thick. T his m achine will easily load a ton a m in utę. In a te st in a m ine o f th e B uffalo-E agle Colliery Co., L ogan County, W est V irgin ia, th is m achine loaded 267 tons of coal in 3 ł hours o f actual w orking tim e. The te s t w a s con­

ducted by th e A llotm ent Commis- sion o f th e Chesapeake & Ohio R.R., w hich, in order to d eterm ine w hat would be a fa ir proportion o f cars to allot a m ine h a v in g such a m a­

chine, had a run made to ascertain its cap acity under w ork in g condi- tions. A graphic chart o f th is per­

form ance appears above.

J E F F K E Y H E A D I N G M A C H I N Ę F O R D E Y E L O P M E N T W O R K

T h is m a c h i n ę c u t s tw o v e r t i c a l k e r f s a n d o n e h o r i z o n t a l k e r f i n t h e c o a l a n d t h e n p u n c h e s o u t t h e c o a l b y fiv e s t r o n g p ic k s s e t in a s o lid f r a m e . I t m a k e s t h r e e c u t s i n a w id e h e a d i n g . T h e r i b lin e w i t h i t s s m a li o f f s e ts c a n b e s e e n o n t h e r i g h t .

Major recovery in m ining cannot proceed any faster than entry de- velopment. For th is reason progress in entry-driving machines m ust parallel th at of loading machines.

Because m ost entries are driven nar- row, machines for consum m ating th is work have almost invariably been conceived as combination min- ing-and-loading devices. The Jef- fr ey heading machinę is designed and used fo r th is purpose and makes a remarkable yardage.

It undercuts and shears simul- taneously, and as the cutting progresses inward a reciprocating picking fram e, the h eight of which may be adjusted w hile the machinę is in motion, breaks down the coal.

The coal falls on a conveyor pan on the bottom of th e machinę and is conveyed to a m ine car in th e rear.

E n tries can be driven to any width by taking successive cuts across the face. It has loaded as much as 30 ton s in one hour.

One of these heading machines re- cently w as installed at the K eystone Coal & Coke Co.’s mine, at Keystone, W. Va., on the Norfolk & W estern By. For th e last four months, I am toid, it has driven entry at th e rate o f about 30 ft. in each eight-hour sh ift, and it has been shown th at if it is given cars for continuous load­

in g it will drive over 50 ft. in that period o f tim e. One day when loco- m otives and cars were available for handling the coal, the machinę ad- vanced 53 ft. in seven hours and on

°everal other occasions sim ilar per- form ances w ere obtained.

The machinę w ill work well under any conditions w here the coall is n ot much below 5 ft. in thickness and w here the seam has not an ex- cessive ąu antity of sulphur or other hard im purities th at b its cannot cut.

Four o f these m achines are being used in the R aleigh-W yom ing Coal Co.’s mine, the explosion th at re- cently occurred in those w orkings

being confined to an entirely differ- ent section o f the mine.

Another combination m ining-and- loading machinę now being manufac- tured is known as the McKinlay m in­

in g and loading machinę. It inherits the principles of the old Stanley header. Briefly, two sh afts project from the body of the machinę, and to these are secured two arms which revolve som ewhat a fter the fashion o f a propeller. These arms are provided w ith b its th at m ay be located at intervals from 6 to 12 in., depending upon th e naturę of the coal cut. The relative m otion of the two sh afts and arm s is such as to perm it the tw in tunnels to overlap each other, cu ttin g a double tunnel 10J ft. wide.

The sectors between the two cir- cular tunnels are cut by means of a horizontal saw arrangem ent. The annular rings circum scribed by the cutter b its generally break of th eir own accord; otherw ise revolving w edge w heels tear them out. Bar- rier plates on the sides of the ma­

chinę and buckets on the revolving cutter arm s divert the coal into the path of a belt conveyor. T his ma­

chinę w ill advance at th e rate of 3 ft. an hour and is operated by one man.

The difficulty o f g ettin g a suffi- cient and a continuous stream of m ine cars to mechanical loaders in rooms is now the b ig g e st drawback to more generał use of th ese m a­

chines. T his obstacle is being studied seriously by m any men.

Portable and inexpensive conveyors are thought logical in rooms th at may be driven wide in h igh coal so as to yield a large output per cut.

A s m any as three, and possibly four, cuts m igh t be loaded out of a single room in eig h t hours. Then a trip of as m any m ine cars as are re- ąuired to carry the tonnage from one cut can be spotted and moved at the room neck w ith little delay. A n ­ other remedy su g gested is th e use of two or more tractor hoppers which ply back and forth, receiving th eir cargo at the loading machinę and dum ping it into a trip o f w ait- in g m ine cars at th e neck of the room. T his schem e has p ossib ilities.

In Novem ber of 1922, before the Kentucky M ining In stitu te, I su g ­ gested th e p o ssib ility o f u sin g a telescopic ladder conveyor of tw o or more u n its th a t m igh t be extended or closed at w ill by m eans o f racks or some sim ilar arrangem ent. In- terlocking gears could tra n sm it power fro m one conveyor to another, th e conveyors b ein g played out from and supported by crossbars. Such a conveyor could be extended to a sufficient len gth to p erm it as m any

M c K I N L A Y A U T O M A T I C C O A L M I N I N G A N D L O A D I N G M A C H I N Ę

C o n s i d e r in g t h e w o r k i t m u s t d o , t h i s m a c h i n ę i s e x t r e m e l y s im p le . R e v o lv i n g c u t t e r a r m s a n d h o r i z o n t a l r e c i p r o c a t i n g s a w s m i n e t h e c o a l, w h i c h i s s c o o p e d u p a n d d e p o s i te d i n t h e p a t h o f a s i n g l e b e l t c o n v e y o r b y t w o b u c k e t s o n e a c h o f t h e r e v o l v i n g c u t t e r a r m s .

72 C O A L A G E Vol. 25, N o. 3

m ine cars to run under it as are needed to load out a cut.

J. A. Forsythe, of the Buckeye Coal Co., recently developed a scheme sim ilar in generał principle to my proposal. When a loading machinę m oves into a room it pulls behind it as many as six mine cars, on the top of which are slung conveyor units, one on each car. Each unit is driven by an individual motor and all are tied together electrically by power cables controlled by push- buttons from the loading machinę.

Each conveyor rides on a stilt frame, to the legs o f which are attached smali wheels. An elevated conveyor- frame track lies on the outside of the mine track. In passing over th is outer track the conveyors are lifted from the mine cars. In load­

ing, the mine cars are moved from and spotted under the end o f the outby conveyor unit.

CONVEYORS CARRIED ON EMPTIES For transportation purposes a trip of empties is backed under the conveyor units by a gath erin g loco- motive, which is then uncoupled.

In backing out of the room the load­

in g machinę pushes the conveyor fram es from the elevated conveyor track and lowers them to a sling po- sition on top of th e m ine cars, which move w ith them. The train is then ready to move to another room, hav- ing a supply o f mine cars available for immediate use.

W hat are the possibilities of load­

ing machines in the im m ediate fu ­ turę? Of first importance in this

connection is an agreem ent between miner and operator as to a w age scalę for mechanical loading. In Illinois the operator is paying the cutting-m achine rate to loading- machine operatives. In Indiana the pay of loader operatives runs as high as $12.50 a day. In neither state has a piece-work rate been made for mechanical loading. How- ever, in Indiana a joint committee of operators and miners w as appointed in the spring of 1923 to form ulate a scalę, but thus far it has not con- curred in any recommendation. It is certain that th is ąuestion w ill be much to the fore during the coming w age-negotiation m eetings scheduled for next month.

It is in terestin g to note the type of companies th a t are m ost absorbed in the development of mechanical loading. Who w ill derive the most immediate benefit from it? From present indications owners of cap- tive m ines are m ost active in th is work. Large commercial coal com­

panies generally are more or less in- different as to what is transp iring in th is new field o f endeavor.

Ca p t i v e Mi n e s We l l Eq u i p p e d

Co-ordination of engineering talent in companies that both produce and consume coal is responsible to a large degree for the progressive m anagem ent of captive m ines. As E. W. Davidson points out elsew here in these pages, captive m ines usually are better eąuipped than those which sell th eir coal on the open market.

Preparation and sizin g of coal re-

ąuired for various uses is a factor in the progress o f m achinę loading.

Steam coal, fired by stokers or pul- verized and blown into boiler fur- naces, can be loaded by m achines which would degrade sized coal too much for dom estic and other uses.

Slack coal is actually desirable for byproduct coking. I f loadin g m a­

chines are developed th at are success- ful, save th at th ey cause regradation of the coal, steel and other indus- trial com panies w ill not h esita te to adopt them.

Loading m achines w ill help to stabilize the ind u stry by elim inat- ing snowbird and h igh -cost mines.

C o n su m p tio n o f N atu ral Gas Up 1 5 p e r C ent in 1 9 2 2

In 1922 there was consumed in the United States 762,546,000,000 cu.ft. of natural gas, having an estim ated value of $84,873,000 at the w ells and of $221,- 535,000 at points of consumption, ac- cording to data compiled by H. Backus and issued through the U. S. Geological Survey. This is 15 per cent more than the ąuantity consumed in 1921 and 4 per cent less than that consumed in the record year, 1920.

Increased production is recorded for m ost of the states and in the leading five—W est Virginia, Oklahoma, Perrn- sylvania, Louisiana and Califom ia—

gains were made ranging between eight and tw enty billion cubic feet. There were few changes in rank o f the states in production, with the exceptions that W yoming, w ith an increased output of more than 50 per cent, attained eighth place, passing K ansas; and that Arkansas, with an increase o f more than 100 per cent, w ent from twelfth to tenth place, passing K entucky and N ew York. But in consum ption sev- eral of the leading states changed re- lative positions as compared w ith 1921.

Pennsylvania regained first place, hav- ing dropped to third in 1921, Ohio changed from first to second, Oklahoma from second to third, C alifom ia from fifth to fourth, and W est Virginia from fourth to fifth.

The interstate m ovem ent o f natural gas increased from 150,000,000,000 cu.

ft. in 1921 to 179,000,000,000 cu. ft. in 1922. W est V irginia, which contrib- uted 25 per cent of the total production and consumed only 10 per cent, con- tributed 66 per cent o f the gas that w as transported to other states.

During the p ast few years there has been a considerable increase in the unit value of natural gas, the average value at the points of consum ption increasing from 21.6c. per thousand cubic fe e t in

1919 to 29.lc . in 1922. The average value per thousand cubic feet o f the g as used in domestic consumption in­

creased more than 15c. in the past four years and in 1922 w as 49.9c.

F R O N T V I15W O F J E F F R E Y H E A D I N G M A C H I N Ę , S H O W I N G P I C K S A t t h e K e y s t o n e m in e t h i s m a c h i n ę h a s d r i v e n a h e a d i n g 53 f t . a h e a d in 7 h o u r s W i t h a c o n v e y o r t o c a r r y t h e c o a l t o a r o a d w a y a t r i e h t a n e l e s o r n . r d l » , L . W itn r n a e h i n e - d r i v e n r o a d f u l i t r i p s c o u ld b e lo a d e d w i t h e li m i n a t i o n o f w a f t s a n d i t ^ e l s y t o s u r m i s e t h a t t h e t o n n a g e t h e r e b y c o u ld b e g r e a t l y in c r e a s e d .

Are "Captive” Mines on the Increase?

Bulk o f Opinion Is That “ Low-Price E ra” Is On and Fewer Steam-Coal Consumers Will G et M ines, but Other Consumer-Owned Tonnage M ay Grow—

Fourth of N ational D em and Already L ost to the M arket

By E. W. Da y id s o n

H AT of captive coal?

For a generation bitum i- nous fuel produced by con- sumer-owned m ines has cut a swath in the coal industry of this country

—much wider than many men in the coal industry have realized. In 1920 at least one-quarter of the entire bitum inous production of the nation was captive. Since then it has undoubtedly increased a little.

Probably the percentage fell back during the peculiar year 1923 be- cause o f the engulfing flood of cheap coal th at finally closed down a num- ber o f captive m ines; but w hat will be th e trend of th is captive coal in the futurę?

“Downward,” promptly replies the great producer of commercial coal.

“Yes, probably downward,” agrees the railroader. But the industrialist comments th u s: “I have an idea it w ill be som ewhat upward because th at has been the trend for ąuite a while. Enough b ig industries have profited in th e long run by owning th eir own m ines so th at they will not quit m ining a fter a single doubtful season.” And there you are.

The commercial producer — h is opinion is a cross-section o f several commercial producers’ opinions — w hose sole business is th e m ining and selling o f coal wherever it will sell, thinks captive coal w ill recede for several reasons. M etallurgical captive coal no doubt w ill continue strongly in th e hands of its con­

sum ers— it is three-quarters in those hands now— but the arm y o f steam - coal consum ers w ill find in the futurę that the market and not th e mine is th e m ost satisfa cto ry place to get fuel.

T his w ill be true, says the com­

m ercial operator, because coal is go in g to be uniform ly lower in the fu tu rę and there w ill be few er

“em ergency” peaks in th e market.

T his w ill be brought about, he thinks, partly by more reliable and capable transportation and because he dares to think there m ay be less labor trouble. The seizure o f union mar- kets by low er-cost non-union fields, thus reducing union w orkin g tim e, is bound to have an effect, he believes.

W ith coal en terin g upon a cheaper

era, he holds, there w ill seldom recur a tim e when the steam consumer can afford to run m ines. The lessons of the past few m onths illustrate the point perfectly. Captive m ines had to quit because of th e Iow price level of the market. Scores of them ran well into the autumn, loath to shut down and thus break up th eir organ- ization, even though outside coal at far less than th eir cost o f production pounded at th eir gates. F inally they could stand the pressure no longer, as in the case of the Standard Oil and Corporation m ines in Illinois.

The oil company, w ith production costs at the m ines near Carlinville, 111., ranging up toward $2, stood the strain until late November. Then it contracted throughout the Spring- field d i s t r i c t and M ontgomery

County, Illinois, for enough screen- ings to supply the company’s needs to April 1, at prices varyin g between

$1.05 and $1.25. There w as nothing else to do when other producers were glad to make such contracts. The central Illinois screenings m arket at the tim e was from 25c. to 40c. below those prices.

The Steel Corporation’s g rea t Middle Fork mine, in sou th em Illi­

nois, w en t through about the same experience. It w as operated at a loss for m onths and the Corporation w ished to keep on operating it, but lack of co-operation on the part of th e m iners finally exhausted an al­

ready sorely tried p a tie n ce and the mine closed. The sale, soon after, o f a wide a crea g e o f Franklin County (Illin o is) v ir g in coal lands,

Relative Spot Prices of Bituminous Coal at the Mines, 1913-1923

T h is d i a g r a m s h o w s t h e r e l a t i v e p r i c e s , n o t t h e a c t u a l p r ic e s , s h o w n in su c c e e d in g - d i a - g r a m s in t h i s i s s u e o f C o a l A g e , f o r p a r t i c u l a r c o a ls . P r i c e s f o r f o u r t e e n c o a ls , r e p r e s e n t a - t i v e o f n e a r l y 90 p e r c e n t o f t h e t o t a l o u t p u t o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , w e r e w e i g h t e d i n a c - c o r d a n c e , f l r s t , w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e p r o p o r - t i o n s o f e a c h o f s l a c k , p r e p a r e d a n d r u n - o f - m in e n o r m a l l y s h i p p e d ; a n d , s e c o n d , w i t h r e s p e c t to t h e t o n n a g e o f e a c h n o r m a l l y p r o d u c e d . T h e a v e r a g e t h u s o b t a i n e d w a s c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e a v e r a g e f o r t h e t w e l v e m o n t h s e n d e d J u n e , 1 9 1 4 , a s 100, a f t e r t h e m a n n e r a d o p t e d i n t h e R e p o r t o n P r i c e s o f C o a l a n d C o k e , 1913-1918, p u b l i s h e d b y t h e G e o lo g ic a l S u r v e y a n d t h e W a r I n d u s t r i e s B o a r d . T h e r e s u l t is a s e r i e s o f in d e x n u m b e r s .

800

750

700

650

600

550

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